I love creating images that are out of the ordinary. And, I kinda get attached to my images. I infuse myself, my tastes into the creative process and am always giddy to see how my models will add their personalities to make it completely unique! I am also a very competitive person - not arrogant, I hope, but I was quite the curve killer in college (say that three times fast).

So, when I started submitting my creative shoots for possible National feature on Seniors Ignite and We are the SEEN, I was extremely motivated/scared/excited/hopeful/anxious to see the results of my first attempt. I was not featured. But it was new for me, and I jumped into the next month's challenge with new vigor, studying all of the sessions that had been featured. And, four weeks later, I was a Nationally featured photographer!!

Since then, I've been featured more that I haven't been, and I love it! I love that I can give my model team the opportunity to be SEEN themselves, while having the amazing opportunity to create images that fuel my creative spirit! You can find my images under C for Charity by visiting the two links at the bottom of my post.

Our February shoot included these DIY lighting shots, and guess what? We were featured!!

The images that we shot for the March challenge - category texture - are below. It always should go without saying that I am in love with the images we create, because they are a part of me. I have hope for them from before I even see them on my computer screen, and I always remember how it all came together that particular shoot day. So, when the features for March started filling up on the Seniors Ignite site, I watched intently to see my name pop in - C for Charity - with our beautiful texture images.

From past months, I knew that once all of the features were uploaded, they would be sending out two very highly anticipated emails. The first email would go out to congratulate the photographers who were being featured, and the second email would go out announcing those features to everyone who had submitted. Being the competitive creature that I am, I know full well that If I get the second message, and not the first, then it means that my images have not been featured -- devastating news for a competitive creative like myself.

When the March image features started loading -- from the end of the alphabet -- there were lots of them, so many that they took a break over night, with a pause in the L's. It was killing me! It was at least three weeks after I had submitted these heartfelt images, and just a couple days after we had shot the April challenge.

The next day they picked up where they had left off, and inched toward the beginning of the alphabet. Then, they skipped right past C for Charity and finished with an amazing session by photographer A for Amy (who I love by the way, and will be visiting this weekend in Indiana:)

C for Charity was just not there, no matter how many times I refreshed that page. And, then I got it. The second email. I saw the names on the list that had slowly filed onto the feature page over the past two days. Deserving photographers, with some gorgeous sessions.

I was tempted to feel like a failure. I had let my models down. My confidence was misplaced, and my images were not chosen. I opened the folder to look again at my carefully crafted texture images and asked myself how this could be.

I was tempted to question the images we had just shot for the April challenge - images that were due the next week, and could not be re-done. How would I remake them anyway, I was in love with these new 50's images too.

Instead of giving in to self-doubt, I chose to defer to perseverance. I applauded March's featured photographers, and reaffirmed to myself that I could still be in love with my own texture images, even if they were not part of the feature this month. I made the decision to press on with confidence in myself and my work, to purposely infuse my work with the same love for creating that I always have, and to believe my own mantra -- that I will eventually see brilliance through perseverance!

A month has gone by since the March features, I submitted our 50's images on the last Friday of April, and shot the first group of Backlight images for May's challenge just last night. Would you be surprised to hear that I soooo love these backlight images!! (You can see the sneek peek on Instagram and Facebook, but you'll have to wait another three weeks or so to see the rest).

And oh, by the way, just tonight, I got that first email for the April Challenge!!