LIZ PERRYMAN photography

There is something so wonderful about lifestyle photography. I mean true, everyday life captured. The time I spent with this family was joyous & real. We had our laughs, that's for sure (I completely fell off the sofa w/ legs sprawled in the air & everything - imagine a very clumsy fan kick onto the floor. It was hilarious & really awkward at the same time). It was such a treat to see into the personalities & hearts of these beautiful children. I have such a soft spot for them & the life & love that they radiate.

Their oldest son has a congenital heart defect & has had multiple open-heart surgeries since the day he was born.

He is a fighter. He is a survivor. He is a miracle.

This is what I want to capture - those everyday fleeting moments that disappear all too soon. These moments are what make life truly beautiful. "The days are long, but the years are short." This is something that goes through my mind often when I see my own children, & I'm grateful that I've been able to freeze some of those precious moments for this family.

AMBIGUITY

& for 10 minutes - GO.

I've had a hard time figuring out how to interpret "ambiguous" into photography. What does it mean exactly? Unclear? Unsure of intent? Not typical? Whatever the true photographic definition is, I'm pleased with the way it has stretched me this week.

It's our first week of our 26 ABC project, & I cannot WAIT for all the things I get to try along the way. We choose whatever word we want to go along with the week's letter of the alphabet & just go for it. I'm a total nerd & love my lists, so I went through the back of a bunch of my photography book indexes & wrote down terms that came up. I hope to spend this year stretching & experimenting through this project, & I am thrilled for the opportunity!

I often go back & forth on whether or not photography (or anything I attempt to do) is something I can possibly excel at. I know I'm not alone in this. We all have our moments of self-doubt, of comparing to others, wondering if we're doing things "right." For some reason, this week I've been worrying myself about this more than normal. But then I realized that I have something to say with my work. Whether others understand it or not shouldn't matter because I LOVE the beauty in creating. Is my work typical? Maybe, maybe not. I like to think that it's honest, even if it is a tad obscure at times. I often have the quote come back to me, "Comparison is the thief of joy." We are ALL blessed with innate abilities & gifts - perhaps that innate ability is to push yourself to continue trying until you become something you never thought you could be. Whatever that thing is, that gift that's deep down inside of you, PLEASE don't shun it before you've given battle to it first. And I mean a true & honest battle. Keep pushing & trying if it's something you are passionate about. If you have something to share or say, don't let those self-deprecating voices in your mind & the taunting from the outside cause you to cover the light you have to share. Even if it's something that you can't get others to see eye to eye with you on, it's still something that will allow you to grow & progress until you are overflowing with joy & purpose.

STOP.