conquering fears and coming out a winner

i've raised my kids to be fearless.  i'm trying anyway.  i had such a sheltered upbringing and it's a major source of frustration for me that i'm not that adventurous and almost over cautious.  it's very much an inner struggle.

the opportunity to shoot a wedding in italy came up and i jumped on it.  didn't even hesitate for a second but as the date drew near i was experiencing anxiety.  i had only traveled internationally by myself once before and it was to go see my cousin in france.  getting in and out of planes is no big deal and going to a non-english speaking country but being accompanied by a resident?  well that doesn't count as scary at all.  this trip however was going to require me to travel solo to a country i've never been to before.  they didn't all speak english and i had to maneuver the train system by myself with ALL my luggage and camera gear.  my online searches on this process was turning up some horror stories.  i was losing sleep.  not gonna lie... two days before i left i was kicking myself over taking the job.  what was i thinking?!

it's a good thing i'm not one to back out of a challenge.  one baby step at a time i got through that trip and had a blast!  i loved it so much i would sign up to do that once a month if i could!  actually, i'm not sure that curtis would let me ... but it would be awesome!  don't get me wrong, there were some hairy moments there.  hauling gear solo through that train system was a chore.  thank god for kind strangers and in some cases creative entrepreneurs (aka bag carriers for money).  oh yeah .. i totally went there.  you do what you have to do.  of course luck was totally on my side too.  by sheer coincidence, sitting next to me on the train was kim maru, an amazing canadian wedding photographer.  what were the odds of that?!  thank god for her coz she gave me the crash course on the train system that came in really handy during the transfers.

the amalfi coast couple was amazing and so accommodating.  never mind that my brain was confused the whole time i was with them; their british accent coupled with their filipino features was throwing me for a loop.  between them and their family i felt soooo at home and so at peace.  the couple i met in venice came with an entourage of 15 friends to help them get in and out of the most well thought out 4 outfits complete with hair and makeup change.  it was an instant styled shoot and i was in heaven!  i wanna be part of their gang.  like i said ... conquer fears = winner.

here's a few of my favorite images from the trip..