In the vast silence since my last post, wonderful things have been happening.
First of all, a new website.
And the magic catalysts that justified building that pretty little spot... I will now be photo-ing full time, as well as managing my sweet husband Damien Jurado. What means in the immediate future is that we leave for Spain in just over a week for a mini tour + many photos. Long term I have more availability to devote to clients and some free time to spend on education.
So, update them rss's, click through to the new home, and let me know if you have this beautiful photo project you've been meaning to work on. I'm excited to hear from you soon!
xo,
Sarah [Joann Murphy] Jurado
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Links!
Too much goodness happening to even spell it all out. For now, a few awesome links for you of what I've been up to!
- April Brimer talks about the Lonely H shoot that I was able to assist on!
- Kyle Johnson + his photo of that sweet husband of mine. I was holding the light, haha!
- Our wedding featured on Rock 'n Roll Bride!
- Actual photos by ME via the VAIN blog
Phew! More soon! All good, all the time! Exclamations!
xo
- April Brimer talks about the Lonely H shoot that I was able to assist on!
- Kyle Johnson + his photo of that sweet husband of mine. I was holding the light, haha!
- Our wedding featured on Rock 'n Roll Bride!
- Actual photos by ME via the VAIN blog
Phew! More soon! All good, all the time! Exclamations!
xo
Sunday, May 10, 2009
A lack of hyperbole
I am prone to overstating things. I like to say 'amazing' + 'magical' + 'incredible' + 'astounding' - though, in my defense, I mean them with all my heart. I'm trying to think if I've ever earnestly stated that something is 'lifechanging' - but my trip down to Portland surely was.
I left work on Wednesday in tears. Totally spent, exhausted, sad, overwhelmed, you name it. I came home to this:
A shrine from my sweet husband, who had driven straight home from San Francisco to surprise me. It was absolutely unexpected and wonderful, and it was in high spirits that I drove down with him to Portland the next day. We listened to the new John Vanderslice + the new Richard Swift, both of which are undeniably full of jams. I napped. We visited the ghosts of my PDX life. We marveled at the number of vegan treats at Sweet Pea.
My dear and darling Jenny Jimenez was in town doing a workshop with the esteemed Jesh de Rox. Lo + behold, Jesh was a fan of Damien's, and we made sure they made it to the Doug Fir that night as our guests. Jesh offered to do some portraits of Damien the next day; it was a truly generous offer and an amazing opportunity. Needless to say, we jumped at the chance.
From 9 am until just before 1 pm, I had my mind blown. Jesh shifted my view on taking photos, on making any art, on being in love, on living life. To begin to describe it here would never do it justice. It was a shift in my heart, a fire of inspiration. While we took photos, all of us cried at least once. It was unlike anything I have ever done.
I cannot wait to see Jesh's photos. More so, I can't wait to go take more of my own. Damien's tour present for me was a brand new L series, and I'm more inspired than I've ever been.
More soon...
I left work on Wednesday in tears. Totally spent, exhausted, sad, overwhelmed, you name it. I came home to this:
A shrine from my sweet husband, who had driven straight home from San Francisco to surprise me. It was absolutely unexpected and wonderful, and it was in high spirits that I drove down with him to Portland the next day. We listened to the new John Vanderslice + the new Richard Swift, both of which are undeniably full of jams. I napped. We visited the ghosts of my PDX life. We marveled at the number of vegan treats at Sweet Pea.
My dear and darling Jenny Jimenez was in town doing a workshop with the esteemed Jesh de Rox. Lo + behold, Jesh was a fan of Damien's, and we made sure they made it to the Doug Fir that night as our guests. Jesh offered to do some portraits of Damien the next day; it was a truly generous offer and an amazing opportunity. Needless to say, we jumped at the chance.
From 9 am until just before 1 pm, I had my mind blown. Jesh shifted my view on taking photos, on making any art, on being in love, on living life. To begin to describe it here would never do it justice. It was a shift in my heart, a fire of inspiration. While we took photos, all of us cried at least once. It was unlike anything I have ever done.
I cannot wait to see Jesh's photos. More so, I can't wait to go take more of my own. Damien's tour present for me was a brand new L series, and I'm more inspired than I've ever been.
More soon...
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
You look like you could use a rest
I keep busy with work while Damien is gone.
I scouted for April Brimer and found the above treasure. She didn't end up using it for her shoot yesterday with the Lonely H [more on that soon] - which means we can start plotting to use it ourselves at a later date.
I can't wait to have some free time for photo projects - one east of the mountains, one on the southern coast, one out on an island. All, of course, with the husband as an assistant.
I love assisting, since it gives me the chance to work hands on with some of my favorite photographers. But I won't lie, it was nice to have my own camera in my own hands on Saturday to take photos for U.S.E.. I even had my own assistant - my lovely and talented sister, Caitlin!
The band's concept was a very laid back, candid, photojournalistic approach to a day hanging out with them. It was perfect. We braved the rain for some outdoor shots + then took over their practice space to recreate a live U.S.E. experience. They even put the fog machine and the lights in their van for some late night slow shutter action.
I can't wait for their upcoming album, LOVEWORLD, which will undoubtedly fill me with joy just like this:
Pretty much any moment I'm not at VAIN Beauty World I'm taking photos, or working on taking photos, or helping someone else take photos. Actually, much of my time at VAIN is spent on photos as we begin to create a book from our recent project.
It doesn't leave much time for napping, but it's well worth it. This Friday I'll assist my dude Kyle for what promises to be a gorgeous set up, and then I'm hitting the breaks for a while. My sweetheart will take over all my attention until I leave for Vegas, and the camera is staying behind on that trip. Hopefully, I'll get some rest.
I scouted for April Brimer and found the above treasure. She didn't end up using it for her shoot yesterday with the Lonely H [more on that soon] - which means we can start plotting to use it ourselves at a later date.
I can't wait to have some free time for photo projects - one east of the mountains, one on the southern coast, one out on an island. All, of course, with the husband as an assistant.
I love assisting, since it gives me the chance to work hands on with some of my favorite photographers. But I won't lie, it was nice to have my own camera in my own hands on Saturday to take photos for U.S.E.. I even had my own assistant - my lovely and talented sister, Caitlin!
The band's concept was a very laid back, candid, photojournalistic approach to a day hanging out with them. It was perfect. We braved the rain for some outdoor shots + then took over their practice space to recreate a live U.S.E. experience. They even put the fog machine and the lights in their van for some late night slow shutter action.
I can't wait for their upcoming album, LOVEWORLD, which will undoubtedly fill me with joy just like this:
Pretty much any moment I'm not at VAIN Beauty World I'm taking photos, or working on taking photos, or helping someone else take photos. Actually, much of my time at VAIN is spent on photos as we begin to create a book from our recent project.
It doesn't leave much time for napping, but it's well worth it. This Friday I'll assist my dude Kyle for what promises to be a gorgeous set up, and then I'm hitting the breaks for a while. My sweetheart will take over all my attention until I leave for Vegas, and the camera is staying behind on that trip. Hopefully, I'll get some rest.
Monday, April 20, 2009
Back + Forth
Some things I'm on the fence about lately. Take, for instance, my outfit today. Ruffled grey shirt cinched with a blue belt; Levis + red cowboy boots. Cute, in theory, and certainly a step above my red hoodie uniform. However, the overall effect seems to lend me the air of someone's crazy aunt. Or... it's kind of awesome. Can't decide. Not willing to put it to a vote. So there I am, wavering back and forth, the same way I approach what to eat for dinner or do in my [little bits of] spare time.
My photos yesterday also seemed uncertain as to what tone they wanted to take.
There were party photos as we celebrated my dear Erica's up + coming wedding:
[Hot chicks, pink champagne, sunshine + brunch, I love it]
Then stopping by to capture the sweetly sad decay along Lake Sammamish.
[Not one thing has changed since I used to walk here to buy candy in middle school]
Then, yep, discarding reflection in favor of sunshine street dancing.
[My gorgeous Adrienne]
Luckily my mind's made up about how to spend my evening: picking up my dear Miles for studying + sushi! Just don't ask me what I'm ordering.
My photos yesterday also seemed uncertain as to what tone they wanted to take.
There were party photos as we celebrated my dear Erica's up + coming wedding:
[Hot chicks, pink champagne, sunshine + brunch, I love it]
Then stopping by to capture the sweetly sad decay along Lake Sammamish.
[Not one thing has changed since I used to walk here to buy candy in middle school]
Then, yep, discarding reflection in favor of sunshine street dancing.
[My gorgeous Adrienne]
Luckily my mind's made up about how to spend my evening: picking up my dear Miles for studying + sushi! Just don't ask me what I'm ordering.
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Migraines + Magic
My eyes ache right now, and I hate light + sound + motion. But I will stubbornly push through my disaster head pain to tell you all how much I loved being at the Crocodile last night.
Broken from the inability to handle all the awesome.
It is an amazing combo when you have people who you think are incredible humans to begin with go get onstage and play music that you love. Even better when the crowd is full of people you adore. This is why I've stopped writing about music. I don't want to talk about why it is good, I want to fall head over heels in love with a song.
I'd been lucky enough to assist Jenny J with promo photos for both Telekinesis AND Say Hi. Their pairing for a US tour meant a too-good-to-be-true homecoming show + TK! CD release; adding the Banyans + Throw Me The Statue just put it over the top.
Andy Fitts // the Banyans
Broecker + E.E.
I hope it goes well // I hope your dad's good // I hope you've got presents // That make you pretty happy // I hope you grow old and // I hope that you find somebody nice
That was a great moment.
MBL
I won't even go into how much I loved seeing TK! play. I'll wax poetic about how 'Coast of Carolina' helped me finish my 8k last week, and I might cry a little... and you know what? My dear sweet husband is all the way in Philly today, and I miss him, and I can't sit at home on a beautiful Saturday crying while I blog. That's not happening.
Eli!
Tambo-man there is Eli Anderson, the dude responsible for bringing that bill + so many other amazing shows to the Crocodile. Thank you, Eli, for having better taste in music than most people can wrap their minds around.
Don't you know that // at the thought of it // the sucker goes ahead // and calls it quits
Forever Broeckers
Scott // Throw Me The Statue
Sadly I couldn't make it more than a few songs into TMTS, even after 'Lolita' and the promise of new [!!] songs. Midnight was coming creeping, and with Damien on a late night drive from NY to PA I needed to check in on his travels. I'm so excited at the prospect of a new album from these dudes though.
[Speaking of SC goodness, it breaks my heart that this pain in my head will likely keep me from seeing Richard Swift tonight at the Crocodile with Vetiver + my dudes Black Whales. GO!! I mean, if it by some miracle has not yet sold out.]
I think that's enough incoherent fan babble for one day. I will return to my post of Advil +/or Maxalt +/or soft whimpering. Not my favorite way to spend Record Store Day, but that's all right. I'll just spend twice as much whenever this lifts.
Broken from the inability to handle all the awesome.
It is an amazing combo when you have people who you think are incredible humans to begin with go get onstage and play music that you love. Even better when the crowd is full of people you adore. This is why I've stopped writing about music. I don't want to talk about why it is good, I want to fall head over heels in love with a song.
I'd been lucky enough to assist Jenny J with promo photos for both Telekinesis AND Say Hi. Their pairing for a US tour meant a too-good-to-be-true homecoming show + TK! CD release; adding the Banyans + Throw Me The Statue just put it over the top.
Andy Fitts // the Banyans
Broecker + E.E.
I hope it goes well // I hope your dad's good // I hope you've got presents // That make you pretty happy // I hope you grow old and // I hope that you find somebody nice
That was a great moment.
MBL
I won't even go into how much I loved seeing TK! play. I'll wax poetic about how 'Coast of Carolina' helped me finish my 8k last week, and I might cry a little... and you know what? My dear sweet husband is all the way in Philly today, and I miss him, and I can't sit at home on a beautiful Saturday crying while I blog. That's not happening.
Eli!
Tambo-man there is Eli Anderson, the dude responsible for bringing that bill + so many other amazing shows to the Crocodile. Thank you, Eli, for having better taste in music than most people can wrap their minds around.
Don't you know that // at the thought of it // the sucker goes ahead // and calls it quits
Forever Broeckers
Scott // Throw Me The Statue
Sadly I couldn't make it more than a few songs into TMTS, even after 'Lolita' and the promise of new [!!] songs. Midnight was coming creeping, and with Damien on a late night drive from NY to PA I needed to check in on his travels. I'm so excited at the prospect of a new album from these dudes though.
[Speaking of SC goodness, it breaks my heart that this pain in my head will likely keep me from seeing Richard Swift tonight at the Crocodile with Vetiver + my dudes Black Whales. GO!! I mean, if it by some miracle has not yet sold out.]
I think that's enough incoherent fan babble for one day. I will return to my post of Advil +/or Maxalt +/or soft whimpering. Not my favorite way to spend Record Store Day, but that's all right. I'll just spend twice as much whenever this lifts.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Bellevue Avenue
With the dear husband on tour, I've been reminiscing about the 'old days' where I was lucky enough to have him home for months on end. [Or go on tour with him, but that's a different tale.]
That apartment always had fresh flowers. We both still smoked and would do so indoors, perched on my tall grey stools in the kitchenette. We stayed up too late more often than not. We cooked tofu + curry or ate vegan pizza. After several rounds of Twin Peaks, I baked a cherry pie. We recorded covers in Garage Band, most takes running over with laughter where words should've been.
It was good times, and it seems like we were so much younger then. Right before I moved out + we found a sweet house in Ballard, I took my favorite polaroid of all time.
I love the books stacked below the mirrors: McCarthy, Hesse, Robbins, Vonnegut. My favorite photo book by Stephen Shore. Oh, and a season of Dawson's Creek on DVD, open + waiting.
It was an amazing time, but not as magical as our seaside home will be on May 8th. Spic 'n span. Husband home. Nooks for writing, instead of smoking. A living room devoted to photo + art collaborative projects. A chair to write a screenplay in. I might even bake a pie.
That apartment always had fresh flowers. We both still smoked and would do so indoors, perched on my tall grey stools in the kitchenette. We stayed up too late more often than not. We cooked tofu + curry or ate vegan pizza. After several rounds of Twin Peaks, I baked a cherry pie. We recorded covers in Garage Band, most takes running over with laughter where words should've been.
It was good times, and it seems like we were so much younger then. Right before I moved out + we found a sweet house in Ballard, I took my favorite polaroid of all time.
I love the books stacked below the mirrors: McCarthy, Hesse, Robbins, Vonnegut. My favorite photo book by Stephen Shore. Oh, and a season of Dawson's Creek on DVD, open + waiting.
It was an amazing time, but not as magical as our seaside home will be on May 8th. Spic 'n span. Husband home. Nooks for writing, instead of smoking. A living room devoted to photo + art collaborative projects. A chair to write a screenplay in. I might even bake a pie.
Monday, April 13, 2009
Brilliant
VAIN is busy working with the photos we shot last week. Each talented group has so many images to work with, I don't know how I'll ever compile a book of my favorites. In the meantime, there will be teasers at the VAIN blog for each group.
The start of the day:
And the end:
Such a wide range of colors, costumes, hair, makeup, people, places. I feel really lucky that VAIN asked me to shoot this - it was a big budget high pressure endeavor, and it turned out great all around.
I can hardly wait for my next big project....
xo
The start of the day:
And the end:
Such a wide range of colors, costumes, hair, makeup, people, places. I feel really lucky that VAIN asked me to shoot this - it was a big budget high pressure endeavor, and it turned out great all around.
I can hardly wait for my next big project....
xo
Thursday, April 9, 2009
The Folkster Four
The Folkster Four
Originally uploaded by blackfrances
I miss my sweet husband. And I love this photo. I wasn't able to be there for Rosie's wedding, but it was literally a fairy tale by all accounts.
[We walked down the aisle to her voice, too...]
Thinking of you + your midwestern drives.
xo
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Hazards
I talked a little about the Decemberists shoot with Autumn here, but I love these recaps:
Erin
+
Jenny
I am absolutely in love with these photos.
I have a piece of the 'cactus' seen there at my desk as inspiration. It still blows my mind to work with such talented people - behind the lens, in front, beside.
In related Portland + goodness kind of news, I've been emailing with photographer Melanie Brown about a trip to assist her sometime soon. Sadly my schedule prohibits scooting down in time for the next two [awesome] bands she's working with, but I'm excited to get something on the books sooner rather than later.
Erin
+
Jenny
I am absolutely in love with these photos.
I have a piece of the 'cactus' seen there at my desk as inspiration. It still blows my mind to work with such talented people - behind the lens, in front, beside.
In related Portland + goodness kind of news, I've been emailing with photographer Melanie Brown about a trip to assist her sometime soon. Sadly my schedule prohibits scooting down in time for the next two [awesome] bands she's working with, but I'm excited to get something on the books sooner rather than later.
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