Top 10 Educators to Watch // Featured

If you want to build a ship, don't drum up people together to collect wood and don't assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea.
― Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

Firstly, I apologize for the photo quality of this image. I got super excited and couldn't wait for the actual print magazine to land on my doorstep, so I took a screenshot of the online digital issue. I promise to replace this fuzzy version with a real photograph the second I get it!

Here's the thing with this blog post: I have tried to write it every day for the last week but each time, my fingers just float about the letters. I have been featured on the covers of incredible magazines. I have been featured on VH1 and Good Morning America. And nothing, not one other mention, means as much as this one.

My biggest dream has always been to teach. Even when I was studying law, I'd spend my afternoon library breaks fantasizing about teaching future attorneys, and inspiring the hearts of the next generation of change makers. Some people think being a movie star is every girl's dream, but for me, I couldn't even utter the words, "I want to be a teacher," without feeling the flips begin in my core. All of my personal heroes were/are teachers: Maya Angelou, Toni Morrison, Pearl Buck, Robert Frost, Rita Dove... (I could seriously go on). When I got a 4.0 in college, it wasn't a fluke. I am madly in love with learning, and education, and  I guess my point is, this recognition is a big deal. Perhaps, the biggest.

As my photography career continues to rise to new heights, many people find it odd that I remain so steadfastly loyal to the business of building fires in other people's hearts and I wish I had a clear way to articulate exactly why. It is a passion that consumes me. I can't begin talking about it in public, because I get so emphatic, talking super fast, quoting academic articles, nerd flag waving so super high, and I suppose I start to sound more crazy that capable, and that's not what I want. It's kind of frustrating! I am a writer, I love language, and yet, I don't know how to assign words to this most powerful calling.

So, no, I don't have a beautiful poem, and I don't have a symbolic image that comes close, but I do know, and want to share, this: I was born to be a teacher, it is my most sincere and profound honor, and being selected by professionals whom I highly respect, as a top 10 educator in the whole wide giant world to watch this year, well, this moment is pretty much everything. At the end of the day, I don't feel successful based on the number of celebrities I have captured, or the number of popularity points I've racked up, even though I am profoundly grateful for all of the blessings I have be afforded. It is the moments spent sharing my passion with others, on the shoulders of my idols, that will forever be the hi-lights of my career.

Featured // BRIDES Magazine

 

We are busy bees over here working on the new wedding website, dedicated just to our wedding work, but I had to sneak this exciting news on here!

We made history this month with a real wedding featured in BRIDES Magazine. As if being featured in this media giant isn't enough of an honor, the fact that they chose a lesbian, Jewish, super-diverse celebration is flat out incredible.

I am so proud of this one. Because in the ocean of featured wedding photographers who focus only on taking really pretty pictures, I love being the one known for the really meaningful and beautiful ones.

Joy Prouty // An Austin River Story (Post 1 of 2)

I am always awestruck by the animals and guides who show up for River Stories. Deer, eagles, hawks, salmon, dragonflies, owls, dolphin, pigs, frogs, snakes, thunderstorms, downpours, ice... I believe there are no mistakes, and each visitor serves a divine purpose. So, when we walked, barefoot and brave, down the muddy path to the falls, with rain dripping from our chins, and were immediately greeted  by a regal blue heron, I knew we were exactly where we needed to be. The thing is, a few minutes before, we were in the middle of shooting at the other end of the property when suddenly I was like, "So. We need to move. We need to go to the falls. Now." That bird needed us to meet her.

The blue heron delivers the lesson of finding the balance between relating to others, and standing alone. It's a sacred symmetry, and I don't have it all figured out, but I know this much: I am grateful to walk this journey, hand-in-hand, with Joy, and I know that together, we are certain to fly.

All photos by Thomas Gardella

Today in my Skin

You know those days where you're just going along, doing your thing and then out of nowhere a voice in your head pops up out of nowhere and says weird stuff like, "You would look better with a smaller nose. Your lips are too tiny. You need to gain some weight. What is the deal with that wrinkle between your eyes?" That happened to me today, and I got kind of sad for a minute. And then I was like, hey, Lily and Thomas, can you take my picture? And they were like, um, ok, but why? And I was like, "Because I am feeling completely and utterly vulnerable and I want to capture this moment because someday when I'm 96 I'll be like, girrrrrl what were you feeling sorry for yourself for? Look how human and alive you were!" And also, I think it's important to photograph myself as part of this life's story, too.

Self acceptance is a work in progress for me. It has taken me years and years to finally be OK with the fact that my art is not pretty. It's imperfect and human and real and beautiful. And maybe the next step, is to feel the same way about living in my own skin, too.

My Thoughts on Books

Braedon is writing and making a book. I'll let him share it with the world whenever he is ready, but I want to share this:

His advisor at school asked him to interview people who have also written books, so, this morning I got this email from B:

Subject line: Progect

1.What makes a book good? 2.Whats makes a cover good? 3.What pulls in a reader? 4.Should I include photos? 5.what makes a topic interesting? 6.How much does publishing cost? 7.what are good publishing com.? 8.What is the best type of story's

Here are some of my responses:

1. A lot of people will tell you to consider you audience when deciding how to craft a "good" book, but I don't believe in that, at all. I believe that what the world needs most are artists who are writing unfiltered and undiluted and I can think of nothing that would make a book better than a hearty dose of raw talent and honesty untarnished by the ego. 2. Again, this is totally subjective. Although I would argue that a "good" cover shows the title and feeling of the book clearly, and doesn't scare people away. 3. I'd have to go with my answer for #1. I think what people are most hungry for is honest story-telling and beautiful words. There aren't enough raw writers out there right now. Pull the reader in with your story, and then tell that story with sobering truth. 4. Yes. And maybe paintings. Because you are SO talented. Maybe Lily can do watercolors to match the emotions of your story? 5. Again, I have to go back to #1. Interest is such a subjective thing, and I'd rather you create a book that is meaningful and freaking awesome than one that appeals to the masses and follows all the rules. 8. The best stories are the ones without any bullshit. The ones that you write. Just keep doing what you do because the world needs you, B. FIST BUMP!!!!

And I think I need to share this with you because it reflects a lot of how I feel about photography these days, too. I'd rather you create a photograph that is meaningful and freaking awesome than one that appeals to the masses and follows all the rules. The. End.