My California Journey

Last month I traveled to San Francisco to photograph a wedding at Muir Woods. It was an elopement, actually, and tucked away cozily under the redwoods... a dream to photograph! My next two weddings are elopements too - one at Cadillac Mountain and one at Portland City Hall. I can get used to this. 

I am an nomad at heart. Even though Kurtis and I bought a home and some woods and are in Maine now to stay, I'm still obsessed with exploring everywhere I can. So naturally photographing an elopement turned into a two week solo road trip up and down the west coast, visiting my favorite spots and discovering new places. It was really important to me to do this alone, to hike and camp and sleep in the car and be as wild and free as I please. It was wonderful. Just what I needed. And will need again soon. And again and again. 

All these images were taken with the Fuji x100t, which I borrowed for this trip. Some of my adventures (like Fern Canyon!) I shot with my "real" camera, so I'll share those another time. This post includes photos from Muir Headlands (I stayed a few nights in the hostel & did a few Magic Sessions there), Wildforest Sanctuary (where Kurtis & I used to live!), Avenue of the Giants, Green Gulch Farm, random spots along 101, and the Oregon coast. There are way too many images here, but they are all special to me.

It feels appropriate that I'm typing this from a tent right now. ;)

Press play.

Portugal Retreat

This past October I had the amazing privilege of traveling to Portugal to photograph a women's retreat. I didn't have much time to explore, but what I did see was magical. The streets are full of art. My father is a Portuguese citizen (he was born there), and I'd never been, so this trip was extra special to me!

These photos are from Lisbon, and I'll be sharing more from Sintra (one of my favorite places ever!) in a later post. 

Northern California // Wildforest Sanctuary

Last summer Kurtis and I had a wonderful trip to Northern California, camping a bit along the coast and visiting our friends at Wildforest Sanctuary, where we'd lived and worked in 2010-2011. Back then I gardened and took care of the animals, while Kurtis built a barn out of locally sourced materials (we milled the lumber ourselves, and he built this almost entirely solo and by hand!). It was so wonderful to be back in this magical space, where Melinda and Karl live off the grid with goats, gardens, chickens and an evolving bunch of helpers in the redwood forest. This place and its creatures will always be very special to me. I think the photos speak for themselves. 

I use this song for everything, but whatever. It's perfect. Press play.

California // Rocky Coasts & Redwoods

Days after Kurtis and I were married, we drove to Northern California and spent a year caretaking on a homestead property in the middle of the redwood forest. Four years later, we made it back for a visit! Most of our trip was spent visiting our friends at the old homestead, but we had a few days to ourselves to explore the coast and camp (tentless!) along the way. The most amazing part of our trip was on Point Reyes, when I didn't use my camera but just soaked in the experience. All the photos here were taken along the coast in Sonoma and Mendocino counties. This area is dear to us. Press play.

Oh, and that's not a bull whip Kurtis is playing with. It's seaweed. Some of you asked. Haha. 

San Francisco Lifestyle Photographer // Jenn

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Between driving up the coast to the redwoods and down the coast to Big Sur, I spent a few days with Jenn at her little cottage in the Bay Area. I never wanted to leave her sweet, sunny, flowery world! Jenn is working on her Ph.D. in Mind-Body Medicine while completing yoga teacher training, being a certified birth doula, working for a midwife, being mama to her tiny puppy Finn, and organizing the most beautiful, intimate gatherings of women. I don't know how she does it all, but here's a peek into a gorgeous Sunday morning with Jenn and her husband Darian.