Choose Love...always

This is an old blog….lost in the archives from a few years back. And I think it is time to revive it again. That was the day, I started noticing my person unconscious bias.

Original post in 2016

This entry is about my recent yoga photoshoot but it is also about so much more.  My wonderful client Wellnessyogi wanted some updated photos in busy city streets.  Neither of us could manage the ungodly hour when the streets would be empty so I searched far and wide for an inner city location.  And when I found the amazing efforts of the Sage Coalition, I had to photograph there.  Its been a couple of hours since we left the location but I still cannot get over the impression it has left on me.  Here is a place of utter despair and poverty that has the most amazing artwork about hope, faith and love.  Most of us will not venture into these spaces.  What holds us back? Fear? Apathy?  When Mukunda and I first went about our shoot, I was quite calm despite being accosted a few times by strangers.  We were simply in awe of the artwork and the message of hope in these gritty streets.  What was once a beautiful garden made with love and hope using all types of recyclables is now overgrown with weeds and trash.  As we walked back to the car, the presence of certain individuals made me fearful.  Why?  They had not accosted me, they had not made eye contact with me so why?  Fear of what?  I have a lot to mull over.

In the meantime I leave you with a quote from Tagore 'Only in love are unity and duality not in conflict' Choose love, choose hope.

Living with Gratitude as a Victor!

We were thrilled and grateful when Sheri said she wanted to be part of our Bodies That Tell Stories campaign: a part of The YouShine® Movement. We know her story needs to be told and told often.

When Sheri walks into the room, the whole room brightens with her smile. Her positivity has enabled her to be a victor.

Sheri is the Founder and CEO of VictimsVoice App, which gives victims a legal voice, #record2remember. If you or anyone you know can benefit from VictimsVoice, you can find more details here.

This is how Sheri shines,

And this is how we visually captured Sheri’s story. The optimism that beckoned her when she reflected on how she will be taking control of her body, the SuperShero that she truly is, her smiling grateful personality, and, most importantly, her emergence as a Victor.

Help share this story with all who can be helped and inspired by the YouShine® movement and VictimsVoice

When you cry to water your soul......

It was at the foothills of the Italian Dolmites that I watered my soul.

Both of us were in tears, I just was more expressive. Photo by Erin Chrisman of King and Fields Studios

A few weeks back, after much waiting I boarded a plane to Venice to attend a photography workshop hosted by Graphi Studios at their castle in northern Italy.

I had packed two cameras, three lenses, all manners of cables, cards and accessories. But I really did not need any of them to learn what I did.

On day one, the first note I took translated as keeping it simple with gear and going deeper with expanding my boundaries

Heres one of my instructors Maurizio talking about a heart centric approach to photography

I simply watched in awe as he made my fellow photographers feel so deeply connected to themselves that this is the final result.

Sometime during the week, I had lost interest in learning the “technique” of photography and simply being present to soak in the connections our masters were talking about.

Recently someone asked me at an event, “Kapu, what makes you wake up in the morning besides your family?” And in a heartbeat I said, ‘knowing that I can make a difference in one individuals life to show them how they truly shine’.

And even though I have always approached serving my clients by connecting with them, I had so much more to learn. Watching Ben and Erin Chrisman of King and Field Studios photograph a young Italian family, I simply could not hold it in.

I cried…no… I watered my soul, not in sadness but in the possibilities and opportunities. In that moment I realized while I was offering beautiful legacy portraits to you, I could do so much more to serve you deeply.

So what is my promise after that day? I want to make sure as always I will continue to take the worry out of the planning for your session.

But, more importantly I am here to provide you with an opportunity to pause. To reconnect with each other as a family, as a couple, as a parent and child.

In this hurriedness of everyday life, I promise that our session will be a medium where you can come and have a transformational experience. A place to just be. And as cliche as it sounds, it will be a space for you to be authentically you. And this promise holds true whether you are in the studio as a family, couples or for your business branding portraits. The space is held for you for all sessions.

Because when that session is over and you have your portraits, they will be less about the archival fine art paper and more about who you truly are when surrounded by your loved ones and how Youshine!

With this if I have inspired you to pause and connect with your loved one, take a moment tell them so and then call me to see how I can help create this transformational experience for you or let me know by submitting your details below.