Kate and Jacob's wedding day glowed. The warm, end of May sun beckoned in their commitment and the evening glittered with the dancing of young children and bright petals. It was a joy to document their wedding day after six years of movement and love and long distance - thank you, Kate and Jacob. Cheers!
down the coast, through the desert | a road trip
It's taken me a month to prepare to make this post. Austin and I bought a boat, I shot a wedding, moved out of my home in West Seattle, and now, here I am. These photos are very dear to me, and I think that's also why it's taken me a long time to get to them. They are snapshots of three very sacred weeks of wandering and basking and not knowing where we were going to sleep the next night. I was shooting a wedding at the end of April in Orange County, so we took it as an excuse to pack all of our essentials and live out of my car for three weeks. It is a huge privilege to have been able to take this trip, and I am deeply grateful for the lands that welcomed us, the people who fed us and gave us a place to sleep, and the countless moments of warmth and joy along the way. Thank you to everyone who we had the pleasure of seeing and staying with - I don't have words at the moment to fully express how in awe I am of each and every one of you, so maybe these photos will do what I can't seem to articulate.
Seattle --> Portland --> Point Arena --> Camp Meeker --> Santa Cruz --> Santa Barbara --> San Clemente --> Death Valley National Park --> Zion National Park --> Bryce Canyon National Park --> Grand Teton National Park --> Yellowstone National Park --> Helena --> Seattle.
; While traversing across these wild lands and running our fingers along the rocks and grass, I felt acutely aware of the history of our National Parks, of the sacredness of these lands, of how they were stolen from the people who named them and roamed them and lived off of them. And how these incredible valleys and canyons and calderas are now used for profit by the nation who exiled and massacred the people who first loved these places. And I don’t know how to reconcile being in awe of the earth and loving the National Parks for their education and inspiration, but also remembering the exploitation in their histories. The National Parks are a victory in an attempt to protect our land, but who are they protecting? And what lands have slipped away into the hands of corporations while we celebrate our parks? They are a start, but they are by no means an adequate end, even in all of their good and majesty. ;
Five National Parks, fruitful conversations, nights of gazing at the Milky Way, holding one another in glee at the setting sun. Dancing naked beneath an almost full moon in the desert, swimming in ice melt, picnicking next to mother bison and their calves. Home, in a new definition of the word.
san juan island; the first warm weekend; kim.
i am a girl who loves my island, and a girl who loves the sea; it calls me...
There were once two young girls who loved the sea very much. They both grew up with sand in their toes and salt on their skin. For many years, neither knew of the other's existence - one of the girls lived next to the warm sea, where currents from Mexico would bring tropical tides to the surf, and the other, next to the northern sea, where orcas guarded the mouth of the Pacific. They knew of the ocean's power to create and destroy, and for both of them, the water was where they were reminded of the Divine. The ocean gave them the strength, grace, and whimsy to grow from girls into women.
A number of years into their womanhoods, the ocean kin met in the northern mainland, away from both of their original seaside homes. They felt each other's spirits and began telling stories and whisking away off on adventures together, to the mountains, and once again, to the ocean. The two of them could sit in silence next to the waves and wander without expectation together. The ocean, their sister and their mother, knew of their souls and their akin spirits, and she blessed their relationship and wonderings.
Both of them storytellers and wanderers, the two women returned to each other even as their own lives grew more and more unknown. Here are some images from the last time they sat by the sea together.
Déjà; morning glory.
I met Déjà on Facebook. When we decided to see each other in person on a mid-May morning, I had no expectations for what our time would be like except that she needed new portraits. I didn't know that we would throw our heads back in laughter together and discuss self love and hold each other in excitement and joy. More and more I see proof of photography and the capturing of the self as a form of therapy. The moment of seeing one's self as sacred, with morning light illuminating the soul as it emits through skin and bone, is holy. Déjà and I talked about the importance of documenting our physical existence, affirming our physical existence. And we sat in the grass amongst the evergreens, glory and goodness seeming to hold us gently.
She is perseverance in the face of indescribable hardship. Her story is powerful. Her voice is soft and sturdy. Her existence is art.
My new friend, welcome to Seattle. It is so wonderful to have your body and spirit inhabit this city. We will make together. I cannot wait to see what our hands and hearts create.
Frishy, Matt, and Georgy || Japanese Garden Family Shoot
I first met Frishy and Matt two years ago in Tacoma, just months after they were married. We wandered around the outdoor Glass Museum and took their much needed "engagement photos" - we had a lovely time all together, and since then, have stayed in contact from afar. They recently had their beautiful baby girl, Georgy, and asked me to photograph them and their new addition to their family!
The flowers in the garden welcomed us with pink and yellow, and on a day predicted to storm, the sun burst through. Excited to continue documenting this wonderful family as time goes by! Thank you again for trusting me to photograph you and your beloved little one!
bean n bopper n bubbles n bread
She finished her midterms and we went to the sea and drank some bubbles and ate some bread and bundled up and told our stories. She kept her hands warm in my armpits and the sun came out enough to inspire us to take some photos. That's all. Enjoy, friend.
