Lauren and George: A Rehearsal Dinner in Newport

In June I had the pleasure of photographing Lauren and George's rehearsal dinner at the beautiful Regatta Place in Newport, RI. It had been depressingly rainy and grey all day, but just hours before the event was scheduled to begin, the sky magically cleared and the sun came out! Luck was on our side.

Lauren is such a cute, bubbly person and she was absolutely glowing all evening. It was so easy to photograph her--she never stopped smiling!

You should have seen the way Lauren and George kept sneaking glances at each other all night.  

Lauren and George--I wish you all the best! Thank you for choosing me to be a part of your wedding weekend!

Bringing back the eighties

 

During Brown's commencement weekend in May, I had the privilege of photographing  class of 1988's Funk Night 25th year reunion event! It was my first ever official photography job and the experience was nothing short of both exhausting and exhilarating.

To start with, it was my first time really using my off-camera flashgun. I had played with it a bit when I first got it, but seeing it truly in action was absolutely wonderful. I don't think I'll ever be able to use the flash on my Canon body ever again.

The co-chairs of the class board, who had hired me for the event, were kind and a lot of fun to be around. It was especially helpful to be working for such low-pressure clients on my first gig. I learned pretty quickly that there was nothing scary about approaching big groups of people and asking for a photograph--they absolutely loved it and were welcome to the idea of more pictures of themselves.

What made the experience even more amazing was that there was actually a real, professional photographer there on behalf of the Brown Alumni Magazine. We got to chatting as we passed each other from time to time during the event and I got a lot of good tips from him--most importantly, I learned that I still have a lot to learn. He was very approachable and we were even able to commiserate together on the soreness of our hands near the end of the night.

Finally, the event itself was simply a lot of fun. I had echoes of great eighties hits stuck in my head for the next week afterwards. As a college student and self-officiated "not-yet-a-real-person," it was amazing to see all these people who had already made it in the real world let loose, make continuous trips to the open bar, and really tear it up on the dance floor.

The outdoor tent for the initial reception was so beautiful, especially with the lamps, but unfortunately May 25 was also the coldest night in May--it hovered somewhere between 40 and 50 degrees all evening!

My beautiful, amazing flashgun capturing beautiful, amazing alumni.

There was a cha cha line, of course.

Frala 2013

Class of 2013 ultimate frisbee players

An event that I planned, attended, and photographed this past weekend has breathed new life into both me and this blog! Funnily enough, it's the same event as the one I posted about last year at this time--the fourth annual Brown University Frisbee Gala.

But first some news: I recently got asked (as a response to my Craigslist ad) to photograph a wedding! I've never officially photographed an event before, let alone a wedding, but I'm extremely excited and I can't wait. I posted the ad to give myself more opportunities over the summer to use my camera and I'm glad it has been panning out!

With the help and support of my friend and captain Johanna, I planned Frala this year! It was interesting to think back on my wide-eyed freshman year experience of Frala and compare it to this year's experience. Although it was frustrating at times to have to coordinate between so many people with so many conflicting interests, it was ultimately a rewarding experience and everyone had a great time. We were able to raise over $300 from donations at the party for the Paige Fund, which was created in memory of Paige Hicks and whose end goal is to provide free ultimate frisbee to all Brown University players. It's a great cause with an inspiring beginning, and I definitely encourage everyone to check out the fund's website here: http://pvhfund.org/

This year we decided to have an outdoor grill and potluck before bringing everyone inside to party. There were meat and veggie burgers aplenty, a lot of people wearing lovely clothing, and many games of Cornhole and Applefork! It was a very pleasant experience and I took photos almost the entire time, often balancing my camera in one hand, a burger in the other hand, and my phone in the crook of my arm.

Me, Sarah, and Johanna

Applefork! 

Some of the senior class men

Most of the new women's players

Cornhole

 There were so many couples to take photos of--perfect practice for a wedding?

The lighting was not very cooperative, but it felt good to bust out my camera for the first time since my January trip to New Zealand. I had almost forgotten how much I love taking pictures.

Frisbee can be classy too

Friday was Frisbee Gala or just "Frala." I was told by our captain that it would be just like a regular frisbee party except with fancier cups, but even this proved to be false as we were greeted with the familiar sight of red and blue plastic. However, there was a (tiny) chocolate fountain, paper snowflakes (actually plucked from my own ceiling), and everybody got a chance to dress up.

Freshmen girls getting ready in my room? Feels like high school homecoming all over again.

Cassidy does Emjen's hair.

Emjen and Mina!

Thanks to Gadi for the group photos!

Salama and stairwells

Apparently the beige object on a pole on the far left is a head cast.

This morning I went to the List Art Building to take photos for the Herald on a senior thesis art exhibit. Cecilia happened to be looking at her exhibit with a friend when I stopped in to take photos which made for an awkward moment ("Do you want us to leave...?") but which was quickly followed by an interesting introduction by the artist herself. Cecilia was inspired by a number of things including her sculptural background, anatomy, and playing with heaviness and lightness. The materials she has used in her displays are unconventional to say the least--a few that I spotted were an air conditioning filter, sheep wool, and a molding of a head stuck upside down onto a pole.

Salama, left, with her friend.

Cecilia Salama's work is crazy wonderful--the wild array of colors on her paintings combined with the off-center frames and other small sculptural pieces all clustered together on the floor give the entire exhibit a chaotic, incomplete feeling. Photographing her work was i think one of my most interesting Herald assignments thus far. Visit her website here.

As I was exiting the building, I took advantage of the fact that I had my camera with me to photograph parts of the north stairwell. Ironically enough (perhaps put there for the purpose of irony?), there is a sign on a wall of the ground floor that says, "no posting, spray-painting, or installation of 3D work on this stairwell,"  but I clearly saw all three contraband decorations in copious amounts throughout.

I've been wondering this entire year what the seemingly haphazard red and yellow design on the edges of the stairs are. Now, after trekking up to the top floor of list and following the directive "look down" painted on the wall there, I have finally found out.

Cranes on the Green

I covered a really cool event yesterday for the Brown Daily Herald and I wanted to share a few of the photos I took. Cranes on the Green was an event put together the Japanese Cultural Association "to commemorate the devastating earthquake that swept away thousands of homes and lives in the northeastern regions of Japan last March. (source)"

For five hours this Sunday, the JCA members stood by a table selling t-shirts to raise money for earthquake relief in Japan and approaching all who passed by the main green. "Hi, would you like to put a crane on the green in memory of the earthquakes in Japan last year?" with the exception of two fraternity pledges who were being forced to walk backwards and were not allowed to go on grass, all who were approached said yes. They were then handed wooden skewers with blue or pink cranes on them. By the end of the day, there was a beautiful garden of paper cranes covering that expanse of grass.