shannon leith :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: photographer of everyday life based in pasadena, california

shannon leith :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: photographer of everyday life based in pasadena, california http://shannonleith.com/ en Copyright 2012 Thu, 10 May 2012 14:15:49 -0800 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/ http://www.rssboard.org/rss-specification laura,,, shine** laura wanted to make a chicken stock during her shine** session-----

i invite each woman who does this to think of something that she really loves to do.

and isn't it the best thing ever that we have people like laura, who decide that creating their own chicken stock is that THING?

love this girl.

here's what i saw that day.

the rainbow,

madeleine l'engle,

those two freckles,... the texture of her shirt,

the shadows. the quiet.

the searching,

the simple,

creating---

using filtered water not tap water---

intention,

light,

,going inward,

i love her hair :)

teensy & still very much present,

laura is a woman with both so much grace & so much power in her.

i love her. i love her story. i love what she's about.

hope you enjoyed,

hope you find a little patch of joy in your day,

and we'll be in touch!

peace!

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contact me

learn more about the shine** project

see other shine** sessions here

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]]> http://shannonleith.com/2012/05/laura_shine.html http://shannonleith.com/2012/05/laura_shine.html --- shine** Thu, 10 May 2012 14:15:49 -0800 it's dawn------- shine**!

so dawn's name means Pretty Sunrise-----

which she fully embodies.

dawn's laugh...... is amazing.

its one of those laughs that comes from 'in HERE and not out THERE',, as i like to say. it comes from deep in her core and not as this superficial reactionary cover-up to anxiety. (i can tend to do that sometimes.)

the day before dawn's session i had bought my first set of watercolor paints. i had them in my car, and was inspired to invite her to paint during her session, and of course: SHE had been wanting to paint but hadn't yet! it was perfect, it was relaxing, and the second she layed down on her stomach in the middle of the room and made the first move on the paper.......... there was this huge rush of "this is right" all over my whole body. it's pretty cool when you follow those gut instincts and take a risk.

dawn is living this courageous life, where she's doing bold things like going to alaska, and becoming a doula, and wearing her hair curly instead of straight. its things like this that inspire ME to follow my dreams and to let myself be myself.

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what is shine?

book a session here
contact me :) i love emails.

]]> http://shannonleith.com/2012/05/its_dawn-------_shine.html http://shannonleith.com/2012/05/its_dawn-------_shine.html --- shine** Tue, 08 May 2012 11:45:12 -0800 a shine** session for my mama--- i had lunch with my mom today, and coincidentally this is the day i had planned to post these images from her shine session! she got a new red cell phone cover this week, which i guess isn't that big of a deal, but then in looking at her images i saw the old cover---- the pink one-------- and was reminded of how even in the small things, life changes. things move & flow & shift. and i just love how these sessions are a place to record and celebrate what is in your life Today. you never know when those things, even the simple ones, will change and move on.

something else with her phone, is that she is obsessed with personalized cell-phone rings ;) she has a different one for each person and finds such delight every single time someone calls her. so we spent a good long while listening and laughing to each and every one :) :) i love discovering the small things that light someone up. giving space to let those things come to the surface.

it's an interesting thing to photograph a family member--- you've known them for your whole life, but there are always new things to learn. i learned more about her and saw even more of the beauty in her through this session---- its so exciting to me that photography helps me see people deeper.

so here's a celebration of my mama---------------------------

enjoy :)

i love her pretty blue eyes--------------

and her hands--------------

and her joy------------------------ :)

(i think my ring on her phone is this rosie thomas song. it fits.)

and this one is my all-time favorite-------

when i see it i hear her :)

interested in hearing more about shine**? click here to contact shannon

& details are here :)

]]> http://shannonleith.com/2012/05/a_shine_session_for_my_mama---.html http://shannonleith.com/2012/05/a_shine_session_for_my_mama---.html --- shine** Mon, 07 May 2012 16:16:43 -0800 expectations--- i went on this walk honestly expecting to find nothing----

there are times when i expect the world to be filled with amazing things to discover---

lately though, its been more of a scraping to believe that there will be something there when i look.

but i took my camera with me, and i was so excited to find This.

poor little Namaste.

the light in me greets the light in you, little guy.

]]> http://shannonleith.com/2012/05/expectations---.html http://shannonleith.com/2012/05/expectations---.html daily life Thu, 03 May 2012 15:15:52 -0800 shine** -- chelsea! its crazy how much fear can rule us.

i have literally 5 shine** sessions that i could post, but i think i'm scared.

i haven't even really touched the images, they're just sitting on my harddrive, because it's scary to admit that yeah, i really believe in this. i really believe in giving women a place where its okay to let yourself be seen and celebrated.

there's also this weird part of these sessions where the whole point is to do the normal, to experience your down-to-earth self, not your made-up self,------ and that's honestly kind of scary. it leaves ME feeling like: is what i'm doing enough? is this work really substantial?

yeah, it is.

there's weight & substance here, but it takes a special person to be able to see it i think.

so chelsea's session really hit home because she, too, faced some big fears.

she booked this because she wanted to face her fear of being in front of the camera. i honestly think we all can relate to that fear: who actually LIKES the experience of getting your photograph taken? i take it as a personal challenge to make this process actually enjoyable, and not awkward, and not fake and plastic. shine** sessions celebrate the real in you.

chelsea's heart is so multi-faceted and so beautiful.

i think its easy to think: is my normal daily life enough? is what i do on a saturday morning....enough? is me as me, enough?

and yeah, it is.

i asked if i could photograph her pretty freckles and she said yes!

the walls remind her of her grandma :)

beauty,

can NOT get over how gorgeous she is,

interested in hearing more about shine**? click here to contact shannon

& details are here :)

]]> http://shannonleith.com/2012/03/shine_--_chelsea.html http://shannonleith.com/2012/03/shine_--_chelsea.html --- shine** Wed, 21 Mar 2012 12:21:57 -0800 top five values: lately i've been thinking a lot about vision. goals. things to set in front of me to craft my life around. i get very, VERY easily sidetracked--- my personality is so excitable that i often get excited about small things and then get distracted from the big things. and then i find myself with a life that doesn't exactly align with what i value most.

so--------

its been helpful lately to ask the question: what are my values?

what gets me up in the morning?

what do i want my life to be centered on?

and here's what i've come to.

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exploratation

-- taking the time to slow down and use my eyes to see, my ears to hear, my heart to feel, my hands to touch.

meaningful

-- connection and depth beyond the surface, texture that gets at what matters.

joy

-- a deep vibrance that's electric, taking delight in being alive in each day.

authentic

-- real, down-to-earth, letting myself be seen.

free

-- living outside of the box, coloring outside of the lines, dancing wild, shooting for the moon :)

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so as part of living each day with these in mind, i took a walk. hope you enjoy :)

(my favorite house that i pass on my favorite walk)

okay if you could say 5 things you value most, the 5 things that get you high on life, what would they be?

]]> http://shannonleith.com/2012/03/top_five_values.html http://shannonleith.com/2012/03/top_five_values.html daily life Thu, 15 Mar 2012 12:07:37 -0800 SEEING---- an update we had a SEEING class a few weeks ago, and i woke up the morning of the class with such low energy, such low motivation, i didn't even know if i had it in me to make it happen. there was a lot going on in my life, but the main reason was that things had just ended with this guy i had been dating, and i felt more hurt and confused than i ever had before from a relationship. on top of that, instead of the normal 7-10 people in the class, i had only 3 coming that day. i was freaking out. all of this doubt rose up in me--- everything felt like it was against me.

it was then that i realized that this class isn't about me, and my own energy, and what i have to offer---- its bigger than that, and if anything good was going to happen it was definitely not going to be because i did anything spectacular. especially on that day. i felt like i had nothing to give.

those days are the best---- when you come to the end of yourself and get to see a miricle happen----------- it was the moment i surrendered to something bigger that something bigger was able to happen, because i wasn't holding it tight all to myself anymore.

so lisa, katie & blythe came to the door of the pink house at 10am, and of course, on the day when i felt like crap, THE BEST STUFF HAPPENED.

the day felt like it was a symphony or something.

things happened in this class that have never happened in the other four classes. lightbulbs went off in them, new & weird approaches and words came to me that i could never have planned.

this class is all about learning to truly see the world from your own perspective,

learning to become more free by getting out of the boxes that you're bound to, and in that freedom, creating something that comes from deep inside you and has your unique blueprint all over it.

so here are some images from our day.

i'm doing another class may 27th if becoming part of this crazy ride sounds at all interesting to you :) here's the info. hopefully i have another crappy day so that something even more amazing can happen. ;)

my friend janna took these first three--- (i love how she sees)

i do the assignments too----- in this one we had to lay on our backs for 10 minutes, staring and taking photos----------------- (so fun!)

one of my favorite parts of each class, photographing YOU!

finding out about what makes you tick, what makes you smile, and then photographing just that. here's one of the most joyful girls i know, blythe----

yo katie,

lisa :)

and something you need to know:

all forms of photography are welcome.

because its not about the camera, its about you, and your eyes, and what you're noticing,,

(katie, i'm your biggest fan,)

want to hear their stories from their experience at the class?

lisa's thoughts about the day, and another post about her mentor sessions

blythe wrote about what it's like to put yourself out there as an artist

and here's some amazing images by katie

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NEXT SEEING CLASS:::

:: May 27th in South Pasadena, CA at my house!

:: details are here

:: sign up here!

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]]> http://shannonleith.com/2012/03/seeing----_an_update.html http://shannonleith.com/2012/03/seeing----_an_update.html daily life Wed, 14 Mar 2012 11:30:39 -0800 light pink hot pink coral pink

this whole week i've been sick,

i thought it would last one day, but my friend blaire reminded me that sickness usually last more than that. and she's very right. i have felt dizzy & weightless & hot & tired for four days now.

I WISH I HAD THE ENERGY TO DANCE!!!!

]]> http://shannonleith.com/2012/02/light_pink_hot_pink_coral_pink.html http://shannonleith.com/2012/02/light_pink_hot_pink_coral_pink.html daily life Thu, 23 Feb 2012 14:23:11 -0800 kristin in all of her elements : shine********************** kristin's life is this beautiful integration of body, mind & soul.

she practices the art of letting things like her gardening inform things like her writing.

in shine** sessions, i let the essence of a person's life really inform and guide the time, and i think what struck me most was that kristin is a person who includes. she's a writer and a spiritual director and a gardening queen, and in showing me her writing space, she didn't just write, she read me a chapter of her book. when we went back to the garden, she didn't just harvest vegetables and then move on to the next thing, she made us a warm beet salad, fresh from the ground, that we shared together. that's kristin.

kristin includes, and creates, and inspires, and lets the elements of her life blend together into this beautiful whole------- if one thing was taken away, the other things wouldn't be quite the same. it makes me think of a quote by an artist i love,, eva hesse. "my art and my life are not separate, they're together."

(ps., kristin wrote this beautiful book about self care, that i love & highly recommend.)

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interested in having a shine** session to celebrate YOUR essence? write to me!

want to know more about shine** ?

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]]> http://shannonleith.com/2012/02/kristin_ritzau_in_all_of_her_elements_shine.html http://shannonleith.com/2012/02/kristin_ritzau_in_all_of_her_elements_shine.html --- shine** Thu, 16 Feb 2012 14:02:59 -0800 up the coast to breathe. january 1st until now,,, has been literally the biggest up and down roller coaster of emotions. and even though my circumstances are somewhat causing it, i think that it's more because these days i'm letting my heart feel more than i have before. both the good and the bad. i've experienced some really low low's lately, but that has then caused the small joys, like having a friend bring over coffee beans when i just ran out, or doing a handstand on my own for the first time, to fill me up even higher than normal.

a few weeks ago i went on this little road trip up the coast to give my soul some time to be sad about one of the many low's. we met the sadness by both sitting and doing nothing, and by embracing the superfluous, unnecessary things in life: like salmon on the barbeque, extra expensive wine, and floating in these natural hot springs under the sparkly stars.

experiencing such intense ups and downs was overwhelming at first, but am now seeing it as a gift. i have felt so alive lately. and i'd rather feel the reality of the highs and lows than live in the neutral middle zone where you feel numb.

------- lately my eyes have been really magnetized to those streaks on windows ---------------

]]> http://shannonleith.com/2012/02/up_the_coast_to_breathe.html http://shannonleith.com/2012/02/up_the_coast_to_breathe.html daily life Wed, 08 Feb 2012 23:11:52 -0800 optical illusion why does that left side of the image look like it's slanting IN!!!!

i took piece of paper and held it up at a 90 degree angle just to confirm, and yup, apparently its straight.

so my friend janna is over right now for our weekly co-worker day, which i love because i get more done in that two hours than i do in a whole day sometimes. the power of THE BUDDY SYSTEM.

]]> http://shannonleith.com/2012/02/optical_illusion.html http://shannonleith.com/2012/02/optical_illusion.html daily life Wed, 08 Feb 2012 11:23:32 -0800 so i've been enjoying pink lately. hot pink has been MOVING ME to new places >>>>>>

my neon orange sweatshirt used to be my signature item,

but it has so many holes in it that it is no longer warm.

i was looking for a new one, and at first this one felt like it was for a 5 year old,

but my friend Ro encouraged me to own it.

so i do.

sometimes people tell me "oh, only you could PULL THAT OFF"

but then i tell them: you could pull it off it you wanted to.

]]> http://shannonleith.com/2012/02/so_ive_been_enjoying_pink_lately.html http://shannonleith.com/2012/02/so_ive_been_enjoying_pink_lately.html daily life Tue, 07 Feb 2012 07:14:40 -0800 jen: shine** ! the cool thing about this shine** session,

is that jen is a piano player---

a real full time self employed musician---------

but she's so much more than that.

her attunement with rhythms falls into so many parts of her life.

she bakes,

she writes,

she's aware of herself and what makes her her.

she takes risks and creates new things that have never existed.

she imagined and created her own christmas tree----- out of branches she collected, and little pieces of ribbon she had laying around,,, and it is beautiful. i dont think i've ever been so moved by a tree. (secret: i dont really decorate for holidays.)

so i am excited to share with you this celebration of jen, & a few of the rhythms that keep her going,,

the little fold of crust

:) (it was sweet potato)

she got down, to lykke li

beauty * grace

and hey,

i want to offer something to those of you who have been wanting to do a shine** session but just dont have the money. soo many people have written me saying they're wanting to save up for a session in the future but just can't make it work right now. i totally understand and wanted to help you out-----

i am offering 10 sessions at $250 instead of the normal $550 rate.

these 10 sessions will include the following

-- a 1 hour shine** session at your house

-- an online proofing & ordering gallery of your finished collection of images

** must be booked by monday, january 16th

** i am in pasadena, california & am open to travel for an additional small fee

** reflection sessions (talking through your images in person with me instead of online) can be booked onto this special deal for $99 if you are interested.

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contact me to book a session by filling out this form!

]]> http://shannonleith.com/2012/01/jen_shine.html http://shannonleith.com/2012/01/jen_shine.html --- shine** Wed, 11 Jan 2012 22:19:56 -0800 leftover peach plum pie.

i found this saran wrap just sitting there and it was, mesmerizing.

]]> http://shannonleith.com/2012/01/leftover_peach_plum_pie.html http://shannonleith.com/2012/01/leftover_peach_plum_pie.html daily life Thu, 05 Jan 2012 11:32:41 -0800 rosarito mexico: for the purpose of eating lobster. christmas break was one of the most relationally filling times i've had in a while.

working from home, by myself, is often draining---

i crave to be with.

to be with people in the daily.

and working in front of my computer at home,

sucks.

i intended to stay thursday-monday at my parents' house, but ended up staying an extra three days because i didn't want to leave.

on the last day we all decided to go to mexico!

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grandma & the steam from our TAMALES

i was unsure if this was one of those unattractive moments, or if this is the cutest laugh you've ever seen, and yes: it's the cutest laugh you've ever seen.

my brother's getting married in two months---------

and he spotted the most pretty alley i have ever seen.

--- i twirled a little and felt great about life,

family -------- beautiful

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and then we ate lobster and got to watch the back and forth of the ocean from up high.

]]> http://shannonleith.com/2012/01/rosarito_mexico_for_the_purpose_of_eating_lobster.html http://shannonleith.com/2012/01/rosarito_mexico_for_the_purpose_of_eating_lobster.html daily life Wed, 04 Jan 2012 11:43:56 -0800