When Autumn Leaves Start to Fall

 

Love is in the air!  As a photographer, there is never a season that makes me more excited than just at the end of summer with the first hint of fall.  The sun is shining and there are speckles of yellows and oranges up in Park City.  A perfect day for an engagement shoot.

I love this sequence below!  No, this is not the photo they would put on their announcement, but these are the photos that show life, relationship - MOMENTS.

 

 

 

And the shoes, of course :)

 

Now, we actually had an audience for the Park City Main Street photos.  A group stood behind me trying to figure out how the lights were working and how we could get a decent photo when it was so dark, and another group cheered when they dipped in the middle.  I think it's always fun - and Geoffrey and Lauren seem to be perfect models, they can handle the paparazzi, the attention - makes my job easy!

Will You Marry Me?

(note from Whitney - as I started writing this blog post, it felt like an illustrated children's book.  So I went with it!  My commentary may seem a little bit different than usual...)  

A beautiful room, upstairs at La Caille,  Geoffrey anxiously waits for Lauren to arrive.  She thinks she is there for a tour of the reception venue, little does she know...

The first words out of her mouth were "What are you doing here?"  Which she repeated 3 times.  Geoffrey smiled, took her hand, and walked her over to the tv where they watched a movie he made.

Then there was dancing.

And she said yes!

She was definitely surprised!

And they were happy.

And excited.

Geoff and Lauren, Cheers!  Today is the first day of the rest of your life :)

A Family, a Baby, and a Couple o' Dogs

 

One of the aspects of my job as a photographer I appreciate most is the variety from day to day.  I love photographing wedding - we built the brand Whitney Lewis Photography around weddings.  Nothing in the world makes me happier than taking great photos of lightning.  People, portraits, and headshots - the faces, expressions, personalities.  I get to travel!  To go to new cities, National Parks, states, even countries...  And I get to meet and be inspired by the stories and relationships of amazing people.

Sometimes, however, I forget how unique each session is.  I've done hundreds of family sessions, and each one is different.  It is true.  THIS session reminded me to open my eyes and celebrate the uniqueness of each person (including babies!) and family.  What a fun shoot we had.  Everyone was so chill, little Harrison and all the adults!  That is certainly unique.  And refreshing.  Sigh...  These guys were so cute.

 

This is what we call:  puppy love :)

 

 

Today, I am feeling particularly grateful for all my clients.  I love working with happy people!!

FOR THE MONTH OF AUGUST ONLY - $50 Head Shot Session

*************************It's $50 HEAD SHOTS WEEK!!************************* That's right. $50. (That's 80% off the regular price of $250) from NOW until the END OF AUGUST.

Head shots are great for actors (film, theater, commercials...)

But ALSO for:

-musicians -business people -linked-in profiles -dating profiles -facebook profiles -models -showing off a new hairstyle -because your kids are growing up so fast -fun!

  So..........

It's $50 for 1.5 hrs, in the studio (in Draper) or outdoors. I will send you a proofs gallery and you get your favorite 5 files, completely retouched.

  *****BONUS!***** If you sign up with a friend and do your sessions at the same time, you get a 6th file - a fun photo of both of you together.

  When you are ready to schedule. or if you have questions, comments, or concerns, then text, email, or call me:

_______________________________ Whitney 801.874.7383 whitneylewisphotography@gmail.com _______________________________

Remember, the $50 deal is only good from now until the end of August. One more week!

When Life Delays Your Flight... Make Lemonade!

When life delays your flight... make lemonade.  I think that's how the saying goes, anyway, right?  Or maybe they say "go to New York City".  Let me think about that for a minute...

Today has been insane.  And I am full of energy and thrilled for the adventure.  It's quite a ride.  For the last week and a half, I've been here in upstate New York, in the Adirondacks - by Lake George.  It was the ultimate escape with no cell service, no worries, very little internet, hardly any people for miles.  Just lots and lots of nature.  What an experience!  And it drove me crazy to be that disconnected...  I have work to do!  People to call, photos to upload, and blog posts to write!  Well, I found a little bit of internet to check in from time to time and I went through all the withdrawal symptoms from the phone.  It was remote and beautiful.  I feel much more peaceful now.

Today, that visit came to an end when I rode the 3 hours with my little sister and her family to Albany airport, several hours early because they were on a different flight.

Their flight left at 1 and mine left at 5:15, so I located a great little place called Blu Stone Bistro on Yelp with internet so I could work, eat, drink, and experience something about Albany other than the airport.  Then I was going to walk the 2 miles with my 3 bags to the airport.  Sounded like an experience worth having.  Maybe even fun.  The address was wrong, my brother in law was running late, and when they finally found it and dropped me off, the bistro was closed.  I had 3 hours to kill, then I would have 30 minutes with the bistro open until I needed to start walking.  It's almost comical how everything went wrong.  So I went to the lobby of this beautiful hotel and awkwardly piled my luggage on the floor of their cafe - this cafe was also closed.  Aaaaand the internet required a password, so I edited photos and made my work to do list for the next 3 days while listening in on a job interview and an awkward family fight also in the lobby.  Then I got a call - my flight was delayed an hour and a half!  This means I have an extra hour to enjoy the Blu Stone Bistro while it was open! :)  I will miss my connecting flight in Chicago and I'll figure that out when I get there!  I grabbed my bags and walked along the rather busy highway to find something, anything with wifi until 3 pm.  I ended up at a Starbucks for a couple hours, then back to the bistro.  Now, I love days like this.  In one sense, everything goes wrong.  In another sense, it's an unexpected adventure where nothing goes as planned - which is perfect.  I thrive off of that energy.  And all the people on the highway in Albany, NY waving to the girl walking on the shoulder laughing to herself because there is nothing to do but laugh.

All of a sudden, I get an ingenious idea!  instead of going to Chicago and figuring it out, why don't I try to go somewhere awesome for the night?  I have always wanted to see the Tuesday night jazz club at Mona's in NYC.  And indeed, we have lemonade.  I actually get money back from the airline by hopping on a bus and flying out of New York tomorrow instead of sleeping in the Chicago airport and flying out there tomorrow... So here I am, on a bus on my way to New York City with more money in my pocket, drinking my figurative lemonade (from the lemons I was given) and watching the real sunset go down over the city.  I get to go dancing, listen to incredible jazz, meet up with some childhood friends, take photos, and feed off of the energy of this incredible city.

From one perfect escape in the middle of nowhere to the exact opposite with the rush of people and crazy everywhere - and also perfect.

Now, last time I was in New York City was 2012, on the way to and from Europe.  I photographed a beautiful wedding in Holland, and spent an month discovering NYC, Ireland, England, Spain, Holland, and NYC again.  A few of my photos from that trip here:

  

Wish me luck!  And I'll see y'all again in Salt Lake in a couple days :)

Through a Child's Eyes

  I aspire to live a childlike life every day.  But what does that really mean?  I spent so many of my younger years wanting to grow up, I've consistently viewed myself as 5-10 years older than I am.  I mean, really - I was MATURE.  And everyone around me knew it. Age is still a funny thing to me, and I often get uncomfortable when people ask how old I am.  I am not too old, I am not too young, I simply don't want to be defined my age.  So, here's what it is really about: when I was 12 years old, I believed that being immature was bad.  It wasn't "cool" if I got too excited about life, or too inquisitive.  In my life now, I have definitely changed my mind - those are some of the qualities I value most.

Seeing the world through a child's eyes.  Everything is new, everything is exciting, and everything is an adventure.

I want to ask the "why" questions, explore the "what would happen if..." questions, and allow the changes all around - in nature and in people - leave an impact on me.  I want to open my eyes.  To have a sense of wonder for everything around me, an excitement to help and to share, and always unconditional love.  I love this photo of my niece looking out at a rainy day.  I want to feel what she feels.  What a perfect moment.

Watching a young soul discover the world is beautiful.  And, even more inspiring is watching an old soul see the world through young eyes again.  To live a child-like life.  To see the world through a child's eyes.  To really catch the vision of the adventure in every moment.

A Beautiful Place to Rest

 

The power of a name, a title - this is a still a concept I'm working on.  Yet assigning a few simple words to a photo can amplify its impact.

This photo was in the middle of the night right after a rain storm, the bright moon was shining through the trees.  I lay on the hammock and look through a perfect opening in the leaves to watch the clouds pass in front of the moon.  Then I stepped back to take the photo then sleep in a real bed that night...  I've named the photo "A Beautiful Place to Rest" for now... What would you name this photo?

Upstate New York - Life as a photographer in the Adirondacks

I've got a week and a half in upstate New York.  I've been looking forward to this time, but I've also been nervous about it.  There are a few reasons:  being away from my computer (I have a beautiful iMac with a second monitor that I edit all my photos on.  I spend more time with my computer than anything else - it's a huge part of the life as a photographer!), being so off the grid with no cell service and minimal wifi, and a little stress about family dynamics.  I love my family and I love seeing them!  I get nervous because I often become the 14 year old Whitney when we get together and the progress in becoming who I am as an adult goes out the window.  It is interesting to step back and observe this!  I am now Whitney, a professional photographer, and someone who loves learning, people, nature, and arts.

I’ve been here before, but I don’t feel like I’ve ever really SEEN it.  My goal in photography is to show people what a beautiful world is out there and how to open their eyes to it.  Well I’ve been here 3 times in the last 10 years and this week, I finally finally opened my eyes and saw it.  We drove in at 4 am and I was exhausted.  But I saw the room, the view of the lake, and the super moon that night, and I was so inspired that I couldn’t sleep, so I started hiking around with my camera.  This photo above is the very first photo I took here.  That's part of the magic in it for me.  I enjoy looking through 100 photos and finding the best ones (I have 500 photos from this night, and others that I think are prettier) but when it is the very first exposure, it feels different.  I often debate whether to post the photos that I connect most to or the photos I believe that you will connect most to.  Today, this one is impactful to me and I wanted to share.

I stayed out for 4 hours running around the lake, finding reflections, in awe of the fog, and taking photos the whole time.  It felt like a sacred space for me.  For miles and miles, I was the only one awake.  Except for a few animals - there were squirrels or chipmunks or something in the trees literally throwing pine cones at me.  The grass was wet from the dew, and the moon was so bright.  I lifted a beautiful old wooden canoe, much too heavy for one person, but somehow managed it and saw the sunrise from the water.  It’s a large lake with a couple little islands, but I was there in complete solitude.

I watched the sunrise from the middle of the lake on a beautiful old canoe with fog surrounding me.  Yes, I was brave and took my camera with me, just trusting that that the canoe wouldn’t tip. :)  And it was worth it -  The lake was golden, and I have never seen anything like it.

 

I feel I am finding a piece of myself out here.  The beauty, the connection with nature, the lack of connection to technology.  It's almost like a creative retreat.  I have much to be grateful for today.

In My Own Backyard

As you may remember, I've been visiting all the National Parks, with a plan to photograph all of them by 2020.  This has been an incredible adventure, a chance to prove the world is a beautiful place, to really open my eyes and share it!  But every time I travel, I am even more impacted by coming home.  I get to rediscover my own backyard, to see it as though I had traveled miles to get here.  I have mountains as a backdrop to my life!  How much better does it get?  

 

Well, this particular Sunday, I visited a place I knew well, somewhere I often shot for engagement photos.  3 or 4 years ago when I lived in Utah County, Utah Lake was one of my favorite sunset locations.  I had no clue it was a State Park at the time.  In fact, I had NEVER even visited or photographed it other than during an engagement or bridal session.  I got to explore somewhere I'd already been, but never really seen.  To discover something I already knew, but never acknowledged.  I sat on the rocks and wrote, I walked, dipped my toes in the water, watched the clouds move across the sky.  I even started singing songs!  It's inspiring to be surrounded my nature like this.