As most readers know, we recently arrived back to the US after 9.5 months of living in Peru.  One tradition that Kenzo and I began on our Peru-zo blog was to post a “foto friday” every week (we were pretty good about keeping it up to date until the last month or so).  Anyway, as I transition back into life in the states, I will also be transitioning back into more frequent Life Writing Photography Blog posts – and thus, will be transitioning our “foto friday” series from www.peru-zo.com to www.lifewritingphotography.com.

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For now, I envision mainly sharing more images each week from our time in Peru, but, once those run out, who knows what will happen.

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Anyway – enjoy today’s foto friday.  It is from our trip to Tambopata Jungle in Peru.  This boat had recently dropped us off at our dock and was heading up stream to park for the night.

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I pretty much love everything about this shoot – Alicia’s amazing dress and all of the colors that it brings together throughout, the cuteness of downtown Dunedin, Tony’s adoration for Alicia and hers for him, the balloons, skittles, wine glasses, table, and ridiculous light.  I mean for real, it was so much fun to get started again with an awesome shoot.  And, working with such a fun couple, made me super excited for the December wedding.

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Alicia and Tony – thanks for a wonderful shoot and CONGRATULATIONS on your engagement!

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Enjoy.

one of my favs (above)

I had the pleasure of photographing future Mr. and Mrs. Tony & Alicia Bonk on Wednesday night.  Our shoot was incredible, filled with colors, fun props and gorgeous light.

Their engagement shoot should be up soon, but I wanted to send you into the weekend with this {teaser}.

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PS…love having the camera back in action.  If you’re interested in scheduling a shoot, you can call my new number! 813.928.2700

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It has been FOREVER since I have posted…and right now, it is just one fast image to tell you that I am still alive.  We’ve had guests visiting us in Peru since before Easter…and we’re having SO much fun traveling with them…but, this means, no computer time.  We’re home from Peru on May 6th and back to weddings, engagements, family sessions…and lots of catching up from our Peruvian adventures.

Until then…take care!

Janie

We went to the Tambopata Jungle in Peru.  It was incredible!!  These are just some of my favorite shots from the trip.  You can check out more on our Peruzo blog.

“Should we have the good fortune to consider all children our children

and the willingness to mourn with the world’s suffering,

we open up a vast familial relationship with our world

and we are comforted by our place in it.”

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Blase Bonpane, Guerillas of Peace: Liberation Theology and the Central American Revolution, pg 80.

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He

is

Risen

]]> http://www.lifewritingphotography.com/blog/2012/04/easter-sunday/feed/ 0 http://www.lifewritingphotography.com/blog/2012/04/in-honor-of-the-la-boys/ http://www.lifewritingphotography.com/blog/2012/04/in-honor-of-the-la-boys/#comments Wed, 04 Apr 2012 22:58:41 +0000 janie http://www.lifewritingphotography.com/blog/?p=6095

Kenzo and I were in Los Angeles in July 2011.  We headed to LA for the first time that weekend to attend the Doctor’s for Global Health Annual Conference the weekend before we moved to Peru to volunteer for the organization.

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I never got to blog about my time there, but, since my friend Mike will arrive here in Cuzco on Friday with his friend Mark, coming from LA, I thought it was a good time to share some LA photos in their honor.  (Also, the fact that I am caught up with client photos gives me some excuses too!)

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Michael was a great LA host/tour guide…and Kenzo and I plan to return the favor here in Peru.

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First, we headed to beautiful Santa Monica Beach . . .

Then, to Malibu . . .Can I just say, gorgeous?  No wonder people who can afford it choose to live here.

A look at Pepperdine College – so pretty.

One last night with Michael (he was headed to Africa with Generosity Water while we were still in town – I am not sure if he posted anywhere photos from his trip – but check out this video of him talking about what he does and why he does it – pretty awesome – and always room for one more to get involved!).

And then a last day exploring the city/Hollywood/markets with Kenzo.

Great place to visit!  Looking forward to their visit here too!

Stacey and Josh had one of the most perfectly put together weddings I have ever seen.  It was a historic-Tampa inspired wedding with a southern twist and a flash of  yellow and magenta that brought everything together perfectly.  They were married in Hyde Park Presbyterian Church in South Tampa and held their reception at the historic Italian Club in Ybor City.

Besides that fact that Stacey and Josh are really fun people, they’re also close friends -which made capturing the moments of their wedding day really special.

Special thanks to Kenzo (my hubs) for side shooting with me!

Enjoy.

We had a first LOOK!  Which made picture taking post-ceremony super easy! And also gave them a moment to just be the two of them (with us behind the cameras):

This bride is ready to walk the aisle . . .

After the ceremony, the wedding party and I rushed over to Ybor City to take advantage of the dwindling sunlight, Ybor streets and empty reception hall during the cocktail hour:

LOVED the furniture, draping, flowers and table settings done by MMD Events!

And then the reception began:

All of the amazing signage you see was done by Angelique of Salty Sisters!

This might have been the funniest cake cutting ever.  They tried a slice from every layer since each was a different flavor.  Awesome job by A Piece of Cake!

And then the dancing began!

The amazing photo booth, provided by Shutterbooth, is always a hit!

Yes – there was some FSU and UF loving going on . . . and their guests definitely chimed in:

Bouquet toss from the balcony . . . plus . . .
. . .a the beautiful sparkler send-off . . . equals . . .

happily. ever. after.

Watch the SLIDESHOW with these and more images.

Love you guys!

Last month Kenzo, Crockett and went for a four day, three night hike through the Andes Mountains.  We were supposed to go from Huaran to Cancha Cancha on day one, Cancha Cancha to Lares on day two and spend the last two days traveling back to Cuzco.  However, day two consisted of us getting lost and ending up back in Cancha Cancha for a second evening.  We ended up camping on this precious family’s land – and loved every second we had with these adorable children.  I wrote way more about it on our Peru-zo blog.

The two boys speak perfect Spanish because they head down to Huaran during the week (a 3-4 hour hike) for school.  The girls speak only Quechua, the native language passed down from the Incans.  Thus, I was able to communicate with the boys much better than the girls – and only remember their names: Johanne and Elmer.

This post is kind of out of sorts for me because I really played around in Lightroom to get the effect that you see on every photo – but, I liked the way the images turned out – and hope that you do too.  Enjoy these beautiful native Peruvian children.

PS.  I am not sure if you can tell or not, but it was really cold up in the mountains (so cold that two nights ago, when camping in the same area, we woke up to 2 inches of snow on our tent!)  These children hike around the mountains in sandals, thin pants or skirts and jackets or sweaters that cannot possibly keep them warm enough.  They amaze me.

A high school boy meets a high school girl and they start to date.

They graduate, go to different colleges – but continue to be together through the ups and downs of college and new jobs.

. . .

Ten years later they travel to Greece.

They explore the city.  Enjoy sampling the little cafes.  Hike the Parthenon.

Get lost.  But they don’t care, because they’re together – and that is all that has ever mattered.

. . .

One night there are dinner reservations in Athens’ city square.

Afterwards a rooftop cafe for dessert.  With the Parthenon below and the city illuminated with lights – it all looks larger than life and takes their breaths away.

The evening draws to an end and they head back to the hotel to relax, to sit on the balcony and take in the night lights, the church across the way on the mountain.

. . .

The boy, now a man, gets on one knee and asks the girl, now a woman, to be his wife.

She says yes.

The rest is history.

Tara and Stephen were one of the most precious couples I have ever photographed!  Seriously, as we listened to their self-written vows, my side shooter and I got teary-eyed.  They truly appreciate the being of the other – the time that they’ve had together to grow into themselves and to grow as a couple.

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Their wedding day was celebrated with family and friends at the beautiful Tampa Bay Watch facility in Tierra Verde, FL.

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Lots and lots of amazing vendors came together to make it the perfect day!

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First, I have to thank Kimberly Romano from Kimberly Photography who was an incredible side-shooter.  It was my first time working with her and I absolutely love her wide-angled style.  Several of her photos are mixed within this post and I will try to point them out as we go along!

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Other vendors included:

Wedding Officiant: Grace Felice

RisingSky Videography (video linked below!)

Amici’s Catering

Chantilly Cakes

Redman Steele Floral Design Studio

Jonathan Cortez – their amazing Reception Musician/DJ!
email: thejacofalltrades@gmail.com

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Enjoy their wedding day!

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The day started out with everyone getting ready.  I had a little bit of time with the girls at the hotel before heading over to Tampa Bay Watch in the limo with the guys.  Kimberly then took over bridal duties.  I love the in-syncness of their getting ready time.

Once everyone arrived to Tampa Bay Watch it was time for their lovely ceremony to get started.  (Maybe have a tissue ready for this one!)

As their guests headed to the cocktail hour, the newly weds and their wedding party snuck away for some photo time!

Love these photos by Kimberly above and below!

And more details by Kimberly as I photographed the formals.  LOVE when couples personalize their tables.  Each tabled was named after a place that was important to them.  And you can see that they varied their centerpieces.  Beautiful!

After photos – it was time to get the party started!  Tara and Stephen surprised their guests with a choreographed first dance to “Lucky” by Jason Mraz and Colbie Caillet.

Instead of a guest book, Tara and Stephen opted for a Wishing Tree -where their guests were encouraged to leave their messages to the couple right their on the tree!

And then it was a dance party – and they and their guests know how to have fun!

When the night was over, Tara and Stephen exited through sparklers onto the dock where they took off into the night in a boat.  Lovely!

Watch their SLIDESHOW now!

Check out Rising Sky’s Video of their day as well!