Travels in Technicolor: A Review

December 2, 2019

First things first, click HERE to get your own copy.

Happy Monday friends!! I hope everyone had a good thanksgiving with friends, family and loved ones. Grier and I had a wonderful holiday, we just got in last night from spending about five days in Louisiana.

It’s never fun to leave family after a great vacation, BUT I was really excited to get home and pour over my copy of Miranda’s first magazine.

Miranda is a photographer, I met her through one of my high school best friends Taylor. We always chatted back and forth on social media, but this summer she was able to come and stay with us on her road trip across the US! We really connected and I have a huge respect for her and her body of work.

A few weeks ago she announced she was going to release a collection of her work titled Travels in Technicolor: Hawaii. As soon as it was released I ordered my copy. I grew up spending summers there, Hawaii is a huge part of my life not only as a travel destination but a place that ingrained itself into my history and culture the culture of my family. My sister took her first steps there, we were both baptized in our favorite lagoon in Ko Olina (before Disney took it all over…) and hours were spent walking up and down the aisles at the Cam.

From page one, with her images and blurbs about her time there my heart was instantly warmed and filled with the joy that only Aloha can bring. Miranda’s images have a photojournalist feel, but with color and composition that make you feel like you’re looking at a brochure for heaven.

One of my favorite sets of images from Travels in Technicolor: Hawaii

Miranda is a skilled and hungry creator. A fierce documenter, she leaves no detail unrecorded. Just watching her social media you get a sense that travel is in her heart and soul, just as photography is. Matching those two elements together is a beautiful and powerful thing.

Through her storytelling, you get a glimpse into such a romantic bohemian lifestyle that for many is out of reach. Travels in Technicolor gives its reader is all the wonder of National Geographic but with an incredible tangible, personal touch. Whether you’ve spent time on the Islands, or have always wanted to go, this issue will take you there. Getting to read it and see it laid out in such a gorgeous way has me hungry for her next Travels in Technicolor issue.

http://www.mirandaricophotography.com https://m.facebook.com/MirandaRicoPhotography/ @mirandaricophotography

big moods // big thanks.

November 25, 2019

As this year comes to a close, I can’t help but feel indebted to the universe. This January will mark 7 years living in Tennessee. I remember the first 4, 5.. let’s be real 6- were so hard for me. I struggled to make the art I really wanted to make. Getting people to take me seriously was even harder (still feels hard sometimes) but I remember in 2015 I made a vow to myself. I was going to make exactly what I felt called to, and I wasn’t going to care how hard I had to fight to do it.

That kind of proclamation to myself was one of the best things I’ve ever done. Growing up, and living back home I never had to fight to be who I was. I was a misfit and an outcast but that was me. I never cared what anyone thought about who I was… Or my rain boots.

Moving away changed that. I tried new things, branched out in an attempt to connect. I was incredibly lonely. I fought the dark times hard.

Finally, I stopped trying to connect with people who didn’t understand me and didn’t care to. I started really creating the images I wanted, the ones that haunted my dreams during the night and the day. I clawed my way out of the hole I had buried myself in. I took the time to hone my craft on a technical level. I wanted to learn light so I could make exactly what I envisioned. I never stopped working.

2018 came full circle. The people that found me, and continue to find me (and want to work with me -massive bonus) are MY people. I’m pushing boundaries, I’m challenging all things. I feel that I am honoring my true self when I create in this way.

But there is this heaviness, this debt that I feel. These people that I have in my life, how can I ever show how grateful I am for their existence? How all the sadness and loneliness those first 5 years seems so distant, and mythical. I wish I could tell myself in those times how temporary it would be.

This weekend was amazing, and I really am thankful for all the opportunities that have been coming my way. Saturday was one of those gigs that I got to prove what I’m capable of. Someone took a chance and trusted me fully. The results are easily my favorite studio work to date. -Gallery Here-

The images from Sunday, I’ve had planned on paper for months. Being able to see this vision come to fruition is a high I’ll be on all week. I’ll be sharing those later today and some insight into the session.

To be able to connect with the people I photograph on multiple levels adds another dimension to the imagery that I can make. I’m so lucky I’ve been able to attract people who maybe don’t see everything exactly like I do, appreciate how I look at the world and the art that I make. It takes two to tango, and lately man, my dance floor has been full and poppin’.

big moods//big thanks.

Sense of Direction

November 14, 2019

It's been about a month or so since I've checked in via blog post. Truth be told, I really want it to be a regular thing but I was feeling a little lost when it came to what I want this particular blog to look like. I'm a tumblr vet, back in those days my tumblr held my deepest darkest secrets. It was a real diary, a real peek into my ever changing moods.. who I was in love with, who I was mad at. Honest reflections and recants of my depression, my hopes, my unrequited love. But as I learned to channel the sadness and the hormones of being 16, 17, 18, I felt less like I needed a place to bear it all. The drama and tumultuous emotions didn't have to live in a hidden place anymore.

I still maintain somewhat of a diary, random note pads and papers scrawled with half baked emotions from the moment (coping mechanism!!) but they mostly reveal lists, plans, dreams and manifestations now.

This season though, is bringing lots of transitions and growth. Thus resulting in growing pains. My life revolves around my work and projects. I believe that using this space to document my process and feelings would help me maintain clarity (I am always striving for clarity) and bring back the personal element to my work that I have shut off for awhile.

My presence on social media lately has been strictly business. Frankly, I miss being a little more emotionally vested in it. Often I let my work do the talking and don't share too much of my personal meaning and reasoning for everything that I do. This is for protection mostly, and to avoid having to explain myself to people who really aren't there to understand. That being said, I think avoiding to disclose those things is denying people another layer to my work.

I believe in what I have to say, and I know it is beneficial to others who maybe haven't found their voice or are trying to decide what is sounds like. At the end of the day I feel strongly about what I create and how I do it and I want to share more of how everything comes together. This blog will start reflecting that, and 2020 will bring some other surprises as well.

Date + Time my first book that will be released next year has taken the forefront of my mind. While I’m not ready to share the images or writings from the sets that have been completed, I want a way to document the process of something so significant to me. I plan on using this platform to keep everyone up to date on the process/progress of this project, but the other ventures that are currently in the works as well.

To each and everyone of you who have supported me on this journey, I am eternally grateful. whatever venture I have embarked on I've always had an amazing group of people in the wings cheering me on, commenting, sharing and pushing me forward. I feel very lucky to have that and plan for a lifetime of creating content for myself and those who love what I do.

Cheers Darklings!

Here’s some behind the scenes snippets for my book, Date + Time , Grier helping me play around with my new projector and a little selfie from the last wedding I did with Samantha and Madyson.

Shoot the Shit! Halloween Edition

October 19, 2019

One of my many side projects/passions is Create & Collaborate: The Workshop. It is a workshop and styled shoot series that is the brain child of myself, Samantha Slayton and Morgan Carkuff. We strive to bring education and inspire creativity in our little area of the world. Not going to lie, this Halloween styled shoot was a lot to coordinate, but that’s because we really wanted this to be incredible. None of this would have been possible one without each other and two, without the wonderful models and makeup artists we brought on.

I really love the days following one of our classes or shoots because all of our attendees start sharing and posting their favorite shots. Photography is my life, and getting to share this passion and giving others an opportunity to try something new really makes me burst with happiness. Most everyone who attended this shoot has been attending them since we started. Getting to see the progression of their work and watching them take the reins confidently has been so fulfilling. I truly hope that I am always able to share my love and knowledge of this world with others.

Vendor List: