Flashback: Mini Session for Love & Carrots

Remember several months ago when I mentioned, back when I was in grad school, that I was working with the wonderful local business Love & Carrots?

Well, here's some updates for you. A. I'm not in grad school any more (I graduated!). B. I finished my project for Love & Carrots and they are using it in full-force! and C. I brought my camera to my final meeting with the Love & Carrots team and captured these sweet photos for them to use across their channels.

There are so many things I love about these photos -- between the smiles, the rich greens and the natural setting, I almost can't pick a favorite shot from the bunch!

Maybe I'm a little biased from working with this team for a whole semester, but I think all of these photos totally capture the passion and dedication the Love & Carrots team has towards their work creating edible gardens around the DC area.

... and at the very least, these guys look like VERY happy gardeners. What do you think? Let me know in the comments below!

A Few Highlights (& Finally Some Produced Pieces!) from My USO Trip to Korea & Japan

Remember a few months ago when I mentioned that I headed to the Pacific region for my job at the USO? Well, several months (several, several months) later, I finally have some finished pieces to show for it!

The first story I want to share with you is this video featuring a local South Korean volunteer, Ms. Jackson. I don't want to spoil the story too much, but here's a little bit about her and her path to service at the USO:

If you step into USO Camp Humphreys on a Thursday afternoon, chances are you’ll be greeted by the mouthwatering aroma of volunteer Mi Hwa Jackson’s home cooking still in the air. 

Jackson, better known as "Miss Mimi” around the center, heads to the USO almost every Thursday to volunteer her time and cook a comforting, homemade lunch for hungry service members to enjoy. 

“I love to cook for them, I love to cook,”Jackson said. 

Jackson, a South Korean native, began volunteering for USO Camp Humphreys after she and her husband relocated back to the area after his retirement from the Army. 

"The Army gave me a lot so I have to give back something for the Army," Jackson said. 

Although Jackson loves to prepare traditional South Korean dishes, like bibimbap and bulgogi, as a way to introduce young service members to Korean culture, she also enjoys cooking a variety of cuisines from around the world to appeal to service members taste preferences. 

"If they’re happy, I’m happy,” Jackson said.

Take a watch and let me know what you think :)

I'll be sharing more produced content from this trip in the coming weeks, so be sure to stay tuned!

New Client Alert: My First Yoga Heights Photo Shoot!

New things -- whether it be a new recipe, a new outfit or in my case, a new client, are always exciting.

Earlier this year, I started working with the lovely ladies of Yoga Heights to shoot class videos, take photos and generally step in as the visual guru for the studio.

The result? I'm in love with my new client and all the fun images I've been able to capture for them so far.

Here's a look at some of the shots of my first shoot with them back in the cold, chilly days of winter. Enjoy!

Route 75 Flashback: Anchorage, Alaska Nature Snaps

Remember last year when I talked all about my awesome, epic USO Route 75 trip last year?

You know, the one where I got to travel around the country and tell the awesome stories of the USO for the organization's 75th anniversary last year?

Well, I was digging through my archives earlier this year and found some long-long scenic shots from our time in Alaska for Route 75 and just had to share. Although we were only there for a few days and were busy shooting most of the time, my travel companion (and fab former boss!) Eric and I had a few free hours to enjoy some of the beautiful sites and wildlife near Anchorage.

We actually headed to the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center for a few hours to make sure we saw some of the local (usually elusive) wildlife, leading to some fabulous shots!

Take a look!

Flashback Friday: Leaves and Friends and Hiking in the Fall Colors

As I was organizing my hard drives this past week, I came across a long-lost impromptu shoot I did of my friends Zach and Clare that I knew just had to share.

A bit of back story to these photos: Sometime this past October, Mr. Man and I were on a hike with our friends Zach and Clare at Rock Creek Park.

I just happened to have my camera on-hand incase we saw something beautiful when Clare mentioned that she was wondering if I could find some time to good photo of them for their Christmas card this year.

The leaves, the crisp cool air, the impromptu-ness --- I just couldn't resist the moment and suggested we should just take those photo here and now!

Sometimes, spur of the moment things are wonderful, right?

Better Late Than Never: Fall Back to Spooky Savasana with Grip the Mat at Capitale DC

Guys, it's spooky how long it's been since I've posted.

Between grad school midterms, USO work travel, freelance clients, more USO work travel, Thanksgiving and everything in between, to be perfectly honest, I just haven't found time to sit down and talk about all the work that I've been out and about doing!

So, today, I thought I would take a moment and try to make up for my silence by showing you some FABULOUS photos from a Halloween-themed Grip the Mat event I shot at CapitaleDC about a month and a half ago (eek!).

As you guys know, I've shot several events for Grip the Mat over the years. I think each event has been so fun to be a part of and this was no exception!

Spooky music? Check! Ghoulish decor? Check check! A man in a tutu? Triple check! What's not to like?

The End of USO Route 75 = I'm back and bloggin'!

Pfew. Well guys, its been a while, and I'm so glad to be back!

ICYMI, I took a bit of a blogging hiatus while I was traveling on-and-off as part of USO Route 75. You can read more about that here.

Anyway, all that's important for you to know is that I'm back with PLENTY of stories to share, a bunch of new project ideas/leads and even more plenty of photos and videos to show you. So, get pumped!

Now, the only question is... where do I begin?

Check back next week!

A Preview of Spring: Sneak Peak at my Grip the Mat Spring Shoot

Oh, spring! You're so pretty with your flowers and sunsets and warmer weather. Why can't it be like this all year?

Speaking of spring, a few days ago I hosted a spring-themed yoga/lifestyle shoot for a few of the D.C.-based staff members of the yoga events start-up Grip the Mat (yeah, the same Grip the Mat I've been shooting for for a while now!).

While only a few of the Grip the Mat staffers could make it out to the shoot, the sunset-kissed results were simply stunning IMHO.

Here's a sneak at three images I captured. Many more to come!

 

  

 

Grip the Mat Bendy Brunch: Cuteness at 600F!

Unless you've been under a rock recently (or just haven't read my blog in the past year), you know that I do a lot of freelance photography for the awesome yoga event start up Grip the Mat.

I'm not going to harp on all the wonderful work I've done for them (you can scroll through my archives if you want to hear more about that), but I did want to share a few new images I have from another GTM event I worked at this spring at 600 F in Chinatown.

This was the first time I've ever shot an event for GTM where there was a cute little kid (co-founder Christy's nephew) participating in the yoga as well.

Needless to say, the shots were magical. Or at least, I thought so!

Grip the Mat Superlaunch: Photos (and Video) From Soul & Spirits in DC!

If I had to pick one theme to characterize freelance work this spring, it would 100% be yoga (aka Grip the Mat). What else is new? :)

Anyway, a few weeks ago I continued my awesome coverage for the budding DC-based yoga events company at their Superlaunch event at Capitale DC. This event was a mix on Grip the Mat's Soul & Spirits event, but it was held at the same time at two other Grip the Mat events in different cities across the U.S. How cool is that?

I didn't take a ton of photos (nothing special about them either, honestly), but I did shoot a good amount of video b-roll featured in their video mashup of the event.

Here's the video (not all my work, but some!):

Grip The Mat Super Launch
We are humbled, we are invigorated, and most of all we are incredibly grateful to launch GTM Los Angeles, California and GTM Boston, Massachusetts. If you missed our #GTMSuperLaunch see a glimpse from this tri-city experience! Read more on our blog here: http://www.gripthemat.com/blog/recap-our-coast-to-coast-super-launch
Posted by Grip The Mat on Thursday, February 11, 2016

Kicking off the New Year with a Nerd Fitness Feature for Spright

Happy happy happy new year to you beautiful blogosphere people, you!

Before I do a deep dive into my holiday shenanigans/travels (probably in a separate post), I thought I would share an awesome feature piece I wrote for Spright to help people jump-start their new year's fitness resolutions with a little inspiration.

When looking up amazing fitness industry leaders to write about for Spright a few months ago, I stumbled across Steve Kamb and his site, Nerd Fitness, and was instantly intrigued.

Nerd Fitness was unlike any other fitness site I had ever encountered in my years of writing about the fitness industry. Imagine nerd culture, mixed with bro culture in a subdued, supportive online fitness world -- that is Nerd Fitness.

I knew I had to talk to the creator of this wonderful, strange fitness world.

After several email attempts back and forth, I finally snagged an interview with the brains behind Nerd Fitness, Steve Kamb, and spoke to him about how the entire operation came together. Here's a snippet of my interview:

Steve Kamb is a nerd. Like, a video game-playing, comic book-reading, knows more about Star Wars than your brother kind of nerd. But don’t let that fool you into thinking he’s clueless when it comes to healthy living. The author, entrepreneur, and founder of Nerd Fitness knows his stuff.

A largely self-taught fitness leader, Kamb founded Nerd Fitness in 2009 to help nerds like himself get fit. Once a side project, Nerd Fitness has since exploded into a top online fitness community and has helped thousands of geeks incorporate fitness into their lives.

We chatted with Kamb about Nerd Fitness, favorite workouts, go-to take out orders, and his book, Level Up Your Life, out in January 2016. Here’s what he had to say:

What’s the Nerd Fitness origin story?

SK: I grew up in a town called East Sandwich. I was active as a kid, and I played sports. Growing up in a small town, we all played every sport together as a group of friends. I also spent a significant portion of my childhood playing video games. It wasn’t until high school when I got cut from the basketball team that I signed up for a gym membership. I had no clue what I was doing. But I decided I wanted to get big and strong and spent half of high school and all four years of college — I went to Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee — strength training and following muscle and fitness magazines and trying to get strong and healthy and big — and failing miserably...

Read the full story on Spright!

Spright Updates on Working Out in the Heat & Summertime Fun

90 degree heat? Check. Watermelon overflowing at the grocery story? Check. Feeling like you live in an oven? Double check.

It's official: the dog days of summer are in full swing here in Washington, D.C. Lucky me.

In all seriousness though, this summer has gone by in a blur. Between traveling to Canada to visit family, visiting with friends, traveling to weddings, its so hard to believe there's only a few more true weeks of summer left before my graduate school classes begin at Georgetown. Sigh.

At least this summer has been very productive for me in terms of Spright.com & USO work -- that's at good thing right?

I'm not going to spoil all the wonderful things I have in the books for you to enjoy on Spright over the next few months (trust me, I have a TON of things coming!), but I will say that one of my stories -- about working out in the heat -- hit the site last week and I couldn't be happier.

I loved that I was able to reach out to my alma mater's own Dr. Todd Miller for advice in writing this story. He really helped me understand all the interesting ways the body adapts to temperature changes without making me feel like I needed to re-take my freshman biology class.

Anyway, here's a little snippet for you to enjoy:

Exercising outside in the summer months can feel a little like self-inflicted torture, especially for those first few workouts. Your face gets red. Your skin gets sweaty. Your breathing gets increasingly labored as you push yourself to finish your final set. Even recovery can seem to be more difficult than it would in cooler months.

However, after a few consecutive days of exercising in the heat, you’ll probably start to notice that dealing with stifling outdoor temperatures while you work out isn’t as difficult for your body as it was a week or two ago — all thanks to process called temperature acclimation. Simply stated, temperature acclimation is an adaptive bodily process the body undergoes to become more tolerant of working, exercising, and living in the heat.

I wanted to learn more about what goes on inside the body during the temperature acclimation process, so I  reached out to Dr. Todd Miller, an associate professor of exercise science at the George Washington University, to talk more about how the body adapts to working out in the heat. Here are the major takeaways from what I found out...

Read more here!

Stay tuned for more fun things to come!

Meet the Brains Behind BaniBands Headbands in My Latest Spright Article!

Oh spring! Full of flowers, sun and ... pollen. Yuck.

This is the first year I've come down with a serious case of the pollen-induced sniffles, and it is NOT fun. Netti pot, here I come!

Anyway, I realized yesterday that I never shared one of my recent Spright articles with you guys. I had been working on this story, featuring the founder of Bani Bands Headbands, since the days of Fiterazzi, but it got put on the backburner with the merger and general life business.

I was a little worried it would never run, but thankfully, the awesome staff at Spright thought it was worth a little attention!

I won't give away too much here, but here's a sneak peak of the story to get you started:

Like many innovators before her, Renee Hanson became a fitness fashion entrepreneur in order to solve a problem.

After years of searching for athletic apparel that to fit her 5’11” frame properly, the veteran and former volleyball player grew tired of the lack of technical garments available for taller women and decided to address the issue herself. In 2008, after beefing up her sewing skills and business plan, Renee created Vertical Athletics, a special athletic apparel line designed exclusively with the taller female athlete in mind.

However, shortly after launching Vertical Athletics, Renee stumbled upon a second athletic apparel problem that would inspire her to create her even more popular headband company, Bani Bands.

...read more here!