Nectar & Light

hello friends! sharing some wonderful news today... Rabbit! is coming to asheville!! they actually reworked their schedule so that they could come play for us {thank you very much mr. ryan marshall for helping make that happen} and i found a space, the hop - is there anything better than Rabbit! and homemade ice-cream - no, i think not. and katie daisy (who you know i have a crush on) happily agreed to create a gig poster for the event. now we just need people! the show is FREE, the ice cream is insanely flavorful and the tunes will make you shake your tush {the girls and i have been practicing for weeks}. it's going to be an amazing evening and if you have not heard Rabbit! before, you can read about them here and listen to their infectious sugar-coated sound here.

see you then!

 

as per usual - things have been crazy.  i think i need to create more of a routine in my life - i seem to function better that way.  since our move from brooklyn we've been flying by the seat of our pants, completely overwhelmed, equally happy and totally stressed out.  this morning sitting in my still half finished house {which is part of my major stress points} i began to reflect on the times when i perform at my best. it's when i am forced to. when den is away on his seasonal contract work and i live the life of a {practically} single parent and work to create a sense of normalcy for the girls. this has meant routines, routines, routines. and there is something holy and comforting about following a prescribed rhythm. so why don't we live that way when den is home? i'm not sure - but i am ready for the change - i need balance right now desperately.

we've recently returned from a week in omaha - i shot for sari bari again - this time on anna's beautiful farm - can't wait to share the images; photographed a lovely wedding; shot and worked on the gem book {which is due in two weeks!} and photographed two gorgeous children {one of them above}. and our instant love retreat sold out early last week! if all goes well, we'll offer another the following fall...

oh! and den and i celebrated TEN years of marriage this week - ten! and i'm still crazy about him. he had this custom made by my girlfriend heather - i was speechless. {on a chan luu chain  we found at robin richman last year - they were made for each other}

and to wrap up this seriously sporadically written post - here is some link love...

~ loving the work of luci everett and katie daisy;

~ can't stop listening to truckfighters and quest for fire {thank you amy!};

~ pamela love : fall 2011 - knocking my effing socks off;

~ crushing on nga waiata;

~ did i tell you we're going to the BIG 4 in september?

 

i am seriously bursting at the seams to share this with you all!!  we have officially opened the registration for Instant Love:  a Polaroid Retreat in Marrakesh.  we will teach workshops covering topics in our forthcoming title, Instant Love:  How to Make Magic & Memories with Polaroids and bask in the splendor of the gorgeous Peacock Pavilions.  day trips to the coast... an outdoor movie night... a henna party... can you think of a better way to spend valentine's day?  spend it with us and your love for instant film.  for more information click here.

sharing some of the shots and the polaroids from a gorgeous wedding i shot on a quick trip to california today!  the wedding was in a glass chapel in rancho palos verdes and overlooks the pacific - it was stunning.  i'm also happy to share that i'm now taking bookings in the south so please share with friends and family getting hitched!

i am also SO excited to tell you that Pretty Polaroid Notecards - a sort of sneak peek at our book Instant Love - are now available for pre-order at several online retailers.  we had so much love for the first set of cards - i bet you're going to find these beauties everywhere this fall - which of course puts me over the moon!

more soon!

today i am offering a new collection of fine art prints based on a study in organic abstraction. shot while flying over the American Southwest, these vintage-hued photographs are like postcards from the Gods... see the collection here: What the Gods see.

 

hello loves!  we are getting settled into our new home in asheville - it's so beautiful here, i often feel overwhelmed by it.  it's such a different environment from brooklyn - physically, mentally, emotionally - the girls are so happy and come in at the end of the day, exhausted from running, feet dirty, skin kissed, and beaming.  and my husband says it's the first time he's felt truly comfortable in a place since we lived in italy.  asheville, we might be in it for the long haul.

we found a house in a beautiful neighborhood - the home is over 3000 square feet and sits on a wooded lot of over an acre.  but the home needs love - lots, and lots of love.  we've been painting for over a week and removing wallpaper {pain in the arse if you've had the experience}, working on the kitchen - but everyday it looks a little bit more like us - and that makes me feel safe, secure and happy.

in the meantime, i have some wonderful news to share.  i have two book projects that have just been accepted by chronicle books for publication.  the first is something close to my spiritual soul - a fine art book about gems and minerals.  the shot above is a sample of the photography that will appear in the book {bonus points if you know what it is} - i wanted to really create something unique and beautiful so i am shooting the specimens very tight to create almost abstract imagery.  the photographs will be accompanied by text that speaks to the folklore, metaphysical properties and touches on a bit of science.  i'm very excited - the book will be published fall 2012.

the second project is something equally exciting for me - it will be a modern look on how to take photographs of children.  the look will be very much in line with how i shoot - editorial and documentary styles being the focus.  this one is a little further off - spring 2013 - but i want to put a casting call out now - i need lots of beautiful babies to photograph!  i am looking for children newborn to 8 years old who are comfortable in front of a camera.  and though i have lots of beautiful little ladies in my life, i will need a few more - but i need lots of boys!  while it will be easiest for me to shoot in the south and nyc, i am open to all locations right now so please email me at [email protected] with the name and age of your little one and a head shot.

lastly, i have some big news to share about Instant Love - my polaroid book with Susannah Conway and Amanda Gilligan to be published in spring 2012 - but you'll have to wait about a week or so on that ;) - it's worth the wait, i promise!

thank you for the love and support regarding my post the other day.  i recieved some beautiful emails from friends and strangers alike that touched my heart.  thank you.

i would love to share some new work with you... do you read RUE?  you should.  it is propbably the most beautiful of all of the online zines on the market {equal parts in thanks to bri's gorgeous lay outs and the content she has to work with}. i was lucky enough to work with marissa {LOVE her} and shoot the food section this month on pages 62 and 63 - and i was able to taste test everything - and that cocktail? it's off the hook.

and here is a peek at the wedding i shot in manhattan - a gorgeous day, a beautiful family - i have been so, so lucky with the brides i've worked with - they are all among the most incredible women i've had the pleasure to meet.

more soon...

   

i spent last weekend in manhattan and brooklyn working.  it was good, but it was hard.  having felt like we ran away in the middle of the night, coming back so soon was almost surreal and it's not something i have completely digested.  walking through central park last week i found myself struggling to keep the sobs racking my chest at bay... the question "what the hell am i doing leaving?" drumming in my ears.

i have been absent in this space quite a bit and this post by susannah today really resonated with me.  for a long time i had decided that this was my happy place - it was a place i could write and interact that was a positive and uplifting space; that if i was not in the right head space - it was better not to write at all.  it's not that i wanted to paint a false picture of perfection - that my life was not stressful or we that we don't have struggles of our own.  it was that i looked at writing here as an affirmation exercise; "i WILL be a better mother" - "i WILL work harder and live better."  and in some ways it has worked well for me - but i have also realized through these last very stressful months that i have been unable to write. unable to really share what all of this has meant on so many levels - my relationship with my mother, my daily interactions with my daughters, the rarity of seeing my husband, the unknown that lies before us and the admission that while i am always up for an adventure i am fucking exhausted and so emotionally drained that i am not sure how i am still standing right now.  the thought of at what point i will break - will it be ugly - will i say or do something i regret when that tide over flows - the one in which the sandbags may not be able to hold much longer.

when we get to asheville next month we have so much to do - we are painting everything, we are refurbishing the kitchen, striping rooms and rooms of wallpaper - i should be looking forward to this - but i just want it done.  one thing about myself that i am always trying to work on - something i try to focus on in this space is "enjoying the journey".  but when that journey is forced upon you - it's okay to feel a little resentful, isn't it?  at the same time i am trying really hard to harness the positive in my life and work, to attract the good things and banish the negative thoughts - it's a lot to juggle.  my friend joey hoffman - an incredible writer and mother once shared something with me... "there's a crack in everything, that's how the light gets in."  i will let you know when i crack.  

the ship seems to be righting itself.  mama came out of surgery beautifully last monday and she returned home on saturday afternoon.  she is sore, exhausted - but in good spirits and looking forward to out running her grandchildren soon enough. i had been splitting my time between the hospital to be with her, and at the house with the girls as den is still working nights.  a welcome reprieve has been the unexpected company of my brother who was able to take emergency leave to be with us this week.  his company was something i did not realize i needed so dearly.

and as for our future... it looks like asheville will hold our dreams for next two years at least.  i did find a beautiful house there the night i received the phone call from my parents - last week, we found out it was ours.  trying to come up with an idea of how to share time with my beloved brooklyn...

thank you for all of the love - i can't tell you what your support and love means...

also, i am honored to be the guest at this joy ride this month and you can peek at my girls in the new issue of papier mache...

more soon.

thank you so much for all of the birthday wishes last week for adie fey - you made her feel pretty amazing.  thank you.  some big news to share... last week i launched my new food portfolio, FOOD by jen - this week i am relaunching jeniferaltman.com to comprise of my kids+travel+fine art photography.  i hope you enjoy taking a peek and one of my favorite additions is sisters... enjoy!