This past month has been absolutely crazy… so much has happened and is still about to happen. I officially have less than a week until my east coast trip and sessions start, I’m still finishing up some May sessions, the volunteer program I’ve been working on has begun and life is just barreling past.

So I procrastinated this month’s themes.

I always have beautiful visuals of what I think I will shoot, but being a new Indianapolis photographer, not knowing too many people, and rapidly running out of time each month has prevented me from doing so. Maybe this next month (July’s theme) I’ll be intention and shoot while on my trip – no shortage of people there!

Regardless, I’ve been sort of ‘light’ with my interpretations the past few months – I’ve been very literal and have focused on aesthetics and technical skills rather than content and layers.

So this month, it’s a bit of both as I make the transition back into creating monthly series that speak on more than just a surface and visual level.

I know what rustic looks like. I immediately picture girls in flowing white bohemian dresses, flower crowns, mason jars, candles, dark walnut-colored barns and long, looonnnnggg grasses. I can see and feel slight breezes, approaching rain, dirty barefeet, soft laughter, lightening bugs, long hair, hand holding, strawberries off the vine… the list goes on and you can get completely lost in my visual fantasy. Admittedly, though, there’s nothing more to this visual than a pretty picture. It has no meaning to me other than maybe it’s the life I want someday if you throw in a bunch of land, a couple of horses, a handful of chickens, and a huge rope swing hanging from the giant tree in the yard.

By definition, rustic means all sorts of things – of or from the countryside, rural, plain and simple, by hand, homely, etc. This, in itself, all sounds so luxurious to me. Ironic, right? Everything here at home, right now, is rustic. This journey into homeownership for us (you can follow it on Instagram @caseyandhercamera) has been rustic, by definition.

More specifically, though, is our garden. I’ve spent the last 4 years working on a ranch with one year of that working simultaneously on the ranch and separately on an organic farm. Crazy life, right? While on the farm, I was in complete awe over what you can do with a garden. I always grew up with a garden, but never anything as extravagant as that… it was a farm after all.

I learned A TON… I just soaked it in. There’s so much more that I still have to learn, but I learn best by doing. So this year we wasted no time in getting our own garden going. I have dreams of being semi-sustainable on this future, rustic, dream-property of mine, but for now, it’s all about starting small, learning as I go, and putting in the effort all by hand.

Our garden IS rustic. And I could not be more proud of everything we have accomplished with it. It’s a lot of upkeep, it’s disappointing and yet oh-so-rewarding. I enjoy walking out to check on things every morning, take my time with watering, and lose hours on end sitting among my little plants weeding.

So keep dreaming, friends, and keep taking those baby steps. You will get there… just keep moving forward. I know I am. <3 Now head on over and check out Erica’s take on rustic!!

casey and her camera is an Indianapolis Family Photographer specializing in couple, lifestyle, senior, wedding and family photography for Indianapolis, Indiana and the surrounding areas.