Sharing with my sisters from the Sisterhood Stories circle today, make your way around the whole circle, you’ll love it.  Follow the link at the end of this post…

I don’t know how it came to my mind, but I was suddenly remembering this scene from City of Angels,  where the angel asks the little girl who just died what did she loved best,  and her answer was as simple as it gets: pyjamas.

Once I saw myself as someone dying to be freed
But you have led me here and that’s all I need

All the world you held
The way you see yourself
You know that you’re bound to change
You might never be the same

Once I was a (wo)man that I no longer want to be
You have led me here and that’s all I need

~ Jim Cuddy, All I need

Yes,  once all I wanted was to be free.  You know artists have this way of thinking any constraints are meant to be broken in order to gain freedom.   I was like that BEFORE.   Before YOU.

Letting go of my higher than high expectations,
Letting go of my quest for a perfect life.
Letting go of my fears and doubts.

Life will never be perfect, and I should be blessed by it’s many imperfections.  It’s what makes it interesting and worthwhile, I will never be the perfect  mother ( even if I still secretly wish to be ) or the perfect wife and I’m not a superwoman ( even though I pretend to be ).  Often I wish my life was just like the ads you see on tv, the smiling mom who doesn’t care just one bit if her kid spills grape juice on her white pants.  The singing while mopping the floors, the pure bliss of family life.  It’s just not real, though my mind has trouble letting go of this reality it constructed all these years.  Life is hectic,  it has rainy days and thunderstorms.  Life is messy, noisy, crazy.  But perfect in its own way.  It’s the way it was given to me,  and it’s mine to cherish.

Sisterhood Stories is our new project,  born from friendship with other female photographers which share the same love,  passion and weaknesses (and craziness too).  Together we will be sharing moments in our personal journey, every Wednesday, in a blog circle.   Follow the link to Abby Lanes Photography to continue in the circle, with love xoxo

A box of photographs
A chest full of her beloved rings
A bag of her favorite dresses
Bottles of perfume
Is all I have left…

I’ve done smoke photography in the past, but never went further than capturing it and converting one image to a decent smoke trail.  This time around I wanted to combine different smoke trails in one image.  I loved the result so I decided to share the tutorial with you guys!

What you’ll need:
Camera (with pop-up flash activated or a speedlite to capture the elusive smoke)
Incense sticks
A large room with a black background,  or a black studio box kit if you plan on doing it inside.  I did it outside,  at night,  the smell of the dollar store bought incense was too strong to have it inside.  If you plan on shooting outside, choose a night without wind!