My husband always makes fun of me saying that I think the solution to everyone's problems is to start a blog. And the truth is I kinda do... Not the solution per se, but it helps a lot! When I arrived from my native Brazil in 2009 I was lucky to be surrounded by my husband's creative music crowd, but I still didn't have my very own friends. I can say I found a good portion of them through this blog. Shelley is one of those people.
After shooting her this day we sat down for a tea, and the next thing I know I'm crying my eyes off to her since I was having a really rough day. She listened patiently and lovingly gave me a list of things she did that helped her go through tough times. You can find that list in her website, encouragedandgrateful.com.
But that wasn't the first time I spotted her. I met her while she was photographing on Oak St, marveled at everything she saw (see Bleader post here). I thought she was from out of town due to her excitement, but it turns out she is a seasoned Chicagoan. She just happens to see everything with fresh eyes - she had a surgery that stopped her from walking for a while and came back to vertical life with renewed enthusiasm. She shares some of that in her wonderful photos displayed at 500px.com/inkedrunnergrl. Also see some of her musings in her blog, pineapplechunkofdelmonte.tumblr.com.
Shelley was featured in the Chicago Looks Newcity column, read her interview here and find the latest issue all over town.
Love you, Shelley! Thanks for all your support!
