Many more photos from the trip and weddings coming soon.

The other weekend, my sister called me to go with her and some friends to the rodeo last-minute because a friend would be riding the flags around the arena… Though I’m not sure how I feel about the rodeo, I never turn down the opportunity to do something new and different- especially when I can bring my camera along. I mostly went just to have fun with friends, but I also used it as an opportunity to practice photographing things in a different way.

I feel alive behind a camera. Being able to be creative and photograph things enhances any new experience for me, and the rodeo was so visually different from anything I’m used to seeing. Here are some of my favorite photos I got that day in which I had fun with anticipation and composition.

The closest I will ever get to having four bulls posing for my camera.

Apparently, this is what bulls look like when they are getting ready to charge… this was my last shot of this guy…

All the riders wore pink that night in support of breast cancer awareness.

There was a slip ‘n slide.

I hope you all had a great holiday weekend like I did!

At the start of 2010, I made it a goal to start and work on a personal photography project this year. While I absolutely love what I do for clients with weddings and portraits, I find it necessary to photograph just for myself sometimes in order to keep a fresh eye and to keep pushing the creativity in my work. I’ve always been the girl with the camera and frequently take photos on trips, at events with friends, at social gatherings… but I have never formally began an on-going personal photography project… before now.

In the past couple of months, I have photographed a couple of my friends in shoots that I considered “just for fun” at the time. This week, while working on a few edits from those informal shoots, I realized that I had began my personal photography project without even knowing it. The photos I took of these two great friends made me realize that I have captured images of parts of their personalities that only I can see, that these images are very personal and intimate, and portray them as they are through my eyes. The moment I realized that, I knew that these two shoots were the start of a project I want to continue, a series of portraits of people in my life… As Only I Can See Them.

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Meg

Meg is no stranger to this blog, she is a fellow photographer and one of my dearest and closest friends. We met living in the dorms our Freshman year of college, were roommates for about a year after college, began our businesses at about the same time, and have been through much, personally and professionally, together. About a month or so ago, Meg was back here in LA for a few days, so we decided to dedicate a few hours one day to taking portraits of each other. Our first priority was to just get creative and have fun, and maybe even take a few photos of each other to be used on our own Web sites. About an hour before we were about to get started, Meg was sitting on my couch when she received a phone call from her Mom that her Grandfather had passed away overnight. He had been ill for quite some time, so while it wasn’t entirely surprising, it was shocking and devastating. She cried. I tried to comfort her, but in times like those, words don’t carry much weight. After speaking more to her Mom and making a few phone calls, we sat there on the couch and talked. Her first instinct was to race home, but being five hours away and having a wedding here in LA the next day, that was out of the question. She would have to wait until the weekend was over to go home and be with family. Since we were all ready for the photo session, and because the alternative thing to do was sit in my apartment for the remainder of the day, she made the decision to carry on with the shoot we had planned.

I wasn’t going to tell that story when I originally decided to post the following images, but I know Meg really well, and these images don’t represent the everyday-Meg. There is something about them that feels different, and I know that is because of the news she received not two hours before these images were taken. I thought it was important to share that story because it gives context to the person who was in front of my camera that day. She was sad and in the beginning of the mourning process, but also thoughtful and grateful for her family. She was beautiful, as she always is, and she was just a little more vulnerable.

This is Meg, as only I can see her…

Happy Mother’s Day! I love you. So much.

• First thing’s first… I can’t surf. I tried. Really hard. I’ll try again one day, but for now I am still not a surfer.

• Time is insignificant in Costa Rica.

Meg and I learned day 1 of our trip that Costa Ricans pay little attention to time and are probably happier for it. When we got into our room at Villa Caletas, Meg needed to call the bride about where to meet up with her. Our phone didn’t work to call out so she called the front desk to inquire about getting it fixed. The lady on the other end was so nice and helpful, as all the staff there were, but she finished the conversation with “I’ll find out and call you back later.” Later. As if she’ll get around to it, but the exact time of response was insignificant. We both thought this was kind of funny and that maybe it was a language barrier thing. We soon realized it wasn’t… it’s just the way things are there. They aren’t consumed with time like we are here in the States. We live and breathe according to the ticking clock… they seem to be more leisurely. Clocks didn’t even exist in either of our hotel rooms we stayed in on our trip. Oh, how I wish that would fly here in LA.

• I can speak Spanish- like actually have real conversations beyond “¿donde estan los baños?”
I spent 4 years in high school and 1 semester in college learning Spanish. That was about 7 years ago, so I knew I would be able to get by with some of the Spanish I remembered, but I didn’t realize I would be able to have full on conversations with native speakers all in Spanish. I decided early on in the trip that I was going to try to speak only Spanish to the people I interacted with there…The first day or two were kind of bumpy, but then I started getting the hang of it and had the confidence to speak more and more. A few Costa Ricans even commented that I spoke Spanish well. Sweet! I got so into speaking Spanish with everyone that I was still saying “hola” and “gracias” for the first few days I was back in LA. A sincere thanks to Senor Peppy and Senora Rocca back in high school for the education.

• Pura Vida. When I lived in London, I remember hearing the term “Cheers” all over the place.. instead of saying “Thanks” frequently, and “You’re Welcome” (which apparently is so American it annoyed my co-worker at my internship there) they say “Cheers.” I loved it so much and was jealous that the British get such a fun, cheery phrase to insert into any exchange, while in America we really have no equivalent for daily conversation. There was just something about the word that made me instantly a little happier, something about it that felt so positive- a brief moment in an interpersonal exchange that reminded people to appreciate a moment in time and celebrate, minor as it was.

In preparing for my trip to Costa Rica, I had seen the phrase Pura Vida on Websites I visited, but had no clue what it meant. Thanks to my Spanish skills, I knew it translated to “pure life,” but I wasn’t comprehending why people were using it everywhere, and what it actually meant to Costa Rican culture. They use it sometimes to replace “thank you” or to respond to someone who thanks them. They use it to express gratitude for something specific or for something abstract. They use it as a constant reminder that they live in an amazing place and should celebrate that. Probably somewhere between day 2 and day 3 I fully realized the meaning of it, why it’s valuable, and how the phrase completely encapsulates why Costa Rica is one of the most amazing places I have ever visited.

Our second day in Manuel Antonio, we took surf lessons. David was my surf instructor, but Pablo was his buddy and business partner who was hanging out on the beach while I was trying desperately to stand up on my board without success. After a good solid hour of attempts, I finally got too tired and had to go back to shore. Being rocked by wave after wave will take it out of you pretty quickly. Pablo, Meg and Tim were sitting there and all tried to make me feel a little better about my attempts. I was visibly frustrated… I looked toward Pablo as he said: “At least you were out there trying. That’s good. You know, some people don’t have legs and they can’t even try that. Pura vida.” Pablo epitomizes pura vida and the concept of living positively… Because of this statement, I went back a few hours later to try again… still no luck.  But, I will try again sometime. Pura vida.

To celebrate this phrase and to remind myself of the feeling I had on this trip in this amazing place, I bought a cheesy sign from a roadside vendor in Manuel Antonio… it currently hangs in my kitchen and makes me feel happy. Pura vida. 

Now onto the photos!

Driving from the airport…

View from Villa Caletas. Our first destination and the place where the wedding was held. (This place was fantastic! The staff were the kindest, most helpful people I’ve ever met and truly made our experience there perfect. Highly recommend it if you’re looking for an amazing place to stay. Plus, the views are insane.)

Hanging out at the most amazing pool and so thankful for this experience.

After the wedding, we headed south to a town called Manuel Antonio for a few days of exploring the rain forest and and the white sand beaches. Such a fun place!

We stayed at this place called La Posada, a boutique hotel with a great vibe… I highly recommend it. Mike is the owner and is just a great, fun guy. If you ever go to Manuel Antonio and want to stay in a great place with a lot of character and steps from the National Park, stay there! And go to the weekly dinners at Dos Locos and La Hacienda with the crew from the hotel… so fun. And, please tell Mike hello for me… I’ll be going back one of these days!

This is Nina. She kind of adopted La Posada as a place to hang out with the tourists…

These Capuchin or white-faced monkeys hang out all over Manuel Antonio. We saw these on the beach inside the park… they’ve got such personality.

Our guide Coco.

I will definitely be visiting this place again… hopefully sooner than later!

¡Pura Vida!

I’m here because I helped my great friend Meg Perotti shoot a wedding yesterday. It was beautiful and took place in one of the most amazing locations I have ever seen in person. Seriously? This is real?? And it’s my job??? The past couple of days have just been so amazing… spending time with a great group of people here for the wedding, relaxing a little by the pool, and getting to look at this view all day… I have spent a lot of time focusing on what an incredible opportunity this has been and feel very fortunate to have been asked to be here. I am so, so grateful and will write more about that gratitude in a later post. Experiences like this truly make me realize that life is incredibly good and leave me changed as a person.

I am so looking forward to sharing more about this trip soon! Until then, I have a couple more days to explore the rainforest and beaches of Costa Rica - ¡Pura Vida!

P.S. – I apologize if you’ve emailed me, but Internet access is less stable in locations like these than they are back in the highly networked land of Los Angeles. I will be returning all email by early next week.

Knowing who I am is important to me. Knowing who I want to be is also important. I’m constantly striving to grow and adapt and improve so that the former becomes the latter- and that constant drive for personal growth is what truly inspires me on a daily basis in all aspects of my life. My experience during these past few days at WPPI have truly helped me to more fully embrace that philosophy and not only allow, but encourage it to spill over into my work. I have learned to embrace the change in myself that I feel daily and let that manifest visually in my photographs… and I feel very good about that.

To all the photographers I was able to reconnect with and meet over the past three days: This year at WPPI was phenomenal for me because of you. I am coming home this year feeling extra lucky that I am part of such a great industry where socializing with one another is such a fun, interesting, educational and inspiring experience! That is pretty unique to our industry, and my gratitude for that grows everyday. At the risk of sounding sappy, if I was given the opportunity to talk to you for even a few minutes in Vegas, you helped to shape my experience there and for that I am grateful because it was exceptionally positive. For those of you I spent more time with, I am especially grateful for you for the conversation, the insight, the inspiration, and most importantly the friendship. I look forward to these relationships continuing to build over the next weeks, months and years.

I cannot wait for next year to do it all over again!

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Note: I will be traveling for the next week and will have limited Internet and email access. I so appreciate your patience in waiting for a response should you try to contact me while I am away!

I love modern and simple logos contrasted with fun colors and fun imagery– I think this look feels like me. That’s my goal; to create my own little space on the World Wide Web that looks and feels like me so that people who visit, including everyone from fellow photographers and blog perusers to potential clients, get a glimpse of who I am in addition to the work I do.

I designed the logo and created the visual concept for the blog. A very talented and awesome programmer named Pete Medina made my visual concept a functional reality. He is super fantastic, so great to work with, and I highly recommend him to anyone who wants a custom blog. Contact him for more information.

I used Showit to design my main site- and love it for the fact that I can create a site on my own and change  and update it whenever I want. I want the control and I also want the freedom of not feeling locked in to a certain design or layout. There are still some minor changes that will be made, and because I’m one that likes to continually improve and change little by little, I think that will always be the case. I hope you like what you see here, and I truly hope that you can better see who I am.

In other news, one of the biggest events of the entire year for international wedding and portrait photographers is about to commence in Vegas! WPPI is a mixed experience of photography education (for both creative and business aspects) and a huge social extravaganza. This will be my 4th time attending the convention, and each time I have come home inspired, exhausted, and with many new friends. If you’re a photographer, I really encourage you to attend for yourself! It is an experience for people in our industry like no other… I’m not sure I’m mentally prepared for it yet since I’ve been so busy, but I’m so excited for the experience this year!

If you are a photographer attending WPPI this year and you’re reading this, it would be fun to get together as I always love meeting new people! You can email me, leave a comment here, or just find me on Twitter. Or, maybe I’ll just run into you on the tradeshow floor or at one of the many parties that will be happening. Make sure to say hi if you see me around!

Finally, I have a great engagement session to post very soon. Until I post the full session, here’s a Sneak Peek…

Happy Thursday, everyone!

Our first day of exploring the city, it was snowing- the whole day. What an awesome way to experience New York for the first time! I loved it! And Meg loved it, too…. until the snow started soaking into her leather boots.

One of two photos we have of the both of us the whole trip. But, we have lots of photos of each other.

We ducked into a cafe for a latte and quick breakfast…

Spent a lot of time on the subway trying to navigate the city… I’m so proud of how well we did! (Random story: I randomly ran into a great high school friend of mine on the subway on our last day! What a small, small world!)

We started day two by heading down to see the Brooklyn Bridge.

Then we headed to Soho to grab lunch with Punam Bean, a wonderful New York photographer. Special thanks to her for taking the photo on the left! The second photo Meg and I have of both of us.

Then we headed uptown to see Grand Central Station and all the other sights up that way.

It happened to be New York Fashion Week the week we were there, so we headed to Bryant Park to check out what was going on. There was really nothing going on at that moment, but I did get this cute photo of Meg before we left for Central Park.

We passed Saks 5th Avenue on the way…

Central Park- covered in snow… magical.

The last day in New York, we went down to Battery Park to see the Statue of Liberty… she looked so small. I asked Meg to grab a photo of me with my camera- because I was a tourist, afterall! She got this and I just love the feel of it.

I had such a great time, and am really looking forward to go back there soon!