Hello again! TGIF am I right?
So, for those three months in which I was totally absent from The Jones, I was still getting outside, taking photos, and trying my best to make my days full, I just wasn't showing it here. So now I get to play catch up, which is great cause I haven't done any cardio yet today!
This is the collection of photos I have taken in the past three months that I have had yet to show you!! Hope you enjoy, and if you do, feel free to like this post, comment on it, share it, memorize it, whatever feels natural for you.
This series of photos were taken late July during what social media was calling the #SandfireSky. Basically, there was a raging wildfire burning in Santa Clarita (a town in the valley outside LA) causing smoke and ash to drift into the air covering most of Los Angeles. While concerning and dangerous, it made the sky BEAUTIFUL. The sun was literally bright red! These photos are enhanced ever so slightly but the colors are not exaggerated. This is really what Los Angeles looked like that day!
Naturally, I had to ninja my way to the rooftop of my apartment building, snapping photos for over an hour at least. Of course, the universe had its way of letting me know to get the f*** off the roof by having me fall through a skylight, camera in hand. I had lots of scrapes and bruises to prove the tale, but the most heartbreaking wound of all was the wound to Sonya (if you forgot, Sonya is my camera's name, cause I do that sort of thing). Sonya's lens was completely bent, because I refused to let go of it, and it ended up breaking my fall.
It was worth it for these photos, though. But just an FYI, the rest of the photos in this post are all taken either on my iPhone or with my zoom lens, which has been difficult to manage, but it's forced me to get outside my photography comfort zone and I'm really excited about the strides I've been taking!
Rachel and I went on a hike. And when you go on a hike with Rachel, you agree to get very lost, and very dirty. I love having her as a friend, because it's always an adventure.
August was an incredibly tough month for me. It was filled to the brim with obstacles and obligations. I completely overbooked myself and I had started to lead a panicked, high strung, secluded every day life. Needless to say, my psyche was taking a real hit. One day, I irresponsibly (or so I thought) took myself to the beach and sat there for about an hour in between obligations, and it's crazy how healing something so simple can be.
Simply taking the hour in between appointments to do something for myself, to have quality Sami time that I hadn't gifted myself in weeks, put a calm back in my soul that I hadn't seen since I was back home in Jersey. Of course, as soon as I got off the beach, that calm quickly subsided as I rushed to get to work, but it was such a healthy reminder.
No matter how much you have on your plate, no matter how many challenges you are facing or tasks you've committed to, there is ALWAYS room to take a little time for yourself, and that is more important than all the time we spend doing everything else.
If you ever get to a point where you feel you've spread yourself so thin that you can't do the simplest thing like taking an hour to sit on the beach, or go to a coffee shop, or listen to your favorite album all the way through, or meditate, or any of the things that you do to stay sane, then you are not doing what's best for you, even if you think you are.
Salt water heals all the boo boos.
OK CAN WE TALK ABOUT SOMETHING FOR A SECOND?!
If you know me well, you know about my weird, obsession-level love for deer. I LOVE DEER. I've loved deer since I was a child, but the weird level at which I admire them started about five or six years ago. I don't know why, but every time it would storm or even just rain outside, I'd start thinking about how the deer were outside with no place to go and were they ok?/did they know what to do in storm conditions?/what if they are hit with lightning?/ARE ALL THE BABY DEER WITH THEIR MOMMA DEER? Ya know, rational not insane thoughts like that.
Anywho, I went on a hike with my friend Colin, and about two minutes into it, we came across a family of three deer and it felt like my whole life had led up to that moment. It was everything I thought it would be. They are the most beautiful, gentle, fascinating, curious creatures, and I was about ready to abandon my life as a human and join them, living the rest of my days as a deer, sort of like a Tarzan situation. Colin advised against that, so we parted ways and went on with our hike, but I have these gorgeous photos of us totally vibing and connecting to cherish forever.
Jen is a wonderful friend of mine. We've known each other since we studied abroad together in London, but certain circumstances kept us from ever getting the chance to really know each other. It wasn't until 4 years later when I was sitting hungover with my best friend at a restaurant the morning of my 24th birthday and I heard a familiar voice say, "Sami?" and I turned around to see her waiting tables, that we finally got the chance to connect. In the last year Jen has become part of my family out here. She and I share so many similarities in the way we were raised and the backgrounds we come from, and she's become a little slice of home for me out here. She's my support system, my own personal stand up comedian, my cheerleader, and my partner in crime. We try to make the most of our every day and she's always more than down to have me practice photographing her and for that I'm very grateful.
That's just me doin my thang.
Friendship with Jennifer DiBella: A Three Part Photo Series
We took another adventure and ended up on a hiking trail and at a historic mansion where we could have gotten fined for taking photographs. We rebellious. Photographing her is so easy, and it's really been a learning lesson for me. Every shoot we have, the more confident I become in my ability to photograph people, the more it makes me want to do it more often, and with other people. If you're reading this and would want to do a fun shoot with me, leave a comment below!!!
Well folks, that's about all I've got for you this time on The Jones! Life is still hard, money is still tight, but my camera came in today, and my best friends are home with me for the time being, so there's a silver lining! I'm gonna log out of here now and go soak up the Los Angeles October sunshine that we are so lucky to get out here, and until next time, HAVE A GOOD LIFE!
xoxo