This collaboration was spear headed by Patricia Vincent who I follow on Instagram (and you should too!). She had reached out to me to see if I was interested in collaborating on a shoot for her Spring clothing line and Izabella Petrut’s jewelry line. The inspiration behind the shoot was subtle elegance, excellent craftsmanship, with an emphasis on well being. The culmination of our collaboration resulted in a creative assortment of cozy, minimalist, and effortless designs that are perfect for spring.
A long time ago, when I first moved to Vienna, the first job I got was as a kindergarten teacher. It was one of my favourite jobs. Some days were grueling, but, more often than not, it was very rewarding. It also was the best way to learn and practice my German, as well as learn more about Austrian culture. I had the pleasure of having Miss M as one of my students during my time at the kindergarten and when she moved back to the states with her mama a piece of my heart went with her.
Eddie had emailed me telling me that he and his girlfriend Faith were flying to Paris for vacation. Only they weren’t. They had a layover in Paris, but their end stop was actually in Vienna (something Faith didn’t find out until they landed in Paris), a city they both had wanted to see. They met through mutual friends and (if I recall correctly) they both were dating other people at the time. Given their friend’s close circles and a bit of time they both were soon back in touch with each other. Eddie confessed to me that he really liked Faith and when they both were at a Billy Joel concert he asked Faith to be his girlfriend while the song “Vienna” played in the background.
This post might border a little more on the personal side but I feel it is essential to know how much I valued Fabian and Mina and the time I spent with them during their photo session. When Mina (who is a talented photographer herself!) had emailed me wanting to book a session for her and her husband I was experiencing a season in my life which I had never experienced or encountered before and consequently, I had a lot of misgivings about finalizing a session for them. Life after loss affects every aspect of your life and I had just begun to discover that when a little more than a year ago my twin sons passed away. Loss shattered my world and shredded away any meaning that it could have for a long stretch of time. It was hard to see the purpose, the beauty, the promise of anything in life when so much was taken away from me. Since the boys passed away, I noticed my levels of creativity (if I can claim to possess any) were nonexistent. I couldn't pick up my camera, nor did I want to. It seemed so very purposeless to attempt to try and even more so when the world was absent of color. I could only see things in sadness and in the darkening light of things I had lost. To attempt to see it otherwise or even pretend otherwise would have taken a superhuman strength that I did not possess. But life doesn’t stop even when you feel it has. And Mina and Fabian were one of the first clients to reach out to me and want to book with me shortly after all that had happened.
The days are getting longer and it’s beginning to warm up here in Vienna, but I’m reminiscing back on one of my favourite winter family sessions. Kate reached out to me shortly after she and her husband Greg, and two boys, Conor and Ryan, and their super cute Papillon, Scout, moved to Vienna. She confessed it had been a few years since they had family photos taken and she wanted some new ones now that they’ve settled into Vienna.
