Treasure Your Life Now's Program
• • • Through and From The Lens • • •

How to Take Great Photos
Without Being a Camera Wiz

How to Add More Fun To Your Life

How to Access Your Creative Self,
the One You THINK You Don't Have

The video on the left introduces a love for Nature and seeing beyond the ordinary. The photos and stories below touch on what's possible for YOU. Sheila Finkelstein, Artist/Photographer/Coach

From: Sheila Finkelstein - Using the Camera for Discovery, Fun, and Freedom

Date:

Dear Life Traveler:

Are you taking photographs which you are proud to keep AND pass on to future generations? Photos of your family? pets? special occasions? events? your travels? those things that have special meaning to you?

Are your photographs capturing the essence of what was/is important about the particular image that had you want to preserve it?

Are you so busy that finding time for yourself seems to be an impossibility? 3 years old and busy already - capturing the intensity of the moment

No matter how much time goes by, or what you do, nothing seems to change?   Prom Night - 15 years later

With the passage of time, you forget much of what you DID, the experiences that enriched your life and empowered you.

Buried in the sand. The fun of it, analogous with life, " How can I move forward?"

Will I remember this?

What If There Were a Way to Joyfully
Experience AND Preserve it ALL?

Take Me to the Details Now

Sheila's Story:

I first began using the camera when I
taught art in the public schools. It's main
use was to document events and student work.

It was before digital cameras and Sam,
my beloved, patient, photographer
husband spent hours in the darkroom developing and printing the photos.

I can still hear him saying, "Sheila,
this is not a movie camera."
Nevertheless he continued printing
hundreds, probably thousands, of
black and white photographs for me.

Though that was not the intent, many of them were published in National Art Education magazines.

 

Changing Circumstances Expands Creativity

Decline in enrollments in our school district ended my teaching career. I went onto other ventures.

Then came a major beach reconstruction in my town, new discoveries, color photos, thousands of them with inexpensive printing in photo service offered by my supermarket.

The child in me gravitated to the trucks.

The creative me played and made the images into photo/drawings.

The trucks and equipment were the start of the attention grabbers. The "stories" I would see, actually conjure up, had me keep taking photos of trucks AND nature. Play was added with hand-drawing on some of the series.

Then came digital....Grandchildren, their and others' pets, some travel and what I was learning and experiencing I wanted others to have also.

Sometimes the rusted out, old, and past its time want to be remembered	The results of maintainging and preserving the old for posterity
Patience - Always there to love and be loved.	What's REAL here, anyway? Having fun seeing bark.
Alternate views of life	Motorcycle leads to many routes

The teaching gene was still there.
Thus I started sharing in ezines and on the web. And, when more was demanded, I developed courses where the camera became the tool for people learning to see beyond what they took for granted, may never have even noticed before. More on me later.

What does all this have to do with the IMPORTANT YOU? Presumably there is some of this to which you can relate...

What if there were More Excitement
in YOUR World
Than You Thought Possible?

"Too BUSY," you're thinking?

What If You DID Have the Time for
Yourself and Your Camera?

"I had the remarkable experience of being in a class with Sheila. I was feeling as though I didn't have time for something as 'frivolous' as photography. That's something I saw as a luxurious use of time.

Was I ever surprised... How
energizing the class was!

My creativity seemed to expand in all phases of my business! I found myself looking at everything in my life with new eyes."

Photograph by Suzanne Holman, www.suzanneholman.com

AND Your Family?

"Sheila's gentle teaching opened up my inner eye in a way it had never been before.

Even though I work in a visual field (as an architect), I rarely (if ever) gave myself the gift of simply looking for its own sake at the simple details of my daily family life. It was like the floodgates had been opened.

I started taking photos of my young son in his darkened room while he slept. Not only are they precious records of a rare resting and vulnerable state, some of them turned out to be surprisingly successful compositions.

Another suggestion of Sheila's was to "take my camera for a walk," and being Spring, there was lots to see and revel in. My son
delighted in coming along, picking flowers and taking over
the camera at times.

These priceless moments are the true gift of Sheila's class. The striking, authentic photographs are simply a by product."

Photograph by Julie Gabrielli, www.goforchange.com

"What Will Seeing With New Eyes Do for Me?"

In Through and From The Lens you will experience: the Thrill of Accomplishment Achieving focus and connecting with what’s important to you, experiencing more freedom in making decisions Having things easily show up in your life, simply out of setting easy and fun intentions Being inspired by your own discoveries and accomplishments as well as those of other participants Renewed energy as you move from the camera to other responsibilities Excitement and play with discoveries you make in “seeing” yourself and your world Develop and reinforce your Creative Muscles so Solutions to challenges come more easily in ALL areas of your life.

I'm ready to Register

Reality Mixed with Fantasy	The Art of Reflections
Capture Life from All Angles	Enjoy It All
Awaken to the Light in Your Day	Be Open to the Spiraling Surprises

Learn to Take Photographs
You Are PROUD to Share
on the Walls in Your Home and/or Office,
On Facebook, and/or On Your Blog

"Within one week I started feeling my transformation. My eyes were open and my senses awakened, as I learned everything I needed to know in order to start taking decent pictures, share them and enjoy the process.

The most important thing is that I found out a new way of relaxation - photography – something we all need in order to lower our blood pressure, have a healthy heart and feel balanced and grounded.

As a certified holistic health and nutrition counselor, I am very happy with Through and From The Lens Telecourse, because it gave me new ideas for business projects."

Photograph by Irina Wardas, www.naturalcounselor.com

Irina came into the course having basic knowledge about photography and Flickr and no knowledge of her new camera.

 

"I got a sense of play. I freed myself from rules and the limiting belief that I sucked at photography. Yet I posted pictures that had 40 something comments on Facebook.... There were specific directions that you gave for us, like these play dates that we had with the camera. And through the play I discovered things. I was even surprised. Surprised at the pictures I came up with. I thought, 'Whoa! That's pretty good.'

It gave me a sense of accomplishment right away
and confidence that I can take pictures. Now I actually think about things like composition, which is hysterical for me."

Photograph by Adela Rubio, www.adelarubio.com

Prior to the course, Adela was a reluctant user of her camera.

"But I AM Already Taking Photographs I Love"

"As an artist, I've been in love with my camera for years. Yet in taking Sheila's class I experienced a breakthrough. I started taking 20-minute jaunts with my camera, on breaks between appointments.

This quick plunge into looking and seeing is exhilarating, makes me feel more alive and joyful in minutes.

I now take my camera with me everywhere for impromptu infusions of energy and inspiration.

Sheila also challenged me to expand my habits of seeing with her creative assignments. I realized I'd fallen into ruts of the familiar.
Her class had me engage with the world more intimately
and with constant curiosity.

Using my camera is the quickest way I know of stepping
out of my everyday consciousness into the freshness of
the here and now."

Photograph by Tomar Levine, www.yourtimetobloom.com

Sheila's Story Continued:

As stated earlier, when my teaching position was eliminated, I found myself using the camera in new ways. At first I was still "documenting" - photographing trucks and visual changes that were occurring during a major beach restoration in the township in which I lived.

Gradually I began to open up to the excitement of the mechanical and natural wonders I was seeing "through my new lenses" in any situation.

Self-Belief Expanded

Taking thousands of photos, color and store-processed, of whatever attracted my attention, seeing the results and getting acknowledged by others for them, began a whole new expansion of my self-image.

Both the process and viewing the resulting photographs, also freed me up to create new art forms with my photo/drawings. After some resistance, I began expanding my computer and Internet knowledge, establishing a web presence and selling my work.

The Keys to Freedom When Stuck,
as a Caregiver, or in Life - Period

Then my beloved Sam was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease. After a few years we moved to Florida to be geographically closer to our sons and their families.

Unbeknownst to us when we bought our home, we found ourselves very close to a few natural areas and discovered the healing powers of nature. Once again, the camera opened up even more new dimensions.

For a period of time one of my biggest stress-relievers was using my camera to record the growth of a rapidly growing banana plant.

I loved the unfurling of the petals of the pod as they slowly revealed the growing bananas. Equally fascinating, as I looked skyward, was the play of light and shadows on the leaves.

Once I downloaded the photos onto my computer and surfed through them in a slide show, I discovered I was experiencing almost instant relief from the stress and anger I had over the debilitating effects from Parkinson's that was taking its toll on Sam. Watching my photographs in a slide show was almost as healing as being out in nature.

Then there were our together times. Sam, no longer photographing, was able to continue our walking and enjoy pointing things out to me to photograph. It was fun to observe how, although we often saw the same “faces” and other images in trees, rocks, buildings and more, there were always slight variations in our perceptions. The experience actually enhanced our mutual pleasure since there was no “right” or “wrong”.

Creating Connections - Shifting Focus

It was at this point that my camera became my best friend. As we walked with my camera, Sam and I began to connect with other nature lovers with their cameras.

It provided "safe" people connections important to us. I also found that walking with, and using, the camera offered tremendous opportunities for stress relief. 

When practicing my, now, mantra, "Photograph ANYTHING that catches your eye," there was a shift in focus. The thoughts that were battering around in my head disappeared to make space for the new.

Also, being behind the camera, gave me both the control and power that I felt missing elsewhere. The opportunities expanded in the subsequent viewing of the pictures on my computer monitor. 

Another Participant Share:

"Your class was one of the beautiful things I did for myself last year and I still brighten up to think of getting my camera out.

Now when I'm stuck or need a change of pace, I take a photography break.

It's amazing how much playing with colors and shapes and new ways of looking at the world
energizes me!

Sheila also gave me a lot more
confidence about my photography
and made it easy to learn how to share it."

Photograph by Lynn Ward, www.redhotnewbeginnings.com

How to Learn More About Yourself
While Having Fun
as You Discover the Beauty in Ordinary Images
in Nature, Your Kitchen and Elsewhere

In Through and From The Lens Course you get to fully experience your own power and creativity.  As you start observing what does catch your eye and reflect on what’s most intriguing you, you begin to get a new understanding of your own behaviors and, possibly, that of others close to you.

A couple of years ago, I decided to feature on my blog a photo a day of a different vegetable and then thought, “Why not photograph a layer a day of the red onion on the counter.” Deciding it was a great idea, I immediately starting cutting into the onion. Then I quickly stopped myself, thinking,

“Sheila, this is how you do your life. You jump right in, sometimes without much thought, and your plan was to do a layer a day.”  So I stopped and started peeling.

I wound up with some wonderful photos AND put it together as a photo/story, “THE ONION STORY: Peeling Away The Layers of An Onion, Analogous to Peeling Away The Layers of Ourselves.”