Wright

Tell me that 4yr old isn't madly in love with me.

Sorry, but he is.

He's our little man of leisure. He wears superhero tee shirts (this superman one about 99.9% of time) under his church clothes so the minute he gets in the car after church he can tear off the buttoned monstrosity and get comfy.

Recently his mother informed me he brought a pillow to the beach. Smartest kid alive.

He is also usually the one to initiate the "love nest" which involves blankets and pillows and couches and movies and books and snuggling and him wanting it but squirming away from it giggling.

Thank heaven for 4yr old boys.

Taylor

Shoes, lipstick, accessories, jewelry, makeup, flirting...and a style all her own.

I am counting on her fashion empire to make me millions in my old age.

Cute story: During the shoot while I was on my knees in front of her fixing her collar or adjusting her pearls, she stared deep into my eyes. When I made eye contact she asked in a small quiet voice, "Rachel, you know what?" "What Tay?" "We're the same". "We are? How?" "I have brown hair and you have brown hair. I have blue eyes and you have blue eyes. I look just like you".

Melt.

I wouldn't mind if my babies looked just like her. Not-one-bit.

4 Baby Birds

Months ago I had an idea to shoot some "personality" studio stuff of my nieces and nephews. The idea was to get an everyday look and then gussy them up for a look that showcased their true selves. It kind of worked....I didn't have an assistant and my sister in law didn't have an assistant either. We ended up each growing about 8 arms. I tried to juggle shooting, helping to dress and style, making sure the kids didn't punch a hole through the paper background...which left me little to no time to perfect lighting. I had just enough time to aim the light and fire. I wanted a mid grey background and achieved it on most but due the the lack of time I had to make adjustments the light is all over the place...BUT despite the lack of exactness to my original vision the kids shined.

I think photography is my way of making it so they never have to grow up.

After we told them I was pregnant there was all sorts of questions. Among them Taylor wanted to know, "Will I still be your baby bird?". One of my first thoughts when I found out I was going to be a mother was of them...my baby birds. How could I choose another? How could I love another as much? Will our closeness fade? Will they grow up and away from me? My heart ached and aches with these questions. I've been told (believe me) that loving your own child is so different than loving nieces and nephews and while I don't disagree NO ONE and I mean NO ONE can tell me how much or how little I love these 4 baby birds. I will add more to love and it may be a new type and degree of love..but believe me when I tell you, I know what it means to love a child.

Now when we have a "love nest" while snuggling on the couch, I get a little bit closer and hold a little bit tighter. Things will change, as they should, but for now I am happy stopping time. I am happy being an aunt.

Lets start with Faith, our resident rockstar...

Standing in one place on a backdrop wasn't her idea of fun. She has never liked the idea being confined to a space. She knows no boundaries when it come to being close. She has always just wanted to love and be loved.  Maybe it has something to do with the fact that she was the 1st grandchild and all we ever did was pass her around and stare at her. Now when she requests an audience for one of her many performances, I guess there is no one to blame but ourselves. We just can't help but watch. Since I have helped contribute to the problem I want royalties when she goes on her first tour.

The Little Blue House is FOR RENT!

We are moving!

We have been looking for more space for a year now and finally found the perfect fit in Long Beach.

Space is the ONLY reason we are moving from current home. We have absolutely loved everything about this neighborhood.

  • Walking distance to downtown Culver City, with w movie theaters, trader joes, a farmers market every Tuesday, a lot of great restaurants including Fords Filling Station and Tender Greens.
  • Jackson Market literally next store for deli sandwiches and a stick of butter when you're in a bind.
  • Right around the corner from Carlson Park.
  • Right next to Sony Studios.

The house is the perfect size for 1 person and fine for 2 people if you enjoy being with each other.

Only 1 bdrm, 1 bath. A whopping 520sq feet.

It has a huge backyard, front yard and a detached garage for storage. Plus a driveway that can park 4-5 cars.

The rent is month to month (which we LOVED) and is only $1250. For this neighborhood it is a steal.

It is available starting Nov 1st.

Address: 4055 Jackson Ave. Culver City, CA 90232

Please email me if you are interested and I can put you in touch with our landlord. rachel@rachelthurston.com.

It is such a great spot we wanted to give our friends firsts dibs. Pass the word around!!

(photos I took for a feature Design Sponge did on our home. See more here.)

"Explorer of Heaven and Earth"

1991 - 2010

Alec Whitney Henriksen

"Explorer of Heaven and Earth"

On Thursday, September 30th, our hearts were broken to learn that our precious son, brother, grandson, nephew, cousin, and friend, Alec Whitney Henriksen passed away at Earlham College in Indiana. Alec was born on December 11th, 1991 to his adoring parents Todd A. and Alison Henriksen in Salt Lake City, UT. He leaves behind his parents, his older brother Cory (Jennifer), loving sister Caitlin, younger brother Eli, and life long companion and twin brother Landon. Alec left his unique mark on this earth and touched many with his remarkable intellect, easy wit, and huge heart. He was a seeker of knowledge and truth. A budding scientist, philosopher, and humanitarian. A self taught master of computer programming, he published his first public domain site at age 14. So young but so far ahead of his time. He accomplished and learned more than many in a lifetime. Alec loved books, backpacking and rock climbing. He cherished his years of learning and exploring the world at "his" school, Realms of Inquiry where he loved and was loved by wonderful teachers and great friends. His parents, siblings, devoted Grandma Evelyn Henriksen, many aunts, uncles, cousins, and a huge circle of dear friends survive Alec. He is now being embraced by his beloved Grandma Peggy Whitney, and Grandpa C. Richard Henriksen in heaven. He moves on now to a place of higher learning and is delighted to sit with the great minds of the world where his yearning for knowledge will be fed. Find peace there our beloved Alec, "Explorer of Heaven and Earth".

Alec, wish I was there today to celebrate your life. We love and miss you. Give Grandpa a big hug from me and tell him he's getting another great granddaughter!!!

(Post shamelessly stolen from my cousins blog. Thanks for posting this Becky. Love you.)

Marci + Redge's Wedding

Everything about this wedding makes me miss Summer terribly. The color, warm light, peaches, tomatoes, flowers, Marci's flowy dress, watching movies outdoors...sigh.

Fall I love you but you will never be Summer.

I was neck deep in 1st trimester nausea when I shot this wedding but, honestly, I was so transfixed on the thoughtfulness of the details that I don't think I felt sick at all until I was in the car on my way home.

I don't need to say much...the photos speak for themselves.

Marci and Redge have this soft, quiet aura around them which was cathartic considering the border line state of madness I live in. You just calm down when you are around them..and then you feel like walking under huge willowy trees and eating fruit. That's what they do to you.

I want to leave you with a few words the bride shared with me about her day (Marci, I hope you don't mind!):

"We have a family tradition of going up to my Grandpa’s cabin around the 4th of July. One of his favorite places in the world to relax and enjoy the most important things to him, his family.  As we were up there I cut down three quaky aspen trees to be a part of the decorations.  My grandpa often made tables and frames out of these beautiful trees and so whenever I see them it brings his gentle heart and warmth back to me.  I used these trees to display my family trees; one tree was dedicated to the Bendheim/Sprague family.  We rummaged through old pictures hearing stories and decided which ones would make the cut.  I saw Redge in so many of those old pictures, his eyes on his grandpa Sprague's, his nose on is grandma Bendheim. It helped us to connect to those that made the way for us. The next tree was dedicated to my side the Tuttle/Condie side of the family.  How I love the look of the pictures of my grandparents going off to war or smiling hand in hand on the farm.  The simple lives lead by them teaching the values and morals that would someday shape and grow my own tree.  The last tree was our baby tree, mine and Redges, it was us planting our seed and we will watch it grow through out the years.  Branches upon branches will come and our tree will continue to grow.

Our thank yous or favors at the end of the night were the fruit of the trees.  Peaches to take home.  Something tangible from the tree.  The giving tree always gave back.  And our families have given us so much."

How beautiful is that!!? I was so touched when I read it. They gave meaning to every part of the day. It was exactly what a wedding should be. It was a beautiful reminder to me of what we should be celebrating.

I was honored to be there. xo.

Shooting Schedule

I've needed to post my schedule for the next 6mos for awhile now. After turning down numerous weddings for this coming February, I knew I needed to set a more firm timeline for maternity leave.

As of now our little thumbelina is scheduled to arrive early-ish February. Because of this not so small event I am not booking weddings from January-April. I will also not be taking any out of state jobs during the same time-frame.

I will however be taking local jobs on a case by case basis Jan-Apr 2011. Please email for inquiries.

I will be back to shooting as normal in May.

I have already started booking work May through the end of 2011 so let me know if you are interested in reserving a date.

As excited as we are for our miniature lady to join the family...it is hard for me to take the time off from work. I get a pit in my stomach having to say no to jobs that I really want to shoot.

It will be a bit of an adjustment finding the right balance and I appreciate your patience as I learn to juggle marriage, motherhood and work.

xxoo- Rachel

(This is one of my all time favorite photos. My mom holding me as a newborn at home in Fairbanks, AK. I love her hair and the snow and the tall trees...and I really love the reflection. Good job Dad.)

Five

Just thinking about my brothers and sisters today and how much I love them.

Every. Single. One.

Make it a goal to say "I love you" more this weekend. Don't wait to give attention to what matters most in your life.

(photo taken on my wedding day by Jonathan Canlas)

Noah

Mr. Noah threw-up, pee'd and pooped...right after another in about for a 60sec interval. Oh!.. and he was buck-baby-naked while this all happened.

If I had a nickel for every time I have been pee'd or pooped on (or witnessed the act), I would be a very rich woman.

I photographed Cort and Laura's wedding a couple of years ago (look here) and then they asked me to photograph their new little family while I was in Dallas this month. This is what I call "Full Circle" photography. Life clients are the best clients.

I love photographing newborns (duh) but my main frustration is I am too busy working to really get  sufficient holding time. I think I am going to start scheduling an extra 30mins after every newborn shoot so I can remedy the problem.

Noah, I'm guessing everyone on planet Earth wishes they could hold you for 30mins. xo.

20 weeks, 5 days + Liege Waffles

Since April when we took our trip to Europe we have have pretty much one thing on our minds....Liege waffles.

If you've had one you understand the one track mind.

Most authentic recipe I could find was on epicurious that led me to this converted recipe that I ended up using. I bought the pearl sugar at Surfas but am thinking of making my own next time from sugar cubes to be more enviro friendly. Using sugar imported from Belgium seems a bit extreme.

It was pretty time consuming but mostly from all the waiting. The result was VERY similar to the ones we ate from street vendors in Brussels and Bruges. We both took our first bites and looked at each other with wide glazed over eyes. I'm already looking in to buying a Liege waffle iron.

Oh! and we are on 2nd half of baby building. She must be like her Mum because she loved the waffles. Yes, we found out yesterday we are having a girl. A little bitty female. How amazing is that!? 20 weeks 5 days, Liege waffles and finding out we are getting our very own girl.

Yesterday was a very good day.

Trevi + Quinn's Wedding

Emotion like this can not be staged or "posed". Trevi, Quinn and family are the real deal. They were all happy. Really happy. Often when I meet new people and the "what do you do" conversation comes up and it ends with them wanting my website address and good intentions of looking up my work. I know that in a lot of cases, unless a business card was given, the web address is as good as gone. This time it was different.

Grant and I were vacationing in Kauai last November and were spending our last couple of days at a resort laying in a cabana sipping pina coladas. In the cabana next to ours the nicest couple was doing likewise activities. We started chatting and were really enjoying talking about family, life and our mutual love of the island. It ended with them gathering my website information and me thinking how nice it is when people ask even if they never look me up...BUT THEY DID!...and told their niece about me and 8mos later I was shooting Trevi's wedding in Santa Barbara! How amazing! To top it off they were one of the nicest, most genuine families. I felt like a cousin/niece/childhood neighbor by the end of the night. Their energy was infectious.

Trevi was named after the fountain in Rome. She is what her dad calls his "lucky charm".  I have no doubt that good fortune will follow her and her Quinn wherever they go.

Ceremony and Reception - Four Seasons Biltmore, Santa Barbara, California

Coordinated by- Central Coast Memory Makers

Quinn is a Writer/Director/Producer in LA and they had all these great movie quotes around the reception as well as an amazing grooms cake. Oh! and their dog was the ring bearer...such a great wedding. I could go on & on & on & on.........

We've Been Waiting For You...

Happy 1 week of breathing air Baby Boy Affleck!

After all the worry of missing you come, you ended up waiting for your Auntie Rach....well kind of. I missed your birth but only because you were born in about 2 seconds (felt like 2 sec. actual time..from 1st contraction to birth approx 1 hr 30min). And then you were here!!!!!

We're all obsessed, especially your mom and dad. I did a voice recording of them talking about what it was like to be parents on the day you were born. I can't wait for you to hear it.

I would like to book at least 30mins of holding you this weekend (if you can come up for air from your #1 favorite pastime..eating!!!)

(And to answer the question you're all asking....YES. That was the view from their hospital room. Oh, Newport Beach. You are really too much.)

*****UPDATE*****

His name is official and public knowledge now... Baby Boy = Cole. xxxooo.

The Dayton Family

When I think back on the best, most memorable moments from my life thus far, I'm never thinking about the fancy memories. You know, the ones that look good on paper. Instead I find myself thinking of the everyday. I think about my sisters and I all sleeping in the same bed just for fun. I think about car rides and my dad pulling over until we putonseatbelts/stoppedyelling/stoppedbuggingthepersonnexttous. I think of pink curlers in my hair and Anne of Green Gables on Saturday night. I think about hiding under the kitchen counter avoiding dishes. I think about lazy Sunday afternoons and staring at the view from the back porch. I think about snuggling and listening and talking and crying and just feeling feelings. I think about the normal everyday stuff...that in hindsight, feels pretty extraordinary.

When It's all said and done, those will be the moments I'll think back on. And 99% of them will be of my family.

When the idea was presented of flying to Buffalo NY and spending a few days documenting a family...well...just being a family, it wasn't hard to say yes.

I slept in their house and spent every waking moment with them and my camera. If they were eating breakfast I was there. If they were lazing around watching TV I was there.

Even though I pride myself on being a "documentary" photographer, this was no easy task. The challenge to see life as is and interject as little as possible is a challenge. No directing. No light control. No location control. Giving up all control to try and actually photograph WHAT IS.

It was an amazing exercise of faith on my part for two days. I had to trust "what was" and let it control me.

The result:

Dayton Family thank you for letting me be an honorary member.

When someone asks me to photograph their family...I will always hope they mean the "everyday".

There are a lot of images in this blog post on purpose. Sometimes editing too much just feels dishonest.

Lauren + Colin's Wedding

I commonly don't meet a bride and groom until their wedding day. You know...emailing, maybe a phone call but getting together face to face isn't usually necessary. I love to shoot engagements before the wedding day so they can get an idea of how I work and I can get an idea of how they work...but this doesn't always happen and that's OK. Because of this, it's always a little mysterious to what my couple will look like. What will the style of her dress be? Will they be affectionate  or shy? Loud or quiet? It's fun anticipating the unknown factors that will impact how I shoot and what I see. It's that unknown that keeps me loving shooting in natural light and shooting weddings. It's guerrilla style. You have to always be on your toes, re-metering, watching five things at once, being one step ahead of an emotional moment so you can grab it and expose it properly. Not the most relaxing way to shoot, let me tell you. OK, I'm getting off track..

Lauren and Colin were seconds from appearing for the first time and someone turned to me (a bridesmaid?) and said, " You are going to love photographing them. They are both tall and beautiful". Sure enough they emerged, both, all legs. Lauren immediately exuded a confidence and radiance that told me she isn't afraid of being in front of a camera and Colin had this grin...every time he looked at his new wife..a grin.

I looked, I observed and I started to shoot....for the next 8hrs.

Another great wedding and another day of sweating it out guerrilla style...because that's how I do.

Guess where these two went on their honeymoon?....Vietnam. Rad, right?

Lauren and Colin, thank you thank you thank you for letting us follow you around all day. You made it too easy.

Ceremony: Newport Beach Temple

Reception: Strawberry Farms in Irvine (Gorgeous venue).

Flower by: Design by Aubrey

17 Weeks

Here we are at Frenchman's Beach on Stradbroke Island,  Australia. What happens on Frenchman's stays on Frenchman's.........but I do have to say one of us came out of there looking really pregnant....

(Stradbroke Island had some of the most beautiful beaches I had ever seen and it was pretty much deserted while we were there. We spent the day on this white sand beach by ourselves. I was 17 weeks here and am now 19 weeks! We find out boy or girl any day now!)

Wedding Season 2010

So I am back from what feels like 3 solid months of traveling. Dave & Mel's wedding in Brisbane was shear brilliance. Photobooth photos above prove the level of fun we had. (How did we fit our 4 noggins in that tiny photobooth?!..and why am I hogging the whole frame?)

I'm home. Summer wedding season 2010 has reached it's end and I can't get any work done before I say a few things...

I feel so grateful.

I don't say it enough.

I feel emotional thinking of the friendships with clients we made this year and years before. I feel overwhelmed at the gift I have been given of the all important task of documenting so many formative moments.

Sure I'm exhausted. Sure at times I feel burned out. No, being a photographer is not easy or glamorous. It's hard work and takes a toll on you physically, emotionally and mentally. But as I spent this summer shooting weddings with a wee babe growing inside me, I felt immense gratitude at the opportunity I have to work for myself, CREATE and control to an extent the story of my life. I have changes rapidly approaching my life and lifestyle and I feel comfort in the fact that I have photography. I have a career I really really really love and care about. I have a career flexible enough to let me be a business woman, a wife and a mother. Sometimes I just don't feel deserving.

So many blessings that I can only hope to give back.

Thank you to my beautiful clients for supporting me and my work...and for trusting me.

I really do love all of you to the moon and back.

Any Day

I am so sure that I am halfway around the world and one of my tip-top girlfriends is due any day.

We tried to meditate on certain dates. She tried squatting, walking, running before I left but no deal.

I still have hope that the little guy is holding out for auntie rachel to be home before he arrives..BUT if his number is called and it's his turn to slide down the shoot, then there are people all over the world anticipating his arrival. xxoo.

Moop

(Images via Moop)

I had been eyeing these  Moop handmade bags for months and finally ordered these three beauties.

They arrived in perfect timing wrapped in brown paper with a handwritten note and are now joining me on my travels abroad.

I thought I loved them online but once I had them in my hands they were even better. So well made.

Thank you Moop!