A Pleasant Surprise

Last week, I started at a new job.

New jobs are always exciting, nerve-racking, and full of the unknown.  And I have (or should I say feel) all of these.   But I also feel hope, and I know this is a good change.

Change is an interesting thing. It occurs all around us, it happens to us, and we are confronted with it whether we ask for it or not.  Businesses face the challenge of driving change, and given the very individual and personal reactions we each have to change, corporate change seems darn near impossible sometimes.

When I arrived at my new job, I was asked to read a book about change. Ugh. A homework assignment!? A book about change, really!?

But I read it. And I was pleasantly surprised.

It was light, refreshing, and true.  I have always considered myself someone who rolls with the punches and is an agent of change, but sometimes we all need a good reminder :)

Here are some of the quotes that were in the book and that I hope inspire you to think as they did for me.

“Everything is in a state of flux, even the status quo.”  - Robert Byrne

“We can’t wait for the storm to blow over; we’ve got to learn to work in the rain.”  - Pete Silas

“Things are more like they are now than they have ever been before.”  - Dwight D. Eisenhower

“In a fight between you and the world, bet on the world.”    - Franz Kafka

“Whenever he thought about it he felt terrible. And so, at last, he came to a fateful decision. He decided not to think about it.”   –  Peter McWilliams

“Never become irritable waiting for things to get better. If you’ll be patient, you’ll find that you can wait much faster.”  - Unknown

“Some luck lies in not getting what you thought you wanted but getting what you have, which once have got it you may be smart enough to see is what you would have wanted had you known.”  - Garrison Keillor

“If you have always done it that way, it is probably wrong.”  - Charles Kettering

“Faced with the choice of changing ones mind and proving that there is no need to do so, almost everybody gets busy on the proof.”  - John Kenneth Galbraith

“Things will get better – despite our efforts to improve them.”  - Will Rogers

“There is very little difference in people. But that little difference makes a big difference. The little difference is attitude. The big difference is whether it is positive or negative.”   - W. Clement Stone

“Pick battles big enough to matter, small enough to win.”   - Jonathan Kozol

“As you’re the only one you can really change, the only one who can really use all your good advice is yourself.”   - John-Roger and Peter McWilliams

“The trouble with the future is that it usually arrives before we’re ready for it.”  - Arnold H. Glasow

“Our problems are mostly behind us – what we have to do now is fight the solutions.”  - Stults’s Situation Report

For some reason I find this image fitting.  This is an image I took over the weekend of Scott’s congratulatory MCAT balloon floating off into space.

Happy Thursday!

Kristina & Austen | Manhattan Beach Photo Sesh

As most of you know, I have started my journey as an aspiring photographer, and it has been an eye-opening experience (to say the least!).

When I had my epiphany, my understanding of what it truly means to be a photographer was naïve and only scratched the surface. I slowly began to peel back the layers of my new found onion and realized that there is so much more to merely picking up a nice camera and creating a great image. Whoa, like a WHOLE lot more! :)

One of the things I hadn’t really thought about, and one of the elements of being a photographer that I am finding to be the most important, is directing the subjects of your photo.  At work, I can delegate tasks, follow-up, make sure things get executed, no problem…done and done.  However, in the instants that pass when working with my “models” I freeze, I feel unsure, and I doubt myself.  To combat this, I decided the best way was head on…practice.  Now, the tricky part became, who to practice with? I needed real couples, real groups of people who would most emulate a real working photography environment.  So, I did the only thing that seemed to make sense.  I e-mailed my friends :) I received such a wonderful response, and this weekend I had the pleasure of shooting Kristina in Austen in Manhattan Beach. Of course, the one day we have to shoot the weather is on the fritz, but we managed to nail the timing somehow and avoided the down pour (barely) :)

Thank you Kristina and Austen for being so much fun to work with :)

Thanks again Kristina and Austen! You guys rocked it out!!! :)

Happy Sunday!

Published in Ceremony Magazine

Such exciting news! (That I am a little late in sharing :)

Our wedding, photographed by the amazing Jeffrey Neal, was just published in Ceremony Magazine.  How cool is that!?!?

Scott and I never dreamed that our wedding would be chosen as inspiration for future couples about to enjoy (and sometimes pull their hair out during) one of the most memorable and exciting times in their lives :) It is such an honor and a privilege to have been chosen to be in this publication, and we will be forever grateful.

A big thank you to Ceremony Magazine and, of course, the wonderful Jeffrey Neal. He captured our day beautifully and has given us such a timeless way to share our story.

And also, a thank you to someone left out of the published credits, my mom. :) Without her, our vision would not have come to life and been the event that exceeded even our imaginations.  She was the best wedding planner a girl could have asked for, and I was and still am, so appreciative of all the love and time she put into making our big day so special. Thank you, Mom.  I love you!

So, without further ado…

Happy Saturday!

The JNP Studios Orange County Photography Workshop w/ Photogen Inc. = Awesome!

So, yesterday I had the privilege of attending the JNP Studios workshop hosted by Jeffrey Neal…who rocks, by the way! Jeffrey and his dear friend Eliesa (who is fabulous!) of Photogen Inc rocked the workshop with great insight into the world of wedding photography.

They shared the lessons they have learned from their own experiences and the many trials and tribulations of running a successful photography business. I am so thankful for their openness and willingness to share. I will be forever grateful :)

As part of the workshop, we were able to take pictures of models and real life, lovey-dovey couples.  My group and I had the privilege of working with Christy and Jared who were so patient, warm, and a whole lot of fun!

Thank you to Christy and Jared for rocking it out! Wishing you all the best and have an awesome July wedding….which I know will be amazing! :) Here are some of my favorite images of the couple that I snagged…enjoy!

A BIG thank you to everyone who was a part of yesterday.

You have inspired me.

And I am grateful :)

Happy Tuesday!

My sister, the rockstar artist

For our wedding gift, my sister gave Scott and I a painting.  A painting that she painted.  And it is beautiful. 

It hangs in our family room above our “kitchen table” (when you see the pic below you will understand and yes, that is where we eat :) We love it! We were so moved by her thoughtfulness and talent.  It is such a wonderful piece to look at everyday and be reminded of all the love in our life.

So, today I want to give a little a little shout out to my amazingly talented sister, Lindsey.  Love you Nugget! Thanks so much!

I introduce you to “Unicylce Chirp”…..

Holla!

Happy Friday!

A Series of Choices

As we enter into a new year, and a new decade (holy cow!), I find myself, as many do, reflecting on how far I have come, where I am going, and where I want to go.

A new year is often a time of much reflection and resolution, but for some reason this year, I find myself thinking more generally about the past and present.  Why I am where I am today. Why any of us are where we are, really.  And as my mom always taught me, life is about choice and consequence. So, we are all, in effect, the product of the collection of our choices.

Granted, we are handed certain cards based on genes and our early years are influenced by the choices of parents/environment; however, your life is, my life is, the culmination of MY choices.  It’s quite interesting, I think, when you really get down to it.  The seemingly small choices about what to eat for breakfast, what to wear, who to say ‘hi’ to when you pass someone on the street, all influence the person you are.  And, of course, there are the bigger choices about where you live, the people you associate with, your job, and on and on, that we make stronger connections to their direct influence. But all of our choices are connected.

The thing that really strikes me though, is that at the end of the day we are all accountable for ourselves and to ourselves, no one else.  We are the driver of our lives and cannot cast blame or obligation on others.  I mean if you think about it, obligation is really choosing to do something because you don’t want to deal with the consequence of not doing it.  When in fact, you do have a choice. You just choose not to deal with a potentially less ideal outcome.

Anyways, everyone is creating their own path…their own series of choices.  It really is a cool thing when you think about the power of a choice.

Be mindful of your choices and their consequences. Choose the life you see fit :)

And because posts are more fun with photos… :)…here is a picture I took with my new Fuji Instax 210 over the weekend. I LOVE this camera. Anyways, this picture seems to kind of fit the sentiment of this post for some reason. Enjoy!

Happy Monday!

{Local Love} Please vote for our wedding!

Hello Everyone! Scott and I, well our wedding actually :), is nominted in the LAStyleUnveiled‘s Local Love Wedding Contest. It is such an honor to be a part of this great contest and there are so many wonderful weddings, but it would be super duper awesome to WIN! :) Please click here to vote for our wedding. Thank you!

Tomorrow, JAUNARY 7th, is the last day to vote so please vote today and ask your friends to vote too :)

Happy Wednesday!

All wedding images photographed by JNPStudios

Happy New Year!

Hey Everyone!

I’m back from what can only be described as a holiday hiatus :)

I just love the holiday season.  It is a time for family, friends, and being grateful.

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season and rang in the new year with a bang!

Happy Holidays from Yours Truly, my handsome hubby, and Abby :)

P.S. This snazzy holiday card was made in iPhoto…Love :)

I’ll be back to my more regular posts soon!

Happy New Year and Happy Friday!!!

Lady Danville Shirts are Sexy

That’s right. Sexy.

A guitar.

A cajon.

A keyboard.

A tree!

How could you go wrong!? Exactly, you can’t :)

And this past Saturday I had the pleasure of shooting my friend(s)??…not sure of the proper grammar here because Lady Danville is singular, but then there are three members, all of whom are my friends…aaaannnnyways…Lady Danville’s tree clade merchandise for their online merch store.  I was so excited when they asked me if I would do the shoot for them.  Like a little kid in a candy store I was overwhelmed, thrilled, and wanted to make sure I got the perfect piece of candy.  I wanted to get the perfect picture for my friends.

And so began what would be a perfectly rainy, and cold, shoot. :) On Saturday morning, Dan and Michael from Lady Danville, my dear friends Alex and Ting-Ting, my little sisters, and my handsome hubby all gathered at our house to meet for our photography adventure. Everyone changed into their Lady Danville T’s, accessorized appropriately, and then braved the rain to make this shoot happen. With all of our busy lives, sometimes a rainy day is the best day. :) So, we made it work.

Dan and Mike took turns holding an umbrella over me because I was terrified I would get my camera wet, and the lovely models pretended the goosebumps were fleeting, the rain light, and the wind, but a whisper.  Ok, I may be making this sound worse then it was.  Well, it was bad weather, but it was a whole lot of fun! And despite the freezing LA weather (that’s right it was like 60!) and the torrential down pour (at one point this was definitely true) I think we got some pretty cool shots.

Here are a few of my favorites.

Thank you Lady Danville for asking me to be your photographer :) You guys rock! And your shirts are sexy.

Lady Danville Blog and Myspace

Happy Wednesday!

Bonus shot:

And then my sisters remembered how much they enjoy playing in the rain :)

Fiesta Hanukkah at Skirball = Sunday Funday

This past Sunday I had the pleasure of shooting for the Skirball Cultural Museum’s Fiesta Hanukkah.  My dear friend Alex asked me tag along for the day and take pictures for the museum.  I am so grateful to her for providing me with such a wonderful opportunity to continue to grow as a photographer.  It was a beautiful event and I had such a wonderful time!

As I wondered around the lush grounds of Skirball I truly felt like a photographer, my fumble fingers trying to get the focus right and all.  :)   On Sunday,  I was a photographer.  I  was invested in capturing the sincere, and heart-felt moments of the day that would depict the sentiment of the event accurately for anyone who did not attend.

I am once again inspired.  I am committed to this journey and looking forward to where it continues to take me.

Here are some of my favorites from the day.

Happy Thursday!