A Birthday Reflection
Yesterday was my birthday and I turned 39. It also marked the one-year anniversary of hitting my Kickstarter fundraising goal for my book. And now the book comes out in just a few weeks. What a wild turn of events. I’m so excited to get this book into the world, and to share my images of love and summer.
What this milestone has me reflecting on is not giving up. I came close to not doing a book. I came close to not launching my Kickstarter. And I’m so glad I pushed past my fears and doubt and did both.
When I was younger, I used to give up on things quite quickly. If I wasn’t immediately good at something, my ego was often too short-sighted to see it through and improve (ie. fencing lessons, clarinet, singing lessons, etc).
In 2014, I went to a portfolio review where I was told that “there was nothing remarkable about my photos.” Those words devastated me. I threw out my portfolio of photos, and walked home crying, and swore I was giving up on photography. Three weeks later, I picked my camera back up, and a month later I founded Camera of the Month Club. Seven months later I shot my first Beach Lovers photo, not knowing what it would be come.
My birthday reflection is simple: I’m glad I didn’t give up.
Book Countdown: 7.5 Weeks!
My book Beach Lovers comes out June 1st. I am equal parts excited, overwhelmed, and nervous. I have so much to do between now and its release, including prepare for my events, the press releases, frame and print photos, etc. I’ll be writing here weekly, with updates and news. For now, I’ll start by sharing some events I’m really excited about.
International Center of Photography, Photo Book Fair, Saturday May 21st and Sunday May 22nd
Foley Gallery, Launch Books, Signing & Exhibition, Thursday June 16th, 7-9PM
The Rockaway Hotel, Book Launch Party & Signing, Thursday June 30th, 6:30-9:30PM
Thank you to everyone who has pre-ordered a book, I can’t wait for you to have them!
A few Puerto Rico film favorites
There really is something magical about going on vacation and using a film camera and waiting a couple of weeks to develop your photos. With fading tans and dealing with the final weeks of winter, it was a joy to get some film back from one of the best trips I’ve had in a long time. Here are a few highlights.
Shot with Olympus XA and Lomography 400 film
'Beach Lovers' now available for pre-order!
I took some much needed downtime from NY with my first vacation in over two years to Puerto Rico with my boyfriend January 31-February 10th. Photos coming soon. I came back refreshed and excited to get back to work on promoting my book, to learn that my book is now available for pre-order in a number of places. It was another ‘pinch me’ moment in this entire book process.
The book will be shipping out June 1st, and available in stores as well. Pre-orders go a very long way for the success of a book, and here are all the places you can order from right now!
Greenlight Book store (Brooklyn)
Books are Magic (Brooklyn)
Golden Lab Bookshop (Queens)
Bear Pond Books (VT)
192 Books (NYC)
My Book Cover!
At long last, I’m thrilled to share my Beach Lovers book cover. What a decision it was. I agonized over this decision for a long time. Weeks. I asked friends. I debated with my book editor. I did a private Instagram poll. I went back and forth so many times I lost count.
I had one image in mind for a couple of years actually. And it wasn’t this one. But each time I’d look at my choice, a photo I took in Coney Island, my mind would return to the photo above and I couldn’t shake it. I love this photo so much.
Here are some reasons why: I shot this photo in July 2015, in my first two months of the series, on an old film camera that the ocean eventually broke. I’m proud that a photo I shot so early on in this series (and in my photo career) could be so strong. I love that she’s in jeans and heels on the beach, on a very sticky day no less. I love that it feels like it could be 1950, 1980 or yesterday. I love that this beloved part of Rockaway is so recognizable to so many of us.
While Coney Island and Brighton Beach make their appearances in the series, the majority of the photos were taken on the Rockaway Peninsula. I have spent the last seven years of this series swimming, sunbathing, nightlife-ing and of course, shooting and looking for couples along the beaches of Rockaway, Fort Tilden and Jacob Riis. I realized, in my many hours of agonizing, that it felt necessary to choose an image that was taken in Rockaway. So here it is, and I love it. I love my cover.
The book itself will be out in June. More details to come.
The Last Few Weeks
I love that I am shooting film regularly again, especially with this beloved light leak. Film prices have soared but I’m thankful I found an affordable development and scanning shop, Photo Life at 992 Nostrand. Check them out!
Happy 2022!
Hello and Happy New Year! I’m not proud of how long it’s been since I updated this blog, and I want to commit to posting here at least twice a month. I also send out a seasonal newsletter (please sign up :) and I’ve sent out some more recent news there. It’s a new year and I am recommitting to this blog platform, because to my pleasant surprise, I have readers. So here it goes.
I closed 2021 with someone very special and began 2022 with a Polar Plunge at Rockaway Beach with one of my best friends. It was a perfect New Year’s weekend. This was made sweeter by my book proof arriving on Sunday the 2nd and I cried happy tears holding it in my hands. More on that in the next post. Thankfully, January is looking like a quieter month, which is unusual for me, and a welcomed relief. September through December saw the busiest four months I’ve had since 2019, which explains why I am so behind in updating this blog. I plan to return to this regularly this year, at least twice a month.
I’m in the mood for lists, so here are things that happened during that time.
My publisher moved up my book release date from Fall 2022 to Spring 2022, so our book layout, design and edit time was accelerated. With the incredible talent of my Creative Director Ursula Damm, we created a beautiful book in less than two months.
At the same time, I also put together all the evidence needed for my O-1 Visa renewal with my sponsor and immigration lawyer. It was incredibly time-consuming and stressful. My case is still pending.
I had 20 shoots; weddings, portraits and couples sessions, and edited and delivered thousands of photos from shoots from July through December. It was a ton of work. It was a ton of beauty and love, and I am still recovering.
I made my third Beach Lovers calendar, and I’m thrilled to say they’re hanging across Canada, the UK, Sweden, Brazil, and over 12 states in the US. A few are still for sale, get yours before they’re gone.
Camera of the Month Club had its first in-person show in 2 years The Personal is Political, and it was an incredible success.
I took an impromptu family vacation to Siesta Key Florida with my cousins. Here are some of those memories.
Lots more to list, but I’ll save that for the next post. Thank you for reading and welcome back!
I Signed With A Book Publisher, and Other News
Almost three months later, I am back to updating this blog. I spent most of this summer at the beach, taking more Beach Lovers photos and making more mirror work. While our collective national and global news remained heavy and dark, it was a continued beacon of light to spend so much time by the ocean, capturing love and intimacy and creating more reflection work. I had so many wonderful career highlights this summer as well, including teaching my first mirror photography workshop, making a lot of work I am so proud of, shooting a number of beautiful weddings, and returning to in-person Camera of the Month meetings. But the biggest news to date was: signing with a book publisher!
After several months of pitching and discussions with various publishers, I’m thrilled to share that I signed on with my book publisher, Daylight, in August. We’ll be working on the design and layout throughout the Fall, and the book will be out September 2022. I cannot wait to share more news on that. I am beyond thrilled.
Kickstarter Recovery
I’m proud to say I successfully completed my Kickstarter campaign on May 14th with 169 backers, reaching 150% of my fundraising goal. I’m less proud to say it took me almost 6 weeks to write this post. I didn’t think running a campaign like that would take so much out of me, but it did. I am so incredibly humbled and grateful by the outpouring of love and support I received, and the excitement for the book. I cannot wait to make this a reality.
I had so many questions along the way about the campaign and book details, and the most common question I kept getting asked was: why did you have to raise all the money? Doesn’t the publisher do that?
Actually, no. When working with photo book publishers, photographers already have to have most of their funding in place. That’s right, photo book publishers rarely front the funding costs needed to design, edit, and print on quality paper, bind the books, and ship and distribute them. It’s often on the photographer to do so. Hence the need to raise thousands of dollars. Now that I’ve done that, I am in talks with publishers and I will be sharing more official news on that in the coming weeks.
So, this is a belated thank you for believing in me and supporting this book. More news soon <3
Coney Island, 2021
Kickstarter News
When I was doing my research in the months leading up to launching my Kickstarter campaign, I read an article about the emotional roller-coaster you’re on throughout the campaign, before the launch and during. Excitement, fear, dread, stress. It’s all true. Watching your numbers constantly. Worrying if you’ll annoy people with your constant reminders and deadlines. It’s all true. I’ve been on a roller-coaster for a while. With just 9 days left, I am currently on the elation-meets-disbelief-meets-overwhelm phase.
I am blown away by the support. I’ve had so many people pledge towards a book. And so many donate so much more than I was expecting. I made my goal in just 6.5 days, hitting $10,500 on my 38th birthday. Talk about starting my new year right. And the overwhelm of wanting to raise even more funds to cover more of my books’ costs. I want to be sure I publish the most beautiful book possible.
I can’t wait to see my final numbers on March 14th, stay tuned. And thank you so much.
A Confession of Sorts
With my Kickstarter launching in just a few days, I share something on Instagram the other night that is worth repeating.
I've never admitted this publicly but this series has always been about a search for my very own Beach Lover, and I was only just recently able to say that out loud. Year after year, I have been documenting something I wanted to find for myself. That doesn't fit very well into an artist statement, and it feels incredibly vulnerable to share with you.
I've been with too many of the wrong people. And each time I've gotten hurt, I would come back to the beach to find my couples. To find reminders of what is out there, of what is possible, and of what I might one day also find for myself. I admitted this to a good friend a couple of weeks ago, and she said, "There, your series makes even more sense now. You should share that." Thank you friend.
All that to say, this book will be dedicated to all the hopeful romantics out there just like me, searching for their very own Beach Lover.
Is Beach Lovers a strictly NYC series?
As I’ve been spending the last few weeks thinking and writing about Beach Lovers at length as I get ready to launch my Kickstarter campaign, the question around the series’ location has come up over and over. I have been asked this question over the years. Will I take Beach Lovers to other cities?
I’ve given this a lot of thought. And while I love taking photos of couples of at other beaches, ultimately I’ve decided that this series wouldn’t be the same anywhere else. It is the city’s backdrop, NYC’s uniquely gritty ocean front, that make this series all the more romantic for me. It is the history of street photographers that came before me that I pay homage to. Photographers like Garry Winogrand, Vivian Maier, Elliott Erwitt and Diane Arbus are just a handful of photographers that documented the beaches of NYC that I have taken inspiration from.
While I may do iterations in other cities in the future, at its core, this series is my love letter to, for and about summer in NYC. There is nothing like it anywhere else.
One Month Countdown
I sent out my newsletter earlier this morning, noting that I am a little over a month out before launching my Kickstarter campaign to raise funds for my Beach Lovers book. I am small parts terrified and huge parts exhilarated. After so many years about talking about this book, I am finally making it. There is so much that goes into making a photo book, but what better time than the tail end of a pandemic winter to dive in. I filmed my video a couple of weeks ago and I cannot wait to share it.
As an incentive to follow my journey, I am running a portrait session giveaway on my instagram account. Follow along for your chance to enter. I’ll be announcing the winner on my next newsletter.
New Mexico Archive
New Mexico continues to stand out as one of my favorite places in the world. I was supposed to go in April 2020, and it will be one of the first places I return to once it’s safer to travel. Here are a few favorite memories. I’ve never seen sky like the sky there. I urge you to visit.
Portfolio Decisions
I’ve now mentored several photographers on how to improve their photo websites, and usually my beginning words of advice include, “Less is more.” Photographers tend to hold our images so dear to our heart that we often fail to consider our viewers and audience, and whether they might be overwhelmed by how many galleries we’re showcasing on our websites. I give this advice from experience, because my website used to be a mess. I had 10 galleries, and I looked like a real “Jill of all Trades, Master of None.” I slashed and burned the majority of them and redid the website until I only had what I considered my best work on display.
Now it’s almost Spring 2021 and I hadn’t done a real inventory in some time. Now that I am about to launch a Kickstarter campaign for my upcoming Beach Lovers book, I want my website to look as seamless as possible. So I’ve made the difficult decision to archive my New Mexico photos here, to live permanently on my blog.
Why? I love New Mexico almost more than anywhere else in the world but I am not a travel photographer. The gallery is something I am proud of, but it is now dated (I haven’t been there since 2018). My focus is my work at the beach and my mirror reflection series. If you’re a creative and you’re reading this, I urge you to do a spring cleaning of your current website and social media presence, and ensure everything represents your best and most recent work.
The Lomography Atoll Art Lens 2.8/17
In December, I had the exciting opportunity to work with Lomography to test their new art lens, the Atoll 2.8/17mm (see my interview and images in the video linked). I had such a fun time shooting with this lens and I love the results. I don’t typically shoot this wide, and it was a creative challenge to think outside my usual box. Thank you to the team for ncluding me in this, I can’t wait to use this lens!
Publishing A Photo Book
I was supposed to go to the Santa Fe Photographic Workshops in April 2020, to take the class “Publishing the Photographic Book.” Of course, we all know why that didn’t happen. The course did finally take place over Zoom in November, with instructor Melanie McWhorter. She was a wealth of information, and I highly recommend this class if you’re considering making a book. While I have been talking about a Beach Lovers book in passing for a couple of years, taking this class was the first step in really holding myself accountable to this dream and goal.
Publishing a photo book is no joke. The time involved, the planning, the pitching, the money needed. It is A LOT. I sat on the information for a few weeks after the course ended and put my idea on the back burner, once again talking myself out of it because raising money felt too daunting.
Then I had a conversation with my friend Leah (who has always been so encouraging of my evolution as a freelancer and small business owner), and she didn’t blink when I told her how much money I need to raise. With such a strong series, would it be that hard to convince 100 people to give me $100 to make my dream a reality?
A light went off. Well of course not. When you put it that way, it’s very much do-able. This series means the world to me, and I want to honor my couples in a beautiful book. I want to share it with as wide an audience as possible. I’ve put years of work into this series. So, here I am publicly committing myself to making it this year. To soon launching a Kickstarter. Stay tuned.
2021
I started off 2020 with a list of very hopeful ‘20 things I want to accomplish in 2020.’ To my surprise, I did accomplish some of them, in spite of the pandemic. These included: starting a new personal project unrelated to the beach (thanks Corona), shooting more film, rewriting my artist statement, taking at least one class and pitching my work.
A year later, I don’t feel any less ambitious or hopeful but I don’t think I’m going to quantify my goals into a single list. There is so much I want to do and accomplish, but if 2020 taught us anything, it’s that our best laid plans can go up in smoke in a matter of minutes. So my main focus this year will be my continued growth, personally and professionally. Of course that includes my hopes for making headway on my Beach Lovers book, getting published, growing Camera of the Month Club, optimistic hopes for in-person photo shows and more. At best, my goal is to stay healthy, creative and productive. Stay tuned, and stay safe.
WSP Exhibition
It was such an honor to be a part of this phenomenal show. 85 women from around the world were chosen by curator Gulnara Samoilova. I had visited the show in December 2019 and I said to myself, “I absolutely want to be a part of this next year.” And it was an honor and thrill to have that dream come true. Sadly, the pandemic didn’t allow for an opening reception. We were 14 masked photographers, congratulating each other and appreciating the mind-blowing work. I ached for the buzz of opening receptions, the hugs, the introductions, the energy. I know one day we’ll be able to do that again, hopefully in December 2021.
Women Street Photographers Exhibition
I’m thrilled to share that I was chosen to be a part of the annual Women Street Photographer’s Exhibition. While the Covid pandemic has resulted in a cancellation of the official opening reception, the exhibition will be on view through December 28th. One of my Beach Lovers photos was chosen for the show, and I am honored that it will be hanging along side 84 other photographers. Visit 215 East 99th street to see the show.
