I’ve been shooting a lot lately and thought I’d share some of my most recent projects!
From top to bottom: Pluma Jewelry, House of Earnest, Danielle Evans of Food Typography for The Guardian, Death to the Stock Photo, Simi Botic, Alex White and Pluma Jewelry again!
PS: If you’re in the Columbus area, I’m hosting 2 back-to-back workshops on taking better photos for your blog + business on August 9th and 10th! Comment below or email me at allie(at)thewonderjam(dot)com if you’re interested!
Our last day in New York City was technically in Brooklyn again. After being somewhat MIA from work for the last four days, the three of us had a lot to catch up on as Monday morning rolled around. We decided to take care of the things we needed while at the apartment (How amazing was our place? here’s the listing. Mark, our host, was fabulous) and then walk over to Cobble Hill for some burgers at Moo Burger. The spot was chosen by me…because they have gluten-free buns! The 20-25 minute walk each way was beautiful and made me a little upset that we’d be leaving for an 8 hour travel day.
Every time I visit NYC, I encounter a different city (or rather, different experiences). I wonder what next trip will be like…
The weather spoiled us on our third day in New York City. 70′s and sunny throughout the entire day. I had spent the night prior working on a client project until pretty late so we woke up super rushed and off to my blowout appointment at DreamDry in Manhattan. I love DreamDry over DryBar for a few reasons and one of them is the fact that they just have a lot more styles to offer! I got the “polished Stevie” and I’m not exaggerating when I say it lasted up to 3 days. Those waves just wouldn’t quit!
We traipsed around Manhattan for the rest of the afternoon. We hit up Zara, Uniqlo and snagged Adam a new watch. It’s a tradition dating back to our honeymoon! I bought Adam an awesome (tax-free) watch on our way to Florida and now we add to his collection every trip.
By 4pm, we headed back to the apartment for a quick nap and to drop off our bags before snapping photos + grabbing dinner with Lindsay and her main squeeze Aaron at Alma. We waited patiently over drinks for a rooftop table and as you can see from the last picture, we conquered!
Our second day in New York City was…drenched. It rained all day and the wind was quite impressive. Read: my hair instantly turned into a nest of frizz. We had a few meetings in Little Italy and so we ducked into Oro Bakery & Bar for some warm drinks while the guys drooled over their pretzel bagels (yes, I was jealous). This pretzel bagel really got into their head and for the remainder of the trip they would duck into bakeries across the city seeking something similar. No luck.
We were able to meet with Stephen from Skillshare. We love Skillshare’s mission + their desire to share while supporting anyone who’s willing to learn. The rest of our day consisted of the Chelsea Market (I was too busy drooling over all the food to shoot photos) and headed back to Brooklyn to tend to client work. The rain really put a buzzkill on our shooting plans but we knew sun was in the forecast.
This trip was the most stressful when it came to juggling client deadlines while also shooting and exploring the city. I see such a shift happening in The Wonder Jam’s day-to-day lives as we finish up the first half of 2014. I’m working on co-writing a book (!!) and we’ll be launching some online resources by the end of the year. “Making money while we sleep.” That’s the goal.
Long time, no talk! We had been in NYC since last Thursday and arrived back in Columbus late Monday. Yesterday I spent the day catching up on email + client work but I thought I would break up each day in NYC and give them each their own post. I took enough pictures to share!
After a flight delay, we got into NYC around 4pm and headed straight to our Airbnb in Red Hook. I wasn’t familiar with this part of Brooklyn but I always love getting to know new neighborhoods when we travel. Photos to come later! After dropping off our bags, we snagged an Uber taxi and headed to East Village to meet Dabito for ice cream at Van Leeuwen. Pistachio ice cream is my jam (FYI).
We later found tacos (I ate way too much corn on this trip which left me feeling slightly like a blimp) and wandered the streets. While I wasn’t hungry at all, we had to stop by Tu-Lu’s Gluten Free Bakery because…red velvet cupcakes. If only their employees were as friendly and warm as our very own Cherbourg Bakery!
Exhausted from a day of travels, Adam and I headed back to our apartment while David scampered off to a electronic swing dance party. If only I was that cool.
Stay tuned for day 2 and how NYC gave me its own version of a blowout…
Last weekend, Adam and I spent a few days down in Nashville for our Death to the Stock Photo roadtrip! I had been begging Adam to go back to Nashville (I had been there three times before) and I finally got him to understand just why I love it so much. I’ve decided to break down our future travels in quick-to-read format. So here we go:
We loved our time in Nashville and can’t wait to go back. Check out more stories here. Next up? NYC!
Most of the blogs that I follow are based on either coast (mainly NYC or LA) and while I tend to drool over their photos, I will always be a midwest girl. I grew up in Illinois, went to college in Indiana and now I live in Ohio. Last weekend we spent 24 hours in Indianapolis (specifically in Fountain Square) and thoroughly enjoyed our time there. I found myself distracted by all the typography, signage and the little details. Plus, New Day Meadery makes my favorite mead. I had a glass of their strawberry rhubarb alongside a plate of brie, honey and prosciutto. Quite divine.
I don’t remember how I met Ashli but she’s the kind of person that brightens your life. I was so honored when she asked me to photograph her maternity shoot. Alex and Ashli have created such a gorgeous home here in Columbus and they’ll be welcoming their baby girl very soon!
But seriously…she’s glowing.
I shot my first wedding on December 28, 2013. Luckily it was my sister-in-law’s wedding so I felt a bit more at ease. I was there for all the planning, I knew the landscape + felt comfortable with everyone in attendance. It was a great first and since then I’ve shot another and booked 3 more! I’ve received about 4 other inquires too so now I just have to accept the fact that I’ll be a wedding photographer this year!
I actually have really enjoyed it so far. It’s a burst of intense shooting for 9-10 hours and yet it’s really fulfilling because it’s a continuous sequence. I’m painting a story and I’m excited to get better at it as the year progresses. Maybe I’ll even get to travel + shoot a wedding!
Here is the story of my beautiful sister + her husband’s wedding from December:
What have I learned so far? Not every wedding is going to photograph as easy as the ones on Pinterest do (I mean, obviously). I realized quickly that being in the Midbest will only allow me a few 100% outdoor weddings. In the winter it’s freezing cold (hence, all indoor) and in the summer it’s sweltering hot (also mostly indoor). I’d spent so much time looking at other photographers’ outdoor work that I forgot that I’d be facing much different challenges.
I have a few goals on how to improve:
Any seasoned wedding photographers out there? Any advice? Or any amazing (or horror) stories about your own wedding photographer? I’d love to hear any tips or things you loved!
That’s me. At an event. Drinking champagne and apple cider bourbon at the same time. Wearing heels and rocking a blowout. Also mid-sentence, I’m sure. But let’s be real, pals. It’s really like this:
OH snap! Check out that lady with crazy hair and her messy house. My life has been pretty consistent lately. I wake up, work all day or have meetings all day, work til 4am, yadda yadda, computer, sit, design, blog, meet, yadda yadda. Then I occasionally shower and get dressed and look like I do in the photo above. It’s just a crazy ass month. Fulfilling…but crazy.
ALSO I’m finally feeling better (no more green snot). Based on some future creative/work plans, I don’t really want to shop anymore (save, save, save!). I am so smitten by all the colors in the trees and on the ground. And I truly love what I do. Hopefully all these crazy weeks will yield relaxing weekends. I can’t believe it’s Friday. More like TGIF.
Here is a bit of recent work/collaborations:
Hither and Thither‘s re-design, a photoshoot for Grandiflora (it launches Monday), Thread‘s holiday lookbook, our great friends’ anniversary shoot.
More to share next month!
