lisa's bridals


















I've known lisa since she was in junior high. Her brother was my first love. It was one of those rare relationships that transcends the breakup and awkwardness and comes up even better than before. Chris is still one of my closet friends and I feel blessed to have him and his family as part of my life.

lisa, along with chris and family, came out to LA for this shoot. It really didn't even feel like work. Pat was buying me pizza and Rachel's baby, slade, was nuzzling into my shoulder. It was just fun.

lisa, as you can see, looked amazing. everyone keep commenting on how she looks like uma thurman, but better. she braved breaking the rules in the hotel and owned the streets of santa monica and the results...were gold.

thank you universe for letting me photograph such a stunning subject. xxoo.

the truth comes out

I found this post on this blog today, and I know it's not completely photography related (although a camera was mentioned) but I wanted to pass it along. I couldn't have said it better myself!

[Sam said: TAMN, I'm currently searching for my eternal companion, and your post for your searching sisters was great, but I'm a searching BROTHER! How/where do I find a girl even half as awesome as you!? And once I find her, what do I do to make her mine?

Seriously, great Q! SO glad you asked bc seriously, your attractive level is like your BMI but of even MORE eternal consequence. Single brethren, print this and put it under your pillow ASAP.

Seven Fab Ways To Snag Your Own Me

  1. Law/biz/medical/dental school is a m-u-s-t. If you can't get into those, chiropractor school is an acceptable backup. Teaching slash writing slash being good at cars or whatever else is fine for a hobby but NOT a job if you wanna seal the deal.
  2. Gym it up. If you can't actually GO to the gym a lot, def talk about it tons, keep a gym bag visible in the back seat, and act sore a lot. Its impeerically proven and ladies know it: six pack now --> stake pres later.
  3. Bring your camera EVERYWHERE and take a gazillion variations of these same 2 awesome pics: shot of your armpit as you hold the camera out with you guys smiling, shot of your armpit as you hold the camera out with you guys faking a serious pout. If you want to be taken seriously as a suitor, these pics should be on facebook within 2-4 hours.
  4. mention your mish ONLY IN PASSING. Plz, plz, plz, canNOT emphasize this enough...teensy stories are best bc entire stories are TOTAL yawners...if you insist on telling them, make 'em short and chalkful of things like brute strength and leadership experience. If you weren't AP you're probably outta your league, but if nothing else, worse case scenario you can throw in something about your eagle.
  5. Lines should be both smooth and to the point. "You look hot" is good, "You ARE hot" is better. "I always wanted to date someone spiritual" is good, "You could totally be a GA wife" is better. "Want to go to Anthro?" is good, "I want to take you to Anthro" is better. Must I go on?
  6. Heard of the no-touchy-in-the-strike-zone rule? What the nineteen eighties! Now it's the swimsuit rule (meaning, don't touch where a swimsuit would be) so thanx to modest bikinis there's TONS more leeway, but, DEFINITELY still keep both feet on the ground.
  7. Bring a notebook to firesides. Not to USE, as you'll ideally be busy playing with long multi-colored tresses and/or back scratching, but just carrying it speaks volumes about you.}

on the way to boulder




off the side of the highway we saw this little abandoned farmhouse and we had to have. golden fields and endless blue skies call to me. so we found a little mud filled side road and jumped a fence. we hadn't been there more than 5 mins before both a firetruck and cops stopped to check out the intruders. we played it cool (like we always do) and everyone walked away unharmed. (except maybe the rental car, but hey, what are rental cars for?!)

colorado- august 2008













we had family reunion time with the porters in colorado springs and can I just say, colorado springs is great! small, but not too small. clean, but not too clean. old, but not too old. we hit some of the old stomping grounds... manitu (and the natural mineral water that is fizzy), garden of the gods and good quality time at gma and gpa porters house. We then left one porch swing to visit another in boulder. grant's uncle corky and aunt melanie welcomed us into their wonderland for a couple of nights. they are amazing artists and their home is a reflection of the amazingly creative heads they live in...so colorful and thoughtful. There was no mistaking who's home you were in. I loved it. I could have stayed for months.

lisa

I just started looking through her bridal shoot from this weekend and this image hit me like a ton of bricks.
she is stunning.
I can't wait to post more.

baby pedicures






while I was in utah my sisters and I wanted to get pedicures. my 5 yr old niece heard us discussing this and really wanted to come because she had never had a pedicure (uh, yeah. you're 5!!) we all decided it would be super fun so we took both of our nieces with us. they seriously handled it like pros. I almost got teary eyed watching taylor from 4 chairs over...she was barely big enough to sit on the chair and dip her toes in the pedicure bath...but she WAS big enough. I want them to stay little. when they are little they write me notes, like this one faith wrote for me while she patiently waited for me to finish. oooohhh. melt my heart.

thirsty friends

these two 20 something chaps were heading from LA to the grand canyon on a cross country tour of the united states. because of a heavy language barrier I only gathered select information; they were from japen and wanted to know where they could "find beer"....more specifically they wanted to know "where can we find best beer in grand canyon"? unfortunately, being the sober gal I am , I couldn't help much, but assured them there must be beer somewhere in the grand canyon....right?



9/11

I made my last post not thinking, at that moment, what day we were remembering. I'm glad the city was on my mind.

two years after the attack, I packed 2 suitcases and moved there. my flight happened to be on september 11th. my mom cried. I moved to NYC without a job, without a place to live and I only knew 2 people. the first night I was there I sat in the rain on the metropolitan museums steps waiting for a phone call from somebody I was hoping would let me sleep on their couch. I loved that moment. everything was a question.

I was there a month before I moved there, working for my dad when the "blackout" happened. we were kicked out of the marriott marque in times square and slept on the street. my sister and I sat with thousands of strangers in the middle of a dark times square staring at the stars above. I think most people thought that would scare me away from wanting to move there. nope. the opposite happened. I feel in love. I don't think you can sleep on cigarette and gum covered asphalt in times square and not feel like you and the city are in it together.

a bunch of my friends agree that when you live in the city (and love it) it's like you're dating each other. I can go into this line of thinking more if you like....but when I moved, and didn't come back, it felt like a break up...and now I find myself love sick. It's a boyfriend I just can't get over.

we'll always have our sleepovers on my rooftop. always.

(here are some photos of the night of the blackout. courtesy of my first digital camera, the nikon coolpix. proof that my mom, sister and I actually slept on the street).




more ny..but never enough.







1- best cobb salad ever! deluxe diner, on broadway btwn 112th & 113th down a few blocks from colombia (don't mind the lens flare).
2- la esquina, where nick works. yummy mexican food. try the corn on the cob. you won't regret it.
3- jason. miss that guy. an amazing designer. works for MAC .
4- benny and nick after a long night. love the yellow light on subway cars.
5- the elevator up to the penthouse.
6- door art.
7- the peoples.

nellie & kent- wedding day/part 4

I said I was only going to post three parts to this wedding..well couldn't. here is the last and final one. I'm going to miss looking at kent and nellie's faces everyday. maybe you two should come on up to LA and hang out on my trampoline?










































***note to the people who sabotage the getaway car at weddings...at this wedding they put the car on blocks so when they thought they were going to drive away they went nowhere. sad..and pretty excruciating to watch...but I think it was a sabotage success. I've seen a lot at weddings but this was a first.

nellie & kent- wedding day/part 3


















we thought it would be nice to hit some of the hot spots in town before the reception and I am glad we did. we got some great stuff. the library shots are kind of X-rated...sorry about that...well not really that sorry because they pretty much rule. steamy. steamy. can that please happen to me in a library someday?