When Chris and I decided to spend the summer in Europe, I made a commitment to myself to carve out more time for my daily habit of play/create.

This essentially means, beyond my paid work, I want to make more time for personal projects as well as the development and expansion of my skills as an outdoor/adventure/lifestyle photographer and associated photo library. As I build a library of stock photos,  I have the potential to develop another revenue stream. As for skills, I want to become a better videographer as well as gain proficiency as a drone pilot (with my DJI Mavic Pro). I also want to make some cycling friends in the area that might like to have their picture taken ?

Carving out more time isn’t always easy – it means shifting other parts of my day. With the time change it’s easier to work when the US is asleep or just getting to work. And I don’t mind staying up a bit later since it’s dark and I can’t get outside anyway.

Carving out time is easier said than done and it really comes down to making a habit. Watching Chase Jarvis (a great personality for motivation) today was excellent reminder making the habit to create. When I do, I will improve my skills and I’ll be more content with life.

Check out Chase’s latest video series, The Daily Creative.

So…creating. I’ve been combining my play (riding my bike – also a habit) with my creative time this week. I’ve been riding almost every day and taken either my drone or camera or both with me. I’m not expecting myself to shoot the entire ride. I usually come up with 1 goal and then allow myself to stop if I see something that might be possible as a one woman production. It can be really challenging to “be your own model”, especially since I don’t have a good wireless remote for the Sony. However, I’m getting descent results while staging the timer and the scene through the camera, pushing the button and then trying to get to the right spot with some nice style at the right time. There’s a lot of back and forth and I probably look ridiculous but when it’s the only thing I have, I go for it!

I’d say the first week was great, I rode 5 out of the first 7 days I’ve been here, making at least one picture every day.

I wouldn’t say my drone flying skills have improved drastically but I’m at least making progress. My big goal for the drone is to be ready to shoot some good images and footage during a mountain bike trip to Norway later this summer.

May 19, 2017