lots of words.

Well, friends, I'm all packed and leave tomorrow to work at Frontier Ranch Young Life camp in Buena Vista, Colorado for the next three weeks. I'm excited for more things than I can count, but at the top of the list is just being disconnected.

These next three weeks are giving me the opportunity to step back from my "job" as a photographer. It's not that I don't still get excited about every single detail, from shooting right down to receiving emails, but that I'll have a chance to unwrap the identity that I've made for myself in that and to think deeply about what role the Lord wants photography to play in my life. I'm quick to say that I'm a dreamer, since I'm constantly not only caught up in HUGE dreams, but also thoughts of what I want to do in my life, what I want my pictures to look like, what props or poses I can use in the future, where exactly I'd love to shoot weddings, what I want to be "when I grow up." In the process, I am growing up, and I'm becoming pretty good at building up huge expectations for myself and then harvesting a deep pit-in-my-stomach-fear that I can't reach them. It's not a good process, and it so often steals my joy and takes the role of control, which my heart longs to give completely to the Lord. I want to take the next three weeks to set free these dreams; to pray about them and then to release them, trusting that God is always good, and that his plan for me is perfect.

As a fairly shy person, and one that is not often very confident in my ability to express myself with written words, I do find a lot of inspiration in words. Stories, wise quotes, song lyrics and even just plain words get my mind going a mile a minute. So, while I'm in Colorado refocusing every aspect of my life, I'm leaving my faithful readers (you) with twelve words that are always in my head (therefore, not very difficult to choose). They are words that I associate with photography, my future, my dreams and words that I just like. I've scheduled a blog post to post itself (gosh, how cool is the internet) every two days or so with one of these twelve words, a quote or song lyrics, and pictures (old, iphone, new, baby silver camera, random-as-heck) that I'd associate with that word.
It would make my heart more than happy to hear what you (yes, my faithful readers) associate with the word of the day... a family memory, a photograph you've seen, your old basset hound named Fred, the smell of barbecue? It can be anything. Leave me some comment love, and I'll promise to get back to shoots of adorable families and babies and brides as soon as I'm back!

Thanks for reading... you can't say I didn't warn you with the title! :)

xoxxo,
Haley

ps i will adore you if you send me letters, and i'll write you back :)
Haley George- Summer Staff
Frontier Ranch
P.O. Box 2025
Buena Vista, CO 81211