Buenos Aires is a city for the night owls. Everyone seems to be operating on the late night schedule, which is very pleasant when you're on vacation and have no agenda. Early in the morning, at 1am, when all the exhaust from the traffic of the work day has settled and the weather cools to present a balmy summer evening, we'd wander through the streets of our neighborhood in San Telmo. Cafes are bustling, people dance tango in parks and plazas, teenagers hang out on the street drinking mate and blasting music from their car stereos. Even though there's so much activity, we still feel like we're on our own little secret adventure - maybe it's because we know that back at home at 1am everyone is probably sleeping, or maybe it's because it's so easy to disappear into the shadows during the night, or maybe it's because everything we see is new and exciting for us. Whatever the reason, with the night there's a sense of drama. In looking through our collection of photos, I found a lot of pictures that were taken at night where the dark is overwhelming. Even many of the photos we took during the day were dramatic either because of the contrasty light or the imposing architecture or use of intense color. Overall, the city is very colorful, boasting vibrant street murals and people who wear bold bright colors. So, here is our collection of Buenos Aires, the dramatic city, with a few fun and silly vacation photos thrown in.
Argentina, Part I
Lounging on our rooftop terrace, soaking in the sun with cervezas in hand, wondering "which restaurant to try next?" followed by "which ice cream place to hit afterwards?", these were the tough decisions we faced. This was our first vacation in four and half years, and it marked some major milestones: Adm turned 30 and we completed our second season of photographing weddings full-time. What better way to celebrate than head 6000+ miles down south to Buenos Aires where there was summer? With Oakland and the Bay a world away, we finally had some time to rest and relax, and boy did we do just that. We didn't travel with an agenda of things to do and places to see. We went to try to fall into step with another lifestyle and to explore a new place at our leisure. We did our best to disconnect from our world of email, Facebook, and work. We lost track of the days of the week and only discovered that it was Sunday when tango music from the infamous San Telmo Sunday street fair filtered through our windows. Although we wandered around Buenos Aires with our cameras at our side, our vacation wasn't about the pictures. We photographed things when we wanted to and took pictures for our vacation scrapbook rather than our travel portfolio.
Since returning home, sitting at our desk, working side by side with our puppy at our feet, Adm and I have jumped right back into work. That's not a bad thing though because we LOVE what we do. However, in looking through all of these photos, I can't help but yearn for the summer heat (especially since it's been so rainy here) and the chance to escape reality for a little bit.
Introducing: Kiki!
Above photo by Adm. For the past year, I've been pestering Adm to get a dog. It's not that he didn't want to get a dog - after all, he grew up always having lots of dogs, he just wasn't sure that our lifestyle was right for a pup (we are gone all day long when we photograph weddings and travel quite a bit). I, however, persisted as I've never had a dog of my own. We were out shopping one day (a few years back in 2008) when we came across a little Shiba Inu, and I was immediately smitten! I knew that no matter how much I pestered him, Adm wasn't just going to give in so I did my research. I started reading Cesar Milan books, listened to "The Art of Raising a Puppy" by the Monks of New Skete over and over, and figured out little ways to convince Adm that it would be easy for us to integrate a little pup into our lifestyle in a way that he/she could have a wonderful life.
Finding the right dog was more of a challenge. Initially, we wanted a Shiba Inu puppy, BUT, we also vowed to stay away from puppy mills (i.e. pet stores), and ideally wanted to go the rescue route. Finding a rescue Shiba Inu puppy was practically impossible. We met with a few breeders (which is a completely legitimate way to get a dog), but it just didn't feel right for us. After emailing back and forth with Red, who runs the NorCal Shiba Inu Rescue Shelter, for almost 10 months, we finally came across a young Shiba Inu, Makimi, who needed a good home. Makimi was a 2.5 year old stray who was rescued off of the streets of Taiwan by TUAPA, a wonderful organization that runs a no kill dog rescue sanctuary in Taichung. They've found that they have better luck finding forever homes for their rescues by sending them to breeder shelters in the U.S. than in their country, hence why Makimi had been shipped to the NorCal shelter in San Jose. We actually almost didn't get her because she had been promised to another family, but luckily for us, that adoption fell through and we were next on the list! After that, everything happened in a blur. Literally, one day we didn't have a dog, and the next day, she took over our lives.
I'm so excited to introduce the newest and most helpful member of our creative team: Kiki! Since she came on board about two months ago, she has been instrumental in helping us get loads of work done. OK, I kid I kid... she is really not that helpful, unless you consider dropping a toy in your lap every few minutes very productive. She's our first dog, and we absolutely love her! We completely lucked out with her - she is such a wonderful dog and has a personality that fits perfectly with ours. Now that she's here, it's hard to imagine life without her.
Here is Kiki (on the left) in the government pound just before getting picked up by TUAPA: (as a side note, the dog on the right, Maja, is now living the good life with Red, the man who runs the NorCal shelter. She was so cute, he decided to keep her!)
Kiki and Thanksgiving dinner:
Adm
One day after Valentine's Day, here's a photo of my honey, happy to be posing in the good light in Half Moon Bay. Happy belated Valentine's Day!
What Have We Been Doing?
I didn't realize until my last post that it had been more than a month since my last blogging efforts. It's true, wedding season has slowed down so there aren't many shoots to blog, but really, a whole month without blogging????? That's no bueno. So, what have we been doing this past month? We started the year off with a trip to Portland and Astoria - Portland for fun, Astoria to visit Adm's sister and nieces where there is lots of fun.
Adm took this photo of me in Deschutes Brewery. My favorite beer of theirs: "Streaking Through the Quad."
Here is Adm in the Ace Hotel:
Adm's niece Abby, with her dinner leftovers on her head:
A scene at Astoria's Coffee Girl:
Nieces Abby and Hava:
Saffy, the cat, knows how to find the good light:
We received FRESH crabs from a friendly neighbor! This is Adm with Hava:
Someone was enjoying the filling for our raspberry mascarpone tart.....
Sunday morning nature walk (photo by Adm):
The photo of Abby and Hava looking like gnomes is by Adm: