Italy

Things I learned about Italy while in Italy: 

They don't use toilet seats. Just a porcelain bowl - but every bathroom has a bidet. 

There are ruins in every nook and cranny of this country.

Cigarettes are still cool, but they still smell and taste awful. 

Wine is really good and really cheap. 

They cut pizza with scissors or fold an entire pizza in half and in half again to eat it. 

Italian food is only truly delicious when you are in Italy. 

Drivers don't give a fuck. 

Don't bring animal masks to the vatican during Mass unless you want your passport taken away. 

The locals are incredibly nice. 

Bambinos are treated like actual cherubs. 

The pope is the biggest celebrity in town. 

Traveling to Italy once is not nearly enough. 

 

 

 

 

 

Yoga photoshoot with Nicole

This is the woman who taught me to teach asana. She is incredible. I miss the days I could practice with her a few times a week. I cherish my time with her. 

 The night before this photoshoot I had a dream that we weren't able to take any photos because we were chatting too long and then the sun went down. That almost came true. We had so much fun shooting in her home studio that we only had a small window of light once we made it to the arts district in downtown LA. What we were able to get in that small window of time is killer. Hunting for art walls was like going on a treasure hunt, I really need to get downtown more often.  SO. MUCH. FUN. 

Newborn photoshoot with Sylvia

When I visited this sweet family Sylvia was just a few days old. There is nothing like holding a fresh baby. That headband on her little head, I cant even handle the cuteness!

I was so impressed, the mom had an amazing amount of energy and looked so well put together. All the memories of Ryder being that little came flooding back to me.  I wish I had the energy to do a photoshoot with him when he was that little. But I didn't even have the energy to blow dry my hair, never mind stage and style a photoshoot. Anyone have a time machine I can borrow real quick ;) 

 

 

Baby moon in Ojai

All the feels come back to me when I look back at this sweet special time spent on a yoga retreat in Ojai when I was 9 months pregnant. I was there exactly a year ago. 

I vividly remember one of my meditations during our yoga nidra session. As Bekah was leading us through the guided meditation into some deep chakra work, I was finding it challenging to concentrate because Ryder had the hiccups and was kicking me. I had to work incredibly hard to not get distracted so I could surrender into the subtle body work of the meditation. I clearly remember having a giggle at this pulsation of being focused on myself yet being 100% aware of his existence. At 9 months pregnant, it was practice for what was to come. At that point, without even being a mother yet, I was well aware how common it is for mothers to get wrapped up in their children's lives. So much so, that there is a tendency to lose oneself. In that moment I vowed to never lose sight of my goals or self care practice. 

These contemplations continue to come up in all I do. It is not easy. It is a dance, choreographed in his realm during the day, and in my realm at night. When his lights go out, it is time for mine to go on.

Personal growth and professional development are priorities for me, here is what that may look like on any given night. I listen to podcasts while I edit photos from recent photoshoots, I put time into the yoga teacher training I'm currently doing with Jason Crandall, or I tap into my creative side and make things for my etsy site Rex & Ry. I always have some kind of project going on. A portion of my alone time is dedicated towards self care, it just feels nice to do something simple for myself. It usually comes in the form of practicing yoga, however most nights my husband doesn't get home early enough for that, in which case I light a candle, burn some palo santo, and pull a few cards from my tarot deck with a mini meditation on the cards and a little journaling.  A face mask goes a long way in making me feel refreshed. I'm obsessed with all of Lush's products. And, on some nights the first thing I do when his lights go out is head to the fridge, crack open an IPA, and sit my ass on the couch and watch TV. I'm not perfect.

Here I am, one year later, recommitting to the vow I made to myself. Staying driven and present in working towards my personal endeavors. 

Lauren & John's wedding

What a lovely wedding day. I am so impressed by this couple. Their DIY style is of professional quality. The bouquets, flower crowns, boutonnieres, and so many other decorations were made by the bridal party. All their little details were so charming, right down to the skinny floral ties the guys were sporting. Their vision brought a California boho vibe to this perfect day. 

The ceremony location was at the Los Angeles Arboretum, an absolutely picturesque backdrop which flaunted their love of nature. Their reception location at Chloe's inside of Golden Road Brewery, had a warm tavern feel with a delicious gastropub menu and beer made on site. 

Having my brother next to me as the second shooter made an already perfect day even better! Thanks for collaborating with me David. Check out his work here 

 

Lauren & John's engagement photos

I took these photos of Lauren and John back in March. It's now September. Needless to say this year is flying by. I am shooting their wedding this weekend and figured their engagement photos deserve a blog post before I jump right into their wedding. 

Before I get to the photos I just have to gush about how I adore these two. They are long time yoga students of mine, They come to classes together all the time. They're always smiling their million dollar smiles ear to ear. The love of their dog, Tima, is so dang adorable. And, they are two of the smartest people I know. Talk about couple goals!! 

kid photos with Kk

This little cutie pie has been in front of my camera many times now. Each time her precious spirit evolves it gets more and more fun and loads more cute! Kk and Kendra are splitting images of each other and I always look forward to our photo sessions at Brand Library! 

As I inch closer to motherhood myself, I have to say having Kendra as a close friend has been such a blessing. Not just because she is a fantastic friend and human being. Also because it is inspiring to see the way she interacts with Kennedy. She makes parenting a little one look so easy. But to be honest, I believe the outward effortlessness derives from her ability to stay patient. Things never seem chaotic when I'm with them. Even when Kk isn't getting her way, Kendra has this way about talking so calmly and straight forward to her. Explaining everything and acknowledging her feelings seems to make the tantrums fizzle out before they even have space to erupt. I hope to have 1/2 the patience through the bond with my son that I see in these darlings. 

Check out my other photo shoots with this little gem to see her grow like a little bean sprout! From In the womb, 2 weeks, and 1 year. 

Stephanie's labyrinth maternity photoshoot

This sweet friend of mine recently gave birth to Hudson Luna. I'm so happy I had a chance to photograph her pregnancy at the tail end because her bump is just perfect, and honestly, her little darling came out as perfect as well. It takes a doll to make a doll. 

Stephanie picked this lovely location near her home in Pasadena. The urban garden space, known as Arlington Garden, features a labyrinth which offered us the perfect landscape for our photoshoot. 

Wedding day for Hannah and Jon

If I had to use one word to sum up this beautiful day it would be the word poetic.

But one word is boring. So, I just have to gush.

Every moment, every detail, every flower, and every word were so intentional throughout this day. They were able to intertwine the many talents of their friends and family to enhance the theatrics of the day. Even each person included in the backround of the wedding had a personal relationships with the couple.  All of this added up to create such a communal interconnected feel throughout the day. 

The venue they chose was gifted to them by a lovely couple whom offered their private estate in Sierra Madre, CA. The landscape was a photographers dream. There were so many nooks and crannies to create intimate and gorgeous shots.

One of the most breathtaking parts of the day was the exchanging of the vows. These vows need to be bound in a hardcover book and sold as a modern day fairytale come to life. There is no doubt that this happily ever after runs far and deep. 

Many blessings and warm wishes to this newly married couple. 

Jennifer & Cliff's engagement

This darling couple chose the beautiful Palisades Park for their shoot. Although they said they're not photogenic and did not feel comfortable in front of the camera, none of that showed one bit. Just pure sweet authentic love was shining through for this lens to capture.  I absolutely love the unique ring Cliff had picked out for Jennifer and the vintage belt Jennifer had chosen to wear with her romper that used to belong to her grandmother.

Since Cliff is a surfer he was really looking forward to including some shots by the ocean, and he was such a trooper when the waves came up and soaked the bottom of his jeans. 

 Thank you, Jennifer and Cliff, for choosing me, congratulations on your engagement! 

Hannah & Jon

It was a beautiful day at the Arboretum as we walked around to capture the sweet couple their energy was so natural and earthy, which was the perfect mirror the environment we were in. Hannah and Jon chose this location because they are such nature lovers, If I had photographed them hugging the trees they would have been just as happy. However, these photos were for their marriage to each other..... not to the trees ;) 

Although I knew Hannah through the yoga studio we both teach at, it was so great to get to know her better throughout the day of our photoshoot. Her and Jon are such a sweet laid-back couple and I cant wait to shoot their wedding day. 

Darby and Arielle's backyard wedding

Darby and Arielle have a magical, relaxed, and warm way about them. Both of these sweet souls are musicians, yoga teachers, and food lovers, so of course their wedding day reflected all of these wonderful and charming characteristics. For their wedding day, they opened up their adorable home to close friends and family, transformed their backyard to host the cocktail hour, and ceremony right at sunset, which then led seamlessly into the reception and carried into the night under the stars and full moon. It was a joy to be there to photograph it all for them. Their love is simply beautiful. 

Published author, Kathy Kottaras

Kathy Kottaras and I recently met up to take photos for her revamped writers website. With the coming publication of her young Adults novel, "How to Be Brave", she needed to attach her fresh face to the unveiling of the books fresh cover. Book hits stands on November 8 of this year. Look forward to reading the story of how Georgia finds the courage to chase the life she truly wants.  You can pre-order How To Be Brave at barnes and noble now, I know I am... I hope she signs it for me!! 

Aside from being a talented writer, she is also a dedicated yogi, so typically I see Kathy within the yoga community, we take classes together, she takes my classes, I've taken her classes, we've been to retreats together, so when I saw her without spandex on and with her hair down for probably the first time ever, I almost didn't recognize her!  Check her out.  

 

new born photoshoot with Dakota

Happy 4 month birthday to the dapper little Dakota Warren Whitaker, the sweetest littlest man who has ever lived. I got to spend the whole weekend down in Seal Beach with my Brother, his lovely wife Amanda, and the wee little Dakota.  It was the perfect lazy weekend. We cooked a bunch of food, watched a bunch of movies, had a bunch of laughs, drank a bunch of drinks, did a bunch of handstands, and of course, I took a bunch of photos of the baby being as cute as ever. 

Daks had a pretty big weekend! On top of a big teething spurt,  he rolled over for the first time ever, he used his full sized crib for the first time, and he is grabbing for things and bringing them to his mouth, especially his feet. I'm so grateful I get to be there for times like these, and to be able to share them through photography with members of the family who cant always be as close as they'd like to be. 

Being an Auntie is the shit. 

 

 

Yoga photoshoot with Erin

After an amazing class with Giselle Mari at Yogaglo,  Erin and I had a delightful yoga photo shoot together. Taking a class together before the shoot was perfect to get her muscles all warmed up for the shots she had in mind. She wanted an urban look to her shots, so we went adventuring around Venice Beach on the hunt for artful & colorful walls to procure some snapshots in front of. Gotta love the street art in Venice, there is certainly no lack of it. Here are  just a few photos we captured. I loved getting her spritely energy in front of my camera. I could have shot her all day.  Unfortunately, the sun was setting fast, so we had to call it a day. 

Erin is a wonderful teacher, I love the energy she brings to the class.  If you haven't checked out her classes yet, you should! 

Kendra, the mother to be

I have had the privilege of watching my dear friend Kendra and her belly's journey through her pregnancy. Every time I see her, which is very frequently, we give each other the tightest biggest hugs imaginable. Before baby, I would hug her so tight that her hip points would bump me. These days when I hug her, her baby bumps me, it has made our hugs even more special.  She is nothing but belly! 

Some point between now and January 8th the little being inside this belly will grace the world. This baby is already so loved, everyone is so excited to meet her!