YOUR HOME OF EXPRESSION

I first started photographing women over 10 years ago and finding it in me to step in front of the camera myself was challenging...all the stories on repeat playing in my mind why I shouldn't, couldn't, wouldn't....yet I was asking and wishing for other women to step in front of the camera. I could see all these great things about other women, but I couldn't see it in myself. We have spent years pulling ourselves apart internally & externally for decades, comparing ourselves to others, not feeling good enough, always thinking we can better ourselves in some way before we even look at taking a step into something else, into more of who we want to be. We have critersized & judged others, all to make ourselves feel better for what we're not doing, or not willing to do, or wouldn't even think of doing...instead of looking at each person as an individual who has different needs & desires and just celebrating that. We can all see the person we want to be, we dream about that person often and the only way we will get to be that, is by stepping out and taking action towards it. I got to a point in my life where I had had enough of my own BS! I had personally heard many stories from other women and it were these conversations that helped me decide to try things on for size, to figure out what kind of a woman I am and what lights me up. Time wasn't going to wait for me. I realised very quickly I love expression. We all have our own flavour of expression, yet we often hold back so tight on letting that side of us out. Stepping in front of the camera healed parts of me. I love to take self-portraits...alone in my home. I dance, I pose, I step into a character that I want to see come out more. I am a woman with a sensual side and that part of me was killed off years ago due to experiences I had endured. It was up to me to bring her back, to let myself step into my feminine & feel safe, safe in my own body again. I also love to be photographed now by others...each photographer has been able to pull a bit more of me forward. I have a cheeky side to me, I love to laugh out loud, dress up, get creative and just play and see what comes through. I love this part of me now, it makes life more fun & light. Allowing myself to be in portraits has healed how I see myself & my body. My body is forever changing and this year I have seen a big change, my body needs a different way of being cared for now. It would be easy for me to hide and not show up in portraits, but it's the portraits (by others or self portraits) that let me acknowledge where I am in this very moment. To remind myself to be kind to my body that doesn't fail me, it only reminds me of what it needs. Posing has given me the awareness of how I hold myself which I am able to take through into my dance, another form of expression I continue to learn & at times find challenging. However, it is different but I can relate so much of dance back to portraits. Being surrounded by amazing dancers, both men & women, they have showen me what's possible, all by being in their own expression that lights them up. My heart wants to see more people giving themselves permission to express - in whatever way they dream of. When you let yourself do this, it let's you see another part of you, it gives you the opportunity to heal any parts of you. When you express you lead the way for others to do the same. Nothing lights me up more than seeing others do what they love, being in their full expression, in their zone where only that moment exists. Our bodies are amazing and they deserve to be honored, loved, free to express because it's in that space that we thrive. Step into your home of expression and watch as your world become lighter in that moment...then encourage & celebrate others to step into their home of expression. Photo Credit: Juan Carlos