Year end review
It’s that time of year again where I make up for all the blogging I didn’t do throughout the year. :) So grateful for this work. What an honor and a joy it is to meet such beautiful people and immerse myself in their love. This is what I want to shoot more of: people loving each other well.
Read MoreOne major lesson from 2021 is that my time is finite. I served 86 clients last year, which is far too many. I said yes to almost every opportunity, and in doing so had to (at times) say no to my family, my health, and my sanity. I really love this work, but I love those three things more. 2022 is going to be about recognizing my limitations, setting better boundaries, and sticking to them.
Read MoreWords have felt hollow for months now, but my hope is that these photographs speak more than I can. I love this work, photographing love and connection. Motherhood, marriage, family. I am truly a portrait photographer—people are my favorite subject. And I am so grateful for the people who keep asking me to document their love.
Read MoreOne thing I love about photography is that in doing the work, I create a visual record of my work, which is rare. A lot of people work all year and don’t have anything physical to show for the hours they put in. Looking back at the images I made this year makes me proud and grateful beyond words. I like to think about all these photos out in the world, making people smile every day. There is a lot of heartache out there, but there is also a lot of joy. And documenting moments of joy is immensely gratifying.
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This was my favorite year yet, both personally and professionally. Getting to spend my days with our girl while doing the work I love makes me feel like I hit the jackpot. This is what I dreamed of when starting down this road six years ago. And it's better than I could have imagined. Cheers to making more beautiful memories in 2019—and hopefully getting more sleep!
I spent most of 2017 growing a human, which consumed me entirely and was the single most challenging thing I have ever done. Pregnancy took an enormous physical toll, at first reducing me to a useless lump on the sofa, then I became a slave to my voracious appetite, followed by crippling back pain and general discomfort. It was the hottest summer in recent memory, and swimming was my only solace. I am so grateful I was able to swim throughout my second and third trimesters, which not only helped with the psychological impact of impending motherhood, but also helped contribute to a smooth labor and fast recovery.
Read MoreI entered 2016 feeling incomplete, and in March I wrote a post about our struggle to conceive. Though we are still not pregnant after 18 months of trying, I feel much more relaxed about our timeline, and we are focusing on renovating our kitchen and building my business.
Read MoreSome highlights from 2015 include an epic trip to the Big Island with our friends, photographing eight weddings (four solo and four assisting other talented photographers, I wish I could have blogged them all!), the opportunity to document more beautiful families, and purchasing our first home and moving to Nevada County. I really love photographing people, and feel so lucky to do it.
2016, you are boundless. I look forward to the journey.
My goals for 2013 were to take as many photos as possible and to enjoy weekends off with Jeffery for the first time. Looking back, it was an incredible year. I experienced a lot of professional growth and am grateful for all of the beautiful people who got in front of my lens. I feel really lucky to be pursuing my passion.
(Click any image below to see the original post)
In January I visited my parents in Hawaii and Jeffery and I spent our first wedding anniversary apart. When I was there, I did portrait sessions with both my mom and dad and had my first child portrait shoot with Miss Maile. It was that session that reaffirmed my love for photographing children and inspired me to pursue a career in family portraiture.
In the Spring we enjoyed a weekend wine tasting with good friends friends in Napa, where I bought a hat and took lots of photos.
For my 25th birthday, Jeffery and I celebrated with a getaway weekend to Anderson Valley. We stayed at the Boonville Hotel, took a day trip to Mendocino, hiked through redwood trees to the Navarro River, wine tasted at Toulouse Vineyard, toured the Philo Apple farm, beer tasted at the Anderson Valley Brewing Company, and dined at Table 128. It was the best birthday I have ever had. The bar is pretty high for next year.
In April I had my first paying gig and photographed this little lady's 4th birthday party. (I shot a total of six kiddo birthday parties in 2013!)
In May, with the help of my mother and grandmother, I coordinated a Russian Easter Celebration with family and friends. I also launched my new website (!) and for Memorial Day we went camping with friends on the Eel River.
In June we went up to Willits again for Jeffery's ten-year high school reunion and then ventured to Grass Valley where our friends Jen and James got married!
In July, my friend Sadie and I road tripped to Colorado, where we stayed at her grandparent's ranch in Grand Junction and visited Aspen and the Telluride Bluegrass Festival. It was so interesting to see how the light and Colorado landscape differ from California.
In August I was hired to work as a photographer at Dead on the Creek, a three day music festival up in Mendocino County.
Over Labor day, we camped on the banks of Blue Lake in the Tahoe National Forest with some of our favorite people. It was where I did my first engagement session with our friends Josh and Katie. I didn't take any other photos that weekend, I felt the need to be present and experience it through my eyes instead of through a viewfinder. It was also so beautiful that I didn't think my camera could do it justice. I hope over time I won't regret taking more photos. If the memories fade, we'll just have to make some more. :)
This year I shared ten family sessions, and was able to shoot another six that never made it on the blog. I loved working so much this fall.
I had four fashion shoots with beautiful friends who got all dolled up for me. It was fun creating beautiful images together, collaborating with other creatives is so different than photographing children.
In the new year I intend to be more organized with my business goals, to plan ahead and ask for help more often. Reaching out is challenging for me, but always worth it.
I want to say yes to new adventures, while working and saving towards buying a home.
I want to continue working at creating balance. I want to breathe deeper and have more patience.
I want to cook more and go on more hikes.
I am not going to be intimidated by the unknown. I am going to face things head on and learn from my experiences.
I want to have more conversations. Life keeps getting better, and I have all of you to thank for that. So thank you. I am very excited for 2014.
P.S. Highlights from 2012
Jeffery and I toured an orchid farm in Hilo.
We got married! Here are the photos, taken by the talented Travis Deuel.
We honeymooned on Kauai.
I wrote a post about my parents and choosing a life.
I celebrated a birthday and figured out what I want to do with my life.
I was able to do a couple of photo shoots with tiny people: Ramsay, and baby Grace and big sister Ellie.
After living in San Francisco for six years we moved to Oakland!
My parents came to visit and we rented a house in Santa Cruz for the 4th of July.
We adopted this little guy.
We celebrated two weddings with long time friends. Jeff was a groomsman for Sam and Christian, and I was a bridesmaid for Aimee and Brady.
I featured two more local businesses: Mission Pie, and Love and Luxe.
I went back to school for photography and learned how to use my camera.
I am really looking forward to some changes in 2013. As soon as I get back from visiting my parents I am starting a new job as a nanny for two little girls in Berkeley. I can ride my bike to work, and somehow I will have my mornings, evenings and weekends back. Jeffery and I will have more time off to do fun things together, and I am really excited. I plan to take a whole lot more photos in 2013 and work to develop my eye and my aesthetic as a photographer.
