film Archive - Em the Gem

Archive for the ‘film’ Category

a weekend in tahoe : the film challenge
May 14

I love our friends.

Aaron and I are so thankful to have so many wonderful people in our lives, and it’s pretty fun to know so many other young couples to share this time of our life with.

A few weekends ago we took a trip with a few of these guys to Lake Tahoe to get away for quality time with each another and with nature.

My personal challenge for the weekend was to get some practice with a few of my old + new film cameras. Thankfully, this didn’t feel like work at all. It was fun to capture life as it was happened with one or two clicks rather than looking at my screen, readjusting, deleting, refocusing…

That’s one reason I’m so in love with film. It forces me to slow down and compose carefully. To be intentional about what I capture. And then after that, forget about it. It allows me to be more present with my friends, my subjects.

One day of our trip we all went out to explore and I spent a few minutes with each of my friends to photograph them, just as they are right now. They were all so patient with me as I manually focused every.single.frame.

At the end of the day, I really cherish these images.

Each one is a visual reminder to me of how much I have to be grateful for.

Mia + Chrissy are both alums of my fun : 101 photography class so I let them take the camera for a few frames. They did a good job… although I’m thinking it’s about time for a haircut…

Besides exploring for our photo shoot, we mainly hung out at the cabin, cooked + ate food, and played games. Pretty much the perfect weekend.

This was the view from our balcony…

Paul + Mari were the only ones who really worked out. Kudos!!

xoxo,

p.s. for my photo friends, these images were taken with these cameras / film stocks

mamiya 645 // kodak portra 400
fuji GA 645 // fuji pro 400H
pentax k1000 // kodak portra 160
canon eos-1 // kodak tri-x 400

Posted in film, friends, personal, portrait, travel | 3 Comments »

brian
May 11

There was that time we tried to sneak into the movie studio family picnic by giving them my real name and just acting confident “Oh, no Emily Hathaway on the list? How strange…”

I think what we had really wanted was to ride in the hot air balloon they had on the grounds. We did manage to find a way to snap a polaroid as Brian ran in front of it. We told people they had given us a ride.

Then there was the time we bought electric scooters at AAAH’s in Westwood and we were so excited riding them down the hill to In-N-Out from the dorms only to find that the battery power did not even get us 1/4 of the way back up … It was a long and heavy drag back up that hill…

There were countless 2am Wendy’s runs with the other dorm staff. There was a road trip to the Grand Canyon. And there was one very fateful drama/history seminar in which our final assignment was to create a story based on a character in a famous piece of classic art and then PLAY THEM in that drama that we would perform for an unwitting audience. Well, that was interesting. Don’t even get me started.

UCLA was a wonderful place to me. Mainly because of people like Brian.

Friends who were up for an adventure no matter what watch of the night.

My friend Brian continues to inspire me. I have loved seeing the dreams he has chased after UCLA, and it makes me incredibly proud to see him achieving them.

Brian is a writer and a freaking funny one at that.

He and some of our other talented friends have created one of the most popular web series to hit hulu and now he is set to embark on a project that made me jump up and down for JOY when I heard he got the job. Here is just a little hint.

I KNOW.

The future is pretty bright my friend.

When Brian was up in the bay last month taking a short respite from the busy life of a Hollywood comedy writer, I made him go out on an adventure to test out some new film with me. He was very patient while I tried to figure out how to use my new Mamiya. Very patient…

I shot most of these on my canon eos-1 with kodak portra 160 and a few using the Mamiya 645.

xoxo,
Em

Posted in film, friends, portrait | 3 Comments »

matchstick coffee roasters : vancouver
May 2

It’s the kind of place you’d consider moving to Vancouver for.

It just feels like home. Albeit a slightly better dressed version of home.

The space is bright and well kept. A long wood table on one end full of chairs, every corner of the shop spotted with customers on laptops and small families with scones and curious and friendly gentlemen asking what kind of camera is that you are using?

The kind of place you don’t feel lame for getting a macchiato + a scone after you’ve already sat and drank your americano as slow as you can. It’s the type of space made for lingering.

I loved visiting Matchstick while I was in town to see my sweet friend Jamie Delaine. For 5 days all we really did was drink coffee and talk. Matchstick was the perfect backdrop to our conversations about life, photography, community + faith.

If you’ve followed my blog for a while you had heard me go on and on about my love for a well-crafted espresso. But it wasn’t just that the space was lovely - every little thing about this place tells me that the people who own it and work it are doing it for no other reason than this is what they were meant to do. It shows.

If you are in Vancouver, you ought to stop by. Say Hi for me.

More photos of Vancouver yet to come.

All of these photos were taken with my Canon eos-1. Kodak Tri-x 400. Processed by Richard Photo Lab.

xoxo,
Em

Posted in film, personal, photography, travel | 3 Comments »

the scenic route
March 31

We live about 25 miles outside the city. Without traffic, it’s a really quick trip.

I grew up in Southern California, about 5 minutes from Redondo Beach, so San Francisco still holds a special draw for me. It’s a world away from that laid-back beach town.

I feel inspired every time I walk the city streets, it’s like a foreign country to me.

Sometimes I wish we lived in the city. Especially on the weeks where I’m up there 2 or 3 times… photographing engagement sessions, meeting with clients, having dinner with friends…

Other times, I enjoy having an excuse to take the scenic route.

As nice as it would be to be a local, being a tourist gives me a different set of eyes. And I like what I see.

xoxo,

Posted in film, personal, photography | 2 Comments »

a traveling heart : joshua tree
February 16

I’m not gonna fake the funk. I was nervous.

A trip with 11 other women who are not only beautiful but amazing photographers as well. And they all know each other already?!

This was my first trip with A Traveling Heart and I’m not gonna lie, it’s intimidating to jump into a group like this.

Instead of being any of those things, these women were warm, and loving, and inviting. And hilarious. And ridiculous. And wonderful.

Really. This trip was a breath of fresh air in my soul. I could go on and on, but I feel like these images, from 2 rolls of 35mm I shot while we were in Joshua Tree, really describe how it felt to be there and laugh and play with these girls.

I have a thankful heart.