So Pretty Jewelry

When something you love becomes something you do for a living, it can be hard to continue to love it.

I remember when I first got a digital SLR, all I wanted to do was take photos. I was planning photo shoots with friends and fellow photographers as something to do in the evenings after work. I had all these crazy ideas and couldn't wait to make them happen; not for fame or money, just for creativity's sake. Since I've started working full time as a photographer and designer, I find that the piles of photos waiting for edits in Lightroom, the houses I have to shoot and the realtors I have to meet, the weekly ads I have to produce, and the stresses of deadlines, book keeping and invoicing have sapped the creativity I used to have an abundance of.

To solve this problem, I've decided that I need to plan and execute at least one "just-for-me" creative shoot per month. I need to get inspired. I need to continue to take photos for the same reason I started taking photos.

My latest inspiration came from the Flickr Blog. Someone had done a bunch of scary looking self portraits caked in flour, and I thought to myself, "I can do better than that. I can do something elegant and beautiful and... way less scary." The flour could be functional, used to highlight something shiny or colourful; I immediately thought of jewelry! My friend Rosslyn and I had talked several times about doing a photo shoot, and I really wanted to use her for this idea. Cara Cotter of So Pretty Jewelry came on board and graciously allowed us to use some of her beautiful turquoise, gold and silver.

Below is a lovely diptych from the shoot, probably my favourite of the series. You can click on the phto and see a few more from the set on Flickr.

Cara's jewelry is available at Coup Boutique in downtown Edmonton or from her Etsy store.