Samm Blake . Wedding Photographer . Portrait Photographer . Perth, Australia

In my last post I talked a lot about the images that the beautiful Jesh de Rox took of Michael and I. Up until today, Ive never really showed the images to many people, except a few that I have put up on facebook and scattered around my home. They  were something I wanted to keep to myself because they were so so special to me. I remember the first time I saw them, when I started to watch the little slideshow Jesh made me, the entire world around me froze and my arms were covered in goosebumps. Later that night, when Michael finally came home, witnessing his reaction to the images is one my favourite memories of him.  I have a quote by Jesh on a chalkboard in my living room that says “perhaps the best gift you can give someone is to truly see them, that kind of honest seeing is the root of true love.” These images, the whole beloved experience, is one of the best gifts I have ever received. The best part is that it keeps on giving, a year on, these images are still making a difference to my life. Thank you Jesh :)

While I was in Vegas in March this year for WPPI, as part of his platform speech, Jesh launched the beloved movement, inviting and encouraging other photographers to continue the exploration into beloved sessions. I am so so proud of him for launching the beloved movement and the speech he gave that day (you can listen to it here). The energy in the room that day was out of this world amazing. I still get goosebumps thinking back to it. Jesh showed our beloved images to the packed theatre of about 800 people. My heart almost leapt out of my chest. Being in a room full of that many people looking at images of me on a huge projector is a crazily intense experience. I do not think my heart has ever pumped so hard in my life. After the slideshow finished, Jesh asked Michael and I up the front to ask us a few questions, oh so nervous and so shy we are standing in front of all those people ;) But my wall got smashed into even tinier pieces after that experience. So many people came up to me after the class and the remainder of WPPI to introduce themselves and say nice things to me. Thank you to each of you who did, it meant a lot to me :) While I was in Vegas, I also finally meet the beautiful Jesse from Our Labor of Love. These words she put up on her blog yesterday moved me greatly. Her words resonates with me deeply and inspired me to finally sit down, be brave and put all my thoughts on here. thank you jesse :)

Michael and I…

{images by jesh de rox}

Jesh is coming back to Australia (Perth, Melbourne and Newcastle) this November / December for his {life as an artform} workshops. A few spots are left for the Perth {life as an artform} workshop. I am hosting the workshop again and this time its at my house in the hills, so many exciting things planned for it, I cannot wait for November to arrive :)

Over the past two years my portrait work has been evolving and is something I hold very close to my heart.  In December 2008, while Jesh de Rox was here for his life as an artform workshop, Michael and I asked Jesh to do a beloved session of us. This two hour portrait shoot changed our lives. Two hours shifted our whole way of thinking, how we see each other, photography and the world.  Completely inspired and encouraged by my dear friend Jesh, the last 18 months has seen me experiment with the idea of what a ‘portrait session’ could be, should be. Most people who walk into my office, after they sit down on the couch, the first thing they tell me is that they hate having their photograph taken or think they do not photograph well. I’ve learnt that when a person absolutely loves and adores a photograph of themselves, it is when they are being a hundred percent genuine in the moment the photograph was taken. The images Jesh created of Michael and I, we are a hundred percent genuine in every single image and I absolutely adore every image created. There are images where I see some of my less favorite features, like my nose! hah! but when I see the images, I remember what I felt at that moment of time and maybe its helped me begin to like some of my less favourite features ;)

It sometimes can be hard to be genuine and authentic. I am naturally a shy person. Its really hard for me to go up to person and introduce myself. Ive learnt that its okay to be shy but I also learnt the less shy I am, the more genuine and authentic I can be. I think everybody has a ‘wall’ that they have created unconsciously and is placed in front of them, different people have different sized walls, low, high, thick and thin. All the things we experience in life and the interactions with have with others, good and bad, adds and subtracts to the wall. As kids, the wall is only at its foundations and by the time we become adults, we have walls of all shapes and sizes. We often wish we could experience being a kid again. To go back to a place where the wall never existed. I know I would love to be six years old again, even for just a week. To go back to that child like state of play, wonder and excitement would be magical. To have no worry, no stress. To have none of that emotional baggage the last twenty, forty, sixty years has given us and maybe made our walls rather thick. I admit the last two years I have been working hard in knocking down my rather large wall. Jesh has been massive factor in helping me smash my wall into tiny little pieces. Through his workshops and in the beloved session, we enter into a child like state of play. We are reminded of what it is like to be a kid again. We do experiments and we explore. We listen to music and we make art. Most of my closest friends now are people I met or reconnected with at one of Jesh’s workshops.

Each time I do a portrait session now, my wall is knocked down a little more because each time I truly connect with my clients, where I am being genuine and authentic, it creates a space for my clients to be genuine and authentic. Through the portrait shoot, I invite my clients to enter a child like state of play by suggesting experiments and encourage them to explore. The results create genuine and authentic images. When this happens it is confirmation to me, that this is the way a portrait session, or photography should really be. It propels me even further knowing this is the work I am suppose to be doing.

This portrait shoot below, taken in the hills near Queenstown in New Zealand, sitting on the side of a road, Dave turned to me and simply said “thank you”. Surprised and unsure what the thank you was for,  I asked him and he responded saying that they had not spent time like this together in months and thanking me for creating this space for them. In that moment, I knew this was exactly what the beloved movement and my portrait work was all about, to create a space for people to enjoy and to focus on each other and themselves and for them to be reminded of what is truly important.