Unfortunately for me, this past Labor Day weekend was not spent drinking yummy umbrella drinks by the pool with the sweet smell of BBQ mesquite in the air. Instead, I spent the holiday weekend cleaning. <insert Mr. Clean’s shiny bald head and sparkling smile here>.

Amid the slew of dust, 300+ pairs of shoes (no really, I have that many shoes!!!) and 1,230,560 pieces of paper, old receipts and things I stared at for about five minutes in utter silence, wondering why the heck I bought it in the first place … I noticed I have stockpiled a serious amount of photography stuff. A LOT of photography stuff.

It’s then I realized just how much photography has consumed my life since I first picked up a camera earlier this year. It’s crazy how a mere trip to Costco to check out the SLRs has suddenly evolved into a massive pile of stuff that’s made its home in the corner of our bonus room. That got me looking over my images from the first couple times I went out and tried to shoot. Blindly, might I add, meaning I had no clue what the heck I was doing and spent most of my time fumbling around with my buttons.

My favorite model posing for me back in February ~ SOOC (straight out of camera, no editing done)

I then spent about an hour dissecting my images on my hard drive and in my earlier blogs. Each time shuddering at the awful exposure, angry with my horrible white balance and embarrassed by my despicable focusing. I laughed, I cried, and I realized I’ve come a long way. And after comparing those photographs to the images I’m currently working on today, I felt kind of proud of me. So I gave myself a little pat on the back — little because I still have so much to learn and improve on — and then I finally did it …

I became a fan of my own Facebook photography business page.

I know it sounds totally lame. But for as long as I’ve had my business page up, I couldn’t get myself to hit that darn “like” button. But today, I kinda liked me. Not because I’ve all of sudden become some award-winning photographer and think I’m the $hizzy, but simply because I’ve gotten better. And in my eyes, life is sorta like one big long test that allows you to evolve, change, develop and get better. Be it spiritually, emotionally, mentally or physically, I always want to improve or change for the best, and essentially get better. (Although by the look of my thighs and stomach, I have clearly been ignoring the physical aspect of “getting better” — but that’s a post for another day *blech*)

I sssooooo love that my Macbook let's me grab screenshots like this one!!!

So I guess at the end of this long three day weekend, what I’ve come to realize is to … expect the unexpected. And when it comes along, hold on, enjoy the ride and don’t underestimate yourself. Because what may at first seem hazy, a bit yellow and blurry one day, could someday turn into something absolutely clear, wonderful and beautiful.

My favorite model posing for me in July with minor edits to the teenage skin texture (because if I didn't do it, the teenage demon would appear and yell at me, LOL)

And lastly, here’s further proof that one should always be ready for life’s many surprises …

I found these words of wisdom in my fortune cookie today and it’s seriously, the best fortune I’ve ever had! 😀 And don’t worry, I promise to have my camera fired up and ready to capture my new E.T. friend in action so I can subsequently share my images on Oprah, The Today Show, 20/20, Conan (cuz Jay Leno sucks), Dateline and 60 Minutes cuz yanno I’m gonna make my rounds with these shots!!!!! *holla*