It's 5am in Brisbane, QLD Australia on Monday January 2, 2012. For my family, it's still New Year's Day in the states. I'm sitting on the porch, watching the sun light up the horizon and listening to the morning chatter of birds. I took a 30 second video so you could join me in this beautiful waking of the new year in a new place... just turn up your volume to hear the birds and then press play *twice*...
In a few more days I'll share more about this journey... how I got here, what I'm doing here, etc. If you have any questions you'd like me to answer, just leave a comment here on the blog or catch me on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook. I'm documenting this journey quite thoroughly for our family who want to know all of the little details, and since it's just easier to use Instagram or Path streaming into Facebook, everyone else gets to join me along this adventure as well. If you're interested in following along, connect with me on Twitter or Instagram and say hello- it's going to be quite an adventure!!
In one way or another, almost everyone I know has gone through some kind of major shift in their life this year. Some pleasant, some not. What was 2011 like for you? I really want to see YOUR reflections on 2011, so please leave me a comment or link to your blog where I can learn about your journey from this year.
For me, 2011 took me on a whirl-wind tour across the country to do some speaking, workshops, and coaching in San Fransisco, CA; Houston, TX; Orlando, FL; and Detroit, MI. This year was also filled with fun in San Diego, CA, then Las Vegas, NV and even more fun in Austin, TX during SXSW. I took fewer weddings and more corporate jobs and still ended up meeting my goals and then some. 2011 was also one of the best birthdays I've had as an adult thanks to some awesome friends who helped me get away from it all in Loon Mountain, NH. I also got to spend more time with family and friends this year than I have in MANY years.
I'm so grateful that I've been able to reach a healthy balancing point between work and play.
This year I also took a lot of risks that I'd been considering for a while. Some worked out- like the coaching tour, while others did not, which is totally OK because it would have been physically impossible to do it all! The important part was that I gave a few things a solid try so I wouldn't regret it later. I had wanted to start a local magazine focusing on the arts and culture of the city I live in and even had some awesome people to help make it happen, but in the end, the timing just wasn't right for everyone involved (including me) so we shelved it. The groundwork was laid and if there's another opportunity in the future, I'm sure something good will come of what we've already started (in fact, I just got word that one of the super big projects I've been trying to move forward is gaining ground with a few key players!) I also had started shopping for a new studio space to maximize and expand my services along with some other photographers, but again, the market timing wasn't right so I ended up moving out of my studio to be better prepared for a future opportunity or collaboration, and to save up some cash for some awesome things happening in 2012. On the personal front, two of my favorite fur babies died this year- Misty and Bailey. Both had longer lives than the average pooch and they brought so much joy to the lives of everyone who knew them. They were great companions for working from home when I needed to get out of the house for some fresh air. They kept me in touch with always being fully present to each moment.
After the rain, keep your eye out for rainbows.
I was able to conquer some big long term goals in 2011 that I've been working on for a while. Goals like finishing a Music Education degree I started many years ago but never really used as a photographer (which I don't regret because I learned a lot and met my super awesome husband.) Speaking of super awesome husband, together we've also made some great progress chunking away at a pretty significant portion of our credit card debt. While it was not the total amount I'd hoped for at the beginning of the year, we managed to make significant progress while still having tons of fun and doing plenty of traveling together. We made a few healthy sacrifices too, and those are paying off in more than financial gains.
If you're still reading... thank you. Thank you so much for caring and staying in touch with me even when I've taken extended time outs from social media. What I'm going to tell you next may come as a shock, but I've been wanting to share it for quite a while. My break from social media has been very deliberate. As you know, if you want to grow your business, you must "always be marketing." Likewise, if you want to slow your business down, all you need to do is take a step back and stop putting yourself out there- which is what I've been doing. Are you freaking out yet? Are you on the edge of your seat? Before this gets too out of control, let me assure you that I'm still planning to be a photographer in one capacity or another. However, I will be getting VERY exclusive about who I work with and for what reasons.
I've been a professional photographer for nearly 7 years now and in the last couple years, the work that has excited me the most has been the work I've done in coaching and consulting other people toward achieving their goals and dreams. I always told myself that if I ever stopped falling in love with my work behind the camera, I would take a step back before something I loved turned into something I loathed. I'm sure you've met a photographer or two who seems to hate showing up to a wedding and would rather get a drink than grab one more photo of the party on the dance floor. I never want to be that person, EVER, so I plan to take a step back before it actually happens.
I believe in doing what you love, every single day, and if what you love starts pulling you toward something other than what you're doing right now, than it's time to follow your heart into another phase of personal growth and self-realization.
For me, that's spending less time on photography, and more time on helping others realize their dreams. If you think you're too old to switch careers or start something new, my girl Marie Forleo has some inspirational advice for you:
I've been testing the waters with a few different methods and styles of coaching and at this point I still consider myself to be learning and refining my style. I've identified that I'm really good at honing in on what is uniquely valuable about each person and finding the hurdles that are holding people back from being their fullest self. I believe it takes at least two years to develop a level of mastery in any given area, so I fully expect that I will continue to learn and grow into this role for at least another year or more. Initially I had considered going the life coaching route as many entrepreneurs do, however, one of my other big scary goals has been to get a masters degree in order to leave the door open to a possible doctoral degree. Getting a graduate degree was something I had planned on doing while starting a family, but since that hasn't happened and the timing feels good now to start changing gears, I'm planning to start a masters next fall that will help me refine and hone my ability to help others. Applying to grad school wasn't even on my radar at the beginning of the year. So yeah, this year has been huge for change.
How could next year even begin to top the transformations of 2011?
How about by spending the entire Winter and Spring in Australia, followed by an entire Summer traveling Europe!?! Seriously? Seriously. It's going to be the adventure of a lifetime and I can't wait to share it with you!! I also can't wait to work on my surfing skills, which I just started learning when I was in Australia last year...
I'm always amazed when serendipity becomes connection. Recently, a local yoga instructor, Jen, found a blog post I'd written about her from a year ago when I didn't know her name. That blog post led to us reconnecting, getting to know each other, and working together on this project for Union Studio Yoga.
The owner of the studio was looking for something that would feel dramatic, deep, and personal. Keeping with the flow of their current website, we went with black & white processing, but to give it the dramatic feeling, I made sure to include a lot of shadows by using only one light at a time. To make it feel more intimate, I kept the light close and focused for the posed images to create the heavy vignette, which forms the sense of an individual bubble around each pose and eliminates the sense of space in the room. To help it feel more personal, I turned each teacher's attention away from the camera so that the viewer could observe each teacher enjoying their own personal moment instead of engaging head on or directly with each teacher.
Here's Jen- who just exudes light everywhere she goes. My life has already been enriched just by knowing her. She makes things which are incredibly difficult look effortless and graceful, and that's what makes her amazing...
I'll be out of town until Monday with limited access to email.
If you need a faster response, please call me: 888-678-2663.
For information about Wedding Photography, please visit http://anneruthmann.com
For information about Workshops, please visit http://fisheyeconnect.com
You're invited to join me in celebrating my 2nd year at Western Ave Studios and my 6th year in business as a full time photographer! The last year has brought great balance and peace to my life, and I can't wait to share that with you. For the first time since I started my business, I have FINALLY been in the same city for more than 2 years!! There's so much that goes into those first two years of opening a business or starting in a new city that I'm soooo glad to finally be in a place where I can experience the fruits of building a great team of people to work with! So....
Let's Get Our Party On!
Where: Anne Ruthmann Photography - Studio 302, 122 Western Ave, Lowell, MA 01851 When: Saturday April 2nd, 2011. 12-5pm Studio Open House, 5pm - 9pm Stay & Party with Glen David Andrews Band RSVP & Map: So I can have enough gifts for all guests http://on.fb.me/anne411
(Don't live near me? I might be visiting your area soon!! For cities and dates, [CLICK HERE]!)
PS. The idea for the "Anne-iversary" came from my dear friends & photography colleagues Rich & Ashley Pizzuti, who also helped with the image above. They celebrated their "Anne-iversary" as the day we first met and I "helped them get their heads out of their @$$" by inviting them to get more connected with the local community of photographers. We've become such good friends since that first meeting and I really admire how quickly they've grown since then!
I'd heard about SXSW (South by Southwest) for the last few years and it always sounded amazing- so I vowed that I would find a way to make it work as soon as I could! This year it just so happened to line up with my husband's spring break from teaching, his birthday, and St. Patrick's day. Could the timing be any more perfect?! So- I proposed the idea of a super awesome birthday week in Austin, TX- but since we're still on our "Smarter Spending" mission to pay off debt, we needed to do it in a way that wouldn't kill our financial goals.
Over the holidays Alex's step-brother had offered to let us stay with him if we ever came to visit Austin - so we took him up on it and saved big time on the hotel costs. Next big cost is getting there. We've done our share of driving over the years and it's not our favorite way to travel, so we decided to finally cash in on some airline miles that we'd accumulated from lots of international travel- so our flight was FREE- wahoo! To save even more money, we decided not to get a badge for SXSW and just check out as much as we could without a badge- which turned out to be a great idea! We did end up renting a car and paying for some super tasty meals, but we totally lucked out on at least half of our meals, drinks, and entertainment because SXSW offered so many free opportunities to party! Yeeeeah baby!
The free parties were mostly due to the SXSWi (interactive) crowd seeking promotion and attention getting opportunities with full open bars and appetizers sponsored by tech and media companies. We met a lot of tech entrepreneurs and start-up geeks, sat next to venture capitalists and record producers in cafes, and got the insider scoop on many more free events around the city. The energy and level of connection that people wanted to have with each other was amazing and unmatched by any other festival I've ever been to. What we didn't get to experience without a badge was any of the films- since those venues were all limited seating and were sold out with badge holders. We also didn't attend the panels, but we heard mixed reviews from people who did attend. The tradeshow sounded awesome, but with so many startups hosting parties elsewhere- we didn't feel like we missed out. We were leaving just as the music festival portion started kicking into gear with even more people filling the city. One record label dude was telling me that SXSW has pretty much become the largest music festival in the WORLD. I have a hard time believing that, but the sheer number of musicians filling every nook and cranny, as well as pop-up stages built just for the event is nothing short of amazing. I seriously cannot think of a better way to spend a spring break if you're over 21+ and a tech or music geek! Yes, it was epic.
"Peeps, you don't have to eat them, you can light them on fire and stick them to people!"
While we were there to check out SXSW, for me it was also an opportunity to see why the city of Austin, TX has adopted the motto of "Keep it Weird." Between the trailer food parks, eclectic city neighborhoods, fearless local style, and fascination with novelty - the city did not disappoint in visual interestingness. Honestly, it was impossible to take it all in during one trip, but what an amazingly vibrant and creative city to live in!! No holds barred on creativity in Austin- which is why it's officially now my favorite city in Texas. ;-)
I decided to instagr.am the whole adventure with my iphone and put it on Flickr (does it get any geekier?) Here's a photo slideshow of the complete adventure- mishaps and all. For caption detail, click on the images to open in Flickr and go one by :
I've presented for many different conferences and organizations, and have received great feedback on what I have to offer and how I can really help move people forward in a workshop format. However, what has frustrated me with the conference format is that I always want more time than what I'm given. One or two hours isn't really enough for me to do anything more than give a few solid tips, a dose of inspiration, or focus on just one topic. Sometime's that all you need to get started, but most often it just leaves you with some ideas and not really a plan for implementing them. It's like buying a pretty day planner for the inspirational quotes but never actually using it to plan your life.
Since I've been doing more one-on-one consulting for photographers and other creative businesses, I've really honed in on how to get to the core of where changes need to be made in someone's business and how they can move forward without abandoning ship. Most often this seems to involve a financial or a marketing shift- which often cause changes in other aspects of the business as well.
The key is that we can't throw out everything you've been doing in the past - we have to take where you are now to build on your successes and knock down the road blocks that prevent you from moving forward.
I'm not saying I have all the answers- I don't believe anyone does- but I do believe I can help people find the right answers for themselves. In fact, the biggest thing I've learned through consulting is that you already know what you need to be more successful than you are right now- that's not the problem- the problem is that the path to get there is cluttered with a bunch of other people's ideas about what you should be doing and how you should be doing it.
I believe the solutions to your problems are already within yourself and all you need is a little help finding ways to implement them.
So, that's why I've decided to do the Smarter Business Workshop, and why I've decided to do this workshop as bare bones as possible in order to make it as affordable as possible. I will not be renting a fancy bus or RV, I will not be renting a an expensive conference room, I will not be selling you extra materials or a monthly membership, and I will not be using this workshop to fund a down payment on a new home. I just want to help you run a smarter business- for your own sake, for the sake of our industry, and for the sake of our society in the pursuit of freedom and happiness. You can even attend the first evening for free (but you may not get into the full workshop day if you haven't registered in advance.)
If you're not ready, you can always learn more for free online at http://photolovecat.com or in person at your local PUG Meetings. Our Boston PUG is meeting TONIGHT- and you're welcome to join: http://facebook.com/bostonpug
Ever since my friend TimCo. told me about Dopplr and using it to track my upcoming trips and share my travel schedule with friends, I've been hooked.
Not only because it helps keep my friends and family in the loop, add upcoming trips automatically to my blog widget, and update my facebook page for me- but also because it tracks my carbon trail and helps me stay aware of the impact I have on the environment. Now, it doesn't always make me feel warm & fuzzy when I look at the carbon trail I'm leaving behind, but it does help me have a basis on which to calculate and be aware of my impact. It also provides me with reports that are both beautiful and useful concerning my travel and carbon impact:
Another service I used to use a lot, but haven't used in a long time because they were a little slow to get plugged into other social media outlets, was Virtual Tourist. It's more about building a social travel guide, kind of like Yelp, but with more opportunities for discussions about certain things to do and places to see. Dopplr also offers an opportunity to add discovered content, but what I like most is knowing when my travel is going to coincide with friends. So - where can we meet up? Are you already on Dooplr? Let's connect! http://www.dopplr.com/traveller/AnneRuthmann
It's been almost a year since I first wrote this post and a whole new season of just engaged couples are appearing on the scene, so I thou...
I'm a documentary & lifestyle photographer and creative business coach based in Boston, MA but will be traveling Australia and Europe for most of 2012. I am passionate about discovering each person's unique beauty, strengthening community by supporting arts and education, and empowering entrepreneurs. I would love to meet you over coffee or tea to talk about life and inspiration!
