A little break from the norm today….I present to you, one of my very best (and beautiful – you’ll see) friends Catherine and her adorable pup Hildy. Catherine asked me a while back if I would take some photos for her for a good cause (and certainly a fun one!) It’s called Pinups for Pitbulls and its an organization that advocates for the fair treatment of pitbulls, as many of you may know they tend to get a bad rap. And honestly, as with other breeds of dogs that have a rep for being bad, this is 9 times out of 10 a case of poor ownership and mis-treatment. I know first hand because Miss Hildy – pitbull princess- is just about the SWEETEST and well-behaved dogs I know, so well tempered that i couldn’t picture her harming even a fly!

The signature way Pinups for Pitbulls raises money and awareness is by creating a promotional calendar featuring what? You guessed it: Pinups and Pitbulls! So Catherine and Hildy donned their vintage finest, and over the course of 3 days and about 5 outfits changes, (mostly on Catherine’s part) we took some shots in hopes that one will get chosen for the calendar!

First we went for a retro Sailer vibe, can’t go wrong with Patriotic right? (And fitting as we approach Memorial Day!)

Without a third hand to help get Hildy to show her modeling skills, it was a constant pull between Catherine calling Hildy and me Calling Hildy and as you guessed, here she comes towards me!

Awwww Hildy loves her mommy…

Handshake!

This is one of my faves…Hildy looks so distinguished and Catherine, well she just looks beautiful of course! She has that million dollar smile on!

More tricks for treats!

On day two, we trekked out to Maryland to get some shots with a Vintage car. This beautiful machine was lent to us for our shoot by Eric of Eric’s Muscle Cars. It was really so generous of him given we only paid him in beer

Marylin Monroe-esque, eh?

Such a great car, and I think Catherine and Hildy make it even nicer!

Just the other day a MUCH anticipated package arrived at my door (well, more like the lobby of my condo building) and I raced up to my apartment to tear it open. For any of you who remember a few posts back when I mentioned one of the highlights of my WPPI trip in March, the highlight I am referring to was hearing Jesh de Rox speak, and getting a taste of his personal philosophy on the kind of photography he does and the effect it can potentially have on us, and on our clients.

Well lucky me! (and hundreds of others who were inspired by his vision) He’s released an inspiring tool to help those of us who want to find more depth in what we do and that’s what I had been anxiously awaiting for the last three weeks. No, no, it’s not a fancy lense or camera, it’s not a special way to process photos or anything really tangible at all. (Except the beautiful packaging!) It’s called the Beloved Field Guide. (Beloved is a term he’s coined for this new approach to couples sessions) It’s his words, his vision written and illustrated by beautiful photographs of his own, guiding those of us who are interested along the path to something more.

This all sounds really hocus-pocus-y right? I know, but TRUST ME….it’s a good thing, and for any couple with sessions on the books with me in the next few weeks and months, don’t be surprised if I ask you to forget your notions of what your session will be and ask you to perhaps go in a different direction. (You can say no, but I promise its a good thing!)

I am so looking forward to putting some of Jesh’s methods into practice, making them my own, and hopefully seeing beautiful results unfold, not just in the actual photos I take but in the experience of each new session for both my clients and myself!

Isn’t it just so simply elegant?!?

A few weeks ago as Stefan and I drove away from WPPI and Vegas to Huntington Beach, CA, eating Taco Bell and scaring the rest of the drivers on the freeway several times as we suddenly would decide to pull over for a desert sunset photoshoot, we started talking about what we were going to do the rest of the week. WPPI was all about photography…but believe it or not neither of us were sick of it, in fact we really didn’t shoot much, just listended and learned! So Stefan suggested we drive out to Irvine CA for some photos.

He was determined to take some landscape pictures of wildflowers (he loves landscape photography)….you know, beautiful, colorful fields of wild flowers that stretched as far as the eyes can see, and he assured me he knew the place to go. Well as we drove into the parking lot of the state park that consisted of beautiful rolling hills, and then started walking down the windy path we quickly realized there was…um, a distinct lack of wildflowers. But wait wait, no no, Stefan SWORE he had spotted at least ONE patch of yellow flowers from the freeway, it must be there SOMEWHERE. So he dragged me along assuring me that they were there and we would find them.

Do you see any flowers here? Nooooooooooo

Ok so I found ONE.

So here I was all…’Come ON there’s no flowers…it’s far, lets turn around’ and Stefan’s all ‘No WAY, I know there here….besides we can still get great pictures of you, and of us’. So that’s what we did. Now I mentioned already, Stefan likes landscapes. For the first few months of our relationship I couldn’t even get him to point the camera in my direction….he would be like NO I like LAND and SKY….who needs people messing up a picture!? But….as us women always have a way doing, I have shown him the light And I have to stay he impresses me with each new shot he takes. Here’s a few he caught of me that I am pretty darn pleased with…which if you know me is a tough battle to win. Sure I like taking OTHER peoples pictures…but turn it on me and I have to have full control of the situation, fully anticipating I’ll have to photoshop every last inch of it. But alas;

But that was enough of that. It was my turn! I mean if I dont’ say so myself I have a pretty ::ahem:: gorgeous boyfriend…..don’t you think?

He’s all ‘model model’ here….

But he’s really not like that….I mean he spends about 99% of his day with a smile on his face:

But I did get him to be serious a little bit longer…

The we set up the good ole tripod for some shots of the two of us together (because those are kind I like, yay)

After that we continued onward down the path and NO WAY guess what we found! That teeny tiny patch of yellow flowers Stefan had claimed he saw. Well, there it was, all 7×7 foot of its tiny little yellow glory. So of course there were lots of ‘I told you so’s’ and ‘SEE!’s….but anyway…you might be suprised what getting down low with a wide angle lens can do for a 7×7 foot patch of flowers…..Stefan took this one:

Pretty crazy right? So then I layed in them…. (felt kinda bad about that…they we a bit smushed when I got up)

So I guess all in all our little stroll through the fields of Irvine CA turned out pretty well…. Here are a few more shots I got as we made our way back…

California sure is a hard place to leave!

I have a few more posts to put up about my trip to Vegas and California last week, but I thought I would put a quick post up about a band I photographed a few weeks ago, The Script. If you readers out there haven’t heard their new single ‘BreakEven‘ it’s really not just a catchy tune, but a great song about how hard break-ups are, because there’s always one person hurt more than the other. I love the line ‘What am I supposed to do when the best part of me was always you, What am I supposed to say when I’m all choked up that your ok’.

Ok everyone raise your hands if you are thinking ‘been there, felt that!’ (Everyone, right?) I just adore when music illustrates the way we feel in the best times and worst time of our lives and while I am happy to say this song does NOT speak to my current situation, it still speaks to me because of times past, and because its just a really catchy tune!

Anyway it was super cool to get to photograph these cute Irish boys in such an initmate setting over at the Gibson Showroom in Chinatown DC, and hear them live!

PS- If you’re diggin the music shots….check back next week for more shots from 2 big shows I have over the weekend! Mat Kearney and Ingrid Michaelson are coming up first…then Spoon!

For those of you who wondered where I up and dissapeared to, and even for those of you who didn’t (that’s most of you, right?) I spent most of last week in Las Vegas cramming my little right-sided brain with tons and tons of information. Really? In Vegas?

No, no….I didn’t just learn how to lose money..(though I did learn that too, and not by gambling but MAN…eating in Vegas is PRICEY)

Anyway… I spent last week attending the WPPI (Wedding and Portrait Photographers International) annual conference. It definitely can be said that its one of the industries best gatherings of photography  masters and novices alike, totalling about 14,000 photographers in attendance! You spend your days walking around the trade show, going on shooting excursions, attending classes led by top wedding and portrait photographers around the globe, and even squeezing in some partying in here and there!! ( I didn’t get to go do any shooting myself, but check out local photographer Leo Druker who has some amazing shots up from the 4 shooting workshops he attended)

My brain is so full of info that I have 22 pages of notes, and about 14 different ‘What Erin should do in the next year’ lists regarding this lil ole business of mine. But I have to say, the best thing about my time at WPPI was that I didn’t just learn facts and figures and how to be a better photographer….(but of course I did) more so…I feel like I learned a little bit more about how I can be a better person, a better asset to my community, a better ME.

And that is priceless!

Here’s a little bit about my time in Vegas at WPPI………….Welcome to WPPI!

A great part of the trip was getting to meet and talk to a bunch of the photographers I admire and follow, some who i already knew and some who I was anxiosu to meet! I can’t possibly write about even sinle highlight of the conference, but here’s just a few!

If any bride, wedding photographer, or female photographer period. hasn’t heard of Jessica Claire, well….you are living under a rock! Not only is she one of Orange Counties most sought after wedding photographers, but she’s also the co-creator of one of the best camera/lens bags on the market (and most stylish of course too!). I got to stop and say hi to her for a few minutes at her ShootSac booth:

And Here’s Jessica herself (shes the one smiling):

Then I got to stop over at Kelly Moore‘s booth. Again Not only is Kelly an amazing photographer but she too has taken the common complaint of us girl photographers ‘Why aren’t their any cute camera bags that are actually functional but don’t make me look like a total NERD’ and turned it into a wonderful and stylish product: The Kelly Moore Bag. And did I mention she’s also super nice? Here she is showing people the bags and all their features:

Next I went over to say hi to Tony Bisson from Laguna Albums. I actually used to freelance some album design work for Laguna Albums…and Tony and I know each other from a few years back. He too is a Delaware Native. Thankfully we’ve both moved to better ground though (Sorry Delaware!) I got a picture of the two of us, and then a picture of Tony giving his good adivce on excellent album design. (It’s not as easy as it looks!)

Last but not least by any means is when I got to talk for a minute with the ever amazing Jesh De Rox. Jesh is truly an inspiration. His photography of course is stunning, but more so even than that he himself is just about one of the most geniune people you will ever meet. He makes you think about things you would never think about, and pushes people to grow their business out of love, not money….nor the love of money haha….but he really is a phenominal asset to the photography community. I also had had the pleasure of attending his jam packed 8am 2 hour long class the night after a party (yeesh) and I have to say I am SO glad I dragged myself out of bed. I truly enjoyed every person I heard speak throughout the week, but if I had to choose a favorite it would be Jesh! I was excited to get a picture with him!

I’ll close this post with a precursor to the next posts….as I have a lot to share from my trip! I closed out the week in Southern California where Stefan lives, only a 3.5 hour drive from glitzy Vegas. Stefan had been my companion throughout WPPI, and so reluctant as I was to leave the convention Wednesday afternoon…we got out in time to catch the sun setting over the desert and I got this image which I was pretty excited about (and Stefan was jealous of…snicker)

So stay tuned for more posts on the rest of my trip, including California Fields and some new portraits of me and Stefan, as well as the San Diego Zoo!!