Such a cute little town with such cool vibes on the Mediterranean Sea. And my first time swimming in the Mediterranean Sea too. Mind-blown.
“To travel is to live.” – Hans Christian Anderson
MARIA PETERSON PHOTOGRAPHY
Goult, France
I basically went all the way to South of France for this cooking class. It took three days to get here and there were times the thought did enter my mind that God might not want this for me and that I led Him instead of Him leading me. I was being tested to trust and not for a moment to think that God is not good and didn’t care about me. So when my feet landed in Aix-en-Provence the evening of June 19, 2019, I knew that this cooking class was a GIFT straight from heaven. The experience with Giuseppina Mabilia was more wonderful than I imagined; Giuseppina is a woman of vision and passion. I loved being there with my good friend, Claire, and five other people from Hong Kong. The day was like a dream and it will be one of the highlights in my entire life. I am beyond thankful.
“Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.” – Psalm 37:4
“Cooking is like love. It should be entered into with abandon or not at all.”
- Harriet van Horne -
MARIA PETERSON PHOTOGRAPHY
P A N A M A
Sometimes I’m in an uncomfortable place where I feel like I’m on an assignment but I don’t have all the details before me. When it comes to photography, there are a few situations where I feel like I’m “not done” or unable to put up a proper blog and questioning whether I’m just slacking or there’s more to the story…or there’s a deeper truth I’m supposed to wait for. This is the case with Christina and Kyle. I never felt settled about putting up a blog of their wedding 9 months ago in Austin, TX…but now I realized that the more precious story is this trip they made all the way to Panama to have an intimate wedding celebration where Abuelo/Grandpa Ramiro can join them. Sharing the traditional Panamanian wedding cake (Sopa Borracha) was something special to Grandpa’s heart and now they got to share that moment with him. This might be very ordinary to most people, but I feel so blessed and privileged that I was able to be the documentarian in this life-giving celebration and it makes my heart so full knowing that God appointed this special place and time for me. These are the things that make me feel alive and I am beyond thankful for the gift of photography. So being an artist is becoming less and less about the camera and cranking out beautiful images and having people’s approval…but more about being fully present, truly engaging with people that I admire and love, and learning something. And in between those sacred things, I take some photos and hopefully tell the most sincere and beautiful story I know how.
P.S. And if you are reading this blog, how amazing is it that the wedding celebration for Christina+Kyle happened on Grandpa’s farm and the million dollar view is that of a lake that feeds into the Panama Canal which is known as the Bridge of the World and Center of the Universe?! The incredible things you learn when you travel. I love it!
“The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched…they must be felt with the heart.”
MARIA PETERSON PHOTOGRAPHY
IRELAND
Many thanks from the bottom of my heart to my friend, Valerie, for being my traveling buddy for this trip. There’s no way I could’ve done it without you, Val. Thank you for saying “Yes” to every moment…no matter how big or small. And most of all, thank you for driving me around on the smallest roads in the world. :)
“May the dreams you hold dearest be those which come true and the kindness you spread keep returning to you.” – An Irish Blessing
MARIA PETERSON PHOTOGRAPHY
Editing
It’s been a while since I’ve done an Editing image but I took this photo of the Cliffs of Moher just last month in Ireland and really love Lightroom for making editing wonderful for an image that was all over the place with exposure. It took maybe a minute to edit and I really love the end result; something I could totally enlarge and treasure if I want. This is the power of shooting in raw and know how to edit simply. :)
BEFORE:
AFTER:
I largely trust my intuition and inspiration when I compose photos. I get inspired mainly by my desire to express something I feel, though I usually cannot tell exactly what that is. ~ Elena Shumilova
MARIA PETERSON PHOTOGRAPHY
