at long last, i can share with you the images from the adesso and sorellina fall 2011 shoot that i did back in march. i wrote a little about it here. i honestly never dreamt of becoming a commercial photographer, and what has been so incredible for me is that the projects i have been able to collaborate on for adesso have given me the opportunity to grow my technical skill and to have an experience of pushing myself into a greater scope of vision and creativity. as with everything great in life, working with samantha, the models, the make-up artists, and the adesso team, is all about relationship and connection; and about meeting in that place of transparent passion, willingness, and leap. i’ve watched my friend create not only successful, stunning, and gorgeous jewelry collections, but also a network of collaborators and allies that serve to promote beauty and wellness in the world. it has been phenomenal to witness adesso grow in scope and breadth, i am nothing short of grateful for the opportunity to have been a part of it.

this last shoot came on the heels of a solid week of rain. as we drove north to demetria estate winery the night before, i more than once considered my safety as the wall of water fell on my windshield. but as the grace of things meant to be arrived the next morning, the rain stopped, and for the next two days, the sun and clouds put on a fabulous show, gifting the most dramatic lighting a photographer could ask for. not to mention an inspiring landscape of rolling hills, vineyards, and olive groves.

it was on this shoot that i first really appreciated the dark spaces in my images. the shadows and the blacks. i was comfortable leaving those things, even enhancing them, and reflected upon how, previously, i would have been tempted to pull up the curve. the phrase art mimics life could not be more true.

again, i am grateful and open as i share these images with you. thank you to models hillary souza and brandi wolff for trusting me with your beauty and for revealing yourselves to the lens. and again, thank you to samantha goldstone and liberty hanson, adesso founder and creative director, for your vision and willingness to walk through new doorways together.

you can now download and view the adesso lookbook and the sorellina lookbook to view the rest of the images of fall 2011 collections. also, see samantha’s post with some behind the scenes images over on the adesso blog.

i used to believe that connections, relationships, were in some way a means to an end. not in a gratuitous using kind of way, but more the how to the why. i presumed that we connect to lead to some understanding. to take us somewhere. to show us something. i would question why certain people showed up in my life. why they were showing up. how i wound up in their company. for what purpose. i would wonder what my contribution was or should be. i asked, constantly, what it all meant.

that has changed.

what if, instead, these friendships, connections, ARE the destination? what if our relationships with one another are what it all comes down to? presence, eye-contact, and, once again, seeing and being seen. what if our whole purpose is to experience one another? and our “work in the world” is the means to THAT end. our connections are the doorways to our freedom.

mind blowing. crazy simple. and such a relief.

i love nothing more than sitting with another human being (or many), and witnessing passion, fear, love, and angst. i love grit. i love honesty. i love humor and vulnerability, sarcasm and grace. this is what i thrive on. and i know this is why i have the abundance of profound and diverse people in my life that i do. whether i am here to photograph, to write, to teach, or just to share my experience of what it is to really connect, i’m realizing is not the point.

the point is you, and I, meeting.

photo: silhouettes on the beach. may 2011.

there are the people with whom we have relationships with that are sustained simply because of proximity, history, and habit. the ones that might leave us feeling depleted rather than filled, badgered rather than buoyed. then there are the ones that engage and rapture. the ones that base themselves in a willingness to show flaw and foundation, rawness and revelry, and serve to reassure us that we are ok. these are the real ones. the ones that offer belonging. the ones that show us ourselves. the ones that will always default to the truth that we are inherently good. the ones that see beyond our limitations and know our potential–and that want for us to get there.

i was surrounded by some real ones this past week in london. my daughter was able to meet them, too. centered around the wedding of sas and ash, our travels were filled with generosity, beauty, and raucous laughter. sas, susannah, leonie, emma, penny, jo and megg have already posted about the main event. it was all that and more. timeless, elegant, relaxed and refined. tear jerking and honest. witty and, again, real. and in the company of these women, and their men, i felt elevated. welcomed, fit, and home.

the rest of our trip was spent touring about castles, palaces and abbeys. shopping regent street and seeing war horse (amazing). we shared bbq (and then some) with the newlyweds, the wise’s, and the dynamic canadian/brit duo. we slept soundly in the chic quarters offered us by leonie and nic, and we finished our travels with a train ride to bath and a fabulous lunch with sus.

i am home now, ready to enjoy my man and my family, plant an herb garden, and prepare for my next documentary project (mexico-next month). everything with the intention to keep it real. and in the company of only the real ones.