Music Makers

I love surrounding myself with creative people, I feel like I feed off of them.  Music is probably my biggest source of inspiration, so I feel lucky to have had the opportunity to work with some very talented musicians over the past couple of months.

This is my friend Jeremy and his band The Tongue and Lips. From a recent review by Zach Braun " With a tight rhythm section that veers from Jazzy explorations to Sabbath-style crushing heaviness, reverbedout  guitars, and a vocalist that sounds like Captain Beefheart on meth, The Tongue and Lips are one of the best new bands I've heard in forever. "  Perfect!

Their debut album is being mastered in Los Angeles and will be available very soon.  You can see them every Monday in April at MOTR Pub in Over the Rhine. Another one of my good friends, Shawn and his band Jody Stapleton and the Generals.  They are putting the finishing touches on their debut album.  You can check out a few of their songs here.  I love this review of them from Cincinnati.com "If you wax nostalgic about the musical style of the 1970s, well, then Jody Stapleton and the Generals is where you should start getting your modern day fix. The four piece has mastered that decade of sound, but has also added some upbeat, modern pop beats into the mix to create a well-rounded, enjoyable experience."

After the promo shoot I got to check out their show at The Drinkery in Over the Rhine.And this is the beautiful Abiyah, a beautiful musician and poet.  A wonderful description "Abiyah has an edge that you rarely find in contemporary women singers—White-bred and pre-packaged, ol’ girl isn’t. As a writer, she’s passionate and onstage she sings, rebel-yells, dub-chants or raps about empowerment like she’s this cunning linguist who studies different languages and stirs them up in her own little dutchie. Abiyah skirts convention, and there are obviously some influences from a wicked orgy of pop-culture pacesetters"  Yes!!!!  Big thanks to Christine Rice for the amazing make up on this shoot!

The Creme Event Los Angeles

While I was in California earlier this month I had the pleasure of attending on of the most creative wedding events in the country.  The Creme Event is a wedding show created by the lovely ladies of Bash, Please.  It was held at the Book Bindery in Culver City.  I was surrounded by the best of the best in the wedding industry.  There were many times throughout the night I caught myself having to pick my jaw off of the floor I was so blown away by all of the amazing vendors and super cool ideas they presented.  I didn't take my camera, but I captured as much as I could with my iPhone.  Below is a gallery of some of my favorite images from the night.  Check out lots more images from this event at Green Wedding Shoes and 100 Layer Cake.

The highlight of the night for me was seeing the BHLDN fashion show.  These gowns are so simple and so gorgeous. 

California here I come!

I remember being in third grade when I was first introduced to California.  Everyone got a state to do a project on and the state I was given was good old California, a dream was born in the head of a nine year old.  When I was in high school I got obsessed with California again after reading The Electric Koolaid Acid Test, a novel by Tom Wolfe about Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters.  When I was a little girl it was the beaches and gorgeous weather, as a teenager the obsession came from the lifestyle.  I wanted to grow up to be a hippie who rolled around in a school bus just like the Pranksters did. :)  I finally had my first trip to California a couple of years ago and it was everything I imagined and so much more.  The laid back vibe, the killer weather, the gorgeous landscape. a dream come true!  We had the amazing opportunity to cruise down Highway 1 from San Francisco to Los Angeles, what an adventure.  It was truly one of the most amazing and beautiful experiences of my life.  Today I am hopping on a plane for another 2 week California adventure.  I am taking lots of cameras and lots of film so I will document it well.

Here are a few pictures from my last trip.

Hi there!

“In order to create, you’ve got to have energy; you’ve got to have clarity.  You’ve got to be able to catch ideas.”

David Lynch

To me, one of the most important parts of my creative process is taking the time to be quiet, to stop thinking and worrying and wondering and to just listen.  I believe silence truly is golden.  When you allow yourself time to withdraw from all of the chaos that surrounds your life everyday, you finally get the chance to hear what you have to say to yourself.  You cannot force creativity and if you spend your life chasing other people's dreams you will never be satisfied or feel fulfilled.  Over the past couple of months I have been spending a lot of time alone, just listening to myself.  Sorting through my thoughts, but mostly just being quiet.  I became a photographer and artist to satisfy  an intense urge I have to express all of the feelings and emotions stirring inside of me .  For as long as I can remember I have been an observer of people.  The way they speak, their body language, the way they interact with each other.  I see the world for all of it's beauty and it's darkness and I appreciate them equally.  It's been nice to get back in touch with this part of me without my camera,  just taking it all in, being present in the moment.  I feel refreshed and utterly inspired.  For those of you who think I have disappeared, I promise I haven't, just taking a little time to feed my soul and listen to my muses. I will be sharing lots of new work soon.  Until then, enjoy this amazing weather and have a wonderful day!  xo Nikita

Katie and Chris Cincinnati Art Museum Wedding

Chris and Katie's wedding is my last wedding of the year and let me just say I am going out with a giant pink bang!! This wedding was full of so much style and personality.  I loved everything about it. See Chris and Katie's Keeneland engagement session here.

Katie's dress she purchased at European Bridal fit her personality perfect. So cute and so much fun! I love the pink shoes! All of her girls signed special messages to her on the bottom.

Yes, even her ring is pink!Katie is an amazing designer, she made her invitations and program with artwork she created herself.All of the girl's wore gorgeous magenta dresses accesorized with a Neckalina.  Katie and her BFF Valerie are the duo behind KaVatee, an awesome company that makes these 3 in 1 accessories.  They are so hot!  Check out their website here. Chris looking dapper. :)I love this one! Katie and Valerie, the duo behind KaVatee.

The Cincinnati Art Museum, one of  my new favorite venues!  Thanks so much to Meggie, the museum's wedding coordinator  for  once again for making sure things ran flawlessly. Katie's creativity was everywhere.  Almost all of her decor is DIY.  She created all of the canvases and framed signs as well as the centerpieces.  Check out how cool her card holder is. And just when you think the party is over....Katie comes out with a pink limbo stick, YES!!  Thanks to my awesome assistant Andrew for capturing this one, the limbo winner!

Sometimes I get lost

Sometimes I get a little lost.  I get a little lost from me, the me that I know I am and the me that I want to be.   I am mega hard on myself.  I compare myself to others who I am nothing like.  Sometimes I feel like I am reaching for something that doesn't even matter to me because I think it is what  I am supposed to do.  Sometimes I just need to  retreat, to return to that place in my heart where MY fire burns, where MY passion comes from, to get back to Me.

I am a wild child of the night, I am a dreamer.  I am a head banging hippy who loves a good time.   My life is full of contradictions.  I like to explore as many options as possible before I make a decision.   I think, and I dwell.  I try not to judge, but sometimes it happens and then I feel like shit afterwards.  I live for butterflies in my belly.  I fantasize about people I see in public, I make believe their life is a lot more exciting than it probably is.  I am super sensitive, though at times I pretend like I am a hard ass to disguise it.  I really worry about lonely people.  I would rather be happy than rich.  I like when people feel good about themselves, it makes me feel good.  I believe everyone has a talent, a special something they were meant to do.  I admire people who take risks and fight for their dreams.  I  love to remember the past, but only the good parts, the rest I have learned to forget.  I can sit in silence for hours, I actually enjoy it.  I am inspired by hard work via the body and the mind.

I was a waitress for many, many years.  I met some of the most amazing people I have ever known while doing it.  Through that experience I realized we are all the same from doctors to mechanics, from artists to mothers, we all have the same worries and fears.  We all just want someone to listen and someone to love, to find a place where we can feel safe.  Sometimes life takes turns you are not prepared for, it's scary when it happens.  The only thing you can do is hold on tight  and learn to adapt.  I am still trying to figure this part out.

Always a work in progress.

Courteney and Drew Cincinnati Zoo Engagement

Last year Jen Weber of Your Wedding by Jen and I created Cincinnati's first alternative wedding expo, Love+Bash.  If you read my blog regularly I am sure you know all about it. :)  Because we were so excited to be bringing something so unique to Cincinnati we decided to have a contest to go with it.  I love to shoot alternative/offbeat weddings.  I asked couples to send me their wedding ideas/love story and I would chose one to shoot for free and Jen would offer them full planning.  Tons of other amazing vendors got on board and we ended up with a wedding giveaway worth almost $10,000.  I got some really awesome entries,  it was tough choosing a winner.

Courteney and Drew's story really stood out to me.  It wasn't just the fact that they are planning a carnival themed wedding with rides, a concession stand, and all of the fun games you see at a carnival. This did sound pretty amazing to me, Umm I want to take pictures on a carousel. It was also the love story Courteney sent in with her entry.   It was so sincere and heartfelt.  She admitted she thought Drew was a tool in the beginning, I loved her honesty.  She talked about all of the sweet things he did to win her over and prove her wrong.  He encouraged and supported her before he even got a first kiss.  She talked about how positive he is  and how eventually a friendship blossomed into love.  The story was about 5 pages long, but I enjoyed reading every bit of it.  Needless to say I found my winners.

I have really enjoyed getting to know Courteney and Drew through their planning process.  They are a blast to be around.  I cannot wait to work with some of my favorite vendors on their wedding in May!   Your Wedding by Jen planning/event design,  Marti's Floral Designs on flowers/event design, and the super talented Kristen of Five Dot Design is in charge of all of the paper goods, this will be a wedding to remember for sure!

For Courteney and Drew's engagement session they wanted to do something unique so we headed to the Cincinnati Zoo.  We got VIP access to some of the animals thanks to Drew's good friend Travis,  who happens to be one of my first clients ever!  Small world!!

p.s. For those of you wondering, Love+Bash 2012 is in the works...stay tuned!

Kyleigh Cincinnati Senior Portraits

A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of heading out to Milford to visit some of my favorite clients.  This is my third photo session at this amazing location.  It all started with a Boudoir session for a very special woman and here I am 3  years later taking her daughter, Kyleigh's Senior portraits.  It makes me feel so good to have people that believe in my work enough to keep bringing me back for all of the important occasions in their lives.  Thank you so much Mose family!  I cant wait to see you again!     

Published!

Sheanean and Ryan's destination wedding in Mexico/Reception at the Bell Event Centre was published in Venue Magazine, how exciting!!  I am a little late with this post, but I think you can still get it at Joseph Beth Bookstore, if not the digital version is on Venue Magazine's site.

See Shanean and Ryan's destination wedding here, their sexy day after shoot here, underwater fun here, and their reception at the Bell Event Centre here.

Cover photo by Deogracias Lerma

It's been a good week for me so far, so much love!  Yesterday Candice and Chris' Riverboat wedding was featured on Wedding Row Kentucky's blog! Check it out here.