Rachael + Richard, May 2016, Malibu Elopement Styled Shoot

The first post of two styled shoots done in Malibu back in May! This one, featuring the bombshell Rachael and her dashing (aka super badass) Richard, was the elopement-styled shoot. Look at these stunnas! Their motion picture feature is the first half of this video as well. Enjoy!

I had a beautiful day shooting with some friends and these two wonderful couples! It's always nice getting to have a variety of things to shoot, and this styled shoot really brought it. More info about it in the blog post when it's ready! However, I hope the video that I captured (I am of course still learning, and kind of forgot to take video consistently throughout the day) is enjoyed! Amazing song by Jack Garatt - "Surprise Yourself" (Griffin + Manila Killa Remix)

Major shoutouts to all of the artists working on this shoot today! A little bit of info about the "vendor" side of things (updated! 8/18/16):

Stylist: Vanessa Orriols (IG style_closet_vanessa_)
Makeup: Rebecca Rouge (IG rebecca_rouge)
Hair: Richard!
Florist: Barbara of Blanc Floral Design (IG blancfloraldesign)
Model: Rachael (IG rachaelferris)

(Above, our fearless leader doing her thang! Tara has been working so hard to help coordinate our group photography adventures, hear hear! Below, our group of merry photogs for this portion of the session!)

So I hung out after the shoot to do a bonus shoot with these guys. They looked too damn cute in their matching outfits, so I snapped a few... Then got back up to the street and saw their matching car! <3

Fin! Big thanks to the wonderful Rachael + Richard!

February 2016 In Review - Adventure Time!

Alright, so Yeah Field Trip got its own 4-part post, but it's time for the rest of February to have its time in the sun, too. Let's kick it off, eh?

I had a nice picnic trip to the beach with unseasonally-warm weather with my bear, enjoying the gorgeousness that Newport always has to offer!

home-from-yeahfieldtrip2016-and-i-dont-wanna-be-trying-to-take-a-nap-but-first---lets-get-caught-up-on-my-one-a-day-posts-ya-heres-a-flash-back-to-my-valentines-picnic-in-newport-i-love-being-serenaded-by-my-bear-dontkickjimmy-sunset-gu_251899637.jpg

thanks-sunset-in-newport-beach-for-the-perfect-pantone-2016-coloroftheyear-palette-rosequartz-serenity-bike-beachcruiser-pink-40365_24690919313_o.jpg

ok-ok-last-one-of-the-epic-sunset-adventure-for-valentinesday-at-newport-newportbeach-beach-41366-that-cottoncandy-clouds-sky-though-pantone-rosequartz-serenity_25259708441_o.jpg

I got to take a friend horseback riding! My pony was named Apache--she was super sweet but had a big case of the munchies the whole way! I got to nab a few shots with my Photojojo Iris lenses:

I stared quite longingly at the pool, waiting for actually-warmer days... soon enough!

peaceful-mornings-sunrise-dawnpatrol-crystalbluepersuasion-palm-home-42366-oh-and-happyleapday--leapday-yay_25395431685_o.jpg

Anyone need a spare sewer? It has since been reduced in price to $150!

sewer-forsale-get-your-sewage-here-over-50-off-haha-the-things-you-find-at-vintage-boutiques-35366_24764028929_o.jpg

My friend Stephanie and I had a sweet little photographer's lunch and played around shooting in the back alleys of Pasadena. Here are some highlights (Steph's eyes!! Like crystal ice magic.) I had just gotten the Petzval 58, and took it for a spin (har har) but ultimately decided it was harder to work with than the Petzval 85 (the aperture plates fall right out of the 58 for some reason).

So, I also played around a bit with the new Petzval in the backyard. Here are my dogs, and some plants. Ha! Enjoy that gorgeous, swirly bokeh.

Later that month, I also got a new 35mm for my full-frame. It's only a 1.8, but it's still pretty amazing! I made the mistake of buying a 35mm DX (cropped sensor)--I got real tired of the excessive vignetting real fast. Ha! So, here's a portrait of my new lemon tree and my jade plants in early bloom with some bumble friends.

And there you have it! February 2016 is complete. xoxo

Los Feliz Murder Mansion - January 2016

I got the chance to explore the famous Los Feliz murder mansion a few months ago. Long story short, this Spanish-style home was built in the 1920s. Back in the late 1950s, a doctor lost his mind, bludgeoning his wife with a hammer, trying to kill one of his children with the same fate, and committing suicide via a mixture of drugs:

Curbed has a couple of great posts on this house, and quotes:

“The scene of one of Los Angeles’s most bizarre and macabre murders—and its long, mysterious aftermath—is up for sale after lying derelict for more than half a century. The Los Feliz Murder House, a Spanish-style mansion at 2475 Glendower Place, is asking $2.75 million in a probate sale.
...
It was here that, in 1959, physician Harold Perelson murdered his wife Lillian in her sleep with a ball-peen hammer. He then attempted to do the same to his oldest daughter, Judye, who managed to escape to a neighbor’s house. Telling his other children to go back to bed, Perelson retreated into the bathroom and committed suicide with a concoction of Nembutal and tranquilizers. No one has ever really understood why, although there were money troubles.

The story has become the stuff of local legend (and the basis for an upcoming film), with fascination over the house and its history growing the longer it sat empty. Though the house was purchased shortly after the murder-suicide by a Lincoln Heights couple named Emily and Julian Enriquez, by all appearances it has been uninhabited since the 1960s. Eerie photos taken as recently as 2012 suggest that the home was abruptly abandoned, with food, home goods, and pieces of furniture left behind.”

— BY ELIJAH CHILAND MAR 29, 2016, 9:00A, http://la.curbed.com/2016/3/29/11322708/los-feliz-murder-house

With all of that said, I got the chance to explore this poor little mansion, murder scene-turned-hoarder scene and all, and put together a little video-- I had a lot of fun playing around with all the creepy feels (password: LIMLvids):

Below are some of my favorite stills. You can see the full set here.

Starting out coming up the driveway, and exploring the back of the house:

The kitchen area. It's obvious people have broken in over the years, whether transients, prostitutes, or other such urban explorers... but it's still a trip to see:

And on back throughout the house. This yellow light you see comes from those amber-glass windows. It's the only thing that I'd change out if I could afford to buy and restore this home.

Previous writings about this house have claimed that there is still a tree and presents upstairs. I was hoping with all of my might that that was the case; that I could have some prolific photographer's moment where I could document the scene as-is, image every package as-is, then document the contents... but alas. Either there never was this unopened Christmas from 1959, or it had been stolen over the past 50+ years... This was all I found, but I'm not so sure of its origins:

It was a smoggy, cloudy day, but just imagine what the view is like on a clear day! This was taken downstairs, I think. Even better views would have been upstairs, had one been able to make it across the clutter to the window...

The basement/sub-first floor area was probably the scariest. It's apparent how little this poor home has been cared for, just left abandoned for so many years. There appears to be a lot of structural damage. It would be wonderful if someone could come in and restore this beauty, but I fear the dollar signs from this prime location will take over and transform this into some cookie-cutter monster.

And back to the front. The details must have been, and the remaining ones still are, stunning. I'm in love with the door handle and lock, and the front door detailing reminds me of my old school. Swoon.

Can you imagine how beautiful this fountain must have been in the '20s? Like someone's own private Great Gatsby moment every time they pulled in the driveway. Also, I didn't happen to get a picture of it, but there is a bench (or two, I don't remember now) built in to that hillside right near the fountain.

All I can do at this point is hope for the best for this home and all of the souls who have seen it.

After exploring, it's hard to tell that the owner, Rudy, mentioned above, was actually something much more than his eccentric possessions. I got the chance to speak with his relatives, who remembered him as a well-kept, dapper man who was quite devoted to his church and who went out of his way to take care of stray cats in the area. This house, much like this piece, is an exploration on the broadest limits of the human mind. Two very different stories and outcomes, one harmful and one just harmless, but fascinating nonetheless.

Every once in a while, I get sent or come across links for blogs and fun stuff, so I’ll add them here as I remember or have time:

Weird Scary Stories, by Jeana Van Sickle