“Love is that time when when the mirrors in my mind turn to windows, and instead of seeing the reflection of myself, I see you…” Unkown

Here it comes. I’ve seen this tens, if not a hundred times. I can quote it word for word…”Look at us. I’m frozen and you’re dead…and I love you.”  Best lines. Ever. And as if on cue, I cried. I always do…

 Often I am asked where I find my inspiration. Inspiration comes in many forms but you must never set out to look for it. Inspiration can not be found. It, quite simply, finds you. Most often when you least expect it. It can not be contained, or boxed in, or written into an equation to be followed. Inspiration is completely personalized, almost intimate. A kiss between our hearts and our minds. Such was the case when I was relaxing earlier this evening watching one of my all time favorite movies, Vanilla Sky. So much in fact that I just had to share this inspiration with someone. This scene in particular is one of the most inspiring three minutes and eighteen seconds of my life. The Goodness – in a leading role. The colors. The framing. But most importantly the way I felt when I watched this scene. The line “I will see you in another life…when we are both cats”. So. Good. Surely I’m not the only one who has been inspired by a movie, a song, a poem. I would love to hear where inspiration has found you lately! Feel free to share in a comment.

 ”So why did you decide to have portraits done again?” I asked as I climbed down from the ladder. Berk gave me an inquisitive look, shrugged his shoulders and replied “Well…um…just because?”.  I gave a little laugh and went about putting on the finishing details to the shoot. A little to the left here, a tad higher there. Your pocket needs something pretty. Those boots are aaamazing. There. Perfect. At the time I didn’t give it much thought, after all I had a job to do and the sun waits for no man. No, not even for me. Then thirty minutes later I had just released the shutter as the golden, buttery light of a perfect sunset flared from behind a tree in the distance when it hit me. So this is what “just because” looks like.  At that very moment I found myself wishing that every session was a “just because” session. Every client a “just because” client. Every beautiful sunset, god’s way of shrugging his shoulders and saying “just because”. And I smiled. So often I find myself documenting some of the most important moments in a person’s life. A marriage, a pregnancy, a birth. But to be there in a wide open field, the cool winter wind gently blowing through Leslie’s auburn hair, the perfect Anthropologie dress, and most importantly with two young people who simply love each other and want to be able to remember this day for a lifetime. No immediate plans to get married.  No babies on the way. No one going off to war, or returning home safely. They are here simply because they want to be.

After finishing up this edit, I locked up the house, turned out all the lights, fed the dog, and crawled into bed with my baby. We snuggled into the late night and spoke of how we first met and how drunk I got on our first date because I was so stinking nervous. We laughed. And we congratulated ourselves for making it this far despite all we have been through together. Then we snuggled some more. Oh how I wish someone was there to take a picture because like Berk and Leslie, it is the small moments in our lives that are really the most memorable…

“If you live to be 100, I hope to live to be 100 minus 1 day, so that I never have to live without you…” Christopher Robin

 Every kiss is different. Some tender, some passionate, and well, some just plain awkward.  All beautiful and no two alike. There is the kiss of welcome and of parting. The long, loving present one. The stolen one and the mutual one. There is a kiss of love, of joy, and of sorrow. A kiss that seals a promise. A kiss that breaks one. Oscar Wilde once said “A kiss may ruin a human life”. Oh to be ruined!  It is not the touching of lips that brings us to our knees. Its the very moments just before. The moments when she is thinking “I love you. No, I need you. You have found me and I can’t wait to grow old with you. I will tell you of my inner most fears and you will save me from them. You have saved me from myself.”  All the while he too quietly whispers to himself,  ”You are my girl. You are beautiful, and sexy, and when I look into your eyes I see the faces of my children. I am just a man and I will most certainly make mistakes. But you will forgive me and I will be better for it. I can not wait to make you my wife.” Yes, it is in those moments that many a life has been ruined. Kissing is like drinking salt water: you drink but your thirst only increases! This is what I love most about being a wedding photographer. I get to experience every kind of kiss vicariously through the amazing couples who have graced me with the presence of their love.  Thank you universe.

It is the kiss that inspired me when building Mandy and Ben’s engagement album. Their kiss was soft and gentle, like a secret. Normally I would post an album in the form of a slide show. However I wanted you to be able to take your time and enjoy their album at your own pace. And when you get to the part where they kiss, don’t forget to sigh, and smile, and thank the universe for the Goodness, because after all, that is the best part… 

*For Photographers*

These days it seems like everyone is jumping on the “outsourcing bandwagon”. Every time I log on I come across a new start up that promises to take on as much of the work load as possible. I recently came across such a company who offers to “do all the work so you don’t have to”.  Don’t want to build your own albums? No Problem. Don’t want to spend a single minute in the digital darkroom? We have you covered. Want to just collect paychecks and not even take pictures any more? Not to worry. We are working on that. It is unfortuante how disconnected many photographers have become with their craft. I have always considered myself more of an artist than a photographer, the camera being the chosen medium for my creative expression and I am so proud to see an image through from potential to Goodness. Every image that a client sees has been hand edited by me personally because my desire is to be proud of everything that I produce. Every moment. Every image. Its not that I am a control freak. I’m just emotionally attached.

It is a very rare thing for me to show raw images. However, for the sake of proving a point, I wanted to show what generally happens to an image during the process. The following is an image of my intern, King Brad, who is going to storm the wedding industry like a Spider Monkey. The process shows the transition of his raw image to B&W. The Goodness, un-outsourced. And for those who would argue for time management, I timed myself for this edit. 16 seconds. Flat.

 Its time to update my business cards and I would love for my readers to decide which one I should send to production! Traditionally my business cards, like my wedding album covers, are always in B&W and I have designed a few different options. I love them all equally so you be the judge!

 This morning I read something profound. Actually, I feel as if I read something profound every morning. Before I can even begin to think about starting my day a few things must happen first. And reading is right up there with brushing my teeth, letting the dog out, and pouring myself a cup of coffee. They absolutely must happen, no matter what. What I read really depends on my mood though and today I was looking for a bit of inspiration. Truth be told, I really enjoy reading quotes. I know, I know. On the surface this sounds ridiculously boring but you must admit that there is something to say about the power just a few small sentences can have when spoken by someone who has experienced things beyond our comprehension. Well, this morning I was browsing a few of my favorite quote websites when I read the following:

When you photograph people in colour you photograph their clothes.  But when you photograph people in B&W, you photograph their souls!  ~Ted Grant

Friggin. Awesome.  I have always felt an intimate connection with B&W photography and looking back at my own work, many of my most celebrated images are in fact in B&W. They are pure, and honest, and most often they are quite flawed which is what makes them even more enduring and special. When the color is stripped from an image there is nothing to hide behind. Quite simply, its a moment…naked. And because every post is better with an image, here are a few of my favorite moments…naked.