(WARNING: MONDO photo post. Sit down and be prepared. And this is just the condensed version!)
I spent an incredible couple of weeks in Guatemala this month, and don't know where to begin describing the beauty of that country. My friends, Jenny and Katharine, moved there last year so I had the lucky opportunity of staying with them in Antigua. My jaw dropped the second I walked inside their house -- it's built around a courtyard, so every time you step outside your room, you're surrounded by orange trees and cats and a flowing fountain. We really felt like we were in the 1920s -- maybe in a setting Ernest Hemingway would have created for himself.
Here's my boyfriend, Josh, in the bright red stairwell leading upstairs.
This is Jenny, sitting at Cafe Sky (the perfect place for sunsets), overlooking Antigua.
I don't condone smoking, but I do condone making creepy faces (and having a glass of mezcal). Jenny helped me shoot this at Cafe No Se.
We all went to Lake Atitlan for a couple of days (where I experienced my first bout of the "gringo sickness" -- all better now, though), and then took a boat over to the Mayan market at Chichicastenango -- ChiChi for short.
Some friends we made near the lake house:
(next two photos by Jenny and Josh... nice work :)
We stopped in Santiago, where the Mayans were especially shy of having their photo taken -- the people in this town were in the middle of some brutal civil wars only about 20 years ago.
The Mayan pyramind ruins at Tikal were beautiful and eerie... completely entrenched in the middle of the rain forest. My photos can't do it justice. The best part was trekking around in the rain all day in our yellow raincoats and pretending we were archaelogists... :) And seeing spider monkeys!
Back in Antigua, Jenny and I spent a day walking around and shooting together. This is us seen from the street in the laundry room mirror.
(these two photos again by Jenny and Josh... maybe I should start bringing Josh to help at weddings? :)
A family I made friends with in the market... I'm sending them this photo:
And I've got to throw in a few photos of Jenny & Katharine's cats! Unfortunately, there were no firemen to call to get Charlie out of this tree... we finally coaxed him down.
Sacrificing myself by way of sword (Josh's idea... seemed to make sense at this particular ruin)
All right, better stop now -- or I never will!
I spent an incredible couple of weeks in Guatemala this month, and don't know where to begin describing the beauty of that country. My friends, Jenny and Katharine, moved there last year so I had the lucky opportunity of staying with them in Antigua. My jaw dropped the second I walked inside their house -- it's built around a courtyard, so every time you step outside your room, you're surrounded by orange trees and cats and a flowing fountain. We really felt like we were in the 1920s -- maybe in a setting Ernest Hemingway would have created for himself.
Here's my boyfriend, Josh, in the bright red stairwell leading upstairs.
This is Jenny, sitting at Cafe Sky (the perfect place for sunsets), overlooking Antigua.
I don't condone smoking, but I do condone making creepy faces (and having a glass of mezcal). Jenny helped me shoot this at Cafe No Se.
We all went to Lake Atitlan for a couple of days (where I experienced my first bout of the "gringo sickness" -- all better now, though), and then took a boat over to the Mayan market at Chichicastenango -- ChiChi for short.
Some friends we made near the lake house:
(next two photos by Jenny and Josh... nice work :)
We stopped in Santiago, where the Mayans were especially shy of having their photo taken -- the people in this town were in the middle of some brutal civil wars only about 20 years ago.
The Mayan pyramind ruins at Tikal were beautiful and eerie... completely entrenched in the middle of the rain forest. My photos can't do it justice. The best part was trekking around in the rain all day in our yellow raincoats and pretending we were archaelogists... :) And seeing spider monkeys!
Back in Antigua, Jenny and I spent a day walking around and shooting together. This is us seen from the street in the laundry room mirror.
(these two photos again by Jenny and Josh... maybe I should start bringing Josh to help at weddings? :)
A family I made friends with in the market... I'm sending them this photo:
And I've got to throw in a few photos of Jenny & Katharine's cats! Unfortunately, there were no firemen to call to get Charlie out of this tree... we finally coaxed him down.
Sacrificing myself by way of sword (Josh's idea... seemed to make sense at this particular ruin)
All right, better stop now -- or I never will!
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i can drink tap water again, hallelujah
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it must be incredibly hard to share your work and philosophy live in front of hundreds of other photographers.
but it must be harder to keep both the confidence in remembering why you've been chosen to stand there, but also the humility you need in order to say something true. great photographers are made up of equal parts confidence and humility, i think.
i was most moved by ben chrisman (who is, if any brides or grooms are wondering, the photographer i would like to hire at my own wedding, should marriage ever hover o'er my horizon :)
i don't want to poorly or incorrectly paraphrase him, but it resonated so clearly with me when he talked about believing in patience, believing in belief itself, and accepting things as they already are. (and also how the fear of messing up is what can drive you! -- it certainly drives me. i love the nervous excitement i feel before photographing a wedding.)
in the end, it wasn't really about what ben was saying aloud -- because he actually SHOWED, rather than TOLD his ideas, which is what i also strive to do.
photography is magic. so is life.
I'm glad I was there. :)
(i was pretty intent on just listening, but i did grab a few photos)
Anne Ruthmann's upbeat presentation had about 10 photographers singing Grease via karaoke. Got a little crazy. I think she even leg-wrestled someone!
but it must be harder to keep both the confidence in remembering why you've been chosen to stand there, but also the humility you need in order to say something true. great photographers are made up of equal parts confidence and humility, i think.
i was most moved by ben chrisman (who is, if any brides or grooms are wondering, the photographer i would like to hire at my own wedding, should marriage ever hover o'er my horizon :)
i don't want to poorly or incorrectly paraphrase him, but it resonated so clearly with me when he talked about believing in patience, believing in belief itself, and accepting things as they already are. (and also how the fear of messing up is what can drive you! -- it certainly drives me. i love the nervous excitement i feel before photographing a wedding.)
in the end, it wasn't really about what ben was saying aloud -- because he actually SHOWED, rather than TOLD his ideas, which is what i also strive to do.
photography is magic. so is life.
I'm glad I was there. :)
(i was pretty intent on just listening, but i did grab a few photos)
Anne Ruthmann's upbeat presentation had about 10 photographers singing Grease via karaoke. Got a little crazy. I think she even leg-wrestled someone!
Walter van Dusen says:
Thank you very much for attending Mystic 4. If Ben is booked for your future wedding, please consider me as your second choice ;-) Hope you can make it to Mystic 5. Have a great 2009, Walter
(01.23.09 @ 10:19 PM)
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I just spent an incredible couple of weeks in Guatemala and am having trouble adjusting to the snow on the ground here in New York. I'm so excited to write about the experience and share my photos, but I'm headed to a workshop in Mystic, CT this afternoon, so I'll post this one photo from Chichicastenago -- and promise mucho mas photos soon.
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back from Guatemala
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quite the find, from my brother, bill... and very well-received with my parents, as you can see. it's tradition for this movie to be playing as we open gifts, although i think everyone's a little sick of ralphie. (but who wants to mess with tradition?)
Dad says:
Hmmm.....I'm not sure if I like the lamp or the 'headgear' more in this photograph. Unfortunately, I can't divulge my home address for fear someone may now be motivated to break in and steal one or the other.
(12.28.08 @ 10:20 AM)
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the leg lamp!
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yesterday, dawn and boris came over to get some shots of their adorable, wee daughter, ava. we kept the shoot in-studio, so it was a fun challenge to get interesting shots without the support of a cool cityscape behind us.
i also liked the challenge of time constraints. One-year-olds tend to give you just a handful of minutes to get your shot, and then they're outta there!
aaahhh so cute!!
I enjoyed selecting a combination of screaming-happy-curious-sad images. pretty true to life for any kid, right? :)
i also liked the challenge of time constraints. One-year-olds tend to give you just a handful of minutes to get your shot, and then they're outta there!
aaahhh so cute!!
I enjoyed selecting a combination of screaming-happy-curious-sad images. pretty true to life for any kid, right? :)
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the hladek family
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Lauren, these are absolutely amazing. Can't wait to see more. Note to self: must try mezcal
(01.23.09 @ 06:24 PM)My girlfriend, the incredible photographer: truly.
(01.24.09 @ 06:52 AM)Incredible photos that would give even the most hardened couch potato a cronic case of travel bug. My bags are packed, I'm ready to go. I'd like to point out a detail, if I might be so bold, regarding your picture with Jenny in the laundry room mirror: that mirror is actually in a unisex beauty salon. The laundry room is 25 meters down the road. Should I use this as an excuse to go myself, just so I can take a couple pictiures of the laundry room and complete your photo album for you?
(01.27.09 @ 06:27 PM)Hey Lauren! Great work! Thanks for sharing....glad you and Josh had a great time....we loved having you! Keep April in mind ok? Hey and dont forget to put up that Hopper shot I took of you! Miss you! Jenny in Antigua
(01.29.09 @ 01:19 PM)Lauren, your photos are beautiful and inspiring. You're amazing!!!
(01.30.09 @ 03:15 PM)Lauren--these photos are incredible! I especially love how you captured the multicolored Guatemalan fabrics, which are so indicative of the place. Ed and I have to go back there. Thanks for sharing.
(02.04.09 @ 02:32 PM)Lauren, these photos are great! I especially really like the cat and the monkey in the trees. Great work!
(03.19.09 @ 06:05 AM)