Attending Blissdom ’12? Join Me For a Photowalk on Thursday!

I’m so excited to be flying to Nashville, TN next week. I’ve been lucky to be involved with Bissdom since the beginning, when it was a tiny, one room event. Every year it has grown and become even more brilliant. I cherish the time I will have to spend with friends who I don’t get to see for the entire rest of the year! I look forward to the fun, love-filled, happy community environment that awaits.

But this year I’m even more excited because I’ll be doing something I love to do in association with the conference – hosting a Photowalk! I know that many of you love to take photos as much as I do, and doing that together is just the best kind of hangout time that photographers can plan. There is endless beauty inside of the Gaylord Opryland Hotel, and we’ll be walking through it under the biodome and among lush plants getting some amazing shots along the way. Let’s photograph an indoor waterfall together, what do you say?

All levels are welcome – bring your camera in phone, point and shoot, DSLR – whatever you have!

Please RSVP: http://plancast.com/p/9w85

Have questions? I’m happy to answer them!

Walk Details

• When: Thursday, February 23rd, 10am
• Where: Meet in the Magnolia Ballroom
• RSVP: http://plancast.com/p/9w85
• Hashtag: #BD12PW

Social Media Details

Please RSVP for the walk (even if you’re not 100% sure you’ll make it) at the Plancast Page here: http://plancast.com/p/9w85

Blissdom ’12 Photowalk Facebook Group – if you’re planning on attending, please go join the group. This is a great place to see who else will be there and ask questions or make suggestions.

Blissdom ’12 Photowalk G+ Page – Are you on Google+? Add this page and keep an eye on it. After the walk, when you share your photos on G+ use the hashtag #BD12PW and tag the page and I’ll start gathering and sharing the photos there. The hashtag stream will be a very easy place for us to see each other’s photos. Please note that I can’t circle you back with this page until you circle me first – it’s a spam prevention thing. So please go circle!

Blissdom ’12 Photowalk flickr Group – Love flickr? Join this group and after the walk when you upload your photos to flickr, you can add them there. Tag your photos with Blissdom ’12 Photowalk.

Blissdom ’12 Photowalk Snap MyLife Group Collection – Do you share your photos on SML? I do! (Find me here.) We can all easily add to this Group Collection on SML and have them in one place.

Or course, it’s great if you Tweet photos during or after the walk. The Hashtag for our walk is #BD12PW wherever you can use a hashtag.

Whew! I think I covered all the bases, but please feel free to ask me any questions or offer suggestions. I look forward to seeing you guys!

Loter’s Blissdom 2011 – Part 2

Part 1

Jockey & Tide sponsored Thursday night festivities at Blissdom and it was seriously a blast. My roomies (Mishelle, Dawn, Leslie, Victoria) and I all got dressed up and headed to “the red carpet” to kick off the night. This was basically just a chance to act silly and be photographed (Malia joined us on the carpet).

photo by Heather Durdil

Mishelle captured a great shot of the red carpet photographers, Casey, Hannah, Elan, and Heather.

We ate from a variety of foods provided to us – my favorite thing was pulled pork sandwiches with a vinegar-based barbecue sauce. What can I say, I’m still a NC girl at heart when it comes to BBQ!

I was also witness to a momentous occasion: Mishelle had her very first Guinness.

*oooooh* *ahhhhh*

We all enjoyed the food and drinks, chatted, and laughed together.

last four photos by Mishelle Lane

After hanging out for a little while, we headed into the nightclub, Fuse, to watch performances by Michelle Branch and Mat Kearney.

What a treat – both musicians put on a fabulous show. I was particularly excited to see Michelle Branch, as I’ve utterly adored her music for so many years.

last two photos by Mishelle Lane

I generally don’t go all “fangirl” and have photos taken/do meet and greets, but I didn’t pass up the opportunity this time.

photo by Jana Warnke

Once the performances were over, there was dancing…

…and then people wandered off here and there throughout the hotel to eat, hang out, and just have a great time, late into the night.

photo by Mishelle Lane

These are memorable portions of the night – the times you spent laughing with various groups of friends, catching up, sharing hugs, smiles, and silly moments.

At some point later on, Mishelle, Jim, Diane, Amy and I ended up in the Garden Conservatory. As you can see, we spent a little time being goofballs.

Mishelle and her camera… she had me model for her throughout the hotel. I didn’t argue… even when she asked me to climb onto a piano. What can I say? I’m easy.

last two photos by Mishelle Lane

And of course, Diane gave me her now traditional, on-camera, one-finger salute.

It’s this kind of silliness that makes time with best friends so fun!

Still to come – Friday, Flashmob!, Girl’s Night In, and Saturday’s Photo Walk.

to be continued…

Loter’s Blissdom 2011 – Part 1

As I’ve said previously, Blissdom is a conference that completely has my heart, and my word for it is Love. While there from January 25 – 30, both my days and nights were filled with wonderful and interesting experiences.

Tuesday was a day of traveling, arriving, settling…

…random water show magic…

…meeting, greeting, hanging…

…and relaxing.

last four photos by Mishelle Lane

The highlight of Wednesday was the Photography Wisdom Workshop I helped teach. This was so much fun to be a part of – a large room full of women who wanted to get more intimate about photography with a hands on workshop. We all split up at different tables and gave mini lessons at each table about different aspects of photography.

Mishelle & Dawn – Camera Basics/Overview/Settings/Controls (Her notes are here.)
Deanna & Casey – ISO/Aperture/Shutter Speed
Angie – Finding the Light
Amy & I – Creativity & Detail

We shared our knowledge and our hearts about this thing we truly love: Photography. Afterwards a small group of us headed out to put our photography knowledge to practice. We walked and shot, asking and answering questions, and had a generally good time wrapping up the workshop.

photo by Mishelle Lane

Wednesday night was the kickoff party sponsored by ConAgra and it was so fun. Food and drinks were shared by a large group of excited attendees, buzzing around one another. The area was full of laughter and happiness that was palpable. I was so happy to see David and Kammie from The Social Path and Luckie, and Anissa Mayhew, at the party.

Later, Leslie and I cartwheeled through the hotel as everyone was on their way to have wine, cupcakes, and watch the premier of Working Class with special guest, Melissa Peterman. What, don’t you always cartwheel through hotels? Best way to travel.

When that was done, several of us picked up Jim in the lobby and hung out at Fuse, drinking and laughing.

last nine photos by Mishelle Lane

At one point, Jim, Diane, Mishelle, and I realized we were standing in a circle, drinking, laughing… and Tweeting at a bar.

That’s how fun-lovin’ social media/tech-geeks roll, eh? Regardless, it was so good to spend that time with them, just laughing and soaking in the rarity of close proximity to people I adore online from great distances on a regular basis.

After many drinks, we retired. I think I got about 3 hours of sleep. Oh, boy.

Thursday was the first full day of the official conference. Let me just say that I never make it to all the sessions I want to go to at a conference, and I’m finally learning to be okay with that. On this day, I attended the two things that were most important to me (personally).

My advice to you for conferences is to find the sessions that are the VERY MOST important to you personally and make sure you attend those. If you can get to others, great; if you can carve other time to truly enjoy other facets of the experience (visiting with sponsors, spending time with good friends, networking with new business contacts, exploring the town you’re in) – fabulous!

I’ve mentioned this already, but the Opening Keynote speaker was Brené Brown. Her talk blew me away, made me cry, affirmed things for me, made me laugh deeply, had me nodding, and was basically time well spent. Her message is powerful, and I highly recommend you seek her out – watch her talks, read her book. When I got home I had the renewed confidence I needed to go back and pull up a 4-month old draft and publish it.

photo by Schmutzie

After the opening, there was a roundtable meet and greet time, a fun way for each of us to connect with our “tribe” and get to know one another.

Each tribe is headed by one or many “Tribe Leaders.” (I was one of the Photography Tribe Leaders.) This is an interesting new way to make sure nobody feels alone during the conference – no matter what, you will have a tribe to check in with! There’s even a “No Niche” Tribe. *wink*

After a superb ConAgra lunch, I wandered out into the expo hall, talked to the Purex Rep (who was totally awesome) and as I was wandering on, I suddenly realized that HOLY CRAP IF YOU ONLY SLEEP FOR 3 HOURS AFTER YOU ARE RAGINGLY DRUNK BY MIDDAY THE NEXT DAY YOU ARE SOOOOO DONE SOCIALIZING. Like that, I hit a wall, and I knew it was time to go to my room for a little bit.

Also, someone made me spill tea all over myself and I almost went back and decapitated him later just out of spite. This was totally a sign that I needed a nap, as I am generally a “punch them in the neck” kind of person rather than an “off with their heads!” chick. So I went to the room and slept like a goddess on soft fluffy pillows, fully dressed, for an hour. Then it was up and to the next session!

photo by Mishelle Lane

The Innovative Writing Session with Leslie, Jim, and Amy was fantastic – creative, informative, and hilarious. I really wish you all could have been there. You can see the presentation in this post at Jim’s site.

I think the most important thing they shared was an amazing piece put together by Shawn Burns for presentation during the session, something that he’s worked hard to get across to the community for some time, and Jim, Leslie, and Amy realized this was the perfect opportunity to help it spread. Even if you didn’t get to attend, I really think you should benefit from Shawn’s message. Now go to Jim’s site and pay close attention as you watch. You will thank me.

It’s like you were there, right? You can thank me in the comments. (Heh.)

to be continued…

Blissdom: It started with her.

On Tuesday, January 25th, I flew to Nashville to speak at and attend Blissdom, a Women’s Blogging Conference hosted by Allison Worthington, Barbara Jones, and Paula Bruno.

A few years ago, I was sitting in Alli’s kitchen, having coffee with her while my son was surreptitiously crayon-decorating her kitchen cabinet. We had several moments like this, two moms enjoying one another’s company, talking about motherhood, life, blogging, and dreaming of the future. These playdates were like therapy for me; each visit was a refill for my sanity. Girlfriends: Life’s Prettiest Meds.

Okay, maybe not always the prettiest. But definitely the most fun?

Back then she talked about wanting to do things on her website to help mothers, and women in general. Eventually, she shared that she dreamed of more than the blog; she wanted to go further, help more people, chase bigger dreams. During one of our visits, Alli asked me, “So, what do you want to do with your blog; what is your goal?  You want to rule the Internet, right?”  I didn’t have  dreams of Internet Domination, though, and I said, “Well, no… I really just hope that people will read and enjoy my content.”  Alli’s response?  “Oh, no no no, honey. We have to build a Kindgom!” She made me laugh, but I could sense her drive.

That was Alli – big love, big dreams, big plans.  Add in all her hard work, and it equals big success, and there she is now.  I’m so proud of her, and so excited to see her dreams coming to fruition.  She’s worked damn hard to make it from Mrs. Fussypants to co-hosting her own blogging conference, and she’s worked her arse off for it every step of the way. You know what she’s also done, every step of the way?  She’s kept the love, the genuine caring, and the desire to help others and support women a core part of her agenda and personality.

I had to say all this before I even start talking about the specifics of my trip. I saw her, before all of this Blissdom stuff, as a mom and woman, a girlfriend, in her home. I talked to her on the phone about her dreams, plans, and eventually – progress, while we also gabbed about daily life and motherhood. As months and years danced past us, making our children older and our hairs a little grayer here and there, we’ve floated in and out of emails, twitter @’s and Skype conversations. Alli is a friend, and someone I trust.

I can’t tell you how many times people have asked me, “Is she really the nice person in real life that she seems online?” My answer is always Yes. Is she perfect? Nobody is perfect. Is she flawed? Of course she is, aren’t we all? She’s not a “mean girl” or a ruthless backstabber. Alli is a genuine, kind person, and I’ve never seen her as anything else. I’m glad her big dreams and hard work have paid off for her. Walking into the Gaylord Opryland Hotel in Nashville on January 25th for the 3rd Blissdom Conference, I was excited about the week ahead, and, as always, proud of my former playdate partner and girlfriend.

In the coming week, I’ll post several photos from my trip (as well as some taken by others that show things I didn’t capture) and give you some of the highlights of the conference (from my experience), but I had to share this post first.

photo courtesy of Rachel at Southern Fairytale

And now, I’d like to take a moment to thank the sponsors…

I have a ton of posts still queued up in my head about the specifics of my Blissdom experience, and don’t you worry, I’ll get them up in the next couple of weeks, with photos and enough rainbows shooting out of my arse to make you all vomit copiously. I am juggling some family travel things and some work travel things right now (which I will also tell you about in due time and with much excitement) so my lazy douchery is being worn on both sleeves and the middle of my forehead as far as the ole’ blog is concerned.  Ya still love me, right?  (Speaking of #love, check this out and jump in! I want to hear from all of you so I can include you in a future blog post this month.) 

Now, about Blissdom posts…

This one is first, because it’s a nod to the Blissdom sponsors. Without them, the show doesn’t go on, ya dig? They are the companies that invest in this dream that gets dreamed and then nurtured, hatched, grown, and set free every year. They provide and then show up to showcase their goods, share their knowledge, and connect with us on a professional and personal level.

They’re putting their hands into an effort to lift us up and help us find whatever it is we may be looking for when we join together at a blogging conference that has our hearts and minds, this Blissdom Conference that we fall in love with and want to come back to repeatedly.

My personal favorite is Freschetta, and I’m not going to lie, but they had me at NOMMY PIZZA and then they only grew my love up greater when they said “here, put on crazy props and pose like a moron with your friends in our awesome photo booth of love!” Dear Freschetta: will you please marry me? Thanks.

I also throw heavy props to:

• Con Agra Foods – I think that I could probably forget to eat with all the excitement and hugging and the being a little bit dizzy from being out until 4 am the night before so thank you so much for making sure we ate well balanced foods while we were enjoying the conference that were flavorful, interesting, and totally delicious. (Will you please come to my house and make burritos for me? Come on, I’ll give you a foot rub. Okay, the truth is I’ll make my husband do that, but still. Free foot rub. Eh?)

• Lisa Leonard Designs: This woman is incredibly talented, massively loved, and so adorable you really have to restrain yourself from running up and hugging her until she breaks. Her jewelry is beautiful. Thanks for another amazing piece to treasure, Lisa.

photo of and by Mishelle Lane

• Dear Blue Bunny, I have LUSTED AFTER YOU SINCE HIGH SCHOOL. I will marry Freschetta, but I must have your ice-creamy babies. I would like to extend to you an invitation to the pants party, if you know what I mean. And I think that you do. *salacious wink*

• Quaker Oats Company: They make the most delicious, energizing, fill-me up and get me going breakfast food that my son and I both love equally (which happens to be great, big boatloads of lovin’). In our home, Quaker Oatmeal = Yes, Please. This is one of my personal “fitness-health food-breakfast of champions” foods.

• Hallmark: Their cards are the thing I think about first when I hear the Hallmark name, and I love them, but they are so much more. For example, they have a recordable storybook (received in my Prep for Bliss package) that is going to bring my husband’s loving voice to my son at bedtime even when he’s out on the road (touring musician). For that, I thank them endlessly. And I might cry in a minute, so I’m movin’ on now.

• Purex: I used their free and clear detergent for years, and I’m a huge fan. I was introduced to the crystals at Blissdom – haven’t used them yet, but I have great expectations. Of note: their rep at the conference was one of the most delightful people I spoke to all day (and that’s saying a lot at an event like this) so KUDOS to them on hiring fantastic people to represent them and speak with compassion and humor, on a personal level, with prospective clients/consumers.

Smiles from my swag bag:

• Vintage Pearl – I have another lovely necklace to treasure! This delicate and meaningful piece will be well worn before long.

• Unilever’s Dove Ultimate Nectarine & Ginger Deodorant – It’s tiny, which makes me squee (don’t judge me, I love miniature and travel sized packages of happy), but also smells like win and works fantastically. Thumbs up.

• Kleenex Tissue! Finally a blogging conference has tissues in the swag bag! Dude, you know we are ALL GOING TO CRY AT SOME POINT during this thing. You know that, right? RIGHT??? Trust me. We are all going to cry AT LEAST ONCE AT THIS THING. Amen to tissues on hand.

• Dear Jockey, you gave me a pair of tiny underwear that fits on my foot.  You also gave me $20 off any order with free shipping, AND provided an opportunity for me to act like a pompous ass on the “red carpet” one night. Need I say more? Mad love.

photo by mooshinindy

Thank you to all the sponsors who helped support the Blissdom experience. You help pull off an experience I look forward to more and more with each passing year, and I am truly thankful to you for that.

For a complete list of sponsors, please visit this page.

On processing my Blissdom Conference experience.

There is so much. So very much, and there is no way I can touch it all in one post. I’m going to break this up into posts on different days (non-consecutive, of course, wouldn’t want to ruin my lazy douche reputation by posting two whole days in a row with words and stuff) as I speak specifically, and share photos (mine and others’) and videos with you as I go along.

photo by Mishelle Lane

And even then, I won’t be able to get it all across to you. The excitement, the freedom, the friendship, the FLASHMOB (oh yeah!), the chance to speak and share, the Community, the panels, the musical performances, the food and drinks, the fun, the laughter. The LOVE.

photo by Mishelle Lane

I’m going to try very hard, but there just seems so much and some parts of it seem so deep, that I fear I have not the skill, the time, the energy… to really make you see, hear, and feel it the way you should, the way I wish for you to, the way I did.

I’m going to tell you now, before I start the posts by day, that I truly love this community of persons I’ve become connected to these last several years. Some of you I am only connected to by the wisp of a thread, and we float into and out of one another’s lives only occasionally. Others of you spend time with me every now and again, us keeping up in bouts and starts and stops, flowing here and there; you make my life your here sometimes and your there at other times. Still others of you are tied to me like a lifeline, and I think of or hear from you every day; we’ve been with one another through happy times and hard ones, and everything in between.

photo by Mishelle Lane & Lotus Carroll

All of you amaze me, inspire me, and collectively form a thing I am constantly in awe of and drawn to endlessly.

Each of you should attend this conference next year, or the first time you have the chance to do so. I’m rooted in the heritage of BD and have been a part of this Blissdom Community since it began in a crazy, cowhide-covered-walls hotel with a pink crayon brazier in the lobby (no really), and I’ll be a part of it for the rest of its fabulous ride down the road. I can tell you that with absolute surety, and I will also tell you now that what keeps me coming back is not just my ties to its past, or my deep and abiding love for the woman whose heart dreamed this dream so fiercely that she made it come true, but for the HUGE sense of love, friendship, and community I feel while I’m at this conference.

There isn’t any substantial amount of time that you will spend alone while at Blissdom (unless you really want to be alone, and I’m right there with you on that one, we all need to decompress, and for me that’s hiding in my hotel room every now and then in the dark because I will be a complete hag to someone in that moment if I don’t, and also because I get REALLY GASSY when I’m traveling/nervous and you gotta excuse yourself every little while and let that out, but I digress) and you won’t find one minute when there isn’t something amazing right at your fingertips.

My word for this conference is LOVE.

Call me cheesy (I really don’t mind, cheese is one of my favorite things in the world), but that is the truth. And Love, when it is truly felt and shared and spread around, is basically the most wonderful thing that exists. Some pretty popular and talented Liverpoolers once said that it’s all you need.  I think they were pretty much right.

I’m looking forward to sharing these next several posts with you. I hope you enjoy them.

Oh, and one more thing: All you women out there, the ones I know well and hold dearly in my heart, the ones who have been with me for the past few years, and those who only check in once in a great while, as well as any woman who just happens to stumble through here for whatever reason, and even those who never read these words themselves at all or know me in the least (can you tell them for me?)…

~You are beautiful.

#Photogranerd Things (what i’m up to)

Just to let you know what I’ve been up to photographically (for those of you who aren’t doing your loyal stalker duties to the utmost*), I thought I’d let you all know that I’m engaging in several Photography Projects this year. I’m posting them daily over at my little subdomain of this site that I like to call Everyday Lotus.

A summary of the projects I’m wrangling this year:

• Picture it Outside the Box
• Project 365
• i365 – One great photo with my iPhone every day.
• The Flip Side Meme
• Everyday Me – A photo of myself, same angle and expression, every day.
• Project 52 – One portrait of myself per week.
• The Monthly Bewb – One shot o’ the rack per month.

Here are some of my favorites so far:

For Project 365:

For i365:

For TFS:

For Project 52:

If you want to keep up with what I’m doing at Everyday Lotus, make sure to subscribe!

~~~

I’m very excited to share with you that I’m one of seven women who will be running the Photography Wisdom Workshop at Blissdom on Wednesday, January 26th (1-4:30).

Composition has been covered.  What we need now is to get everyone out of automatic mode.  BlissDom provides time to sit down in small groups and focus on what your camera can really do.  Experienced and supportive workshop leaders will concentrate on teaching just what each part of the camera does.  What is AV? What is TV? How the heck do I shoot in manual?  Can someone please explain the difference between Adobe RGB and sRGB?  RAW? An intimate hands-on learning environment followed by time to put your newly achieved non-automatic techniques to use with your instructors right there for additional help.

Fabulous women who will be there, ready to help:

Mishelle Lane
Deanna Garretson
Casey Mullins
Dawn Camp
Angie Arthur
Amy Locurto
Lotus Carroll
(yes, I am fabulous. shut up.)

If you have questions about how to “get off the green square” and grow your photographic skill, you definitely want to be there.  Check out the work of the women running the workshop ahead of time to see who you may want to work with most, and bring your camera, photos, computers, questions, and be ready to learn in a completely hands-on environment.  This one’s not a lecture, folks.

I’m also one of the Photography Tribe Leaders for Blissdom, along with Deanna Garretson, Casey Mullins, Dawn Camp, and Angie Arthur. So if you’re coming, and you’re a Fellow Photogranerd, make sure you hook up with our tribe!   We’ll be there the whole time to help you with anything you need, guide you to events, answer questions, and have the kind of fun that the camera obsessed enjoy.

~~~

FInally, I’m super-dee-duper excited about a trip I get to take at the beginning of February, hosted by Adobe evangelist Julieanne Kost.  It’s a Photography Girls Getaway in San Francisco with a full day to tour the city and take photos of iconic landmarks first, and then a half-day seminar to learn about and see what Adobe Lightroom 3 can do for a photographer’s organizing/editing/sharing workflow and how it works with Photoshop for a seamless photo editing experience.  I’m so excited about this trip, and I can’t wait to show you photos and share the details of the experience when I return.

~~~

I’ve had the Instagram App for awhile, but just started actually using my account recently.  I’m loving it!  If you’re on Instagram, hit me up.

So what’s up in your world?  Who’s going to be in Nashville next week!?  Holla!

*you should be ashamed of yourself.

Is it finally the end? Yes. It’s a Blogher 10 Photo Montage Video Post! Part 4

Saturday night was made for parties. Sparklecorn and Cheeseburgher did Saturday proud. Behold the Party People!

And if you’re lucky enough to have Mishelle near you often at an event, you get some nice photographic evidence of the good time you had. Which you can then force other people to view. *insert evil laugh of doom here*

The following photos are courtesy of Mishelle Lane.
View her Blogher 10 Set on flickr.

I think it’s pretty clear I had a great time. Also, I may have sexually assaulted Catherine. I’m not entirely sure… do you cross some sort of line when you actually try to stick your head inside someone’s tutu while they’re standing at the bar?

If you’d like to see all my Blogher 10 photographs in one place, they’re available on flickr. Enjoy!

I hope to see you all at Blogher 11! But bring a wet suit. It’s going to be in a whale’s vagina next year.