Every time I meet with a couple and we talk about the engagement session, I always throw out little ideas I have - bowling, rides, snowboarding, etc.. for their session.  I got so excited when Sarah told me that she and Tom wanted to do their engagement session on skis!  Funny enough, we actually had too much snow for their originally scheduled date of the shoot.  The roads were an absolute mess and didn't think we could make it to the Poconos and back.  Luckily, these big winter storms left us with plenty of snow to play with later in the month.  We were able to get a beautiful day and some yummy post shoot waffles at the waffle hut on the mountain.  Nothing is yummier than fresh waffles out in the cool winter air. First up, Sarah and Tom on skis.  Tomorrow - Sarah and Tom in the parking lot.  Yeah, that's right, the parking lot.  It's good stuff, I promise ;)

 

While on my way home from photographing an engagement session in Santa Barbara, I was delayed at the Santa Barbara airport.  With nothing to do, I decided to hang out right in front of the airport.  It's this tiny little building with some grass and a couple trees out front.  So, I plopped myself under a tree and just reveled in the sunshine pouring through the branches.  While daydreaming, I discovered this beautiful little creature, Mazzy climbing above my head!  We hit it off immediately, both lovers of trees and after talking to Mazzy's mom, had a little impromptu photo session!  Hope you enjoy these Mazzy and Leslie!  I'll be back in LA and Santa Barbara for 2 weddings the 1st week of August for anyone who would like any kind of portrait session - engagement, family, kid, newborn, etc...  Please let me know if you are interested in a shoot.

   

Ok, I still have other things to blog before this shoot, but I got so excited to shoot out in all this snow I wanted to share a quick image I was working on to help get rid of my winter blahs.  Shoots like this will help me get through till spring!  Next week I have an e session with a couple on skis!  No need to wait till things are blooming for an e session with snow like this  :)

So, today is my 30th birthday and it has me reflecting on the life I've lived so far and the life I want to live from here on out.  This self reflection is not spurred solely on the idea of entering my thirties, it's been an ongoing project of mine for some time, but this feels like an appropriate time to post a little bit about it.  I'm finding as I turn 30 that I'm more interested in learning than ever before - about myself, life, love, art, and all sorts of other stuff.  This has become so important to me both in terms of my personal and business life.  I'd like to share one project that I have done in conjunction with a continuing class of sorts stemming from Jesh de Rox's Life (as an Artform) workshops.  I've had the wonderful opportunity to continue learning and growing in this community of people who have beautiful hearts. They have provided a safe haven for us all to learn from each other and grow more with each passing week.  This assignment in particular has struck a chord with me because it challenged me to really look at how I'd like my life to be on the whole and how I'd like others to see me.  In short, we had to write the blurb on the back of a book that would be our biography.  Here is what I came up with:  

It's impossible to sum up a life in a few hundreds pages.  Aptly named, "An Intimate Portrait" is just a glimpse at the life of Nicole.  An explorer of light and love, perfectly imperfect, a collector of moments - these are just a few phrases to describe Nicole. She brought passion to a great many interests in her life - art, music, snowboarding, friends and family.  Photography was a great vehicle to express the beauty she saw in the world.  Beauty in people, relationships, new life, nature, and simple pleasures in life have been captured both with her camera lens and pastels.  She was fascinated by light and color, not only in the world, but also in her subjects.  Most interested in capturing emotion and innate beauty, she lives on in the artwork created for her clients that has been passed down generation to generation.  Though she achieved success with her artwork, it is her journey of self discovery and exploration of life through her artwork that was most important to her.  She learned to "unlearn" to experiment and imagine, pushing herself outside her comfort zone and overcome fears to truly embrace all experiences in life.  She failed at things in her life with grace and humility and learned from those experiences to grow further.  She learned that life is hard and complicated, but sublime in both its pain and joy.  A favorite quote of Nicole's by Anais Nin wonderfully describes this turning point in her journey.  "And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom." She believed the infinite and the invisible held the most important lessons in life.  She believed life's magic was in genuine experiences, physical and emotional experiences in life.  It was her life's greatest success not in touching the lives of many in some small way, but greatly impacting the lives of those she loved.

So, there is just a little tiny taste of my journey so far.  My birthday wish is to throw myself fully into all I experience this year, play more, not to let fear guide my actions, and continue to learn all I can so that I may someday be able to pass on that knowledge in some form or other.  And since no post is fun without pictures, I'd like to share my self portrait that I took at the last  life (as an artform) workshop I hosted this past fall.  I did another self portrait during last years workshop as well.
 

  

I got to photograph this little guy and his beautiful companion this fall right in his beautiful backyard.  Christian is a rough and tough boy through and through, more content to play with sticks than toys, we had a ball traipsing around the wooded yard.  I can't wait to photograph him again when he rides Otto like a horse!  I had such a hard time picking favorites for the blog, so here is a rather large smattering of images of the shoot!

I've known Brett since I was about 6 years old.  We grew up across the street from each other, neighbors as long as I can remember.  We never knew each other well, he was ahead of me in school, but always said hello and chatted outside at our cars for a few minutes here and there.  It's a funny thing to really get to know someone when you have technically known them for over 20 years.  It was fascinating getting to know Brett through his relationship with Lisa.  They are sweet and tender, yet they have no qualms about telling each other how it is.  I see so much laughter, humor, and honesty in their relationship.  I'm so happy to get to know both Lisa and Brett through their engagement and their upcoming wedding in April.  So, here are some highlights from our 2 part shoot!