Taryn & Brian | Lord Hill Farms Wedding 2/17/17

Taryn and Brian were wed on one of Washington's rare, beautiful winter days. 

I don't know how to express what a joy it was to participate in and document Taryn and Brian's union. The day after their wedding I wrote: Taryn, I love you. It has been incredible to watch you grow and flourish over the last four and a half years. From our time at Seattle Pacific to wine-night giggles to celebrating your union with Brian: knowing you and becoming friends has taught me humility, forgiveness, courage, and reconciliation. You are strength. You are intelligence. You are proof of the power of womanhood. Taryn and Brian are a force to be reckoned with. It’s about time they were one.

So here are some images from their day. Cheers!

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madeline, reconnection, -

On a midweek morning in December, Maddie called me. I hadn't seen her for three years, but she happened to be in Hollywood, and I was in my Orange County beach town for the holidays. She asked if I was free that day to create together. I told her to come; she said she would brush her teeth, get in the car, and be at my house in an hour and a half. My dog, who never hesitates to assume that visitors are not welcome, met Maddie with a wagging tail and excitement. We ate cheese and crackers and caught up from the last three years. And we made some of my favorite photographs I've ever captured.

These images are the result of our day of rejoicing and reconnecting.

I have a dear friend
who writes about orgasm as blooming.
I don’t know why, but I’ve been mulling over
anatomy and crimson this morning,
considering flaps and folds and the full flora
of the Feminine.
.
The other day while we
sat at the kitchen table,
scooping brie and pesto onto cracked wheat,
walls that have heard all of my
childhood secrets
nodded as she cocked her head and said,
“If you ask the Universe to reveal,
It will.”
.
So I’ve been asking.
And to my surprise,
faces of women, 
hens, vixens, lionesses,
female otters who frolic in seaweed patches,
appear behind my eyelids.
I don’t know what it means,
these embodiments of tenderness and ferocity
unveiling themselves from the thicket
but as they reach towards me,
I take their hands, and together, we
step out onto the tundra.
and, as though awakening,
the ice begins to thaw.
.
I massaged my dog’s paws last night
and she lay her muzzle on my knee
I realized that nobody is exempt
from the deep knowing of touch, body.
and I wrapped my arms around her neck
and buried my face into her winter coat.

tanisha, my friend - a first blog post

I don't know how to curate a blog. But I know what it's like to connect with another human and share stories and wine and walk on the beach with local cider in hand and watch the sunset, however dim it might be due to winter's residue. I don't know much about most things, but I know sunlight spilling onto the bodies of people I love, an illumination of gold, and glory. I know a fair amount about sending texts that say, "We don't have to have intentional one on one time, in fact, I have a lot to do, but I want to just be near you," and then lo and behold, having most of the time be spent in conversation without expectation. I now know about laughing as we plop blackberries onto our tongues and scoop goat cheese onto fig and olive crisps (praise the good Mother for Joe the Trader and all of his delicious snacks). I met Tanisha a week(?) or so ago and I photographed her for my Space series. And here we are! I am hopeful. Here's my first blog post. It's not much, but it's true.