by Cameron Ingalls I don’t know about you but my winter has begun. I have just a few more weddings before 2007 is all said and done. It feels great to slow down a bit and focus on aspects of my life other than photography, weddings, and oh, working my tail off.

Life is all about balance and so is owning a business. I absolutely love my job! It’s my passion, my gift, and my obsession. But sometimes it can be a bit of a burden. My mind and heart can become heavy with the endless ‘to do’ list and the financial strain that comes with building a photographic empire.

I am in it for the long haul, therefore, I must maintain balance in my life and in my business. I don’t know about you, but it is a challenge for me to rest at times. Thank God I recently got married to an amazing woman who loves to rest and play. She balances me and helps me to appreciate some of our most valuable resources; people and time.

Today is all we have. Tomorrow has will bring its own worries. A good friend of mine asked me recently, “Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?”

And this is why I went surfing with my friend Mike yesterday for almost the whole day. It’s time to rest and its time to play. To enjoy a little bit of slowness and to reflect on an amazing year of photographing life and love. I want to do a lot of that in the next couple of months before my 08 weddings hit. For me surfing is something I do that has nothing to do with photography. It is pure fun and exercise. I still feel like a poser out there when I get stuck on the inside for 30 minutes, but I always walk away refreshed from enjoying a big piece of wet creation and time with good friends.

This is a bit of my winter play list that I am working on.

-Spontaneously take my wife on a bike ride downtown to get ice-cream cones

-Hike mountains I have only driven by

-Go to the drive-in

-Read a book at the park and have a picnic

I want to breathe in and appreciate the gift of today. What about you? Have you thought of fun activities to reward yourself for working so hard on your business this year? Drop a line and share a creative idea. Perhaps you will inspire me and others towards a winter filled with rest and play.

Cameron Ingalls, Inc. Southern California Real Life Wedding Photographer