say something.

i took a test whilst i was in college for a leadership class taught by the now photographer, speaker, and author dane sanders. the class changed my life. his insights have a way of doing that. don't believe me? read his book: fast track photographer or just hear him speak. he's the real deal.

and i digress...back to the story. so this test...it's called the strengths finder. it's pretty sweet. and tells you a ton about your, uh, strengths. awesome, right? SO, one of my strengths was "input." "you are inquisitive. you collect things. you might collect information--words, facts, books, and quotations--or you might collect tangible objects...whatever you collect, you collect because it interests you. and yours is the kind of mind that finds many things exciting. yhe world is exciting precisely because of its infinite variety and complexity." AND, i'm a "learner." "you love to learn...you will always love the process of learning. the process, more than the content or the result, is especially exciting for you. you are energized by the steady and deliberate journey from ignorance to competence." (markus buckingham, now discover your strengths"

this is as true today as it was 5 years ago when i took the test. i am constantly collecting. i have a collection of twisty-ties that i started when i was a kid. it's awesome and impressive. jealous? you should be. and i have quite a sizeable rubber band ball. haha. okay, really, i'm not so much a collector of such things, but i am constantly inputting in myriad forms. i surf the web for goodies. i read articles and books about marketing, social media, design, and photography. i flip through magazines for shoot concepts and ideas and window shop for cool display design. and i have a folder on my desktop for the sole purpose of storing my collections. this is all fine and dandy, and i do think it connects with the whole "learner" gig. i am always seeking more knowledge, understanding, experience, inspiration and wisdom. i crave it in fact. i was always that kid in class (and in life) who asked a lot of questions and always wanted to know why? how? i love that show on the science channel, "how it's made." i always watch it when i'm at home visiting my family and trip-out about how candy canes and cheese puffs are made. it's useful information for a cocktail party. trust me. everyone wants to know about how cheese puffs are made. see, little did you know, i'm a wealth of useful information. i input and i learn.

all that to say...methinks i all too often just take-in information and forget to disseminate it. and sometimes i neglect to even process it as much as i should, i just collect and store it away just in case it might be useful later. but i got to thinking about it and came to the conclusion quite quickly that this is, well, LAME. what's the point of all this "learning" and "inputting" if i don't always synthesize and share? it's silly really. and entirely selfish.

i've decided to change that and to share more. part of the reason i hesitate to do this, however, is because all too often i feel like no one cares or like i don't really have anything that interesting or insightful to say. i'm insecure i guess and feel like you have to become somebody before you can say something about anything. but then my friends and advisors tell me, "shut-up, get over yourself and start sharing. maybe you'll at least help one person, with one thing and then you'll know it was worth it to say something!". i think it's time i embrace my strengths and begin to use them more intentionally and wisely. alas, i'm gonna start living my dream. now. not someday, but today. my dream (and my heart) is to notice that which goes unnoticed, and to help people become more of who they are and to live more meaningful stories. being part of that process, in some form at least, is what truly excites me.

what all this will look like exactly, i am not quite sure. but i have me some ideas. and i will keep you in the loop as they come to fruition. and in the meantime, i am going to endeavor to at least share some of my finds here on the blog. and of course, i will keep "tweeting" about them over on my twitter page. but rest assured, that i am always scheming ways to live that dream, and to choose my own meaningful story.

so, what do you think?

show it love.

i just found out some exciting news. i received four nominations for the best of show-it competition. wow. i am humbled and honored to be listed among some of show-it's best photographers (and designers). to be next to such industry icons as jasmine star & dane sanders is just plain awesome. and to make it even better some of my favorite up-and-coming photographers are among the ranks too (aaron shintaku, gabriel ryan& abigail smith). not too mention my new favorite designer, promise tangeman. i am blown away. and terribly excited about it.

here's the cool part. now, that i've been nominated, it's up to the people. oh yes. so, to my people: if you are so inclined to show the j.ship (or any of the other awesome photographers listed) some vote-love, head on over to show-it's fan page and do work. of course, i thank you for your support and vote. and encouragement along the way as i endeavoured to photograph (and live) life this year. 2009 was my best year yet and what a great way to celebrate all that it was. thank you friends for taking part and allowing me to share in your story. you definitely made (and continue to make) my own story all the better.

with out further ado, j. shipley photography was nominated in the following categories. (click on the links to vote).

photographer of the year
dig the design
brand boost
+site showcase

thanks for the show-it love. fyi, the polls close on feb. 14th.

j. shipley +sites.

i have kept you waiting long enough. so alas, i give you a new and exciting perk i am offering my 2010 couples: wedding websites. i imagine these custom, fresh and unique sites will be a huge plus for my couples (and their guests alike) allowing them to share photos, stories and wedding information. say "goodbye" to the cheesy, advertisement-laden, commercial sites, and say "hello" to these custom, modern and beautiful flash +sites.

plus one: lauren + nick's wedding website.


plus two: courtney + matt's wedding website.

plus three: jenelle + marc's wedding website.


as you can see, the sites can be use pre-wedding for sharing engagement photos, hotel, travel and registry information, and even rsvp-ing (which could be a huge money and tree saver). and the sites can be used post-wedding for sharing wedding photos, saying thank you and could even be used to share wedding how-tos with your friends and fellow brides- and grooms-to-be and photos from your honeymoon and new life together. cool, eh?

on new years: part two.

the past week or so has been one of reflection and thought, of goal-setting and scheming, of processing. i've found out early on during my days at westmont that i am a verbal processor. in fact, michele is the one who named it for me when i was working with her as the orientation assistant a while back. my friend and co-worker lori shared a similar habit, so the pair of us would verbally process away all the day long. and often, michele would chuckle from her office and chime in here or there. it was great fun. and it has been in such moments that i have come to quite profound realisations about myself. more often than not, michele is the one across the bistro table listening, allowing me to process, asking me good questions and offering insight all along the way.

we had one of those conversations yesterday. it was our first coffee sesh of the new year and one of my favorites yet. we talked about new year's resolutions, vulnerability, false realities and avoidance, about habits and proclivities, coping mechanisms, contentment, phases and seasons, identity management and self-promotion. after all that, we stumbled upon something very interesting and are thereby scheming something pretty freaking cool. let's just say lots of notes were taken and we both walked away giddy with excitement and all sorts of inspired. watch out.

and after all that i was officially ready for two thousand ten. ready for the ride. for the moments. for the laughter. the risks. the ups and downs. the accomplishments. the failures. the dreams. the conversations. the relationships. the friends. i'm ready to live my story. yes, i'm ready for all that. and more. bring it.

on new years.

it's a new year. we are six days in, and as i begin to process what i would have this year look like, i can't help but feel an overwhelming desire to run the other way, toward the safety of 2009. i know what it holds and what to expect. i like that about 2009. yesterday my friend jessica and i chatted about how cool an oracle would be or perhaps time travel where you could simply proceed and if you messed it up or didn't like the outcome, you could just rewind and try again. i would like that. 2010 would not seem so ominous and would be far more approachable albeit far less exciting and surprising. and of course, foreknowledge would be kind of boring but would cause far less anxiety and uneasiness. perhaps that's why oracles don't exist and why we can't travel back or forward in time. the thrill of life would thereby be gone. and our risk-taking would prove no exciting, unexpected results and leave us (and others) unimpressed. so i suppose all is well with the world as it is and i have to embrace the unknown and open my arms to all that is 2010. perhaps if i reframe and sketch out a few goals and aspirations, 2010 will be more welcoming, more manageable more enticing to me. or perhaps if i spend the day in a coffee shop with good friends and verbally process my thoughts, then i'll be ready to take on 2010. oh wait, that's what i did today. done and done.

camille has a way about her that i quite enjoy. she is a dreamer, and she's honest. she doesn't let me get off easily and pushes me to be a better version of myself and grapples with my questions alongside me. i like that. and she often reminds me that i can accomplish anything i put my heart into. you can do it, put you're back into. (it's like that song in "save the last dance". haha). she is living proof of that. she dreams big and pushes herself to make it happen. the result: recipe rx. a nifty health and wellness tool that is on the brink of revolutionising the way we think about food and heath. she's rockin' it. and i am proud of her and so grateful to have her in my life.

we talked about goals and new year's resolutions today. we wrestled with the complexities therein and wondered about the differences between dreams and goals. are they the same? is a goal a way to get to a dream? is a lofty goal just a dream? and should our resolutions be dreams? or goals? or both? when should we be practical? and when can we dream big? i'm not sure if we came to any definitive conclusions but we pondered and we questioned. this is a good thing a suppose. and we did decide that we are going to adopt donald miller's approach to new years resolutions: living a good story (be sure to read part two also).

then shortly thereafter, i meet with my good friend michele mollkoy and we talked about some pretty awesome stuff. that my friends will have to be part two of the new years post.

[addendum: more thoughts on new year's resolutions here].

[sidenote: my friend anna is a brilliant writer i think. her blog is titled "on life" and she titles all of her blog posts as such: "on_______". i like it. so i am pilfering the idea today. hope that's fine by you, anna.]