Pinecrest Cabin feat. Gentle Fawn

Went to Pinecrest, CA a few weeks back with some friends and it was such a great trip! Our crew consisted of Kalista (@listyyloo) and her boyfriend Colton (@coltrainkilla) who were kind enough to host us at her family cabin, Daniel (@deer_dann) and his boyfriend Ish (@ohheyits_ish), Kelsey (@princess_kelbelle), David (@d_ardill), Erikson (@eriksonerise), as well as my boyfriend Zach (@zstude). 

I partnered with Canada-based brand, Gentle Fawn (@gentlefawn), as well for this trip and was able to get some rad content of their pieces. The green floral kimono, tan pattern kimono, lace-up v-cut sweater, pink lace dress, and green floral dress are all Gentle Fawn. 

We had a weekend full of adventures including photoshoots indoors and out (one of my fave things obviously), going to Pinecrest Lake, trekking around in the snow, eating lots, watching 90s movies, hanging by the fireplace, David getting his drone stuck in a tree, etc. But perhaps the biggest adventure of the weekend was staying in a cabin with eight other people and having the water pipes frozen! This means no showers, no washing hands/dishes, no flushing the toilet (unless you replace the water in the back of the toilet with a bucket of water from a leaky pipe), etc. It was unfortunate, but also was so funny and memorable.. boy will we have stories to tell forever! 

Zach was even such a trooper and (reluctantly) did couples photos with me! He's not a fan of photos at all, which is actually ironic knowing me haha. Dan did a great job with them!

I'm really looking forward to spending more weekends like this with friends in the upcoming year. They're so special, so much fun, all the photographers and models get bomb content, and it's loads of adventure without loads of cash. As much as I would love to take extravagant trips all the time, there are more affordable options nearby of places I've never been to that I'd love to check out! Perhaps the next one will be Big Sur or the PNW? We'll see. You'll have to stay tuned! 

TGS Unplugged - Palm Springs

This trip was one for the books! TGS Collective (@tgscollective) put together a rad weekend at an AirBnb in Palm Springs for us creatives to UNPLUG from social media. We all can get so caught up in social media, we can get lost in the present.

Unfortunately though, in this generation in order to have a successful and lucrative career in the creative world -  whether you're modeling, photographing, filming, styling, designing, etc. -  you have to have be hustling and working hard online. It can be overwhelming at times for sure. This weekend was a time to unwind, set goals, and get inspired!

This weekend brought together such an awesome crew; TGS' leading lady - CEO and founder,  Alex Morehouse (@chiefwolfblood), photographer and TGS Collective Manager, Daniel Woods (@deer_dann), and fellow photographers Erikson Erise (@eriksonerise), and David Ardill (@d_ardill). Models included Kalista De Hart (@listyyloo), Tiana Ingram (@rosetiana_), and Andrelina Perazzo (@andrelinaa_). Not everyone knew or had met one another before the trip, but by the end of it we were all super close!

Before the trip, I had gone to Goodwill to find some interesting pieces to shoot with. Sometimes the crazier the clothing, the cooler the shot. Or it could turnout weird.. but that's up to you - the photographer and creative visionary! Many of the pieces in the photos below ya girl thrifted up a storm to find, and I'm so glad that I did because they turned out bomb! I'm a strong believer in that if your outfit is no bueno, the photo will likely be no bueno as well.

This is part of the reason I love to style my own models - if they're on point, you're on point. I got the pearly beaded blazer, white lace cover-up dress, red oriental top (Tiana bought it from me after the session!), sheer fringe kimono, floral romper, navy blue floral dress, and black sheer embellished dress - all between $5-$9 apiece. Recycled fashion KILLIN' the game! WHAT WHAT?!

We spent the weekend creating, laughing, relaxing, editing, sharing Photoshop and Lightroom tips and tricks, styling looks, eating, bonding, and overall just loving our lives away with the freedom from social pressures and the outside world. We encouraged each other, helped one another, and we left feeling motivated and ready to conquer our business goals. We all had our own stories and our own obstacles, but together we all had one thing in common - we love creating and we're ready to work our butts off to get where we want to be. 

THANK YOU GUYS FOR INSPIRING ME! And for a killer weekend.. And for killer pics. Much love.

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Joshua Tree & Salton Sea Feat. Peoples Project LA

I went to a photography meet-up a few weeks ago hosted by @rubyjamesphoto, @irenerudnykphoto, and @jessicakobeissi. I found out about it through another photographer friend @messinaphotos. The meet-up was at 6pm in Echo Park... so by that time it was already dark and surprisingly windy and cold. Sounds kinda sketchy to meet a bunch of random people you don't know in a public park when it's dark outside haha but it all worked out okay. I was talking in a big group and we all thought it would be a good idea to do a day trip to Joshua Tree and the Salton Sea and started a group message. Our group of 7 or 8 people turned into just 3 of us,  @koltinsullivan, and myself!

Koltin and I planned the meet-up for his place and started reaching out to models, photographers and other creatives! We ended up getting a group of 7 (@serenalisaa, @juliaamotta, @exit_the_minute, @photosby_laurence, @asantov, @koltinsullivan, and myself) leaving from Glendora and met another group of 4 (@brittneyborowski, @heysalem, @sarahwaseaton, & @justinomega) at Joshua Tree.

Big shout out to @peoplesprojectla for some of the goods I shot with in Joshua Tree! I love working with local brands and love even more when they are committed to philanthropy and the environment. Peoples Project LA is partnered with Heal The Bay,  which is a non-profit organization dedicated to making our coastal oceans safe, healthy, and clean. Ten percent of the proceeds from Peoples Project LA go to Heal The Bay - YAY! Their stuff is so cute too! I'm wearing a gray top, light blue floral dress, and denim jacket from them. 

After Joshua Tree, we went to this random Mexican restaurant  for lunch that was actually pretty good. There we met another one of Brittney's friends, @gregkantra. Lunch was pretty fun with all of us but then the group split up after and the original 7 of us continued to the Salton Sea!

The Salton Sea area was pretty much deserted but we surprisingly found 2 people living around there and lots of puppies haha. The sand was more just like crushed fish bones and your shoes would sink into this salty toxic mud.. honestly pretty gross and smelled kinda bad. We were there around sunset and the sea was so serene, it looked like glass and was almost an optical illusion because there was no movement in the water!

We shot until it was dark and then did the long drive back to Koltin's (about 2-3 hours) and everyone went their separate ways! This was probably one of my favorite shoots to date because I met so many awesome creative people, went on an fun day trip, and got a lot of good content! Can't wait to do a shoot something like this again!