Life is precious!

Its been one crazy week for me since my last post. Life has changed in a blink of an eye for my little family and I. I can't stress how important it is for each of us to take the time to cherish the moments we have to be with our loved ones. My mom in particular has been such a great example of courage and strength as she discovered last week she has cancer. You can imagine how horrified I was to hear this discovery. Just the word "cancer" alone was enough to stir so many mixed emotions and feelings for me because its hereditary in my moms family, and anyone who has had cancer, has died of it. I can't even imagine how my mother feels right now. I know she's scared, terrified, and so sad. It was almost like the news of it all has already taken a part of her. Seeing and experiencing this all is so surreal right now, but its evident just how important it is for us to keep my mom uplifted right now by staying positive, showing no fear, and keeping her busy. This whole experience although its only just begun, has brought my siblings and I even closer to my mom ten fold! - and that alone is so amazing. To see the strength of my familys love shine through this trial has been miracle in itself. I love my mom more than she'll even know! I have been so blessed to have a mom who has always taken care of me, even up until now, married and all - she has never missed out on anything in my life, big or small! She has always been there for me when I needed her and I have always seen her the same, "my mom". In my eyes, she never aged, changed, she is timeless. I can't explain it, because don't get me wrong, physically she has changed, but mentally those changes have never impacted the way I saw my mom until now. Its like the news of this all was a huge wake up call for me! Was I crazy to think my mom would live forever:)....My mom means the world to me, and without her in my life right now I would be a mess. She is at the core of who I am today and has taught me the importance of humility. She lives a simple life, doesn't care about fashion, doesn't care about material things, but has always been such a spiritual powerhouse for my family. She is made up of the deepest devotion, joy, and sacrifice. She has always been selfless, and has shown me how to endure to the end. There is no way to measure this womans love because there is no beginning or end. I love you Mom! With this, all I can say is that our life is so precious, fragile, yet fleeting. Photography is such an important piece of documenting the blessings and experiences of the human spirit. The power of imagery has become so real as this experience has moved me in the direction of capturing every moment with my mom whom I adore, respect, and aspire to be! I'm making our memories tangible and enjoying every minute of it. I don't expect anyone to feel bad for me, but moreso hope that anyone that reads is able to recognize the blessings of our mothers and how invaluable that love and relationship really is. Much luv!

Da Bomb Book!

So for the past few days I've been digesting this book and read it for the 2nd time except taking notes of the all the inspiring things Dane Sanders shares about building a signature brand for yourself with photography.  I can't help but thank Dane for redirecting me and showing me the importance of embracing who I am as a person and ensuring that I am making every effort to leverage my most valuable resource - ME!  I know that sounds pretty ignorant, because believe me I am far from being into myself, but from a business stance it is so true.  Dane shares time and time again that with the photography industry moving at light speed, and the learning curve decreasing because many are able to pick up a DSLR and teach themselves to shoot, we have to be clear with our goals and know who we are as photographers and how to share that with the world.

This whole time I was consumed with taking pictures and getting the technicality of it down, but after reading this book a few times, I have now changed my path and working on all aspects of who I am as a photographer, not my photography.  His philosophy of thinking of ourselves, "YOU" are a scarce resource that can't be replicated.  The possibilities are endless when you take the time to invest into YOU!  Dane teaches how you can increase that scarcity of YOU, which increases value and the end product is a UNIQUE photographer- which I believe everyone soughts out to be but may get caught up in the game of it all if you don't have the right focus.

So I just wanted to say thanks to Dane Sanders and to the wonderful people who are helping me to create my core business model as we speak.  As much as I want to get the technicality of it down, I know that it will come in due time.  This book has ignited a greater determination for me to understand that there is so much more to photography then mere pictures.  This book has broadened my knowledge base and I am so ready to utilize what I've learned and put it in practice.  We definitely live in changing times and with this passion you have to be able to adapt and evolve otherwise the wave of digi - changes will drown you if you can't learn to ride it.    All I can say is that if you are serious about your photography and want to make it a successful signature brand business, you  have to "LEVERAGE YOUR UNIQUENESS INTELLIGENTLY"...love the book, fond of Dane Sanders business model, and ready to take it all on!

On a side note, one of my most fav photographers J* is having her first workshop today!  I'm so excited for her and luckily I have a few friends attending....can't wait to hear all about it guys!  J* is an example of Dane Sanders model and she has bloomed with people knowing her for who she is as a person and photographer FIRST, which is far more valuable than her photography itself.  

Balancing Act!

Yeah, I just finished all my normal chores of laundry, cleaning, dishes, etc. since I came back from WPPI.  It seriously took me about 2-3 weeks just to get back to my normal weekly tasks.  I was so energized after that conference and was living on no sleep, booking appts left and right, and making no time to just relax.  Then, earlier this week I was in my office removing my lens, had to grab the cap for the body in my bedroom and when I walked into my office, there Lehua was sticking her finger in my sensor..mental note to self- NEVER, NEVER leave camera alone in office!  I immediately tried to take pictures and everything was black and dark.  Even with my ISO at its highest and shooting at light, nothing was to be seen on the camera Arrrrhhhhhh!  I couldn't believe my camera was gone within just a few seconds.  Serves me right for just leaving it on my desk thinking it was safe.  What kid would resist sticking their finger in that big hole of the camera...... So my appts I cancelled even though one of my best friends had a backup for me, but all of this made me realize that I need to make time to catch up with my family and home- so that I did.  

This weekend has been so relaxing, that in between games and movies I would sneak to my office to play around with photoshop...there's something about down time and editing.  Its like the two are inseparable....as much as I tried to stay away from my computer it was impossible.  The only way to keep me from my office was to actually leave the house which we did do eventually.   However, photoshop is such a daunting beast that I just haven't gotten my head around it.  I'm taking the weekly class, but its so overwhelming.  So now I've resorted to online tutorials and all the resources available online.  I also plan to learn from pros like Kayleen who taught me so much on Friday.  Thanks Kayleen for taking the time to help me with photoshop and just working my imac:) 

 Kayleen also gave me a book to read called "Fast Track" which I fell in love with.  If you are serious about photography and what it can have in store for you-this book is for you.  This book is so empowering, it helped me to define who I am as a photographer, to affirm my own uniqueness.  I also have to thank Kathy for helping both Kayleen and I with building our businesses.  She shared with us just how unique we are, and the advantages of using that to our photography.  I'm beginning to realize more and more just how great this passion has lived up to be.  Its a constant learning process, as I'm learning things daily which brings on new challenges to push myself...and I love that! Each day I focus on the importance of finding my style and then expanding the endless possibilities that photography offers.  There are so many opportunities, and there is so much time to learn!  

So anyways, as I jump back and forth, the picture above is an edited version from photoshop, and hopefully I can continue to learn and apply some of the things needed to make my pictures really pop!  I got my camera fixed, luckily it wasn't any serious damage, but I will be back in business this week gearing up for family portraits!  Now that my chores are finally done, I'm excited about how productive this next week will be with more time on my hands to really apply what I've learned this week about photoshop, and business.  And to think the balancing act before photography entered my life was hard....if anything its spiced up that whole scenerio and definitely makes things more interesting at home:)  All I can say is that I have the most amazing husband who continues to stand at my side to make this all a reality for me, and fills in for my neglection (i know thats not a word, but you know what i mean) of household chores.  Love ya Hun!

My "subjects" for life!

My kids are seriously models in training with all the pictures I've been taking of them lately and pose practicing at home.  They use to be so excited about taking pictures, but with the recent overexposure - I now have to bribe and entice them to get some good shots.  Luckily, they still have quite a few years with me at home.... they are my "subjects" for life:)

Baby "D"

Meet baby "D"!  So lil' guy flew all the way down from California to take his pictures and let's just say I tried.  He is our nephew who came with so much energy.  I forget what its like to have 1 yr olds, and realized just how much more work goes into location photos rather than studio.  My studio shots with my 1 yr olds was a breeze compared to this.  Nonetheless, I had so much fun and have to thank my husband who was my assistant for the day.  Here are just a few of my favorite shots.  

Pahulu's Undies Day!

Now I don't know about you, but when I am in the privacy of my own home I want to be comfortable.  Well, for a while we have always had family and relatives living with us which meant that my level of comfort had to be sacrificed.  Well as of last weekend, we are finally guest-free.  Now don't get me wrong, its always a blessing to help others out when you can, but nothing beats being home with just your family.  So last weekend I was so excited to be able to just walk around in my undergarments...lets be real, who doesn't walk around their home with their most comfortable clothes on:)....so, as I walked out my son Alani who is pictured above said, "Mom, why are you walking around in your underwear?", I told him, "because I can...in fact today is the Pahulu Family Underwear Day!"  Both of my boys started laughing and within seconds they joined me!
As you can see here, my daughter who is the youngest at 2 yrs old (just barely turned two) was too mature to join us and watched as an onlooker thinking to herself, she's too cool.  However, my boys thought it was the funniest thing to be able to run around our home in their undies!
Then they kept saying, "Mom take a picture of me, take a picture of me!" They started jumping from the hearth of the fireplace.......
Then my oldest Bruce began dancing.  I thought to myself, because my boys are getting older I may not be able to convince them to have another Pahulu's undies day, because they'll be just like their lil' sis who didn't want to join us.
All in all, it was a fun day in the house of the Pahulu's but I think Lehua got the last laugh!  These three kids are my life, and I love them to pieces!

Sneak Peek!

Much props go out to those who photograph children.  I was running around all weekend chasing lil' ones down to take pictures.  You really have to be so creative and patient.  This lil' guy would not stop running.  However, it sure was fun and I'd do again and again if I had to:)