Seek the lofty by reading, hearing and seeing great work at some moment every day.

~Thornton Wilder

Lofty is the perfect word for me, and especially right now.

 Many times I have people say to me, "Oh, Eliesa. You've done so much already and you're always doing something! What is next for you?" This is always immediately followed up by the question," And how do you keep going?"

This whole thing, my life, my business, etc. is all fueled by passion. I am passionate about doing big things. I'm not interested in being mediocre or okay - I am determined to be great. I am determined to be a legend. These are big words and I have set some extremely high expectations and lofty goals for myself, but I always have. I think there have been two keys to my success thus far. 1) Everything has come about and happened very organically and naturally for me. I have never tried to be anyone else but myself and I have stayed true to the art that I want to create. I have always put my efforts into projects that I believe in and I have not compromised anything to get to my dream. 2) I have always had momentum. I am constantly pushing myself - and those around me - to go out of our comfort zone and create things and chase our ideas to make them a reality. If you own a business and want to continue to do so for the next 30 years, you better not get comfortable. In fact, you better get UN-comfortable...the more, the better.

On the flip side, this past week, I was out to a little impromptu dinner with some fellow photographers and one of them said, " Sometimes I just hate being around you Eliesa, because you are so god damn motivated and that is just not me! It's exhausting...but deep down I suppose I need a little of that right now." She is absolutely right! You shouldn't feel like a horrible person if you are reading this and thinking, "But, I don't want to be a big deal. I just want to make photographs that make people happy and have my little happy business." Great, fabulous, lovely. Everyone has their own vision of how they want to impact this world and Oprah is no better than the volunteer in the soup kitchen.

However, my point for the whole post is to encourage all of you to do something that is uncomfortable for you and see where it takes you. Whether you are interested in photography and you've been putting off buying that camera  - do it. Maybe you want to quit your day job and pursue your passion as a full time career - do it. Maybe you feel like you need to do some soul searching and you really want to book that trip - do it. Sometimes in life, your best decisions are made as spontaneous ones. I guarantee you that by taking a big risk, you will be absolutely terrified, but I also guarantee that it won't be as scary as you think. You will have catapulted yourself into a situation that you simply can't fail at. Failure has never been an option for me, and big surprise...I've worked my ass off, but I have never failed myself.

You can thank my great friend Josh Elliott for this photo up above, which started me thinking about all of the above thoughts! This image was taken about a year ago when we were at a workshop together and I love it, because I am SO focused on whatever I am doing.

Passion. Truth. Momentum.

Don't get comfortable - ever.



LOVEe

The latest and greatest issue of Metro Magazine is fresh on the news stands!

I had the pleasure of getting a quick sneak peek at this month's issue and I have to say...it's a must read! It features a HILARIOUS, yet practical guide on literally...how to do everything!

Also check out our latest installment in Self Styled!




Pick up your issue now...you'll be happy you did!



LOVEe

Last Monday, I had the extreme pleasure of guest speaking at the first-ever JNP Workshop in Santa Ana, California! Jeffrey is one of my absolute best friends in both life and this crazy photography industry. We met 3 years ago at a workshop and have since developed a beautiful relationship! Jeffrey and I are complete opposites in almost everything, but we are constantly challenging and encouraging each other to dream bigger.  We often talk about that workshop and how the best thing we took away was not necessarily the content but the lasting relationships and friendships with other photographers.

When Jeffrey approached me about speaking at his workshop, I was absolutely on board! Our vision was to simply inspire the students to live their dreams and spread the love! (I know, it sounds totally hippie...)  The workshop came together beautifully with an amazing table scape from the ladies at Utterly Engaged and Treasured Petal (sneak peek below...the rest of the beautiful images will be in an upcoming issue of Utterly Engaged E-Zine!)

The workshop was filled to the brim with some intense information! Seriously, we covered everything from Branding to Building your Personal Style to Pricing to Getting Your Dream Clients! It was a fun filled day of learning, but I think what the students appreciated most was the hands-on-shooting time we had with lots of new equipment that they might not have had the opportunity to use before! I enjoyed this time the best, because I was able to get out of the classroom and actually teach the students how to direct and shoot!

Putting on a workshop is definitely not easy. There is a ton a prep work that goes into a day like this and both Jeffrey and I learned along the way. However, it is absolutely worth it! I had SO much fun being a part of this day and it really solidified my passion for giving back to my industry! It also proved that I am a leader - and a strong one at that. There will be many more workshops in the future, that is for damn sure. Boo Ya!




A special thank you to all of the amazing attendees! You made this workshop and I am SO excited to see what you all accomplish in the future!

ROCK ON!

LOVEe

There are two things that I absolutely love to be around. The mountains and the ocean. I think that is why I am so obsessed with Vancouver, because it has THE perfect balance of the two beauties! However, considering that Minnesota has a very flat terrain, the ocean and hills of California were a warm welcome to my soul! The Juddster traveled with me to Orange County, where I was the guest speaker at the first-ever JNP Workshop (more details to come in my next post)! We took some time to enjoy the sand, sun, almost 70 degree weather (which felt like a dream!)....and I got to indulge in my all-time-favorite treat, Pinkberry!


We also had the opportunity to see some of our fabulous friends...yes, Cali was pretty much bliss!




Here's to Sunshine and Pinkberry!


LOVEe

The latest issue of the oh-so-fabulous Minnesota Bride has just come out and it is HOT!!

This issue features our work from the amazing Snyder Wedding this past summer! They had the perfect wedding to be published...no to mention they are one smokin' couple!

It's a big goal of mine to get as many weddings published as possible, but also in legit, stellar publications. I consider MN Bride to be one of the best and it is an honor to be featured in their magazine yet again!



Make sure to pick up your issue - on news stands now!

LOVEe