Well. That was longer than anticipated!

That time I disappeared for two months!

Hello! Happy September friend! I’ll be honest, I didn’t expect to be away from this wonderful space for as long as I was. Something weird happened in June, I lost my artistic compass. I felt adrift and every time I picked up a camera I put it down. When I logged onto this platform or my film IG, I quickly felt this sense of panic, and I closed the browser. I didn’t want to see others thriving and posting their amazing content, if I did it caused a bit of a panic attack for me.

So, I stopped. I gave myself permission to just stop, be still and not create. I spent a lottttt of time reading and scrolling TikTok. Not proud of that 2nd habit there, but I was all my brain could handle for a bit! My obsession became makeup tutorials, travel content and watching angry, white, menopausal “Karens” get arrested for abhorrent behavior! LOL 😆

I’m not sure why creative slumps happen, it’s not the first time I’ve experienced this, and it won’t be the last…I’m sure. But it taught me to be patient. To not push the process and to not beat myself up. I know I can create good images, I’m confident in my abilities. But something in my head just couldn’t connect the dots for a bit and that’s okay:)

Besides reading and TikTok-ing…I spent a lot of time thinking about the future and my career. I love my job and the people I work with, but things have become stagnant and my opportunities for advancement within my company have changed, dramatically. So, after 10 years with my current health system, I am leaving at the end of this month and I’m going to work for another health system in our area. I’m both excited and sad at the same time. It’s very complicated! However, at the end of the day…as the President of my current hospital said to me last week;

“As long as you are not running away from something but instead, towards something…then it’s the right move and you should embrace it!”

The images in this post are the only ones that I’ve made that are something other than a quick phone snap. We shoot at this location a lot, it always gives me beautiful results! And this time, it’s with a new (to me!) camera! I wanted something similar in size to the Fujifilm X100VI that I rented last spring, but not that price point and honestly, not that camera. It just wasn’t for me. I found a wonderful deal on a Canon EOS M6 Markii on eBay and waited patiently as it shipped from Japan, checking the tracking on a daily basis! It’s in mint condition and I’m lovingggggg it! I haven’t abandoned film, I would never! But I wanted a digital option for travel that is less cumbersome so that I can bring it, along with one or two film cameras!!! I anticipate we will make some beautiful pictures together and I’m really excited to take it in our BIG trip next month! (More on that another day;)

I do hope you have been well! I’ve popped in here a lot more lately and I’m trying to catch up on everyone’s essays, but not to the point of being overwhelmed. I’m taking my time to reintroduce myself to this space and to really make pictures that speak to me. I thank you for sticking around the past 2 months while I figured things out! 🥰

Till next time friend, take care!

Jenn xoxo

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