Merrilyn Romen Design and Nico Moon Photography » Merrilyn Romen l Modern Newborn, Child, Family, Senior Photographer

"Drawn."

This image has some definite meaning to me. First, it displays how I “fly” when I dream (see my recent post “In My Dreams, and My Art, I Fly”). I lift my head towards a vision I see, lean forward slightly and simply levitate towards it effortlessly. Trust me, it happens really frequently.

But, more importantly, this image was created in a celebration of my daughter’s new vision which is now coming to life. She is opening her new business in a few days and has followed her dream. I have been watching her develop her vision and then have it come to life through a long, arduous and diligent process. I am so proud of her hard work and clarity of mind! She is now the proud co-owner of an organic raw food and juice bar/supplements/café/and general surfer’s hang-out! Congratulations to you, sweet baby girl. May your visions always be clear and their manifestations beyond your expectations!

Second in a series.

©2011 Merrilyn Romen for Nico Moon Photography. All Rights Reserved.

"Rain."

It’s rare that my daughters are in the same city at the same time. No matter the weather, we went out to photograph in the forest with a suitcase full of my long dresses and jewelry and the most beautiful two young ladies I know.

First in a series.

©2011 Merrilyn Romen for Nico Moon Photography. All Rights Reserved.

Wont' Somebody, Please, Save This World? ©2011 Merrilyn Romen.

Blackbird. ©2011 Merrilyn Romen

When I was raising my children, I asked myself the question most artists inevitably ask themselves: am I really an artist or am I just a pretender, just another imitator with no real voice of my own. It disturbed me so much that I quit designing altogether (I had been a graphic designer for the previous 8 years). I immersed myself in my children, sewing them dresses, quilts, decorating their rooms, designing my new backyard into a proper English garden and sketching out concepts for picture frames that I could use for the many photographs I took of them and finally designing dinnerware and teasets for them to play with. You see where I’m going with them. Being an artist isn’t something you choose to become, you one day realize that you just art….. often for worse than better. Artists are rarely rich. In fact, the average photographer in the U.S. makes $20,000/year! Lord knows what the average painter or illustrator makes. But once you realize that you have the ability to turn something mundane into something beautiful, it’s like a drug and it is definitely addictiv

I had thought of going to medical school after college, but my degree in filmmaking didn’t lend itself to immediate admission so I would have had to taken more science and math pre-requisites in order to apply and, well, my parents had had enough of supporting my somewhat bohemian lifestyle so I passed. I often wonder if I would have lasted in medical school or even in being a doctor. Would I have sewn my own uniforms to keep from going crazy?

And speaking of crazy, I was going to apply to become a psychotherapist when I was going through my identity crisis after my children were born. But, truthfully, the only thing that keeps me from going crazy is doing what comes naturally to me…..creating. I am a bit cranky and frustrating when I’m not able to create something.  It might be as simple as making an apple pie or sewing curtains for my room (note to self: get on it!), but the act of creation – for me – is not optional.

And so, when I heard that one of my favorite photographers, Natalie Dybisz aka Miss Aniela, was coming to town from London to teach a seminar with my other favorite photographer – the self-taught incredibly prolific Brooke Shaden, I grabbed my credit card and signed up for a day of complete immersion in my natural life force of creative photography.  And what a wonderful day it was. We posed, we conferred, we shared ideas and we went for sushi at the end of the day. And I found Natalie to be entirely wise beyond her years and profoundly intuitive. (Brooke and she have been collaborating on images during Natalie’s stay in America and they both showed their work at LAPhoto in  Santa Monica this week. Even Brad Pitt was seen looking at their work!)

So here are the images I created that marvelous day with my two fave 20 something mentors. I feel another image coming upon me as a toy store asked me to post something in their store.  The mind boggles!

"Alice's Freedom" by Merrilyn Romen for Nico Moon Photography. ©2010 All Rights Reserved.

This weekend I had the most amazing time with one of my newly found favorite artists of all times. Her name is Brooke Shaden and she’s just about the age of my youngest daughter and, just like my daughter, she freed my spirit, she opened up my mind and she showed me parts of myself that, previously I only knew about in my dreams. This is true. In my dreams, I can fly. Not just once or twice have I had flying dreams. I can’t count the number of times I can fly in my dreams. Some times I fly to escape, though not as often as I wish. More often I fly to explore. I’ve explored large bodies of water in what was supposed to be Rome and some other cities in Italy that I’ve never seen before.  I’ve viewed huge museums of art from the glass-covered, metal-boned ceilings. I’ve taken my daughters with me and shown them how to fly – they especially enjoyed the museum and the trip to Italy. I’ve dreamed about visiting stores that were filled to the brim with the most exquisite shoes and decorative items, flying about from room to room amazed at the creativity only to wake up and realize that all that creativity lived inside of me!

It’s a wonderful feeling to wake up and realize that your mind is a treasure house. But what an amazing feeling it is to be able to put some of those precious ideas into a tangible piece of art that you can actually share with others.

Well, Brooke, you’ve done it and, thankfully, I will never be the same! Check out Brooke’s absolutely exquisite images here. (The girl has more friends on Flicker than there are residents of Malibu!) And here is what I did this week-end!

I am so excited about this, I could…. well….fly!

"Handicapped" by Merrilyn Romen for Nico Moon Photography. ©2010 All Rights Reserved

I started a nutrition diet last night. Four days of mostly raw foods and lots of fresh kale juice. I was feeling sort of “puffy” around the waist when I read about Tracy Anderson’s Wine Cleanse. Yes, you read that correctly.  Here’s what Tracy* says about it, “Resveratrol, which is a nutrient found in the skin of grapes, contains restorative properties and high levels of antioxidants. I put together a 4-day nutrient boost that is best complement by resveratrol and allows you to enjoy a glass of red wine each evening. All of the foods below contain foods that are high in antioxidants, have restorative properties that can trigger weight loss, and most importantly, go best with a glass of red wine!” Well, after 1 day of being on the nutrient-enriched diet  I can see why. Without the wine you are… well….”whiney”…and hungry!  It’s not that I have hunger pangs, it’s more like having and empty body….nothing there… and I feel like filling that emptiness with Herschey’s chocolate bars of cupcakes! But there’s nothing like a glass of ruby red vino to calm you down and make you forget about the fact that you are, indeed, on a diet.  Just one more glass?  Nope!  (shucks!)

I’ll let you know how it works.  4 days of a serious cleansing diet, 3 days of core-empowering yoga classes and 1 day of photographing a 98 lb. 5’2″ model levitating.   Stay tuned!     x merrilyn
* in case you didn’t know, Tracy Anderson created Gwyneth Paltrow’s diet, and is her trainer as well as Courtney Cox, Kristin Davis and Donna Karan…. ah how svelte it is! 

CAUTION: Brutal Honesty Ahead

Of course I remember becoming a new mother. I was just back from my honeymoon when my first child decided it was time to arrive on the scene. I was anxious and concerned as I had gotten laid off from work the day I returned from the honeymoon and my (then) husband was only making $6/hour as a file clerk. Thus began the wild ride of motherhood.

I cannot pretend to be someone I’m not and I don’t lie, so I won’t pretend that my pregnancy was a time of flowers and joy and excitement. I think of all the women who desperately want children and I cringe at my own honesty, but — truth be told — I had not chosen my husband wisely and I knew (on my wedding day) that I had made a huge mistake. But I did not want a child to grow up fatherless and abortion was not an option. Deep down inside I wanted this baby, more than I would admit to anyone. But I was scared. Scared that we wouldn’t be able to afford to care for her properly. Scared of the father that my husband would make. And rightfully so.

Still 9 months went by. Not one day passed without nausea and the delivery took 3 days! Yes, three full days in the dead heat of summer with no air conditioning. And I was sad much of the time. My fear took the better part of me and I was sullen and, well, like I said, afraid. Still the day she was born was one of the best days of my life (the other was when my other daughter was born). I have never looked back at my decision to have her – no matter what the cost. Yes, my fears were real. My husband (now my ex) was not the kind of father I would have wished for my sweet baby girl and our finances were tight. But the love I have for that child (for both of my children) is beyond words, beyond material goods, beyond what I could have imagined. And though I have fallen short of becoming a mother and father to my daughters, I have tried to be the best mother I possibly can.

If you know my daughters, you will agree, I couldn’t have done too poorly. They are simply the most elegant, loving, thoughtful, mature, wise, intelligent and gorgeous 2 women on this earth.

So, in light of my mistakes… I think of those mothers who are doing this the right way. The ones who married well. Who have their “houses” in order….and those who do not. I wish all of them the love that they seek in their children. I know they won’t be disappointed.

And to those who don’t have children….. don’t feel left out… you have your own mothers to remember…. or not xoxox

Many people have asked me why I call my photography business “Nico Moon” when my name is Merrilyn Romen. Well here it is, my name is way too difficult for people to spell which would make a Google search nearly impossible. Even when I spell it out, many people switch the r’s and the l’s and forget about remembering the “e” in Romen (originally Todromovich, shortened by the darlings at Ellis Island when my grandfather immigrated here from Russia). I thought about many variations and, in fact, my design website is at www.mromen.com as in M. Romen and still people think I’m Mr. Omen. Go figure.

So I knew I needed new name for my business. I wanted it to be easy to remember and something that “rolls off your tongue”….like a latte… and….As I was having my half Jasmine, half Longching Dragonwell tea latte at Coffee Bean, the name Nico Moon just came to me. That’s about as simple as it gets, I thought. I’ve always loved Nico from the Velvet Underground and Moon, well… My favorite photo from my childhood is a picture of my sister sitting on a fake moon at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago (where we grew up). Just LOVE that photo. So, Nico Moon it was.

Yesterday I found an article by the inimitable Seth Godin, marketing guru to the world, and it was about Naming a New Business. You can find it here….
I love it. Keep your name unrelated to your business…like Apple or Starbucks so you can expand into new territories. And, if your friends hate it…so much the better

One more thing…and this one rocks my world!
Check out WORDOID.com. It’s an awesome way to plug in a word and come up with a bunch of different names including that word. It will even tell you if the name is registered or not so you can secure a website! Awesome!

Well, I’m not sure if my friends hate my business name, Nico Moon…so let me know what you think….but it’s not up for changing…not yet. I have 500 business cards and a bunch of marketing collateral to blow through first

I’ve just launched my new website: www.nicomoon.com

Please check it out and let me know your comments here!

I still have my design website and it’s located at www.mromen.com.

Now, to order my business cards and marketing pieces. Whew! The fun never stops!

I’ve done all the design work and writing myself so I’m a bit frazzled, but excited.
Stay tuned and send me an email to let me know if you’d like to be included on my mailing list of photography specials.
I promise to make them worth your while!

I’m not one for regularly re-purposing content, but I thought the following poetry sums up rather perfectly how I’m feeling today. You see, I finally finished my website, www.nicomoon.com, this week-end and, while I thought I’d be excited to share it with the world, I’m downright frightened! What if no one visits? What if I’m not as good as I thought I was? What if? If only…. That makes no real sense to me when I think about it and so I give you this, re-printed from the blog of The Dancing Mermaid – a wonderful woman who helps bolster the self-esteem of young peeps…Now that I can support! 

what if this is it
right here
right now
your defining moment
what if every event, heartache, and mistake
was perfectly planned to lead you
into the situation you presently find yourself
 in

what if mystic voices whispered answers to
 you while you sleep
and people are carefully thrown in your path
all
for the evolution of your greatest good
whether you like them or not

what if it did not matter what you did
or said or felt in the past

what if it was not an accurate prediction
of 
what your future will look like

what if you were not the only one feeling 
this way
tired and lost
joyful and free
all at the same time

what if others were also thirsty
for the same soul balm you were craving
what if you could meet them simply by
following your own truth

what if the reason you don’t fit in
feel outside the box
outside the norm
is because you were not built to fit
but to create your own molds and make
 your own set of rules

what if they were wrong
the mean voices that live in your head
that say things like
“no you can’t”
and “that is not possible”
and “what 
a stupid idea”
what if those voices do not belong to
 you
but some hurt angry child you never met
that needs love and care

what if your faults
were also your assets
disguised as flaws

what if nothing was random
not even a spilled cup of coffee
or a broken heel on the way to work
what if there is no one left to 
impress
what if there is nothin g
wrong with you
and nothing wrong with them

what if it was all stripped away
your comfort
s
distractions
addictions
and praise
so you could finally meet
the raw, naked version of
yourself
who is much stronger and bad ass than
 you expected

what if this helps you see
what you are really made of
and you realize 
that is it not only more than enough
but that you,
yes
, you
 dear 
soul, 
are nothing short of extraordinary

Reprinted from The Dancing Mermaid blog.
direct link: http://dancingmermaid.com/blog/2009/11/01/open-doors/