GOODBYE 2017 - HELLO 2018 / January 2, 2018 by Belle Verdiglione

So it's the New Year and I'm reflecting on how 2017 was for me. I know it was a hard year for a lot of us and for me, it was an incredible time of personal growth and also kicking some career goals. To summarise, I loved 2017 and here are some highlights:

🌘 *Activation alert* 🌘
I recently had a lunch date with the beautiful @jen_gordon_ and she asked me a seemingly simple question, how did you get into photography? It stopped me in my tracks and I had to take a deep breath down into my belly, replying this is a long story. Because the story I tell others is my dad is a hobbyist photographer & I’ve always had access to cameras & a love of it but... the other story is intertwined with grooming and sexual abuse. You see the way my abuser gained my attention was through the medium of photography & some of my abuse included photography ... so you can start to see how integrated the two things are (deep shit hey?!). So I’m kinda giving myself props here that as twisted as it all is, I worked through my pain and trauma (go me) and alchemised it into something that is not only pleasure but a business that puts food in my kids bellies! How’s that for a mind bend? .
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Muse: @sarabresser.birthphotography
PS: happiest birthday

🌻Happy Friday folks 🌻This photo of my incredible muse @whoiszsuzsa just makes my heart smile and i hope it makes yours smile too.

Today was a shit day.
Emotions have been high all week in the house. Lots of raised voices and tears. We are all just one big melting pot of chaos right now. I snapped tonight. Master 10 hit Miss 8 across the face and she lost her shit. So I lost my shit. .
No one tells you how fucking hard parenting is. Honestly I reckon the older the kids get, the more sleep you get yes, but the fights are worse. Because you’re dealing with a little human who can talk back, who can be mean, who can fight the other little human and know exactly what buttons to press to push one of the little humans over the edge. I’m so over the exhaustion. If I wasn’t on call I would be jumping on a plane right now. 📷 @wild.flow.her

⚡️IT’S A BIRTH PHOTO!!!⚡️
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I know it’s been a long time since I’ve posted one (a birth pic that is) but I do feel like I’ve just severed a relationship and moved on... or rather it’s been a bit of getting used to as I’m still working as a birth photographer for most of the year & I don’t want my birth families to feel left out or less special because I’m not posting as much, so I might sneak one here & there 😚I do love this capture taken at my last birth of 2019! It was that quick moment when you see an image and how cool it is and I snapped this so quickly - no time to frame it - thankfully the judges at @birthphotogs saw the same thing I did in this image and gave it an Honourable Mention in their annual birth photography competition ⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️PS: I have kept one birth photography package for anyone who has to have me ✨🙈🥰

🔥I caught myself self doubting yesterday and was like GIRL WTAF?! Are you seriously going to talk shit to the boss lady who has blown her own expectations of running a successful photography business out of the water? Are you really going to rain on her parade and ignore all the international & national awards that she has won & worked her ass off for? Are you actually berating the blood, sweat and many tears that she has cried, the hours spent on her computer, the love she gives her clients, the energy she has, the container she provides to make sure her clients feel safe, supported and loved? Nope! Not anymore. Girl you ain’t gonna criticise her no more because she is my best friend. And no one talks shit about my bestie. 🔥
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Incredible Muse: @the_antonia_unger

💥It’s always an honour to photograph a beautiful human but last night’s shoot was extra special because it was for one of my gorgeous friends Sara @sarabresser.birthphotography 💥 It was meant to be thunderstorms but Sara and I were still feeling pumped off the Group Nood Shewt with @crooked_images so we thought we’d wing it and continue the high vibe buzz and sheeessshhh it totally paid off! I was making all my squeaky approving noises when this Queen got in front of my camera! Yeee-hah we had some fun and my gosh isn’t she stunning?????!!!!!! .
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I’m already booking May 2020 for my Potent Identity Photo Sessions so make sure you contact me via my bio if you’re wanting a shoot before the rains come 💥

✈️ EAST COAST - I’m Planning a trip to East coast most likely early May - drop me a DM if you want to book me for a Potent Identity photo session, motherhood/family/maternity/newborn - or even if you want to pick my brain about birth photography stuff - let’s make this happen! ✈️ Muse: @kenya_maeve

💥I dreamt I was playing my drums last night. So many of you don’t know that I was a drummer in a riot grrl band many moons ago. I loved it. It was fun. I felt so alive bashing those skins and feeling the beat with my entire body. Well when our lead singer and guitarist moved states & left the band, I went into grief mode. I mourned our little group that we started when I was teenager. I was poached by several hard rock bands (can you imagine how rare female drummers were back then?) I didn’t really know if it was a fetish thing or if they genuinely loved my drumming. Who knows? But the reason I’m telling you this is because of imposter syndrome. In my head I was never good enough, strong enough, I didn’t read music, I couldn’t just jam out like the rest of the drummers I admired. I totally cock blocked myself. So I quit. Just like that. Something I had done almost every day of my life since I was 17 - just put down my sticks and sold my kit and mourned my band split up and told myself well I was never good enough anyway, you were just fooling everyone and that the WAMI I won was only because all my friends voted for me as best female drummer. I felt like a fraud. A failure. Have you ever felt this way? So today, in my reflection, many many many years later, I am dreaming about my drums again, the djembe, the bongos, the kit, and I am thinking it’s about time I get off my arse and play again - 🥁💥I adore my photos by @wild.flow.her

If you saw my stories yesterday you would know I stepped out of my comfort zone and did a commercial shoot. This involved two local designers, one clothing label and one jewellery label, makeup & hair artist & a model! Soooooo new for me but I did it! It was super exciting and nerve wracking and I am hilariously happy with the shots. I do want to share that even pro photographers have “bad” days and the worst thing happened after the shoot had finished. So I went to download my CF card and when I looked in my camera I noticed I had only been shooting with one card (my camera has two slots so I *always shoot with two cards for safety) - that threw me and then I must’ve gone into panic mode aka forgot what I was doing (like when you drive a car and have no idea how you got to your destination) because I put my CF card into my computer and NO photos showed up. My heart started racing and I knew I was close to a panic attack - where are the photos? Why aren’t they showing up? I only shot with one card so I knew this was make or break. My mind was hurtling a hundred miles an hour, I could feel the sweat on my face, the fear of telling my client that I had stuffed it all and the last xyz hours had been for nothing. Honestly it was the worst feeling ever! I have all my extra CF cards on my desk so I started putting them in to see if I had somehow mixed up my cards all the while hyperventilating and terrified that I had fucked it all up. The third CF card I tried HAD ALL THE PHOTOS ON IT!!!! I just sobbed in relief! I couldn’t believe it! I must’ve put the wrong card into my computer in auto pilot mode - who knows? It’s a blur. Just know that the lesson here is no one has their shit together & we all have the capacity to make mistakes. It’s just whether we let our fucks up define us. .
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💦Love this shower shot of my gorgeous muse @thelionessdoula 💦

This is the magnificent @lauraelizabethselfhealingcoach floating in her element - because my brain is mush and I’ve worked non stop today, I’m going to quote her words of wisdom, and leave you to ponder on your truth. Are you speaking your truth? To your friends, your loved ones, to yourself? Are you keeping yourself small to make others feel comfortable? ・・・
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I access my power responsibly with unconditional love, compassion and acceptance.
I am the medicine woman, birthing realities through this sacred portal space, conceived by your thirst to understand consciousness within a virgin paradigm.
What manifests from these waters of exponential potential is your responsibility hereafter.
Are you closer or further from truth?
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📷 @belle_verdiglione .
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#medicinewoman #sacredwomensmedicine #alchemy #purpose #unconditionallove #compassion #paradigmshift #growthzone #meditation #author #spiritualprocessandunderstanding #australianauthor #heartcentredbusiness #sayyes #transparency #energyworker #eroticmaven #yonimassage #wombmassage #medicinewoman #lifespurpose #wordsmith

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Here you'll find the latest news on my life as a photographer - published works, exhibitions, inspirations, and passionate ramblings on everything birth and motherhood.