I met Dylan & Brynn fourteen years ago in their San Diego home. The same home with the same stairs that I walked up last Sunday afternoon. It has been an honor & such an amazing time to watch these two grow into the people they are now & to grow into the friendship they have with each other. They are also great in front of a camera so I wanted a turn getting shots of these two. Featuring their younger sister, a friend visiting from Canada, & myself.
Nicole & Daniel were married in October at the Kimpton Canary Hotel in Santa Barbara. The weather was perfect, the florals were perfect, the day was perfect. I’ve known Daniel since before high school so I was excited to meet Nicole. I could tell right away that he found someone with the same sense of humor & that their wedding day was going to be a blast. I was right, I haven’t laughed that much in a long time.
Venue: Kimpton Canary Hotel | Planner: Cat Crenshaw Events
Hair and makeup: Cheek to Cheek Artistry
Florals: The Twisted Twig | DJ: DJ Darla
I met Lindsay & Dena in 7th grade. Twenty years later, we’re still friends even though there are years in between when the three of us are in the same room. There are not many people I would get on a ski lift (for the first time) for, but I did for Lindsay. Her and Peter got married on top of Mount Ashland in Oregon last month. Right when I got there, Dena (the MOH) handed me a disposable camera & I knew what I had to do.
These two were taken with Tim’s camera…
My weekend is Ashland was beautiful & relaxing. My hotel room was haunted, I got to watch old shows on a tube TV, dance to prom songs, play slots in a bar, & laugh with people I’ve known for twenty years. Congrats to Lynz & Peter!
This past August I flew up to Olympia, Washington for Tamber & Andy’s wedding. They were married inside the insanely beautiful Capitol Theater.
I could tell right away that these two were surrounded by loving friends & family. Especially her brother, Tanar, who suggested I be the one to capture all these moments. I love being able to photograph people that are genuinely having so much fun, that I end up having just as much fun.
Tamber set up a Polaroid station for their guests & at the end of the night she gifted me one of the cameras. It is now one of my favorite cameras & you can see some of the photos I’ve taken so far a couple posts back.
I was also able to grab some quick video shots from the day which you can watch over here: https://youtu.be/H2-CaGPPBZg
Thirteen years ago, I met Tiana inside Store 27 on the corner of 5th & G in downtown San Diego. There was something about her that I was drawn to. On the days we would have to come into work at 6:00 in the morning she would joke about putting her angry eyebrows on. One day after work we had to kill time so we walked across the street to the movie theater. We went to see Wall-E but ended up taking naps instead. There was a time she let met stay over a few nights when I was in between living situations. From the day I met her, she continued to be a very kind soul, which I didn’t come across often.
I’ll never forget the pure joy on her face & in her eyes the day after she did her first suspension. We were sitting in the break room as she was telling me all about it. I could feel the pain in my body as she described the hooks being put into her skin. But that pain gave her a high, a meaning, & a purpose. Over the years we both moved around within California & outside of it. With social media, we were able to keep in touch. I can’t even count the amount of suspensions she’s done since her first, but after every time, she still has that joy beaming from her eyes, from within. I’ve watched her blossom into a woman with words that seem to flow effortlessly. She finds the beauty in herself, in moments, & in the things around her. She is a force to be reckoned with.
I am grateful to have captured her force last weekend as she was suspended in rope. I want to thank her & Corey for allowing me to capture such an intimate & special moment for the two of them. I hope there are many more times to come.
Last month I shot a wedding in Olympia, Washington. The bride gifted me a Polaroid camera she bought from a thrift store & I will cherish it for as long as Polaroid will let me.
In the beginning of July I took a week off & found myself back on the east coast. Even though it was 100 degrees & I was eaten by bugs, I had a very relaxing & fun time. I got to see the progress on a brewery that one of my great friends is opening up in New Hampshire later this month. Then I spent the rest of the week in New York with my friends and boyfriend watching fireworks, staying cool, & eating my favorite soft serve.
I went back to New York in May for my three day weekend. I brought with me Tim's camera loaded with film mailed over from Singapore by a dear internet friend. It was my first time at all these places & I got to enjoy going to them with someone special. Except when he made me go on the Wonder Wheel at Coney Island.
Back on March 31st, STU/FF had a pop-up filled with local DIY vendors. Here are some photos from that day.
In 2009 my good friend Lilly asked me to move to Portland, Oregon with her. Even though I had never been there, I said yes. February of the following year we loaded up a moving truck, her car with our two cats & started the 958 mile drive. A quick five months later, I moved back to California & left Lilly behind. But she's okay. She met Andrew & now they have two beautiful humans that they've made. Before she had to go back to work from maternity leave, I got on another plane & went to visit them. I also took some photos.
Back in February, I got onto my fifth plane in three months, & headed back to New York. Since I was nineteen, I had been a handful of times, but this trip was the best one by far. My short three days there were filled with great sights, great food, & great company. Here are some shots I got with Tim's camera.
On January 27th, 2018 STU/FF in Hollywood had it's grand opening art show. I threw some film photos up on a wall and left out a few off brand disposable cameras for people to use. Sadly these were the only photos to make it, but they're great ones.
About maybe five years ago I bought a disposable camera from where I worked at the time. It was cat themed. A cat graphic would show up on every photo. Why wouldn't I buy this? I snapped a few photos of my own cats with it thinking it would be hilarious to have a cat face show up on my cat's face. This camera survived two moves and a plane ride to Portland, Oregon and back. Then it collected dust for years along side some other disposables. For a reason unknown to me, at some point, I ripped the cardboard off of the camera. So when I found it earlier this year, it appeared that I had a Kodak disposable camera laying around. I had the great idea of bringing it to a wedding and with me on a recent trip to Maine, hoping to finish the roll. When I got the photos back, man, was I surprised. I laughed, I cried, I hated myself.
This post is dedicated to the best dirt cat in the world, Kidden, who can be seen in the last photo yelling at me.
Back in August I went to Tacoma, Washington. I sucked it up again & got onto a plane. This time to see my favorite family & I am so glad I went. It was gorgeous. I stayed in the most beautiful home I had ever seen. They took me to a forest, a beach & a bridge. I spent a night in Olympia as well & found myself at a casino, which I wasn't mad about. Here are some photos from that trip that I took with Tim's Bell & Howell.
Earlier this year, one of my best friends, Carrlyn, was moving into her new home. While packing, she found some things that she wanted to give to me. One of those things was a Bell + Howell BF-700 camera that once belonged to Tim Butcher. She was pretty sure it was from when he was in college & he never returned it. She wanted me to have it. I loaded it with film that night. The first photo I took with it caught me off guard. I had never heard film advance that loudly before. I was sure nothing was going to turn out. I've never been so happy to be wrong before. Here are some photos I've taken with it over this past summer. Every time I look into the viewfinder, hit that shutter release & hear the film advance, I smile & think about Tim.
If you know me, you know I hate flying. One of my favorite pastimes is saying no when someone suggests I visit them if it involves getting on a plane. So when my cousin asked me earlier this year if I wanted to go to New Orleans with her to shoot a wedding anniversary event, I panicked. After overthinking it for a few days, I said yes. I knew I had to suck it up, face my fears and embrace experiencing a new city.
I was only there for three days so I had to pack them with as much as I could. Each morning I would wake up, walk to meet my cousins, eat so much food, walk some more, take photos, lose money at Harrah's, pop into a bar, walk around to eat more food, maybe go back to Harrah's then finally get to my AirBnB to sleep before doing it all again the next day. Oh, at one point we were in the middle of a parade of Mardi Gras floats taking hundreds of guests to the Superdome. But that's boring... so here's some photos I took with a disposable camera...
