(So let the storm come)
Hickory, oak, pine, and weed
Bury my heart underneath these trees
And when a southern wind comes to raise my soul
Spread my spirit like a flock of crows
A few years ago I made a blog post here about how shit life was and I was so burnt out. I wasn't doing much to seek change, I'm a creature of habit. Regardless how shitty and demoralizing those habits are. I was in a job I completley hated because they didn't value me. I had lost two very meaningful friendships that I was still reeling from, and unsure how to articulate or even wonder if they were still worth mentioning. I was ready to maybe live by myself too because my boyfriend and I weren't ready to live together yet because we wanted a house to be the first place we shared. I felt I was getting too old for a roommate.
And then something happened.
I made better happen.
December 2016 Tyson bought a house. Very exciting, but I wasn't ready to move yet from the eastside. I wanted to establish myself at a job closer to where we would be living. I moved back to Tigard in August 2017. Since then life has accelerated and has positioned me to start collecting some funds to maybe upgrade my gear and put my office together. Because with this house comes my own space to create and just "be". If I've learned anything from the relationships I've kept with the dudes I've dated its that giving each other space to decompress and breathe and create is important. I haven't created much this year but the photos that I've shot have been very special and I'm excited to give an overview of them.
I scored a pretty solid position at a startup downtown in the spring of 2017, training took about 5 weeks and in mid-June my training group hit the floor. Yesterday (1/4/18) I got some cool news regarding my position with the company, I can't really disclose too much at this time. But know its a positive move for me and my finances. My overall happiness, really.
With that said, I was able to create with a few people this year. My camera has started to sow some real signs of wear and tear, so I had to shoot priomarily with tyson's camera this year.
Reggie
Reggie holds the records for one of the oldest Portland friendships I have. I cherish him. So I'm always excited when he chooses me to work with him. We wanted to go with a ultra noir type of shoot. I hope I did him justice!
Holly and Zane
Let me tell you about these mother suckers.
And I mean that in the most sincerest way possible, because I absolutely love these two individuals, with my whole heart.
I met Holly through friends of friends here in the PDX hip-hop scene. I'm not fully involved in the scene but I have my ear to it and I adore a good handful of creatives. Holly and I shot a boudoir set a few years ago and have since kept in touch. When she told me she was getting married and wanted me to shoot her wedding, I was super humbled. She could have asked a few other people who would have done a knock out job. But I was honored. When she introduced me to Zane I instantly got it, these two are kindreds who met at the right time. They're going to have a beautiful, laughter-filled life. I love them.
Vikki and Jon
I worked with Vikki at my previous job. She and Jon are so lovely! They have since had this precious baby girl in these photos. They are going to be the most wonderful parents. I see baby girl on Instagram pretty often and she's a complete doll! Excited to see this little family grow. Congrats you two!
Annika
I've been shooting with Annika for years. She's my most consistent client. She's adventurous and willing to strut in full costume down a busy SE Portland street! She and her kids are fantastic. When she asked me to shoot her as Wonder Woman around Halloween I was like "yeah ok." thinking she was just gonna like... I don't know...have a costume. No. The girl had a full garb and her hair done. And she picked the location down on the pier by the Hawthorne bridge. So we position ourselves and start shooting. And this thing happens that I kinda started to forget about after a while because if I remember it's happening I will lose my concentration and be completely feeling on the spot. But... Sometimes people will stop and watch you as you work with your model, and that's a totally normal thing as a photographer. But if I realize it's happening I get super embarrassed. It's like having the teacher look over your shoulder as you're testing. But when you're Wonder Woman... Who doesn't stop and stare?
Nikki and Amanda
My girls. My genus menum.
I was really excited to talk about this shoot. Because I get to talk about my friends. And weed And being witchy babes who love the woods.
Listen, I have maybe a handful of meaningful relationships. Because even though "they" say it doesn't happen... But it does. Life fucking happens. You and your relationships with people eventually are tested or you just naturally grow apart as we get busy, and adopt different things to keep us engaged, and forced to weigh our time and priorities as equally as possible. Life fucking happens.
I'm the type of person who doesn't need to check in with people every day. And I don't need it in return. The majority of my friendships pick right back up where they left off. And that's cool. I'll be honest, I'm working on why I'm so closed off. I know why. But that's neither here nor there or worth a discussion in this space.
So Nikki, one of the last bastions of my best friendships on this planet (honestly, I can count my closest relationships on one hand) asked me to do this shoot with her best friend Amanda, I was super stoked because of this I what all three of us are into anyway so it made complete sense and felt so natural to create. Also, this solitary photo of Amanda was my most liked across all platforms this year.
Nick and Kourtney
My rad friends Koutrney and Nick got married in September, and I was privileged enough to get to hang out all day and shoot the festivities. My fav part about being hired to shoot a friends wedding is that I get to be a guest and do what I love. I also smoked a few bowls and got to spend the day deep in the woods sharing my friends love.
