One Long Layover...

Hey there!

Many of you have expressed confusion or curiosity as to where I currently am, what I'm up to, and what my status is as a British Columbia-based photographer. So I figured I'd take a few minutes to update you all as to what I've been up to for the last four months.

Following my Trans-Siberian Railway adventure, I returned home toVernon for about a week to visit, sleep in my own bed, unpack, do laundry, eat familiar food, and prepare to jump on a plane and visit Will in Atlanta for a couple weeks. I left Vernon before I could barely get over jet lag and traveled to Portland for Mariko & Isaac's wedding with a few Menno friends.


My plan was to photograph their wedding, fly to Atlanta, and then return to Portland for a few
days via a quick stop in Washington, DC where I would visit friends Katie & Kristin as well as shoot a wedding for Lindsey, a girl I'd met on the train in Russia.

Will and I hadn't discussed in too much detail how we were going to go about my immigration process, as we'd only gotten engaged a month before my trip, but while I was in Atlanta it became clear that the best course of action for us would be to do as much paperwork as we could before the wedding in June 2009. And so without making plans to be here for the fall and a good part of the winter, I decided to return to Atlanta after my trip to DC.

DC was great! I hadn't seen Katie & Kristin (sisters originally from Mississippi) since my first trip to MS in 2000 so it was wonderful to catch up. I stayed with them in Arlington, VA and almost every day, took the metro into the Capital. It seemed so surreal hearing the various stops on the Blue Line: "Next stop Pentagon", "Next stop Arlington Cemetary", "Next Stop Smithsonian". At one point on the Yellow Line (if I remember correctly) you cross over the Potomac and can see the Washington Monument, Capitol Building, and other national icons.

The girls have an incredible knowledge of DC. Both work there, and Kristin used to work for the White House at one point. The two of them have photos with the President and First Lady, snapshots from the White House Christmas party etc. etc....so cool! We took in most of the main Mall (Lincoln Memorial, Vietnam and Korean War Memorials, the Washington Monument) and of course walked around the outside of the White House. Kristin had all sorts of fun facts and tidbits of historic information.

While I was in Washington, I also had the opportunity to shoot a Baha'i wedding for Lindsey and Kenny, (Alison and I met Lindsey while we were on the train traveling across Siberia this past summer) visit Richard Avedon's 'Portraits of Power' show at the Corcoran Gallery, The National Geographic Museum (not as intriguing as that sounds--I was disappointed, though maybe I missed something...) AND visit the Library of Congress with Lindsay Jonker, one of my closest friends from California who happened to be up from Virginia Beach where she's studying law.  It was a jam-packed week that included some great food, cool sites, and old friends.  DC is definitely a Must-See.

Returning to Atlanta was glorious...  I missed visiting with Mariko & Isaac back in Portland, but knowing that Will and I weren't going to do fall/winter long-distance just made me feel higher than a kite!  Since then, paperwork has been steadily progressing, (I hope to be home in a month's time) I've done a bit of photography for Will's family members and some good friends of ours in Charlotte, and of course I've been working to book weddings for this summer.  One of the highlights of the fall was mom's trip down to Mississippi for Thanksgiving.  She got to meet Will's family for the first time and take in a Bogue Chitto Thanksgiving celebration--hunting and all.  More photos will find their way onto this blog and my website soon so stay tuned!

Speaking of which, I've spent surmountable time revamping my website.  I've actually done all the coding myself which is a huge deal for me as I'm not exactly tech-savvy.  Check it out, enjoy the photos, and feel free to give feedback (leave comments on the site, this blog, Facebook, or send me an email).  Visit the site at: www.jlauren.smugmug.com  and keep watch for more travel photos etc. as I get to work on what I'm post passionate about!

Thanks for dropping by!

Jaime