But don't call it a comeback...
Around fall of 2015, I drafted a post and waited a few months before I hit publish. I was ready to be done, completely burnt out, fogged up with no idea where Ever Ours was going, but the fact remained that I was about to let go of almost seven years of pure hard work. I was about to say goodbye to late nights, whole weekends, family arguments, no social scene, and say hello to real life. I just needed a break from all those emails, chasing down photographers for follow up images, culling and curating each blog post, uploading those photos, writing about the photographer... I did this for about 8 hours each weekend and many more hours during the week, on top of having a full time day job. I did this without earning a cent from it, because this was a passion and that was what drove me for the 6.5 years that I owned it. I took pride in featuring the most talented photographers out there and being able to have the honor to curate their work every day. But I knew something was broken when I started to resent sitting down and reading those emails, answering them, blogging, having to write about each post on social media and losing creativity for the captions. So rather than continue on that route, I said goodbye.
So what's happened in this past year? I had weekends again. I spent time with family. I went on weekend trips. I spent a lot of time at the beach doing nothing. I spent a lot of time at home doing nothing. I watched a lot of Law & Order SVU and Leverage reruns. I came home from work and was a couch potato. I made healthy choices to go workout excessively and made some not so healthy choices to go out to eat excessively. I didn't feel anxiety about needing to post on social media or follow everyone on social media. I didn't have to take 20 minutes to edit a photo to put online. I took a step back from the wedding photography community and got to be an outsider looking in. That whole community went on without me. I left a footprint. I breathed. I lived life.
But, I think people knew I would come back in some form or another. I dipped my toes back in when dear friends asked me to help out at WRKSHP. Helping behind the scenes and getting exposed to all the work that was being done while I had been "gone" started to scratch a little itch. Those three days made my heart so full and ache at the same time. A full heart at seeing the wedding photography community come together and an aching heart because it made me realize how much I miss blogging. A week later, meeting up with some dear friends over burgers and fries planted an idea of the need to change the way we think and act in order to make a difference not only in the wedding photography community, but in our own lives. Then, as usual, a talk with one of my closest friends suddenly galvanized me into building a site...again.
It's going to be different this time around. It's going to be on my own terms. I'm cutting out everything that I didn't like about blogging for Ever Ours. How's it going to be different this time around?
- A gallery style focused site - Only one frame from each photographer. But collectively, it's like photo confetti. All you have to do is click on the photo, hover over the image (or if you're on mobile, click on the tiny dot in the bottom right hand corner) and you'll see who the photographer is. Go to their site.
- Not just wedding photography- You are all more than just a person behind a lens. There is a life to you that I want people to see too. Under Ever Ours, your personal photos were a way to get to know you and that's what I loved.
- I post when I feel like posting- The homepage is where you need to focus and where I will be "posting". Drop by whenever you feel like being inspired.
- No submissions- Again, I post when I feel like posting.
- Instagram- This isn't for the likes or follows. I will only use Instagram to let you know that I"ve updated the site. Feel free to hashtag #whatreallymatterslove if you want if you find your work on here and for me to discover new work. Take pride in what you've accomplished. Remember that this space is for you, wedding photographers and friends.
- No facebook page- Again, this isn't for the likes.
- I haven't decided what to do with this "Mementos" page yet. That's the beauty of doing things on your own terms.
- But I do know that this is a celebration of this wedding photography community.
Keeping it simple, friends.
Focusing on...
What Really Matters.