Welcome to My 1,000 - A Photographer's Personal Adventure in Finding Joy & Beauty in Every Day Gifts ...

(50 mm, f/1.6 at 1/160 ISO 640)

1. Warm hug from enthusiastic daughter of joy ....


Hi. I'm Caneel, a portrait photographer based in Alpine, Texas. I'm the wife of an incredible man, and mother to two precious, loving and very spirited daughters.

I'm also a classic Type A personality who, in spite of being blessed beyond measure, has let life bog me down a lot, struggling to find beauty and joy in daily living. On more than one occasion I have kept a "grateful journal," or tried to capture beauty around me through my lens. It's been wonderfully therapeutic, but I've ended up not continuing it after a while.

Those of you who know me, or who have been following my work for a while, most likely know that 2013 was a very difficult year for me. I lost my best friend - a mother of four young children - to a sudden illness. (This is the inspiration behind my #CaptureMomBeautyCampaign running through next month.) My youngest daughter sustained a traumatic injury that required reconstructive surgery and three days in the hospital. I had a really, really hard time finding beauty and being joyful in 2013.

As a Christmas gift, I was given "One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are" by Ann Voskamp. A couple of chapters into the book, I started keeping my own "My 1,000" journal and I've also been trying to capture some of the entries in photographs. I'm trying to keep my journal with me so that I can write every little gift down when I notice it, but I'll admit some days are harder than others. Like yesterday, the one-year anniversary of my friend's passing.

In hopes that this might help others who are also struggling to find joy and live the fullest life, I'm sharing my personal adventure and journey with you. I won't have every entry captured on camera, and I won't share every entry. I probably won't be posting every day. Some entries might just be one word, and some might be redundant, but they are the gifts that I am noticing in my life each day, however small or meaningless they might seem to someone else, or however big they may seem to anyone.

Some of these photographs are probably going to seem boring to you, and they might not be the greatest quality. They might even be photos from my phone sometimes. If I take them with my camera, I'll try to include the settings for you in case you also have an interest in photography.

I hope this inspires you to notice the gifts in your life, as well. If you want to learn more about my photography, you are welcome to visit my CTC Photography website. Thank you for visiting this personal adventure! Many blessings to you.

(50 mm, f/1.4 at 1/500 ISO 160)

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