….No, he is not my husband.  I was actually editing a wedding about 2 minutes ago and found this image.  I had to stop what I was doing and pay a little tribute to all those “uncle bobs” out there who have an undying  appreciation for photography.  I’m really not even being sarcastic.  I get a kick out of the small things in life!

What would we do if we could not find inspiration? What if one day we woke up and thought, “I am the best at everything I do. I have mastered my art. There is nobody better than me and I am amazing.” Sounds like arrogance at first, but after a second’s thought, just really tragic and sad. What if there were no muse? What if we stopped learning?? This is the topic on my mind tonight, after stalking a few blogs and needing two wiskeys to dull my jealousy to a point of being able to function….

And Here is my epiphany: I’d be stunted without inspiration. I don’t think I’d be able to make it to some weddings without looking at somebody like Sean Flanigan for a glimmer of hope that a cake shot can actually transcend wedding photography. So why do I wallow in my envy, instead of doing what I used to love to do—look at, and be inspired by, Art….   Because the day we have “arrived” and are the “best around”, is the day that we have died as an artist. We can no longer grow at that point. The world does not stop moving for artists who have become the best—there is always a better on the horizon.
So I thought I’d share with you a few people who are spicing it up, blowing my mind and who I’m losing sleep over—

Check out:

Nadav Kander: http://www.nadavkander.com

Cass Bird: http://www.cassbird.com/

Amy Stein: http://www.amysteinphoto.com

Generally, I am working my tail off on Sundays…. which may precisely be the reason why I long for a good ole’ fashioned sabbath. It seems every time I have to work on a Sunday, I start whining to Jesse about how lucky he is, and how, if I had the day off, I’d be doing….. blah dee blah, etc, etc…. So today, I sat down for a minute or 10, and tried to think about what I really would do if I had the Sunday off. Of course it really depends on what time of year it is, so I’ll keep it to a summer Sunday. (This may be my most boring post ever, but humor me, I’m dreaming)!

If I had a summer Sunday off, I would sleep in until 11am. (Jesse sleeps in until 12 or 1, so I’d have the morning to myself). I’d make a strong, steaming pot of french press coffee when I’d wake up and sit out by my fountain to enjoy the morning caffeine. I’d then read for about an hour( depending on the heat, I’d do it in my hammock, but since it’s been 90+degrees in Denver lately, I’d sit in the shade). Right now I’m reading “The fool’s Progress” by Edward Abby which is very good.

After that, I would head to duo or the Berkshire for bottomless mimosas. I’d get a little buzzed, come home and take a nap, and then a shower where I would exfoliate with my favorite Aveda Caribbean salt scrub, shave my legs, do an extra conditioning treatment on my hair and then sit around in my robe for awhile. To avoid getting lured in my computer, I would then take the dogs for a walk to the farmers market where I would buy a bunch of fresh veggies and herbs for cooking an amazing dinner. I’d of course pick up a bottle of wine, since we can now purchase alcohol on Sundays—probably a Portuguese red. After dinner, I’d sit out by the fountain again with Jesse and talk politics, religion and traveling (I’m still trying to get Jesse across the Atlantic). Then, when we’d have nothing more to argue about, we’d retire to veg in front of the tube. I’d either watch a series on HBO, or a good David Lynch movie. I’d take a bath (because you really can’t get enough water therapy these days), and go to bed in 500 thread count linen sheets—preferably just laundered and white.

However, I did work today, so I’ll have to do this another Sunday. Until then, enjoy the shots!

I’m officially done with this old blog—and have a new too cool for school, custom blog by Treble Red Media.  LInk here and contine down this path with me…. https://julieharrisphotography.com/blog

Gallery Notice : Images have either not been selected or couldn't be found

It’s only appropriate for me to kick off my new blog in this manner…. in a way where I feel like I’m completely exposed and vulnerable–showing not necessarily my most beautiful work, but the work that I’m most connected to right now.
It’s been an interesting journey for me—both as an artist, and as what I’d like to call a “new adult”. I can’t complain about my childhood at all. It was quite perfect, actually–at least when you compare it to a lot of other upbringings. What I’ve come to realize in the last year in particular, however is that I never appreciated growing up with what I had. I was blessed with parents who never showed me anything but love and support and as a married adult of 30, I’ve started to look at my parents and siblings in completley different light (I’m the oldest of 4). I’m starting to see my parents and siblings as comrades and people that I’m connected to on a deeper level. Those whom I share a history with. It’s been a year of discovery, appreciation and a year of longing to know more about these people in my life. I’m interested in their struggles, their dreams and their hearts. It’s beautiful and heartbreaking all at once.
Last week I made the decision to cancel all my shoots and go out to my family’s farm in Eastern Colorado for Harvest. It’s been close to 15 years since all of us were together— and 15 years since I was there. We grow wheat and some millet, and that’s about all I know. I’ve been a “city slicker” my whole life, but some of my very best and sweetest memories are of arrowhead hunting with my dad and walking the land out by our farm or waking up to the smell of my Grandma’s bacon and coffee early in the mornings. It’s like a dream, actually, and I’m nostalgic for these days.
So that’s what I wanted to capture in these images— a sense of loss, appreciation, nostalgia, love and of course an undying desire to know my family and our history.
These two images are of our quonset. The image above is of my brother, Robbie who is reading the instructions on how to put together a pressure washer—the one below is of the beautiful chaos of many unfinished projects that the quonset hosts. When I showed this image to my grandma, Nonie, she said that Papa, my grandpa would roll over in his grave. That made me smile. He should see my car!

This is my youngest brother Mark. He just turned 21 on June 20th–He’s a riot and has the best dry sense of humor.

And this is my other brother, Robbie. He is 25 and is my kindred spirit—always looking for adventure and a good time.

We employ a harvesting crew to come out to harvest our wheat every summer. We’ve been using Frederick Harvesting crew for the last 20 years. This is a photo of Zane, one of the boss’s sons giving me a ride in the combine.

These are a couple other guys from the crew—One of them came all the way from ireland to work.

Instead of getting a new car when I was 16, my parents gave me my uncles old car from the 70′s. I drove a 1970 yellow ford maverick for most of my formative years. I loved this car. Loved it! It’s retired now out at our farm, but I’ve always wanted to take it home and restore it… maybe next year.

This is my family (minus my dad). In order from left to right: Mark, Amy, my mom, and my brother Robbie.

This is maybe my favorite image from this series. I did not tell my dad to pose like this—-this shot is pure “John Harris”. I’m blowing it up for my studio. I love it!