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Rapunzel is back! (for a visit)
Rapunzel came to visit! She’s gone now. I’m a little behind in writing about it.
When she was here she special-requested that we have a beach day for old time’s sake. Then we got a little busy and only managed to squeeze in a beach dinner which was totally fine with us! I don’t love sitting around at the beach all day as much as I love sitting around at the beach in the evening, watching the sun go down and roasting hot dogs and marshmallows.
I took my big new fancy camera and tried to capture some memories. Everyone is growing up so fast.
I’ve been logging my days lately on a silly mood app (I can’t recommend it because it’s not really that helpful) and I have to say that this day at the beach registered as my best day all month. I think I just like spending time with family and taking photos. Those might be my two favorite things.
Beach food isn’t so bad. I mean, it is so bad but that’s kind what is so good about it. Melty marshmallows with Nutella, crispy charred hot dogs with mustard and ketchup and Dorritos… mmm!
Bug and Joon really got obsessed with roasting things. Cheries, salt and vinegar chips… did you know you can use Dorritos as kindling? Good to know!
Payam is always the master of fire ceremonies.
The girls are master posers.
We sat around and talked and then had cherry pit spitting contest for old time’s sake. So classy.
We watched the sun go down and burned things.
It was a good night. And now Rapunzel is back home and we miss her but it was really nice to have her around for a minute!
We’ll have to really put out the effort to get to the beach again and not just when guests come to visit.
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Mermaid Shoot with Neil
In the spirit of doing crazy photoshoots for fun, I did a thing with my friend, Neil, from New York the other day. You might know him from Citizen of the Month or Neilochka on Instagram. He’s an amazing artist who shoots street photography and really interesting portraits of friends. I was super excited to be on his list.
When he proposed sitting on a chair in the ocean of course I said yes. What could be more perfect for me? I love the ocean! It’s been a huge part of my life living here by the beach. But I’m not your average beach-going bikini-wearing girl. Nah. I’m more like a business woman wearing a red dress, sitting on a bar stool while the rush of waves washes around me in foggy grays and greens. It could be a metaphor for so many things. Of course we didn’t really flesh out what it could mean. It’s left up for interpretation of course.
First we met for coffee to catch up and hash out our ideas. I tried to shoot some photos of Neil with some bags for my Love Your Baggage client. (I’m shooting everyone with these bags if you are interested. Gotta get the word out about how great jute bags are!) And then we headed off to the beach, bar stool in tow.
We set the barstool as far out into the waves as we could go without getting wet and then I sat. It was a bit exciting as the pointy legs of the stool sunk into the wet sand unevenly and the waves washed all around me. I tilted this way and that, leaning forward and backward to keep my balance and desperately trying to suck in my belly fat at the same time.
It was exhilarating! I love the waves. Sand and sea don’t bother me. I didn’t care if I got wet. I expected it.
This is my favorite shot by far.
This one seemed way cooler in my head.
Poor Neil though. He got soaked. As is typical for a photographer, he sacrificed his shoes trying to get the shot. He was squatting down to get just the right angle and a big wave came up and soaked him. Thankfully this time of year the water is pretty nice. But sadly he had to walk around the rest of the day wet and sandy.
Then since he was already wet I made him switch places with me so I could get a shot too.
I think this would be a great avatar for him, don’t you?
