Kristie

Last November, Kristie reached out to me to snap some senior portraits as she was just about to graduate at the end of fall quarter. Didn’t seem like too big of a scheduling dilemma huh? Mhm, that’s what we thought.

But as fate would have it, our schedules didn’t line up and I found out that I had a surprise torn ACL that dated back since Freshman year (another story for another time). Post-surgery had me in crutches for a couple of weeks, which isn’t ideal for all the crouching and weird bending that photographers go through, so we waited a couple of weeks to see how I’d do. Turns out that torn ACLs don’t heal in 5 weeks, so we postponed to March.

Fast forward to March – I’m bending a little better- but the weather hasn’t swayed in our favor yet.

Finally, last week, all the elements came together. The weather. That beautiful, long awaited golden hour. My awkward leg crouching. And best yet, Kristie’s mom got to tag along!

A big shout out to Kristie and her Mom for catching the ferry all the way from Bremerton to finally shoot this session! Very damn glad we waited, and grateful to work with such great folks 🙂

Sheen & Co.

I met Sheen last year in a Honors class that, to lightly put, we both weren’t huge fans of. And as it usually goes with the quarter system, we got to know each briefly, but quickly went our separate ways once the 10 weeks were done. Alas, she was looking for a photographer for her graduation party, and voila, we were reunited! With that, I was lucky enough to meet a great handful of her closest friends and relatives, who made me feel more like an old friend than a standard photographer.

Thank you to the Dudwadkar family and friends for feeding me the entire night, expanding my taste in Bollywood music, and for being all around the best party crew. Not to forget, a big thanks to Woodinville Lavender Farms for maintaining such a beautiful space.

Congrats once again Sheen! You’re going to make big moves in San Fran 🙂

-JM

 

Pamela & Alan

 

Wow! Crazy to think that it’s already been over 6 months since I second shot my first wedding!

Although it was a while back, I still remember that my favorite part was stepping into such an intimate and profound moment, and realizing that the memories cherished that day could be forever remembered through my photos. While I didn’t know Pamela or Alan before the wedding, spending the whole day with them and witnessing the amount of love that swelled into every room that they walked into, gave me insight into their lives – even if only for the day.

I’m hoping to photograph more weddings this upcoming summer when the weather finally clears up and can’t wait to see where they’ll take me.

…in the meanwhile… if you do know someone getting hitched or who needs a second hand photographing, do let me know! ;)w

-JM

Kristina & Ian

Here’s to more adventurous photography!

About a month or so ago, Noah’s brother, Ian, and his lovely wife Kristina approached me to help them photograph their soon-to-be-family of 4 (including the puper!) – I couldn’t have been more honored!

With the rest of the family tagging along, we set out to Titlow Beach in Tacoma, which was just a couple of minutes from their house. Thankfully, we weren’t dumped on by the looming clouds in the distance and even got a bit of sun (!!).

Enjoy!

Noah the honorary puppy wrangler/wind breaker assistant.

Mr. Steal-yo-girl coming through

 

LUZIA – Cirque Du Soleil

First and foremost, I am forever grateful to have been able to pick up this shoot for the Daily, UW’s student newspaper. We, Daily photographers, pick up shifts by racing to be the first to ‘reply all’ to mass emails sent by our photo editor and I happened to be on my phone at the right time. I credit good karma.

Having never been to the circus as a kid, I had only the highest of expectations for this show and WOW I truly left the big top feeling more inspired than I had in months. For two hours, I was transported to a magical Mexican dreamland where butterflies, mythical cats and Luchadores came alive and hung from vines and traversed the Mexican countryside.

My dad also happened to be visiting from Houston, so my childhood dreams of going to the circus with my family (in this case, one of the bunch) came true!

Excited to be creating for myself again. Enjoy!

Once Again, Huskies Claim the Pac-12 Title

For the third time in four years, Huskies claim the Pac-12 title after beating the UCLA Bruins in 4 tight sets last night. What a way to begin the weekend!

This was my second time shooting volleyball for The Daily – UW’s student newspaper, and sadly, my last time for this season.

My first game vs. Stanford 2 months ago was… lets settle at a very steep learning curve. Having never shot sports before, handled a telephoto lens, nor used a Canon body, I felt like a fish out of water as I navigated the sidelines awkwardly dodging out of the way of pre-teen ball girls, media photographers and TV videographers. Never mind getting ‘the shot’, I was just trying to get around.

But HOLY CRAP I am so much happier with the way my photos have turned out this second round.

As uncomfortable, anxious and excited you might be about being thrown into an unknown environment where you’re expected to return with results, I urge you to let the noise, crowds, excitement and ‘newness’ of your first experience overwhelm you. Not to the point where you won’t get results, but who knows when the stadium lights will lose their shine and that ‘newness’ that made your stomach turn as you walked out of the stadium tunnel disappear. There’s still so much to learn; And I hope I continue to put myself in new situations and never ‘settle’ to do work that’s easier for the sake of it being ‘easy’.

Once again, congratulations to the Huskies for their win and hope everyone has a grand weekend 🙂

 

Sapa – Shaman Sacrifices & Overnight Trains

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cB2FesdS0UEThrew together a quick highlights video featuring part of our shaman ceremony, overnight train ride and dogs and adorable children aplenty. Take a peek! ^^

Sapa – The former French colonial hill station nestled in the northwestern corner of Vietnam conjures images of terraced rice patties, wispy clouds and verdant valleys dotted wth the twinkling lights of ethnic hill tribe villages.

Located right next to the Vietnam-China border, the region of Lào Cai is a bubbling pot of Black H’mong, Dao, Tay and other ethnic tribes that have called this area home long before the French ever trooped in. What used to be a small quiet mountain village has now become a bustling hotspot for trekkers with buildings growing taller day by day to compete for their share of the surrounding mountain views.

I don’t know what it is – and I don’t I’ll ever truly know why, but I have always been in love with trains.

Perhaps it’s because they remind me of Darjeeling Limited and quirky Wes Anderson movies, but every time my family has boarded an overnight train (through Switzerland, Kolkata to Darjeeling and twice from Bangkok to Chiang Mai), a wave of nostalgia washes over me and rejuvenates the ‘traveller’ in me.

I love waking to the calls of “chaiiii, teaaaa, coffeeeee” from the friendly train attendants, and warming myself up with a steamy cup of Chai tea as I watch the limestone peaks appear in the distance as the first break of sunlight filters through the clouds. I love how trains are built into every part of the city. How they push past crowded markets and schools letting out for lunch. How you catch glimpses of farmers on terraced rice fields and families having dinner at home, their faces glowing warmly by the flickering candlelight as they lean in close to scoop seconds . I love the sense of lingering sadness I can’t put my finger on, but will best describe as sonder – when you realize that you will most likely never see these same exact faces again, nor will they ever know your own story.

Well that got deep fast. But yup, trains. Despite the amount of sleep I don’t get on them, I urge you to take the extra time to take one in Asia when the opportunity presents itself.

Cheeky boys