Capturing the Moment-An Unplugged Life | Fridays with the Photographer
“didn’t have a camera by my side this time. hoping i could see the world with both my eyes.” 3×5; john mayer
Packing my bags and heading to Seattle for a week away with my hubby, I have some thoughts about putting down the camera and living in the moment.
I’m writing to you from a plane. The sun is almost gone from the sky, everything outside of my window is the blueish grey or white of a puffy-clouded sky, and my rear end is numb from sitting in the exact same position for the past four and a half hours. I’m in my zen place, though, minus the numb-butt. I’m escaping from the hustle and bustle of endless emails, editing weddings until my wrists carpal-tunnel-up (yeah, I made that a verb), and the hours upon hours of traffic on route 76. I’m flying across the country to spend a week with my husband.
Not everyone knows, but many people do. . . my husband’s residency has taken him across the country for three years in Seattle. While this means that I’ll be drinking dark roasted coffee to my heart’s content and hiking in the mountains every other month or so, it also means that at home, I am alone (with all my pets, at least). Being alone has given me lots of time to think. To appreciate. To focus. To be challenged more than I’ve ever been in life.
On a typical day, as I’m trying to balance laundry, feeding the pets, working, managing my own business, answering upwards of 30-40 emails a day, seeing my friends and family, and getting some sleep, I’m not always taking as much time for me and my own little moments as I should.
My weeks in Seattle are designed around living in the moments that I don’t always take time for on the east coast. I treat every night like a date night. I walk the mile to the best ice creamery in the city and then I repeat again tomorrow, because I LOVE ice cream, possibly even more than weddings. I rest when I need rest and take long relaxing baths with a good book.
Why am I telling you this? Because I remember how overwhelming it can be to plan a wedding, to focus on the details, to fit in a million appointments, and check off little boxes on my wedding planner. I remember what it is like to suddenly be married and be buying a house, setting life goals, getting another puppy (or having a baby, like most of my friends did). I know what it is like to have long, tiring weeks at work, grab crap food on the drive home, and want to crash on the couch for a few hours with my good friend— Wine. Don’t forget to step back from what ever it is that you are working on, getting caught up in, or rushing through to take a mental snapshot of the moment. Remember how it feels to feel your wedding band on your finger for the first time, how exhausting it is to sit in a realtor’s office and sign yet another page in the endless paperwork of buying your first home. And above all, pause for a minute and really appreciate the person that you have to spend life with.
No matter how much of a professional I am or how I approach this industry as a career choice and business, every once in a while I am reminded of the core reason why I do what I do. Weddings are a day where bonds are made permanent, emotions run high, and the action is non-stop. Wedding days are all about getting sh** done and relishing the moment simultaneously—Weddings help me to remember how to live life every day more fully. I’m signing off for a weekend, something I haven’t done for many months (thank you, pope Francis). I hope that you take the time to live in the moment this weekend, too.
The one thing I rarely do is interrupt the little moments that I have to savor with instagram or selfies. So although you’ll still see the beautiful blog posts and the fantastic instagram feed that my beloved studio manager Rachel will handle during my time away, you won’t be seeing a slew of images from the west coast on my feeds. Put down your cell phone camera and just take a mental picture this time. You’ll probably appreciate it more.
Even at moments when there may not be a professional photographer by my side, I try not to be the one stuck behind the camera. Top photos by family members. Bottom picture by my friend and professional photographer, Robyn at Robyn Photo.
xo Ashley
One of my favorite portraits from our associate photographer, Serena, taken on my own wedding day. I didn’t take a single photograph on my wedding day, but rather I have vivid memories of every crazy moment from the day, captured by my professional photographers.
Love that you’re taking a social media free weekend!! It’s always so refreshing when I do that! Enjoy your vacation!!
Thank you for sharing your story! Best of luck to you!