Podcast Episode #24
Paula Frizzell lives in Kentucky. Her professional background is diverse, ranging from starting an advertising and marketing firm to owning a re-sales clothing store, a manufacturing plant and a design company. Prior to finding her life path Paula was a nationally acclaimed recruiter for a Fortune 500 company.
Currently she serves on Bluegrass Society of Human Resource Managers (BGSHRM,) Central Kentucky Health Underwriters Board (CKAHU,) Business Advisory Board (Commerce LEX) and recently retired from Downtown People, a homeless program she and her husband helped to found. Paula is now Chief Gratitude Officer and Co-Owner of Frizzell and Associates.
Paula is an active and designated Professional Member of National Speakers Association. Paula and husband Keith love to travel and cater to their three feline children. If you are friends with Paula on Instagram or Facebook you will find her love of all things beautiful via photography.
We met on IG when you tagged me on your beautiful IG post of a bird saying you’d read my book. I was delighted. Please tell us your story.
Well my story is a long one but a positive one about what trees, nature, and mindfulness can do in our lives. Your book, Take Back Your Outside Mindset spoke to me and I devoured it, then ordered more to share with those who I love that are suffering. And I am getting lots of great feedback from them. They tease me about going forest bathing with their husbands.
Yes! I was born with severe hip dysplasia, heart malfunction and severely limiting lungs, all part of the 50’s issue with smoking and drinking young mothers who did not know how those habits impact the fetus and unborn child. The hip dysplasia led to Perthes Disease, the lung malfunction lead to Asthma, the heart malfunction is a right bundle branch block and scares the heck out of new doctors I see (I always look like I am in heart attack status.) I was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis in my 30’s, in my 40’s my limbs and joints begin to fight me for survival, psoriatic arthritis and osteoarthritis were the diagnosis (I have horrific Heberden’s Nodes on fingers) later in 40’s these all led to autoimmune diseases which is why your book spoke to me so much. So my body started to pretty much fall apart due to those autoimmune illnesses. I developed Chronic Fatigue and then Fibromyalgia. After that diagnosis and subsequent doctor’s visit I was told that I have severe PTSD — going back to an abusive childhood we discovered. Then there is the other story that is in my book that I am in the process of writing, and that is the abuse that I suffered and the PTSD that I experienced. Growing up with severe limitations you are not treated the same as other children and I am so happy this has changed now.
At 58 I had both hips fully replaced, 13 weeks apart. During that period I was forced to slow down. I had been a career person –always wanting to achieve and prove myself. When I came out of that I was just craving nature. It was so important to me to be outside. I have two titanium and ceramic hip joints.
In 2018 I had a TIA, a mini stroke, while on a photography safari in Louisiana. After that and my diagnosis of PTSD, I became very introspective. I remembered how I would leave our family home as soon as I got all my chores done and go sit in the trees or on the rocks. And I started to think about ways to do that again because I was an urban dweller in Columbus, Ohio. My office was on the 9th floor and I was in a condo on a lake but I was 4 stories up, so I picked up an old camera that I had – and what plagues me is arthritis in my hands – and I picked up that old camera and just started going for walks taking photos, trying to find the beauty in our everyday world.
For the spring and winter I focus on birds. For the summer and fall I focus on plants, bugs, and butterflies. I was out this morning and our hawthorn berry tree that is on our patio (a potted tree) is bursting with new growth now. It makes me so happy. I was so excited, because it means that I have nurtured that tree now for six years in a pot. It is growing an flourishing, so that is how I got to birds. And the birds get all the berries from my hawthorn tree but that is ok. I do waterfowl in the winter time because that is when the ducks and the other water birds are out and about in our area.
Would you please tell us where you live with your three cats?
Yes sure. We had this grand plan because we were not gifted with children – although we have been able to help a lot of other children through our homeless programs that we have helped to start. We are always drawn to children on the margins so children are a big part of our life but we were not gifted with our own birthed children. So we bought a town home with not a lot of green space with the idea that we would travel the world. And we have three rescue cats. We just can’t say no. When the pandemic started we rescued a baby bird. He had some issues and hopped around the yard for 6 month but then he flew away. So any critter that we can bring in, we do. I have window feeders for birds and trees around me, loads of plants in all areas in my home. But we made a choice about where we would live with the idea that we would travel so we are looking forward to the pandemic ending so we can do that.
In the meantime I think you have really worked on your greenspace around you.
Yes, I planted 5 trees last year, and getting so excited to go to a nursery or a greenhouse this weekend to find two new trees because I have spots for them. And I have 7 trees in pots. I hsve evergreens and deciduous trees in pots. It’s fun. We have quite a large courtyard.
I see some of your photos in bird feeding stations I think?
Yes there is a privately owned bird blind nearby on a nature preserve about 25 miles from where we live. We go there a lot of afternoons after work. They have a two way glass. We take out own seed because we feel like we get a better variety coming in. They provide some mixture there but they have to buy bulk. We are able to take the birds a special treat. We will sit on the benches and it is private. If you are in there then no one else can come in. And we will sit there for a couple of hours in the afternoon and just watch. And then we will take a walk through the trees.
What kind of bird seed do you take?
We carry it in our car – really high quality seed especially for the song birds: mostly safflower, sunflower, right now we have millet in it and meal worms.
Will you please tell us more about your regular practice of taking photos and how this fits with your gratitude practice.
We practice prayer, we practice mindfulness, and I added the practice of gratitude and the practice of photography. It all meshes together.
I never leave home without a camera – never ever. And if I do, if I forget, I will stop and buy an inexpensive one because you never know what you are going to see. I am constantly searching for simple beauty. We were at Trader Joes, a wonderful market, and in the parking lot and I see this most gorgeous bird on a light pole and I had the camera. It is one of my favourite photos of all. So this gets my mind away from things and you never know what you might see if you are noticing. So taking the photo relaxes me.
This morning I was doing that. My husband brought me some daffodils, narcissus and I shot deep into the flower. That was my meditation time to look deep into the flower to see what I could see. I use a macro setting to get deeper and deeper into the flower.
So that is where the gratitude comes in. To see if through the lens of a camera, upload those photos to a computer or ipad, to see the infinite detail and creation inside that bulb is amazing.
It is like a dove sitting outside here in my courtyard, it has purple and pink – it has so many colors. If you are just driving by, you will see a mourning dove as just a grey bird. But they are not grey at all. Their eye is black but it is ringed with turquoise. So that is where I am grateful for that extra eye — that extra vision of all that is out here.
By doing this you are decreasing your stress in the moment and buffering yourself against future stress. Yes it balances me out. It relaxes me. There is no drug, and you know this, that can take down our cortisol like being close to trees and plants.
Is there a secret to how you breathe outside when you are taking your photo. Is it that when you are outside your heart rate and breathing slows so it is easier to catch the eye of the bird in your photograph.
It is kind of like that. When hunters see an animal they get an adrenaline rush and we are the same way. It happened to me this week when I an eagle came straight toward me on a country road. I couldn’t take the picture. I couldn’t press the shutter. I just stood there. I was so rattled. But my brother says you have to practice that Lamaze type of breathing – in and out, in and out quickly, and on the out breath release the shutter. If I find myself tensing up. I will stop and just breathe. And I use this for a herd of elk that I follow. It is so thrilling to see their antlers, their environment, and I just do a lot of really quick breaths and press the shutter on the exhale.
That is really a useful tip. Around here when I come across a great grey owl for example, and feel seen by that birds eye, it does something and I can’t move. I had not thought about using breath.
Yes, I am not afraid of an animal and I feel that they are not afraid of me. Even snakes, I find them beautiful. I don’t get in their way or interrupt what they are doing, but I loe to get a good shot of a snake. They are gorgeous. We travel a lot in the south and you see snakes. But I don’t have fear.
I do my photos on my iphone now, but do you think it is better to use a camera?
I do, the iphone photos are not as stable, they are grainy as far as recovering them later in life when you want them. Now I am learning editing, and using mindfulness in that process. So if I have the eye of the bird or flower, then I can the outer edges. There are so many tools available to us through Lightroom, photoshop…On a rainy day I work on editing those photos and it is an art form.
You can use whatever you want to use, but if you are not backing up you will lose them. If you lose your phone you have lost your photos.
If our listeners want to get started on photography what tips do you have?
Go to a camera shop and talk to a professional, locally owned if possible. Make friends with that professional and they will give you good tips. Buying on line or from a big box store will not give you the service and help you need. You don’t need a professional camera, I used a very inexpensive Canon Point and Shoot until recently, very lightweight and does not hurt my fingers or joints. In fact I still carry my “little guy” (I name everything) on every journey. That camera is amazing but no longer being made.
Rather than the camera, t is more about understanding light and the emotion in the shot.
On my 65th birthday my husband showed up with my first ever Nikon top of the line camera, a Cool Pix P1000. It has super zoom, can take pictures of craters on moon or a birds’ eye lash. LOVE it. You can buy good used equipment from a reputable camera shop. The “glass” or lens is the most important part of the camera.
But more importantly understand the camera is not the source of the GREAT PHOTO. The energy and emotion you put into a photo is what captures a great shot. It is all about stopping and noticing…taking the time.
Join a birder’s group, a parks photography group on social media. I had someone ask me why are you not a part of the Lexington Kentucky National Parks photography group. So I found these groups on facebook. I have joined a butterfly society, an entomology (insects) group. You will get locations of great photos. Be willing to share your locations when you find something special. Honor the groups rules, especially birder’s code of ethics. So look for the things you like to photograph and join those groups. And you pay small dues to support these non-profits. So you are paying to preserve these things that you love so much.
The advantage is that you learn the location of these things. We went to shoot sandhill cranes. I never knew we got them in Kentucky. But through my birding group someone said, several thousand sand hill cranes in a certain town. We drove an hour and a half to see tens of thousands of sand hill cranes. I stood in the middle of a corn field turning in circles to just take in the tens of thousands of these birds. Sometimes I lay the camera down because the moment feels spiritual and emotional. Their mating ritual involves a lot of jumping an dancing.
Take lots of walks, go to all local parks, take a walk in your own neighborhood. Explore what is close. There are some well kept secrets where wildlife are protected. Look for the unusual and just what catches your eye.
Practice. Practice, Practice! Take more photos than you think you need to. I take a lot . Hundreds. My daily average is 400 photos. Deleted the bad ones, they just bring you down. No one gets 100% great, winning shots.
Since the pandemic I have taken a photo every day. I even bought a light box — $ 89 fo rthe whole set up and I can put my camera in there with a single flower, or a single leaf and do some wonderful work.
Will you tell us more about the light box? It is about a 21 inch square box that I have on my kitchen counter. It has a white, silver and black liner, and it has holes one on the top and one on the bottom that you can put your camera lens through. It has little lights on the top. I have an orchid that I have had for several years so I took a picture of that with this.
That’s the other thing about this, I used to buy souvenirs. It is so much better to have photo memories. And you are not ruining the environment, you are not buying unnecessary stuff, and it is all in a compact place. So when I took this picture of the teapot with this beautiful bouquet, I have that now – so the teapot can go away. So this lightbox has provided me with a whole new opportunity. Some people use a light box to do food. My neighbor is doing a book and he just uses his iphone to take the food shots.
Do this for the love of the art. Making it an income stream will stress you.
Meditation and mindfulness are a big part of photography. Breathe as you shoot for a and sharp clear shot or a soft, unfocused shot. Focus on the positive and be grateful.
I believe that is the mindfulness, the breathing, the being grateful for what I am seeing in nature will provide the photo. This is what provides the opportunity not the camera. When I see an eagle sitting on a branch for a long time and I stay far away so I am not threatening them, I think that eagle is saying to me “go ahead get a good shot.”
I look so forward next month so seeing all the dragonflies, the butterflies, the hornets, the beetles that all pop out.
How are you feeling now? If I am feeling really bad around 4 pm and I go outside which is our golden hour, I will say to my husband let’s go, and we find a place to just sit outside by a lake, by a stream, and just notice things. It doesn’t take very long and I will feel better. And if I don’t do that I feel terrible.
Listeners can find you online:
IG and Facebook: paulacfrizzell
I would love to create a sub group of your group where we can post a post a photo of the week or photo of the month just to share what other people are doing. I am excited about bugs this spring. I took two classes on bugs. I can share with people what settings to use on your iphone or on any other camera.
Thank you very much Verla, I love knowing you, and all I did was tag you on a photo because you inspired my photo that day and look what happens. Socail media can be very positive.
Thank you to our podcast listeners in now 26 countries and 309 cities around the world. I would love hear your comments on this episode and others – just go to my website treesmendus.com. (all one word) Please check out my book and workbook Take Back Your Outside Mindset: Live Longer, Prevent Dementia, and Control Your Chronic Illness.
Listeners if you like, think about Paula Frizzell practice of using your photo taking process while out in nature as your own kind of gratitude process– that you can use to share to help others. Maybe notice and practice your breathing as you take your shot like Paula does. And when you do, we know that you will feel better about yourself and your world around you – and this is a good thing, because we all need a little more of Your Outside Mindset.
