Each year, we pack our surfboards and make the journey down Baja. It is a special time that allows us to slow down, live healthy and just be with each other and nature. Our property is remote and the habitat is extreme. It is desolate, yet packed with so much beauty. An orange ball of fire wakes us in the morning, warming the dewy sand. The turquoise waters are rich with life, sea turtles and dolphins visiting us in the surf. And the stars... this is where they come to rest, I have never seen so many in one sky.
This time for us is about laughing and loving... and living this one life.
My Campania...
If I were to show you a collection of photos of 'my Vancouver', I imagine it would be very different from 'your Vancouver'. Obviously then, the same holds true for when we travel. This of course, is determined by where we go, what we are drawn to... what sort of traveler we are.
You can tell a lot from people's travel photos. I wonder what you can derive about the way I travel from 'My Campania'...
Let me walk in a vineyard, let me stroll through some ancient streets. Let me nibble a local cheese, sip a homemade wine. Ultimately, I want the path less traveled... it's usually not as convenient, and sometimes you can't find all the necessities, but to me... it's where the magic is!
Europe b+w
Just a few things I adore about Europe... street side cafes, vineyards (and more importantly, incredible wines!), meandering country roads that help me get lost, and vespas (which to me are a perfect indication of the slow pace).
2010 Lifestyle Favorites
One of the best parts about my job is that I get to meet so many amazing people. I can't tell you how much of an honor it is to be invited into someone's world. For this window of time, they open their lives, show me who they are... their joys, their vulnerabilities. There is a moment in every shoot... sometimes it's the way he makes her laugh, or the way they walk together... a tender look as they embrace their child... a moment when she sits with her unborn child and lights the room with her glow... it's the moment I never forget, and that is their gift to me, because I get to see them, unguarded, completely genuine. As a photographer, it's what I strive for every time I pick up the camera.
So, thank you to all my amazing clients that have invited me into their lives, for one afternoon or many times over the course of years. I am a better person for having met you!
2010 Travel Favorites
2010 didn't hold as much travel as recent years, however it was enough to satisfy these wandering feet of mine. My trips were quite diverse. Twice I camped on the beach in Baja, waking up to orange sunrises, thousands of sea birds and crashing waves. I lived on fresh fish, tortillas, tapatio and coronas. Everyday I sat on my board, feet dangling below in crystal blue waters, waiting for the next wave. It was heaven.
On the opposite spectrum, I had two trips to Europe, both times visiting Switzerland and Italy. I experienced Venice swimming under a foot of water, which, in its emptiness was eerily mystical. I walked quaint Italian villages bordering the Alps, the streets lined with incredible shops stocked with salamis and cheeses, local fruits and vegetables, the side alleys winding back to vineyards and olive groves. I sat in the Zurich train station, watching hundreds of people walk by, their own world of where and who guiding them through their day. Here it is cobblestones, quaint coffee and chocolate shops, expensive fashion and restaurant tables lining the streets. I drove along country roads through lush green pastures, with only cows, batting their long lashes, necks laden with huge bells, to witness the massive, angular, snow-topped peaks jutting out of the land.
Of my days of travel, some were filled with only the best wines and cheeses and meats. On others I was fulfilled with only the goodness of the sun and the sea. But on each and every day, I never took for granted what a gift it was... what a luxury these experiences were, with loved ones or in solitude.
Trevor, Jenn & Sienna | family portrait
Before the holidays, I had the honor of photographing a good friend of mine, Jennifer Scott of A Good Chick to Know. I always love visiting her home, because as you can imagine, with her creative flair, every room could be on the cover of a magazine.
I photographed Jenn and Trevor when pregnant with Sienna last year. Now almost a year and a half old, Sienna is such a cheeky, fun, beautiful girl! And check out her bedroom... only Jenn could make disco balls, reindeer clocks and framed vintage magazines look amazing!
What a beautiful dining room... I love the pattern the light casts on the wall and ceiling.
LOVE the wallpaper!
Rules to live by for the New Year...
This morning I lay in bed, sun streaming through the windows, caught between "I should get up because it's kind of a working day, but feels like a Sunday..." and read an email a friend sent me. The words resonated with me... gentle reminders of what we all know but forget consistently. I think this is a great handbook for 2011, thanks DC!
Regarding your Health
- Drink plenty of water
- Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a beggar
- Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants, and eat less food that is manufactured in plants
- Live with the 3 E's - Energy, Enthusiasm and Empathy
- Play more games
- Read more books than you did in 2010
- Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day
- Sleep for 7 hours
- Take a 10-30 minutes walk daily... and smile while you walk
Personality
- Don't compare your life to others; you have no idea what their journey is all about
- Don't have negative thoughts or things you cannot control; instead, invest your energy in the positive present moment
- Don't waste your precious energy on gossip
- Dream more while you are awake
- Envy is a waste of time; you already have all you need
- Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present
- No one is in charge of your happiness except you
- Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn; problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime
- Smile and laugh more
Society
- Call your family often
- Each day give something good to others
- Forgive everyone for everything
- Spend time with people over the age of 70 and under the age of 6
- Try to make at least three people smile each day
- What other people think of you is none of your business
Life
- Do the right thing!
- Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful
- However good or bad a situation is, it will change
- No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up
- When you awake alive in the morning, be thankful for it
- Your inner most is always happy; so, be happy
And because in my world, everything is better with a photo, here is some of my winter favorites to bring in the New Year! May this year be the best yet...
