Although I have been to Phoenix before, on our great Southwestern style family vacation of many years past, I’ve never spent much time here. This week has been an interesting cultural study - things here are so different from my life on the east coast. Incidentally, people here refer to New York / PA as the east coast and AZ as the west coast…? huh?

Here are some of my observations:

• Everyone at the airport when I was passing through on a Monday morning seemed to be a middle aged white man about to go golfing… in khacki cargo shorts (!!).
• PHX has this huge new complex just for car rentals. It seemed to be a bit much.
• Everyone thinks it’s cool to refer to the city as PHX.
• HOT! Wooeee I would never be able to live here. It’s been 101 all week. And this is fall!
• Buildings are large, clean, and have the hugest windows ever. Architecture downtown has a modern organic feel. Architecture outside the city is very blendy - everything seems to be some version of the color that is not brown and is not red but somewhere in between.
• Cacti! I almost went to this huge desert botanical garden today but realized that I have already seen all 145692 species of cacti next to the roads. Those things are huge and wonderful, but not beautiful.  It’s just different and interesting terrain, much like walking out of the airport on the Big Island (Hawaii) and feeling like you’re on the moon.
• Everyone thinks Scottsdale is the place to go. But really it seems to be about shopping and being tan and trendy.
• Southwestern theme. Everywhere. Must be quite profitable with the tourists.

Yesterday I spent my afternoon at the Phoenix Art Museum. There was one exhibit in particular that blew me away  — actually it disoriented me quite a bit. Everyone refers to it as the ‘firefly room’ but its official name is “You Who Are Getting Obliterated in the Dancing Swarm of Fireflies” by Yayoi Kusama (reviewed by others here and here). It was basically the most dazzling and effective piece of interactive art I have ever experienced.

Today was different. I took a drive up to Carefree, Arizona to do some location scouting. In January Carefree will play host to the DWF 2009 convention and several hundred eager photographers will descend upon the community. Carefree seems to be well-versed in corralling visitors through webs of interlocking parking lots and mini rotaries, past southwestern themed everything (even the Target had unusually high amounts of adobe) and past landscaped desert garden medians galore. It’s an unusual place, and very scenic for someone who finds desert to be exotic. I really, REALLY want to do an outdoor desert boudoir session but I need to find the right model first.

After location scouting Carefree, I checked out Phoenix’s Heard Museum. A few locals groaned when they mentioned this museum, and I wondered if it would be full of kokopelli print kitsch, but I have to give major props to the people who designed the museum displays and even the museum interior. Everything worked well together, from the lighting to the wavy wood paneled viewing hubs, to the wording on the signage. Everything was intelligent and avoided overexplanation without leaving me feeling confused about what I was seeing. The Heard Museum is a wonderful visit, and I no longer question why it is the number one stop on this list of “Best Things to Do and See in the Phoenix Area“.

If I were looking for a really cool wedding venue in Phoenix, I’d choose the Heard Museum or the Phoenix Art Museum. Both are unique spaces full of light and color and culture without being too pretentious.

OHHH!! also, I got to eat at Chick-fil-A, and for some reason that always makes me happy.

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A couple of weeks ago I met up with Lisa and Kaelyn for a relaxed portrait session near their new home in the Cambridge MA area. We had a tea party, did some art, chased squirrels in the park, and I even got a charming array of stickers placed on various body parts.

[ more here ]

Every fall I do a limited number of family portrait sessions in October and November before the Christmas rush hits, taking advantage of milder weather and New England’s amazing autumn. I limit the number of sessions for practical and philosophical reasons — I’m not into quantity, and my style doesn’t fit everyone’s needs because I don’t take traditional ‘christmas card shots,’ choosing to focus instead on candid and lovely interactions with the kids.

Since I’ll be out of state for most of December and probably taking the entire month off, if you’d like to schedule any type of portrait session please contact me before October 15.

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I’m busy busy processing today, but there are a few things I’ve left open in tabs for inspiration.

• Oh, John and Joseph, how you constantly inspire me.  [ link ]
• No end to amusement over at Boingboing. Christian Ska band performs “Jesus is My Friend” [ link ]
• SEAMS is a Massachusetts dress shop catering to custom dress designs [ LINK ]
• GORGEOUS photos from Iran from various sources. [ link ]

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Love doesn’t make the world go ’round. Love is what makes the ride worthwhile.  

— Franklin P. Jones

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I saw Natalie’s gallery today.  I LOVE the pictures!

You have no idea how happy I am.

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

- Marilee

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Portsmouth NH - area photographer Gwyneth Colleen just posted a fabulous bridal party photos… with girls wearing dresses in a general color scheme rather than specific swatch. [ offbeat bride: porange ]

photo © gwynethcollen.com

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Just found this AMAZINGLY unique and wonderful updo featured at offbeat bride.

NOT MY PHOTO - unsure of photographer and hair stylist

( more photos here )

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I was really moved by the animated film Persepolis. I really liked the advice Marji’s grandmother gave her the night before Marji left home to attend school in Vienna to escape the revolution and war-related craziness in Iran.

“You’ll meet a lot of jerks in life. If they hurt you, remember it’s because they’re stupid. Don’t react to their cruelty. There’s nothing worse than bitterness and revenge. Keep your dignity and be true to yourself.”

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I’ve seen three interesting movies lately, thanks to Blockbuster mailings and paying attention to the previews on indie films. We’ll go in reverse chronological order.

Tonight we watched Across the Universe. It’s a musical, set in the 60s (1963-1969 compressed into two years according to director Julie Taymor). Although the trailer made it look a little too trippy for my taste, that first scene where he’s singing moodily on the beach (a la Moulin Rouge) sold me instantly. The detail work in Across the Universe is really what made it work, right down to the fact that most of the songs were filmed live on-location. There are seven main characters, and a whole load of peripheral hilarious moments with passerby. Two things I found the most amusing: the guy in crazy outfit twirling by for no reason when they first arrive in NYC, and in one of the final scenes, Jude’s mom singing a few lines. The most moving scenes were the brilliant parallels between England and the US; the couples dancing in the beginning, the pub scene toward the end, and also the funeral in Detroit of a black boy after the race riots next to the one in Brookline MA for white soldier who died in the fray. The music was done well, if self-proclaimedly cheesy. The lighting and film processing superb. The choreography of the crowds and leads went from erratic and eccentric to natural and beautiful. The device with a main character walking through lines of choreographed activity worked really well.

On Thursday, Ali and I saw Persepolis. It is brilliant. It’s funny, deep-thinking, and really human. Watching Irani girl Marji grow up in the revolution and then grow up away from her family, finally to  go back home and then leave again…  it wrenches your heart. The animation is gorgeous, and my jaw pretty much dropped when we saw in the commentary that all of the cells were traced by hand to give it a real, handcrafted feel. It’s an autobiographical animated film that took 2 years to complete.

Before I left for England, I watched Saawariya and laughed a lot. Many scenes blindsided me - much like Across the Universe, the lighting and framing; colors and angles were so, so good. Everything was beautiful and intentional. Of course the entire movie was ridiculous, as the first Bollywood-Hollywood production is wont to be. We watch innocent, earnest Raj try his best to woo mysterious Sakina who basically toys with him the entire time. (Saawariya is Hindi for beloved /overpowering consumption by love.)
I absolutely love well-designed magazines and well-produced films. I delight to experience the storylines and drama; colors and imagination of all of the artists who work hard to bring the masses entertainment and inspiration.

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We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventures that we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open. 

— Jawaharlal Nehru

Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it.

— Maya Angelou

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