This will be the last in my series of Creative Courage and I think I couldn’t think of a better way to finish!
Elena Bazini …this young lady is one of the happiest, up beat people I have come across in recent years. I met Elena in a landscape workshop in Banff Alberta of all places….why is that worth mentioning you ask? Elena is an award winning Wedding Photographer from Chicago….so yeah….wasn’t expecting to meet someone with her credentials at a landscape workshop.
Since our chance encounter I have been ever so fortunate to participate in a number of other workshops where she has either been a participant or a presenter. Of all the people I will focus on here on Spirit of the Image, Elena is the one individual I have had some in-depth conversations about photography and facing ones fears to move ahead.
The creative courage that Elena exhibits is based on a past of continual renewal. In her own words:
“ Any time I look back on my photographic journey I’m landed right back where I am now, reflecting on the walls I’ve put up around myself and trying to see how I can break them back down. These walls are also known as fears, rules, limits, and basically just getting right in your own damn way. For me, photographic growth and the seemingly much grander idea of ‘spiritual growth’ go hand in hand because, in both cases, I find myself limited to my own clouded and imperfect vision.
It takes a unique brand of courage to re-invent and re-task your existence but Elena seems to have nailed the process. Her smile is infectious and I cant’ recall knowing someone so transparent and ready to share stories and experience. You can’t help but learn from this young lady…just watch and listen.
The bottom line for me can be summed up by visiting her website … the first thing you read is this:
Hi there, I’m Elena.
Wedding photographer. Music lover.
And your official calm amidst the wedding storm.
Kinda sums her up in a nutshell.
So creative courage doesn’t always have to borne from life changing events or moments. It can simply come from a place of self acknowledgement …knowing you need to challenge yourself and start over without fear of failure or regression. Elena has embarked on a book project co-authored with Dave and Erin Brosha and speaks to how it has been something way out of her comfort zone …but she refuses not to accept the challenge.
Elena’s work speaks for itself …to know this human is a privilege and I do feel privileged to have met her and call her a friend.
Follow her work here: . http://elenabaziniphotography.com/