Emily + John // Austin Wedding River Story

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Emily + John // Austin Wedding River Story 

They got married in a sweet little spot in Charlottesville, Virginia and hopped right on a plane to have their photos captured here in Austin.

It sounds so perfect and so romantic but here's the thing. Just as they arrived at my house, I started having a migraine.

The kind that makes you throw up nonstop for a million hours. Yup.

But these two were the SWEETEST.

They totally rolled with the punches (didn't mind me carrying a giant bowl the entire time!) and it all turned out exactly as it was supposed to.

It always does.

Emily and John are now on their way to Boulder for their honeymoon, and I seriously debated kidnapping them and keeping them here with me forever.

2014-10-09_00092014-10-09_00112014-10-09_00152014-10-09_00172014-10-09_00182014-10-09_00302014-10-09_00312014-10-09_00372014-10-09_00382014-10-09_00442014-10-09_00532014-10-09_00542014-10-09_00552014-10-09_00562014-10-09_00702014-10-09_00722014-10-09_0089Florals by: Posey Floral and Event Design, Austin

Hair + Makeup by: Bradz Salon, Austin

The Weight

There's this phrase I share, over and over and over again. Mostly because I need to hear it, always.

"Let people feel the weight of who you are. And let them deal with it."

This is who I am. Unapologetically.

I'm a creative Mama who loves to shoot the crap out of weddings and women in sacred waters.

Once in a while, I also like to get together with my artist friends and just do weird stuff on the other side of the camera.

For fun.

2014-10-06_00012014-10-03_00042014-10-06_00022014-10-06_00042014-10-06_00062014-10-06_0003Images of both of us captured with a remote. Images of me captured by her. She's pretty incredible.

Shelby // A River Story

Whenever I go to the waters I am always met with profound Mother/Grandmother energy.

During my time with Shelby, her Mother was all around and everywhere.

Wrapping her sweet daughter in the most brilliant Light while she found her gravity on the surface of the Moon.

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New Class!

Teaching is such a deeply rooted passion of mine. It was a 9th grade biology teacher who first introduced me to photography, and even my very first Pentax camera. Being able to give it back, and spill my secrets, and share my guts with the world means SO much to me.

Which is why, I am SO thrilled to announce my NEW class with The DEFINE School, Creative Rehab! AND as if it couldn't get any better, the class is sponsored by my close friends over at Artifact Uprising! Free surprises for all my beloved students!

It's Awakening the Spark 2.0 with a giant splash of writing help and a huge wave of technical photography tips (black and white editing, anyone?!) to bring your work to the NEXT LEVEL. The focus is on healing from the inside out, because without a strong foundation, everything just crumbles over and over again.

When I say my spots are SUPER limited, I'm not kidding. I really wanted to keep this group small so that we can all work closely together and form a solid bond of support. As you know, every single seat in every class I have ever offered has sold out immediately, so please set your alarms and mark your calendars. If you are called to join this luminous tribe, I realllly want you to put yourself first and make this a priority!

 

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Here's the full write-up from their website:

You’ve heard friends talk about burnout casually before. In the grocery store line: “Oh girl! I am so burned out. Is it time for my vacation yet?” (giggle, giggle); or at school drop off, a giant cup of coffee in hand: “I have to get my boost for the day! Otherwise I’ll just burn out.”

But when you get to the point where you are truly depleted and run down, you know it. Your job, which was once a creative bonfire of love, is now an all-consuming five-alarm fire and you feel like you may suffocate on the smoke.

Your body is exhausted. Your brain is a constant buzz of activity. You cry at the end of the day because you feel like you aren’t doing a good job balancing it all. You need caffeine to start your day (and maybe an alcoholic drink to end it) and your idea of a dream day is sleeping, sleeping, and more sleeping.

You need a detox; a cleanse; an intentional recovery program. You need to rehabilitate your body, mind, and soul.

Offered only once a year, Creative Rehab is a four-week class packed with lessons on meditation, self-care, nourishing recipes, and photography as a healing outlet.

In this course born from her own journey to physical and mental recovery, photographer Michelle Gardella teaches concrete, holistic ways to get you back to your most vital and happy self and prevent burnout in the future.

We're proud to partner with companies that share our love of supporting growing artists. This course is sponsored by Artifact Uprising. All students enrolled in this class will receive a 5.5 x 5.5 softcover book.