...I MISSED COACHELLA?!...

yes, it's true, i missed coachella. for those of you who dont know what coachella is, it is the biggest 3-day music festival in california. just to give you an idea of who played this last weekend...here is the poster



and beyonce showed up to sing with jay, thom yorke played some radiohead...the list literally goes on and on for how dope it was. i had vip passes, and i missed it.

but i didnt care.

know why?!

i became an aunt for the first time!!! some of you are gasping...'WHAT?! YOU MISSED THE WHOLE 3 DAY FESTIVAL?!', but some of you know exactly why i don't care even a little bit, and why i was literally at the hospital for all 3 days. becoming an aunt for the first time is one of the most amazing moments i have had in my life so far. i can only imagine that having my own is the one thing that can top it - ok, and getting married too! i was the second person to hold her (after my sister and her husband)!! she is the most perfect little angel i have ever seen, and i am still in awe of her.

here we are together for the first time



so, yeah, i'm sure coachella was amazing, but i'm pretty sure my weekend was even better. and i will apologize to madison in advance...you will have a camera in your face for the rest of your life, sorry. :)

xx

...COME BEHIND THE SCENES...

wanted to share another video from an editorial i did for the winter 2010 issue of eliza magazine. this shoot was a dance movie inspired story, meaning, we chose some of our favorite dance movies and re-created moments from each film. the shoot ended up taking 4 days to complete, so we have broken down our behind the scenes videos into separate parts. here is the first!

grease and breakin'



and here are the images...

grease




breakin'


what made this shoot so cool (besides the obvious), is that we used models AND real dancers! in fact, some of the best, most recognizeable dancers in the world.

you may remember devin jamieson in the grease shot from 'this is it', the recent michael jackson movie!! we also got to work with michael riccio, and jimmy federico. our breakin' dancers were shonnie solomon and aja george

our beautiful model for grease, was natalie fabry, and our gorgeous breakin' model was kate herman

as usual, the team was awesome, gia harris on makeup, nikki providence on hair, and nra kudelka on wardrobe. thanks to alex smith, my assistant on these two movies, and to nicholas bentley for the amazing video.

xx

...JENI AND DAVE...

not long ago, one of my best friends from high school (which was only like, umm, 3 years ago...) got engaged! her name is jeni, and i love her so so much! she is getting married to dave, and the two have a beautiful love story. i am so happy for them, and was lucky enough to have shot their engagement shots!

here are my favorites...

















xx

...SNEAK PEEK, DIANE AND ANDY...

i was lucky enough to get introduced to the wonderful diane through a mutual friend, and even luckier to be able to shoot her maternity pictures this past monday! diane and andy are the coolest couple - so in love, and fun to be around! andy is absolutely hilarious, and kept me cracking up the whole time. diane is obviously gorgeous, but she is so kind hearted and sweet, it almost doesnt seem fair to be that pretty, AND wonderful!

i am so excited with how these turned out, here is a little sneak peek of their images...









they're having twins!!! i will be doing their newborn shots too - i am so excited, especially because it will be the first time i have photographed twins! will be posting more soon!

congrats to diane and andy!!!

xx

...FLATTERED ISN'T EVEN THE WORD...

hey everyone!

check out the coolest thing ever!

a blog post about me!!!

thanks so much to bobby @ the hundreds!!!

xx

...BUSY, BUSY...

tomorrow is quite the busy day for me!

i have a meeting with a dear old friend, bobby hundreds, who is major, MAJOR in the streetwear community. the hundreds has grown into more than the t-shirt line it began as 6 years ago, it is a worldwide label, that includes cut and sew, shoes, sunglasses, and of course, fitted caps. they are so much more than a clothing company, they are a lifestyle. the hundreds has made it cool for nerdy asian kids that like sneakers, skateboarding, and punk rock (bobby), to get their law degree, run a huge company, and still celebrate the underground street culture that inspires them. even with his stuffy law degree, he gets to draw, skateboard, and wear t-shirts everyday...for a living. i admire him very much, and even with all his success, he is still the same bobby from before.

anyway, we are discussing something super cool, but i don't wanna say too much and jinx it...i promise i will tell you when it is in stone.

next on the agenda, im doing a maternity shoot! my fave! this time, i am lucky enough to shoot with model, diane sorrentino weiss, who is pregnant with twins!! we already booked to shoot her baby boys too, and i am so excited, since this is my first time shooting twins! will definitely post some images soon!

thinking about shooting my day tomorrow, since it is a busy one...maybe another 'day in my life' post??

let me know what you guys want to see, and hear about! if you have questions for me, email me! mariacarmelphoto@gmail.com

maybe i can do a q&a post!

here is an inspiration image for all of you to start your week off just right...
remember, the eiffel tower was not built in a day...



xx

...A DAY IN MY LIFE...

so, i got inspired by my friend rachel rose desimone to do a 'day in the life' post. so, here is my (yester)day...hope you enjoy!



wake up in the morning, feeling like p. diddy...not quite...







i woke up at 7am, to let luda out in the backyard to play...back to bed. up again at 8:30 to let her back in...she barks by my window to let me know she wants to snuggle again. after some snuggle time, we get up.





shower and coffee time...i would be lost without my french press! notice the mug...it is pictures of me, nick and luda - compliments of nick's parents. i have the best almost family-in-law ever!



i see this every morning in the kitchen. a great reminder, and how cute is our dia de los muertos heart?!







decided to make a yummy veggie scramble. seriously delicious.



a little note i wrote to nick when i was gone...it's on our fridge, along with tons of other notes, cards, and magnets of all the places in america he went on tour with his band, the delta fiasco. right now, they are in austin, tx, playing at sxsw (south by southwest), a huge music festival. i miss him.



after breakfast, i take my coffee and luda outside for a ball throwing session...













i noticed how beautiful my garden is looking from all the rain...the orange blossoms smell sooooo good! i think it's time for a bbq!



THEN i noticed the gardening luda decided to do when i wasn't looking....not happy.



scolded her, but went back to zen



then it is time for some computer work...



i am suddenly interrupted by my creepy neighbors watching some...ahem...adult films...LOUDLY! haha



got ready, and headed over to sarah's for a quick bite, and then we were gonna head to see our friend, and brilliant poet, sophie sills do a reading of her personal work. it was really amazing, and i am so glad that i went. by the way, isn't sarah's collage amazing?!





we ended our night at club tee yee, a dive i had never experienced before...it was a good time.



i ended my day in pj's, on the couch with my furry little monster...it was a pretty mellow day!

hope you enjoyed, i will be doing this every once in a while...you should try taking pics of everything you do sometime! you dont realize how much you actually do in a day, and all the beautiful things you see!!

xx