About Saadia Me*Chel Carnes
Welcome!
I am an Atlanta based, wedding photographer but more importantly I am an artist. I believe that there is beauty in everything and that life, itself, is beautiful in all of its uncertainty. My camera serves as a powerful tool, allowing me to express my creativity in amazing, sometimes unconventional ways. I am able to use the medium of photography to capture the magnificence and beauty of the world as well as the people in it.
I look forward to meeting you, reading your comments, and sharing my work with you. Thanks so much for stopping by to visit. I hope you come back soon and often! To book the studio email us at studio@saadiamechel.com
~Saadia Me*Chel
Photo of me © 2010 Ross Oscar Knight. All rights reserved
Yesterday, I decided that I wanted to do something different to my hair. It also was on of the things on my 101 in 1001 list. I went in and told my hairstylist I just wanted a light color for the changing of the seasons. I didn’t know what to expect as the end result but I like they way it turned out. It makes me feel very edgy and artsy (probably more so than I actually am lol). What do you guys think?
~Saadia
Earlier this year I created a list of 101 things I wanted to accomplish in 1001 days. Now, I must admit that my original list was poorly thought out, so much so that I never actually completed the list (shame on me!). Since this is the beginning of a new year, I decided I would put some concerted effort into the list and come up with 101 things I wanted to do. I’m quite happy with this new list and I’m looking forward to accomplishing these things. If you aren’t familiar with 101 in 1001 I’ve explained it below.
The Mission:
Complete 101 preset tasks in a period of 1001 days.
The Criteria:
Tasks must be specific (ie. no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic and stretching (ie. represent some amount of work on my part).
Why 1001 Days?
Many people have created lists in the past – frequently simple goals such as New Year’s resolutions. The key to beating procrastination is to set a deadline that is realistic. 1001 Days (about 2.75 years) is a better period of time than a year, because it allows you several seasons to complete the tasks, which is better for organizing and timing some tasks such as overseas trips or outdoor activities.
Start Date: January 3, 2008
End Date: September 30, 2010
Spiritual
Kindness – volunteer, donate, or give back
Travel, entertainment, culture, and fun stuff
Learn something new…
It’s all elementary my dear…
Art & Photography
If it’s good for business, it’s good for me
Good for mind, body, and soul
Financial
Things to make me better…
Achieving the things of my heart’s desire…
Embracing randomness
Instead of making a list of new year’s resolutions, I made this list. I feel like over the next 2.75 years I can accomplish many, if not all the things I have listed here. I’ve already started on a number of these already. Here’s to the start of an amazing year and many more to come!
~Saadia Me*Chel
Striving to complete #47 – one picture a day, every day, for a whole year. I have included 6/365 with today’s Thoughtful Thursday. I happen to love Chuck Taylors… I only have three pair at the present moment but I certainly plan on getting a lot more in the future.
As you may or may not know… I created a list awhile back listing 101 things I wanted to do in 1001 days. Well… I can officially cross another one of those things off.
After months of deliberation I decided that there was no way I could live without it. I have reasoned with myself a million times, weighing the pros and the cons, until one day I realized that there was no reason why I shouldn’t get it. After all… I had told myself that I wanted needed it! So… I clicked the “submit” button and anxiously waited two days, like a kid waiting for Christmas morning, until it arrived on my doorstep. I nearly snatched it out his hands when he brought it to the door. I quickly scrawl some semblance of my name down and slammed the door shut. In hindsight, that was probably a little rude but I couldn’t wait to open it… to marvel at it… to USE it… to call it mine…
Welcome to the family… you have truly made me happy. At least for a couple of days until the newness wears off…
~Saadia Me*Chel
Family vacations are interesting to say the least; this trip was no different. My mother had to bowl in a tournament in El Paso, TX so me and my family jumped in a car and drove the 1400 miles across this great country. We are Georgians so we passed through Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and all the way across Texas to get to El Paso which sits right on the border of Juarez, Mexico. Although we weren’t able to visit Mexico for safety reasons it was interested being in a place that was so close Mexico. El Paso serves as a perfect mixture between American and Mexican culture. Since we were so close, we drove to New Mexico. Although the drive was long (over 20 hours) it was definitely an experience I enjoyed and… another thing I can cross of my list of 101 in 1001.
Saadia Me*Chel
“If you live like no one else, later you can live like no one else”
As part of my 101 in 1001, I wanted to read(at least) five books to improve my business in some way. The first book on my list was The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey. Ramsey is a total money guru. The Total Money Makeover is very good book for people who want to gain financial freedom and to live debt free. This is not his only book but I can say that it has helped me to look at money, debt, and credit in drastically different ways. I no longer want to be a slave to my debt. He continually says throughout the book “if you live like no one else, later you can live like no one else.” Basically he is saying if you make sacrifices now… later on you can reap the benefits of living a debt free life. Sounds good to me! A couple photographer’s blogs I follow mentioned Ramsey and his book so I thought it was worth reading for myself. I was definitely right in my assumption…
The book starts with Ramsey debunking myths about credit, loans, mortgages, etc. In other words, all the things that can often cause us stress. The second partof the book Ramsey lays out proven steps to becoming debt free and gaining financial freedom and security. I particularly like the part about snowballing to pay off your debt. Ramsey explains that snowballing is the quickest way to paying off your debt. The Debt Snowball requires you to list all your debts in order of smallest payoff balance to largest. From there, every dollar you can find from anywhere else in your budget goes toward the smallest debt until it is paid off. Once the smallest is paid, the payment from that debt, plus any extra “found” money, is added to the next smallest debt. Every time the Snowball rolls over, it picks up more “snow” and gets larger, and by the time you get to the bottom of the list, the money available to put towards the largest payoff balance is substantial. With this process… we are talking about being COMPLETELY debt free is a year and a half. Can you imagine??? Sounds goods to me! Just between you and me… I’ve already paid off two of my debts in a month using this method.
There are many more tips in the book from building an emergency fund to budgeting. I would recommend this book to anyone and everyone but only if you truly want to be debt free. As I work on developing my photography business I certainly don’t want to enter in to business under a mountain of debt. Furthermore, good money management is a skill that will always be useful and beneficial. So.. check it out. It’ll probably be the best 25 dollars you’ll ever spend.
Saadia Me*Chel
A couple of weeks ago I began composing my 101 in 1001 and I must say that I haven’t done much movement in the direction of accomplishing any of said goals (not to mention that the list isn’t even finished yet!). However, as my 25th birthday rapidly approaches, I figured this was a good opportunity to fulfill one of the things on my list. I contacted Ross Oscar Knight to see if he would take some portraits of me in celebration of my 25th birthday. He was more than happy to oblige and on a late Monday afternoon… I had my portrait taken by Mr. Knight himself. Thanks Ross… these pictures are amazing but I didn’t expect anything less 
~Saadia Me*Chel
All photos are © 2010 Ross Oscar Knight. All rights reserved