More thrilling than pumpkin pie

Sure, I could make pumpkin pie anytime of year. But I LIVE for thanksgiving season pumpkin pie - it just tastes better. However, this thanksgiving season I am more thrilled about the next creativeLIVE weekend workshop. Mark your calendars for November 19-21, as celebrated children's photographer Tamara Lackey leads special 3-day worldwide workshop on the magic and art of child portrait photography.

Take a live, front-row seat with Tamara as she works with a wide range of kids. You'll watch as she works to put them at ease, gets them laughing, and coaxes out their natural personality for fun poses and great family portraits.

More importantly, you'll be part of an ongoing weekend conversation with fellow photographers arond the world about how to grow your own successful portrait photography business, while balancing personal and professional lives.

Professional photographers and moms looking to enhance your tricks of the trade - this workshop is for you. And it's FREE when streaming live.

What am I most grateful for this thanksgiving? That I will be participating in this event as a creativeLIVE chat host, representing all of you folks on the internet who are watching live and asking your questions to Tamara in person. This is the beauty of creativeLIVE - everyone is connected in the virtual global classroom.

But wait, there's more. As with their other big weekend photography workshops, creativeLIVE has set aside 6 seats for photographers from around the world to join Tamara in-person for this workshop in the creativeLIVE studios.

Watch the short video here from Tamara describing how to enter:

1. Record a 60-second video saying why you want to join Tamara in Seattle.
2. Post that video to YouTube, Vimeo, etc.
3. Tweet a link to @creativeLIVE and include the hashtag #TamaraLackey.

That's it. The deadline is October 27th - but the sooner, the better.

From the comfort of your own home, sign up now for a life-changing workshop: http://creativelive.com/courses/tamara_lackey/ and spread the word.

Read Tamara's blog post: 3-day creativelive workshop ... seattle, anyone?
For more on creativeLIVE: http://creativelive.com/

Corn maze a ga-ga

There is something about a corn maze that is magical, and not just for the kiddos. I imagine what it looks like from above, like a video game of pac-kids running around looking to gobble up the plastic skeletons in hidden corners - if they can find them. Impatient, my nieces Juliana and Lucy are clever and created their own paths through the towering stalks as shortcuts to the prize. Lil' Charlie let big sis Lucy pick out his pumpkin this year, but watch out as he told me he already has a winning design for carving his pumpkin.

Planning your family trip to a pumpkin patch? Contact me at kenna@kennakphoto.com or 206 349 6747 and let me capture spontaneous memories as your kids explore the magic of October.

Melanie & Pat +2

I've had the pleasure of knowing mom-to-be Melanie practically her entire life. Younger sis to my dearest friend Adrienne, she's like my own lil' sister. We attended the same schools in LA and spent Christmas dinners at her family'shouse. Mel met Pat at Notre Dame, where they married a number of years later - a perfect match. Go Irish! I was incredibly touched when Mel asked if she could fly me to Boston to photograph her belly. Of course! Mel and Pat are expecting twins and I cannot wait to find out if they are boys or girls. Their dog Max joined in the fun. Thanks for a stunning shoot!

Are you a mom-to-be? Contact me at kennakphoto@gmail.com or 206 349 6747 to book a photo shoot in the comfort of your own home and/or at your favorite outdoor spot!

Post-processing Jasmine Star

During the Jasmine Star wedding photography course, the creativeLIVE Five students discussed Chase Jarvis' blog post about the concept that "It’s easier to be inspired than it is to create." Thanks to J*, I am more inspired than ever before in my journey of building my portrait and humanitarian photography business. The fact that I'm not pursuing wedding photography didn't matter as I soaked in all of J*'s lessons about not only being a photographer, but also being a savvy businesswoman. If you didn't know it already, J* is one smart lady. She talks the talk (twice as fast as most) and walks the walk (even in those high heels!). I've heard it before, but Jasmine reinforced that being a successful photographer is 20% photography and 80% business. (Of course one's definition of "success" is another matter entirely, but you know what I mean.) I've got some work to do.

Behind the scenes & off camera, Jasmine and her right hand JD are 100% the real deal. One example is that during every lunch break, Jasmine & JD would insist that the cast & crew go ahead of them in line for food. When motioning for them to go ahead of me, they both said, "no, you all have been here longer than us today." I noticed this over and over in many ways. J* & JD - you are so gracious, take nothing for granted and you truly live & breathe the Jasmine Star experience.

To bring all y'all on the internet backstage, here are more behind-the-scenes photos of my J* experience.

Now it's time for me to create, to post-process all of the mental images imprinted in my mind from our collective 5-days of intense learning. Starting with blogging again, I'm putting myself out there to the universe so that said universe can hold me accountable. Next - redefining my brand, which truly is a reflection of me. My three words are candid, compassionate and soulful. I'll approach not only my photography, but all of the divisions of my brand with these 3 words in mind. I'll be working on incorporating these into my website, blog, client interactions, promos, business cards, thank you notes - every single touch point with a client.

I had an aha moment yesterday when my friend Tanya told me that she & her husband cried looking at the photos I took of her and her horse. She said, "When I look at your portrait of me, I see my true self. I see me and how I feel about life. That is truly a gift." Honestly I was pretty blown away by that and it helped reinforce what I seek to create in my photographs, and that I can do this. Thank you Jasmine, JD and creativeLIVE.

Shout out to the creativeLIVE Five: Audrey Smit, Nate Perkes, Sachin Khona, Stephanie Miller, Victoria de Martigny, my fellow "voice of the internet" Susan Roderick, and our beautiful bride Laura Marchbanks.

Can't wait to see what masters photography course Craig & Chase of creativeLIVE come up with next!

Keepin' it real with Jasmine*

There's no time like the present. Yesterday I was incredibly inspired by Jasmine Star dishing out how she changed the game in wedding photography by creating her own. And wow is she winning that game! She definitely lives and breathes her motto KIR: keep it real, revealing the honest ups and downs of how she became one of the top 10 wedding photographers in the U.S.

I haven't been blogging for quite some time, using other social media outlets such as my Facebook fan page and Twitter, as well as my website to promote my photography business. But it's time to get back in my own game, creating conversations through my blog so that you can really get to know who I am as a person, not just a photographer. Time to use blogging to build the personal division of my brand, as Jasmine calls it.

I've had the pleasure of being a chat host at creativeLIVE since April, being a "voice of the internet" on behalf of all of you participants around the globe. I learn so much not only from the instructors of the courses I've taken, but from all of your insights and the conversations that happen in real time, live. creativeLIVE and Chase Jarvis are truly changing the game of creative education.

Time to get ready to rock it with Jasmine for Day 2 of her 5-day epic wedding photography course. Today we meet the lucky couple Laura & Billy, bride and groom, and watch Jasmine work her magic. It will be fun to watch Laura, a wedding photographer herself, be on the other side of the camera.

In addition to the few in this post, I've posted more behind the scenes photos of Day 1 with the hopes that you'll feel even more likeyou are here with us in Seattle. You'll even get a sneak peak at the venue as we were setting up yesterday. I gleaned so many golden nuggets from Jasmine yesterday as she talked a mile a minute! Check them out on my twitter feed and follow me @kennakphoto as I'll try to keep up with Jasmine over the next 4 days!

Don't miss Day 2 and KIR!

Lori x2

I feel incredibly lucky to have just spent two weeks with my friend Lori for a second time this year (no, the cute kid is not Lori, but a charming Antigua lad). In the spring it was SE Asia - this time she came to explore Mayan ruins, lakes, villages, churches, cemeteries, markets, chicken bus rides and colonial towns of Guatemala.

Being lazy, I'm linking you to Lori's blog to read about our adventures. She's summed up our travels in several posts better than I could!

Photos to come...

I'm now planning to base myself in Antigua, Guatemala for the next 3-4 weeks to do some volunteer work with cute kiddos. The vibrant culture and lovely setting amongst volcanoes is perfect way to spend the majority of my remaining time on the road. I'll head back to LA from Nicaragua on Nov 24 to give thanks with my family there, then visit friends and family in No and So Cal for the month of Dec. Hard to believe I'm on my last leg! It's been quite a ride.

Oh, and try not to touch public walls - you never know what those walls have seen and felt... (see Lori's blog) And don't forget to pack heat when you come to Guatemala - you'll fit right in. It seems everyone, including Pepsi or meat delivery trucks, has armed guards with shotguns.

People listening

i've discovered a new pastime, not people watching but people listening. not eavesdropping, mind you, but sitting on a balcony listening to the sounds of a small town come alive in the morning, or go to sleep in the evening - or not go to sleep as the case may be. sounds of life. i guess i've been doing this along the way - sounds of muslim prayer call, sounds of the ocean roaring, sounds of tibetan buddhist prayer wheels spinning or markets bustling, but i once again had a revelation of how eye (or ear) opening it is to just sit, and listen, in stillness. sometimes i'm so focused on the visuals and making photographs that i perhaps forget to hear on top of see.

this particular rural town is called Teotitlan, in the Oaxaca Valley, Mexico known for its weaving - literally every household has at least one loom (yes, I've switched continents since my last blog entry). a brief and likely incomplete list of the town rumblings: roosters (of course), packs of dogs barking, donkeys, sheep, children's chatter, church bells ringing, public service announcements over a loud speaker delivered around town via a pickup truck, marching bands and fireworks (both of the latter literally at all hours of the day).

speaking of fireworks, adrienne and I happened upon an nighttime saint's day celebration outside a church in the city of Oaxaca. Adrienne spontaneously bought a plane ticket to join me in oaxaca for 2 1/2 weeks 5 days before departure - i adore spontaneity! Anyhow, we joined the crowd close to the action, the action being men taking turns putting a roughly built wooden donkey over their heads like a giant mask and dancing around. the kicker is that the donkey was adorned with fireworks, spinning an crackling - on their heads! they would swoop in close to the crowd and we'd all instinctively lean back, hoping the sparks wouldn't land on us. wild. i'm greatly looking forward to what daredevil acts will occur on Sept 15 - independence day.

i can't write about oaxaca without mentioning the mole and chocolate (tortillas, mango, avocado tambien). oaxacans drink bowls of hot chocolate & dip bread for breakfast. you have to experience both yourself, that's all i can say. oh, and the markets - crazy. oh, and the catholics here are some of the most devout I've witnessed.

we're now at the beach in Puerto Escondido, a surfer's haven. while neither of us surf, we certainly enjoy watching and falling asleep to the sounds of the waves breaking.

Winds of Croatia

I can't tell you what a feeling it was to see Ali walk out of the Zagreb hotel as I was approaching it. For months I had been looking forward to seeing my friend of 20 years. We laughed, we cried, it was better than Cats. Our week in Croatia went by way too fast, as all travel seems to do, but I relished every minute of it. We spent most of the week in the seaside resort town of Bol on an island called Brac in the Adriatic Sea off of Split, the largest city on the Dalmatian coast. The island is known for its cheese, wine and olive oil - needless to say we ate and drank well.

We chose Bol for its lovely 'golden horn' pebble beach surrounded by pine trees, but sadly the first few days offered non-fortuitous rain and clouds. We still walked the promenade and the beach with our umbrellas - mine was turned inside out with the gale force winds. Because of these unique and strong winds, Bol is popular for wind-surfing, kitesurfing and other windy sports. While we didn't partake, it was amazing to watch the kitesurfers fly into the air 30 feet above the water. Floating in the extremely salty turquoise water was more my style, that is, once the sun came out. Which it did, and it was glorious.

Ali and I took a daytrip from our island back to Split (usually people do that the other way around), but we wanted to maximize our island time. Split has a couple thousand years of interesting history, with the Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Hungarians, Austrians & Slavs all ruling the city at their given times. The Romans built a large palace back in AD 300, as the Romans do, and today the palace walls house the old city where you can walk the narrow alleys and buy trinkets.

It was a trip to board a plane in Split for a short flight to Zurich, then fly direct to Miami. Miami! Back on US soil after 7 months. I think Miami was a smart choice for a pitstop in the states before heading to Mexico & Central America, not only because my grandma Libby, aunt Kathy and friend Jeanette live here (as wells as having many out of town visitors). My culture shock has been lessened by a city of bilingual signs, Spanish speakers and gorging myself on Cuban food.