#6 - Jump the Washington Monument! Preeti & Aman's Destination Wedding, Virginia

"Jumping Awkwardly In Front of Impressive Objects Until I'm 80"

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"So. Although I don't take a lot of photos of people jumping, I started this collection a couple years back and am going to continue to do this until I'm 80 - so eventually there is going to be an 80-year-old woman jumping. 
Not sure why, but that never stopped me before anyways Lol!"

We traveled to Virginia to work with one of our awesome couples, Preeti & Aman - I absolutely love them, they're so cool :) . About an hour or so after we landed, we were welcomed with open arms at the mehndi, where we were treated to homemade Indian food :D (Omg totally one of our favorite kinds of food - other than traditional after-wedding ramen of course Lol)! It was soooo good - we felt super lucky!!

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Preeti waiting for her mehndi to dry!

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They're so cute, thank you so much again you guys!!

They're so cute, thank you so much again you guys!!

We then took advantage of arriving three days before the wedding to shoot some detail shots of Preeti's jewelry and the couple's wedding outfits!  From chatting with her I knew that she really loved nature and greenery, so I totally wanted to incorporate this theme into her photos as much as I could.  It just so happened that there was a very lush forest-y area in the back of her parents' home which turned out to be really fun to work with! This still is one of my favorite wedding jewelry series I've done to date - can I take the forest with me on all of my shoots Lol? I would really, really like that.

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Thank you Adam, for all the cool shots of Aman's outfit too!

Thank you Adam, for all the cool shots of Aman's outfit too!

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The next two days of shooting were so much fun as well.  We had a blast at both the Sangeet and on the Big Day, and were so grateful and honored to be a small part of this amazing celebration :) . 

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Thank you so much again Preeti & Aman! You guys are the best, and many congratulations again!
~ e

Italia! A Few More Post-Destination Wedding Adventures :)

"Scorps", our super rad scorpion car (aka the Fiat 595 Abarth hehe) took us on many an adventure after Matt & Michelle's amazing castle wedding. Here are just a few images from our travels :) .

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After eating ALL of the gelato (lol see previous post!) we explored more of the beautiful city of Siena.

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I have a thing for windows :).

Firenze! :D  Photo cred: Adam Dotson

Firenze! :D  Photo cred: Adam Dotson

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We had to try it just once LOL. Courtesy of Adam's iPhone.

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We totally wanted to stop here LOL!

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Ciao for now!
~ e

The BEST Gelato EVER!!! Siena, Italy

In the castle town of Siena there is a magical place. A VERY magical place. 

It is called La Vecchia LatteriaAnd inside there is the most AMAZING, Awesomest, most delicious gelato we have ever tasted!!! :O We don't claim to be gelato experts by any means, but all we know is that we believe it to be what all other gelato only dreams of being LOL.

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OMG we went back literally 5 times in 2 days haha.
Ciao!
~ e

We live in a Tower in Firenze! We also travel to Cinque Terre :D

After saying goodbye to Castello di Gabbiano, we headed to Firenze! Our Airbnb was awesome, but we came to the conclusion that perhaps people were not as tall wayyyy back in the day during medieval times when they built it - lol or at least they were my height XD (as I am slightly vertically-challenged hehe).
We then drove Scorps to Cinque Terre, one of Italy's coastal towns - Omg unreal!

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Nobody is getting into our place XD!  Although it was not made for Adam-sized people LOL!!

Crazy Locks!!

Crazy Locks!!

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Just washing the dishes lol.

Just washing the dishes lol.

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In Cinque Terre

In Cinque Terre

"Scorps": Our Italian Scorpion Car

So. After shooting Matt & Michelle's amazing wedding at the Castello di Gabbiano, we got a Scorpion car!
And a pretty sweet parking spot too ; ) 

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Scorps took us on many adventures, and soon we came to realize that Adam actually is actually an Italian driver at heart. 

Short Post: "Italian Shaka"! And the Most Delicious Castle Sandwich Ever

Two things we learned: 
If you ever travel to Italy and you give someone a shaka (the "hang loose" sign), it actually means you want to talk on the phone.

Also, we have learned that Castle-spec sandwiches are on a Whole other level. Omg. How are you so delicious only with tomato, basil, cheese, and pancetta?? Guess it just goes to show what amazing farm-fresh ingredients can do.

Ciao for now :) , 
~ e

Photo cred! Adam Dotson

Photo cred! Adam Dotson

#5 - Jump the Castello di Gabbiano! Destination Wedding, Italy :)

"Jumping Awkwardly In Front of Impressive Objects Until I'm 80"

So. Although I don't take a lot of photos of people jumping, I started this collection a couple years back and am going to continue to do this until I'm 80 - so eventually there is going to be an 80-year-old woman jumping. 
Not sure why, but that never stopped me before anyways Lol!"

Ciao bella! Matt & Michelle had an awesome plan. Their plan was to get married. Their plan was to get married in a castle. In a castle in Italy :O ! Which they did. Which was amazing :D!!! Ahhhh!!!

We had so much fun adventuring and shooting in and around the Castello di Gabbiano, located roughly 30 minutes outside of Firenze.  Myself and my amazing second photographer Adam shot their wonderful rehearsal dinner (after which any other tiramisu was ruined for the both of us forever LOL ) and the next day had a blast taking full photographic advantage of the surrounding olive groves, vineyards, and everything else this amazing piece of history had to offer.  Adam even shot the groomsmen in the wine cellar, which was pretty darn cool too :) .

Just finished shooting a Couples Session with the bride & groom the day after the wedding! Lol soooo amazing!!

Just finished shooting a Couples Session with the bride & groom the day after the wedding! Lol soooo amazing!!

Matt, Michelle, and their friends and family were and are such a wonderful, nice group of people too - working with them all was a joy, and we are so happy to have the privilege of being a small part of their wedding celebration.

Grazie mille,
~ e

I miss this!! Just walking around the vineyard lol with Bride and Groom and also the amazing wedding planner Lindsay from LVL Weddings & Events!

I miss this!! Just walking around the vineyard lol with Bride and Groom and also the amazing wedding planner Lindsay from LVL Weddings & Events!

#4 - Jump the Street Art! Wien, Austria

"Jumping Awkwardly In Front of Impressive Objects Until I'm 80"

"So. Although I don't take a lot of photos of people jumping, I started this collection a couple years back and am going to continue to do this until I'm 80 - so eventually there is going to be an 80-year-old woman jumping.
Not sure why, but that never stopped me before anyways Lol!" 

Vienna, you have kick butt street art -  we took this one after happening across a huge stretch of seriously cool works on the Donaukanal (Danube Canal). 

Go Go Power Rangers Shoot!!! Make-A-Wish

That day when you met the Power Rangers Super Megaforce :D  

It's always such a great honor to shoot with this amazing group of people - and when 6 awesome Wish Kids want to become Rangers themselves, you know it's on Lol! After learning how to fight like a Ranger, they battled it out in front of a crowd at the Pasadena Convention Center to emerge strong and victorious. A day filled with Mighty Morphin Awesomeness all around :) . 

To quote the kids, "Earth's Defenders Never Surrender!!"
And neither should we :D .

Rock on everyone,
~ e

To get involved in MAW, click here for more info! 

#3 - Jump the Louvre! Paris, France (and Snails!)

#3 - Jump the Louvre! Paris, France (and Snails!)

"Jumping Awkwardly In Front of Impressive Objects Until I'm 80"

"So. Although I don't take a lot of photos of people jumping, I started this collection a couple years back and am going to continue to do this until I'm 80 - so eventually there is going to be an 80-year-old woman jumping.
Not sure why, but that never stopped me before anyways Lol!" 

When this was taken it was my first time in Paris, and needless to say we had a most awesome time! We also visited Le Mont Saint-Michel, located in Normandy, which is a castle town on an island in the ocean. It was absolutely beautiful - I love to be anywhere by the sea really ~ it calms me down and revitalizes me anytime I feel stressed out or just need to take a breather. 

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Totoro Cookies :D!

Thank you so much to Adam Dotson, my amazing Second Shooter, for bringing these macarons back from CrackleCreme in Vancouver! 

I am a HUGE Miyazaki fan, and the very first film of his that I watched when I was a little girl was My Neighbor Totoro. My favorite is the little white-colored totoro (chibi-totoro), who manages to hold objects even though he has no hands LOL.

Cannot resist the cute!!!
~ e

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#2 - Jump the Molamola! Barcelona, Spain (Plus: an Intro to the Mola :)

"Jumping Awkwardly In Front of Impressive Objects Until I'm 80"

(Like I said, I really don't think it would be a complete blog without this collection :D.)

"So. Although I don't take a lot of photos of people jumping, I started this collection a couple years back and am going to continue to do this until I'm 80 - so eventually there is going to be an 80-year-old woman jumping.
Not sure why, but that never stopped me before anyways Lol!" 

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For anyone who knows me, you know that I have a great <3 for sunfish (otherwise know as molamola). One might argue that they are not very impressive, but to me they are one of the most odd, endearingly awkward animals in the whole entire world, and I love them dearly for this very reason :) . This little guy was being cared for at L'Aquarium Barcelona, since he had gotten injuries from an incident with a motorboat (as their body shape may give away, they are not very fast lol...). After he recovers he will be released to swim another day. Yay!

I have some good friends who go fishing and/or paddling in the ocean and they have actually seen them in the wild! Many times you will see them sunbathing on their sides like this:

I found this image online taken by Randal Finley - click on the mola to see the photo cred!

I found this image online taken by Randal Finley - click on the mola to see the photo cred!

Many comments during first encounters include:

"Is that just a fish's head? Where's the rest of it?"  

"OMG is it dead???" 

"Oh, I thought it was just floating trash."

But really guys, they are pretty cool!!!

Fun Facts About the Mola!

  • They eat mostly jellyfish (which are btw about 95% water....lol) - as a result, the scientific community is actually becoming more interested in them because of the increase of jellyfish in our oceans due to climate change.

  • The mola is the largest bony fish in the world.

  • They are very curious, docile fish and actually like to get pet by divers.

  • They are also sometimes mistaken for sharks because their fins sometimes poke above the water like a shark's fin XD.

To learn more about them, here is a great TED Talk about them by a kindred spirit, marine biologist Tierney Thys!

There is just something about them that speaks to me and makes me ridiculously happy.  Is this a good thing? LOL thaaaat could be debatable, but nonetheless they totally rock my world. 

Have a wonderful rest of the day everyone, and stay fabulously different ; ) , 
~ e 

 

 

 

#1 - Jump the Arc de Triomf! Barcelona, Spain

#1 - Jump the Arc de Triomf! Barcelona, Spain

"Jumping Awkwardly In Front of Impressive Objects Until I'm 80"

(I really think that it wouldn't be a complete blog unless I included this collection XD. Here's the first one!!)

"So. Although I don't take a lot of photos of people jumping, I started this collection a couple years back and am going to continue to do this until I'm 80 - so eventually there is going to be an 80-year-old woman jumping.
Not sure why, but that never stopped me before anyways Lol!" 

This was my first time traveling to Barcelona, and I must say I absolutely Loved it.  One of my favorite experiences was actually getting to be a total fangirl of Gaudí's work in person :D . You know how sometimes when you see something or walk into a place and there are just no words (and that's saying a lot for me because I am known to be a talker Lol)? Well, that's how it was when I walked into the Sagrada Família: 

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Hi Guys! Aka: New Blog! XD

I have never written a blog before, but I'm actually pretty excited about it Lol! Gonna be playing catch-up for a short while, but I hope you guys like it :) . 

I also hope you all are having a most awesome start to the New Year! Yay go 2017!!

Much love,
~ erin \m/