What a year it has been already, I have been here there and everywhere for weddings and – shock horror – a ‘kind-of’ holiday, and it’s only the beginning of March. What has this year still got in store for me with so much to go!?
How good was January for tennis – love the Aussie open and without wishing the time away (because there are some super exciting things coming up) I can’t wait until January 2016; I’ve bitten the bullet and I am finally going to the Australian Open – HOORAY! On a side note, I still don’t have a passport yet (Beej thinks this is terrible) so it’s my mission to get one this year – and hopefully a destination wedding with it (I’m thinking, Maldives, Canada, New Zealand?!?!)
Two and a half months into the year and I’ve been to Adelaide 4 times, Perth, Dunsborough, Riverland, Port Elliot….safe to say the little Holden Cruze gets a bit of a workout, oh and one flat tyre for anyone keeping count. Good thing I love to move around, and even better is that I have invested in some awesome tools to make working while travelling super easy!
I have met some awesome people already this year, and so it goes in my line of work, Im blessed to now call them friends. I am lucky that every weekend I get to hang out with people that are in good spirits, positive frames of mind, and ready to party – weddings will do that to you! Being single at weddings is a bit of a funny experience…actually super funny. I was talking to one bridesmaid the morning of a wedding photography job, and she was saying she was single and there were only 2 single guys at the wedding. With only 2 guys to choose from it seemed she wasn’t 100% sure on which she liked more, so she said ‘hands off, they are all mine!’ No worries from me, I’m gone by 10pm anyway, and that seems to be when the romance starts for singles at a wedding!
I’m gonna be honest here though – as tough as it can be for wedding photographers to spend whole weekends away from their families and behind a camera (and I sympathise with this), it can also be tough for us single girls – you don’t meet many people out on a weeknight (I’m usually travelling or behind the computer anyway) and as you can tell, there aren’t many single people at weddings!
March is an exciting month with the most weddings of the whole year. Mad March is definitely a popular month to get married, not only does it hold a long weekend, but we hit the nice weather, not stinking hot (hello February), a nice cool breeze for the boys in suits. It’s also not getting as dark as late as we hit the end of daylight savings so the sunsets are a little earlier for sunset wedding photos. I’ll be travelling to Ceduna, Adelaide, Cowell and Port Lincoln on the weekends and stop wherever I am during the week or head home to continue working on edits, album designs, marketing etc. You can imagine I stop for fuel a lot, so one day as I was filling up I was chatting with the console operator, and they asked what I was up to for the weekend. I explained I was off to photograph a wedding. His hilarious response? “Oh, so you’re a wedding photographer, do you work during the week?” *FOREHEAD SLAP!* He clearly doesn’t know what a wedding photographer does, you can see a little more about my day written in a blog post ‘Day In The Life of Jade Norwood Photography’.
This year I am again battling the work/life balance, and I feel like I am getting better. I must admit I still have a way to go, but I am taking steps forward and have even had a few chances to catch up for drinks and meals with friends. Winning!! Many more to catch up with though! Maybe there will be a non-working holiday in there soon too! Im thinking snorkeling on the great barrier reef…
While I continue working away and doing a lot of editing with so many weddings on the cards, I’ve got a few TV series going on to take away the silence! This year I’ve already watched/listened to 5 different ones from start to finish and now I am waiting for them to be released a show each week….That’s not going to work for me, so if you have tips on great shows to watch give me a shout out!
My poor D4 is also getting a thrashing, and has been totally knocked around this year, including me falling over last weekend hahaha and instead of letting it go I just used it as an extension of my hand… but it is a super workhorse and continues to work like a friggin champ…thank *expletive*!!
Lacey and Chelsea – my nieces – are still a huge draw card for me to go home to the West Coast, I miss them sooooo much when I am away. They are always growing, every time I see them they have changed, talking more, getting taller, learning new things. Do people want more photos of them?! I feel like I used to flood you all with photos of Lacey and Chelsea, but at your insistence I can always share more, I am sure that will make Nanna happy!
OH! I nearly forgot to say – I’ve gotten into make up! People who know me will be shocked out of their seats now, but it’s never too late in life, right?! I’m still learning, so I need lots of tips and I turn to youtube, but send me yours and let me know your favourite products, tricks and must have/must do! I’m also giving up my terrible habit of chewing my nails and have managed to grow them…what the! A big change, for someone who did it for their lifetime. I continue to battle towards a different image of healthy, but all I do, the time with friends and family and taking breaks from work – it’s all a part of getting me there. Here’s to the rest of 2015!
Cause every blog post needs a photo, and lets be honest.. How cute is Chelsea!!
