Tuesday Vignette: Inside my Home

I think vignettes are one of my most favorite things to photograph in a home or space.  They often tell a much bigger story than an overall photograph of a larger space.  We get to see details and a moment created by the occupier of the space….and this week it's my home!  I want to start a new weekly series on vignettes and explore personal moments in people's lives through a detail.  They will probably start off simple and I'll see what happens.  But I figured there was no better place to start than my own home….

I love the light in my place.  It fills the entire place for a good 6 hours a day.  This is the corner of my "office" and clearly a work in progress.  The seamless paper had just been used for a product shoot, the flowers were all left over from a fantastic dinner party, and the decals are for a project I'm doing where I mark up perfectly good plates….Oh, and that chair is about to get a face lift with that new fabric.  Did I mention my favorite pillow??  Judy Ross textiles….love her!

New Portraits!

The amazingly talented designer Jordana Silver asked me to take her portrait when I was recently in NYC.  Because I needed to pop up a studio on the fly, my dear artist friend Sasha Kinens offered her studio as a space for us to shoot.  Jordana looked gorgeous as always and after we finished the photo shoot we spent the afternoon eating prosciutto, drinking wine and looking over her images.  Like always, the shoot was so fun, but the civilized charcuterie plate and yummy moscato took the afternoon to a new level…I'm thinking it's the way I should wrap every shoot from now on…

I loved the moodiness in the shot above.  I turned off the strobe and just let the light happen in this one….I like the juxtaposition between this dark outfit and moody light and the images below which are really bright and happy.  It's nice to see both sides of someone...

Check out Jordana's newest collection of shoes and interchangeable shoe clips! www.jordanasilver.com

Vignettes: SFA Guest Blog!

This past week SFA Design Group asked me to post a guest blog for them about vignettes and I thought it would be the perfect time to share some of my favorite vignette shots that I have in my client files.  Of course I included a few from SFA, as well as a few from other designers I love working with.  The beauty of photographing a vignette is that you get to close in on a tiny spot of beauty within a room.  A designer transforms such large spaces, but they also have to make sure that the details are in harmony and a vignette shows that off so nicely.  It's probably my favorite part of shooting interiors!

SFA Design Group:

Emily Ruddo of Armonia Decors:

Wendy Labrum:

Check out the original SFA post on their blog:

Art Opening! permaDIRTY

While in NY earlier this year, my adorable artist mom, Mary Beierle, grabbed some of my work and introduced me to fantastic artist and curator, Cynde Miller.  Cynde and her business partner Jena McRoberts have captured the feeling of a studio visit to an artist's space in their new venture in the Claremont Packing House.  The current exhibit, called This is the Dirt at the permaDirty artspace, is explained perfectly on their FB page: 

Perma Dirty Project Space takes a radically different approach to viewing, exhibiting and making art. Unlike the “white cube” of most galleries, Perma Dirty Project Space is a living, raucous space full of art production, discussion and informal and comfortable viewing of art processes and products.

It was such a great night for artists of all types and I'm so thrilled to be part of the exhibit.  Inside the exhibit space was a tattoo artist working on his daughter, a fiber artist working on her sculpture, a painter mid-stroke and a sculptor working on a new chiseled piece.  The energy was high and the art was eclectic.  This space is open to the public and they plan on having more open artist nights, so check their facebook for current information.  Seriously, a great night.  

Mary Beierle, Cynde Miller, Me, Emily Beierle-O'Brien

my work!  and my mom...

My mom's fantastic wall piece - you need to see it in person - much better than my snapshot.

Such a great night!  Thanks to everyone that came !

Toujours Magazine Issue 002…Are you ready for 003??

With Issue 003 about to launch, I wanted to make sure everyone had seen Issue 002.  There are great articles on art, travel, interiors and entertaining that you should not have missed!  Make sure to "like" Toujours on Facebook and Subscribe to get all the updates and new issues.  

One of my favorite articles from issue 002 was about Jordana Silver's line of Bisous!  They fancy up any shoe or even headband for a completely new look.  Check out the spread and then see her new line of great Valentine's bisous!

Jordana's Valentine's Collection - so cute!

New Year/ New York/ New Sunset

My cousin believes that the way you spend New Year's Day is a representation of how you will spend your year.  In some ways it makes sense as you are setting a precedence when you choose how to spend your first day of the year.  So, knowing that I want 2012 to be a year of beauty and excitement, my friend Sarah and I spent the day eating wonderful food, walking until we had to sit, and seeking out beautiful spaces and inspiring settings.  For me, Central Park is one of those places.  I feel instantly calm even amongst the masses.  And while I have never enjoyed winter in the past (I'm from LA, so you have to give me a break….), this year I'm loving the eerie shapes the naked trees form, the crispness in the air, and the opportunity to enjoy a slight bit of hibernation.  Here's to a beautiful new year…and a wintery first sun set to accompany...

Desert Light

Driving back from Mammoth after the holidays I insisted we pull the car over when I saw the sun setting over the desert.  With those wispy perfect clouds and dust flying around, I knew what I wanted…jumping photos.  My sister Emily was the perfect jumper until I asked for the 20th time.  But the shot I love the most is above: just Emily (probably whining about jumping 18 times) walking off-kilter in the sand with the sun setting behind her.  The jumping shots below are pretty great too…it was the perfect end to our chaotic family weekend.

 I love this head on shot.  She looks so exuberant.  

 desert sunset

This one I actually set up on the ground and had my sister click so I could jump….I have to practice what I preach, right?

A Baby and A Subaru

It's been such a crazy few months with Toujours Magazine's second issue coming out as well as a slew of other projects that I'm working on that I've completely neglected my blog!  So, to start I just have to share these adorable pics of my friend Kristy (who is also a writer for Toujours!) and is due in January.  She is the most amazing friend - I had a two hour layover in Denver and she drove all the way to the airport in rain and traffic to have a 15 min hug session in her Subaru.  It was so sweet!  We were stuck in a parking lot in her new car and I only had a minute to take a photo, but I love how happy and maternal she looks.  I can't wait to visit Denver on a real trip and photograph Kristy and the baby in the spring!

City Lights

I found this shot from last weekend flying out of Chicago in my iPhone and just had to post it! I love the diagonal streets all lit up. Flying in and out of O'Hare is one of my favorites any time of the day and all seasons - as long as the weather isn't out of control....