the vibrancy of the colors, the glow of the sunshine, the shimmer of twilight.

julia and rendy are the kind of people who make me feel good about myself and my work. not only did they bring me up to new york, but they also traveled from new hampshire themselves for our shoot! that is the kind of dedication that really brings life to sessions for me.

the first half of our shoot took place at coney island and i love how fun and colorful that portion is. if anything is true about them, it’s that they know how to dress. the second half was on the brooklyn bridge (my favorite place in new york) and again i was stunned by how sharp they looked.

i feel like eye-candy is the only word to describe this session…

and more importantly, they wanted to do a little whimsical and bohemian session in central park with me.

though the day was freezing, the light was beautiful. and caro and marcel were even more beautiful! you want to talk about a couple of sweet-natured, good-looking people, i have them for you here. we had so much fun during our session talking about new york, germany, and everything in between. i’m also a personal fan of caro’s amazing fairy bohemian-ness. and can we talk about how suave marcel is? i mean seriously!

can’t wait until the next time i’m in germany, because a reunion with these two will definitely be taking place. enjoy…

more of new york soon…

the second was the food. oh my gosh the food. my mouth is watering just thinking about it.  the master chef is not only belgian (!) but also the personal chef for a canadian ambassador in DC.  don’t worry- there are photographs, if for no other reason than to make you completely jealous. : )

michal, corentin, and family- thank you for welcoming me in and letting me be part of this day!

this was one of the smoothest and easiest sessions of my life, aside from the fact that one of my lenses broke just beforehand. amor and rafa were inspiringly beautiful and knew how to be in love more than anyone i have photographed. : ) this is one of my favorite sessions i have done!

and the beauty of spain and spanish people is so evident.

because my mind is all over the place these days, my productivity rates have been rapidly declining. so since i wasn’t able to get all this done yesterday for my previous paris post, here it is today! the problem with paris is that there is so much to see and do. as i was remembering my time there and everything i did, i remembered a hundred things i didn’t do. so. i just need to get back. : )

so many things to photograph, so much french to speak!

explored the famous paris flea market- Marché aux Puces. so many incredible antiques and curiosities!

strolled along the seine. every angle, every bridge, every tree is beautiful and filled with peace.

walked through the tuilleries and right past the louvre. been there, done that 10 years ago. no desire to return in the near future. but the surroundings are a wonderful way to pass a lazy afternoon.

enjoyed my breakfast and people watching in the Place des Vosges. this was definitely one of my favorite things. the sunshine was perfect, the people were interesting, and i felt at home.

went shopping in the Marais. one of my two favorite neighborhoods, i was just meant to enjoy this area. so much vintage and fashion. i could have spent a week shopping here alone.

enjoyed an evening of modern art. i know most people think it’s weird, but i love modern art. Le Centre Pompidou in paris is definitely one of the best modern art museums i’ve been to. i got to see a lot of works that i’ve studied in the past. and one of the best parts is that the building itself is a piece of art.

and perhaps my favorite evening was the one that i spent watching the sunset over paris from the top level of Le Centre Pompidou. the view was incredible. on each level there is a terrace and this one had a water/sculpture installation. it was so peaceful.

i did a free walking tour of Montmartre, my other favorite neighborhood in paris. as they say, it’s like being in a completely different place right inside of paris. it’s famous now for being the setting of Amélie. but it was once the place the artists flocked to. and the ones who can still afford it flock there nowadays.  anyway, i really enjoyed the tour with discover walks.

went shopping in a fresh open air market in my neighborhood, montparnasse.

relaxed in Les Jardins Luxembourg and watched the children play with sailboats in the fountain.

notre dame and the ile de la cité.

beautiful architecture everywhere i looked.

spring!

Le Musée de L’Orangerie. famous for housing Monet’s Nymphéas- a collection of 8 large paintings of water lillies. they are in two oval rooms that give the impression of actually being out in nature observing them. probably my favorite works of Monet because the installation is just as important as the paintings themselves. unfortunately photographs weren’t allowed. but i was able to see some other impressionist and post-impressionist paintings that i studied in school.

Sacre Coeur.

the Arc de Triopmhe. last time i saw it at night and i think it’s stunning both in the day and night.

Champs Élysées. though not my preferred shopping destination, i felt that i should at least walk down the champs élysées towards the eiffel tower.

and of course, the eiffel tower!

both the moulin de la galette and the moulin rouge. the moulin de la galette is famous because it used to be where the people who didn’t have money to go to the ritzier places would hang out. from it came the famous renoir painting pictured below.

café des 2 moulins. the cafe from the movie Amélie!

little things that constantly reminded me i was in paris. : )

saint germain des prés and the neighborhood where the students hang.

crêpes, crêpes, and more crêpes.

croque monsieur.

a few of my favorite things. speculoos, fresh baguette, rondelé, and red wine.

steak tartar and fries!

as i said, crêpes. sweet ones…

and salty ones.

quiches!

so i did the best i could to capture some of the most important things and food. but of course there were so many things i saw, and did, and ate- that i could never write about it all.  the important thing is that i loved paris and will do what i can to return as soon as i can. : )

and lastly, here are a few of my favorite photos from my other session in paris! aurélie and stéphane were so sweet and so easy to photograph. though they have had an engagement session before, they also wanted to do one with me. and it was perfect because they were pros at posing by the time i came around. next time, you two, ewan must join the photos!

this post has been a long time coming. i’ve put it off for so long because paris was both completely overwhelming and completely amazing at the same time. and it was nothing like i remember from 10 years ago. it was also nothing like the experience a lot of americans seem to have.

perhaps speaking french helped, but i didn’t experience a single person who was rude to me.

i’m not sure how long it would take me to do everything that i would want to do in paris, perhaps years, but i do know that i didn’t have the time i wish i could have had. so! if you are reading this and want some photos taken, please give me a reason to come back.

i’m going to start by showing you my session from paris. maïwenn is a woman of incredible style! she saw that i wanted to do a shoot inspired by midnight in paris and took it quite literally. even to the point of doing the shoot at night (which was a first for me).

for the first part of the shoot, i did some photos of just maïwenn around her neighborhood. then ben joined us and we headed to montmartre- which also happened to be one of my favorite parts of paris.

though i planned on doing my full update today, unfortunately i ran out of time. so i’ll have to include it on the post from my other paris session!

now that i’m back in the states and have had time to reflect on my trip as a whole, i think i can accurately say that something about munich completely captured me. it’s not that i didn’t absolutely love everywhere that i visited, because i did. but there is an essence, a certain je ne sais quoi about munich that i can’t shake.

i know it has to do with the people. and i’m sure it has to do with the food. and there is no doubt that it has to do with how old and beautiful and cultural the city is. but there is just an attitude that i could feel the whole time i was there. and then there is the mystery of the language that i’m really wanting to learn.

it’s been awhile since this session now, but the images came out so lovely. alicia totally knew how to work the camera- that’s something i can’t teach! we did the session in and around Odeonsplatz in Munich.

i hope this gives you a little taste of one of my newly favorite cities.

as for the tail-end of my trip in munich, i don’t have too many photos to show you. i spent more time doing and being, than i did photographing, and i’m not too sorry about it.

the bike on the graphic is pretty appropriate because one of the things i did (and i highly recommend it) is a bike tour of the city. alicia and paul recommended that i look into  mike’s bike tours which ended up being one of the coolest experiences. i got to see so much of the city and hear a lot of history mixed with funny anecdotes about current life. the tour is about 4 hours long but you make a long stop in the middle for a beer garden experience.

oh germany. meat + sauerkraut, you just can’t lose.

one of the coolest things i saw was these river surfers. apparently river surfing was invented in munich. i’m thinking about posting the video i took but basically these rapid waves come at them and they surf around and do tricks until they are eventually pulled under. apparently it’s extremely dangerous…

other than my tour, and quite a bit of shopping, i hung out with some new friends, and it was a blast. sunday we went to this pub and in true european fashion, watched a soccer match. i think it’s one of my favorite things about europe. for some reason- it’s the sport i most love to watch.

one place that i only got to peek into (because of other plans) was the Hofbräuhaus. if you are ever in munich, i think it’s the place to go. according to wikipedia: Munich’s famous “hofbrauhaus” was founded in 1589 by the Duke of Bavaria, Wilhelm V. It is one of Munich’s oldest beer halls. It was originally founded as the brewery to the old Royal Residence, which at that time was situated just around the corner from where the beer hall stands today. The beer quickly became world famous thanks to the first brewer, Heimeran Pongratz, and the famous “Bavarian Beer Purity Law” of 1516 that stated that only natural ingredients could be used in the brewing process.

also, apparently Mozart lived around the corner at one point and used to hang out there. all that to say, it’s a place to visit.

the return home from europe was quite sad, and also pretty stressful. my body decided to contract strep throat, i had a double wedding weekend, and now i’m just trying to get caught up on all my sessions and blog posts and everything else. so hopefully i’ll have some more photos up in a few days.

a few weeks ago i was contacted by some vendors in charlottesville/orange, virginia asking if i would like to participate in a styled wedding shoot. i’d never done one before, so what better time than the day before i leave for europe?

i know, i know.

but nevertheless, the shoot was fantastic.

cody grannis, owner and mastermind behind amore events by cody, joined me in coming up with the concept and styling the shoot.

so what do you get when you combine fresh botanicals + early summer + industrial influences?

this, my friends.

this is the full list of fantastic vendors, please give them your business- they are all outstanding people.

co-stylist and coordinator: Cody Grannis, Amore Events by Cody // facebook

up-and-coming venue: Ellen Pitera, Rounton Farm {10155 Rapidan Road Orange, VA}

bed and breakfast where hair and makeup was done: Chestnut Hill {236 Caroline St. Orange, VA}

hair and makeup maven: Amanda Scott {amanderlee@yahoo.com}

beautiful models and providers of shabby chic furniture and some props: Hanna and Kody Kappes, Shabby Love {112 E. Main St. Orange, VA}

antique store owner and donator of  antique items: Terra Devine of Gypsy Willow {212 Byrd St. Orange, VA}

antique birdcage: LionShare Antiques {109 E. Main St. Orange, VA}

creator of cakes: Greenock Bakery {253 Caroline St. Orange, VA}

the catering genius: Currey of Beggars Banquet {112 May Fray Ave. Orange, VA}

amazing arranger of flowers: Donna of Colonial Florist {100 N. Main St. Gordonsville, VA}

lighting experts: Rachel and Ryan of  Gibson Rental {Orange, VA}

provider of the vintage bathtub (and the coolest place to find salvage things for your decor): Craig of  Salvage Wrights {441 N. Madison Rd. Orange, VA}

the awesome vintage lamp was made by one of my clients, Jerod! {Bushwick Hardware}

bottles of wine from Barboursville Vineyards: website {17655 Winery Road  Barboursville, VA}

the sessions were wonderful and i really had to be led by my clients since i wasn’t familiar with paris at all. but i feel like i did a lot of scouting during this trip and next time i come- i will have a million ideas!