My Studio Got a Boutique Makeover :: 360 Panorama

When I was a little girl I would rearrange my bedroom at least once a month.

Nothing's changed. 

I love spicing up the scenery around me — makes everything more interesting and fresh. So as my little photography studio grows from a "photographing friends of friends" kinda business to a "welcoming in truck-loads of strangers" kinda business, I've been making an effort to step up the glam a notch.

I'd been starting to feel like the studio was really a wannabe studio — always in transition; stuff hovering around waiting for "a place"; not yet official.

But the time has come for it to blossom into the boutique it is destined to be. 

Moving all the heavy furniture across the cement floor sounded like a cat being skinned but it was worth it. I'm feeling very inspired, comfortable in the spaciousness, and organized. Good feeling, don't you agree? It's still a work in progress but I'm getting warmer!

PS: This panorama makes the room look ENORMOUS! It totally isn't this big in real life - promise. It's really cozy.

Beauty & Love :: Congratulations Amanda + Larry!

Amanda & I sat together in high school Philosophy. All that deep thinking somehow bound us together for life. 

They say terrifying and exciting experiences also bond people together, so we sealed the deal when we jumped off rocky cliffs into the Mediterranean sea together. Then she helped me drag four wheely garbage bins across St. Andrews, Scotland (packed full with all my belongings) from the storage unit to my new house. We died our hair 'Cherry Red' in my bathtub and she was the first person to know that Miggy and I were getting married. 

So you can imagine my utter excitement when I found out last weekend that Amanda and her beau, Larry, got engaged!! To celebrate her new adventures I'm sharing her portrait with the world. Amanda is so important to me and I've always known she was beautiful, but like usual, my camera has made it possible for me to see EVEN MORE beauty in this special woman whom I can call, without question, friend.

Congratulations Amanda & Larry!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I love you.

Di Vinci, Obama, Schwarzenegger....Thurston-Rattue — One Name Wonders!

Di Vinci, Obama, Schwarzenegger....Thurston-Rattue.

No, it just doesn't sound right to me. haha 

This afternoon I was reading an article on PetaPixel about my "101 Years of Beauty" project and the author referred to the photographer (me) as "Thurston-Rattue". I did a little double take — it sounded so formal and made me feel all famous – like a great painter who everyone knows by one name lol But I'm the friendly neighbor girl who invites you over for tea and gets really excited to swap books with you. I run around barefoot (sometimes in public) and I walk around the supermarket in my pajamas and Birkenstocks (or on a fancy day I'm wearing yoga pants & zebra patterned pumps). You can call me Chamonix. Most people end up calling me "Cham."  Nope, I don't think I will ever get used to being referred to by my last name, like a fancy artist or politician. It just sounds so funny. 

But if you must call me by my last name only then please at least make sure you're doing it in a sweet article that's being published and promoting my photography because then I'll feel really cool and I'll get REALLY EXCITED! 

Thank you to PetaPixel for sharing the "101 Years of Beauty" Project with the world today and for making me feel like a one-name wonder!

 

Oh, and they tweeted it out too! So exciting to have my work shared with the masses ;) Woohoo!

Have a gorgeous day my friends :D I dare you to meet someone new today and introduce yourself with JUST your last name haha Let me know how it goes ;P

How I Got Involved with Women for Women International + My New Sponsor Sister!

I was 19.

It was summer.

I was sitting on the floor with my back to the couch - my laptop on my lap.... Google was waiting for me to type. (cursor blinking...cursor blinking....cursor blinking....)

I had decided it was time for me to take action — to make my contribution towards world peace. 

I wanted to help a charity. 

I wanted to commit myself to a cause.

But which one? There were thousands!

Whatever it was....I had to be really passionate about it or I would lose motivation. 

Just giving money wouldn't be enough — I wanted to get my hands dirty and feel compelled to shout from the rooftops.

I thought and thought and though... tick tock tick tock tick tock.... 

I could only be passionate about something that I could intimately relate to.

I can only relate to something that I am. What am I? 

Lots of things but the first word that came to mind was....

Woman.

I am a woman. I wanted to help other women. 

I loved the idea of sisterhood, feminine strength & beauty, and women helping other women. I wrote essay after essay about all things related to femininity during university — now it all seemed so obvious.

So that's what I Googled.... "WOMEN helping WOMEN"

No surprise when the #1 search result was....

Women for Women International

HELPING WOMEN SURVIVORS OF WAR REBUILD THEIR LIVES.

Five years later I've sponsored multiple women in the DRC, Bosnia, Kosovo & Nigeria. I started a Women for Women club at university and as a result multiple women were inspired to start sponsoring too! Last year, I even figured out a way I use my photography to help (more on that exciting adventure coming soon!) 

So today, as I sit at the dining room table — beautiful Washington rain pouring down onto the deck outside, I'm so excited to start learning about my brand new sponsor sister! The introduction email arrived today! Her name is Cordelia and she lives in Nigeria. This afternoon I think I'll make a cup of tea and write her a letter :) 

(Ouuu... thunder just rumbled across the valley :))