Roadtrip: Day 5

SEATTLE!!!!!

Can it be that we've finally arrived? These two little birds have landed and we are sooooooooo happy to not be in a moving vehicle for a change! Also you can all take a nice deep exhale and let go of all that worry you had for us! We've arrived, we're safe, we're tired and we're happy!

We're now officially in Pacific time, though my body is definitely still on EST. We were greeted by my very wonderful friend Kira who is letting us stay with her. Even though we're nice and comfy in Kira's cute apartment, Serena and I are both really pushing to find an apartment ASAP. I can't wait to be able to unpack the car, unpack my clothes, unpack my life!

About our day.... Missoula, MT (where we were last night) was a really cute and wonderful town. We drove briefly through "main street" and both agreed that we wish we had more time to explore the downtown area. I didn't think any town in Montana would appeal to me in any way, but this little place was really wonderful. If for some reason I find my way back to Montana, I would like to stay here for a few days. From MT, we went through a little blip of the northern part of Idaho and then before we knew it, Washington state! It was really bizarre to be in "traffic" again after miles and miles of nothing, but Spokane, WA gave us our first preview of city in a few days. It was both refreshing and a bit of a shock to our systems. We stopped for gas somewhere between the drive from Spokane to Seattle and found a store that had fresh fruits for sale. The peaches and pears looked amazing so we grabbed a little box of those. I had one in the car, delicious! I hope this is a nice preview of the kind of fresh food we have to look forward to in Washington.

And then about 2 hours later, we were in Seattle. It feels so amazing to be here after having thought about being here for months and months. It's quite bizarre but we're both grateful to be safe and sound.

Thank you all for following us through this journey and for taking this journey with us! I hope enjoyed getting a peek into what life has been like on the road for the past 5 days. I hope you all get a chance to see the country the way we did this week. It was at times monotonous and without any signs of life, but it was always peaceful, breathtaking and majestic and something worth seeing.

Here are the last pictures from our journey. In the future, I'll be posting pictures from my explorations around Seattle and from all my latest shoots!

Headshot Session: Stephanie G. (chin up!)

Last Saturday I spent a few hours with the very lovely and energetic Stephanie G.. Vivacious, talented, full of energy and those green eyes.... Yes! (It’s always tortured me that my own eyes are plain ol’ brown – I love clients with eyes full of color that soak in the sun!).

Steph brought along her guitar for a few of the shots and they were my far my favorite ones from the day. Possibly the most wonderful thing about my time with Steph was working with someone who so very clearly knew the ‘looks’ she wanted for the shoot. As soon as I held that camera up, she was on point and ready (but I did set the record for number of times saying “chin up!” lol). We had some ominous cloudy weather that afternoon, but the light ended up being wonderful and we had a lot of fun on the shoot. 

 

Isabel + Dave: (a very) New York Engagement Shoot

About a week ago I had the pleasure of spending an evening taking pictures for a fantastic couple. I love people who know how to laugh and have a good time, and these guys are experts at both! Isabel and Dave are getting married next summer in California but wanted engagement pictures done in New York - both places are so important for each of them, and a shoot in the city it seemed a perfect way to honor the city where they first met. We kicked off the fun in Central Park before moving to the very picturesque Brooklyn Heights Promenade where the sunset was spectacular! The day was a fantastic mix of laughter, love and a little adventure - just the way I like all my shoots to be.

Anytime Shoot: Mary R.

Oh, Mary!

Full disclosure: this pretty lady is one of my dearest friends in all the world. She has been a guiding voice of reason and strength since I've known her and continuously believes in me and my madness even from my wee days. We love brunching, discovering new restaurants and Shakespeare-ing in the park in the summertime. We also love a good beach adventure, who doesn’t? When she asked if I could take some portraits of her to use for various business/professional reasons I was beyond excited.

So in our usual fantastic way, we explored downtown soho where we had this shoot and of course had a few adventures along the way. Including getting rained on when it wasn’t raining (we hope it was rain...), changing in strange empty restaurants, changing on the streets (!), etc. So much fun. Mary was patient with my crazy direction giving and positioning and we chased that sun until there was no more light left in the day. All in all, a perfect way to spend a Monday night.

Headshots: Frank V.

Alright folks, enough of that Seattle excitement. Now back to our regular posting sessions!

I had a cool headshot session with Frank V. a few weeks ago. We battled something like 97º heat and it was rough! Whenever we found a spot with the breeze, it felt like heaven. Despite the heat, the light was fantastic and we walked away with some great shots! Enjoy!!

Headshots: Ashley B. (and the shoot that almost wasn't)

The scene before this shoot: me, sitting at my kitchen table, head down, shaking with a fever and sweating bullets. the reason: sick, sick, sick.

I dedicate this entry to the healing powers of Theraflu Daytime Cold & Cough, for which this shoot would not have been possible. Oh, and of course the healing powers of soup. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

I rarely get sick, but when I do, its like I've won the sick lottery. I get everything. under. the. sun. Sore throat? check. Ear infection? check. Watery eyes? check. Upper Respiratory Infection? check. Sinusitis? check check. (I'll spare you the rest of my suffering). 2 hours before my shoot with Ashley, all these things hit me in the face. Uh oh. (there is a happy ending to this tale.)

After taking so many OTC meds it would make a doctor blush, I was off to the shoot. Chugging water and hot tea, I was trying everything I could to just make it through these few hours.

By the time I met Ashley, I was feeling soooo much better, thank God. On top of that good news, I was so incredibly blessed to have gotten Ashley for this particular shoot when my energy levels were way down. She was an absolute natural in front of the camera and made my job so much easier! And the girl has no bad angles. None at all. Don't exist. Amazing! She brought so much light and energy into every shot.... I was so so so spoiled with her! (Sorry, Ashley, for gushing about you the entire shoot and now into this blog! But, umm hello, the world must know how fantastic you are!)

And now introducing the radiant, gorgeous, hilarious, sassy, and talented Ashley B.! Seriously, watch out for this one... it's only a matter of time before she makes it big time.

Headshots: Brian M. (with a twinkle in his eye)

The oh so wonderful Brian M. has been a friend of mine for almost 3 years and every time I see him I love him a little more. Who could blame me either - wait till you see those green eyes!

Due to the general hectic-ness of our lives, we had a "half" shoot last summer, and there were high hopes for meeting soon after to finish up, but the reality of our schedules made this impossible. So when he and I finally had some time open on the same day at the same time, we jumped on the chance to finish what we had started last year. And wouldn't you know... as I was on my way to our meeting spot it started to rain! Aaaahh!!

Ten minutes and a few choice curses later... the sun came out. Never a dull day, folks.

For this shoot we hit up my usual fave Soho location, then opted for moving a bit north into Chelsea where the lighting and locations proved to be absolutely delicious! We conquered dehydration, drunks, crazies(!!) and changing in public and it was so worth it! And I got that twinkle in your eye, huh B? ;)

And now introducing the always wonderful, forever hilarious and insanely talented, Brian M.!

ps. check back Thursday or Friday for some gorgeous shots of the smart, sassy, hilarious and beautiful Emily G.!

Heather G.: Headshots and Haircuts.

I shot with the very adorable Heather almost exactly a year ago from our most recent shoot. She was new to New York, and excited for a new adventure. I couldn't help but be a little fearful that she was so excited to be living in a city that has a tendency to beat you down a little. I decided not to mention it and let the growth that happens when you live here happen organically to her as it had happened to me. I knew she would go far and use that powerful smile of hers to put up some good fights. Oh, and of course we had an amazing amount of fun on that first shoot.

One year later we met again. Heather had gotten a new haircut that was drastic enough to warrant needing new shots. I was so happy to be the one she called! One of the biggest compliments I can ever get is being asked to work with someone again. This means they liked me and their pictures enough the first time that they only wanted to work with me again. Milka what?? I am absolutely honored when this happens! So we met in Soho, my current favorite place to shoot, and got going. As the conversation went on I knew that she had grown tremendously in that year. While still in love with New York, she had experienced how trying life here can be – she was still wearing that smile though! "Ah yes, I have so been there", I said to her.

Which brings me to a quick point... I applaud anyone who has come to this city as a transplant and made it in any capacity whatsoever. You won a battle by doing so. I mean that literally - a battle was fought, and you came out the winner. Living here is hard and it tests tremendously. There are days you are forced to stop and think, "why am I putting myself through this?". But if you stay another day, another week, another month or year, and let yourself grow a little more and be tested a little more - the changes you see in yourself are well worth the fight. Phew... I digress...

And now introducing (for a second time), the very fab Heather G.!

A July stroll through Soho

We had an 'early dismissal' (as I like to call it) from work today, it being a holiday weekend and all. I strolled out of the office at 3pm, ready to head to the train and make my way home. But somehow the beautiful day and the hustle of soho at 3pm in the afternoon carried me off and I ended up walking for a few hours instead. Walking in the city = an absolutely delicious new york activity.

Today is one of those perfect new york days that I'm always gushing about. I'm trying to savor every single moment of it because starting tomorrow we're back to a balmy 95º in the shade with humidity that my hair in no way agrees with. July is here with a vengeance, folks!

I'm sitting in my cool and breezy living room enjoying some ice water and ice cream (I have a weakness) and blogging. It's been a few weeks since I've had a TV – I'm taking a mental health break from television. For the past two years it was wake up, turn on the TV, come home, turn on the TV and leave it on until I go to bed. A tv-centric existence is no way to do it. It's taken a few weeks but I'm getting more used to the quiet. By more used to, I really mean less afraid. I was hearing sounds that just weren't there and that was the really terrifying bit of it.

Here are some shots of my afternoon in Soho. On the agenda for the rest of the evening is more water, more ice cream and lots of reading. :)