Creative Outlet

Life gets busy very easily, and that has kind of where I've been at these last few weeks.

Or months.

Or year.

But we make time for the things that are important for us. And with the excuse of 'Medicine Ball', I dressed myself up and decided to take half an hour out of my day and devote it to some portrait-shooting -- something I hadn't done in a long, long time.

The dress was tailor-made in Vietnam and has grown to be my absolute-favourite-dress of all time (so far!) I had been looking forward to wearing this to MedBall for six months, and the time finally came!

I can't even remember the last time I took a portrait. Let alone one of myself (Selfies do not count!). It would probably have been last year sometime. It was so refreshing to finally let my creativity flow a little bit and relax.

Something I've noticed is that taking portraits now flows so naturally with me -- not only of other people, but also of myself. With experience I think I've grown to know what brings out that element of 'identity' in an image. Things become so natural and a camera isn't something that is 'foreign' to me or something that I have to try and navigate and get to work -- now it's more just something that I know how to operate and use. If we're to put a cyborg-esque twist on this, my camera almost seems like an extension of me.

It didn't take me a very long time to get these shots. Simple trivial things like getting the focus right or composition or lighting aren't so difficult now (though, trying to snap pictures when that natural sunlight pops out from behind the clouds is a bit of a fun-rush). 

And having these few pics -- only three* -- really meant something to me. Not only is it nice to have a picture of yourself, but taking these portraits was such a great way to remind me that photography is something I love and crave for. It makes me feel alive, refreshes me, and lets me be creative in ways that I didn't think would ever be possible. 

*Okay, technically I have four, but it's very similar so I haven't posted it

And I like to think that these pictures show a little bit of my identity in it. 

Didn't originally intend for this picture to be a good one -- I was mucking around with my brother, which is why I'm laughing so much in the photo. There was also an ant in the flower so I was actually freaking out silently.

I've been busy, and will continue to be for a while. But, exciting things are lined up (they always are) and I hope you've all been well.

Stay hydrated, kids x

Manj