Family memories

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Family memories

 

Of all the memories we hold dear to our hearts, the ones we can all agree are the most precious, are those of our family. 

While the regular family portrait is probably good enough, I am an active advocate for a more relaxed, journalistic approach to family portraits. For me, there is nothing better than capturing the every day moments.

The precious Saturday morning where you are all still in your PJs at noon making waffles with your 3 year old. The Sunday adventures in the park or on a hike or simply a lazy day in the back yard. Those moments to me, hold your family story. There is so much more that can be captured in a adventure session as opposed to a traditional one. 

 When I was little I had a lake in my life. A wonderful place filled with memories... My grandfather, who played a huge role in my life, loved it there. We went bbq-ing and swimming every weekend. Our whole family would get together and we would spend the whole day in the sun. I wish I had more pictures of those days. As vivid as they are in my mind, I wish I could flip through a book and relive them everyday.  I found a couple of older pictures of my family at the lake that I would love to share with you. They make me smile every time I see them.

These are my people.

Captured as they are.

Beautiful, relaxed, happy.

This is my mom at our "shared" childhood lake. Shared, simply because we grew up in the same neighborhood. This lake was in her childhood just as much as it was in mine. She was pregnant with me here even though you would not even be able to te…

This is my mom at our "shared" childhood lake. Shared, simply because we grew up in the same neighborhood. This lake was in her childhood just as much as it was in mine. 

She was pregnant with me here even though you would not even be able to tell. Isn't she just beautiful?!

My mom again :) She has the most infectious laugh... She could light up a million rooms with it <3 ( My grandma looks so giddy in this picture!)

My mom again :) She has the most infectious laugh... She could light up a million rooms with it <3 ( My grandma looks so giddy in this picture!)

This picture of my grandma was taken by my talented grandfather. I love the light he captured. She looks like a Queen- -So beautiful, so proud, so loved and adored. He had a true passion for photography and used to develop most of our family picture…

This picture of my grandma was taken by my talented grandfather. I love the light he captured. She looks like a Queen- -So beautiful, so proud, so loved and adored. He had a true passion for photography and used to develop most of our family pictures in a makeshift darkroom in the bathroom. He gave me my first camera, a Smena 8M, and thought me how to use it.

My grandfather was the moving force behind the lake gatherings. He loved it there. He loved walking through the woods, with a skip in his walk and whistling. He loved BBQ and watermelon and teaching us things. I miss him dearly.

My grandfather was the moving force behind the lake gatherings. He loved it there. He loved walking through the woods, with a skip in his walk and whistling. He loved BBQ and watermelon and teaching us things. I miss him dearly.

 

So I feel like it's my turn to take as many pictures as I can of the everyday. This beautiful lake that is now so close to us, smells like childhood memories to me. 

Enso enjoying Lake Shaftsbury, a little peace of heaven &lt;3 He calls it " the beach" :)

Enso enjoying Lake Shaftsbury, a little peace of heaven <3 He calls it " the beach" :)

On this particular trip, he couldn't help but jump in the water, even though, I thought it was way too cold and we were completely unprepared, hence all the clothing... (If you know me, you know I usually just wing it and not plan too much). Oh the joy! I could watch him for hours... It was a struggle getting him to leave.

His little soul is so happy and content there! I wish I could bottle it all up for him- the smell, the beauty, the freedom...

His little soul is so happy and content there! I wish I could bottle it all up for him- the smell, the beauty, the freedom...

 

Where is your happy place? Lets get together and take pictures of your every day adventures.

 

 

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About friendship and the people that shape us | Raluca Buzura Jewelry Designer

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About friendship and the people that shape us | Raluca Buzura Jewelry Designer

There is nothing better than a friend, unless it is a friend with chocolate.

— Linda Grayson

This girl and I go back what seems to be 1000 years. We shaped each other through the most glorious and hard high school years and wasted precious time together in College. I am so incredibly happy to call her my friend. Huge heart. Amazing talent. Mile wide infectious smile. The chillest yet most anxious person you have ever met. (she is probably smiling right now 'cause she knows its true :D) 

RalucaBuzura_IdenaBeachPortraitPhotographer

Raluca Buzura

PORCELAIN JEWELRY DESIGNER EXTRAORDINAIRE

Growing up, we balanced and completed each other in the best ways. I was her calm when she was my "lets do something crazy". I was her "let it be" while she was my " I can't, I m freaking out!" We make things happen together and nothing ever seemed like too much to take on. I miss that about her the most. Planning the world over a cup of coffee. The healthy, supportive competition that makes the world go round.

As we both moved away and started following our own separate adventures, one thing remained the same. Whenever we get together, she feels like home to me. No matter where in the world we are.

My heart is always full when she is around.

A couple of weeks ago she visited me in Vermont and we had the best time together doing absolutely nothing. It was glorious. We spent hours in the sun just chatting and it was exactly what I needed.

 

 

On top of being an amazing friend she is also, hands down, one of the most talented people I know! Her jewelry is out of this world beautiful. When you wear it you can't help but feel absolutely fabulous.Don't believe me?! Try it!

 

 

Here I am below, looking unapologetically royal, wearing one of a kind Raluca Buzura necklaces :)

 

If you are trying to get in contact with her or would like to follow her work, here is her Facebook page : 

Raluca Buzura

 

 

 

 

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Arrowhead Lake, CA | Couple Portraits | Wes and Ana

You are made in the image of what you desire.
— Thomas Merton

 

I think that's probably why people that love each other tend to look alike. Don't you think?! They  blend with one another and have the same twinkle in their eyes and warmth in their mile wide smile... Wes and Ana are that couple. The couple that gives you butterflies and gets you excited for love and life.

 

 

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Playa Del Carmen Indian Wedding featured on Vogue!

I don't often blow horns, but when its deserved, I feel like its my duty too :) For those of you that don't know Matei, he is one of my best friends. We also work together a lot and so we get to spend a lot of time together. Usually in the car. In LA traffic. Sometimes, in airports travelling to or from fabulous destinations. Whatever the case, fact is...He is awesome. He is an amazing photographer. This Vogue (OMG!!!Vogue!!!) feature just goes to show exactly that. He deserves it. He works super hard. He also sweats like nobody else and its because what he does is emotionally and physically draining. As a wedding photographer you work like a maniac for a lot of hours. You can't stop. There is no 15 minute break in the middle of it just because you are tired. Or because its literally 110 degrees  outside and you didn't get to have a drop of water in what feels like ages.

For Jessel and Pavits wedding I had the pleasure of tagging along  as his second shooter. It was an adventure! It was challenging in ways I didn't and couldn't foresee at the time.

It was a day in October. I stayed up waaaay past my bed time to get to my overnight flight. I kissed my than 1 year old sleeping baby and had no idea that that hole in my heart will linger for the whole week. I forgot my equipment bag in a crowded Starbucks in the Dallas airport and almost had a heart attack about an hour later when I figured it out. I made really good friends with about 1000 Mexican mosquitoes. (I apparently had something no other had)

Jessel and Pavit were just the greatest hosts and such a beautiful couple!

The whole experience was a dream!

Please click on this link and admire the pictures. Sweat, mosquito bite tears and maybe one or two Margaritas went into the making ;) 

http://www.vogue.com/13418245/jessel-taank-pavit-singh-randhawa-wedding-miami

Here is what Matei had to say and some more pictures of the fabulous affair:

http://www.mateihorvathblog.com/weddings/playa-del-carmen-indian-wedding-featured-on-vogue/

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I'm not sure...

...of anything. I have been fantasizing a lot about other places, other spaces. The world is an amazing, beautiful place. It simply asks to be explored. Lately it feels like such a waste of life, living  in a large city, crammed up with no space to breathe, no space to let your mind wonder.

They say West coast is the chill coast. But is it? Life moves at an alarming speed here. The daily "hustle" and "goal chasing" is exhausting.(  Please stop talking about it... :)) 

Whenever I imagine where I would like to live, the first thing that comes to mind, now that Enso is around, is him running wild on an open field somewhere, picking rocks and sticks and playing in a cold water stream. Walking with him on a dirt road somewhere and enjoying a nice soft breeze. Second thing that pops into my head is where I would like to drink my morning coffee. I picture the large windows, breakfast nook, morning sun shining through on hardwood floors. I crave the calm and quiet. I dream of it every day- the simple comfort that comes from being amidst beauty... I think our happy places say a lot about us and those we have around. About how we relax.  I also think that the things I might take for granted as I write this, are not in other places. And I know that if we ever move away from LA, I will miss it dearly. I will most likely miss the amazing food and beautiful cultures intertwining in the every day. ( Mexican food is so sad everywhere else. I m not sure if I will ever cope with the lack of it.) But I miss the beauty in the everyday more. I don't want to drive around for it for hours. I want it outside my front door. 

 

What is your happy place? I would love to get a conversation started- a conversation about the simple things, the sometimes forgotten but oh so important things in life...

Idena :)

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Asma | San Pedro Beach | California

We can experience nothing but the present moment, live in no other second of time, and to understand this is as close as we can get to eternal life.
— P.D JAMES, The Children Of Men

 

 

Have you been to White Cove Beach in San Pedro?! No?! You should. Its amazing.

Amazing in the fact that there is plenty of parking and the water is still and shallow. Its quiet. Either not a lot of people know about it yet or it's far away enough where nobody wants to commit to the long drive there. It has been on my "have to go to" list for a long time ( its a loooong list and I feel like I might not have enough lives to cover all the ground listed in there...).

When Asma contacted me for a photo shoot and mentioned the beach as a possible place to get together and play, San Pedro made top of the list for that weekend.

In all honesty, I could have done a better job scheduling this shoot. Between the make up and picking an outfit, I had about 15min to shoot before the sun went away. Deceiving little one... You feel like there is enough time, but really, when you are taking pictures in that beautiful creamy gold light, you feel the burn. The light is just right for about 5 seconds. Erika did a great job putting on the make up as fast as humanly possible ( thank you!). While she was doing that, I was pretty much sending mental sun salutations to all the Gods and the Sun himself, hoping to prolong that fabulous light. I wasn't able to. The Sun was hiding behind the ocean at first slow and at the end, it felt like it just dropped in the water from a million miles away. No warning. 

The close up portraits you see here I took in near darkness--- With this opportunity I would like to extend thanks to my camera for not letting me down and performing like a champ... Also, Caroline  for holding that pocket flashlight like a true professional :)

 

There is a certain rush that comes with overcoming situations like that. It could have been bad. It turned out to be a blessing in disguise. I knew it the moment I saw that first close up on the back screen of my camera. The golden light, the beautiful sunset, the water, nothing even mattered. I had the shot. It wasn't what I thought I went there to do, it was better. It was true to me and my soul. I appreciate the light filled, ethereal pictures I see from other photographers. I can take them but for some reason, as soon as they hit my computer screen they feel wrong. They make me feel like an impostor.

I love how this set turned out. Its dark, heavy and gritty.

 

Press play :)


 

 

 

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