its cold, but we'll pretend otherwise

We took these photos early in the morning. It was the first day the temperature dipped below freezing. It was cold, but we pretended otherwise. Thankfully, Rachel likes a bit of adventure.

she's expecting / a prenatal yoga shoot

I met up with Sandra R. last week to shoot some photos to promote her prenatal yoga classes. She had just returned from Mexico and was absolutely glowing, and earlier that morning I had watched her practice a glorious Ashtanga Primary Series, modified for her pregnancy now in its 2nd trimester. Sandra told me she wanted lots of natural light, so I brought her to the beautiful treehouse-inspired Karma Yoga studio in Boston's South End.

the details

Many thanks to Yin Yoga instructor and acupuncturist Josh for the great ideas, props and overall enthusiasm he brought to our photo session last week at North End Yoga. Josh was looking for some new photos to use on his website and to promote his workshops and other teaching. He was keen on detail shots to use in his marketing, and his yin and meditation practices certainly gave me all the space and time I needed to take a deep breath and focus on the details. Being in photographer mode means consciously bringing awareness to the details unfolding in the scene around you. In daily life, our brains filter out much of the sensory information we are surrounded with. We practice selectivity out of necessity; there's often just too much to be observed at any given moment. After taking a photograph, I can take my time to study all of the details in the frame, but in the flow of life (or a photoshoot) I really have to drive my attention to the visual field (people, objects, space, light), while also building a relationship with my subject. Josh was patient as I explored different angles and possibilities with my lens. Looking back at these images now, I can see all of that space, time and stillness which surrounded us, while we were focussing on the details. To view more photos from this shoot, and others like it, click here.

stillness in practice

The majority of my recent work has had a lot to do with yoga, so when Martha got in touch with me about taking some photos for her acupuncture website I was psyched to turn my lens to another holistic practice. Martha wanted photos of real session with a client (a willing volunteer, of course) and my goal was to document the process with as little interference as possible. Although trying to remain unobtrusive, my auto-focus seemed louder than ever, and only once did I ask her to pause so I could me 'round and capture a shot. The results are a series of quiet, still, sensitive images; much like Martha's practice.    

rachel's portraits for Kind Eye

Rachel is the founder of Kind Eye, an amazing online resource for safe, natural and nontoxic makeup. I photographed Rachel in her light filled Boston home on a cold winter morning. She'll be using her photos to build her online identity, on her website as well as blogs and social media sites.