22 crayons

I am noticing in photography there is a fine line of being inspired and simply replicating.
let me explain...

do you remember the first day of 1st grade?

I do. :)

I remember Mrs. Pavonka and her pretty swishy skirts and perfume as she strode through our desks.
I remember getting to wear my new red + yellow sundress with long pigtail braids.
and, I remember being SO excited that I even got to have my own desk.  it was one of those old wooden/metal combo's where the desk lifted up so you could store your brand new school supplies in them.

and that year.  OH, that year I got to have a giant box of brand new crayons with a sharpener built right in!
I know! (again, you have to say it like craig fergusen, or it loses all meaning.) :) 
the box of crayons that came with built in sharpener had like 500 crayons.
(hey, I was in 1st grade and it felt like 500 crayons!)
okay...so it was just 64.
but to a little 1st grader who was SO grown-up enough to have her very own desk...64 crayons all to myself seemed like heaven!

oh, the pictures I was going to draw with colors like:
midnight blue...which obviously was SO much better than just regular blue!
and burnt sienna...by far, superior to just plain, old brown. :)
or dandelion...you have never seen dandelions quite as awesome as the ones I colored with this color!
and fern...not quite lime green, not quite kelly green...but fern.  a most splendid color. :)

I mentioned a new crayon box in yesterdays post in light of my own clients.  but the visual plays into my own crayon box of inspiration, too :)  you see as that wide-eyed 1st grader (no jokes about how wide-eyed I was.) :)  I was SO excited to create masterpieces with those brand new crayons.  I didn't care how beautiful emily bowling's flowers were as she colored next to me.  or, how cool and crazy kip rogers' drawing were.  I only cared about drawing the best picture that I could make...because it was mine.  mine, with the brand new shiny crayons.

I'm learning that photography is kinda like that for me.  just a different medium.
that's not to say I'm not looking to see what others are producing...FAR from it.
I get inspired by the things that I personally see.  but also stretched artistically when I see what other artists are producing too!  not that I want to replicate exactly what they do...but be inspired by their work to stretch and grow my own point of view as a photographer and to see life bigger.
that's the fine line of being inspired and just copying.
and to be honest, I'm happiest and most content when I get to create...not copy. :)

so.  being the spaz that I am.  :)  I've listed my 22 favorite crayon "colors" that inspire me to see life bigger.
whether it's how they view life, or how they shoot with their camera's...these people inspire me to create even bigger and better masterpieces.  :)

brick red = jasmine star - this girl, by FAR...is one of the most inspiring.  she gives tips and encouragement away like it's candy...super rare in this industry.  and for the most part, she seems genuine about who she is and how she doesn't take her self too seriously.  serious enough to be a flaming success at what she does, but still able to chill and realize what's most important in life.  I simply love coming back to her blog to hear her stories...definitely a regular blog stalker with her. :)

magenta = sarah rhoades- is someone I truly admire.  I don't see life (for the most part) through the same eyes that she does, but she SO intrigues me.  she did a crazy cool house wife shoot not to long ago that I simply adored!  and her encouragement is not quite as often as j*'s but it's from her soul when it comes and I love to listen to how she thinks!

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periwinkle = justin & mary...for me, it is super cool to watch a married couple be passionate about photography and more importantly a life together.  mary is very witty and funny and actually responds to you on twitter...rare for someone as "big" as her :)

sliver = jerry ghionis - he is new to my crayon box. :)  I got to listen to him on escalate live about a month ago and I was captivated with his passion for good photography.  in my opinion, his blog does not do justice to his transparency and "coolness"...definitely someone I'd like to emulate and meet someday.  and seriously, seriously funny. :)

wisteria = purple nickel studio - this couple is a little like sarah rhoades for me.  people who like to draw with colors I've never heard of...but they're the kind-of people who have swagger with what they do.  reminds me of the b.e.p. mini-song "...I like that you like my style..."  just really unique, see's life through different eye's people that I admire. :)

dandelion = kacey luvi (pearson) - this girl is seriously one cool lady.  to be honest, she's the one who inspired me and challenged me to pick up a camera two years ago and just go for it!  she see's ordinary life like it's a scene from a hollywood movie and I am constantly in awe of her tenacity to expand who she is as a photographer.  love her. :)

fern = simply bloom - the two girls fascinate me.  I love their styled shoots.  I love their candid shoots.  I love their transparency.  I think that's why they're fern green to me...I just like what they do!  very unique and creative!  vania & christine are two people I'd love to have lunch with and pick their brains on photography and just life...

midnight blue = the boudoir divas - ahhhh, the diva's.  and rightly so.  I know this type of photography is not for everyone...but to me, it is beautiful, beautiful art and they create it with serious swagger. :)  to take a woman and make her feel beautiful to the point of allowing her to "sparkle" and then, be able to present her in a beautiful way is true magic.  I love following what these two ladies are up to on the internet! :)

check out these other "crayons" of mine for even more inspiration!
yellow = jamie delaine
denim = aaron shintaku
cerise = audrey coley
indigo = blue lily photography
peach = ree drummond
goldenrod = chenin boutwell
robin's egg blue = elizabeth ann photography
razzmatazz = jennifer skog
sea green = jesh de rox
tropical rain forest = jessica claire
mahogany = joe elario
eggplant = jose villa
cotton candy = love ala
fuschia = promise tangeman