Remembering Tuscany
It’s the natural order of things - we look out into the future not the past. We focus on our next steps and that brings us forward. But it also keeps us from seeing the bigger picture. It keeps us from acknowledging how far we’ve come already.
There's this lovely idea, someone once told me about, that comes to my mind: To keep a jar of good things. To write yourself a little note with something good, something you love, something you’ve achieved or something that magically happened. Whenever you feel down, you can always open the jar and read a few of your notes. On one of my notes it would say - remember how Janice & Nathan booked you for their Tuscany wedding. It would be an instant smile for me.
This wedding was such a milestone, but not for the maybe obvious reason of lot’s and lot’s of pretty pictures. Or because it was the first wedding I consciously decided to shoot on film only - I never even brought a digital camera. That too, I am proud of that. Yet the thing I am most proud of, is actually: Getting there. Getting to a place, where a couple like Janice & Nathan inquires me. Photography, design & art loving, inspired, beautiful and so very kind. Skyping with Janice for the first time I constantly thought “pinch me please, pinch me and tell me this is just a dream!!”. It wasn’t, but of course it took until I got the scans back from my dear Carmencita lab folks, that I started to believe it.
I felt like I had won in the lottery - I felt so darn lucky. And then I recall a quote by Thomas Jefferson, who once said “I am a great believer in luck, I feel the harder I work, the more I have of it.” and from all I have learnt about life so far, this has proven to be true. But what might be even more important than true - it has motivated me to try. And maybe all you need to do for this effect to unfold is to stop looking at luck as something accidental. Of all the photographers Janice & Nathan could have possibly hired, they choose me and they flew me in to take their photographs. That’s when I knew all the hard work I put into peaches & mint over the years was starting to pay off.
I am off to Zurich this coming week, to photograph the wedding of a girl, who’s inquiry had about the same effect on me as Janice’s did. I know it will be one gorgeous wedding, but even more so I can’t wait to spend time with her, as she’s one of the sweetest people I’ve ever spoken to. Fingers crossed for some rays of sunshine. But I know we’ll make it pretty no matter the weather and I can’t wait.
Yes, sometimes it’s good to stop, turn around and look at the many steps you took to get where you are. It’s not random - you did that, you grew so much. I am pretty sure you’ll be impressed how well things turned out. Janice & Nathan got married amidst olive trees at the Lazy Olive Farm in beautiful Tuscany, in a few days it will be their one year anniversary. I was there. It still makes me smile!
Have a wonderful day peeps and so glad to see you again soon magical Tuscany!
xoxo Pia
