Brittany+Christian E-Session

Ok, let's just get this out of the way... Brittany showed up with a car full of props and a shot list that rivals any I've been presented with at a wedding. And I LOVED it!!! The bottom line of any E-Session is to get to the heart of who the clients are. Brittany made sure to select a place and bring items that helped illustrate just who she and Christian are together. A picnic scene, bible, glass of lemonade, umbrella from France and propensity for dangerous swing activities all filled in around the edges of a clear love they have for each other. Oh, and tons of birds were pretty cool too :) This kind of planning is not a requirement for sure but if that's who you are, plan away and I will go along for the ride. My ideas can be good but OUR ideas always work out the best!

This should be required watching for anyone trying to live life...

 

R.I.P. Steve Jobs. It's already cliché to wax poetic about how he changed our lives but that won't stop me. I have been using Apple products for over a decade and I don't think there is a minute of any day that goes by that isn't in some way connected to, influenced by or impacted by something Steve Jobs had a hand in introducing to my world. Famously, in my inner circle of friends and family, I recently bought my first non-Apple computer in over a decade but that didn't mean I stopped loving what Apple and Steve did for computing, music and consumption of media in general. As a photographer, artist, writer and avid technology user, I have been quietly inspired by Jobs and his vision over the years in ways I wasn't even aware of until now.

One of my favorite books of all time is The Fountainhead about, among other things, an architect who steadfastly refused to compromise his vision to suit the world around him. While his designs were clearly ahead of their time, his contemporaries hated him for having the nerve to try to achieve greatness through innovation rather than imitation. More than any other figure in my lifetime, Steve Jobs embodied these ideals. He was known to be an a--hole by many but that didn't stop them from respecting, even loving what he accomplished. In the end, while he didn't suffer the ridicule Howard Roark did in Ayn Rand's novel, he did often take risks that nobody else would to achieve unparalleled leaps in innovation. His vision completely transformed popular culture, and probably the direction of world history, more than any other figure in our generation.

While those things were evident just in observing his life, this speech Jobs gave in 2005 was something I had never seen until last night and I suspect now that I have watched it I will never forget it. The message of his passing, and this speech is clear; do what you love, be who you are and never compromise. Like many others today I am moved by how simple a message this is and how profoundly it will affect my life going forward. Looking in the mirror will never be the same.

RIP Steve Jobs. October 5, 2011...

I NEVER do this but...

I have to say, we just ate at one of the best restaurants we've ever been to... and it's here in Orlando. Saffran near the Florida Mall is an amazing new place serving a kind of fusion Indian, Middle-Eastern, American, Caribbean style of food in a very relaxed setting (think on the level of Chipolte but a little more sophisticated/sit-down). They have pizza type things called Saflats made on Indian Naan bread, burgers, chicken and rice, etc. It's really totally unique and this is the first one open in the US (they are from Iceland of all places)I have never posted a straight up plug for anything that wasn't wedding-related but I loved this place so much I had to share :) If you love new experiences in food, you have to try it. Oh, and I have to mention the owner and staff were absolutely wonderful.

I am getting nothing out of this other than maybe helping a new restaurant do well so I can keep going there :)

Reem+Aziz's Wedding(s)

Don't be confused. Reem did indeed get ready twice, once at home and the second time at the Grand Bohemian Hotel. Although there are really only pictures of one ceremony, Reem and Aziz did two ceremonies on their wedding day. The first, a traditional religious "Nikah" which I did not take pictures of and a second ceremony at the Ballroom at Church Street. Both ceremonies were fantastic as was the reception upstairs in the Ballroom!