hey there! thanks for stopping by!
the new blog is here : http://emthegem.com
my website is here: http://gem-photo.com
xoxo,
Em
dave recently returned from serving our country in afghanistan.
and jessica – well she is glad to have him home.
a few weeks ago i had the PLEASURE (the joy!!) of assisting the lovely and talented gladys jem at hannah + james’ wedding at the fairmont hotel in san francisco.
their wedding was amazing. how could it not be with hannah + james doing their first dance a la dirty dancing!!
it was epic. the whole thing was stunning.
so today, while i edit up some more photos for you, i suggest you check out the rest of hannah + james’ day over on gladys’ blog.
you will be glad you did.
xoxo,
Em
he kissed his bride. as they walked hand in hand down the aisle, their smiles were so wide, their hearts ready to burst. their only thought: we are married!
and then something unexpected.
from behind, the first few notes rang out. and voices of friends and family members began.
and they sang from the front of the church as justin and tria turned to see.
“…all you need is love, love. love is all you need.”
and in that moment their faces scrunched up and tears streamed down their faces, and behind my lens i fought them back as well.
a huge chorus had gathered at the front of the church to sing to their bride and groom. it reminded me of my favorite movie, but it was more than copying a movie. it was real. and it was beautiful.
justin and tria, to have friends that love you that way, and to be a part of your day, to see you guys smile and cry and laugh together, was a blessing.
click here to see a slideshow of their day.
Continue reading ‘justin + tria : allied arts guild menlo park’
they worked for the same company. but in different countries.
don found her when putting together a company employee book, and started up a little conversation online.
sometimes little conversations lead to big things.
when they describe don’s visit to ecuador to see gaby, i.e. their first date, i cannot help but see how amazing their love is. the way that don went in faith to meet this woman he was so drawn to, met her family, and put himself out there, is so extraordinary.
in case you are wondering, that step of faith paid off. don and gaby are planning an intimate wedding this month on a cliff in carmel, ca. i am so honored to be a part of their day.
they are the kind of couple that you love to be around.
shannon has the most winsome giggle, and she laughs a lot. because she is truly amused by all of life’s little quirks and everyone else’s jokes. she has this way of accepting and loving that’s not overly sentimental, but genuine. she tells you the truth.
shannon’s dad once said of jeff – “how can you NOT like him?” and if you have met him, you know it’s true. he listens carefully and asks good questions and is not afraid to crack a joke that other people might not laugh at.
but shannon always laughs. but most with jeff. they can’t help but smile when they look at each other.
and to be around them, it’s not like you are intruding on anything. together they really embrace whoever else is nearby.
to be there on their wedding day was a great blessing for me. it reminded me too much of my own wedding, which marked the end of a long and difficult long-distance love. and it felt so real to see them rejoice in this day, because i remembered what it was like to have to say goodbye at the end of a long distance call or hug so tight at the end of a too-short visit.
shannon and jeff, i love that you have found each other. congratulations, friends.
<click here for their slideshow>
before i say anything i want to say THANK YOU to everyone who has affirmed, commented, and sent love to me this past week. i was overwhelmed with the response to my post the other day about my vision for my business, borne out of my own life experiences.
something else wonderful happened last week: i received my first sample album in the mail. i am thinking of not calling them albums, but heirlooms. they are high quality, flush mounted things of beauty that in my opinion, should be preserved for your children and your children’s children. that’s just my take on it.
see for yourself:
i’ve been thinking a lot since my time at dane sander’s workshop this past monday and tuesday. some things that happened there made me wonder why i feel dissatisfied with where i am at. i have been feeling like i’ve lost my vision.
today, things started to come together. to understand why i have been feeling like i want MORE for my photography. today, i cried. i cried thinking that maybe i’ve gotten slightly off course, and i cried to think of the dreams i have that i cannot wait to realize.
this is my vision for the impact i want my business to have. enjoy.
Don Draper once said that viewing a photograph is like stepping into a time machine. It instantly brings you back to that place. The place where there is love. hope. happiness. joy. goodness.
I could write a novel on my favorite photographs, where they take me, and what i experience there…
I am on a ferris wheel in santa monica with a boy that seems too amazing to be real, and i don’t want to believe the look in his eyes that tells me with everything i believe that he loves me, because the intensity scares me. And I’m frightened that I could love him so much, with so much uncertainty ahead of us.
My dad is young and skinny, handsome with full and dark hair. He is looking into my brother’s eyes as a toddler and their faces are so close they are almost touching. I am aching with longing to be in that place, where we are all so close, where we are being taken care of and nurtured. Not a care in the world.
My high school best friend and I are in her green convertable volkswagen cabriolet. It’s the day after our senior prom and on the way to school we decided we wouldn’t go. We took our roller skates to the beach and our hair was still sticky from our hair sprayed up dos, and the salty beach air kissed our faces. We shared our dreams for the future. We shared everything.
We had stayed up all night packing. My bed littered with clothes, shoes, dvds, shampoo. Everything I would need for a year in Japan. Each item represented some part of me to bring, but in so many ways the biggest piece of me was staying home to finish his senior year. He is wearing his grey Santa Barbara tshirt. He made me steak and eggs the morning I got on the plane and said goodbye.
It’s Christmas morning in the smallest apartment Tokyo ever saw, and 9 Americans are crammed inside, and it feels like we are home. Tiny christmas decorations from the 100Yen store hang from every surface. We watched Seinfeld and missed our families but celebrated this new one we had found.
It’s raining lightly and he is standing in the middle of the bridge in a light blue collared shirt and khaki shorts and the tears are streaming down my face, stronger than the rain. He’s telling me things that I want to understand so badly but all I can do is cry and wonder how he could have made it here without me knowing, how he could have invented such an elaborate set of clues to lead me here, how he worked with my teammates to make sure I would find each of those clues. Japanese people stare curiously and wonder why I am such a mess and as he gets down on one knee they start to rejoice and I just cry even harder. and my heart is filled with more love than I thought it could contain.
She is in her button up blouse, her hair is done in loose curls, and her long veil is already clipped in place. As she applies her mascara she stops and turns to me and wants to know if it’s normal to feel nervous. And then she wants to pray together. As I’m setting down my camera and walking towards her I know that this is what I was meant to do with my life.
…
I am loud. I am spunky. Most of all, I am emotional. Songs will play at just the right time and I am in my car alone, crying; and while I know it is a gift to feel the weight of life so deeply at times- but sometimes it is just plain inconvenient.
I am drawn to colors, to patterns, to the way that light falls on your face. But most of all, I am drawn to laughter, to tears, to weighted embraces.
I tell people I am a photographer- but I know in my heart that I am a historian of moments to capture, share, re-live, and protect.
xoxo
Em
this week, a bride of mine will marry. on saturday shannon and jeff will become husband and wife at the rengstorff house in mountain view.
sometimes a beautiful thing happens when a bride also happens to be a friend. i love that. i happened to host a little bachelorette party for shannon last night at our house.
i incorporated some old books cause shannon will be using them in her wedding decor on saturday!
we love you shannon!
now i’m running out the door to dane sander’s fast track roadshow in oakland where i will get some more photo schooling. yay!
xoxo
Em
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