Ocean Spires & the words of Chase Jarvis

ocean spire joy hamel 2011

I just read the inspirational words of Chase Jarvis (his recent blog post is FANTASTIC, go read it now) Its time to leave the status quo behind!

"This is not a fluff piece. This is truth: there are a bazillion photographers in the safe little ‘status quo’ bubble that will keep the status quo quietly marching along. So many that, in fact, it will be just fine without you.

Which is precisely why you should leave it behind."

~The Status Quo Will Do Just Fine Without You by Chase Jarvis

following that gypsy spirit again...

I decided almost exactly one year ago, that I was going to change my life. I quit my well paying, some what stable (and utterly hopeless) job, left the house I had lived in for 5 years and still owned, to follow my gypsy spirit to where it needed to be... Northern California.

YES! I am completely crazy!

I left a job, during one of the worst job markets I’ve seen in my adult life
and
left a house for sale in one of the worst housing markets I’ve seen in my adult life.
I did it all to find epic bliss and finally start living life on my own terms.

The decision to leave the midwest had been lingering in my soul for years... I left California in 1999 and I’ve been trying to get back ever since. The timing was never right... there was the house, the job, the family.. blah blah blah...

So here I go, journeying into the woods, getting lost, and finding my own way out (again!). The last year has been emotional. I've felt the worst depression of my life and found pure happiness. Maybe there will be a book, a few short essays, or just a visual discovery of my journey from one extreme to another... my life.. a work in progress

Time to be myself, bye bye status quo!! It’s not you, it’s me. I have been trying to live unconventionally in a conventional world for years. Watch me fall down and get back up. I will share every part of the journey with you as I build myself and my business (both I have been working on for years). It seems that a shift in geographical location is just what my spirit had in mind.

My first challenge. Acknowledging my own worth.

I hope you will feel inspired to share your stories of transformation with me, bits and pieces via comments, or privately via email. Know this, you are not alone and with transformation comes renewed life.

Cheers! To the journey!
joy

Horse rescue, photography, & California Northern

A few months ago I submitted some of my photography work to California Northern. It takes a while to get responses, editors are VERY busy folks!

Imagine my surprise when a few weeks ago, the editor contacted me about publishing some images I captured while volunteering at a local horse rescue.

I have always loved horses and when we moved to the north bay my daughter fell in love with horses too. So we looked around and found a wonderful horse rescue called Well Trained Horses, located at Icssoma Farm in beautiful west Sebastopol. We booked a lesson and I was hooked.

My daughter and I started volunteering on a regular basics, in exchange for riding lessons. Our experiences at the stables have grown to so much more than just riding lessons. We have found a new family, been emotionally healed, and bonded with 13 of the most amazing horses I have ever be blessed to spend time with.

Of course as a photographer, I couldn’t wait to photograph these majestic beasts!
They all have a story... some are sad tales, some just needed a place to call home.

Susan Jan is an amazing trainer and mentor. The horses actually light up when she is around. Taking care of 13 horses is no easy task, the economical challenges alone should make you cringe. Don’t even get me started on the amount of muck!

This is why the publishing of these two photographs of Ernie and one of Bluff is so important to me. Exposure for Susan and her cause. Well Trained Horses runs on donations and the support of a fantastic group of volunteers! There is always plenty of work to go around. If you want to help, monetary donations are fantastic, we can also use donations of supplies, tack, feed, and hard work!

Cheers,
Joy

For more information on Susan Jan and the horses at Icssoma Farm please visit their website
www.welltrainedhorses.com

See more of my equine photography in issue #3 of California Northern