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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I did in fact manage to meet up with Rob Sanderson (Curve Photography - Liverpool, UK) today and we had a fantastic little adventure wandering around a village and taking photos together and talking about all sorts of things - from past clients who say mean things in public forums, to future goals and current life. I knew for sure that I liked him when he suggested a shoot using our umbrellas and a bench for props. In the photo below he didn’t have his sunglasses, so he used his circular polarizer as a monacle. It may be noted that we spent… oh, an hour? with our cameras propped up on our camera bags running to set the 10 second delay on our cameras and then running back to pose. And yes, those are my heart sunglasses from TopShop.

You have to know something about photographers, and that is that when we get together, we take photos of each other. All the time. We spent an additional 30 minutes at the end of our meeting with the 10 second delay running to jump up into a stone arch and then strike ninja poses. Anyway, here’s a good one of Rob.

Thanks for the great conversation, Rob. I’m still thinking about that idea that we have lost the craft aspect of photography. And next time, seriously… I need to meet Lou!

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Rachel, you have no idea how thankful I am for you. Our pictures are more beautiful than I could have ever imagined; your talent really made this day even more special and our memories are going to be so well-preserved because of the amazing time and effort you gave to us.

thank you so much.

-Leanna
(Brooklyn-NYC July bride)

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Props to my friends Gwyneth and Ashley for taking beautiful, fun, and colorful photos of these interesting weddings. The weddings themselves are getting a lot of attention, but it’s the skill of the photographers that is really showcasing those unique details.

• Ashley shot a red dress wedding on 08-08-08 (check out the red birdcage veil - yum!)

• Gwyneth shot a puppetmaster’s wedding with a male flowergirl …all the offbeat bride readers now want to marry him instead of their fiancés

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I did this trade with Bella when I was looking for someone to do bridals in New York City with me during a trip to the city (for a seminar with Yervant and Joe Buissink). We had a lot of fun with the session, and really punked it up at the end. A lot of time has passed since I took these photos in May! Sorry it took so long Bella.

location: Chinatown NYC
model: Bella
makeup: Erin Green
more photos: here

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As many of you know, Indian and Pakistani weddings are known to start according to “Desi Standard Time,” or approximately two hours after the designated time. Since we have been raised according to “American Standard Time,” the program will begin promptly at 6:30 pm. All guests are encouraged to arrive at six pm for hors d’oeuvres and to mingle with each other before the wedding ceremony.

Ok, now that’s funny! I just came across that notice on Aziza and Imad’s wedding website. How great is that?

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I am in the midst of getting the photos from Leanna and Willie’s NYC wedding finalized, and I have to stop and appreciate how wonderful they really are. Leanna and Willie exuded such joy on their wedding day — despite super hot temperatures and a threat of rain — and when I look at their best friends I start to understand why. Many of the people in these photos have dedicated their lives to the service of others. They spend their weeks ministering to the children of Brooklyn. And their passion for people wells out from a fierce love in their hearts.

[ more here ]

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I have been so lucky recently to meet and hang out with inspiring individuals. When I was passing through Connecticut a couple of weeks ago I stopped by to meet photographer Seshu Badrinath and his adorable big-eyed wunderchild Ketan… Seshu is also pursuing multi-ethnic wedding photography so it is a delight to know and talk with him. This weekend I was honored to have kickass Long Island photographer Laura Moakley, recently back from Ireland, come out all the way from NY to shoot with me in Lowell, MA for Christina and Phil’s Old Hollywood glam wedding set in a converted mill. And yesterday, delight of delights, I picked up Anne Ruthmann from her new diggs in Lowell and we went out to Amesbury to spend the afternoon with photographer Eric Laurits, who is just recently back from visiting a nudist camp (!!!). And I can say this about Anne and Eric: I kicked their booties at Set.

I feel blessed to know such wonderful individuals.

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