Four weeks ago I flew into Albuquerque, NM and made the hour long drive into Santa Fe not knowing what to expect for the next 7 days. I knew it would be different than anything I had ever done, and I was completely thrilled about the opportunity to gain a new perspective. What I was not ready for however, was how profoundly these next few days would impact my life. I left Santa Fe with a new pair of eyes, a confidence in myself that I had never been able to attain, and a deep, deep understanding of what photography meant to me. I left Santa Fe finally feeling like I was a photographer. Starting a photography business was a pretty bold move for me, without having had any formal training in it. I sometimes had a hard time believing I could ever be a legitimate photographer.

Studying with Elizabeth for a week changed my mind in so many ways. She would talk to us every day about the feelings behind what we were capturing in our cameras. I began to realize that all this time I had been capturing feelings in a box, grabbing moments that resonated with my spirit and sharing them with people. It is a gift to be able to share my perspective with the world.  The way that life has impacted me has given me a unique view and interaction with the world around me, and this reflects in every image I make.  In so many ways, the photographs we take are all self portraits. I never understood this until that week.

I watched Elizabeth working from her heart without questioning the technical aspects. She said it was important to know the technical stuff, so that you can forget about it and get to your art. I got the sense of encouragement I needed to feel like I was doing just fine. I’m finally comfortable in my own skin.

On the third day of our workshop, we photographed nude models and I was pretty apprehensive about it before we began. I wondered if I would be able to direct the models, wondered if I would freeze up, or giggle, or just take horrible images. But when we got to the location and Elizabeth prepped us a bit more, I began to trust myself. After the first 5 minutes with our first model, it was smooth sailing for me!

Learning from Elizabeth, I tried to create images that were dream-like, surreal, and beautiful. I believe I was able to capture what I was looking for in the following two photos. I wish I had more to share, but I haven’t received word back from some of the other models. So out of respect, I won’t be showing their photos here. Thank you Tara for letting me share these with my readers! Tara is a lovely model and actress living in Santa Fe. I’ll let you look at the images to get an idea of how gorgeous she is.

A word of caution: If you are offended or uncomfortable with nudity, then please skip this blog entry and do not scroll down below.

********************UPDATE: New photos posted after receiving permission*****************

To view my personal slideshow from this trip click here.

If the world were to end tomorrow, what would you want to remember about life? This was one of the questions I was confronted with last week as we were about to embark on our final assignment. It felt almost impossible to try to sum it up with just a few photos. My mind was spinning as I gazed across the classroom at everyone. I was almost frightened as I thought of how deep I would need to dig into myself to get what I needed. At the end, I ended up with a handful of emotions I wanted to represent. But before I even fully processed what we were being assigned to do, scared that I would somehow fail, I looked over at the smiling and friendly face of Carole, the woman I sat next to through most of the workshop. Suddenly I knew what I needed to do. While there are several feelings I’d want to remember, one stands out so clearly to me: what it feels like to be in love.

Over time, we age and evolve. We change. But what remains when all is said and done?  It is that current that runs between two people; that epic love story that makes the impossible, for a fleeting moment, feel possible. I want to remember that feeling forever.

Throughout my week in Santa Fe, I had the pleasure of spending time with Carole. Her husband, Les, had come to Santa Fe with her and was busy writing his book while our class was out shooting. Every day, at lunch time, I would watch the two of them meet and set off together, hand in hand. They still said “I love you” every single day. For the final assignment, I asked Carole if she’d do me the honor of allowing me to photograph the two of them. She was so touched by my asking I watched her wipe away a few tears. We set off to pick up her husband and found a spot that was perfect.

As I photographed them in a beautiful field next to the school, I posed them for a few shots, then took a step back and asked them if they had a song. Carole looked at Les, with a dreamy look on her face as she envisioned their wedding day. She began singing “Strangers in the Night” to him and then they danced. I was fighting back tears.

As Les twirled Carole toward him and the wind blew in her hair, I was reminded of that epic love story. It was my very definition of a successful life; everything I could ever hope to achieve in my own time. And I was more grateful than ever before that I have found someone to share my heart with forever.

Thank you Les and Carole, your example of love was truly a gift to me.

A couple of the lovely ladies working at Santa Fe Photographic Workshops were kind enough to model for our class. Here are a few photos of Molly and Katie.

The great thing about Elizabeth’s class was that we had a small group of people – just 7of us total – working with 3 different models on any given day. Our groups were pretty autonomous, each of us getting a turn to direct the models. Elizabeth stepped in when she saw the light we couldn’t see and helped us create images that were much more powerful than they would have been without her help.

The first 3 photos below are Molly, followed by 2 of Katie. Thank you ladies!

Today was another day for breaking through boundaries. We photographed nude models today, and while I can’t share those on my blog I just thought I would say a few words about it. I had never done a shoot like this so at first I thought it would be awkward for me to handle. I thought I might freeze up or not know what to do or say! But you know what? It was not as big a deal as I thought it would be; it felt like any other shoot because our models were so comfortable in their own skin. The human figure is so expressive and seeing it bare just amplifies the feeling that can be conveyed. It was a great experience!

Here are a few more photos of the fabulous model Rulan from yesterday:

Wise words from the amazing Elizabeth Opalenik. In the very short time I have been here in Santa Fe, I have learned far more about myself than I had ever believed possible. Elizabeth has guided me to a place where I am starting to understand who I am. I am just beginning to trust myself. I was brought to tears today, acknowledging some things I didn’t realize I had going on. It is hard to explain the things that I’ve felt and experienced because there are no words, just feelings. Today I’ll share just three of the many images I created. It’s late and I’m emotionally spent, but I do want to share!

This first one is a very talented dancer named Michelle… I got that WOW moment the when I first saw the image on my screen!

The next few are images of Rulan, who as you can see is a natural beauty, with a grace and flair that’s all her own…

It was my sister’s birthday today (Well - I guess officially it was yesterday, but I am a night owl!) so in honor of that I wanted to share a few pictures. Ok, ok – they are not pictures of my sister. They are of Valentina. But hey, that’s close enough right? She’s a miniature Charmaine! Happy Birthday Char! Hope your day was at least half as fabulous as you are!

We were at Old Orchard mall and Lance decided to take Valentina for a ride on the kiddie train. Truth be told, I think Valentina was his excuse! Who’s more excited here?

“It’s ok Dad, I won’t tell anyone…”

Till next time!

It’s hard to believe how fast Valentina’s growing up. She’s already 14 months! I wish she could stay this size forever.

I’ve been a prolific blogger in the past day and a half… Last one for the weekend (I think!) Here are some photos from Valentina’s birthday.

Some of the details:

Here’s the little bubs:

This is how we roll at Filipino parties… Yum!

The kiddos (yes, this includes Justin and RJ) getting their bocce ball game on…

A few of us in the office have been taking quick lunch breaks and getting outside to shoot for about 20 minutes… We’re lucky to have the playground of downtown Chicago. And even luckier this Friday that the sky was just PERFECT! This week’s challenge was architecture. Here are a couple of my favs…

I’m buried right now… a million things to get done and I don’t know where to start. Two papers to get done this week, photos to process, and trying to squeeze in some ‘me’ time too. I’m using Memorial Day to play catch up, so by this time tomorrow, I am hoping to have tackled a big portion of my to-do list.

As part of my ‘me’ time – how about I share some cute personal pics? (I knew that’s what you were hoping for!) I have the cutest nephews in the world, I’m sure of it! Every time I think of them, I get a big cheesy smile on my face… And so should you!