a slight shift

Today, I make a slight, slight shift.

Today, I move my professional life as I know it from CALIMA Portraits, to Catherine Abegg; a movement that is so slight that almost no one in history will notice, but it’s a movement that in my small home has been discussed, labored over, argued about, sought advice for, and has been painfully, dreadfully dragged out.

A friend recently told me that she knows Catherine Abegg, but that she does not relate to CALIMA. I told her that I know this to be true, because sometimes I don’t even relate to CALIMA. CALIMA started as a pen name when I was a child–the first two letters of each of my names, Catherine Liwayway Manalo–and seemed a natural fit when I started my business eight years ago. However, just as I grew up & even moved onto a different name upon marrying into the Abegg family, I felt I was growing out of CALIMA, and that it was time for Catherine Abegg to spread her wings, and to shine. Does this mean that I am changing the course of my business at all? Or that I will start talking about myself in the third person (for crying out loud!)? Nope. Everything is still the same as before, but somehow different. I want my name to be synonymous with the photos that I put out into the world, and I want to give recognition to my art, intentionally & from within. When people trust me to celebrate the big things & the little things in life, I want them to know me by name from the time they meet me & until the many times they share their photos with the ones they love.

So, today, I am Catherine Abegg. Loud & Proud. This shift is both small & big for me, as nothing really changes but I hope it to be a change momentous enough for me to truly feel. I want to be a mover & a shaker, and I want this small movement to be a big move towards a stronger grasp on my relationships with my clients & also with my readers, the few of you out there. 

I am Catherine Abegg. I am a mother, a lover, an adventurist & an extra big hugger… an artist, a photo documentarian & a person who values love above all else. It is so very nice to meet you!