what better email to receive upon getting back into the states from a 2 week long trek through europe than one from my film lab with a download of images ready?  I’ve only just this moment started the download but couldnt wait another moment to share one with you- this is the lovely deb schwedhelm and her youngest daughter from a Day In The Life session i did for them last month.  the wait for images has been absolutely killing me, and am so excited to flip through them once the download is finished. i’ll post the entire session very soon!

and of course… i took loads of photos while traveling through europe.  those, however, will not be getting posted any time soon as i’m going to have to save up to get them developed.  film is so expensive, but it is just oh-so-worth it.  look at that film grain above, it’s so thick you might be able to count each grain.  i love it.

shot with contax 645, 80mm lens, ilford 3200 bw

shot with a toy camera- Holga, with fuji 400h film

Au Revoir tous le monde! I’ll be out of the office for an entire two weeks in europe- The Netherlands, Brussels, Switzerland and Paris.  So, if you dont get an email response from me… well… that’s why   but, rest assured prints are being printed and at the lab, film is being developed, and albums being created all while i’m away.

I’m going to be using this time to do a little soul searching, to take a little break from the chaos that is owning your own (thriving) business, slow down and shoot for myself – a luxury i rarely have.  the last time i was in europe was when i was 19, traveling alone for 2 months, and carrying nothing on me but one pair of pants, one skirt, and 3 shirts.  the rest of my bag was full of film, my dad’s old nikon film camera, and a sketchbook.  this time i’m bringing slightly more clothes (thank GOD),  and my Contax 645 with lots of film and old polaroid land camera.  nothing digital, so you wont see any pictures for a while, but rest assured, when you do, it will be worth it (well….. at least that’s what we always hope, right?).

You know those little Captcha things that make you type in a garbled word before you can comment on a blog?  well, today mine read: Photo Earnestly

i think the universe is trying to tell me something.

i hope to come back revived, excited, and inspired to photograph this life and other’s earnestly, truthfully, and wholly.

ciao

i so loved this session, and photographing families in their home.  i love how personal it is, how real it is. mama’s in their robes, babies swaddled up warmly, and light pouring in the windows.  this nursery is making me want to redo the boy’s room, annnnndddd have another baby.    dont think i’ll get that one by the hubs any time soon though!

just a quick little teaser before we head to bed here.  i dont think i need to say anything more- speaks for itself.  love this couple

this little man is One…  time flies by so quickly. what a beautiful family…

just one quick peek at Dylan’s 1 year session.  Challen and John are some of my longest clients, and some of my most favorite people.  i cant wait to share more of these with you all!

So, i might be just a smidge proud of this wedding- it was the first where i brought along my film camera not as a ‘fun, lets play with film’ camera, but as a bone fide mode of photography.  most of the image above are film- i know you film geeks out there will be able to pick out which ones are digital and which ones aren’t!   looking forward to the day when film is all i use for weddings.

Mandi and Nathan got married at Sacred Lands, one of my favorite places for weddings.  it is a little bit quirky… i mean you get ready and dressed in the owner’s own mid-century home, but the quirkiness is really part of the charm. flocks of peacocks wander the property, which was historically an American Indian burial ground. and, it pretty much has everything- sand beach, rock beach, sailboats, deep rainforest foliage, hidden paths… yet its in downtown st pete (the most random place ever for such an incredible little gold mine of a place).

After the ceremony we headed downtown dunedin for their intimate dinner reception with a handful of friends and family.  it was an incredible day, and i just cant tell you how much i adore small weddings (we’re talking, under 13 people…).

ok… and i was doing a really good job resisting the urge to tell my joke about Dunedin, but it looks like i’m losing the battle.  here goes.

Me: “wanna know why everyone in Dunedin is full?”

you: “why?”

Me: “because they’re all done eatin’”

get it? dunedin? done eatin?  yes, i made that one up when we first moved down here, and it still makes me laugh.

i sincerely apologize. hoping you’ll forgive me.  sort of hoping you’ll go out and say that the next time someone says they’re from Dunedin.  or maybe at least give a small chuckle to yourself.

welcome to my home.  meet Tavish and Pierson,  my two little partners in crime.  the pond behind our house dried up a few weeks ago, and we saw thousands of tadpoles flopping in the sun.  We knew we couldnt just stand by and watch them bake, so we decided to intervene. we filled up the boys plastic swimming pool, armed ourselves with buckets, and scooped up hundreds of tadpoles from the muck and placed them in the water.  the remaining tadpoles that we didnt have room for we filled the pond with a little bit of water from our hose.  not too much, but just enough that they could be submerged in water.  we did this every single day for two weeks, until finally… there were no more tadpoles, and they had turned into frogs   my favorite part of this was watching my tough, rugby playing husband quietly sneak off to fill the pond up with more water, just too make the tadpoles a bit more comfortable.  He wouldnt probably admit it, but he’s such a softie, even when it comes to tadpole lives.

i can NOT remember what film stock i used here… was it Tmax 400?  ilford 3200?  i’ll find out when Indie sends my film back.  regardless, shot with contax 645.