Summertime Mini Session Fun for Yoga Heights DC - Bethany VanderSluis

Another day, another week and another awesome mini session to share with you! 

Meet Bethany VanderSluis -- another yogi from the Yoga Heights family that had the privilege of photographing a few months ago.

I'm totally in love with this mini session -- I think Bethany totally nailed every aspect of her mini shoot. From her outfit choice to her poses, this session looks absolutely gorgeous!

Stay tuned for more posts from my Yoga Heights mini session marathon 

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!

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??

 

 

That Time I did Artoga for Spright...

Art + Yoga, it's a thing. I know, I had no idea either. It's okay. :)

A few months ago, I stumbled across a listing for an Art + Yoga, aka "Artoga" class right here in Washington, DC and decided that I, as an area fitness writer and yogi, needed to try it out. You know, for professional purposes.

Anyway, I ended up signing up for a class earlier this fall and reviewed the whole experience for Spright and even got a chance to snap some half-decent photos. I won't give you my full review of the creative, bendy expereince, but here's a snippet of my review:

When I first saw an Artoga (art + yoga) workshop pop up on Greg’s List DC (a Washington, D.C. events site), I laughed out loud. It seemed a little bit ridiculous, but I was also curious. I decided to investigate and try it out.

After a bit of digital digging, I discovered that Artoga was co-founded by Nichole Friday and Marta Staudinger in 2014. Staudinger, an artist and yoga instructor, says it all began when she started brainstorming for an innovative activity to feature at her curatorial space, which was scheduled to open soon. Staudinger wanted to find a way to blend her two passions, art and yoga, and reached out to Friday for some creative and logistical help...

Read the full story here!