do you feedly?it's an app I have on my phone that is like my own mini-magazine that updates itself daily.in it are all the bloggers and creatives I follow to be inspired and creatively charged.people like the infamous jasmine star...wedding photographer and social media entrepreneur extraordinaire.a few days ago she encouraged her readers (okay me) to create for creation's sake.a lot of what you see on my blog/instagram/social media is me being hired as a photographer to create for you.yes, you come to me because you like what I do...but in reality I'm working to create for you...what I think you'll like.she encouraged that sometimes creating isn't about how much profit or how many likes you'll get...sometimes, in order to recharge, you need to create for you...just you.another one of my favorites on my feedly is wyn wiley.he is one of my all-time favorite senior photographers...the colors and emotion he creates in one image is incredible.in his posts, he comes across as someone you'd just like to spend the afternoon with...laughing, being in sunshine and kinda being dorks with. ;)people like him are rare...and I genuinely like following him and am inspired most every post he shares.one other blog that I love following right now is the Colorvale blog...a lot of their blog is promoting their planners (which I have and it's amazing!)but their heartfelt business posts encourage and are real...which, to be honest, is rare in a field that is often looked at as being the perfect job/field/profession in spite of the realitythat sometimes, more often than not...it's just plane hard - same as any other job.my point in writing all this is to say that a few weeks ago I took the advice of some of the online blogs I followand I decided I wanted to create...just for me.create what?I love black and white portraits.I think that when they're done well,they evoke emotion that a traditional-smile-at-the-camera-in-full-color portrait might not otherwise.so.on instagram/facebook I asked for anyone over sixteen who might sit for me so that I could see them and photograph them as I wanted.no rules.no agenda.just me...wanting to create studio lit strong black and white fine art portraits.with seven willing participants who let me.thank you to the people in these portraits.they, in themselves, are inspiring...creatives, military mom's, daredevil skateboarders, dancers, students...people who interest me.in being themselves and sitting for me,they've encouraged my creativity in simply allowing me to create with no rules...and I SO value the trust they gave me when they sat for me...it's not easy to let someone else direct you with no say. ;)thank you. :)