I love the idea of reusing/recycling/borrowing etc. so when Little Borrowed Dress came out and was photographed by the “can-do-no-wrong-in-my-book” Elizabeth Messina, I can’t get enough of the idea and the photos.

I’ve been collecting images for a painting series I’ve had in my head for 10+ years now of midcentury women pool and beach-side, and the new Anthropologie Poolside Looks layout would totally light a fire under my ass if I had the time to dedicate to it.

This is just pure inspiration to me and made me long for my time in Europe three years ago. (Not that I was in Copenhagen or saw a flash symphony but, the trains and metro musicians and stuff.)

This post by my friend Amy about experiencing a book through the characters reminded me of the avid reader I was growing up, and just why I loved it.

I had to trim my basil plant this week so I made a creamy pesto/sun-dried tomato sauce with it. I was trying to figure out what to use it for, so I bought a fresh sourdough loaf, grilled some chicken, marinated sliced red onions in red wine vinegar, and stacked it with sliced tomato and provolone= A pesto panini that would knock your socks off. No photos because I couldn’t wait long enough before eating it.

A great styled shoot on Saturday. I’ve wanted to belong to a group of photographers who meet up and talk shop but I haven’t had a ton of luck finding people who aren’t insecure and competitive. My website host is all about community and organizes local groupings and I’ve met some really kind and lovely people through it that I’m grateful for.

Booking three more weddings this week that I’m super stoked about, and getting ready to shoot my dear friend Dottie’s wedding next week.

Watching the finale of Interior Therapy and realizing that I’m getting more Jeff and Jenni soon when Flipping Out comes back on. I’ll admit it- I’m a Bravo-aholic.

I went to Walmart this week (ugh) to pick up some random items- I avoid Walmart like the plague but had no choice this particular day. They’re renovating the one down the street from me into a superstore, so it’s even more vile than usual. I stood in line for checkout for at least 10-15 minutes because they only had two checkstands open and at least 20 people trying to check out. After I finally made it through the line, there was a teen-aged guy behind me who didn’t look like he had a lot of money. He realized he’d forgotten his wallet to buy some food so he turned around to leave, when the 70 year old checker called him back and told him he’d buy it for him. I don’t know the circumstances of the situation or if they guy even had any money in the first place, but when I see someone who obviously doesn’t have a whole lot to share of his own being generous to someone else, it really shows me that there are people who are good to their core out there.Pin It

Why don’t I have any up close photos of celebrities? Because this is what happened when one showed up- mayhem.

One of the things I loved observing were the “fashion kids” who hung out outside of the Musee Rodin, waiting to be photographed by street style photogs. It was kind of fun to try to figure out who had tickets to the show and who was just hanging out hoping to have their picture taken.

and then cars with celebrities and people who looked like this that made it r’ull clear who had an invitation to the show and who didn’t.

There were also bloggers and pod-casters with camera crews as well as street style photographers who were there just to capture the scene outside of the show. Who knows where these people come from or what they were broadcasting for, but I definitely heard a multitude of languages from around the world being spoken. The whole scene was fascinating, they all were dressed to the nines. I loved taking photos of the photographers taking photos.

We actually showed up about 6 hours early for the event because I got the time wrong, but the fascinating thing was that we got to see all the 16 year old 25-foot-tall freak of nature giraffe-like models showing up for hair and makeup. We even watched one park her smart car and put a parking sticker on it before we followed her to the entrance. How did we know she was a model? Oh I don’t know, I guess the amazonian height, flawless beauty without makeup, and leggings/fur coat/platforms outfit tipped us off.

Just the characters hanging out in the general vicinity were interesting. We felt like Anthropologists studying a group of people we were so unfamiliar with… who were these people who could travel to Paris for fashion week just to hope to be seen? Locals? Trustfund-ers? Stylists?

I saw a documentary a while back about Bill Cunningham, the New York Times Style Section photographer, called Bill Cunningham New York. I found the entire movie fascinating, but what made the experience in Paris even better was that I saw Bill! He was there in his blue jacket, roaming around taking photos with his little film camera. 80 years old, shooting film and as into the clothes as ever. Pretty much the coolest.

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It was my birthday a week ago and I celebrated with some cupcakes, Mexican food, champagne/beer/margaritas, and low-key, good company.

I love stumbling across sites like this that are just pure coolness.

Bri Emery is one of my favorite style/design bloggers and Max Wanger is my favorite photographer, and when they collaborate I feel like an angel gets its wings.

One of the best things about today’s social media is that you get to see what Chinese hipsters on the subway are wearing from your friend who lives there:

Another one of my favorite photographers blogged about her son’s 7th birthday party and the year in his life, and it was just so adorable, it stayed with me.

Obviously, the President and VP finally speaking up about marriage equality. As a wedding photographer, I can’t wait until  I can photograph a legal marriage between two people who love each other of the same sex in California.

Two episodes of Tardy for the Wedding on Bravo. The cringe-worthy moments between Kim and her new in-laws and their discomfort of who she is as a person entirely. My TV taste has a range- not every night can be Downton Abbey.

Interviews with Sasha Baron Cohen and Andy Cohen on Howard Stern.

Obsessed with the new show on HBO called Girls.

Parks & Rec killed it this year, and last night’s finale was awesomeness.

I’m always curious who reads this blog… is it just clients and friends of clients who want to see pictures? Is it just my friends? I’d love to interact with whoever is out there… what did I miss this week?

Click here for the Brown’s website and slideshow with baby’s first sugar!

****

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GAVIN!

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One of the directions I’d like my business to go in is to be more of a full-service experience. When I first started, I thought it was courteous to offer the disc of all images and send you on your merry way to do with those files what you will. While I thought my intention was to keep costs low and not try to sell them stuff, I was actually doing clients a disservice. After all, if I don’t at least offer to help with the end result of those files, what’s the point? To pay a bunch of money to be able to upload compressed files to Facebook? Let them go to Costco and make some 4×6 prints and maybe an 8×10 that they may or may not know what to do with? Try to find a decent place to make a canvas cluster that belongs in a cheesy portrait studio and was in style 15 years ago?

Oops- was that rude? Well hey, it’s just not my thing. People who’s thing it is probably don’t like my style either, and that’s okay too. Also- some canvas clusters are super cute. Unfortunately, most look like a stark portrait studio to me.

I started thinking about how I was originally avoiding sales because I wanted to be an artist not a sales person, but the truth is, I know a lot about displaying art. Why wouldn’t I invest in products to show clients what can be done with their photos? So I started by designing my first album last Fall, and then spent a lot of time earlier this year designing some more as well as some enlargement products.

I take a lot of time making important (and expensive) decisions, because I don’t like to waste money on things I won’t be proud of. I had to step back and think about who my customer was, what they wanted their home to look like, and what they were responding to in my taste. It all comes back to this question: what do I care about and what does my brand look like?

Answer: I care about the environment, I care about uniqueness, and I care about investing in the right things. So, I put up a section on my website to showcase some of the products I’ve taken the time to invest in and showcase for clients. You can find it here:

The new section on my site called “Shop” is still under construction. I’m also adding a place to purchase fine art prints and artwork, but that’s quite the undertaking so it’s a work in progress. For now however, I have a spot to showcase some of my favorite ways to display photos and make the best of all the work we both put into a shoot. This section will just keep growing as I invest in products that I find to be unique and high quality to showcase photos. I found a variety of different products that I think my customer would like. Yeah, yeah, all the successful pros out there say to stick with one look that is in line with your brand and push that only. But what can I say- my taste is kind of all over the place and I imagine, so is my customer’s. So I designed a few things with similar features and attributes, but several different looks. Variety is the spice of life, after all.

I offer a free consult service to all photo and artwork clients to help you decide how to display after a shoot. I do this mainly because, I love to see the full circle end product of my work, and I want any chance I can get to beautify an interior space! I’ve found that so many people lack the confidence to pull the trigger in ordering photo products because they don’t know how something will look, and they second guess themselves. Thankfully, that’s my strength. I am able to picture how something will look before it’s done, and so I have the ability to offer help in this area. I have some great sources and print labs that I work with that I have ordered through and can stand by the quality of the product and am confident in lead times. Most of my sources are “green”, hand-made, and manufactured in the USA. I work with you to choose the space, the size, the media, design it (for albums) and then place the orders for you. All you have to do is hang or display it.

If anyone would like to have a consult for a past shoot, please don’t hesitate to get in touch! I’d be happy to help.

So, here’s a totally un-thoughtful stream of some things I’ve meant to be blogging about lately- and who knows, I might still.

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