Move to London?

Wow, that's a question isn't it? Don't get too excited for me, though. That's just what my computer asked when I wanted to move photos from my camera to a folder I had just created. You know, that folder. The one I made to hold the photos from MY TRIP TO LONDON. LONDON.

LOOOOOOOOONDOOOOOOON!

I'm the luckiest girl in the world and don't I know it! Ben had scheduled a trip "across the pond" and he asked me to come with. Of course I said no, but he twisted my arm. It was whirlwind of a trip so I can only offer you a whirlwind tour. Ready?

The Digs

Our logistic needs made it necessary for us to stay right in the middle of everything. We were forced to lodge at the super swanky Royal Horseguards Hotel. Oh Internet, I kid you not; there were doormen in top hats, chandeliers, afternoon tea, and amazing views. Check it.

The Fare

Let me start with three words: Deep. Fried. Brie. That's what I ordered for my very first meal in London. It was delightful in every way you are currently imagining; especially with the sweet onion chutney. But not as good as the sticky toffee pudding served with vanilla bean ice cream. Mmmm. I also discovered a taste for Pimms and Fuller's Honey Dew beer (not at the same time. ew.)

The Sights

Besides all the gorgeous architecture there is, obviously, a lot to see in London. We managed to spot the Eye, stroll past Buckingham Palace, tour the Tower of London with a side of London Bridge, be awed by Westminster Abby and Big Ben, and stop in both The National Gallery and the British Museum. And did I mention Scotland Yard was directly across the street? My photos barely do anything to show off the beauty of these places. I'm not actually sure a professional photographer could really capture them, though. They are all that amazing.

The Shopping

Sure there's plenty of culture and history and acts of foreign diplomacy (or something) but there is also an amazeballs selection of stores that demand attention. My budget was small, but I managed to buy a flirty Karen Millen dress that makes my body look like it was Photoshopped for the cover of Elle. I also spent some time in the oldest department store in London. Perhaps you know about Liberty? Yes, the Liberty of London.

The Charm

The attention to detail and sense of pride all over the city was awe-inspiring. Everything, everything, in London was so clean. Okay, the pay toilets were lacking, but I only had to resort to those once. Elsewhere, the woodwork looked freshly waxed and polished, and the flower boxes were pruned. Row after row of shops had arresting window displays while patisseries displayed frosted flaky goodness in shining glass cases. Even the post office boxes and trash receptacles were charming.

Our four day jaunt in London was both more than I could have hoped and nowhere near enough. All too soon it was time to leave.

Good-bye, London! I miss you already.

For every girl, a garter

This week I got the best e-mail ever. Want to know what qualifies as a best e-mail? One with pictures of an NPJ bride. Wearing her original NPJ garter! At her St. Patrick's Day wedding! Seriously, you guys, I might use up my weekly quota of exclamation points in this one post.

I know you understand, though, because you cannot look at this couple and not be excited. Sarah and Chris tied the knot, literally, on St. Patrick's day. Because they are just awesome like that.

Amazing wedding photography by Mozingo Photography.

I know, right?! They exude joy!  And that isn't even the half of it.  Just look at how her sapphire eyes sparkle against that red hair.  When I was a little girl I'd call it monarch butterfly hair and ask my mom every day if I could dye my stupid blonde locks. And that headpiece!

Genius bridal portraits by Mozingo Photography

Sarah contacted me in February about making her wedding garter.  I knew we'd get along just fine because she started her message with my four favorite words; "I love this garter!" She was referring to my Golden Years garter.

I really shouldn't put my own photos in the same post as a professional photographer's.

When I made this garter I knew it was only going to appeal to certain type of girl. Luckily, Sarah came along, and she is the very best type of girl. And she requested a toss garter.

So I made fair Sarah a toss garter and described it thusly. (That's right, I just threw a"thusly" in there.)

I don't actually know Sarah - I mean we've never met - but I think she might be a wood sprite. She asked me to make a toss garter. Something simple, she said, with ivory and amber, brown and olive green. Can you imagine an early spring wedding with golds, browns, and greens? It sounds like a dance of the druids, of dusk in the hollow, of woodland dreams come true!

I happily designed my secret elf bride and creamy, dreamy, band of ivory dupioni. I added lush olive green satin leaves with just a hint of gold, and a vintage beaded earring shimmering with the tawny shades of the earth.

Sarah responded enthusiastically and confessed that yes, she was rather woodland. I just knew she and I were meant to be, but she decided to go ahead and marry that Chris fellow.

I cried for a bit, but my mourning turned to tears of joy when Mr. and Mrs. Chris Pressley sent me these most lovely photos taken by the talented Michael and Meriah Mozingo.
 

 

 Chris and Sarah, you look positively exuberant!  I trust your happy wedding is only a sign of the many joyful years ahead of you. Thank you so much for allowing me to be a small part of that loving and lasting happiness. Best wishes to you both.

Very truly yours,
J-

As far as I'm concerned, today is Mother's Day

My mommy is in town! I love that woman. She's just so...so. There is no one word; I just love that woman.  In honor of her [being here to put up with me for five days I've assembled a few mother-daughter favorites.

Card from Spiffy Little Things

via Whateverishly

via All That Marina Dreams

doodle print by Artsyville

via Going Glam with Gigi

I think that pretty much sums it up. Now go call your mothers.

We just clicked

You guys might remember me sending you to check out a Tooling Around interview I did with Suzannah of Adventures in Dressmaking.   Well, Suzannah is a doll, but this post isn't about her. Because of her, though, I was introduced to the awesome talent that is Becky Nerpal.

How could you not want this woman to take your picture?

Who does a photographer trust when it comes to her own head shots? Becky relies on the talents of Levy Moroshan

Between running Studio 623 and running after her two toddlers, Becky fit in some time to answer a few questions about the pretty way she captures life.

1. Your bio touches on your high school photography class.  What other classes, books, life experiences have you used to augment what seems to be a natural talent?
I own a few books on photography and religiously follow blogs, magazines, etc. for inspiration, helpful hints, and the occasional tutorial. I took an online class in Photoshop when I first purchased the software and know the manuals for each of my cameras inside and out. The more years I have under my belt as a photographer the more experiences I have to draw from. The rest is instinct, natural talent, whatever you prefer to call it :) 

2. While your portfolio shows a mixture of indoor and outdoor photo sessions you seem to favor the outdoors.  Can you tell me the pros and cons of shooting indoors? Outdoors?

I don't know that I prefer one over the other; the location of my shoots tends to depend on client requests and outdoors doing real life activities is IN right now! Here in Oregon, the obvious pro of being outdoors it the variety of beautiful scenery! Outdoors is less predictable as far as lighting, weather, and other variables. Indoors is popular for boudoir, maternity and newborn photography, or for anyone who is looking for a traditional portrait style. Indoors is obviously much more predictable and it's easier to control the lighting; the con is that the variety is slightly more limited for say, senior or family photos. 

Outdoor engagement shoot with Beth Clementson and Drew Skoglund. Please click on the image to see more of Becky's work with couples.

3. A lot of photographers list their equipment.  I don't know anything about what makes a good camera so tell me why should I care what equipment you use, and, while we are on the subject, what do you use?
This is an interesting question and one I've thought a lot about lately. I shot award winning photos with my first digital camera; a $150 Sony point and shoot. I started upgrading when I became limited by my camera. In other words, when what I saw with my eyes and imagined in my mind couldn't be captured or reproduced with that camera. Today I shoot with my Canon 5D Mark II and either a 70-200L, 28-105L, or 50mm 1.2 lenses. I have a lens for every application and a camera that allows me to shoot in very low/creative light situations. People looking to hire a photographer should care about equipment, although equipment doesn't define a photographer. 

4. Talk to me about making the transition from waterfalls and flowers to people and portraits.

Taking photographs of flowers and waterfalls was pleasing to me, and to people who I gifted those prints, but I really got hooked when the outcome of my first Senior Photo session was a teenage girl who felt AWESOME, CONFIDENT and beyond happy with her images.

This was the first, but for more of Becky's portrait work please visit her website.

 By the way, I'm taking that same girl's maternity and newborn sessions this spring :) 

5. What five words best describe your style/approach to photography?

Relaxed

Authentic

Flexible

Sensitive

Enthusiastic

6.Unfortunately, weddings cannot be rescheduled when the lighting is bad and brides will insist on being married in hard-to-shoot buildings. How do you make good photos when you are in a bad location or lighting situation?

This is where auxiliary lighting comes in. Soft boxes, bounce flashes, transmitters all work wonders at making dark rooms look naturally lit. I think I thrive on hard to shoot locations. It is a challenge to me to quickly pinpoint areas that will work, and create fixes for areas that are out of my control (mottled light right on the alter). 

7. Not all clients are creative and few perform well in front of a camera. How do you manage your clients' expectations and/or encourage them to think outside of the box when working with you.

I do a lot of demonstration, which has the added benefit of looking (I imagine) so completely ridiculous that my clients loosen up and laugh a little. I usually give very basic instructions or create a scenario and then make minor adjustments to the "pose" from there. I make every effort to have poses look natural. If something looks forced or awkward, we move on. 

Outdoor engagement shoot with Beth Clementson and Drew Skoglund. Please click on the image to see more of Becky's work with couples.

8. My friends want me to ask :
-Normal/natural makeup or going heavier for photos?

I prefer going a bit heavier, but not so much that it looks artificial. 
Boudoir should be heavier than usual.
Senior or Family Photos should lean more towards natural with maybe an extra pop of color. 

-Should we wear clothes that match for the engagement shots or does that look too cohesive?

For engagement shots, I like coordinated but not matching (unless it's themed, like a recent couple who sported a local NBA Team's jerseys for part of their shoot. My favorites tend to be coordinated neutrals (say, a tan sweater for her and chocolate vest for him) with pops of color (add turquoise scarf to tan sweater). There's no need to dress identically :)

-Does the client have a say in how the photos are "processed" (meaning black and white, antiquing, and other digital effects)?

I definitely take client input on this. I generally shoot in color and then make copies either because I think something will look awesome in B&W or because the client wants that photo to look a certain way. If I do special effects on a photo, the original or "normally processed" photo usually accompanies it on the CD. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Okay, Becky, when do you get to Florida? I have plans for us, girl. As for brides-to-be, graduating seniors, and photo-less families, get yourselves over to Studio 623 and book this amazing woman for your spring photos post haste!

Airfare and Fanfare

Today, I a little bit wish I were here.

The Albert, pub on Victoria Street, London. Photo by Michael Marsh.

It looks magical.

Sometimes you just need to get away

It's true, sometimes you just need to get out of your house or out of your own mind to recharge your creativity.  However, it is mid-fall and the school year is in full swing so I'm not going anywhere. The closest thing I get to an escape is:

Oh it's so true. Not only am I a fan of Sarah Michelle Gellar, I love me some melodramatic TV. If it helps you to not lose respect for me we can all pretend I just watch for the couture sported by the cast.

I also have actual aspirational travel on my list too, so don't worry.  I keep a running list on Pinterest.  Would you like a peek?  Well, if you're going to twist my arm...

Slovakia

photo by Viktor Bors

Indonesia

Misool Eco Resort in West Papua, Indonesia

Canada

Butchart Gardens, Vancouver Island. Photo by John Rogers

Where do you go (in reality or just in your mind's eye) when you need a creative recharge?

Let the rain fall down and wake my dreams

2005 RAIN installation by Stacee Kalmonovsky

All last week I was suffering from a head cold so I felt right at home throughout the rainy weekend.  I spent all week feeling cloudy, so why not enjoy some actual clouds.

Street Art by Vidor

I have mixed feeling about the rain. Sometimes I am the girl who feels the rain. Dances in it, even. But there are also days when I just get wet.  Like when I have to get my kid to gymnastics practice but she only moves at a snail's pace because she's "getting all wet!"

via First Time User

Right now, though, the rain makes me want to dance. The grass looks so fabulously, vividly green against the purple gray billows blowing past. Who wouldn't be inspired by that? If green and gray don't get your artistic juices flowing how about actual, you know, flowing?  Like the two-foot wide stream making rainbows in the oily street as it rushes toward the drain on the corner. And there are droplets everywhere acting like tiny magnifying glasses that reveal the crazy alien terrains on top of everyday things. There has to be a way to capture that with silk and crystals.

When Autumn Leaves Fall by Ginsui-rin

Then again, I'll need to take photos soon and rainy days never have the right light for good pictures.  As if I need any help taking bad photos.

Man with Umbrella by Joseph Hancock

Tell me, my dearest of dears, do you feel the rain or do you just get wet?

For every girl, a garter

Oh Natalie Wood...

via Starlet Showcase*

Please, someone do a photo shoot emulating this image. Pretty please.


*Try as I might, I could not find the origin of this photo. Feel free to share if you happen to know.

Boudoir Photos

I adore the idea of a boudoir shoot.  The photos make for such an intimate gift - something just for you and your partner.

Now, don't be scared, I'm not talking about posing for the types of photos published in Playboy; although that is totally an option. But I'm thinking of something more subtle. Tasteful and teasing.

For example...

This is Drea, photographed by Lauren Kennedy. I love this photo. Drea's jewelry, her nails, the tat...perfection! Lauren did an amazing job capturing Drea's three-dimensional personality with a two-dimensional medium.

Honestly, this is not really a provocative photo.  There's a great deal of modesty - enough that both Drea and Lauren felt this photo could go on Facebook without any issue.

And that's exactly my point.

You can take a totally sexy photo (look at those sweet curves up there!) while still leaving a lot up to the imagination. (You know, in case your kid starts rummaging around in your dresser drawers.) Inspired by Drea and Lauren, I found more tantalizing bare back shots.

via Hello, Beautiful

Lily Aldridge for Victoria's Secret 2011 Bridal Collection via Living that Whiskey Life

Would you consider doing a boudoir shoot?

For every girl, a garter

For those of you following me on Facebook, you might remember me mentioning how great tattooed brides look in my garters.

And for my blog followers, well, you might remember the well wishes I sent out to NPJ bride Autumn after her April wedding.

After taking a few months to settle into her new, married life, Autumn sent me a few photos of her one-of-a-kind accessory in action! (You can also see the toss garter in her left hand.)

 Try to ignore the awesome dress for a second and let's focus on that amazing smile. She looks just beyond happy!  My darlings, this is what they mean when someone says a bride is glowing.

I adore that chunky, bib necklace!  I know Autumn is busy with, you know, life, but I am trying to find out more about that necklace.  The pinwheels garter sort of echoes the bold jewelry, which makes it sort of perfect.

Okay, now I'll let you focus on the dress. I am dying to know more, aren't you?!  And those shoes! Her entire ensemble is so edgy and elegant.  Her dark hair and vivid tattoos heighten the drama even more.

Really, my dears, I could not have asked for a more beautiful bride. How lucky am I?!

Thank you, Autumn, for letting me share your photos.  You are the most to-die-for bride in the history of brides. Ever!

Tuesday's Tooling Around

Today, Scoutie Girl is featuring a post from my Tooling Around series. Pop on over and share your tips for snapping great photos with your digital camera.

Click on the icon to check out my post!

Get your swim on!

Today I am taking Sarah and my Emily to the beach! I'm sorry you all can't come; I'm sure we'd have a fabulous time together.  To make up for it, I put together a little picture post of vintage and vintage-inspired swimwear. Enjoy!

1946 LIFE Magazine - Photo by Nina Leen via MY Vintage Vogue

Beach Blanket Bingo in red from ModCloth

Grace Kelly via Spires and Gargoyles

Fantastic find from Mountain Meadow Vintage via The Dainty Squid

Holly in Ebony& Ivory from Rey Swimwear

Black Foil Paisley One Piece from Torrid

Costa Swim Suit from Shabby Apple

Bathing Beauties via Couture and Cupcakes