This is the reason why I photograph children and families. This is the reason why I document the story of your life. This is the reason why I choose to shoot film instead of digital for family portraits. It is archival. It will  last for generations. These photographs were not found on a disk or on a computer. They were found in frames, in albums, in suitcases and in boxes. They were stored and cherished by my grandmother, some for more than seventy five years.

They represent a lifetime of stories and memories, perfectly preserved for all of us to enjoy. They tie siblings together, reunite long lost cousins and document the history of our family and the legacy of my grandmother. They are a gift, left behind in her passing to remind all who remain to celebrate what matter’s most…family.

I share these with you to encourage you to do the same. Document, preserve and celebrate what matter most.

In loving memory of Evelyn Collins.

]]> http://www.karencareyphotography.com/blog/2010/05/14/what-matters-most/feed/ 3 http://www.karencareyphotography.com/blog/2009/09/20/glory-days/ http://www.karencareyphotography.com/blog/2009/09/20/glory-days/#comments Sun, 20 Sep 2009 19:25:17 +0000 Karen http://www.karencareyphotography.com/blog/2009/09/20/glory-days/ I had to dig deep this past summer to accept that 40 was really just a number… but last weekend, somewhere between my early morning dive into the salty bay and my 14th mile around the sandy hook, I started to believe it!

I was honored to race along side my sisters, my lifelong girlfriend and hundreds of other women.  It was truly a remarkable experience!  As I approached the finish line of my first (and likely last) triathlon, in all of my glorious “forty-ness,” I saw my 7 year old daughter standing next to my 60-something year old mother, waving and cheering for me as I passed!  It was in that moment, that I realized why my mom (a single mother of four daughters) made it mandatory for each of us to know all of the words to Helen Reddy’s “I am woman.”            (Which happens to be my Karaoke song of choice!)

I am strong (strong), I am invincible (invincible), I am woman! ~~~~

I have decided to think of forty as nothing more than “halftime.” A chance to head to the locker room to re-group and rest up before I burst onto the field and take the second half by storm.  I plan to play out the rest of the game a bit more aggressively, taking a few shots at the end zone, even if it means tossing up a Hail Mary or two!

 

 

I wrote the following verse a few years back, but today seems like the perfect day to share it!  I hope that it inspires you to stand in your own spotlight~ where you belong!

You know the feeling~ it comes in that rare moment when you add just the right accessory to your outfit, take that final peek in the mirror, and know that you landed the knockout punch!  That feeling that everything came together beautifully and you look and feel like a knockout!!!

I love that feeling! But man do I miss that feeling!!  I haven’t felt that feeling in while!

My summer ponytail and comfy summer smock dresses have served their purpose!  But lately I am feeling more like a washed up “has been” than like a champ! I think it’s about time that I get back in the ring!!

I am puttng the gloves back on and hitting the heavy bag hard! Time for some knockout digs and maybe even a new do!  I’ve got to dig deep and fnd my inner Ali!!  Its definitely time to get haute like a butterfly and bling-ed like a bee!

How about you? Do you want just a ring side seat or are you willing to take a shot at the title??

Joyful, joyful, we adore Thee, God of glory, Lord of love;
Hearts unfold like flowers before Thee, opening to the sun above.
Melt the clouds of sin and sadness; drive the dark of doubt away;
Giver of immortal gladness, fill us with the light of day! -Henry van Dyke

Wow, couldn’t we all use a bit of immortal gladness today! I have sung this song in church many times, but never really took the time to truly listen to the words! As I write, I am thinking about what I have done today to make myself feel joyful and “unfolding my heart to the sun like a flower” seemed to have missed my “to do” list.  No wonder being joyful today didn’t come so easily.

That’s the thing about joy, sometimes we expect the feeling of joy to just wash over us unconsciously~ and when it doesn’t happen, we miss out on the blessing. We need to seek out our joys in life! We need to make time to unfold our hearts to the sun and let the joy fill us up with the light of day. Get active in your quest for a joyful life! Go after it with great expectation and unwavering determination!! Joy is yours for the taking.  Just look around and start celebrating your life one tiny joyful moment at a time.

Whether you are washing the dishes, paying your bills, or shuffling your kids off to school…seek joy while you do it! I am off to joyfully throw in another load of laundry before I head out to the studio for a joyful day of work! What are you going to do???

]]> http://www.karencareyphotography.com/blog/2009/05/27/joyful/feed/ 3 http://www.karencareyphotography.com/blog/2009/04/16/inspired/ http://www.karencareyphotography.com/blog/2009/04/16/inspired/#comments Thu, 16 Apr 2009 15:26:48 +0000 Karen http://www.karencareyphotography.com/blog/?p=352  

 

I begin each morning with 5-10 minutes of meditation before I even get out of bed, focussing on the great things in my life and quietly celebrating my family, my home, my friends and my business.  I focus on what makes me happy and I avoid stressing over what is not so “perfect” so that I can do my best to truly rise and shine!!  This in itself is great feat for me because I am definitely not a morning person and I used to get up cranky and tired, stumbling over all of the things on my “to do” list and freaking out about how I was going to “get it all done.”

Once I get the kids off to school, I spend 30 minutes filling my spirit with the teachings of Joyce Meyers Ministries.  I either watch the television show or read one of her inspiring books, followed by a bible reading and prayerful reflection.  Again, an absolutely awesome accomplishment for this doctrine challenged self proclaimed “recovering Irish Catholic.” If there are any Irish Catholics reading, you know exactly what I mean.  We managed 12 years of Catholic school and never even cracked the bible!

But really, this is what I have been doing and damn if its not working!! LOL  I am feeling so grateful and so filled with greatness that I have even started working on my health and nutrition.  Now really… anyone from this area knows that winters are long and sweat pants are “in style” for at least another month and a half.  January diets are usually a faint memory by now and sluggishness coupled with cabin fever is running rampant this time of year.  But since I have been working on my gratitude~~ all of my regular inactivity has ended and I have been inspired to care as much for my body as I do for my mind and spirit.

I started “Weight Watching” and have stuck to the program like a champ.  I lost 6 pounds and have replaced philly cheese steaks and fries with “hummus and carrots” on my lunch menu!  WTH is going on here??  I know, I know!!  That is exactly what I am thinking!!

And now for the kicker~~ I started running again, a have just registered for my first TRIATHLON scheduled for next September!!  Holy Cow, what has become of me??  I actually have to pinch myself when I think about it. Can it be that I am actually entering my 40th year of life feeling healthier than ever before?? AMAZING!

What have you done today that makes you feel healthy?? Grab a carrot stick and think it over.  It seems to all start with gratitude!

]]> http://www.karencareyphotography.com/blog/2009/02/09/healthy/feed/ 3 http://www.karencareyphotography.com/blog/2009/01/07/grateful/ http://www.karencareyphotography.com/blog/2009/01/07/grateful/#comments Wed, 07 Jan 2009 05:17:33 +0000 Karen http://www.karencareyphotography.com/blog/?p=279

 

GRATEFUL= FULL OF WHAT IS GREAT! 

In order to become grateful, we need fill ourselves up with that which is GREAT!!  And if we fill ourselves up with what is great, our life becomes even greater! 

Look around and notice all that is great in your life and then celebrate it with more passion and enthusiasm than you thought possible!  Make a conscious effort to “fill up” on the things that are GREAT in your life at the present moment, rather than focussing on what is not so great and wasting time trying to figure out how it got there.  Instead of obsessing about your “bigger than last year” bootie, celebrate something that you love about your body.  If you have GREAT arms, hug yourself with them!  If you have a GREAT smile, share it with yourself in the mirror every chance that you get!  The more you focus on what is great, the more grateful you become.  

Get yourself excited this new year about all of the wonderful and bountiful blessing in your life and become filled to the brim with it all.  Forget about making goals and lists of all of the things that you don’t have yet, and instead make a list of everything that you do have and celebrate it.  Spend 2 minutes before your feet hit the floor each morning thinking about all that is great around you rather than stressing over all that is not quite as good as it should be.  Focus on your GREAT kids and GREAT husband instead of the all of their laundry that you have to do when you get up.  Or think about the GREAT opportunities that you have in this country to make some money instead of worrying about all of the debt that you accumulated this holiday.  Think about your GREAT life and celebrate it and you will be surprised at how quickly you become grateful!!  

I found this list of all of the quotes  from “THE SECRET” and find having it close by helps me to stay excited and passionate about being grateful.  I hope it helps you too!!   Happy New You! 

A great friend sent me this fabulous card from Hallmark that has  redefined the meaning of funk  for me!!  I am reminded that my holiday blues can be avoided if I adjust my attitude, get back into a positive groove, and remember to do what I do best~~ bring the funk!!  Here are some ideas that you can use to adjust your attitude and help you to find your fab funk this week:

Tap into your inner James Brown and make a grand entrance to the Thanksgiving dinner table!  Slide into your seat with all the funk you can muster singing “I feel good!” as loud as you can (in your head of course!) “Wo! I feel good! nananananananah, I knew that I would.”  

Once seated and pleasantries have been exchanged, channel the power of Kool and the Gang’s “Get down on it, come on and get down on it“ to help you get through the dry turkey, cold corn and paper plate feast with the inlaws.  “What you gonna do? Do you wanna get down?”

When you get asked some ridiculously uncomfortable question like “when you are going to have another baby?” or “do you think he is finally going to put a ring in your stocking?”~~ take a deep breathe before you answer and visualize DJKool belting out the lyrics of  ”Let me clear my throat!“ in front of a stadium of devoted fans!  “Here we go now, here we go now….ah,huh, ah huh…”

Put the swagger back in your step and the swing in your hips while you are bringing your funky back this holiday season!!  Don’t let yourself get into the normal holiday rut.  Break out of your funk and bring on your funky!!

Because like the cards says, anyone can bring the green beans amandine….

Ask anyone “how are you?” these days and the answer is usually the same. “I am good, really really busy, but good.” For some reason, in our culture it is as if people feel validated or productive only if they are busy. How would you react if someone replied to your “how are you?” question with an answer like “I am great; truly refreshed, calm and peaceful.” Would you look at them like they were on drugs??  Probably.

For some reason we just have a hard time knowing how to slow down and set the pace for our lives. We have so many tasks to do, places to be, projects to complete….

And I ask myself, “what is the benefit of being so busy?”  Does this ultra fast paced, over scheduled life equal success for me?  Or is it just validating my existence, albeit monotonous and boring??  Has my life become that of a drone??”  Afterall, it is the job of the drones to be so darn busy, albeit monotonous and boring.

In order to gain some peace during this holiday season when business is booming and family commitments are top priority, I am taking a moment to look at my life and decide if it is a “fruitful” life or just a very busy one.  I am asking  myself a few key questions to help me decide what tasks are relevant and important, and what tasks are just keeping me busy and bored.  Is the life that I am living or the work that I am doing producing good fruit?  And by good I mean hearty, juicy, plump, delicious nutritious sink-your-teeth into it fruit.  Or is it just keeping me out in the field digging??

The old saying “you reap what you sow” is hard to ignore when it comes time to collect the harvest. This is the season and time of the harvest folks.  Are the seeds that you planted this year producing good fruit? Or have you dug up so many fields that you just did not have the time to weed and water them all??

I encourage you to take the time today to sit and eat the fruit that you have grown.  Taste the flavor of your life and decide for yourself how you want to spend your day; fruitful or busy??

I plan to sow just a few seeds today in good healthy soil knowing that the reward I’ll reap at the time of the harvest will be a plump juicy delicious piece of colorful gorgeous fruit that I will actually have time to sit down, eat and enjoy~  I hope you will do the same!

Slow down with me and enjoy a fruitful day today!!  Peace!