I would have:
1. Sung backup for James Taylor (I would have found a way to MAKE THIS HAPPEN. Still on my wish list...)
2. Worked a corporate job in NYC and lived in a loft apartment
3. Photographed for Nat'l Geographic
4. Moved to Nashville and become a country music star
5. Worked as a GO at Club Meds around the world
6. Wow... Club Med sounds mighty nice right now...
7. Played Elphaba in Wicked in London (dreamin' big here, folks)
8. Been a pro surfer. No, I don't know how to surf, but I would have learned. And I'd be a pro.
9. Become a personal trainer (still might)
10. Moved to South America and done... something... with my Spanish degree.
All that said, and all dreaming taken into consideration, I wouldn't change my life much now. Sure, there are things I wish were different, but I cannot imagine life without a kind and supportive husband and three beautiful children. They all hold such a piece of my heart and I would be completely incomplete without them.
So maybe I won't ever be a pro surfer, but it doesn't mean I can't take surfing lessons. I might never live in a penthouse apartment in NYC working a corporate job, but I can go visit (and then be grateful to leave the big city). I might never be a country music star, but it doesn't mean I have to stop singing. No, I'll never stop singing.
Meet Stacey- one of the coolest girls I know. She was a dear friend from my days in Jerusalem and we have many happy and very funny memories together from that time. Stace and I kept in touch for a while after living in the Near East, but then somehow lost each other. I was thrilled, a couple of years ago, to get a wedding announcement which had been sent to my parents' house. And then, FACEBOOK. And I found my long lost friend. And wouldn't you know, we were living only 40 miles apart! What a grand surprise.
While Irivine is a little bit of a drive, we try to get together often, especially as our husbands get along equally as well (and have this thing for all-you-can-eat-sushi).
Stacey's due date was the 22nd of March, and we decided some maternity photos were in order. So on Friday night, we had a date at Corona Del Mar to shoot some photos. We decided it was a good time to do it because Chris is often gone on weekends for work and weekdays are harder for me. I'm so glad we decided to get together, because that sweet baby was born this morning, a mere 36 hours (to the minute!) after our maternity session. A few weeks early, and with Daddy in Florida, he made his grand arrival. I hope to get my camera on the sweet little peanut sometime this week.... be on the lookout for a sweet newborn post soon!
Awww.....these are great! I'm still dreaming of the day when I can do a shoot at a beach!! : )
(02.28.10 @ 10:45 PM)They are such an adorable couple! I had a session like that as well, less than 24 hours later little baby girl made her way in to the world a few weeks early :)
(02.28.10 @ 10:52 PM)That's so fun that you guys are still in contact! Jerusalem is nothing but fond memories. Congrats on the baby!
(03.01.10 @ 12:13 AM)These are so great and yes just barely in time!!! Can't wait to see the newborn shots!
(03.01.10 @ 08:43 AM)I'm realizing that, the more I dig inside myself and discover who I am artistically and photographically, the more I'm seeing the beauty in my own work... NOT wanting to be someone I'm not, NOT wanting to imitate someone else's work, NOT wanting to just "shoot it like it is and fix it in Photoshop". I've worked tirelessly on nailing my exposure IN CAMERA with every shot. I've made it my goal to have my images come out of my camera relatively, well, perfect. People ask if I do lots of work in photoshop. My new answer is NO. I used to. And clearly, when I convert something to black & white, or tone an image to look more vintage, I do use photoshop, but I'm really loving my photographs right now, just as they are SOOC (or, "straight out of camera"). The following (besides the black & white, and the shot of Elias) are all straight out of my camera and sized for web. And that makes me very, very happy.
And, lest you think I've forgotten my firstborn (I assure you, I haven't!)- here's one of him taken last week. I realize I've posted quite a few images of my girls on here the past few weeks. It's funny- my time with Elias is so limited now that he's in school full-time, and I'm feeling bad that he hasn't had a blog-debut for a while.
However, there's a big post coming with a whole lot of this boy as his 6th birthday is quickly approaching and we're going out for a big 6-year photo shoot (even got him a sweet new hat for the event!). So, keep checking in....
I totally agree with you about processing! If u look at my work it's very natural and very little editing. My client galleries are very different from some of the "artsy" images I sometimes post. I want my images to be timeless and not trendy bc I want clients to love their images 10-15 years from now and not just this year! So props to you and your Sooc!
(02.26.10 @ 03:19 PM)Perfection, my friend, perfection. I totally agree about the vision thing. I've had one in my head for my boys for a couple of years, and just can't find the time to do it! So glad you followed through with your vision! Love the SOOC - great job!
(02.26.10 @ 03:42 PM)Your children are insanely gorgeous!! I love these shots. The colors are amazing!!!
(02.26.10 @ 03:47 PM)Stunning. Both your children and the images! I love the composition of the first image, well all of them, but especially that one. You are an amazing photographer.
(02.26.10 @ 03:54 PM)How ironic:) I just got back from a days long seminar about all the millions of things you can do with photoshop and I kept thinking to myself "if I could just get it right in camera in the first place, I would need to know very little of all this". I love what you have done here and would go to a seminar to learn how you did it! Do you do seminars? :)
(02.26.10 @ 07:01 PM)I am SO inspired by you!! These are divine....so pure and sweet.
(02.26.10 @ 08:49 PM)rachel, these are SO BEAUTIFUL. i'm with you on striving to just get it right. the color is so rich. (nikon? haha). perfection.
(02.27.10 @ 08:50 AM)forgot to add that i can pretty much relate to every single word in your post. you're awesome.
(02.27.10 @ 08:51 AM)You know how much I love these. I see photographs wherever I go as well. It is funny...I'm always imaging photographs, scoping out locations and staring at catchlights. It's a sickness. :) But one that I don't want to recover from.
(02.27.10 @ 11:44 AM)Those are some of the most amazing shots I've seen, absolutley beautiful. Your awesome.
(02.27.10 @ 06:13 PM)thanks you guys, for the kind words. they are most appreciated.
(02.27.10 @ 06:44 PM)Rachel, these are stunning. Way to go on you exposure, white balance... its perfection!
(02.28.10 @ 01:32 AM)Rachel -
truly these are stunning - what a perfect combination of soft sweetness and crispy clarity all wrapped up in perfect exposure! I can't wait to see your field pictures :-)
Pure and sweet, both the images and the subjects. And oh my - those eyelashes on both of them! I'm such a sucker for eyelashes! Great job Rachel!
(03.01.10 @ 11:54 AM)
Check out this LOOK- RAWR!!
I LOVE this series- so candid and real. I adore his face in these images.
Oh yeah, WAY hot! Model material!! Love the series as well :)
(02.25.10 @ 11:10 PM)Steamy. :P I l LOVE the last serious and the b&w on the first is lovely. So fun!
(02.25.10 @ 11:36 PM)She has a perfect jaw line! So strong and beautiful! Georgeous!
(02.26.10 @ 01:31 AM)
That last one with the huge smile makes me want to reach through the screen and grab her! So cute. I'm coming over! ;)
(02.24.10 @ 09:23 PM)LOVE this, rachel!! for some reason, this word was hard for me, but i'm attempting it tomorrow...
(02.25.10 @ 10:19 PM)Absolutely Precious!!! Those lips are perfect. I could kiss them all day. I adore new little babes. Beautiful work!
(03.02.10 @ 08:56 PM)
:) Have I told you how much I love your lists? I love your lists. And you haven't done any singing for me yet girlie?! How about some loud James Taylor in the car this weekend??? ;)
(03.02.10 @ 08:26 AM)