Living on One Dollar

I recently watched an amazing documentary called, "Living on One Dollar". The film is about four university students who decided to travel spend a summer with only $1 a day in a rural village in Guatemala. They battled with financial and emotional stress, diseases like E. Coli, and lost 20 pounds within 6 weeks. However, with all that they went through, they found "hope in the inspiring lives" of their neighbors and friends. Zach, Chris, Sean, and Ryan now dedicate their lives telling these stories to inspire the world to confront global poverty. To learn more about the film and their vision, go to their website www.livingononedollar.org Watching this movie brought me back to my travels to India and Ecuador. Last year, I had the opportunity to go on two missions trips with my fiancé, Chester. My amazing uncle is part of a nonprofit called Fundacion Ananta which helps people in need in Kolkata, India. And in August, we went with a group of wonderful nurses from a nonprofit called Nurses for the Nations to Ecuador. Chester and I were the translators as well as videographer and photographer.  You go on these trips thinking you are going to help someone in need…However, not only does that happen, but the people there help YOU out so much more. I was touched by everyone who I encountered in India and Ecuador. Although they had so little, their smiles were always filled with so much love. I was scared to pull out my big camera the first few days. I didn't want to intrude or make them feel uncomfortable. But by the second or third day, I gained a sense of courage and asked the people if I could take their photo. To my surprise, everyone I asked smiled and nodded yes. They were so open and willing to share their story within them. The best part? Seeing their reaction when I showed them their photo. Their faces would light up and their smiles would grow even bigger. The people in India and Ecuador taught me to have gratitude, to be close to my faith, to thank God for every moment in my life and all that I have, and to always love one another.

Let us always meet each other with smile, for the smile is the beginning of love. -Mother Teresa

Here are a few photos from both India and Ecuador.

To view the video Chester and I made, go to the following link: https://vimeo.com/45544070

Ecuador's video will be released soon!

Ecuador:

One of my favorite moments in Ecuador was letting the kids play with my camera and taking photos of us! I will cherish all of these moments forever!

Estudio Sol opening for Mother's Day

It has been 2 years since my beautiful mom and I opened Estudio Sol. Together we created a place where we meet our clients by appointment, a place were we do openings and present our latest works.  Ever since I was a little girl, I used to tell my mom, "I want to work with you one day, mom!". I was always so inspired by all of her amazing work. She always put so much love, joy, and passion into everything she created. I knew I was meant to become an artist as well. And here we are, working together, sharing beautiful memories together, creating together, and showcasing our works together! I feel so blessed to be able to work with her and call this my job. We will be opening Estudio Sol next Wednesday, May 8 from 10:30am - 1:30pm in honor of Mother's Day! My mom has been creating a new collection of necklaces and bracelets! They are filled with colors, happiness, and pure love! Bring your friends, enjoy some coffee at our studio…we are excited to spend some time with you! If that day or time does not work with your schedule, email me…we can meet another day!

To view my mom's work, click here!

Mom, thank you for always believing in me, supporting my dreams, and helping me become the women that I am today! Te quiero! 

“If you love your job, you haven't worked a day in your life.”

Recap

“Taking pictures is savoring life intensely, every hundredth of a second.”  - Marc Riboud Ok, I know I have been AWFUL at showcasing all of my personal projects, weddings, family shoots, beauty shoots, video shoots, mission work that I worked on this past year. And I promise to change this. Here is a small recap from some of the work that I have done over the last year. I hope you enjoy viewing the photos as much as I enjoyed working with all of these amazing people and capturing these moments.

Click the thumbnails to view the photos larger.

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Being vulnerable.

“Vulnerability is the only authentic state. Being vulnerable means being open, for wounding, but also for pleasure. Being open to the wounds of life means also being open to the bounty and beauty. Don’t mask or deny your vulnerability: it is your greatest asset. Be vulnerable: quake and shake in your boots with it. the new goodness that is coming to you, in the form of people, situations, and things can only come to you when you are vulnerable, i.e. open.”― Stephen Russell

From today on, I choose to be vulnerable. I choose to be open. I choose to share my journey. Over the past few days, I have been busy redesigning my blog. I have always had a journal where I outpoured my emotions, thoughts, prayers, ideas, and new goals. However, I recently ran into the quote above and decided to be more open. My blog is going to become my new journal. I want to share my life with all of my wonderful friends, family, and clients.

I will feel unsure, insecure, naked…but I know my family, friends, and clients will always be my biggest supporters. I feel so blessed to have such amazing people surrounding me and cheering me on. I thank every one of you!

I started a blog last year, but never kept up with it. I started by sharing my story about my voice condition that I was diagnosed with at the age of 12. To take a look back at that story, click here.

Making Things Happen!

I had spent all Wednesday night tossing and turning. I was about to embark in a new journey that I had no idea where it was going to take me. I spent all day Thursday in an amazing workshop called Making Things Happen by Lara Casey. A good friend of mine, Amy, told me about how this workshop changed, not only her business, but her whole life. She insisted on me signing up. Without knowing anything about it or knowing what I was getting myself into, I registered that day! And I will NEVER regret not one penny that I spent.

What an amazing day filled with tears, laughter, honesty, fears, and enlightenment! I had no idea I was going to express so many emotions or meet such incredible women. When I first entered the room with butterflies in my stomach, I noticed I was the second girl there.  "What were were going to do?" "Are the girls going to like me and my story?" "What if we don't connect?" It felt like it was my first day at a new school or taking the SAT all over again. I felt so unprepared coming in. I didn't even know what to bring. As everyone started to come in the room, I could tell that we were all on the same boat...nervous. Suddenly, Gina tosses a box of tissues in the middle of the circle. Oh dear....here come the tears, we all thought. Emily, one of the mentors, told us, "Don't worry...within 3 minutes the nerves will go away." We all relaxed and began to laugh.

The whole day consisted of sharing our stories, confronting our fears, making a list of what we want to achieve in life and our businesses and how we are going to make it happen. We all connected with each other...made each other laugh, cry, and smile. We talked about pursuing our dreams, leaving our jobs that we hate, and creating balance between work and family.  After the workshop ended, it wasn't a goodbye to my new family. This is JUST the beginning....we are creating a community where we can trust, tell each other anything, help each other succeed, but most importantly, it is a place where we can be ourselves.

I feel excited, light, inspired, happiness, love and pure JOY about my new journey! I am ready to Make Things Happen!

Taking a leap!

I have always wanted to start a blog for my business but there was always a part of me that was scared...scared of being judged, scared of putting myself out there, and scared people would not even look at it.  It was not until this past Monday when I attended Jasmine Star's event. Jasmine Star is not only an amazing wedding photographer, but also a inspirational woman who has a passion for helping other photographer's reach THEIR dreams. At the event she didn't talk about her success, she talked about her struggles in life. How her struggles made her change...change into this beautiful and strong person. She asked us to think about our struggles and how we can convert them into something beautiful. At the end of the event, I got a chance to quickly say hello to her. I told her about my struggles and how I am fearful of people judging me. She responded by saying, "Olga, you NEED to put it out there! Tell your story." That simple sentence brought me to this moment...I am starting this blog because I want to tell my story.

I am an aspiring photographer who thrives to photograph the beautiful moments in life. To simply make one smile. To take them out of reality and let them live in the moment of the photograph. Leaving all negativity aside and gain a sense of optimism and serenity.

So what is my struggle? 

At the age of 12, I started to develop a voice condition called Spasmodic Dysphonia. It was supposed to be a time to grow up, a time to have sleepovers with my friends, and a time to dream about who I wanted to become. Instead, I was asking myself "Why do I sound so different? "Why can't people understand me?" "Why can I not express myself?"  From then on I began to loose my confidence, loose my friends, and loose my identity. It has been years of visiting different doctors  trying to see of ways to overcome this "sickness". Apparently the only way of "curing" it is to inject botox in one of my vocal cords every 3-5 months for the rest of my life. But even that cannot guarantee my voice back for those few months. It was not until probably two years ago that I began to notice the good about my diagnosis. God has a plan for all of us. I was given this voice for a reason. But what is that reason? It has been an intense journey of redefining who I am. I have learned to live my life in a whole different way. I began to observe the world...I noticed the beauty in every situation. I surrounded myself with people who love me for ME. Since my voice has had this condition, my camera became my new voice. I started capturing my surroundings. It allowed me to express myself again and eventually I became addicted to this new world. So now that I have a better understanding of my journey in my life, I am ready to LET GO...AND GO FOR MY DREAMS! 

But what are my dreams? My dream is to stop letting my voice take over my confidence. My dream is to capture the beauty from within and the beauty this world has to offer. I want to connect to people and have them not focus on my voice but my words. I want to feel worthy again. Some people call Spasmodic Dysphonia a disability...I call it a gift from God.