a magazine cover, Fall and family first

Nov. 21st, and it feels like forever since I last came here to jot down my thoughts, ideas, notions. It occurred to me this morning, while having my shower, that I really do miss blogging. I miss the idea of having a place to keep all of these special details. My blog is really like my journal, and I like how it helps me work through things. So my goal for the future is to come back to this space, and use it as a way to journal, record and share. 

So here we go. An update of sorts. Let's start with Bella Grace Magazine.
Last month, as I was doing some errands with a sick little Wesley slumped over my shoulder, I walked past the magazine isle at Walmart , and stopped to take a glance. There, out of my peripheral vision, I immediately noticed it. My image, on the cover of a magazine! I picked it up right away, my hands shaking. I started to cry. Tears just consumed me. I was overcome with happiness and shock.
To answer some questions, no I was not notified that my image would be used. Yes, I submitted it to their magazine- with hopes that maybe, it might get used somewhere in one of their publications. It was very exciting for me! So this was a big lesson to me. Try and get your work out there. It just might get on the cover of one of your favourite magazines!
For anyone who reads this blog (is there anyone out there???) You can follow my photography work on Facebook and Instagram, search Johanna Rosolen Photography.
In personal family news, this past month has brought us to the realization that we are ready to make one last move. After many many many late night conversations, Winslow and I came to the decision and compromise, that we would try our best to get a transfer back towards the Ottawa area. It hasn't happened yet, but we are hoping for sometime in 2019.
This decision comes with an intense sadness, in knowing that this beautiful place that I love so dearly, won't be the place where we plant our roots. I truly thought and hoped it would, yet I think I always knew deep down that no matter how wonderful this place was, we miss our family too much-and this is the time to do it. Our kids are still kids, and I want them to have a childhood with their family (my sister, Winslow's family, my best friends). I want them to know what it feels like to be surrounded with family and love.
Just yesterday, I realized that I have been a mother for 10 years. Of those 10 years, I have never had family nearby. It feels like such a huge relief to know that we won't have to be alone anymore. That we will have people nearby.
And so here we are, nearing the end of November. November and December are our busy months in this family. First we have Katia's birthday on Nov. 28th, and then Wesley's birthday on Dec.15th. Throw in some Christmas concerts, a Christmas play at church, hockey (for Katia), basketball (for Noah), photography mini sessions, and 2 birthday parties- and you can imagine how I feel at this time of year. Today I said no to one cookie exchange (they always stress me the $#@* out) and I am also going to say no to anything else that doesn't jive with me. It's just not worth the stress.

I want to share what we did for Katia's birthday, but I think I will make a separate post all together for it. It was too epic, not to have it's own dedicated post.

So there we have it folks. The holidays are on the horizon and I am full on ready for it. The twinkle lights are up- because twinkle lights just make me happier.
Be back soon. xoo

Happy Fall

So much time has passed since I last came here to write. 
Life has picked back up again, since September came along. School, activities, and a big one - I returned to teaching after nearly 10 years of a break. Of course I volunteered in classrooms, ran playgroups, was a visiting artist over those 10 years, but I am now a substitute teacher and am keeping busy with 2-3 days of work a week. 
This new job works very well for us, for a number of reasons. The biggest one being the flexibility. I can work the days I want, and be home on the days I want. I have a job that I like, but I don't have to do all the prep, assessment or extra work that teachers normally do. So yes, as you can imagine, we are busy. 
The thing is though, I truly am being mindful of this "busy" chapter that we are beginning here. It's very easy for things to become undone, when we all have to be in different places at once. 
I'm trying my best to carve out down time for us all, to manage the commitments, to prioritize what is most important. 

Things that are important to me are: 

~ family dinners
~ quiet weekends (sometimes that means church, a walk in the woods, time for the kids to play with neighbours)
~ connecting with friends for meals, walks, coffee.... real life connection

~ reading, cooking, being at home
~ picking up my camera to document our days and moments

And so here we are in October. My very favourite time of year. Thanksgiving, deep red leaves, crisp days, burnt orange pumpkins. I wish these days would never end, but perhaps there is a short window, so that we know just how much to appreciate it. 


Happy Fall dear friends. May there be many walks in the woods. May you have a cozy sweater to wrap yourself in. May the air smell of cinnamon and wood smoke. Happy Fall. 


xox

simple meditations

I used to worry so much about mixing my personal photography work and my heavily stylized client work in the same medium. I thought clients wouldn't want to see my personal work. That it was too real. Too personal. So I kept them separate for a very long time.

My friend Leanne used to tell me (and still does), that her favourite work of mine, is the every day shots that I take. The ones that tell my story. I always agreed with her, yet still, my personal work stayed more private - I was never confident enough to show it in photography groups or on my social media pages.

This summer at Land and See, one of the photographers I was most excited to see was Joni Burtt. She is a fantastic documentary style photographer from just outside Fredericton NB. While she does do client work (families), she primarily photographs her own family- and her work blows my mind away. It's beautiful. One of the many things that I took away from her talk was that she does marry her client work and personal work together. And there is a demand/desire to see her personal work- it is so captivating.

So this summer, and moving forward - I have given myself complete permission to share my personal work on many platforms. I admit, it makes me nervous to put my personal work out there, because this is the stuff that means something to me, but at the same time- that is the point- this work means something to me, and I want to share it with others... because I have put love into it.

I call these simple meditations, because I find the act of picking up my camera and capturing a very brief but important moment, very meditative. I find there is a release of stress and rushing about, when I slow down and take an intentional image. It forces me to stop with whatever I'm doing, and to see things, to see the people right in front of me. 

Here is a sampling of my work from this summer.

xox

land and see 2018

How do I adequately put into words, what going to Land and See means to me? It's really hard to explain it all, but I'll try. 
For 3 days (5 for those that took the whole workshop), I was immersed into a world of photography, creativity, deep conversation, and real connection with other artists. It was an experience unlike anything I've done before. Something so far away from my regular every day. It was pretty damn amazing. 
On a practical level, I was able to work and learn along side some of my very favourite photographers. I was able to shoot one on one with a particular photographer, Joni Burtt, who I greatly admire. As well, I was able to collaborate with other photographers, and it was such an enriching experience. 
On an emotional level, it was quite a profound experience. For 3 solid days, I had the time to create, to be able to listen to other photographers, and just to be able to hear myself think. I was able to write notes about my ideas, things I wanted to remember, and not once was I interrupted. 
Going to Land and See is a gift to me, from my family. Winslow had to take time off from work, and we budgeted our limited resources so that I could go. The children, while sad I was going, were at the same time supportive and happy for me. It truly felt like this experience was a gift to me. 
It was a gift of time. A gift of opportunity. A gift to learn, to expand, to create. As I did 3 years ago, when I last attended, I felt such a huge amount of gratitude for this opportunity to go to Land and See. For some, this type of thing (professional development, workshops, education) is a regular/common type of occurrence, but for me, it is not- and I think, this I why I feel such an amount of gratitude for it all. 
It will likely be another 3 years before I attend Land and See again. The truth is, there are other things that I hope to do over the next few years- travel is one of the main ones. But this time that I had recently, is something that I hope to carry with me for a while to come. While I may not attend this specific workshop again, going to Land and See, helped to get me refocused in my goals (specifically towards photography) and I am going forward with new ideas. I'm excited to see what will come next. 
A selection of some of my images from my time at Land and See 2018, on Prince Edward Island.