SHEENA + JON
I believe Sheena found me on Zola, which is so interesting. I love hearing where clients wind up finding me and my work. I remember talking to her on the phone while sitting in my car in the parking lot of Lowe’s, and I instantly felt a connection to her enthusiasm for every aspect of her wedding celebration. Sheena and Jon got married at Gather Greene in the Hudson Valley. My family and I decided to plan our family vacation around Sheena and Jon’s wedding, and sandwiched it between visiting family on the Jersey Shore and visiting friends in Maine. When I arrived at the bridal suite at Gather Greene, Sheena said to me, “you look so cute!” which was—all at once—shocking and so nice. Sheena has a breathtaking easy breezy beauty; a smile that falls across her face and an unpretentious confidence that’s so enviable. While witnessing her get ready with her mom and friends, I was struck by the gratitude that I get to be present in these moments. Sheena and Jon’s wedding was photographed by the amazing artist Freda Banks. She is unlike so many other photographers I’ve worked with; she concentrates so much on creating interesting compositions—each image is a piece of fine art in and of itself. It was so inspiring to work alongside her and I definitely believe my video was stronger because I got to work with Freda. Sheena and Jon were so comfortable with each other; they’d been officially married in a small ceremony the previous year, so they walked each other down the aisle. Sheena even quoted RuPaul’s Drag Race in her vows, and they were so joyful and lovely. Their ceremony ended with Chinese dragon dancers and a tea ceremony—not to mention a costume change—and my biggest takeaway from this wedding was how truly *happy* everyone was. It was 2021 and no one was taking the togetherness for granted. A beautiful venue, an inspiring photographer and an absolutely unforgettable couple. I loved this wedding!
LET THE LIGHT IN
Artist and curator Ashley Florence contacted me in the winter of 2018 about contributing a piece in her upcoming show Mother Mother at Studio IX. The show included works from around 9 women; the theme centering around motherhood in all its forms. We’d had a previously scheduled spring break trip planned to visit my mother’s hometown of Sarasota, Florida a month before the show. My mom had been dead a year or two at this point, and I was grieving pretty publicly on instagram. Ashley was kind enough to include me in her show—aware of the catharsis that comes with creating art out of suffering. I reached out to a few random people in Sarasota and lined up shoots with two different models. There were visions in my mind of the physical manifestations of my grief, and I had this giant hope that creating this film would free me from some of that pain. Of course I was wrong, but this experience was a positive one. Scored by an instrumental version of a song by one of my favorite artists Carolyn Pennypacker-Riggs, and featuring imagery that attempted to externalize what was inside me, Let the Light In remains a visual journal entry of how I was feeling in those early years of mourning.
ELENA WITH HER GRANDPARENTS
One of my biggest disappointments in life (dare I say triggers?) is my children’s lack of my mom in their life. Grandparents, and especially grandmothers hold a bittersweet place for me, and this video had a huge impact on me. Kasia and Corry’s was one of the first weddings I’d ever shot. Kasia took a chance on me, and we’ve done many videos together since. When her sweet daughter Elena was about 18 months old, Kasia’s parents were on an extended stay from Poland, and Kasia invited me to her and Corry’s home one early evening in May of 2022 to capture Elena with her grandparents. Their bond with their granddaughter was heart-melting. This celebration was near the end of their 3 month stay, and the closeness between them was so apparent. Elena ran in the strawberry patch, danced among the bubbles, and ate cake with her beautiful family. Seeing a sweet child basking in the love of multiple generations is so moving. I feel very close to this family after the many opportunities they’ve given me to capture their milestones.
HADLEY
Hadley Clark is a prolific creative who moves through projects quickly, so when she said I could make a video for her Sister Dresses, I was so excited. She had no specific direction for the video, and wasn’t going to be able to attend the shoot, but I was aware of the origin of this collection. Based on her inspiration and philosophies behind this particular body of work, I came up with a series of shots that I felt represented that message. Hadley’s sister Whitney, Laura and artist Somé Louis modeled on a beautiful property in Batesville. I remember getting that feeling of being overwhelmed and wanting to quit, and Laura picked up my shot list and helped us get the last few shots I’d written down. That’s one of my less-flattering qualities during projects like these; when I’m in charge and I’m not collaborating with a photographer, I can get overwhelmed and want to bail before I’ve gotten everything on my list! Ryan created the song for this project and it remains one of my favorite things I did that summer.
AUBRI + BEN
I hadn’t met Aubri and Ben before their wedding. In fact, I’m not even sure I ever talked to them on the phone! Their photographer Carrie Coleman is an amazing artist (whose wedding I also shot!) and she’d recommended me. I feel like they booked me pretty close to their August wedding. They were married at Wollam Gardens; a flower farm outside of Culpeper. I love flowers, so I was excited, but I didn’t know what to expect. The second I walked into the house, I knew it was going to be an incredible day. Aubri has a true magnetism about her. She had a large group of friends and family around her plus her new puppy. It was chaotic in the best way possible. She and Ben had a tearful first look, and it was obvious there’s so much love there. The vibe was super stylish and this wedding was FUN. I have had multiple prospective couples point to this video like “we want our video to be fun like Aubri and Ben’s!”
MY 37th BIRTHDAY
It was a couple years into creating family videos for others before I started filming my own family. It’s kind of hard to be a present parent while shooting; and hard to get in the flow while parenting! But I’ve made countless family videos by this point and I’m so glad I have. Birthday videos are a particularly fun tradition, and when I turned 37, I decided—for the first time—to create a video for my own birthday. I love my birthday. It’s July 5, and it’s always SO hot, and everyone is always SO happy. It’s such a sweltering sweet time of year, and 37 felt especially magical. When things are feeling hard, I watch this video.
WILLOW KNOWS, OCTOBER
I can’t even remember what the impetus was for this project. Laura, Jess and I have made so many just-for-fun projects over the years, and this one is particularly memorable. Virginia met us in Jess’ driveway one late October afternoon. The sun was so harsh, most of my footage was filtered through a ripped stocking to diffuse the light. There was a certain electricity in the air, I remember feeling really charged by what I was getting, focusing mainly on what I like to call “close up magic” where I keep my camera super tight on my subject. Virginia is such a natural model, and Laura and Jess had created a very cool backdrop of Jess’ dyed silks and Laura’s giant African marigolds. As I said goodbye to a very pregnant Jess that evening, there was such a twinkling feeling. Later that evening, I sent this video to Laura, Jess and Virginia. Laura and Virginia enthusiastically responded, but Jess was suspiciously silent. I later learned she was in the throes of delivering her daughter Theadora, who I was fortunate to meet the next day. The music is part of a series of songs Ryan created almost 20 years ago, before we met. This collection of music remains one of my favorite resources for my videos. This project will always feel extra special as Thea was working her way into this world—now it’s hard to imagine life before her!
DAYDREAM BY HANNAH MALLOY
I made two videos on this day. My sweet friend and fellow wedding vendor Hannah Malloy asked me to capture behind-the-scenes footage of a styled shoot she’d been dreaming up for awhile. A flowery picnic farewell to summer, we filmed this in Audra’s backyard. Audra is also an amazing wedding photographer I’ve had the pleasure of working with, and she was just as fun as a model. As I captured Hannah building out this dreamy scene, we laughed and chatted about nothing. In between shots of Hannah taking photos, I took my own series of video clips and created this second video. While the whole afternoon was very lighthearted and fun, the final product is so spooky and mysterious. The music was created expressly for these films by Ryan.
HONEYMOON CHILD
Whitney is one of my dearest friends, and when she decided to start a kids vintage clothing resell business, I could not have felt more excited! A lifelong collector of children’s vintage clothing myself, I was so excited to film behind the scenes of the photoshoot for Honeymoon Child’s launch. The morning of, my daughter Paloma was so resistant to go to the shoot, let alone model. I had filmed a wedding the night before and was feeling particularly drained. The sky was overcast and everything felt a little bit hard and heavy. Laura was photographing the launch as well as hosting the shoot at her home, and while shooting I felt like I wasn’t getting anything good. It wasn’t until I sat down with the footage that everything came together in the editing. It works so well for the branding! I actually love this video. It was a reminder that the magic can sometimes happen later. Watching it now, my memories of the day are actually really positive, even though at the time I was challenged.
MARGAUX IN THE PEONIES
In May of 2023 I had the incredible honor of stopping by the beautiful home of Abby Kasonik to capture her daughter in their peony gardens. It was just about dusk after a super hard spring rain. Darling Margaux had chosen three outfits to wear for our special video project. Without any direction as the day’s last light disappeared; she sprang back and forth among the drenched flowers. Everything about this moment was fleeting: the peonies, childhood, the daylight itself. I think I’m attracted to video because of its ability to freeze a moment. These peonies are gone, the sun has risen and fallen many times, and Margaux is a little more grown up.