Maternity shoot

Lately, I am willing to make money any way I can with my camera. I have a rekindled love for photography and I am eager to make a living with it. So this weekend I brought my camera out to Buffalo to photograph some old friends getting ready for a new addition to the family. I was a little nervous and kept spouting off questions about names, babies, what it felt like... I've never done a maternity shoot before and a lot of my research was studio photography. So it was a little different photographing the couple outside in the public and being able to show the beauty of pregnancy under the different clothes. (A lot of shoots have nudity to show off the pregnant body). Not to mention the weather was pretty gray, so it made things a little unpredictable. Of course once we got to shooting, everything seemed normal. I scared my boyfriend into thinking I wanted babies right this moment. I witnessed the beautiful moments of Mark helping Nécole cross over the little streams. It was so simple and so sweet and it made me appreciate the little actions that make a difference instead of the grand gestures. I love the feeling of these photos which seemed to capture the sweet gestures of these soon to be parents. It was a good evening.

July 4th

Happy Fourth of July! It's been a busy few weeks and I have actually been involved in a few music video shoots. I'm hoping to fill my Summer with more photo shoots along the way.  

Just wanted to share some photos from yesterday's holiday for my own enjoyment. I am still in awe of my d600 and the capabilities. I definitely chose the right camera. I'm super excited for my new iphone 5 and the camera on it as well. No judgement, a camera is only a tool and a photograph is only as good as the person behind the camera.

Jo's first sparklers.

Thanks for sticking by me, if you're reading this.

ps Working on a Liberia video as well, I know this has been dragging on and on, but it should be worth the wait. fingers crossed.

Mental Photographs

There are a few things I want to explain before I go on further. The next day or two there aren't any photos. This is because Liberians do no like their photo taken. They are a post-war country and they had so many things taken away from them that many only have control over their image. Some think if you take their photo, you're going to go home and become rich on their image while they don't necessarily have the basic necessities.  

Therefore we all decided to take a day or two of exploring Monrovia without our cameras, of getting a feel of the people and the place.

Day 2

Woke up pretty late in the day today. Either 11:30 or 12:30. I showered* and we paid for our rooms. Ken told us to kind of set aside some money we'd spend for the day and then layer it so we're not opening our purse or digging for the money.

[*showers are a little different here. They are only cold water, which doesn't really matter because it's 90 degree every day and humid. There's a four inch lip on the shower that you have to finish washing before it overflows. There are no long showers at this place. I started showering every night to at least be able to sleep clean and every night heat just poured out of my hair. It's definitely something you get used to quickly, the speedy showers, the cold water mixing with your body heat as they run down your back together]

We walked to lunch down the road at Dona Marie's, a place that makes pizzas and ice cream. Jess and I split a medium vegetable pizza. We sat in there trying to refuel a bit before our long walk we were about to take.

Then we just started walking. We walked down the main road which was busy with businesses and people. We traveled by the University of Liberia. We talked to a few students around there. Everyone dresses  up when they go to school. I originally thought we were passing a church when we saw all the people dressed up but then I realized it was for school.

We saw the river. We saw lizards. We walked and saw kids that chanted WHITE PEOPLE! as they danced up and down. We smelled various things that will never be able to capture the scene we were in.  sometimes we saw signs that said only dogs can peepee here. There are people selling all kind of things here. little girls carrying these giant buckets on their head that contain fruits or water or milk.

I'm telling you all of this because right now, I have not taken any photos of the culture. it's a delicate situation. Right now we are just adjusting to the culture, figuring things out, and seeing what comes of it.

Therefore, I'll have to describe walking down a road and having people stick out their hands and touch us, talk to us, or just stare at us.

As we started walking towards the Atlantic Ocean, we were sort of stopped by a group of drummers and dancers. It was this really cool african music. There was this guy all dressed up head to toe dancing and apparently warding off bad spirits. They were looking to be paid a couple of bucks so ken gave him a few and we tried to walk away but there was this guy who stood in front of us and started putting nails in his nose. Then he opened his mouth and showed us a razor blade and he quickly started hitting his tongue with it and then contracted the muscle in his tongue and it started bleeding. He was sort of playing with that blood and at this point I wanted to get away from him so Jim gave him a buck and we quickly walked out of there. That guy was a creep and he definitely left an impression on me.

At this point we had walked miles in the heat and I was paying for it. My stupid legs weren't used to working this hard in the winter and they had burned and swelled in the heat. I paid for that over the next few days.

We were growing tired so we walked to this ocean hotel to view the ocean and the sun and to eat sushi. The view was gorgeous and we talked about weird things and ate really good sushi.

These are nuts, but they call them dirt peas. One of my favorite names even if I didn't get to enjoy them!

We watched the sun set. Each night that we witnessed this event the sun disappeared before the horizon. Such a beautiful sight.

Mr and Mrs Frisino

I am finally back to Syracuse. Excited to be back to routine and scared of what comes next; but I'm ready.   Christmas break was an intense time and I spent the majority of it in a camera shop helping my boss and coworkers. I had projects galore, and I was finally able to finish the wedding photos from this fall.   Now, no offense to my other clients, but this past wedding was one of my favorites. Everything fit the bride and groom. It was a relaxing and beautiful wedding for them. They had one of their best friends marry them, their vows were catered to them, and their love was palpable. I think I loved this wedding because it made me feel... at home. I stayed at the grooms parents house because it was a few hours commute to the wedding. The house had such a nostalgic feel to it. It was gorgeous and open and at night there was a perfect view of the stars.   I also had a feeling this wedding would happen like this because I photographed them for an "engagement" shoot.

It was a way to get to know them and for them to see my work a little more. It was also a way to get to know the groom more. I had been friends with the bride, Tegan for a couple of years and we had been in a few classes together. Eric was still a mystery. I love getting to know people and feeling comfortable around them, and these two made it easy for that to happen.

So a big thank you to this couple and their families for making me feel at home.

And the ceremony.

Felted flowers.

Last Day of Mexico

I suppose I should wrap up this trip. I'm not really sure why it has taken me so long to post the last day. Maybe I dont want to give it up. Deep down I didn't want to go back home. For the first time ever I stepped out of my comfort zone and had an adventure. I succeeded. I won. I made friends, good and kind people! (a rarity for me). I felt beautiful inside and out when I was there. Going back home meant I was surrounded by others who could take photos or speak spanish way better than me. On the plus side, I was going home taking away this incredible experience. I have made plans to travel with Esme in Africa. I have an incredible friend and partner whom I can work with in the future, Oscar. I have talented kind people in my life I now call friends and have proven to be the same kind people in the few months that have slipped passed since this trip. It seems silly to think a two and a half week trip could change someone so much but it's as silly as a summer love. Those who experience it understand, and the others just think the rest of us are silly fools.

So on the last day we made a hardcore decision to actually drag our butts out of bed to make it to breakfast. We got dressed and walked out of Maria Jose's apartment making a right and walking by some new shops enjoying the rare rays of sunshine. We had walked about half a mile when someone realized that we were supposed to make a left outside of the apartment. We were almost double the distance we needed to be and on a time schedule of -minus 20 minutes until breakfast was over. We hailed a cab and hauled ass, because lets be honest, this was important.

Breakfast was a buffet of yogurt, fresh fruit, and granola. We all got different kinds of things including chocolate caliente!, hotcakes, omelets with interesting dips, and waffles. I'm pretty sure this breakfast made all the other missed ones worth it. Afterwards we went onto the roof of the restaurant where there was a bar and a big open seat that all four of us could lay on. We settled down there laying in the gorgeous sunshine while Melissa sipped on some sparkling drink and enjoying these last few carefree moments with each other before we separated.

© 2012 Esme Brandon

It took a little while to get motivated to move from this, but spot eventually we started making our way into a part of Mexico city that had a archeology museum surrounded by a park. We ended up walking there and taking photos and of course getting stared at. Walking through the park it was filled with families and kids, people selling things, face painters, vendors selling food. It was amazing. We decided to try something that looked like paper. It actually tasted a little like paper to. I can also describe it as a wafer like the host in church. Not surprising that I liked it.

We also decided to get fake eye lashes and wore those around as if we didn't stand out enough. They were incredibly fun and bizarre to feel your eyelids be touched every time you blinked. It started sprinkling and we made a run for the museum. Of course it happened to be free for all people that day because in Mexico the stars aligned for us. So we explored various areas. Some signs were only in Spanish but I got the gist of things. Mostly I missed Oscar and got really tired. (It wasn't the right day for a museum for me. Somehow everything we experienced these last two weeks were way better than statues and things that are in a building). But Esme and Melissa had a good time because their dad is into those things.

© 2012 Esme Brandon

© 2012 Esme Brandon

© 2012 Esme Brandon

© 2012 Esme Brandon

© 2012 Esme Brandon

© 2012 Esme Brandon

© 2012 Esme Brandon

© 2012 Esme Brandon

© 2012 Esme Brandon

We decided to skip some clothes shopping and hit up the market and get some souvenirs since that was going to close soon and I technically had nothing physical to show from this trip. We got to the market just as most of the shops were closing and the things I really wanted were outrageously priced. But that's okay because I ended up finding these incredible green blue square shot glasses. They are lined on my windowsill as we speak and I want to fill them with some decorative tall grass when that comes in season. (Go ahead and laugh that I'm not using them to take a shot of tequila. Maybe I'll save one to drink out of).

After losing Esme shortly, we ended up walking out and going to show her the big square and the church that Sarah and Melissa and I had already seen. We walked around photographing these graffiti walls and figuring out where we wanted to go for dinner. We settled on a place around the corner and I had my first ever TAPAS!

Tapas are like hour devours made into meals. So instead of having this giant meal and only getting to taste one thing from the menu you order a couple of small things and share. We also ordered drinks and watched this restaurant get progressively more awkward as they brought out a random DJ and like expected everyone to start dancing? We didnt stay there long because believe it or not it was a really freaking long day and we were still recovering from the past few days.

We went back to the apartment to freshen up and see if we could find a party. Now we had taken a cab back to the apartment and as we got out a guy was getting into the cab and just happened to invite us to his birthday party. We got his number and told him we might. (Like I said, anything we needed Mexico provided for us!). We sat on MJ's porch sipping wine and just listening to the city. We all sort of decided to stay in and relax and watch a movie instead of go out. Esme and I needed to be up early the next day for our flight. So we got popcorn and drinks and I'm not sure who mentioned 'Just Friends' was a great movie but we ended up watching that movie. (Okay, it was me. but Ryan Reynolds is a babe, can you blame me I look past the crap in that movie?).

Anyways there was laughter and I remember looking around the room trying to soak everything up. I was ready for this trip to be over because at this point I didn't anything to come up and spoil a perfect trip.

Goodbyes that next morning were so hard. We hugged for a long time promising to stay in touch and to do great things. Sarah was off to explore the rest of the world starting in South America, Melissa had a few free weeks before the chains of grad school held her down, and Esme had less than 24 hours until she was due back at work. As for me I had a few weeks before I started my last semester at grad school.

As you know it is November now. I am working on my capstone project. My topic is Mexico and I am looking to go back there sometime around March and work on a video and really show people why the four of us fell in love with this place and the people we met. My project will be part of a kickstarter that will raise money for the organization down there, FAI.

A lot has changed in the few months that I have been back. I really think I am a different person. There were a few weeks that I couldn't stand people bitching about their jobs when all I could think about were the 3 year old kids selling gum to the tourists. It's sort of hard to feel bad about the trivial things. I've had my friends tell me I am a more outgoing person now and that I don't complain so much. That's a personal goal achieved. I even have my next travel plans coming up in about six weeks. I can't get over the doors that this trip opened (really the doors that my school, S.I. Newhouse school of Communication have opened). I really feel like this is what I might want to do with my life.

However nothing is for certain. All we can do is live our lives to the fullest, take advantage of the time we are spending here, and understand how similar we all are. I think more people need to travel and understand that. Maybe there would be more empathy out there. Anyways I want to thank anyone who has stuck by this little travel section.

Keep checking in, I officially head to Liberia at the end of December. For now, ¡hasta luego.

The Importance of Filters

Good morning. I wanted to talk about a camera accessory that I now believe is crucial. I can't remember if I mentioned it but day two of walking around Mexico, I used my smooth moves and fell in a hole. I don't care that I embarrassed myself or that the entire Mexican community gathered around and made sure I was okay. I was too worried about my camera, my baby.

I had a scratch on the ring of my filter, but otherwise it was okay. Not more than three days later, that same lens fell from the top bunk of a bunk bed. I screamed, and scooped it lovingly in my arms.

The filter had crushed in but it looked like the lens was okay. The problem was that now my lens filter was bent and I couldn't twist it off to get of off my lens. It had done its part, but was still fighting to be a part of my camera family.

Today, I brought my lens into the camera shop I work at (Delaware camera is the name for anyone looking for good service or just advice!).

The moral of the story is please please for the love of film, buy a ten dollar filter for your beautiful lenses.

By all means, if you can afford it, please buy the hgx filters. They are more expensive, but they are putting high quality glass over the high quality glass in your lens. It's going to reduce the refractions of light to your sensor.

Take care of your lenses. Love them and they'll return the love.