home from Ireland and missing the sea.
In 3.5 hours
my favorite older brother and I
are leaving for Ireland
(!!!)
It’s been a dream of ours for so long and I CAN’T BELIEVE WE’RE FINALLY GOING!
I’ve had this stupid grin on my face all week and I’m sure my friends are tired of hearing me gush but I can’t help it.
God’s been so faithful these past couple months (and the 23 years before) and I feel so blessed to have come out with so much to be thankful for. Getting to go on this trip is a most undeserved extra bit of love that makes me excited enough to be practically jealous of myself.
I know folks go to Europe all the time and have a swell time and get on with their lives, but this trip, for me, is kind of a big deal. I’ve always had this vague picture of what my favorite soul-place would look like, like a nostalgic missing for what I haven’t seen yet. The crashing sea and charcoal skies, the lush fields and quiet streets – I know this is it.
This trip is perfect timing too, as I’ve been in a rut for a while, creatively speaking. I know artists can come across as self-absorbed whiners, but it’s a very real feeling and I’m so grateful to have 10 days away from the technical strangulations of managing a business to refocus.
I know photographers also struggle with experiencing life versus documenting it, so as a healthy exercise of self-control I’m not going to let myself touch a camera the first two days. But I’m bringing a Holga camera and half a dozen rolls of film so I can’t wait to experiment with the foggy light. (all photo cred: Wikipedia)
I love to travel but dislike touring, so we’re not going to do any grand trek of the country. We have a house just outside the coastal village of Doolin, with a view of the Cliffs of Moher for our most lovely holiday by the sea. We’re only going to be an hour from Galway so I’m sure we’ll travel around some, but we’re just keeping it spontaneous. I’m just happy to spend my days exploring the area and our nights listening to music at the local pubs.
So!
I haven’t packed or anything so I should start on that, but I hope you have a beautiful week and can’t wait to share the stories!
<3
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“You seem to be in the business of painting soul portraits, so I thought you would understand.”
This afternoon was unusually simple.
My lenses and I didn’t arrive to catch a life-altering Event attended by beaming crowds and busy caterers.
No programs were dropped by aisle runners or guestbooks filled with indigo-inked attendance.
No group shots for the Christmas card or graduation caps for the slideshow or any other all-important Reason for a photo shoot.
Just a girl and her mother at their happiest: dressing up and going out, together.
Meredith is beautiful, dignified and accomplished, with a heart as prone to elegance as it is to serving…she’s like the girl pearls were created for.
Mary Susan is a speaker and musician in Tennessee, and more the soul described with bright metallic tones. And while she and Meredith couldn’t be more different personality-wise, they share a love for beauty and Chanel (Chance – always and only) and both have a striking resemblance to GORGEOUS.
Lovelovelove.
Love their matching smiles!
We were at a new B&B in Hamilton called Zion Springs, and the hosts were kind enough to let us use part of their house too!
Their favorite!
Mary Susan is a pageant diva and gave a lesson in walking, waving and receiving a crown. It was soo great haha.
My favorites.
No wait, these are my favorites.
They began telling different memories – the bright-eyed girl watching her mother getting ready who’d then watch her daughter step out and away – and I felt so privileged to see their hearts unfold.
And then we ended with delicious food and light at Magnolias.
I so loved our time together and look forward to our next day out! …either here or in Tennessee.
<3
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It’s always a special honor to photograph a photographer, since you figure they’re totes more discerning than the average happy person and won’t be impressed as easily. (At least that’s how I psych myself out for each shoot.) But Susie was such a joy! She’s a wedding and portrait photographer down in Missisippi and was in DC visiting her fiance. As part of growing and defining her business we got to do this shoot and I’m so happy it worked out! She has a beautiful poise and grace about her and her EYES are gorgeous. We had the strangest day with disappearing streets and spontaneous freak storms (running through blocks and blocks with plastic bags? bonding time for sure.) and we decided that while we’re quite opposite as people we’d be quite happy as friends. She’ll be married this fall and then moving up here, so I’m looking forward to hanging out again : )
It was difficult to narrow down my favorites, but here they are!
Sweet framing, God.
We found a perfectly-musty used bookstore just in time for the thunderstorm that dropped by – no cozier place to be stuck at!
Aaaand favorite!
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a weekly if-only on where I’d like to go & what I’d want to bring along
World, meet Fernando de Noronha.
It’s a cluster of islands and islets about 200 miles off the northeastern Brazilian coast. My younger brother is coming home this weekend from a missions trip in Brazil, and so that was my inspiration for this weekend’s exploring. (And maybe tickets are cheaper now that they’re in mourning for their loss to the Netherlands today?)
I’d most want to go there for scuba diving, especially to see this gorgeous warship that sunk off the coast in 1987. Wikipedia insists it’s in pristine condition so I can’t quite imagine anything cooler.
And the dolphins! Every day the oldest and largest school of them gather in the Bay of Dolphins to go out hunting for food. They all leave around 2pm and return at 5pm….all 1000 of them. How surreal would that be? (Photos from here + here.)
Of course a diving exploration couldn’t be tolerated without proper documentation, so I’d like to add an underwater housing to my wish list. And not just for the trip – dreamy underwater portraiture excites me mostest and I can’t wait to experiment sometime. Do you know if there are any affordable-ish ones? I know that’s not something you want to skimp on quality, but at almost $3K this won’t be played with anytime soon.
And finally, for my time above water I think I’d like one of these linen hats from Urban. I love the asymmetrical brim, but can’t decide which color I prefer.
My real-life weekend should be pretty stellar in it’s own right – my darling friend Sarah is in town and we’ve been vintage-ing and photo-shooting and getting stoked for Hayley & Rob’s gorrrgeous wedding tomorrow.
Hope you have a wonderful 4th!
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