I'm Michelle! I'm so glad you've come to visit me at my blog. This is the place to find out everything you ever wanted to know about Michelle Sidles Photography... and probably even more than you wanted to know about me. I live in Spokane, Washington with my family.
I have a passion for capturing the spirit of my family in images and I also apply that same passion when photographing other families. I love to tell a story with my images, to capture the raw emotion of a moment and those little details that mark a specific time in a person's life. It may start off calm and respectable but by the end of the session I can't guarantee that people won't be thrown in the air, chased by their siblings or covered in dirt! If that's the kind of photography you're interested in then let's get together. This is not your mother's photo session!!
And last but certainly not least... comments are always appreciated! :)
I started my new year with a promise to myself and a commitment to a group of friends. I would complete a 365 project for 2010. Guess what? I haven’t quit yet. In fact… I haven’t missed a day. I love it. It is purely and selfishly just for me. However, it has become a huge benefit to our little family. The idea behind the 365 is to shoot an image every day. To stretch your creative capabilities, to try new techniques and to generally just become a better and more thoughtful photographer. And all of those things are happening. But simply the very best benefit of the 365 is capturing the “mundane” moments of our life. The ordinary. It has been a total gift already and I can’t wait to complete the next 11 months. The goal is at the end of the 365 to compile an album. A book that simply summarizes our year. The big and little. The exciting and sad. All of it.
Here’s some of the shots I’ve taken this January:
These are just a sampling. But already I’ve captured me (RARE), my marriage, my children, our entire family (another rarity), our pets, our vacation, our new home site, and on and on. Last year… let’s just say I wasn’t that “thorough.” Here’s to an equally satisfying February.
Heather Moll - Wow, my friend, I wasn't expecting to come to your blog and shed some tears this morning. Thank you for sharing that. Love your photo-a-day photos so much, Michelle.
Elizabeth - You have no idea how perfectly timed that video was for me. I am in the throes of "Am I doing this mothering thing right?" and praying that time will just speed up and get us out of this stage. That video stopped me in my tracks and will change the course of my day. Thank you!
And, by the way, your photos for the 365 project are already awesome. I can't wait to see how the final book will turn out. Will you print them chronologically?
P.S. Oh, how I love those kitties!
Gail - Good for you Michelle! I bailed on my own 365 and decided to do a self-portrait a month ;) I love these shots here. BTW: Your cats? OMG!!!
Kristin - It is fun, isn't it. I was just admiring your website here...specifically that the photos in your banner are all from the same shoot. It is a simple and easy way to see your style and what your clients will get! I like it! :)
Kim - Fabulous video. It was a great way to fill the time I waited for the online chat with HP. Yuck. It certainly gives lots of food for thought and makes me wonder about changing those times I have something that "needs" to be done. Thanks for sharing.
A while back I conducted a very unscientific survey of my blog readers, facebook friends and random people. You may remember it. (HERE). I basically spoke of feeling unsettled and unsure of why I lived where I did. Many (MANY) of you responded and shared your stories with me. It was awesome. I haven’t forgotten any of what you shared and I’ve kept it in my mind as I’ve gone through my days.
Ken and I have gone round and round about this. We talked about a vacation property. We’ve talked about moving to another town (nearby)… we’ve just been open to all sorts of ideas. No idea or topic has been off limits which has been a freeing way to go through this process.
Anyway, when we went away for our little Marriage Weekend last weekend we talked a lot about things. And after talking about all kinds of scenarios we stumbled on one we hadn’t considered before. And we both instantly knew that it was the right one. And so having made the decision on Saturday night we leapt out of bed Sunday morning ready to make it happen. And boy howdy, did we!
We decided that it was too early in our family’s life to consider a second home (lake or beach condo). And we also decided we didn’t want to pull our kids out of a fantastic school district and out of a great community that we’ve been a part of for 12 years. We didn’t want to move further away from Ken’s job.
We decided that we did want to move to a different house in our same current community. We love our current house and neighbors. So that has been the hardest part of this decision. Our current house though is just not working for our family as the kids get older and Ken and I want a little more privacy at times. So when we set out on Sunday morning in search of a new home locale we knew exactly where to look and within 2 hours had picked the exact lot we wanted to live on. It was literally that easy. And thankfully it’s walking distance to our old house and neighbors!
And today. That lot is ours.
This is the lot standing at the back edge. The pile of rocks will be the location of the house (we’re looking at the imaginary back of the house). The front yard has beautiful views of the surrounding snow covered mountains.
And what sold us on this lot?
The panoramic views (although you can’t really see them with this silly lens I’m using). ;) The views are amazing. The sunsets to die for. And the nighttime city lights…. amazing.
We have the lot. We aren’t in a huge rush to build as we have some projects to finish at our house and then of course selling our current house. But the wheels are in motion. The unsettled feelings have dissipated an we are moving on to the next stage of our family’s life.
Thanks everybody for helping me process my feelings by sharing yours. I truly love you guys and would like to reach through your monitor and HUG you.
Kristin - This is really cool. It has been fun getting to "know" you through Wendy's class and your blog and seeing last few months of processing and ideas. It is really exciting where you have finally ended up. I can't wait to see the progress on the new house from here on! :)
Kim - What a beautiful lot! Happy for your family, mixed feeling for us! Congrats!
Cindy - looks like heaven on earth! Congratulations.
Elizabeth - Love it! And so glad you're not moving too far from Donna. That would make me sad!
Allie - Congratulations, Michelle! That is so exciting :)
carly - Omigosh, that view! Is it weird to say that I'm really proud of you guys? I mean, I don't have kids and I've never owned a home, but just the same. Super proud of this endeavor! And I'm so excited to see the progress has the dream materializes into reality! Sidles Power Go!
Foo Frater - I am so excited! (((((((((HUGS))))))))) Where? I am inviting myself over for dinner....Love you!
Hey everybody! I’m back from my end of year hiatus! And I’m so glad! By the end of 2009 I was feeling swamped. And then the holidays hit. And you know how it goes. Feeling overwhelmed and tired. However I have some wonderful peers in my life who encouraged me to take some time off at the end of the year. I’m so glad I did. I spent time with friends and family. I played games. Literally set my camera down for a few weeks and read lots of books. And it worked! I feel totally reenergized and ready to pounce on 2010!
My portfolio pricing ended in December and I want to thank each and every client that I worked with in 2009. You all made for such a FUN year and I’m so excited to work with you again in the future! I’ve gone ahead and implemented my 2010 pricing. You can check out the details here.
Also for my 2009 clients I am going to be announcing a special on Gallery Wraps… BIG ONES! So keep watching the blog for details.
One of the big lessons I learned from this past year is that for me to be my best for my clients I need to be firm with myself about limiting the number of sessions that I do each month. So I will only be doing a handful of sessions each month this year. So if you want to get on the schedule send me an email.
It’s January. I know I keep telling you that. But for some reason this January is REALLY getting to me. I’m not generally a “new year’s resolutions” kind of girl. I do like the occasional goal but I’m not all obsessive about resolutions or anything.
One of my 2010 projects that started Jan. 1st is my 365 Project. I am BLESSED to be a part of an amazing group of photographers spread out all over the US & Canada. We met through a great class and have basically all become great supporters and friends to one another. As part of our group 365 project we’re all incorporating self portraits every now and then. Let me tell you this… self portraits are hard for photographers. We may shoot others with excitement and vigor but shooting ourselves is really hard.
Today was my self portrait day. This is how it goes for me when I have to do this. I walk around my house with my camera. I look at the different rooms, the light and the messes that I want to avoid getting in the shot. Today none of the rooms or light did anything to inspire me. So I took the camera outside to my backyard. And I knew instantly what I wanted to shoot.
My raised garden bed. Ken made this bed for me a couple years ago as a Mother’s Day present. I love this bed. However, if you look at it you can see that it’s a little haggard these days. Not unlike myself, I think. But when I look at it I can appreciate it’s haggardness. I can appreciate the storms it’s weathered and the potential, once the weeds are cleared away and the soil is prepared, to once again produce life sustaining produce. It reminds me that no matter how “weedy” my own life seems sometimes that I’m never too far gone to clear out the weeds and produce beautiful fruit. And neither are you.
“I am the Vine, you are the branches. When you’re joined with me and I with you, the relation intimate and organic, the harvest is sure to be abundant. Separated, you can’t produce a thing. Anyone who separates from me is deadwood, gathered up and thrown on the bonfire. But if you make yourselves at home with me and my words are at home in you, you can be sure that whatever you ask will be listened to and acted upon. This is how my Father shows who he is—when you produce grapes, when you mature as my disciples.” John 15:5-8
ETA: I can’t help but read this verse and the part about deadwood being thrown in the fire just goes perfectly with my image above and the awaiting firepit in the background. haha!!
Heather M. - Michelle, this is such an awesome entry and photo of you. My name means flowering and I've often used the same analogy and verse in my own life. I'm feeling particularly weedy and messy and not very productive lately. :(
I think you are an amazing person, Michelle. I puffy heart you too!
Elizabeth - I tried commenting on this post twice yesterday. I can see it didn't work. So I'm trying again. Basically, I wanted to say I like your lips. Is that weird?
Annie - You totally rock my world, Friend. Weeds and all, you're good in my book... nice barn, by the way! ;0)
Spokane Al - Your self portrait was pretty nice but I do wonder when we will see pictures of you on your bike preparing for the CDA Tri!
We are burning daylight Michelle!
donna - You are not as "WEEDY" as you might think my friend. Happy Day :-) Great photo BTW.
stacy t - i puffy heart you my friend. and you know we're in the same boat - ok, not SAME boat but same weedy feeling. xoxoxo
carly - I'm going to enjoy taking pictures of you and your family. NO. DOUBT.
I love the gym. I don’t always love GOING to the gym. Setting aside the time, removing my “seat” from the couch, driving there, … you know all the excuses. But once I’m there… I love the gym.
Why? Because when my kids were young all of my exercise consisted of using my treadmill in my windowless basement or doing some kind of exercise TAPE (yes, that’s how long ago it was when my kids were young) in the same windowless room. It worked at the time. But it wasn’t exactly inspiring or anything.
Fast forward to the last year and a half. Now I go to the gym. And despite how far away it is I generally feel connected to and inspired by the people there around me. I use the treadmill a couple days a week. And please tell me I’m not alone in this but I get ultra competitive with the person on the treadmill next to me. I watch them out of the corner of my eye. I race them. I will not give in before them! Weird right? But I get a better workout because they are there. That didn’t happen in my basement. The same goes for yoga, turbo kick or any other class I’m in. I will try so hard to master that handstand or get my roundhouse kick higher because I’m with other people.
And the gym I’m at is fantastic at putting encouraging little incentives in place to spur us all on. For the month of December they had a fun contest called Scrooge’s Showdown. We signed up and were put randomly on teams. Points were alloted for different kinds of exercise. Each day you’d record your points. And at the end they tallied everybody’s individual and team points and gave prizes to the winners. I did pretty great for the most part but by the end of December we had sickness here at the house and that derailed me.
Today I went back to the gym for the first time in what seems like forever (maybe in was only a week or two). When I checked the bulletin board guess what I discovered? I was a PRIZE WINNER for scrooges showdown!! I went to the office and she (my spin teacher) gave me a giftcard to the movie theatre!! Now the competitive part of me loves that I was “at the top.” I love that I won something. But MORE than that I loved that on a day I was beating myself up about missing the gym for a week or two I walked in the door and was basically told… “Good job! You work hard and we recognize that.” It really built me up and inspired me to give it all I had in my turbo kick class (that is taught by an old friend of mine from many years ago).
I am now friends on Facebook with my teachers and other women at the gym. We talk about our workouts and classes. We arrange workout dates. We smile at & encourage each other when we see each other at the gym. And that community is why despite the drive, or the added time to workout somewhere else I sold my treadmill and call myself with affection, a gym rat!
Gail - Oh, I love the gym too! (for some reason though, this conversation is making me think of that Friends episode where Ross is like, "I want to quit the gym!" -- have you ever seen that one?! haha)
Good for you for seeking out friendships that are cultivated in such a motivating place :)
carly - Michelle, you and your love affair with the gym has definitely inspired me in the past! The fact you're training for a triathlon just blows my mind! I'd like to do something similar one day but I've never--I mean, NEVER--been an athlete. Being the size I am right now is pretty unbelievable if I think about it long enough... So keep it up! Seriously! I can't wait to see how you do when the triathlon finally gets here! Your husband better take some photos of you! I wanna see Michelle in action!
Kathryn - Hi there!
Stopped by from SCS Shameless Saturday. You have a beautiful blog. I especially like the pics of Christmas & the vid on healthy food.
Dr. Mercola currently has a long one out (in 9 parts) listed at YouTube as "The bitter truth about sugar." Very good. info.
Have a great day! :)
Kim - You have totally freaked me out, considering Chris is contemplating when he will begin tearing out bathrooms upstairs. I really, really, really hope we don't find that mold in our house! I am overwhelmed just thinking about the remodeling, let alone the problems that generally accompany it! Good luck!
Elizabeth - Oh, wow! What a pain! I have a friend here in town I could hook you up with that had black mold in her daughter's room shortly after they moved into their house. It had been there all along because the builder didn't caulk around the windows. Ugh! Let me know if you want me to hook you up with her.
Alexandra - Wow, probably not what you wanted to see haha.
Michelle - @donna That is the plan. But ugh. That particle board is like SUPER bonded to the sub-floor. It's never easy, is it? hahaha!!
donna - Yeah...our approach to that kind of problem is more demolition. Replace it with new flooring. Let's face it...everything else is all ripped out so a little more won't make any difference!
I’ve been married for 13 years. THIRTEEN YEARS. First of all, I’m too young to have been married that long. But it’s the truth. Anyway, when you’ve been married that long there are ebbs & flows that occur in the relationship. There are the highs of getting married, buying a house, having a baby… and the emotional or physical lows that accompany being married (putting aside selfish desires), maintaining the house (weed pulling, anyone?) and raising young kids (sleep deprivation, for instance). I know it’s not just me. Come on, fess up. :)
What I’ve learned over the years is that my perception of how things are is often related to love languages. Love languages are probably one of the first things I remember learning at church when we started attending after we married. Gary Chapman wrote a book about them. Pastors taught sermons on them. Friends quoted them. But without fail I would forget what I knew about them and find myself getting frustrated. If you are unfamiliar with them let me give you a SUPER quick lesson. Basically we all give & receive love in different ways. But we all have a sort of natural way of showing & receiving love that comes much easier to us than the others. And so that is the one that we generally default to. For me that language is Words of Affirmation. That’s probably not a shock being that I am a blogger. Words come naturally (and abundantly) to me. Ken’s default love language is … oh dang it. What is it again? Well, it’s not Words of Affirmation. You can see where this is leading. Guess how I naturally show love to Ken. I TELL him. Guess how Ken does NOT naturally receive love. BEING TOLD. hahahaa!!
Anyway, I am reminded of love languages today.
Last night our little Natalie spent the entire night SICK in the bathroom. I was up with her throughout the night and so was Ken. I was sleeping in a little this morning trying to make up for some of that broken sleep. Ken was scheduled to catch a plane early this morning. He took Aaron to school for me before he left town. That allowed me to sleep as late as I needed. ACT of SERVICE. When I finally got up and started getting stuff done around the house I remember that we’d run out of milk the night before. Darn. I didn’t want to go to the grocery store while Nat was sick. I happened to open the fridge and there were TWO gallons of milk in there! He had picked up milk before he left town. ACT of SERVICE. I was starting to feel very grateful for his care. A few hours later I was getting ready to pick up Aaron from school when I remembered that my car’s gas tank was on empty. Literally not enough gas to make it to school & back. SIGH. Now an added errand that I really didn’t want to do today. I went to my car. My seat had been adjusted for a much manlier frame that mine. Hmmm? I looked up. Full gas tank. ACT of SERVICE. I could’ve started crying.
Acts of Service are not the default method for how I receive love. Often times I don’t “hear” those things as love at all. They just happen. And I am appreciative but don’t feel them as LOVE. Today I felt it. Today I was reminded that it is not natural for him to pour out words of affirmation. It is natural for him to act lovingly. And I am reminded that when I have those days of not feeling loved it isn’t because I’m not loved. It’s because I’m not looking for love in the right place.
We make an effort to speak all the love languages to each other. To try to speak the other person’s main language. But we also need to remember to make an effort to listen for the other ways we show love to each other too. Today it was loud and clear. I’m loved. I’m blessed to have a husband with a servant’s heart. And of course, I’m telling the world (and him) how much I love him with an over abundance of words.
I hope he hears me.
And here is why I didn’t want to be bothered with buying milk or gas:
My sick little Natalie. Sound asleep after a pretty terrible night. :)
Jill C. - My guess is that your husband's love language is service. Mine is service and so that is how I express it. My husband's is touch and words of affirmation. I am not either of those two so it is a conscious effort on my part to express that to my husband. My second one is quality time. It's funny how marriage are eh? Fun post, I'm just a little behind on blogs.
Kristin - wonderful post. So thankful for serving husbands!
Elizabeth - You are so right on - I need to look at how others love me as best as they can, not how I need to be loved!
Lee-Ann - hmmm, great to hear a different perspective...
Julie Freeman - Very sweet! My hubby is so acts of service and I don't do very well with wanting to clean his car to make him happy. Love your story! Maybe I should go clean his car!
beck - I was thinking about responding to the marriage ups and downs, and then about the Love Languages, but then you posted that breathtaking photo. And all I can say is WOW. THAT IS A BEAUTIFUL PHOTO.
Kristina - Lovely story. Makes me want to go kiss my husband. I am also "too young" to have been married over 14 years, so I can certainly relate to those ebbs and flows.
You are truly blessed both in what you receive and the fact that you can SEE it.
Malia - What a good Man! Happy New Year by the way! I hope all is well and Natalie feels better soon!
Jaidean - Sounds like you have a keeper there!!! How nice! Hope Natalie feels better soon!
Hey! Get your mind out of the gutter. That’s NOT what I meant.
I thought you might like a little bit of an update on our big ol bathroom remodel.
Ready….
Isn’t it tidy!? Since I’m trying to keep things moving I cleaned it out of all the sheetrock and tile debris while Ken was at work. And to make myself feel better about the drywall dust I actually Swiffer-mopped the floor when I was done! Well not before I wrecked my Dyson vacuum cleaner trying to suck up dust. {sigh} Note to self: get shop vac back from neighbor for this project.
And if you want to make a 10 year old boy exceptionally happy then just give him a sledgehammer and tell him to smash the walls. I never saw a boy so happy.
So there’s the latest pictures as of yesterday. However, you’re going to want to check back at the blog in the next day or so because I’ve got a BIG GROSS surprise for you!! EEK!!!
Michelle - @Julie Yes. Doesn't everyone have a calendar in their bathroom? ;)
julie krueger - is that a CALENDAR hanging on the wall of your bathroom?!
Kristin - love that mirror shot. amazing how something so mundane can become completely artistic and interesting!
Annie - Just missin' ya! Oh, and happy to know there are only 100 days left in the school year... ;0)
Gail - OOOhhh..jealous of a bathroom remodel! I want to do the same too!
Elizabeth - Looks like fun! We have SNOW here, and school is called off for tomorrow already. Today was only their second day back after THREE WEEKS OFF. I needed more time before they were back home again. Ugh!!!
And now, I chuckle because I actually used to entertain thoughts of homeschooling. Ha!
It’s the New Year. A time for new beginnings, lofty goals and a general desire for fresh starts. So I told you MY goals. The quitting coffee and 365 photo a day challenge. I’m 100% on track for my 365 so far! Yes, I realize that I’m only four days into the challenge but it was looking iffy on day 2. As far as coffee I’m doing REALLY good in that area although Ken did share a small one with me the other day. I regretted it as soon as I had it. So I think I’m going to just go ahead and get 100% back on track with that too.
What I didn’t anticipate was Ken’s desire for newness and how lofty HIS goal was going to be. What is it? Well, here’s a hint… (and also my photo for day 3 of my 365):
He woke up on Sunday and decided (very spontaneously) that tearing out our master bathroom was just the project he needed to kick off the new year.
{sigh}
This should bring me joy. I mean come on… a new pretty bathroom. But… drywall dust in my bedroom. And floating through my house. And sharing the kid’s bathroom (which is kind of small)… and having to come up with the design for the bathroom…
Blech.
It’s just a little overwhelming. And it makes me want a coffee.
But I’m embracing it one day at a time. It’s giving me constant inspiration for my 365 challenge so that’s good. And it is adding crazy value to our house, right? That’s what they tell me at HGTV, anyway.
So that’s our latest project. The goal is three months. Does that sound like a long time? The last bathroom we renovated took a year. So you can see my concern.
How are you all doing? Have you set goals or resolutions for yourselves? Or have you lost steam by day four? ;)
Bianca Juarez - All I gotta say is your hubby is CUTE! Like the Bounty paper guy meets Mr. Fix-It!
I really should write down my resolutions/revolutions/rebelusions( whatever!) for 2010.
:)
Julie Freeman - Just think of how much you will love it when it is done! I'm loving your 365. I just feel too overwhelmed to even start.
Michelle - ha! You can tell how spontaneous it was based on the fact that my toothbrush is still sitting on the counter. Yumm... dusty toothbrush. :P
Annie - Ahhh.... Michelle. How I would so like to be able to start tearing down walls and redesigning areas in our house. You are blessed! And I {heart} the diagram on the mirror behind Ken!! Holler if Henson Design can be of any help. (Yes, I know -- it's really Henson Communication Design, but I do so love home design!)
P.S.>>> I was wondering where y'all were Sunday morning!! ;0)
I think I’m running behind. Seems like everybody has their New Year’s blog posts up and going before me. What’s new? But don’t blame me. I was waiting on my “model” above to get done doing her stuff and come play with me in my pitch black studio!
We had so much fun doing “Light Graffitti.” That image above is part of my new year’s list of goals. I’ve decided to do a 365 project. What’s that, you ask? It’s a project where I take a picture a day every day this year. But more than that. It’s personal photography everyday. When you work as a photographer it’s very easy to get caught up doing client work and you blink and realize you’re missing pictures of your kids or your life. Or is that only me? I’m sure other photographers don’t struggle with that. ;) But actually they do. A group of photographer friends of mine have all decided to do this journey together. And I’m super excited about it. So there you have it.
My other goal that I’m currently working on for January. Kicking coffee. Cold turkey. I don’t like the Up & Down energy roller coaster that coffee puts me on. So I’m taking this month to reprogram myself. Today is day one of no coffee. I took preemptive Excedrin before bed last night and again this morning when I work up and GLADLY have no headache to speak of! Hallelujah!
I’ll keep you up to speed on my progress with my 365 & my coffee challenge.
Thanks for a great 2009 everybody! Clients. Blog Readers. Friends. Family. You’ve all made my life richer and more exciting! Blessings to you in 2010!
Heather M. - Those photos are SOOOOO cool! Good luck with cutting the coffee!
Elizabeth - I LOVE the light graffiti! So cool! I like your 365 goal too and can't wait to hear how it's going.
Beth - Have fun with your 365 project, I hope you'll share some of them on your blog! Happy New Year!
Michelle - @Donna We bought the FLIP VIDEO because we noticed the same thing in our own family. I used to video ALL the time. But not so much recently. The FLIP is cheap, easy to use and SUPER easy to upload and use on the computer. @Jen I drink two to four shots of espresso a day. :-/ EEK!
Foo Frater - Okay I really need to know how much coffee do you drink a day? ~ For me 2 cups in the AM and MAYBE a latte once a week. Last year I went 1 month w/o coffee and did very well....but I like it tooooo much and thought I can live life w/o but I don't want to ;)
donna - I've seen some others in the blogosphere doing the 365 project and think it's a great idea. I've just been realizing myself that Matt and I never really use our video camera anymore. We used to use it all the time when our kids were little and when I look back at some of those videos now I realize how important it is to keep documenting their childhood. Can't wait to see some of your 365 pics!
These are just a sampling. But already I’ve captured me (RARE), my marriage, my children, our entire family (another rarity), our pets, our vacation, our new home site, and on and on. Last year… let’s just say I wasn’t that “thorough.” Here’s to an equally satisfying February.
haha!!
Isn’t it tidy!? Since I’m trying to keep things moving I cleaned it out of all the sheetrock and tile debris while Ken was at work. And to make myself feel better about the drywall dust I actually Swiffer-mopped the floor when I was done! Well not before I wrecked my Dyson vacuum cleaner trying to suck up dust. {sigh} Note to self: get shop vac back from neighbor for this project.
And if you want to make a 10 year old boy exceptionally happy then just give him a sledgehammer and tell him to smash the walls. I never saw a boy so happy.
by Michelle
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