Flashback to Fall: Mini Session with DC Yoga Teacher Justina Tong!

As we slip into the winter season over the next few weeks, I thought I would take the chance to share some of my fall photography before the glory of all things pumpkin-spiced is replaced by peppermint mania...

Earlier this fall, a DC-based yoga-teacher friend of mine, Justina Tong (she teaches at GW's Lerner Health and Wellness gym and subs at Yoga Heights!), asked if I could take some fall-themed yoga portraits for her. I met Justina while on my Yoga retreat this summer, so, naturally, I was jazzed to capture these shots for her!

The only catch? The leaves weren't quite in their fall glory just yet, despite it being mid-October. So is the pain of being a photographer's first fall mini session of the season...

Anyway, Justina was daring enough to stick to our shoot date and trusted that I would use my post-production magic to add in a few fall touches (thank you Lynda.com!).

I must admit, I'm very pleased with how these came out! Not only did we shoot in a beautiful new location (a hidden sliver of Rock Creek Park), but I used a new editing workflow to produce these final images.

Thoughts? I would love some creative criticism and feedback!

Zumba + Yoga Shoot for Melanie Smith in a Costa Rican Oasis

Even though it's been months since I traveled to Costa Rica (El Sabanero Eco Lodge via Move Well DC via Trip Tribe!) for vacation, and I'm finding myself flipping through all the photos of our wonderful trip more and more these days.

Maybe its because I miss being in a tropical oasis, or I'm just not *fully* ready for fall to kick into high gear, but either way, I keep daydreaming about early morning yoga sessions, home cooked meals and relaxing in the canopy...

Speaking of Costa Rica, I finally edited photos from a mini session I held with my fabulous Zumba-instructor friend Melanie while I was there.

To be honest, it's basically a miracle these photos exist at all -- they're not the best shots from the shoot, but rather, what I could salvage. See, I had completely edited the session when my Lacie hard (where the files lived) drive decided to fail on me. I did everything in my power to recover the files but could only recover about 10 shots -- 10 of my outtake shots to be exact.

Ugh, technology man. I guess I learned the hard way the need to double back up everything I shoot.

Regardless, while I know these aren't my best shots, or my best work, I'm surprisingly happy with them.

Maybe its because I loved the trip we took so much, or because I'm currently injured and can't shoot (long story -- see P.S. below), but looking at these photos just makes me smile.

P.S. I'm hurt right now (fell and sprained my AC joint while doing a handstand in yoga class!) and won't be shooting for a least a few weeks, which sucks. I'm getting better though -- its been almost two weeks and I'm finally out of the sling! Wa-hoo!

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

Photos on Photos on Photos for Grip the Mat

What a busy winter it has been! Between battling Snowzilla, grad school, freelance work and my full-time job at the USO, this chilly season has been jam-packed for me. How has winter been treating you?

A few weeks ago, I had the awesome opportunity to capture a few seasonal staff photos for Grip the Mat's DC team (I do a bit of photography for them) and had such a fun morning trampsing around Georgetown to capture a handful of magical shots for the growing company.

Here's a look at just a taste of the yoga-inspired photos I captured. They're so fun right??

 

 

New Year, New Photos from Grip the Mat's Bendy Brunch at Union Kitchen Ivy City

Happy New Year, internet world! I hope over the last few weeks you had some time to enjoy the wonderful winter holiday season and catch up with family and friends.

Mr. Man and I worked until the later December calendar days before heading off to the Caribbean for a cruise with his family. It was totally magical! But more on that in another post once I get around to editing the photos :)

Before I set sail for my holiday vacation this December, I had the wonderful opportunity to donate my time and talents to shoot another event for the wonderful DC-based yoga event start-up, Grip the Mat. I've shot many of their events before and was delighted to be asked back to shoot for them again!

One of Grip the Mat's hallmark's is it's "pop-up" event style, which gives attendees the chance to practice their flow in some of DC's funkiest locations. This Bendy Brunch took place at Union Kitchen, Ivy City, which is a food incubator in the DC-area.

Tell you what, I've never shot a yoga event in a kitchen before -- and it was totally fabulous, as was the food!

Shooting these events is always so fun :)

Behind the Shoot: Grip the Mat Cover Shoot for Fiterazzi

In the creative world schedules are never predictable. Shoots happen at 6 a.m. and 11 p.m. People are late. Cameras break. Things go wrong.

But sometimes, just sometimes, everything goes right.

That was exactly the case for my recent (well, sort of, late-January kind of recent) photo shoot with the lovely ladies of Grip The Mat for their recent February cover on Fiterazzi.

Now that the cover is finally published, I can share my awesome photos with you and tell you a little bit about the shoot.

I've blogged about Grip the Mat before and how I've photographed their yoga social events, but this shoot was extra special. See, although I've written and photographed for Fiterazzi for over a year, I've never had a cover photo or cover story before.

Add that excitement to the fact that I totally love the concept behind Grip the Mat and you've got the formula for awesomeness.

 

We toyed around with the idea of doing the shoot outside in the winter cold (stupid, I know), going to an art gallery or doing it in someone's apartment, but none of those seemed fitting. As the deadline of the cover story loomed closer, I realized the perfect place for the shoot: Tryst Coffeehouse and Bar in Adam's Morgan.

Bingo.

The ladies of Grip the Mat and I arrived bright and early at Tryst at 7 a.m. morning before work and basically struck gold.

I mean. The lighting. The colors. Everything was spot on, for the most part. In retrospective, some of angles are a bit off, but hey, I can't win everytime.

... or can I?

That Time I Shot an Event at Hierarchy DC for Grip The Mat

Happy Monday! I hope you're having a fabulous & warm start to your week, especially if you're in the Northeast area (stay save in this crazy blizzard weather!).

I'm coming off quite a high from last week's craziness. Not only did I have a bunch of my stories for the USO publish, but I hosted my first-ever booth for Fiterazzi at a Grip the Mat Bendy Brunch event -- but more about those things in later posts.

First, I want to take you back in time. Back before New Years toasts and Christmas morning hugs to those sweet weeks of anticipation before December 25th...

Before I headed off on my amazing tropical Christmas vacation, I had the privilege of shooting another yoga event for Grip The Mat. 

One of the duo's signature events is called Vinyasa to Vino, which is essentially a combined happy hour and yoga class.

I believe they've hosted all of these at Hierarchy DC (where I was at), which is a hip little art gallery in Adams Morgan.

While the space was tight and the lights were few and dim, I managed to capture some really nice moments and even got to whip out my new Canon 7d (woop!) for its inaugural run.

I know it's not a Mark III, but hey, I'm progressing as fast as my bank account will allow me.

I'll admit, I don't have shooting a yoga event down pat. I'm still learning which poses and angles are fabulous in pictures and which ones are super awakard for both the shooter and the shootee. I'm pretty confident I'll get there though.

In the meantime, I'll keep snapping pics and you, my friends, will give me all the feedback in the world.