the one shoot that i’ll never forget… ever.01.24.2012
did any of you hear about the story of the wedding ring that turned up 16 years after it was lost, growing around a carrot in the garden? funnily enough, i had read about it the same weekend that i photographed luke + jillian. (if you haven’t heard it, google it : now.) anyways, towards the end of our shoot i asked if they wanted to throw some leaves around (see the last set of photos)… after doing a few shots tossing leaves up in the air, we headed to our next location only to suddenly heart-stoppingly realize that jillian was missing her engagement ring. in the cold weather, it had flown off of her finger during our leaf escapade. i will say that it’s my first engagement shoot that lost the ring during said shoot… + very hopefully my last. ever. night was quickly falling, + we went back to the leaf spot frantically searching… but imagine a 20×20 foot area full of dead leaves + wood chips + mulch + one engagement ring that could have flown in any direction at any time. it was daunting to think about the chances of it turning up by nightfall, + our hopeful mood was slipping with each passing + darkening minute. here’s the crazy part… jillian’s brother + sister-in-law came to look (in the total dark) while luke + jillian went to the police station to file a report. amazingly, (miraculously, + incredibly) they found it! in the leaves, on the ground, in the dark. i’m quite sure there’s never been a happier couple than when they found their ring was discovered. here’s a quick side note : these two were both dating other people when they realized they were meant for each other. (call me strange, but i love stories like that). they went through years + years + ex’s + long distances before they wound up in the same town at the same time. it seems to me like life has thrown a lot of curveballs their way, but they are so meant to be that nothing it seems short of the impossible can come along to disturb that “meant to be-ness”. i mean, who finds their engagement ring in the dirt, in the dark in central park? what are the chances of that? chances are they are seriously meant to be…
this last week + alt summit01.21.2012
i’ve had a really amazing week. january is generally my slowest month work wise, + i try + take advantage by doing something fun + creatively inspirational to jump-start my year… last year i took an amazing month long trip through india + sri lanka with a dear friend. you can view those images here : http://blog.brookelynphotography.com/?p=1298. this year it wasn’t so easy to get away somewhere quite so exotic with an 8month old… so i did something of a very different nature… but no less fun or inspiring. i took myself to the snowy mountains on utah for a 3 day conference with about 500 other amazing + creative people… many of whom i’ve admired from afar for a long time. you can read all about it here : http://www.altitudesummit.com/ if you’re interested in knowing more… but long story short a few highlights included meeting the lovely people behind kinfolk magazine + a bunch of the rue magazine girls… hearing ben silbermann, the founder of pinterest, tell his humble story of quitting his secure day job to follow a dream that he believed in. (+ would you believe that he came to alt 2 short years ago with only 100 people on that site?! + of course attending some very fun parties, meeting some very good new friends, + having way too much fun in front of the camera for a change with smilebooth! (case in point shown below.) i’m totally recharged, rejuvinated, + reinvigorated for the next season. i’ve got a whole lot more clear direction on where to take my business + brand this coming year + where to take myself personally. i can’t highlight the importance enough of taking yourself out of your day to day environment every once + a while + how much good it can do a freelancer to get out there + meet other freelancers + creatives. (+ on a real personal note, it did me a lot of good to do something not photography related… just to breathe some different air for one snowy minute.) i’m back to nyc tonight on the redeye… back to more snow i hear, my gorgeous baby girl, + a whole new perspective full of possibilities + adventures. xo, brooke 
newport, rhode island…01.15.2012
one of my favorite things ever to do is to hit the road + head to the coast for a few nights… i did this all the time when i lived in seattle, + have been enjoying exploring the left coast since moving to NYC. another favorite thing to do is to leave town (wherever town may be) + head to nature on new year’s eves… it’s a pretty over-rated holiday to me, + i much prefer a long drive, + quiet night away with loved ones to ring in a new year. so new year’s 2012 was brought in doing just these two favorite things… New England is carving out a special place in my heart + I just love exploring it. Newport, RI is the perfect getaway town for a coastal breather from NYC… it’s steeped in all kinds of picturesque seaside goodness… + my portuguese waterdog, Rio loves it because it’s one of the most dog friendly places around… plus you know it’s gotta have some class if it was a favorite getaway haunt of JFK + lady J… get there if you can! (+ stay at Bannister’s Warf)
NYC iphoneography01.09.2012
good morning! here’s aven + i over the weekend… shockingly i’m actually terrible about taking out the camera on a regular basis to take pictures of her… but i’ve had in mind for a while that it’d be fun to set up my wedding photobooth in my living room + do some snaps of her. here’s my fave… it’s so americana. speaking of shooting for myself, i’m a huge huge huge fan of instagram. it’s hands down my favorite app + way of following those i love through their daily photos! i love how it’s made all sorts of people fall in love with photography all over again… + trains the eye to shoot square. lately i’ve been really taken with shooting a whole lot of NYC with my phone. i feel like one day if i move, i’m going to regret not having taken more street photography while i lived here… so i’m curating a little obsession with instagram-ing my daily brooklyn life. i thought i’d share some of my recent snaps here… + yes, i drink a lot of coffee + love taking photos of it. so cliché i know… anyways, if you’re not on instagram you can follow my feed here… or by clicking the button below. happy monday! xo, brooke
tying the knot in aruba I destination wedding photographer01.03.2012
it’s the coldest day yet here in NYC… not sure what the actual temperature is, but it feels like 10-15 degrees. january 3rd… holidays are over. decorations coming down + we now face 3-4 months of freezing darkness. makes one want warmth… so i think that it’s the perfect day to post andres + diana’s destination wedding in aruba. when i think of them i think of warmth. not just their sun drenched wedding day… or the near 90+ degree weather we were sweating under… but their spirit was incredibly warm. generous + hospitable. perhaps too that Andres is from Columbia… so half of their guests were from that warm blooded latin culture. they threw an amazing party for their friends + family + I particularly loved that they surprised everyone with a traditional columbian band towards the end of their reception. a carnival style celebration erupted complete with masks + hats for all their guests. here they are :
