I shot these images while driving hours across the southwest region of the US. I completed a jam packed photo session schedule in Texas, a photo mentor session, and started to work on some exciting projects for 2017.

It is funny to me what you learn when you start driving the open road. It is beautiful, grueling at times, and often becomes a sing fest in the car with your hubs and pup. This time also allows a moment away from emails, hours of editing, and provides a silence to really think about your goals and the growth you’ve experienced.

Few thoughts I pondered on:

1. Photography has pushed me into many roles and expanded who I am and how I communicate with others.  Never did I think that when I picked up a camera to document my life and others, that I would be speaking for companies & workshops. It has pushed me outside comfort zones and forced me into vulnerable spaces that in turn have brought such growth and amazing friendships.
2. Your business and life is what you make it….you are the only person that can go out and get what YOU want. DO NOT let anyone steal that from you. Believing in yourself is the only way to get where you want. When I worked in medical sales out of college, they had a quirky term used in many dinner situations ( I was a clinical rep for a spine implant company). The term was “fake it until you make it”. At the time, I honestly thought it was cheesy and sounded vain. Now I couldn’t agree with it more. Now here me out, I don’t mean you lie or act like something you aren’t. To me, it means hold your head high and push forward doing what you love even on days when you don’t feel accomplished.  I personally don’t think there is any amount of progress or success that will make me feel like I have actually reached this place, but I am ok with that….as reaching it means I stop working so dang hard to be a better person and photographer.
3. Are we there yet, hey Zoe (our pup)…..how are we not there yet?! LOL
4. Life is fragile, hug those you love and find the beauty in everything. You don’t get to live life exactly how it is today or tomorrow ever again………..it constantly changes on us……so take a second everyday to be thankful for just one thing.
5. Being married is the BOMB. I love my husband more than anything, but pursuing some things individually makes me a better wife.  It is easy to become afraid to do things alone when you are so comfortable with the person you love. Yet, relying on yourself teaches you a lot about YOU.
6. Compete with yourself. Life is meant for loving others and voicing love no matter what. Choose to breathe positivity into the life of others and cheer them on!
7. FEAR is lame. Ain’t nobody got time for that. Be smart about your life and safety, but holding something too hard forces it to suffocate and lack the room to grow.

When I actually drove out to shoot these, there wasn’t a soul in site. The locals mentioned there was a possibility of getting very lost, as many had.  I got 3 miles in and snapped a few sunset frames by myself and then took some time to reflect, as the 70 degree weather was so amazing in the dead of winter.  So glad I braved it without a GPS and with only my not so scary guard pup.

I live in baseball hats, this is is for sure a worn in fav!

Hat // Shoes // Jeans // Shirt // Watch // Cute pup…not for sale 😉

All images shot on FujiFilm XT-2 by Kara Mercer, also see my portrait/wedding work. Curious how I shoot images on the road by myself? Email me if you are interested in a mentor session or stepping up your game when taking images for your business! Don’t forget to subscribe to the blog for new post updates.