1000 “Likes” Contest

LAURA TURNBULL PHOTOGRAPHY·THURSDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2017

Greetings all. I am so excited about this 1000 "Like" milestone. It probably seems silly to most, but it is a marker of sorts for me. Please take a moment to read.  I put my heart into this.

It has been 2 1/2 years since my dad died.  I have had lots of ups and downs.  It’s about the memories. Mom always encouraged my photography.  She loved taking photos also.  Always allowing me use of her camera when I was a kid.  Then 23 years ago, mom died of cancer.  Who am I?  Simply speaking, on the business side, I just didn’t know what to do with myself.  I would do some photo shoots, then I would take time off again. Up and down. Who am I? Am I a photographer, really? Can I pull this off as a business? Am I wasting time? I would go months without touching my camera.  Because every time I picked up that camera I was reliving a memory of mom or dad.  Whether consciously or subconsciously.  And it hurt.  A lot.  I considered quitting photography completely.  An image may make me smile, laugh, or cry.  I was afraid. Tired & afraid of the pain.  Afraid of succeeding? No.

I pondered that thought many a night.  Aside from a few years working for my husband during tax season and doing nanny work the last 4 plus years, I have always been my own boss. I shot my first wedding at 16 by myself, did house cleaning jobs, home party sales, endless ideas of what I could do or make at home. Being my own boss while still taking care of my mommy duties.  My husband has said numerous times through the years "that I don't know when to quit." 'That I have a one track mind and won't get an idea out of my head.'  He's right. It's a blessing and a curse as they say.  It is the entrepreneurial side of me that won't give up and keeps trying to figure out how to make this work. 

But I am not afraid anymore.  I am excited and ecstatic. Booking jobs. Reaching out.  Volunteering to do free photo shoots.  That helps me and the other person.  And that is a good thing.  Writing notes to myself, thoughts, do this try that. I am becoming me again. Gradually, you will see it again and realize that I am back. 

Photos truly are time capsules. Every image I shoot has emotion & a memory of some sort tied to it. It connects me to it.  This “silly” little contest for me tells me ‘Yes, you can be the photographer you want to be.’  It means I have healed a lot and that every emotion I feel from past images and memories I will always see in my head, are safe in that little time capsule, that little box.  My box of memories.

And that all the new emotions and memories I see in all of the events I photograph from this point on, ARE a stepping stone, a path of stones that I needed to lay out & step on one at a time to keep me reaching out & pushing myself. I have much to say, but just this for now.

On the technical side, my page says in the past 28 days my “likes” have gone up 325%. That is a commendable number for sure.

And thank you truly for being a part of this adventure with me. Thank you for helping me.  Every “like” is one more stone down my photographic path. This note should help you understand me maybe a little bit more.  But we all know that those "likes" are not what gets any of us down our own path. It's us.

Wholeheartedly,

Laura Turnbull