Down Under + The Dalai Lama

Tonight we leave for Melanie and Dave's wedding in Brisbane. Melanie emailed yesterday to suggest, "You should push that little belly as far out as possible and maybe they’ll upgrade you so you can lie down? Worth a try....." I love a bride looking out for mama and wee babe.

Grant and I are so excited to shoot shoot shoot and get a little vacation time squeezed in before and after.

Here is a photo of me last time I was in Australia. It was about 8+yrs ago. Now I can compare pouch sizes with the kangaroos.

Oh! and last time I was in Sydney I happened to be in the lobby of our hotel and the Dalai Lama happened to be staying there and happened to walk past me right as I was walking past him... AND I happened to be holding my 1st ever digital camera the nikon coolpix. I just happened to get this photo of him looking right at me and smiling as I was being swept away by security. I think I had a moment with him, don't you?

It was awesome. I wonder if he ever thinks about me...

I will have internet but limited phone so email if you need me but don't expect a super quick response unless you are my Brisbane bride or His Holiness.

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When I was invited to photograph this family reunion they booked me a year in advance.  I don't think my family can plan a month out let alone a year.

I don't usually do this for groups this large but I decided once I was there to take invidual shots of every member of the extended family. This was my favorite part of the whole shoot.

I was inches away from their faces and had a few seconds to really *see* everyone.

Thanks to Heather for rounding up the troops and including me in family time.

Also thank you for the delicious sandwich. xo.

C + J

One of our best friends is getting married tomorrow and yours truly is shooting the festivities.

Still trying to figure out how Grant is going to be a groomsmen AND attend to my every need while I shoot?

Congratulations to Candice and Purr. You are two very cool cats.

(Above image from their 11pm engagement shoot at LACMA)

Molly + Andrew's Wedding

Early in my career as a photographer a lot of  my work came from family, friends or friends of friends. Although those sources are still strong referral bases, most of my work now comes from clients I have never met previous to working with. We meet, we chat, we shoot.

This is how I met Molly and Andrew. I think they found me through my blog...and when we met for the first time at their engagement shoot, we chatted, we shot and we became friends. They were and have been fiercely loyal and supportive of me and my work. On their wedding day I felt more like an old family friend than hired help. This is how I always want to feel. This is how I always want the families to feel. I want to be a participant. I DON'T want to draw attention but I want my presence to be comfortable, natural and right.

I was so happy with Molly shook me out of work mode for a moment and asked for a photo of the two  of us together. Brides remind us to do that!I am never more honored than when someone trusts me to document their wedding day. All of my precious brides, couples and wedding day famalies mean so much to me.

Molly and Andrew are a solid couple. Happiness follows them.

Ceremony: Baldwin Hills Overlook, Culver City, CA

Dinner/Party: Rush Restaurant and Bar, Downtown Culver City.

(Grant and I have spent many evenings being tossed around by the wind, watching the sun set at the overlook. So when Molly asked if I had any suggestion for ceremony locations...It was the first place that popped into my mind.  I guess she likes wind as much as I do. Both locations are within 5 minutes walk of our house. Loved shooting a wedding in our neighborhood...I love traveling for work too (you all know that) but there was something about walking out my front door for a wedding that was nice. You can't blame me.)

Stay Connected

I am off camping for the rest of this week. This is my 3rd year helping to plan a church camp for teenage girls. It is a lot of work and the pay off is being at camp getting to enjoy the months of sweat and tears that go in to planning.

Our theme for camp is "Staying Connected". Discounting from the the distractions of the everyday and re-connecting with the sources that bring us ultimate strength and focus.

One of my projects was designing these small custom puzzles for them to gather pieces to during a scavenger hunt. I ordered the puzzles from portrait puzzles and the tins from specialty bottles. The stickers I printed myself.

With carpel tunnel setting in to my right hand this theme and week break from the computer couldn't come at a better time.

And so I say goodbye for a few days while I breath in some mountain air and give my poor hand a rest.

(Service may be spotty so unless it's a photographic emergency, don't expect a response until next Monday).

xxoo-

Rachel

Four Weddings

A little taste of some of the great weddings I have shot in the last month or so.

August is notoriously a super busy month for me and I really appreciate all of my brides and grooms for being so patient. I know the anticipation of getting to relive your day through your photos.

In true August fashion I am posting this at almost 5pm on a Friday...It was suppose to be up this morning. Oh me.

Tomorrow amidst all the stress I think we are trying to fit in the beach. I'm sure I will be sitting there making lists, emailing on my phone and calling people back. (I promise to try and actually enjoy some time off).

BUT

I am grateful I am busy.

Happy weekend. xo.

Animal Talk

I am sensitive. I was sensitive even before.

I am sensitive to smell. Even the normal fabric softener I love smells like a flower bomb exploded in my nose….and not in a good way.

I am sensitive to taste. What use to taste like magic…basil, garlic..spices, spices, spices! Now taste 2nd rate. I actually don’t really want to taste any of that. My body doesn’t (but my heart does).

I am sensitive to sounds. Too loud, too soft, too harsh. Negative sounds, negative words weigh heavy on me. I cry and find something "light" to help me feel better.

I am sensitive to sights. My eyes sometimes sees things that don’t even exist.  Things look more. My usual glances turn into stares with each color and each shadow and each contour holding meaning it never held before. What are they trying to say? Have they changed or have I? Plus, I see way more more spiders.

My subconscious is sensitive. My dreams are tender and emotional. They tell me things I’m not ready to know yet.

My  heart is sensitive.

My mind is sensitive.

My body is sensitive.

My thoughts are sensitive.

My spirit is sensitive.

I am a mother.

I am an animal.

I am a mammal.

Without choice, I am fiercely protective of something I can’t feel, see or hear.

I stand at ready surveying the environment ready to attack, destroy, ROAR if anything trys to harm you.

I feel exhausted.

I feel inadequate.

I know my nature but still fear I will throw the covers over my head and decide….not to.

Then,

There you are, the first on my mind. And really the only thought that means much anymore.

I don’t even try.

It’s just natural.

Without choice, I’m sensitive.

With choice, I am learning what that means.

Chelsea + Spencer, Culver City Engagements

This is my international couple. After their marriage in Dallas this September, Chelsea moves to Sydney where Spencer has been living. I think that would be such a fun adventure...to get married and jet far far away.

They were naturals. I had a fantastic time with them. We just ran around chasing the sun as it went down.

I can't wait to see the sassy shoes Chelsea decides to wear on her wedding day. xo.

Just One...

...all I ask is for one of my kids to look exactly like this heartthrob. I'm not being greedy. I just want one. The rest can look like gremlins.

(Remember newborn Rachel from yesterday? Meet her brother, Mr. cutestboyIhaveeverseeninreallife).

Monday Confessions

Sometimes I pick up whatever clothes are on my floor and wear them day after day.

During my 1st week in kindergarten I discovered the girls bathroom had a pink sign and the boy bathroom had a blue sign. I did not like this. Blue became my favorite color. (I am not against pink. See photo).

While we're on the topics of bathrooms...During my 1st three months of being pregnant, almost every time I used a public restroom, I'd wonder if I was going to miscarry. AND then I'd have elaborate daydreams about who I would tell, how upset I would be, fainting in the stall etc...

Yesterday I watched Little Miss Sunshine on TV and cried through the entire thing.

I love photography, but I love my relationships with humans more.

I've never been in a tanning bed.

When I dream about my little sister, Anna, she is usually under the age of 5.

I wish I had dark, long eyelashes.

I am a naturally positive person, but I have a dark side. Ask Grant.

Tradition for traditions sake kind of bugs. Let's give actions meaning people.

I believe in positive and negative energy flow.

Sometimes I go to bed without washing my face, flossing or brushing my teeth. It's just too much effort.

I wasn't even that ready to get pregnant...and now I worry and think about our baby all day long.

I also worry that with a scrub as their Mom, our kids will look homeless until about 18. BUT they will be happy and carefree and dreamers!

I wonder if my kids will want to be dreamers?

Grant says not everyone cares SO much about "meaning". I disagree.

No matter how hard I try, a pile of papers always forms on the left side of my desk.

People keep telling me "Oh, just you wait!", when I say that I'm tired or stressed or xyz. I know I have never been a mom BUT I have cared for children a lot AND believe me when you work full time for yourself you know what tired and stressed feels like.

I might just surprise all of those negative energy sucks and be a very average but adequate mother.

AND I'm planning on loving my baby. How's that for mother of the year?

(inspired by my former bride and now friend's blog, word for word. Get a warm cup a tea and read the whole thing.)

INSTORE Magazine Feature

Images I shot for the OC Tanner grand opening were featured in INSTORE Magazine.

OC Tanner won 1st prize for "America's coolest stores". I have to agree. It is a beautiful building.

You can read more about the feature here.

Thank you to OC Tanner for including me in such an awe inspiring project.

(If you are interested in commissioning me to photograph interiors or exteriors of of your architectural beauties, shoot me an email..info@rachelthurston.com)

Jane Austen's Fight Club

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I've always bragged that my friends are smartest, prettiest and most fashionable, and here is proof.

Emily Card's (Fanny) brilliant Masterpiece won the grand prize at a small film festival here in LA.

JAFC has been talked about by TIME, NPR and many others around the interwebs.

My favorite lines are, " Is that your blood?!"..."oh, yes. Some of it".

Way to go smart, pretty, drop dead brilliant friends!

Baby Bunting

So now I can share all the baby stuff we have bought WAY before a baby was even remotely in the equation...you know...just in case.

When I was in Vancouver shooting for OC Tanner during the Olympics, my good friend Whit talked me into buying this organic cotton bunting. I think I may have been a little high from the lobster roll I had eaten moments before the purchase, but I don't regret it. Not one bit.

I guess either gender could wear this but it looks more girly to me...OK, I guess we better have a girl!

What do you think? For a boy, girl or both?

Anna + Dave's Wedding

I become friends with most of the couples I photograph. It just makes sense. You have unusual levels of bonding when you are working with people in stressful situations. As great as weddings are...it's no surprise to anyone, they can be stressful.

Anna and Dave are a couple I want to hang out with, like, everyday.

I've known Dave and his family for years but Anna was a complete surprise. I met her the day I shot their engagements and after 2hrs of first meeting was telling her I loved her. I wanted to cook food, watch reality TV and lay on my bed and cry with her about boys and cellulite. I fell in love.

I guess Dave did too.

Dave sang the most beautiful Josh Radin song to her at the reception;

"I could have saved so much time for us Had I seen the way to get to where I am today You waited on me for so long So now, listen to me say:

I need to be bold Need to jump in the cold water Need to grow older with a girl like you Finally see you are naturally The one to make it so easy When you show me the truth Yeah, I'd rather be with you Say you want the same thing too Say you feel the way I do"

It can be quite the journey finding the one you want to work at spending your life with. I feel like once you have you should be entitled to massages and poolside pina coladas for the rest of your life.

I found myself teary eyed trying to photograph that moment. I felt him. I felt her. I know those feelings. I've  lived through those feelings.

Thanks for having me out for such an inspiring and touching day. Although I didn't know it at the time, it was the first wedding I had shot as a Mom!

Under that blanket of amazing wide open Utah sky..June 4th 2010 became unforgettable.

xo-Rachel