Kansas City

Ah finally I have an afternoon to work on some pictures and write a blog post. Life has been CRAZY lately.

I went to Kansas City in March to visit my dear friend Gina and her family. Gina and I met through work an became friends very quickly. She lives in Kansas City and I live up in Canada so hanging out together is tough (and expensive), but we seem to make it work.

She had her first baby in December and he is the sweetest little thing. I was so excited to fly out there in March and meet little Milo.

We spent 4 days hanging out, shopping, and playing with the baby. It was Perfect!

Here are a few pictures that I snapped.

Trust Your Struggle

Just when I think I have things figured out, change comes sneaking in.
Slowly. Quietly.
Budgets get tighter. Time feels like it's vanishing.

It's hard to see past this defeat and EMBRACE the change.
Find the beauty that is hidden beneath the jagged edges.

Change is Hard. Scary. Frustrating.
If you allow it to be.

I have allowed this.
Until Now.

Life is full of change. And I am okay with that.
It allows me to grow.

Change is Beautiful. Rewarding. Hopeful.
If you allow it to be.

I am ready to Embrace the changes coming my way.
I will make it through them.
I will allow them to make me Better. Stronger. Happier.

Trust Your Struggle 
(These three words are all I need)

Music Monday

Took some time off this weekend from school and the internet to spend time with my husband. Shopping, cleaning and hanging out. Just what I needed!

I don't remember how I came across this song, but I fell in love with it instantly.

Watch.Listen.Enjoy!

The Shine Project

I found Ashley's blog awhile ago and I love it! She is such an amazing and beautiful soul.

I am always inspired to be better and do better after reading her posts.

Please take a few minutes to watch their video and check out her blog!

Ashley also makes some gorgeous jewelry and t-shirts, check out her shop here.

Music Monday

Music is a huge part of my life. I would not dare get into my vehicle without a working radio, iPod or mixed CD. I need music around me. Period. It's how I roll people.

MUSIC MAKES ME STRONGER.

So..I have decided to start Music Mondays where I can share with you all what I am listening to.

Here is one of my favorites:: Gavin DeGraw - Soldier

Enjoy!

Travels

This past January the hubs and I headed down to Cancun for some relaxing. There is nothing like the hot sun and sitting by the ocean. LOVE.

Here are a the highlights (warning image heavy).



View from our room.









Good times on the beach. I really need to buy a house by the beach. I could sit and listen to the waves with my feet in the sand every day.







Fancy dinner out. The food was AMAZING!





I loved our trip to the Coba Ruins. This was the last year that they will allow you to climb on the ruins, so we had to climb to the top. The climb was tough but the view was so worth it. Experience of a lifetime.









We went to visit a Mayan village and it was one of my favorite parts of the whole trip. The people were so welcoming and the kids were so cute.

We went down to this cave and watched the Medicine Man do a ceremonial prayer. The kids sang and played instruments. It was breathtaking and amazing. I have never seen anything like that before. Once the ceremony was done we were able to go down into the cave.



Next on the journey was a swim in a Cenote. That was the most refreshing water I have every swam in. The caves were dark and full of swooping bats (not as scary as it sounds).



Our resort was BEAUTIFUL. We spent our evenings sitting in the courtyard sipping on drinks and watching the live entertainment. Fire dancers, live music, flaminco dancing, and much more. So much culture and good times with friends.





Me and the husband looking all fancy like.

Now I'm off to plan our next trip......I'm think Jamaica.

Sneak Peek..

Here is a sneak peak from my trip to Kansas City. I flew out there for a few days to meet this handsome little man and visit with his amazing momma!

I had such a great time and need to get back there soon!

Bully.

I stumbled upon this video and I haven't stopped thinking about it for days. Bullying makes me so upset and angry and ashamed of our nation. Not one single child should ever be a victim of bullying.

I am not a mom yet, but I will be one day. I hope that I will never have to deal with my child being bullied. I will teach them to ALWAYS stand up for anyone that is getting bullied. They will also be taught from a very young age that any act of bullying on their part will come with severe punishment that will last until they are 30.

We need to educate our children. Give them the tools and knowledge to put an end to bullying. Show them how to set an example by befriending a bullied child. It is totally unacceptable that children are taking their own lives because they have no where to turn and no one looking out for them.

Let's make a change.

Missing Mexico

Even though the weather has been pretty awesome around these parts (way above normal), I am totally missing the mexico sun and beach. I definitely need to find a job that I can do remotely from the beach.

Here is a little sneak peek from our last trip there. I am still working on editing all the pictures (just need to find an extra 4 hours in each day!).

New Look

I am sure you have noticed the new look around here. I got a new blog design from Blog Milk and I LOVE it! Leave a comment and let me know what you think!

It is clean and simple but stylish. More than I could ask for.

The lovely Lena over at Blog Milk was wonderful to work with and helped me with customization. Thanks Lena!!

If you are looking to update your blog design head on over HERE and check out their awesome designs!



Cheers.

Leaving on a Jet Plane

I am off to visit a dear friend and snuggle her new little boy.

So.Friggin.Excited.

I will be back to regular postings next week, but until then here is another song I am lovin' right now. Enjoy!

On Repeat

Since it is already Sunday and I am off to see my momma I will leave you with this little ditty. Its been on repeat all week.

Enjoy!

KONY 2012

I am completely speechless.

Most of you have probably seen or heard about this video by now. It has gone completely viral on facebook, twitter and youtube.

I just spent the last 30 minutes watching it with tears streaming down my face. WOW! What an eye opener. I really don't even know how to write exactly what I am feeling. My heart hurts, I am angry that this is happening in our world, I feel helpless, I want to scream, I feel ashamed that I am only just now learning about this.

We need to come together an fight for these children. To give them a voice. I am just one person, but I am hoping by sharing this video, I am able to spread the word.

Please take some time out of your day to watch this video and share it.



Together we can make a difference!

Project Life

This project is a way for me to get myself to pick up my camera more. To shoot the random things in my every day life. My goal is to take 5 pictures a week.

I am trying to be less concerned with capturing the "perfect" picture and more with capturing memories.












1. An outtake from this weeks Self Portrait Saturday project. (Jeans: Bluenotes Shirt: American Eagle)

2. Oscar sitting in the window catching some rays. He has more personality and spunk than he knows what to do with.

3. Breakfast Cookie. All I can say about it is AMAZING. Found the recipe on Gina's blog.

4. I don't know if it is because I am getting older (closing in on the big 3-0!) or just being crazy busy, but my memory just isn't what it used to be. This life planner is my saving grace. Buy one HERE.

5. This is Cyrus, but we call him Beast most of the time. He is a 130lb mastiff who sheds all over my house and torments the cat, but is so cute you can't help but love him.

Self Portrait Saturday

Time for another round of self portrait Saturday. This week I wanted to take advantage of the awesome sunlight pouring in the upstairs window.

I wanted to keep these pictures simply and clean.











Check out Dana's blog to find out more about the project and to see other self portraits.

March Goals

Its March, how the hell did that happen? I am not ready for a new month, not yet.

I have an exam to write in 9 days and I am nervous. I just can’t seem to get focused and study.

My poor camera has been neglected for far too long. I get all kinds of great ideas and inspiration but never follow through with them. I read tons of blogs and see their daily lives documented through photos and I want that. I want those memories of simple every day things. Then I think, is my life interesting enough for that? Can I forget about perfect lighting and composition and just take pictures?

Health and body image. This is the area of my life that I feel the most “unbalanced”. Like many woman out there I have always struggled with my body image and self esteem. I have been WAY too hard on myself and spent WAY too many hours obsessing over it. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. I have long given up on an “ideal size” or an “ideal weight” and instead focused on being HEALTHY & STRONG. Loving who I am. This is not easy but it is ESSENTIAL. This website is a gold mine for motivation. No more excuses!

It is very easy to point out all the things that need changing, but not so easy to change them. Here are my MARCH goals:

1. Spend minimum 1 hour a day studying.
2. Take 5 pictures a week that document pieces of my life.
3. Commit to working out 6 days a week.
4. Do not get on the scale for the entire month.
5. Limit the amount of junk that goes in my gob.
6. Finish reading “The White Tiger”


Ok March, let’s do this!

Don Amero | Talent

Don Amero is a singe songwriter from Winnipeg, Manitoba and is unbelievably talented. I can listen to him sing for hours.

My mom turned 60 this past fall and we threw her a huge surprise party. To make it extra special for her, we hired Don to come and play a private concert at the party.

IT.WAS.AMAZING.

Watch the video below, I promise you will thank me :)

Decision

After writing THIS POST, I did a lot more research on the subject and have made the decision to delete my pinboards.

Before you think that I am being harsh read THIS and THIS and THIS and THIS and THIS and THIS

Here is a piece of Pinterest's TERMS OF USE:

“…you either are the sole and exclusive owner of all Member Content that you make available through the Site, Application and Services or you have all rights, licenses, consents and releases that are necessary to grant to Cold Brew Labs the rights in such Member Content, as contemplated under these Terms…”

I don't know about you, but I definitely did not have the rights to about 95% of the things that I had pinned. I do love the idea of Pinterest, but I do not love the liability that it comes with. Being sued for pinning something is not my idea of fun.

Unfortunately the issue isn't even ensuring that you are linking to the original source or that you have permission to pin something. Another part of Pinterest's Terms of Use states:

"By making available any Member Content through the Site, Application or Services, you hereby grant to Cold Brew Labs a worldwide, irrevocable, perpetual, non-exclusive, transferable, royalty-free license, with the right to sublicense, to use, copy, adapt, *modify, distribute, license, sell, transfer, publicly display, publicly perform, transmit, stream, broadcast, access, view, and otherwise EXPLOIT such Member Content only on, through or by means of the Site, Application or Services."

WHAT THE WHAT?!?

This is NOT ok. I do not want to give Pinterest the rights to my photographs or anyone else's intellectual property.

So until there are some major changes to the site I will opt out of "pinning".

You ask, I tell

Here are a few of the questions I have been asked over the last little while.

If you could live anywhere, where would it be?
This one is easy, by the ocean. I could sit out on the beach and watch the waves for hours. Right now I live smack in the middle of Canada where it is winter for about 7 months a year, no joke. I am always looking for opportunities that will allow me to move to the coast.

What do you do for a living?
I am a full time accountant at a hog processing plant (glamorous I know!). On top of that I run a photography business and am in school to get my accounting designation.

Are you married?
I am indeed married and have been for the last almost nine years. The hubs and I started dating when I was 14 and he was 16. We moved in together when I was 15 (CRAZY!) and he was almost 17. We were crazy teenagers and though we had the whole world figured out. We got married when I was 19 and a half and he was 21. It hasn’t always been rainbows and unicorns, but we have made a pretty sweet life together.

Do you photograph destination weddings?
Yes I am available for travel anywhere in the world. Contact me at erin@erinfayephotography.com for details!

If you could travel anywhere in the world where would it be and why?
Oh man, this is a tough one. There are so many places that I want to travel and explore. I think top on the list would be Iceland. My mom’s side of the family is Icelandic and I want to go and explore the land and the culture.

Other places on my must go to list are:
• Thailand
• Greece
• Italy
• Jamaica
• New York
• Portland, OR
• California (Joshua Tree National Park)
• Australia
• Alaska

What do you do in your spare time?
Hmm well spare time is a bit of a luxury in my life right now (read: there is none). I work Monday to Friday at my day job, then spend my evenings and weekends studying for whichever course I am taking at the time. Photo shoots are mixed in there along with editing. If I happen to get some time off from all of that, I usually get lost in a good book or watch a movie.

What is one thing you would change about yourself?
I am the worst at keeping in contact with people. I absolutely HATE the phone and avoid it at all costs. I tend to lose contact with people and then I just don’t know how to reconnect. I definitely need to change this!

I would also change my inability to follow through on my ideas. I get all kinds of ideas for photo shoots or projects and that’s where they says, as ideas. I just never seem to be able to put them in motion. Life gets too busy and crazy and I put these ideas on hold indefinitely. One of my goals for 2012 is to start and finish at least 3 projects.

And because I am on a role here, I also want to start taking more pictures. I need to get it out of my head that every picture needs to be perfectly composed and have the perfect light. I need to be okay with snapshots. I am missing out on so many pictures and memories because I can’t seem to get past this.

What is your favorite quote/saying?
This isn’t necessarily my favorite, but it is one that I am drawn to right now. This saying just speaks to me. It keeps me focused and forces me to push through no matter what is going on in my life.

“Trust Your Struggle”


Now you know a little bit more about me. Let me know if there are any other questions you want me to answer.

Cheers!

Link With Love

This is a huge issue that many people have been weighing in on over the last few months. LINK WITH LOVE is a huge movement started by Kal Barteski, who is an extremely talented artist from Winnipeg, Manitoba.

As a photographer I am constantly worried about putting my images out there in internet land. Not only do I want to protect my images from being “stolen” and used without my permission, but I also want to protect my beautiful clients who are in those pictures. The flip side of that is the internet is a huge asset for networking and promoting. Like most things, you can’t have it both ways.

Now enter Pinterest. I have loved Pinterest from the day I stumbled across it. The pretty pictures, awesome ideas, and inspiration overload totally sucked me in. I just couldn’t get enough. I have even pinned images of my own from this here blog.

As great and wonderful as it is there has a very big BAD side. There are far too many (read THOUSANDS) of pins that are unlinked or uncredited. This is a PROBLEM which is getting worse by the day. Change is needed. I am hoping by posting this here I am able to teach at least one person.

Now don’t get me wrong, I am not an innocent by-stander in this. I am just as guilty as the next person. I was stocked and embarrassed at how many pins I had that were not linked to the original source. Even more shocked at how many were linked to Tumblr, Google Image Search, We Heart It, etc. These sites are HORRIBLE. They are a dead end and give no credit to the owner of the images.

I am currently in the process of going through EVERY.SINGLE.ONE of my pin boards and removing ANYTHING that is not crediting the original source, no matter how much I love the image. Doing the RIGHT thing is more important!

For more information on the do’s and do not’s check out THIS post from Kal.

This is definitely a fight worth fighting.

Self Portrait Saturday

I saw this great idea over at Wonder Forest and decided to join in.

As a photographer I would much rather take the pictures than be in them. However taking self portraits is a awesome way to try out poses, lighting, angles and outfits.

Here is what I came up with today:








Click on the link below to participate or to check out the other beautiful sunday self portraits.




Thanks Dana for the inspiration!

Motivation!

I am finally back on track and ready to get this old body of mine into tip top shape! Weight and body image has been a reoccurring theme my whole life. Low self-esteem, low confidence and a whole lot of negativity.

Now I don't want to sit here and blame the magazines or movies or fashion scene for their unrealistic image of how woman should look, although that doesn't help. I am in-charge of my own life and my own body. It is up to me to put the right things in my pie hole and to get off the couch and move my ass.

I don't believe in diets. They don't work. Period.

What I do believe in is lifestyle changes. Learning what your body needs and what it doesn't. Finding the right balance between nutrition, exercise and sleep. And trust me this is not easy and I am still trying to figure it out.

Spring of 2011 was a big eye opener for me. I was worn out, unhappy and hating my body. And to make matters worse I realized the big 3-0 is too close for comfort. I needed to make a change and I needed to make it fast!

I don't have a magic number that I want to see on the scale. I don't have a certain jean size that I want to get to. I want to be healthy. I want to have energy. I want my body to be strong.

And that is where BodyRock comes in.

I started off incorporating these workouts into my regular fitness routine to get some variety. They are short but high intensity workouts. Trust me, you will be mopping your sweat off the floor.

The team over at BodyRockTv.com have just started a new 30 day challenge and I am SO.ON.BOARD.

I am committing 110% to these 30 days and looking forward to the results at the end of it. If you are interested or want to learn more about BodyRock:

BodyRock on Twitter

BodyRock on Facebook

BodyRock on YouTube

Let me know if you have tried out BodyRock or if you are up for the 30 Day Challenge. I will post updates throughout the challenge.

Cheers!

Twitter

Yes it's true, I have decided to join the world of Twitter. I have stayed away from it until now, mostly because I didn't know what it was all about or how to use it. But...I have thrown caution to the wind and am going to give it a try.

If you want to you can follow me: @ErinFaye22

Also, any suggestions or tips you have for me are greatly appreciated.

Cheers!

Randomness

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Lots going on these days and I am trying to get into some sort of routine. Here is some randomness from my life lately:

1. I just got back from Mexico and it was amazing! It was so nice to unplug and get away for awhile. Pictures to come.

2. Currently working on some photography projects (more on that later) as well as getting some goals together for my business in 2012.

3. I have been emailed quite a few questions over the past while. I will do a Q&A post shortly so if there is anything you would like to know about yours truly leave a question in the comments below.

4. Pinterest is a serious ADDICTION!

5. Found some amazing blogs lately so stay tuned for a link-up post.

Thats all I got for today. Cheers!

Brotherly Love | Clients

These two brothers are so adorable! Had a great time photographing them.

be.

INSPIRATION

I stumbled across Yan's blog and read this post. Wow! She hit the nail on the head and said things that most of us photographers have thought many times.

Thanks Yan for being brave and honest.

Des | Model

Again I was blessed with a beautiful client that was so easy to photograph. Des was such a good sport and went along with my crazy posing ideas. Most of which ended up working better in my head than in real life, but whatever gotta try right.