matt + reuelle.

What to say about these two?

As many love stories go, it started with a Disneyland pass. Back when the price of a pass was worth two visits to the park, Reuelle and Matt both had one. Initially they would go in groups, but with more and more trips to the Land of Disney, they realized that a beautiful friendship was forming. Not only that, but many outings later, they started dating. 

Reuelle is a dear, dear friend of mine and Matt has become a good friend to me as well. It truly has been a blessing getting to witness the blossoming of their relationship, and to also be there when Matt bent down on one knee and asked Reuelle to spend life with him; together, happily ever after. 

They asked if I could take their engagement photos, and I was beyond thrilled when they did so. Reuelle knows that I love doing portrait sessions, and how could I turn down such a good-lookin' couple? ;) 

Our first stop: Travel Town in Griffith Park!

journey of a dress || LACMA

Taking a break from the Japan photos because I wanted to post these. Today, I went to a super cool exhibition at the LACMA called, "Journey of a Dress" by Diane von Furstenberg. Honestly, I wanted to go because I saw pictures of people who went and the walls were really cool. Also, I love dresses! This exhibition showcased 40 decades of Furstenberg's wrap dresses. She was the one who created it. I never thought of wearing one, but getting to see so many different styles and patterns of the wrap dress made me want to buy one! {I'd also say that we spent a good chunk of our time taking pictures in front of the walls. C'mon. Those designs were amazing. How can you not?}

Here are some pictures from the exhibition. You should definitely check it out! It'll be around until April 1st.

huntington beach.

One of my good friends, who I had the privilege of working with, and I had talked about going on a photo adventure for awhile. I went with her and our boss to WPPI this year, and we'd been itching to bring our cameras out and shoot.

Somehow, we ended up at Huntington Beach. I love Huntington Beach! It's such a vibrant, interesting area full of an array of different characters loitering the steps close to the beach.

Editing these photos reminded me of my friend and how much I miss and am going to continue missing her. :( She's in Japan right now, but I know she'll be taking lots of great photos over there! :)

Stumbled upon Bruxies! YUM!

self-portrait.

I've been meaning to post this for awhile.

First off, thank you to my ever-so-persistent friends who bug me about posting photos. I have a few that I've been wanting to post, but I just don't have the time! I'm finishing up the TEFL program that I've been in, so hopefully I'll be able to post more in the coming months. :)

The idea to do a self-portrait came several months ago. A lot of why I photograph is influenced by this:

When a person is photographed, he/she feels beautiful.
The photographer sees the beauty of that person, through the means of the camera.
Others are able to see that person's beauty through that photograph.

While I had been taking photographs of all these people, it struck me: how could I simply photograph others, if I didn't believe the same of myself? Yes, I could appreciate the beauty in other people, but how could I truly know what that meant if I felt uncomfortable in front of the camera?

Being photographed is personal. You're vulnerable, on display, and letting another person see...you.

Honestly, this was really awkward for me to do, but I knew that if I wanted to fully understand what it means to photograph others and believe in their beauty, I had to do that for myself first.

Without further ado...

Here is me. :)

{If you know me, you probably realized that my hair isn't that long anymore. Thus, showing how much I delayed posting this. Oops.}

andrea -- senior portrait.

I met Andrea our freshman year of college. She lived in a few dorms away from mine, so we frequented each other's dorms often. We talked about being roomies our junior year, and once that time came, it actually happened! I'm so blessed to call Andrea my dear friend and I've learned so much in my years of friendship with her. She's wrapped up her time at UCI, but I know that she has so much in store for her in the upcoming years! :)

Instead of having traditional senior portraits, Andrea wanted to take a trip down memory lane of all the spots that were near and dear to her during her undergrad career.