Every time I share pics on my posts, part of me thinks about how I should really edit them first, but then I also think there's something to be said for sharing pics just as they come off the camera, too. To let the scene, the shutter, and the settings do the work, rather than presets and post processing.

It still makes me laugh thinking about how one time I joined a photography workshop here in Perth and she told me I *wasn't allowed* to shoot manual.

I didn't listen and did it my way, but I never went back. I probably would have, otherwise, as it was actually kinda fun running around with a bunch of folks with cameras, but... I also just really hate being told what to do. Or how things should look or be.

I also hate having too many choices.

These days, when it comes to editing photos, there are so many options; a gazillion paths you can take them down. I love old school photography, and the idea of playing with pictures in the darkroom - I still remember the first time i went in a darkroom and how magical it felt - but I find they lose the magic when I get them on a screen.

As an aphant, I take pics because I want to capture the moment. To remind myself how it felt, what I could see, what was there.

But then, on the other hand, I write to explore. To dive deeper. To unpick thoughts and threads of stories and weave them together in new ways.

I love to edit words. Sometimes too much. I love to spill everything out onto the page, and then to pare it back, to see what I really think and feel - sometimes even surprising myself - and then shape it into something cohesive. Something with structure and flow.

Having been on different sides of the publishing industry, I've seen how a good edit can change everything.

Because of all the time I put into editing my posts, it feels a little rebellious to leave my pictures unedited, but, then again, I kind of love that too. I may polish my words, but I'm certainly not polished, and nor are my spaces.

In my 1:1 calls, creative community, and writing circles, there is absolutely no *right way* or *wrong way*. Everything is always just an invitation. Which, if you ask me, is the way things should be. Always.

If you feel like exploring your own stories and weaving together those throughlines and threads, I'm going to be running a writing circle for my creative community, The Lemonade Factory, today (10am GMT) for anyone who wants to join.

These circles aren't for writers, specifically, and they're definitely not places where I tell you how to write or what techniques to use, just places to let your creativity and curiosity come together and show you new pathways of possibility you may not have explored before.

Read this post to find out more.

💜💫