Today finishes the series of guest posts from Photo-Heart Connection participants. I invited them to write a post sharing what the Photo-Heart Connection meant to them this year. For the last few days I have been sharing these very special answers with all of you, celebrating the first year of the Photo-Heart Connection. I hope you have enjoyed these!

When Kat started the photo-heart connection, I wasn’t sure what to expect from this exercise and little did I know that going back to look at my photos each month would be such a deep personal experience. One that would have profound meaning for me in each of those connections. My participation in this process over the last year has influenced me in a way that has helped me continue to learn so many things about myself and my photography journey along the way. Some have been difficult, some have filled me with anticipation and some have reminded me that I’m on the right path.

In looking back I can see that before starting the photo-heart connection I was already beginning to feel a shift from being able to just document where I had been to documenting and saying this is how I feel about it, and the act of going back each month to find a connection with my heart has been instrumental in really recognizing that. In fact I can’t help but think that on some level it has helped play a role in it by evaluating how my own photographs make me feel.

I have learned that I need to take more risks because the only risk to taking more risk, is opportunity and growth, both as a person and a photographer. I have learned that when I am able to fully lose myself completely in a moment where the world falls away, and when I allow spontaneity and intuition to take over, I am able to just let my heart lead the way. And when my heart leads the way rather than getting tangled up in all the rules and technology of it, my images contain more emotion.

The photo-heart connection has made me realize that for me, the real magic happens when my photograph becomes secondary to my experience.

—————

Kim Stevens is a jewelry artist and photographer, both of which are inspired by her love of nature. She lives in Houston, Texas and blogs at Picking Poppies and Focusing on Life.

Thank you so much Kim for sharing your experience. I love what you have found in the Photo-Heart Connection!

And how about the rest of you… have you joined in the Photo-Heart Connection yet? If not, you can join in any month. There is no commitment, no prerequisite, no expectation. You just need to come with an open heart! The next Photo-Heart Connection link up opens in a couple of days, on January 1. There is no better way to start your year. I hope to see you!

Today continues a series of guest posts from Photo-Heart Connection participants. I invited them to write a post sharing what the Photo-Heart Connection meant to them this year. For the last few days I have been sharing these very special answers with all of you, celebrating the first year of the Photo-Heart Connection. Enjoy!

When I was a child I thought I would study something related to art, but I ended up having a professional career in the social field. I wrote and defended a PH Thesis about social development and educational planning and started to work in several international projects for development and as university professor (education faculty). I still do.

Through this process I discovered that I was a teacher at heart but my passion for art didn´t disappear so I had to find ways to channel it. I created with my own two hands, but I also explored creative thinking and this was the cherry on top of my cake.

From outside everything seemed to be perfect, but I was feeling a strong inner unease so, in a given moment I started a path about self-knowledge and living more consciously. This led me to develop a personal journey based on mindfulness and healing.

Suddenly, I found myself with three independent threads and little by little I began to weave them to create a richer life. I used my creativity to heal; inspired by what I had learned through my inner work, I taught my students how to deal with their conflicts using social and personal skills (including creativity), and so on.

Finally, creativity, consciousness and teaching made an interesting tapestry but I still felt that I was missing something even when I did not know exactly what. But one day, when less expected, I won an on-line photography course and I found out the perfect way to link my inner work, my artistic mood and my need to communicate.

At the beginning of this year, when I was a newcomer to that world and still was looking for ways to put together my photos and my musings in a consistent way, I found accidentally the Photo-Heart Connection project and I understood that I had found a kindred spirit, someone who had discovered the power of photos in order to get in touch with her emotions and to show them to others, so I quickly joined the project… it could not be otherwise.

Along this time, looking for my Photo-Heart Connection of the month has allowed me to go deeper inside me and feel much more confident about my practice. This has happened not analyzing its technical details, but when –after the intuitive selection- I looked at the image carefully and let my spirit fly. Each of them without exception triggered thousands of unexpected reactions and awaked things that were waiting inside me to come out. Things that I needed to know. Somewhat, this process has been a powerful form of meditation. But it has also permitted me to illustrate my feelings and make them visible.

I have loved every single step of the process every month, but what I have loved more is seeing others doing exactly the same, reading their stories and feeling how my heart was going with theirs, how my heart was feeling the connection that other heart had felt previously. This has been simply amazing.

Thanks Kat for hosting this wonderful project, it has been a true privilege being part of it. And thanks also to the project mates for their kind support.

—————

About Zenaida Toledo: Working professionally as university teacher, I love all things related to inner growing. Currently living in Canary Island, Spain, I own a blog where I talk about my personal journey and explore issues related to the healing power of simple things and everydayness through photos and words. Visit me at My Healing Moments. My past Photo-Heart Connection posts are here.

Such a wonderful journey Zena! Thank you for sharing with us here. I agree, the connections between the participants of the Photo-Heart Connection have been amazing.

Today continues a series of guest posts from Photo-Heart Connection participants. I invited them to write a post sharing what the Photo-Heart Connection meant to them this year. For the next few days I will share these very special answers with all of you, celebrating the first year of the Photo-Heart Connection. Enjoy!

Discovering a Love of Simplicity

When I discovered Kat Sloma’s Photo Heart Connection, I knew that it was a practice that I would adopt. Photography has always been about connecting with what has heart and meaning for me. This practice reminds me that the truest art I create comes from my heart.

Picking a photo each month that best connects to my heart and soul is a reflective process that I have grown to love. Each month I am surprised by the image that speaks to me. Selecting the photo and writing the post about my photo heart connection is a way to chronicle my journey as a photographer and a human being. It brings new insights about my self, my life, and my photography.

More Simplicity

The first month I participated I sat down and went through all of the images I had created during the previous month, and put my favorites in a collection. (I use Adobe Lightroom to catalog and edit my photos so creating a collection is an easy way to organize images.)

I was amazed by how many photographs I had made during the month. Sometimes it feels like I am accomplishing nothing. Just reviewing the body of work I created during the past month helped me to see how much I really was doing.

Creating for the love of creating

It also helps me to go back and review my work when I have some distance from it. I see different things and I am more objective. Often I find overlooked images that speak to me. The process of reviewing a group of photos made over an entire month shows me how I am growing and changing in my work.

Most importantly, the Photo Heart Connection helps me step back and think about why it is I do this work. It helps me to deeply connect my images with my heart’s desires, and helps me to learn and grow as a human being.

I now have collections of my favorite photos from June through November. As I review those collections I begin to see patterns and get a hint of my own unique voice and style as a photographer. I can see how my work is maturing and growing as I review the images month to month.

As a result of participating in the Photo Heart Connection, I connected with a deep desire of mine to go to Hawaii to live for several months and make photographs. While I could come up with many reasons NOT to make the trip, my regular monthly photo connection with my heart showed me that I COULD make a leap of trust and just do it.

Until the Water Runs Clear

I am writing this post from my room overlooking the rain forest on the Big Island of Hawaii. Rain is falling gently on the roof, birds singing in the trees, and green everywhere I look. I just began this adventure last week. Who knows where it will take me? But you can bet that I’ll be continuing my practice of Photo Heart Connection every month.

Life IS short (as I wrote in one of my photo heart connection posts)! What is your heart telling you? Don’t wait until some elusive tomorrow to follow your heart. Grab hold of your dreams and desires and make them come true.

————-

Marilyn Lamoreux is a software engineer turned photographer. She is currently on walkabout in Hawaii for 3-4 months, absorbing the rhythms of the island and making photographs there (escaping Minnesota’s cold wintertime). Marilyn’s website is called “Chased by Beauty” because she believes that we are all chased by beauty all the time. We just need to open our eyes to see it. You can find her website at marilynlamoreux.com.

Thank you Marilyn, for sharing your experience the Photo-Heart Connection, and the amazing adventure you have been led to. I can’t wait to see your connection for this month!

Today continues a series of guest posts from Photo-Heart Connection participants. I invited them to write a post sharing what the Photo-Heart Connection meant to them this year. For the next few days I will share these very special answers with all of you, celebrating the first year of the Photo-Heart Connection. Enjoy!

I take photographs with my heart. I always try to capture anything that moves me and speaks to my soul. I also try to express my feelings in words, a huge reason why I started blogging more than a year ago.

Hearing of Kat’s Photo-Heart Connection deeply intrigued me because the concept was so similar to what I had been trying to do with my blog ever since I started it. I remember reading more about it and feeling absolutely determined to participate in the next one. I’ve been a regular ever since I started a few months back. It has been an intensely satisfying experience for me and I cannot wait to start afresh in the New Year!

I look at my photographs with new eyes now and I also look within searching for stories and emotions behind my images. While writing my post, I sift through words searching for the ones that match what I am trying to say. I edit to my heart’s content, tapping away at my laptop oblivious to everything around me. I cherish interacting with my fellow Photo-Heart Connection bloggers. I always come away feeling inspired and encouraged. At the end of it, I cannot wait for the new month to start all over again.

Every month is an opportunity to do some much needed soul searching. Uncannily, emotions that I’ve been trying to disguise come straight to the forefront and I have no option but to address them. It always leaves me feeling better. I feel that the quality of my posts has vastly improved in the past few months thanks to this practice.

I sincerely feel that continuing to participate here means an endless road of self-discovery. Thank you Kat, for this wonderful opportunity every month. I love being here. 🙂

—————

Gitanjali (known as geetlee in the blogging world) is a blogger from San Francisco, California. She loves taking pretty pictures and tinkering around endlessly in Photoshop. Her blog captures her life and travels around North America. You can find her blog here.

Thank you Gitanjali for your lovely words about the Photo-Heart Connection. It’s amazing the positive boost it can give you, isn’t it?

A couple of months ago, I put out a call for guest posts to the Photo-Heart Connection participants. I asked them to write about what the Photo-Heart Connection meant to them this year. For the next few days I will share these very special answers with all of you, celebrating the first year of the Photo-Heart Connection. Enjoy!

Tree Shadows © 2012 Bo Mackison

One of the reasons I participate in Kat’s monthly Photo-Heart Connection is it offers me a monthly routine, that of looking through a month’s worth of photograph to see what it is I have been photographing. It encourages me to ask myself questions about my photography, and then answer those questions. Sometimes the obvious reason, the initial impulse to take a photograph, is only part of a more in-depth story. When I choose the photos which have a true “photo-heart connection” I always discover new reasons for taking certain photos, reasons not immediately obvious.

Pink Queen Anne’s Lace ©2012 Bo Mackison

When I looked through my entire set of Photo-Heart Connection photographs – there were 10 in total – I was pleasantly surprised to discover that I chose a wide variety of photographs using many different techniques. It was a heart-pleasure to realize my photography has developed from my original emphasis – taking macro-botanical photographs – into a block of work that encompasses many styles and techniques. It re-enforced my premise that taking photographs on an almost daily basis, a continuous practice of the craft, feeds not only the passion I have for photography, but also improves my craft and broadens my experiences.

Savanna-Sabula Bridge © 2012 Bo Mackison

I continue to shoot my first love – macro-botanicals. But I also shoot many landscapes, captured moments in time, abstract studies, architectural photos. There are photos that focus on composition, shadow play, mood, light, color. There are photos taken with a deliberate set-up using my DSLR; there are photos taken with my iPhone using the Hipstamatic or Snapseed apps. There are photos straight out of the camera and there are photos which I have intentionally used post processing software to achieve a certain look or feel.

Burlington Northern © 2012 Bo Mackison

But all of the photos had an underlying connection – they were either story-tellers or memory-triggers. I think that is what truly turns a photograph into a heart-connection photograph – the emotional response. Sometimes this connection is easily seen by other viewers, but often the connection is on a more personal or private level.

And that is a great thing to recognize – that ultimately I take photographs that speak to me on many levels and that are meaning-makers for me.

—————

Bo Mackison is a photographer and artist addicted to exploring sacred spaces, traveling to new places, being inspired by the natural world, and creating meaningful art, Her photography goal for 2013 is to create a hand-made, limited-edition art book including some of her photographs. Bo lives in Madison Wisconsin and Tucson Arizona. Her website and blog is at Seeded Earth Studio and you can find her on Facebook and Twitter.

Thanks so much Bo! It was fabulous to hear about your experience with the Photo-Heart Connection.