I've been a bit quiet here lately. every time i sat down to write a post or share an image or tell a story it felt forced. not that the stories weren't worth sharing, but the words were trite. they came from a place of: "i must be marketing, i must post something, i must tell everyone how amazing i am so that people will like me and want to hire me." they came from a place of needing to feed the instagram beast and not a place of joy, beauty and service.
.
so i'm letting those stories percolate. they are half-baked in my emails and will resurface someday when they are said from a place of "i want to serve and tell you what's real and authentic and perhaps, because you've connected with what i've said, our paths will cross and your work will align with mine and we will have an opportunity to create together."
.
in the meantime, suffice it to say: we're here. january and the first part of february were a wonderfully (and sometimes agonizing) slower pace than the last three months of 2018 and now, as the days start to get longer and the weather a tad warmer, the pace of our work is, once again, picking up. some great shoots are in the editing queue and even more on the books; we're working on an epic proposal for one of cincinnati's most beloved organizations; and we've accomplished a lot of mental work centered on where we want to take parisi images this year and how we plan to get there.
.
thanks for being alongside me for the journey, friend. it means more than you know.
. #loveyourstory
It's rainy and cold and gray, but the chickens still need water and the lambs still need a fresh serving of hay. and so i go to the farm where i am called to be purposefully outside even when i'd rather be cozy at home. and in the mundane chores of feeding and caring and being soaked to the bone, i am grateful that this place, this purpose, is a part of my life.
.
for those who don't know this side of my story, let me introduce you to @turnerfarm_oh . as a member of the meat csa program, i help care for the livestock in exchange for a portion of meat. i've been interested in agriculture since 2011 (i'd love to tell you the story of how it started, just ask!) and it took me until 2015 when i joined this csa when i felt like i could finally integrate my sideline interest into a regular rhythm of my life.
.
i find that that these types of activities (no matter how small or "sidelined") offer some of the best stories of our lives. surely, my time spent at the farm has nothing to do with my business -- photos, and brands and content-creation. and yet, it does. it has everything to do with it, because i am my business and my work. my sideline hobbies, my everyday interests and my regular rhythms fuel my creative work with clients. it shapes who i am and what i put forth.
.
i like to remind clients that this is true for you, too. what you do outside your "work" is as important as your work, sometimes even more important. there are stories to be shared in all of it. the work and the non-work. it's just takes the eyes to see what the heart already knows.
. #farmtographer#chickensofinstagrams#loveyourfarmer#slowfood#loveyourstory#setyourintentions#honoryourself#liveauthentic#familyfarms#cincinnatiphotographer#digitalcontentcreator#joy#farmlife#wouldbefarmer#farmgirl#livestock#ohiofarms#cincinnatiphotographer#lifebusinessbrand#yourlifeyourbrand#brandingphotography#brandingphotographer#digitalcontent