It’s amazing how much better life is after a good night’s sleep; and I think there’s a reason things look so much worse when you haven’t had it. This is mine & Ryan’s fourth trip to Europe since we’ve been married & I tell you honestly there are not words to describe how wonderful it was to finally sleep that first night in Rome. –Nine hours of sleep in fact. I’m not sure if the amazingly spectacular Hotel Eden’s pillow top beds and high thread count sheets were, in fact, made by angels or not. Either way, a good sleep & a good glass of wine can give you a renewed perspective…and could quite possibly solve a host of the world’s toughest dilemmas!

Following a remarkable breakfast overlooking the entire city from the Eden’s rooftop terrace, we left to get lost in the city. Although we’d both been to Rome on our own a few times before, it’s always fun exploring a city with your best friend in one hand & your 5D in the other! A couple of Europe trips ago we came up with the phrase “sight-shooting”, which I think perfectly suits us! All of our exploring is done through a lens. And while it’s always great to get those famous landmark shots that are unique to each city, so much of the fun (for me at least) is finding those little hidden gems in the details.  Whether it’s a quiet little cobblestone street off the beaten bath, a memorable meal or maybe even just a different perspective, I think that’s what makes travel photography so great. You can visit a place a dozen times and still manage to find new shots or still not even get the one you want. One of my biggest inspirations of all times is a husband & wife travel photography duo called Scanlan. They once shared with me that sometimes it will take them four or five different trips to a destination before they get that ONE shot that they want; a lifestyle that requires an unbelievable amount of practice, dedication & patience. I think about that concept often, especially when I’m traveling abroad to shoot. I sometimes find myself getting frustrated or anxious about getting “the shot”. Whether it’s the lighting that’s unfavorable, bad weather or a scene that’s over crowded with people, I sometimes start slipping into the mindset that I get one chance to get it right and one chance only. And sometimes that’s true. But more often than not we have more second chances than we realize, we just fail to see the grace of the moment. Sometimes that moment requires us to take a step back, take a deep breath, readjust our focus & wait for the distraction to pass through the view finder. More often than not, when you do that, things will look a little differently.

Thanks again for sharing in our Journey. Up next on the blog: shooting at the Coliseum at 4am in the pouring rain! Till next time…

Vatican at Midnight

Bike in the Street

The Trevi

Waiting for the shot

Heaven

Everyone knows that traveling of any kind requires a certain amount of patience & flexibility. But what happens when your so-called plans are completely thrown out the window & everything is turned completely upside down? A few days ago Ryan & I left sunny San Diego for two weeks in Europe. We left with the assumption that our plans would go, well, according to our plans. Looking back now, however, we can see that there was purpose even in the midst of chaos. After 3 hours of mechanical delays at JFK our Delta flight to Rome was canceled, which then sent 300+ very irritated passengers literally scrambling to find another flight- any flight- to mainland Europe. Thanks to our guardian angels at Kahala Travel and the grace of God, were able to get on an Iberia flight to Madrid. Once we made it to Madrid we then took a flight to Rome, where upon arrival we were informed that our luggage was missing with no record of it anywhere. At this point we’d been traveling well over 24 hours & all we wanted to do was get to our hotel & take a shower. Instead after a few hours of making phone calls & filing lost luggage claims, we left the airport with nothing else to do but wait & hope for the best. And while our first reaction wasn’t exactly one of enthusiasm, we both knew that there was a bigger lesson to be learned…one that went beyond our agendas or control. God was giving us a gift in learning what it was like to live, very simply, with the clothes on our backs; and quite frankly in a way that I wasn’t used to traveling. So for the next 2 and ½ days we became experts at sink washing & blow dryer drying, re-wearing the same clothes we’d left home in. –And with the day of our arrival falling on a national holiday, most stores would be closed till Monday. Buying new clothes was pretty much not an option. Yet in the midst of it all we were able (most of the time) to keep our perspective, knowing that we were had each other and (almost!) more importantly –we had our camera equipment!

We’ve since been reunited with our bags & can now look back & laugh at how for the first 3 days of our trip we are both wearing the exact same thing in every picture. And of course, the image of both us in our matching size XL undershirts & shorts from our amazingly handy little Iberia toiletries bags is priceless. Having to make do with whatever we could find & not worry about what we didn’t have was in a way, surprisingly refreshing; you can’t be tied down to what you don’t have. We are excited now for all the amazing destinations through Italy, Greece & Turkey that are ahead of us. After catching up on some much needed sleep & working through this jet lag I hope to be able to write more and post some of the amazing photos we’ve been able to capture thus far!! Tomorrow we head to Istanbul, which should be absolutely fascinating!

So today, take a minute to reflect on what’s going on at this moment. Can you find simplicity in the midst of chaos? Perhaps there’s a bigger purpose at work around you. Thanks for taking the time to read about the exciting start to our trip & I hope you’ll follow us through this amazing Journey we’re on.

Early morning on the Spanish Steps

Seriously one of the cutest little families I’ve ever had the privilege of shooting! They were the such lovely family, not to mention such a stylish one! What I loved most about this sweet little family though, was how in every single frame you can just feel their love for each other & their love for the adorable little girl! Thank you, Mike & Emily, for sharing your beautiful family with the world!

If you haven’t already seen or heard, Journey of the Lens is now featured on THE premier wedding network, TheKnot.com!  With the domain getting over  2,346,000* visitors per MONTH, we are so excited about all the business, opportunities & relationships this network has already brought us! If you or a friend are getting married in the future, there’s no better spot for the “IT” vendors than The Knot! Stop by & have a look at our page and then pass the link on!

Here’s what is being said about this fantastic bridal network:

Newsweek: “Other ‘wed’ sites aspire to be The Knot.”
Vogue: “The chicest wed site in cyberspace.”
Business Week: “Don’t get hitched without The Knot.”
Wall Street Journal: “The best-known wedding site on the Web.”

Simplicity, timeless with a hint of vintage. That’s the best way I can think to describe this wedding. Mal & David were such a sweet couple to shoot! I love sharing in a couples’ wedding day that are both so in love, so ready to begin the adventure as husband & wife. It really reminds you of the beauty of love. Thanks, Mal & David for letting us capture all the beauty of your special day, and all the best in your Journey ahead.

Oh man. It’s been a while. First of all, my apologies for letting this go to, well….you know. If you’re reading this that means you’re one of the few & faithful who have continued to come back time after time in spite of my appalling inconsistency & the complete and utter lack of activity here. There’s been so much going on over the past couple of months that it has become overwhelming (to the point of procrastination) to stay on top of it all. I’m going to work on that.

Secondly, and more importantly, Happy New Year!! With the holidays now behind us & a new year ahead of us, I’m looking forward to finally sharing a TON of overdue work, as well as update you as to where this exciting Journey will take us in 2010! (Greece, Turkey & Italy are just a few destinations on the horizon, along with some very cool shoots & events already in the works!) Please check back soon for a bunch of new posts featuring some fantastic recent shoots!

On a totally different note, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking, a lot of soul searching over the last few months. Ryan & I have had a lot of conversations lately about what it truly means to live each day with joy & contentment, regardless of what seems to be going on in or around our lives. And not just an attitude of “getting through something” or “figuring it out” but actually embracing the struggles, the questions, the whys. Learning to be ON the Journey and not just where you want to end up. Does that make sense? So much of how we’ve viewed success has been wrapped up in the arrival destination….but maybe we’re getting that wrong. Maybe success actually looks more like patience. Or joy. Or hope. Maybe it’s stepping out in faith when it seems impossible. Maybe it’s making yourself be still when all you want to do is run. What does success look like to you?

So, welcome back to the blog. It’s good to see you again. May your Journey in 2010 be full of beauty, life, hope, contentment and most of all real joy.

As I previously posted, I had the best time taking part in the Out of the Box event last week with some fabulous ladies! And not only was it great networking & collaborating together on such a FUN event, but it’s so cool  (and so encouraging!) to have the honour of meeting & working with other women who are creative, young business owners! -All of whom, I should add, are some of the most successful & insanely talented names in the bridal industry. Thank you so much to Carter & Cook Event Co and The Floral Lab for a wonderful event & for all the love, thought & creativity each of you contributed. And an extra big thank you to the gorgeous girls of Posh Paperie for hosting such a wonderful night & for the privilege of working with you!

I’m so excited to share the photos from this amazing event! Thank you to everyone who came out to support us all! More details & photos about the night to follow soon! For now, enjoy a sneak peek from yesterday evening!

As I mentioned a few weeks ago, Journey of the Lens is going to be taking part in a very exciting event hosted by Posh Paperie at THE most fabulous wine bar in town, Wine Steals Liberty Station. The evening will feature the release of Posh’s 2009 Christmas Card Line, as well as an assortment of custom handmade stationary, invitations, gift tags, greeting cards, personal monogram & more! If you haven’t yet seen their AMAZING work, check out their website! In addition to Journey of the Lens, other top-of-the-industry contributors to the evening will include the lovely girls of Carter & Cook Event Co. & also the delicacies of renowned pastry chef Melody Brandon of Sweet & Saucy.

The September 30th event will be from 7pm~10pm, held in the private VIP room of the wine bar. RSVP to Posh is requested. Special packages & deals from several of the vendors will be featured that night only, so start thinking ahead for those holiday gifts! And for one night only, Journey of the Lens will be offering a $50 discount off any holiday card photo shoot! Don’t miss out! If you would like more info about the event or have any other questions please ask! We look forward to seeing you there!

Ps. We’d like to remind our guests that this event is hosted at wine bar, which means ages 21 & up only. Unfortunately that means no children. Thank you for your understanding!

If you have not yet met the amazingly talented girls of Posh Paperie then please allow me to introduce them to you. I recently had the chance to design a photo shoot for these lovely girls & it was so much fun to see that concept from start to finish. Not to mention I love photo shoots were you just end up laughing the whole time! Creating a sort of “downtown-sidewalk-office space”, I really wanted to capture the personality, the creativity and just the joy of these amazingly talented ladies & what they do so extremely well.

Specializing in all forms of handmade paper goods, they are currently THE industry leader for everything from custom invitations, announcements, bridal suites, custom logo & monogram design, to all forms of stylized correspondence. Even major publications such as The Knot & Ceremony Magazine are raving about these girls! Everything they do is a custom creation. If you can dream it, they can create it. I hope you enjoy a little look at the fun, style & creativity we captured that day & be sure to check out their phenomenal work!