Transitions, Transformations and a Little Photography
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Stresslaxing
As humans we’re an interesting bunch - ok we can be down right bizarre! I came across this term stresslaxing and I was curious enough to find out what it was all about, so I spent some time diving down the rabbit hole of researching into it - this is one of the many things that I love about retirement - having the time and space to explore and research and just learn new things. My research brought me to this new phenomenon which has emerged where the actual act of relaxation itself induces stress. This rather paradoxical experience is known as stresslaxing and it’s a term that tries to capture the anxiety sparked in some people, who when they are stressed, attempt to relax, but find themselves incapable of doing so.
Coaching
I come from a long line of very proud, reserved, stiff upper lip never show your emotions or weakness people. I was taught that the way to work through things is to ignore, power through or just pretend it never happened. I don’t suspect that I am alone in being taught these coping skills - it seems to me that it was a prevalent approach during the time that I grew up, however I also recognize that cultural attitudes and approaches have been changing throughout my life - in a very positive way - thank goodness!
Being vulnerable is no longer seen as being weak - seeking help and support is a sure sign of strength and a desire to grow - talking about things is the best way to knock shame on the head
Freeman Patterson Photography Retreat - 3 Months On
It’s been just over 3 months since I was in New Brunswick at St Andrews by the Sea for a photography retreat hosted by Freeman Patterson. There are times when an event or book or movie is very impactful and for me this is one of them - I find myself thinking back to that time quite frequently and recalling some very significant moments.
The other participants also had a profound impact on me and I have stayed in touch with three of the five group members (a bit surprising that I have stayed in touch with so many) - several of us have even talked about meeting up for another photography event.
Everybody’s got a story
This song has always resonated with me because I feel that we (let’sy be honest - I) often make assumptions of people based upon first impressions.
I make judgements based upon the way people look or act or talk - I know it’s cliche, however the saying don’t judge a book by its cover still rings true today.
I’ve mentioned before that I’m a strong introvertand people often interpret my demeanour as standoffish or cool, but it’s actually shyness mixed in with a preference of getting to know people slowly before diving in and interacting.
Seasonal Transitions
This transitional time is my favourite time of the year - while I love to watch the world wake up from the frosty cold of winter, I often find that changes happen too quickly in the springtime - the temperatures and precipitation can yo-yo and leave me feeling caught up in a whirlwind of changes. The summer has its warmth and lazy hazy days, however I find it almost too vibrant - too green. When the days start to shorten and the leftover heat of the day cools down, the air takes on a bit of crispness and the leaves on the trees start to take on their autumnal colours - this is my time of year - this is when I feel grateful to be able to spend time outside and soak up the lingering warmth of the season.
Writing Blog Posts
I’ve had a few people express curiosity about how I find the time to create blog posts - especially during times when there has been a lot going on (such as when we moved - see this blog post).
I thought that I’d write a bit about my writing process and how I come up with ideas right through to the finished blog because it’s been a bit of a learning process and also a bit of a surprise to me, so let’s dive in. (yes I still prefer to brainstorm with pen and paper - though I do a lot electronically too - I’m a bit of a hybrid which reflects my life timing for tech changes).
When I first decided to write a blog I spent some time brainstorming ideas of things to write about.
Being outside my routine
I have written quite a bit about the changes that I’ve made around healthier eating, strength training and wellness in an attempt to lead a more mindful life and improve my wellbeing. It has taken me a few years to identify the habits that I wanted to introduce and those that I wanted to part ways with - Atomic Habits (James Clear) is an excellent resource and I wrote about it here.
It took a lot of consistency and small changes to build up the good habits that I wanted to introduce, such as strength training, yoga, meditation and photography walks to name a few. Then last April everything changed when we bought a new home.
The shifts in what is important
This recent move to the “country” (see this blog post) really highlighted for me that I have made some significant shifts in what is important (as has Kory). We identified the values that are important to us when we started seriously searching for a new home. Nature, a less busy location, space and places to walk were the things that we identified as being important.
Our previous home was located within walking distance of downtown Calgary in a lovely neighbourhood that was close to coffee shops and grocery stores. There was a vibe of busy urban
Photoshoots in Halifax
It’s always interesting and exciting to do a photography shoot in a new city or location as there is the unknown element of what you will find to shoot, what compositions, what the light will do etc. In the same respect there are also the downsides such as will you find anything interesting to shoot, will you find compositions, will the light be interesting and will you get to the location in time to find and take advantage of these elements.
It often takes multiple visits to a location before you have enough knowledge and understanding to really optimize these factors,
Evenings with my backyard visitors
I know that I’ve mentioned it before, however this move to the “country” has had a significant impact on the way that I’m spending my time. I hadn’t envisioned that I would be spending quite as much time as I do outside - I mean I thought I was outdoorsy before, but now a huge portion of my day is spent outside - and I keep looking for more reasons to head on out the door.
Wandering around with my weed digger doing my weekly rounds is a great way to survey the yard and see what has changed since my last check in.
Expanding Creativity - Inspiration
This is a question that I have wrestled with for some time. I can recall being very creative and artistic when I was growing up. My mother (a fine arts major and fine artist) fostered an environment of self expression and creativity when I was growing up. I learned to knit, crochet, embroider and other needlework crafts as well as creative writing, painting and a rather unfortunate phase of play dough sculpture (no one mentioned to me at 7 years old
I did a podcast
When I started out wanting to learn photography with my Nikon d5600 DSLR camera and 18-55mm kit lens purchased with points, I had no idea where it would all lead. I got that camera about 6.5 years ago now and it was a great camera to learn on. I initially hired my wedding photographer to spend an hour with me teaching me the exposure triangle and how to use the camera - it was a great starting point and got me going.
The Khutzeymateen experience through a smartphone camera
A recent trip to northern British Columbia (Khutzeymateen Grizzly Bear Sanctuary Blog) was an amazing experience from a wildlife, nature and photography perspective. I took my full frame camera along with my 600mm 1.4TC lens and I was able to capture the bears and whales with incredible detail even when we were not able to get right up close and personal.
All or nothing mentality
I think of peoples’ personalities or traits as being part of a spectrum and it is a fluid spectrum (i.e., I don’t think people act in one manner exclusively as we often identify ourselves), however I do believe that we have preferred approaches or manners. Back in this blog post (
irritability, cabin fever and a breakthrough
) I wrote about viewing the way we react to things like we’re floating down a river between the banks of rigidity and chaos. Going to either extreme puts us in an undesirable state where we’re either digging in our heels over every little thing or feeling totally overwhelmed.
Taking time to breathe and enjoy life
I cannot believe what a whirlwind the last 6 months have been - from travelling to Iceland for a photographic tour, buying and selling a house, packing up and moving to the country and then setting up a new house.
Add on two more trips - a photographic retreat in July and a kayaking trip in August and it equals overload!
Everything was planned a year in advance with the exception of the house move - what a crazy ride it’s been!
Kayaking Trip - how it went
I’m a planner - I think that anyone who knows me or has read a few editions of this blog will know that. I mean I have an app with photos of all my clothes which I use to make detailed packing lists for trips - as I said I’m a planner.
This trip - I was not a planner - in fact I was so out of sync with my usual approach that when asked where we were going a few days before our vacation - I struggled to articulate anything beyond Northern British Columbia and inland passage. Our friends actually pointed out to us where we were going. This is sooooo not like either Kory or me.
Ninja Creami
It is perhaps an understatement to say that this has been a very full year. I had not imagined 12 months ago that I’d be living in a new home, coming to the end of the first wave of big house projects and have 3 major photography trips under my belt. Add to that a complete re-evaluation of my eating habits and the initiation of a progressive overload strength training program. Whew! No wonder I’m tired!
One of the biggest learnings that I’ve had from starting the Macros 101 program (which I wrote about in this blog post)
Follow up on photography retreat
Well I’ve been back from my photography retreat in New Brunswick for a few weeks now and I’ve finally gotten around to writing about how it went. Meeting up with someone you know primarily from an online space can sometimes be challenging, especially if either or both of you are presenting a “perfect” image of yourself, however I was pretty sure that Heather and I would get along well and not have that awkwardness associated with figuring out what is real and virtual about another person - we’re both rather down to earth and direct people which is refreshing to encounter.
Wildlife and birds in Iceland
It has taken me a while to finally get through all of my Iceland images, but I didn’t want to rush through them and there have been a few distractions since then (moving blog). It’s hard to believe that I went to Iceland back in April and that almost 3 months have passed since I returned.
I have been posting blogs about different aspects of my trip (Iceland macros, Iceland trip review, Iceland abstractions) and I have finally decided to write about the wildlife and birds that I saw and photographed. This is my passion and I couldn’t resist spending time capturing the rich diversity of wildlife that I don’t usually see in Canada.
Progress Update on Goals for this Year
I don’t like setting New Year’s resolutions as I think that they have not been very effective for me. In contrast I like to make short and long term goals for habits that I want establish. I make sure that I focus on things that I want to sustain rather than passing trends that I may not continue.
About eight months ago I made a decision to take more intentional action with respect to my health and also to work on changing my body shape or more accurately body composition. Since the beginning of menopause I have been struggling to lose weight that seemed to accumulate overnight.