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I n the months leading to our wedding anniversary, JD and I planned taking a trip to escape the busyness of our lives. A time to check out and breathe the air, preferably air seasoned with salt. I’m happy to vacation anywhere…as long as we’re by the sea. It started with Cabo San Lucas, but then realized it required more planning than I’m good at. Then it was San Francisco, but realized we’d have to fly…and I’m so over flying. Then it was Napa, but I’m so over driving as well. By the time we arrived to vacationing in Laguna Beach, I was completely happy with our decision. No flying, a minimal drive, and—with the help of my good friend Jaime Snyder of the Montage Resort and Spa—made a reservation in no time at all.
Every encounter with the Montage has been in relation to wedding photography, so it was fabulous to enjoy the resort as a guest. In fact, when I arrived yesterday, the valet remembered me and jovially asked if I was back to photograph another wedding. No, today I’m A GUEST, I squealed.
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Last night we had a reservation at Studio here at the Montage and it was absolutely amazing! The service was unreal, the food delicious, and the view of sunset breathtaking.
**Embarrassing Sidenote**
As my first course was served, I looked at it and had no idea what it was. There were a few centimeters of melon and a sprig of something green, then he poured a pear smoothie (I think) around it in a bowl. Why in the world I ate it with a fork is beyond me. Do most people eat soup with a fork? No. Does Jasmine eat soup with a fork? Why, yes, yes she does. When the server claimed our plates, he discreetly cleared my spoon and replaced my fork. Good lord. I was humiliated. I’m sure he thought I was the kind of girl who covered her windows with tinfoil, kept four broken-down cars on her front lawn, and regularly boils opossum for dinner.
**End of Embarrassing Sidenote**
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This morning JD and I spent time on our veranda watching the waves crash along the shore and I felt so blessed. We’re vacationing until tomorrow, so I’ll respond to email on Wednesday. Until then, I hope to work on my tan, wiggle my toes in the sand, and eat soup with a fork.
Happy Monday! |
    
D ear JD…. I’m not sure if I properly thanked you. You know, for the travel book light I attach to the pages late at night. The nights when I can’t sleep, but you can. The nights when I sit propped by a mass of pillows and you sleep with your arm flung across my abdomen, your face pressed against my left shoulder. Those nights. That book light.
When I was a kid, my parents begged me to close my book late at night. The nights I couldn’t sleep because Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys were about to solve the mystery. I’d lay against the window to have the backyard light illuminate the pages, my eyes straining to see the small text on the thin pages of my library book. One night, my dad yelled at me when he saw that I stole his utility flashlight to read under the covers. I cried. He apologized.
The following week, my dad came home with a pair of glasses from the thrift store for me. In retrospect, they weren’t really glasses—as it was just the frame, no lenses—but they came with two small light bulbs in the corners. My dad pulled back the stems of the frame and placed it on my face and the bulbs turned on. I smiled a crooked smile because there would no longer be Hardyless nights. He smiled a crooked smile because his daughter looked like a nerdy miner. A literary miner crawling through dark tunnels of books.
JD, little did I realize that the nerdy miner of yesteryear never went away. I just grew a few inches and gained some weight. But the tunnels of books? They’re still piled next to my bed. And you bought me the book light to ensure I’d never have to be proverbially Hardyless again.
It’s funny, really. I never realized how you’ve morphed into my perfect match in so many ways. You know me better than I know myself, and the book light is just small proof of it. The bottle of water you place next to the bed every night is proof of it. Putting my shoes back in the closet WHERE THEY BELONGGGGG is proof of it. All the small things you do and think I don’t notice, but I do, is proof of it.
Three years ago today, I stood on a Hawaiian beach and swore to love, honor, and cherish you for the rest of my life. On that day, I foolishly assumed that I couldn’t possibly love you more than I did on our wedding. That my heart was filled to the brim with adoration, and not a single drop more could be accommodated. Silly me. Because, really, when I look back on our wedding day, I can honestly say that was the day in our married life I loved you the least.
Thank you for making me the best version of me I can possibly be. Thank you for loving me in spite of me. Thank you for consistently overlooking my flaws. Thank you for being my husband. I love you.
Happy Anniversary.
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**SIDENOTE**
These pictures were taken this past week at a wedding we photographed...and I'm sure JD is going to KILL ME for posting them! :) When I think back to the pictures we have together, they're all at weddings. I'm planning on getting our pictures professionally taken at some point, but until then, the horrific candids must suffice! :) |
A while ago, I started a FAQ Section on my blog. I worried there might have been a few people who rolled their eyes and guessed I thought I was cooler—way cooler—than I really am, but that’s far from the truth. The fact of the matter is that I am truly inundated with emails every day that I cannot personally respond to…and this gives me an overload of anxiety. Like, there are times when I can’t sleep at night because of the amount of responses I wish I could get to, but cannot. And this makes me feel horribly.
The FAQ posts help me bridge the gap between me and commonly asked questions. Please forgive me if I can’t respond to everything, but I hope these posts help a bit.
The absolute most commonly asked question is how I process my images. I wish there was a singular answer, but I’m afraid it’s multilayered. However, I can say that I exclusively use Kevin Kubota Actions and Totally Rad Actions. Both these action sets rock my world and they help take my photography to another level. I’ll be blogging about both sets soon, but today I want to talk about Kubota.
Many of you might remember my PPR Article where I cited my love for Kevin after seeing him at WPPI a couple months ago, and, well, the love affair is still going strong! ;) His action sets were the first I purchased and they helped me define my style in ways I can’t fully explain. I kinda feel like I owe the guy something!
Here are a few images as processed with a few of my favorite Kubota recipes…
*Daily Multi Vitamin
*Magic Sharp |
*Fuji Snapit - 19%
*Daylight to Tungsten - 6%
*Magic Sharp |
*XProcess Combo - 14%
*81K Warming - 7%
*Magic Sharp |
*Fuji Snapit - 14%
*KPD Midbright - 19%
*Contrast +4
*Magic Sharp |
*KPD Midbright - 29%
*Radiant People - 10%
*Daily Multivitamin
*Magic Sharp |
*Saturation - 50%
*B/W Channel Mixer 45/32/32
*Magic Sharp |
You can find my favorite Kubota actions--such as Fuji Snapit, the B/W conversions, and XProcess--here at this link:
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And you can find my all-time favorite favorite action--Magic Sharp--here at this link:
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Happy Friday!
**This Is A Special Message for Daniel Lanning**
Hi, Daniel! I'm glad to hear you're a faithful reader of my blog! You're beautiful wife, Candice, has set up a surprise trip to Los Angeles and photoshoot for your 27th birthday...a gift from your friends and family. So, start packing your bags because you're leaving Charlotte, NC we'll be meeting each other in a couple weeks! I can't wait!
Excitedly Yours,
J* |
M y stomach dropped a little when I received his email. Greg Bumatay was a good friend, but—first and foremost—a mentor when I first started my photography business. In fact, he was the only photographer who repeatedly invited me to second shoot weddings with him and I’m forever indebted to his kindness and time. He’s such a nice guy and has a warm heart, which makes him an even better wedding photographer!
Greg is a professor at Cypress College and invited me to speak to his class…hence me being nervous as I read his email. Yes, I get nervous speaking publicly, but it’s an entirely different thing lecturing when your teacher is sitting in a student’s chair!
The class went very well and the students were kind, responsive, and welcoming…all the things that make me feel all warm and fuzzy. If the students are any indication of the people entering the industry, I’m proud to call them peers.
Thanks Greg for inviting me to share your platform and a special thanks to all the students for making my day so bright!
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| During class, Greg took a picture of himself. I particularly think it's hilarious because he forgot to push the focus button. Don't worry, folks, he's a total professional! :) (Just kidding, Greg, you know I think you rock!) |
| Here's the Cypress College photography class in all its glory...thanks to everyone for making me feel so welcomed! :) |
I was thrown for a loop. As I drove to the gym, I couldn’t get my mom off my mind. I mean, she’s been in the forefront lately, but as drove along the Five Freeway, it was just too much. I yanked my phone from my gym bag and called her. And the timing was perfect. My mother informed me she was on her way to visit the surgeon to find get a second opinion about her lab results. WhaaaaaaaaaaaTTTTT?! The last five T’s left a sprinkle of saliva on the steering wheel.
I guess I had the dates mixed up. Or she refrained from telling me because of my history of worry. Or I might have a little too much on my plate to keep things straight. Whatever the case may be, we were on the same freeway about 30 miles apart. I begged her to let me go with her, but she preferred to go alone.
As I stood in the front row of my kickboxing class, I was a total wreck. My mind and body were in two different places. They jumped, I squatted. They kicked front, I kicked back. They were up, and I was down. Literally.
A few hours later, I received a call from my mother. The long story short is that the surgeon also can’t determine if it’s cancer from her biopsy, but he’s scheduled surgery to remove the lump. Then one of two things will happen: 1. If he discovers it’s cancer mid-surgery, he’ll remove both her nodules and be done with it; or 2. If he’s still not sure it’s cancer, he’ll just remove one nodule, and later remove the other if he confirms the disease.
The silver lining to this situation is that the doctor says he has everything under control. By the looks of the situation, he says she needn’t worry because it’s definitely not full-blown, uncontrollable cancer. This is good news. Yes, there’s a surgery in my mother’s future—and the possibility of chemo—but, really, the silver lining is that there’s hope. A lot of it. Hope, when combined with my faith, has always provided the fuel to move forward and be filled with peace. And this is more than I could ever ask for right now.
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