Welcome Inori Rose!

 

What a treat to photograph 8-week old Inori Rose this past weekend.  She is blessed with not just one but two awesome moms! It was such a pleasure for me to celebrate the new motherhood of Karen and Joanna and the joy of this new family. I love photographing in natural light and we were lucky enough to have scheduled the session in the afternoon on Sunday just after the sun broke through and the temperature warmed  enough so Inori could enjoy the outdoor air on her beautiful bare skin. Between breaks for feeding and sharing mothering stories we captured the growing bond between mothers and daughter.  Congratulations Karen and Joanna and thank you for this honor of creating your first family portrait! Click on the photo below to see some of my favorite photos from the shoot.

Mother Tongue

In the trailer park where diapers snap on clotheslines like flags in semaphore the child cradled in my arms lies swaddled in the rhythms of her world.

She hears a thrush song from the thicket and searches with her eyes. Bird I tell her and wish her wings.

And then she shivers in the breeze that shakes pine needles from their boughs I whisper wind and wish her grace.

She looks to me while sprinkles dance staccato on our metal roof. Rain I say and wish her gentleness.

She gathers all these sounds of life like nosegays edged in baby’s breath and stores them in her throat.

Then, in her voice as soft as summer showers meadow music and whiffs of wind she names me mama.

                             Regina Murray Brault

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Greased Lightning

A couple of weeks ago Stage Left  in Santa Barbara performed their productions of Grease directed by Shana Lynch-Arthurs and Steven Lovelace. Wow did it ever take me back to my high school days when this movie came out and beyond! The kids in this performance auditioned the first week and then had three weeks to pull all the choreography, singing and performance together. There were two separate casts and 4 performances. It was absolutely amazing to see the talent of these young kids (ages 6-15) and their directors showcased in a fabulous evening of song, dance and acting. I had the opportunity to do headshots of about 123 people involved in the two casts and to do character and production shots. What great subjects these young actors were! Check out some photos in the slideshow below…

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Italy!

My first trip to Italy was fabulous!! We started out in Rome and hit some of the hot spots: Vatican, Pantheon, Colosseum, Piazza Novona. It was so easy to get around and every time we turned a corner I was floored by the architecture, art, history, and of course the shoes!! After Rome we spent a week in Tuscany, mostly in Cortona  with side trips to Assisi, Perugia, Foiano, and of course Florence. Have you seen the movie or read the book Under the Tuscan Sun? Cortona was the setting for this wonderful story. We stayed in a beautiful stone villa right above this beautiful walled city and spent a lot of time photographing and hanging out in the town center on the church steps people watching with cappuccino, gelato or panini in hand. The beautiful village was a little different than Francis Mayes describes in her book and as we talked to locals we learned sadly how the movie changed this town from a small locals based community to a Tuscan attraction. Home values rose, many Cortonians sold their homes andtook with them the small community based businesses. Now most of the businesses cater to Italian and foreign tourists (which made for great leather shopping) but to go to a market for staples or a pharmacy we (and Cortonians) now need to drive about 15 minutes to the next town. Like many Italian towns the population is really aging in Cortona as the young people who can’t find work  have moved elsewhere. Still it was charming and wonderful but we felt sad to see how this wonderful book and the movie that followed impacted the local community. Next we spent five days in Venice. I loved St. Marks Square, Doges Palace, Rialto Bridge area, the glass blowing island of Murano and lace making, fishing village of Burano. We stayed in a beautiful apartment on the Venitian island of Giudecca  where we got a wonderful more locals experience of the area away from the crowds. My favorite times in Venice were definitely early morning photography outings to catch the gorgeous  light after sun rise and the golden hour  of light before sunset on the water and over the ancient architecture, I loved walking the neighborhoods, being in St. Marks Square without all the crowds, riding the vaporetto and photographing in the most beautiful magical light of Venice! Check out some of my favorite shots in my slideshow below.

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Bye Bye Birdie

A few weeks back I had a blast at Goleta Valley Junior High doing headshots with many young actors who are preparing for their production of Bye Bye Birdie, directed by Matt Tavianini. These dynamic and talented students prepare for months for their winter musical and it shows on opening night! I have gone to GV’s theater productions for years and I am always blown away by the talent I see in these young actors. I know one of these days I will see some of them on the big stage! See Bye Bye Birdie on Friday, March 18 at 7:00PM, Saturday, March 19 at 7:00 PM or Sunday, March 20 at 2:00PM at Goleta Valley Junior High. Tickets at the door.

Sarah and Gwyneth

Back in early December I had the honor of celebrating Sarah’s pregnancy with her in the studio and today I delighted in the opportunity to join she and beautiful baby Gwyneth (now 7 weeks old)  at their home for a wonderful experience of photographing them together. The morning could not have been more exceptional and I got lost in time as I witnessed and documented the most amazing of all human bonds…that between a mother and child. Sarah had her favorite music playing; the clouds and rain had taken a break to let in the most beautiful light; I had my camera in my hands and baby Gwyneth was peacefully content in her mother’s loving arms. Perfect!

REAL BEAUTY

My experience sharing my REAL BEAUTY photography with the International Association of Eating Disorders Professionals at their national conference back in the Spring was all I had hoped it would be. The response to the gallery and the writings done by the subjects about their personal journeys to learning to love appreciate their bodies as they are was so powerful. The slideshow which was a collection of my work celebrating real women’s bodies (read, not photoshopped to “perfection”)  was met with a standing ovation of over 200 people in the audience. Clearly we are all getting tired of the lies about women’s bodies created by the many forms of media in this culture that can only hold one definition of ideal, one that is not attainable by the vast majority of women. I am so grateful to the many beautiful and brave women who participated in my REAL BEAUTY project. My hope is that in recognizing the authentic beauty of “real women” that we might be able to more fully recognize it in ourselves.

Celebrate The Skin You’re In

Saturday, February 20, 2010 Beverly Hills Country Club Beverly Hills, CA 4:00 – 8:00pm Cost is $35 per person ~ wine and Hors d’ oeuvres served ~ Cocktail Attire SuggestedJoin us at iaedp Southern California Evening in the Arts as Juli Hayes Nadler displays an amazing visual show of her Real Beauty Collection of photographs and will discuss how her work as a photographer has evolved from her work with eating disorders. She will share her story of how she became committed to authenticity in celebrating women’s bodies with her photography and how this work has personally touched and inspired her. Juli has been a Registered Dietitian, specializing in eating disorders and body image related issues for almost 25 years. During this time she has helped many women accept, nourish and honor the body they were born with. She has worked in inpatient and private practice settings, with individuals and groups, and on college and high school campuses. She has a passion for helping her clients free themselves from the prison and pain of disordered eating. For many years, Juli has also been a photographic artist, specializing in her “Celebrate the Skin You’re In” photography. She brings her experience and passion for celebrating women’s bodies in all shapes and sizes to this work. Her photo sessions are often a healing experience for women who have been brought up in a culture that tells us there is only one type of body that is worthy of celebrating. “Juli’s photos gently illuminate the true beauty and grace of the feminine spirit as it is reflected through the bodies of all women. The authenticity of these images are an antidote to the false, one-dimensional images we see in the media today. They invite us to celebrate the exquisite beauty of the embodied feminine soul.” -Anita Johnston, Ph.D. author, Eating in the Light of the Moon. For more information please go to www.iaedpsocal.com