a moment in time with truly amazing women

have you ever wondered what would happen if you completely did something out of the ordinary? like did something that was totally not in your usual character to do?

well... i did it.
i full on did something that i am looking back going, " i actually can't believe you did that, trace. what on EARTH were you thinking??"

let me start this story from the beginning..

in the last couple weeks i have been trying to "get in" to the photo industry here. between finding photographers that will talk to me either in person or via email, to referrals from my most amazing BNI network, i have been able to talk to some here, wondering what their takes on the best ways to "get in" here..

kris krug - the amazing fashion photographer friend of mine - is one.. and thru a contact at bni, marcel newall of "nurse next door" and a former interior designer/architect, gave me a contact number of a woman, reine, who is was apparently pretty fabulous at what she does - note: i dont have a hot clue who is who here, so i'm pretty ignorant to it all!

so i gave the number a call a couple weeks ago and left a message. meanwhile, i got her studio number and called it and her business partner, jana answered. she was so great! she told me the best way to get ahold of reine was to email at a certain email then call her number and leave a message. cool..fairly simple. so i did it.

now why was i doing this? to get a job? that'd be cool to get contacts? definitely. to talk to someone who KNOWS the industry? definitely. so i really didnt' have a clue where this was all gonna lead to.

the next day i got an email back from reine.
it was so incredible. she gave me a glimpse into her photo life and the amazing opportunities that were in hands reach for them. she even said once she got a few more pieces of paper off her desk, she may be able to meet with me to talk. cool.
i emailed her back and told her i'd love that and would wait to hear from her.

so a week went by.
and i wondered..should i email? should i call? will that sound DESPERATE?? cuz that's the last thing i want it to come across as.. hmm...what to do, what to do..

i emailed again.

a couple days later i had another meeting with another photographer, to pick her brain, etc.was a good and interesting time..her site patricia minnis photography

after that meeting i got thinking back to reine. should i call? why the heck not!?
so i called.
no answer. no biggie, i knew the drill.
left a message.

i was driving thru yaletown, the place that her address on her site says. i thought, i'll do a "drive by" of the studio..why not??! meanwhile, i called the studio number and jana, her business partner, answered. we had a wonderful convo! she was asking me lots of questions, about what exactly i wanted to be doing, etc. then she got a call and said she'd call back. so i continued driving and i parked my car.

note - this is where the story gets crazy and the whole bit about "i can't believe i did that" comes in.

and walked to the address. it did NOT look like a studio. it looked residential. but hey, anything's poss right?? so i called jana again. she informs me that IS reine's rez and to knock on the door, "she'll talk to you, trace!"

ok. so i knocked. no response. hmmm..
the gate was open, so what did that mean i wondered.
i called jana again... she must be walking her dogs, she said.

then i dont k now exactly how or what happened after that, but basically...i think i told jana i could come to her and would love to hear anything she had to say. the next thing i knew: she had given me her address to her place in kitsilano.

i'm a freak!, i thought. here i basically invited myself over to this other amazing photographer's house to just listen to WHATEVER they had to tell me. i could NOT believe i had the gumption to be doing this.

needless to say, jana greeted me at her door, where she once again told me she could talk to me while she was doing other things - scanning, getting ready for a meeting. i was REALLY ok with that.

she was gracious to even look at my portfolios and give me GREAT pointers.. she gave me some ideas how to get "in" here, and even took my card if she ever needed a last minute hand in anything.

i walked away stunned.
she really didnt' have to do that.
in fact she could have easily said, um, too busy, sorry.

but she was so great to give me so much just in all she said that i am STILL mulling it over and figuring out the next steps for myself.

the next day reine emailed..hehehe..i'm sure she thinks i'm a freak.
showing up at her house, going to jana's..

but you know what..i learned so much about MYSELF in that day..
and i'm sure it'll be at least a couple weeks til they forget about that "tracey heppner from saskatchewan" showing up in their lives.

so thank you reine. thank you jana. thank you for all your words, your ideas, your advice.
you have NO idea what that meant.

and who knows what the future holds, hey? :)

so i continue my journey..where it ends up.. one will have to wait and see

trace

reine and jana's websites :
REINEweddings
JANAweddings
REINE & JANA portrait photographers