NEW PROJECT // XO CHICAGO

I am so excited to finally launch a blog my friends Hanna and Linn and I have been working on this Summer. It's called xo Chicago, it's a place for us to blog about our different culinary adventures around Chicago! This is a great place to eat and we're always hearing about new favorites, so this blog was kind of an excuse for us to get together and discover all the wonderful eats this city has to offer!

Join us on our food journey! You can also follow us on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram and Twitter!

A big thank you to Christy at Hello Gem for making us our gorgeous logo! Wish I could get married again so she and her team could put together a beautiful wedding for me!

CARLY + RYAN // RAD BACKYARD WEDDING

Hello! I'm back and inspired! I've been wonderfully busy traveling, shooting and getting obsessed with Game of Thrones (judge me if you must). I'd like to make a better effort at sharing the weddings I shot here. I am so lucky to work with the sweetest, most loving and creative clients! Each wedding is filled with individuality and so many personal touches and I'd like to share those!

Carly and Ryan had a small, intimate backyard wedding. Carly's parent's backyard was a beautiful place for the occasion. I loved all the table settings, they were all different! I was so excited to shoot all the little details of their day, which was so laid back and elegant.

Some of my favorite things included the cute tie that Carly made Ryan, the bruschetta bar (genius!), the fact that they took time to visit their favorite little spot for a bloody mary with their friends, and how much Ryan & Carly enjoyed themselves with their family and friends.

I have such a rad job! I'm so thankful I have a job that gives me a glimpse of the love two people have for each other!

WORDS TO SHOOT BY // INSTANT

From two weeks ago on Words To Shoot By, the word- Instant! One of my favorite words. These photos were taken on a road trip to North Dakota with my Spectra!

XO

ONE HUNDRED NINTY FIVE

You guys, I've found a dream. A tangible, real life, photo making dream machine. It is called The Polaroid Land Camera 195. But how does it differ from the other Land Camera models, you ask?

-it has an awesome 114mm lens
-the smallest aperture is 64 to largest, 3.8
-shutter speeds ranging from 1/500 to Bulb
-it is still a rangefinder focus camera much like the other Land Cameras and has the same design as well, but is a fully manual camera
-has a built in self timer (!!!!)

I bought mine from Cory at Landcameras.com / Rare Medium. If you live in Seattle do yourself a favor and visit his store! If you don't, do yourself a favor and visit his online store! Cory refurbishes and sells Land Cameras of all kinds. My first experience with his handy work was when he re-hauled a sad looking 195 we had at A&A Studios when I worked there. I have regretted not buying that camera since we had it in the store. They are rather hard to come by in the condition that Cory sells them in, so when he had one in stock I quickly snatched it up!

As if the camera wasn't beautiful enough in all of its restoration glory, it came with a Gordy's camera strap which is well crafted and so dapper! Definitely a rad touch.

I am over the moon with my new toy. Definitely the most exciting camera purchase I've made in a long while. I am doubly excited to be taking this one with me to photograph Paris! 

Do you shoot with a Land Camera? What is your favorite model? I kind of skipped them. My first experience with pack film was a Square Shooter and I went right to the Mamiya Universal after that. Would love to hear about the different models.

XO

WHAT TO PACK // WHAT TO DO

This beautiful photo used with permission from Emilie Lefellic- one of my favorite Polaroid photographers!

Next month my mom and I are going to be cat sitting.....IN PARIS! I am SO excited! I have wanted to go to Paris for so long and I can't think of a better Mother / Daughter destination than the City of Light! When our friend posted on Facebook that she needed someone to stay in their apartment to watch over their cat my Mom and I jumped at the opportunity for an awesome adventure together!

I. can't. wait.

Much like any trip I go on, I have to make the difficult choice of what cameras / films to bring. I'm thinking I'll bring my future Polaroid 195 (so excited to receive this camera from Rare Medium), Polaroid 680, LC-A + and possibly the Horizon. And all those special edition Impossible Project films, Polaroid 669 / Chocolate / Blue film I've been hoarding- it's all been for this very trip!!

Now comes the planning! We welcome any and all recommendations! Food, shopping, sights to see, what shouldn't be missed, what to pack, what not to pack. Help me pass the time between now and August 19th! We will need a place to stay for one night, so any recommendations on hotels or at least areas to look in are also welcome! 

What are you favorite things to do / see in Paris?!

XO

WORDS TO SHOOT BY // INK

Last week's Words To Shoot By word was Ink. The first thing that came to mind was tattoos so Christopher and I showed off a few of ours! I have the bunny and polar bear Christopher drew for our wedding invitations tattooed on my right arm. It's simple but so cute. Our friend Nic Tse drew a beautiful portrait of two of our bunnies, Franny + Zooey on the inside of Christopher's arm. Lastly, several years ago one of my best friends and I got spur of the moment "sweet tea" tattoos in the inside of our lips together!

Tattoos are a funny thing, sometimes I feel like I've grown out of a few pieces that I've gotten but they will always remain as a wonderful reminder of that time in my life. I love that. What do you think about tattoos? Do you guys have any?

XO

EMULSION L I F T S

Earlier this year I tried Polaroid emulsion lifts for the first time. I've always thought they would be hard to do and was surprised at how easy and fun it was, so I thought I'd put together a little step by step guide to making instant film lifts! 

The Impossible Project sells a really rad kit to help you get started. The materials used in this tutorial all come in the Creative Kit. 

Pretty easy right?! Here are a few things to keep in mind, make sure the water isn't too hot. The Creative Kit comes with a thermometer to help you keep track. Once the film is out of the hot water it is very delicate so handle it with care from there on it. I loved the film holder! It made transferring the lift to the paper so easy.

The awesome folks at The Impossible Project gave me a Creative Kit & a set of Creative Cards to give away to one lucky person looking to try something different with their instant images! Enter to win by reblogging this if you're on Tumblr or leaving a comment with your email address! I'll pick a winner at random Monday, July 22nd. 

Happy Polaroid Week! 

XO