I love writing. I’m not particularly good at it. But I love it. I love to think about it mostly. Then I sit down to write and my head becomes void of thought and ideas.

A good friend of mine, in the midst of launching a new business, said she learned from her web strategist how critical blogging is for growing a business. It allows your business to have a personality and feelings. He encouraged her to bare her soul so that her web viewers would feel more connected.

She told me because clearly she thought it would help my business too. And I agree wholeheartedly with her (and her web dude.) So here I sit earnestly thinking of something super interesting to tell you three people who read my blog so that I can grow my business.

But wait a sec! I don’t want a business.

You see, when I considered my business a “business,” I did a bunch of stuff that didn’t come from my heart. I posted images to the gallery that I hoped would bring more customers. I offered products I hoped my customers would want to buy. I wrote things on my blog to drive traffic or make people think I was really insightful and smart. I was spinning my wheels. There was no integrity. None of it came from the heart.

So I’m struggling. If I’m to do this with integrity and from the heart, what do I write about? How in this facey-pagey-look-at-me-webby-world could I possibly compete for your attention?!? How do I not get caught up in the competitive chaos we’ve created online?

Don’t compete, maybe?

With a plethora of amazing writers, bloggers, and journalists out there with truly insightful and inspiring things to say I’m realizing my place in that world. I am a consumer of their work, not the chef. What I want is to be a photographer, create relationships with people and be a bigger part of their lives while photographing the things they love.

I do want to share my life with you (yes, you lucky THREE people who have routinely read my blog over the years…thanks mom, dad and ‘anonymous commenter.’)

It’s only fair really. My friends/clients have opened themselves up enough to be in front of my lens. They/you have shared what drives you and what makes you smile. You’ve become a friend. You’ve let me be a fly on the wall of your wedding day and introduced me to your family. You’ve often confided in me how ruthless your sleepless nights are and the struggles you’ve had with choosing the right nanny. We’ve laughed and commiserated. I’ve prayed for many of you.

Relationships are a two-way street. So I will write here, inconsistently at best and when something moves me. Something real. My prose will lack eloquence and you’ll often find typos and comma splices (I have a BA in English and to this day I couldn’t tell you a comma splice from a plain old comma despite the valiant efforts of three professors at TCU.) But I promise you this: everything will come from the heart.

With love, Laura

“Live out of your imagination, not your history.” Stephen R Covey

Oh, right…the photography part. Here some pictures I did (for that friend who shared her web guy’s blogging philosophy) when we headed to Vail yesterday. She and her husband want to fill their Vail house with classic B&W shots of this town that has provided many memories for all of us. We were hit with a pretty heavy snow storm today so I’ll be heading back up soon to get the epic scenic shots later this month. Tough job, I know.