I want to give notice about Rebecca Ong-Sutherland’s open house. She started Boston Alternative Health last year, and is hosting an open house on October 17-18.

Next weekend we will be holding an Open House to show off our office and meet new people! Learn more about Acupuncture, Chinese Herbal Medicine, and Structural Bodywork. Enter our raffle where you could win 3 complimentary acupuncture treatments!

The event is held on two days. Friday October 17th from 5-9 and Saturday October 18th from 11-9. Whichever works best for you!

So swing by to say hello, show your support, or just come for the free refreshments. The invitation to the event is attached to this email.

Speaking of the office, we have made a change to the office location. We regret to announce that we no longer operate from our Brookline office and now are solely located in Lexington Center. It was a difficult decision, but in the end we had to do what was best for our patients (and our sanity!). Now with just one office to focus on we will have more opportunity to give the availability, care and focus that our patients deserve.

So, if you’re interested in alternative, holistic healing or need some body work, I’d urge you to go meet Rebecca at Boston Alternative Health.

(and yes, she is the one who invited me along on their honeymoon last year!! I’ll be back in HI from 1-12 December if any of you are going to be there this year…)

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Hey guys! I just wanted to throw it out there that I’ve been suffering from some sort of repetitive stress injury in my wrists this week. Despite the fact that I spend more time with my computer than anything else, this is the first time in my life something like this wrist injury has happened (aside from some issues with my jaw back when I was a classical flautist).

I spent a couple of days at the beginning of this week heroically answering all of the piled up email inquiries; this probably didn’t help the condition.

The thing that hurts the most is writing (ironic that I am blogging about it… slowly, with a brace)… so if you have sent me an email in that has not been answered, or have a question or want to schedule a shoot, feel free to give me a call at 857-233-0810.

HOLIDAY MINI BOUDOIR SESSIONS [link]
QUESTIONS TO ASK WHEN CHOOSING A WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER (is experience necessary?) [link]

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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.

Posted in destination, inspiration, personal, travel schedule 1 Comment »

We had a table at the Dulhan Expo this past weekend in Long Island (Hauppage, New York) in an attempt to connect with more desi couples. Although we were disappointed at the turnout at the show, we had fun at the end watching a fashion show and some belly dancers, and one of the other vendors provided henna!

Here’s a photo Laura Ryan, another photographer who helped me with my booth, posted of me getting henna application:

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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 ]

Posted in inspiration, personal 1 Comment »

I AM … sensitive to caffeine
I WANT… to go to hawaii
I HAVE … thousands of photos to edit
I KEEP… wondering why more people don’t do what they love every day
I WISH I COULD … keep my desk clean and clutter-free
I HATE … when good people use passive-aggressive tactics
I FEAR … maintaining a balance of debt
I HEAR … the theme song from Saarwiya in my head
I DON’T THINK … I am ready for children or pets
I REGRET … undervaluing myself as a business for three years
I LOVE … people in love
I AM NOT … easily afraid
I DANCE … only to Persian music
I SING … poorly
I NEVER … try exotic food that has lived in the ocean
I RARELY … prepare meals
I CRY WHEN I WATCH … children made to suffer
I AM NOT ALWAYS …efficient
I HATE THAT … chocolate gives me headaches
I’M CONFUSED ABOUT … gaining legal access to abandoned properties
I NEED … to turn off the internet to get stuff done
I SHOULD … get ready for this afternoon’s photo shoot

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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.”

Posted in inspiration, personal, wisdom No Comments »

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.

Posted in inspiration, personal 1 Comment »

If had to choose only one photo to take during this trip to San Jose, I would want it to be this one:

Anita, Haady and I snuck away from the wedding for a few minutes right as the light was ending on Friday. This is the perfect moment - the wind that picked up her hair, the look of happiness and contentment they have together, and the soft muted tones from the very special light.

Posted in destination, engagements, ethnic wedding, personal, portraits, wedding 1 Comment »

So… Ali and I came here to San Jose to attend his cousin’s big fancy Persian wedding - of all the weddings I have been to this year, this is only the SECOND I have been able to attend as a guest. Although it was really difficult for me to stay in my seat, we enjoyed dancing (and eating!) at Niloufar and Amir’s wedding. I found it really interesting to see a Persian wedding from the ‘other side’ since so much of our own day in February was somewhat distracted by being at the center of everyone’s attention.

I decided to go get my hair styled since all the Persian women get so fancy for weddings, and when I took it down it was this amazing mess of curls and pins and hairspray. I had her add a few braids to funkify the updo a bit, which you can actually see in the photo below even after I took it down. Also, it’s really nice to see my husband after being away for the UK wedding for 10 days.

I’m here in San Jose for two more days. This morning I happened to get sucked into MTv (we don’t have it at home) and spent the first couple of hours watching ‘my super sweet sixteen’ — and omg those two Persian girls they featured were just as out of control as the other party throwers. What in the world are we coming to if this kind of thing is normalized for sixteen year olds? Lavish parties ($30k-200k), live entertainment that costs more than a wedding itself, being carried in on chaises carried by buff, oiled hott guys, brand new sports cars as gifts, and the ‘I need to be the hottest girl at the party by having the most expensive custom-made dress’ mentality. The funny part is that now they’re doing this feature where two years after their OOC 16th party the kids are profiled (apparently all still living off their parents and living lives of extreme leisure) and the parents surprise them by exiling them off to remote locations for hard labor to teach them a lesson. It’s pretty hilarious and disturbing. Ludicrous really is the word here.

Well, with that notable start to the day, I’m off for some crazy processing of some of the thousands and thousands of images that have built up over the past few weeks.

Posted in destination, ethnic wedding, personal, photos, travel schedule, wedding 7 Comments »