Kristi Eckrich Photography » Real Life Photography

Trevor has been taking Kung Fu lessons for about 2 months now at the Carlisle Kung Fu Center. Contrary to popular belief, Kung Fu is not the same as karate, but rather, is one of many various forms of martial arts. An excerpt from the Kung Fu Center web site states: “Pai Lum Kung Fu, also known as White Dragon Fist Style Kung Fu, is a traditional Chinese martial art that has been passed down through generations of the Pai family. The late Grandmaster Daniel K. Pai had devoted over 50 years to the development of the Chinese martial arts. His family’s system of kicking, sweeping, punching, blocking, and joint locking techniques provides a means for development as a complete martial arts practitioner.”

“The emphasis of Pai Lum is on achieving maximum results with minimum effort. Pai Lum develops:

* A healthy mind in a healthy body
* The ability to defend oneself
* Increased self confidence and self discipline
* A peaceful way to vent tension and aggression
* Patience in all aspects of life
* An understanding of the body and it’s unlimited potential”

In the short time that Trevor has been studying Kung Fu, we have noticed a marked increase in his self-discipline and respect for others around him. These were two issues he was previously struggling with, in school as well as at home. I recently took my camera along to class to catch Trevor and some of his peers in action. He looks forward to each and every class!

Chi Kung breathing exercises:

Practicing the reverse thrust kick:

We are hoping that Trevor will continue to enjoy Kung Fu as much as he does now!

Hi! I’m finally back!

Last month I had the opportunity to attend Imaging USA in Phoenix, AZ with another local photographer and friend. Imaging USA is an annual photography conference sponsored by Professional Photographers of America. It was a very intense 3 days of learning, learning, and more learning! My brain hurt by the time it was over, but that was a good thing. With a full-time non-photography job and a family to take care of, it is important to me that I make the most of the limited photo sessions I am able to schedule, in addition to being able to increase my photo business and maybe even drop back my daytime work hours in the process. The knowledge I brought home from Imaging will hopefully help me accomplish these goals during this coming year.

Amazingly, I did not take many photos during this trip. Our schedule was so jam-packed with conference events there wasn’t really much time for photo taking. However, there was no way I was coming home completely photo-less! So I would like to share a few of what I did manage to capture.

This was the view from our hotel room:

This is the moon rising during sunset (another view from the hotel room):

I had never been to Arizona, or any warm location before now. We’re the weird family who likes to go to cold destinations like Alaska and Iceland! Anyway, I had never before seen palm trees, orange trees or cacti out in their natural habitat. So of course, I had to have photos of some Arizona foliage!

This is a huge mirror sculpture located in the west lobby of the Phoenix Convention Center (where Imaging USA was held). That’s me on the steps taking the photo!:

Have a great weekend everyone!