portlandia

Before I get started with my travel blogs out of the country I have a few pics from a couple extraordinary days back in Portland.  Kacie and I took a walk around the waterfront with the pups on a sunny day. The first few pics are a little photo montage of the course I trained on for the Marathon, Portland's lovely esplanade<3  The next are from (another) sunny day in PDX with (some) old and (some) new friends.  Of course a couple photoshoots went down mid pub-hopping ;)

Hawthorne Bridge

my FAVORITE spring wardrobe dress

to all my family & friends...I will miss you over the next few weeks.  Keep evolving and growing as you do. I already anticipate magical things for you and I as the summer comes on.  I LOVE YOU and will be sending you good vibrations everytime I think of you.  When I pop in your head don't take it lightly, it means we are thinking of each other on the same wavelength, so practice love and thinki of the light and it will boost both our energies and connection ot one another.  Until we meet again...Namaste<3

Photog Class at the Zoo

All great masters are chiefly distinguished by the power of adding a second, a third, and perhaps a fourth step in a continuous line. Many a man had taken the first step. With every additional step you enhance immensely the value of your first.

~Ralph Waldo Emerson

My interest in photography was really only sparked a few years ago on my first international travel adventures. I had a little point and shoot and by the end of the trip I was noticing an improvement in my pictures and was having a lot of fun doing it.  A quick side note: Photography ended up being an answer to a request I had made that the Universe send me another creative outlet.  I was not getting much relief from writing or making jewelry at the time, and in response, photography and watercolors were put in my path to re-invigorate my creativity! 

So after returning from my travels I went out and got a Canon T1I with one of my first paychecks.  I finally had a big girl camera!  Getting to know the camera has been a work in progress and I did end up recently graduating myself to a Canon 60D body-style, which I used for the first time on "safari" to the Portland Zoo with a photography class I took recently.  I took the class as part of my pursuit to learn how to shoot in Manual and get better at taking winning shots the FIRST time!  (The class was called Capturing True Emotions, which I was immediately sold on ;)  And I will admit that I actually really enjoy editing my pictures cause it gives me a chance to play around and get a feel for the different feelings I can create with a different effect. The end goal would obviously be to create those same feelings and effects and taking vibrant pictures with the shot itself minus having to edit so much.  So here are some of the raw photos (I marked which ones I edited).  I was pretty pleased with the class though and thought the color quality definitely improved with the tips and tricks I learned in the class.   

edit: cross-process (lo) effect

edit: color enhanced

edit: cross-process (med) effect

edit: color enhanced

edit: color enhanced

edit: color enhanced

edit: color enhanced

aaahhhhhhhh coachella!

Another day was upon us.... Haly'a, 'Anya, and 'Aha went galavanting once again into the Magical Desert Wonderland.  Pool parties, new friends, outrageous fashion, and yummy festival food were the perfect compliments to the music-filled atmosphere.  We laughed, and danced, and followed our hearts into that feeling of freedom that one can only perceive when letting go of all life's distractions and allowing yourself to be absolutely present.

 

 

 

 

As nightime approached Moon was calling Haly'a.  Sad times were upon us as we had to part but 'Anya and 'Aha were comforted with the wise words of one of our most honorable spiritual and mental geniuses, Mr. Einstein:  "I like to think that the Moon is always there even if I'm not looking at it".  With these re-assuring words they were able to let Haly'a disappear into the desert night.

Sun and Water carried on the best they knew how, putting one foot in front of the other, our hearts with Haly'a every step of the way

 

 'Aha and 'Anya take time to consciously realize all the beauty and magic they are bathing in

and as the Powers would have it, just a short time passed before a new desert  tribe was formed.   I introduce you now to the free-spirited cast of Tribe Ferland....

 

 

 

 

Maya Angelo once said "If one is lucky, a solitary fantasy can totally transform one million realities."  This is a great recipe for life.   With a little 'ol fashion elbow-grease and follow-through on your imaginations greatest ventures, ordinary experiences become an absolute adventure.  This recipe not only allows you to dream as BIG as you want but gives us all the gift of being awe-inspired and often times gives us the gift of experiencing what pure gratitude feels like.  For myself, it's all about the adventure into the unknown.  With a positive attitude and few to no expectations the outcome will be grand.  You will strengthen relationships, and creat new ones. You will find yourself allowing your spirit to fly to new heights. New memories and nostalgia will be created.  Once that fantasy is lived out and you look back and realize the amount of incredible realities that came of that one single objective, your life will never be the same. 

.....Until next year, Coachella <3