Koh Phangan...underwater!

So, I am not a scuba diver.  I have found I am most happy with my mask and snorkel circling above while those willing test the depths below.  And, the snorkeling off of Koh Phangan was some of the best I have ever seen...an incredible amount of fish, soft coral gardens, and the most vibrant colors you have ever seen.  But, as I swam around above I could see the darker depths below, and wondered what could they possibly be seeing down there?  

Greg's divemaster, Elliott, was kind enough to share his fabulous underwater images with me. You've seen his shots of the whale shark as well as the video. And, here are a few more of the mysterious depths below.  This first one is my absolute favorite!  

Also, while we were on Koh Phangan, Greg dove and I snorkeled with Chaloklum Diving.  You can see many more pictures on their site too!  

I have to admit, I am starting to question my snorkel, and thinking about learning to dive!  

My love affair with Thailand

It started in January of 2003.  One of my best friends, Kelly, was traveling to Thailand with a friend, and as their trip neared the friend had to cancel.  So, Kelly was set to go by herself, which she would have been perfectly content with.  She is the type of person that takes the bull by the horns, makes friends with anyone, and loves traveling and photography above all else. We definitely had that last one in common.  So, when she asked if I wanted to join I jumped on it!  I was in my second year of grad school, and just happened to have the month of January off.  Perfect timing!  

I should digress a bit and tell you how Kelly and I met.  My junior year of college I studied abroad on a trip called Semester at Sea.  We traveled around the world on a boat in 100 days leaving from the Bahamas, stopping at 9 countries along the way and docking on the other side in Seattle.  Our first country we stopped at was Venezuela.  I knew no one on my side trip, and decided one night I would wander down to the bar where I saw a couple of other students gathering.  I'm not really the shy type, but I will admit I was a bit hesitant...I kept thinking, "Hi, my name is Sara.  Will you be my friends?"  There ended up being a bunch of boys and myself. So, I had a seat and started to chat.  A few moments later, another girl came in basically the same way I had, and was thinking "Hi. My name is Kelly.  Will you be my friends?"  It just so happened she was also a photographer, liked to laugh and have fun, and the rest is history.  I owe a lot to that first night in Venezuela.  Many of those at that table became lasting friends throughout the entire journey.  And, Kelly and I became attached at the hip.  We were both selected to be in the photography program, and our rooms just happened to be next to each other on the ship.  I would play loud/bad music, specifically a song called Sha-la-la-la-la, through the wall, and she would pound and pound to get me to turn it off.  On that boat we were best friends, sisters, each others conscience, classmates, and traveling companions.  

So, as we made our way to Thailand, it brought back such good memories, and also gave us an opportunity to build many more.  I was in San Francisco at the time, and Kelly was in Chicago where we had lived together before I left for school.  So, we met in Tokyo, headed to Bangkok, stayed up all night and caught the 6 am flight to an island called Koh Phangan.  We had great plans of traveling all around Thailand during our 11 day stay, but we settled into a quiet town called Chaloklum and never left.  It was the most magical place, and a place that is so hard to explain to others.  We spent the days in the sun, and the evenings making new friends and listening to others traveling adventures.  

That trip is one of my most important memories.  In June of that same year, Kelly was killed in the Chicago porch collapse.  It was/is one of the most frustrating points in my life.  She lived with such passion, and had an incredible intensity about her when it came to anything she cared about.  She was a real spitfire, and I was/am so honored to have called her my best friend and soulmate at times.  She was one of my biggest supporters when it came to my photography, and I can still see her talking wildly wth her hands as she tried to explain what a photograph meant to her.  She gave me so many things in life...support, laughter, the travel bug, friendship, a deeper meaning, an incredible 2 years in Chicago, love, and she gave me Thailand...

I'd like the memory of me

to be a happy one.

I'd like to leave an afterglow

of smiles when life is done.

I'd like to leave an echo

whispering softly down the ways,

of happy times and laughing

times and bright and sunny days.

I'd like the tears of those who

grieve, to dry before the sun

Of happy memories that I leave

when life is done.

I still talk to her from time to time, and can hear her making fun of me, or cursing at me depending what may be going on.  I have wanted to go back to Thailand for so long, it just never seemed like the right time.  It was important for me to share such a special place with Greg, and even more important to me that he said he would love to go back!  

Thailand...missing you already!

Well, I must say, I am quite behind in blogging.  However, I am thrilled that I was able to blog a little bit along the way.  I debated to take my computer or not on the trip, and am happy I made the decision to.  Once we got to Koh Phangan we settled in to some incredible relaxing time, so I did put the blogging on hold for the remainder of the trip.  But, I am home and hope to be back to normal this week!  I have lots of pictures to sort through, and will get some more up here during the next few days.  My timing is entirely off right now, and I seem to be constantly exhausted.  I'm ready to snap out of that!  

We had an amazing journey in Thailand, and I had a really hard time leaving.  A friend asked me on Friday what I missed most while I was away, and I really couldn't think of anything other than my family and friends.  Thailand is such an easy place to travel around...the food is fantastic, the people so friendly, and the scenery is breathtaking.  We started off the trip in the bustling streets of Bangkok, headed up to the lush mountains in Chiang Mai and topped it all off with a full 7 days of R&R on Koh Phangan, one of my most favorite places on Earth!  

I start a 3 day seminar tomorrow, but I should get it together enough to get some more pictures up here over the next few days.  Thanks for your patience!!  Off to bed and it's still light out!  

Thailand...Greg and his whaleshark again

And, more of Greg's whale shark.  Elliott, Greg's divemaster, was able to film the encounter with the whaleshark.  It is just spectacular!  You'll see Greg pop up half way through.  I have many more photos of Elliott's as well that I will share later.  He's quite the underwater photographer!

Thailand...Whale Shark

When we started planning this vacation, one of the first things Greg looked into was the diving on the island.  He would stalk the site of the diving company we were planning to use to see what they had seen that day.  And, low and behold, they had just started spotting Whale Sharks in the area.  So, his hopes were totally up for seeing one!  And, I was nervous.  Yesterday was his first day of diving, and they spotted the whale shark twice!  He could not be more happy. From what I understand, they are amazing creatures, and enormous in size!  His dive master/our new best friend, Elliott, gave us a couple of snaps from their dive.  This whale shark was about 4 meters long.  I also have a video I just can't get it to post so I will work on that. Here is Greg and his whale shark...

Thailand...Island Pics

It has been a bit tricky so far to post too many pictures, because connections are so slow. But, I found an internet cafe that is a bit better. So, I thought I would share a few of the island we are currently on...Koh Phangan. This first one is a shot taken while we were on the ferry over from Ko Samui. We took an hour and a half flight from Chiang Mai to Samui, then a 30 min. ferry ride over. Koh Phangan is the island in the distance...

My husband wearing what was going to be the funny souvenior for my family's Christmas exchange this year...that is our topic this year. Last year they had to be homemade. However, it has now become a part of Greg's wardrobe...so, sorry Katie! We'll be sure to find something just as fabulous! We did get my brother Trey's gift here, and it is perfect!!

Our first night on the island, we made friends with an Australian girl named Jade. She was hesitant to rent a motorbike, which just so happens to be the main mode of transportation here. So, we met up with her yesterday, and Greg gave her some instructions, and she was off! The three of us toured the island on our bikes, and one of our stops was at a Chinese temple on the top of a hill...

I was so impressed with Jade's riding ability, that I decided to give it a go myself this morning. Greg is diving today, and usually I just ride along on the back of his bike. So, I was ready to stretch my independence a bit here as well. We did a practice session last night, and it went well. I don't want to boast too much because I still have to get around a bit today, and don't want to jynx myself. But, seriously, I think I'm ready for that Vespa back home!

My pink beauty...

I drove myself to yoga today, and this is the studio we were in. Totally open on all sides and it overlooks the jungle. I could have stayed there all day. They have pilates once a day as well, so I'll have to try that out and see how it differs from my practice in the states. They offer long retreats here as well, where you stay for weeks at a time. I'm completely intrigued by it, as well as a meditation retreat in India...but, that's for another trip.

And, dinner last night. We traveled to another beach and walked along looking at all the different bbq's being offered. This was the one we settled on. And, yes we ate the shark. It was actually quite good. Greg wants to go back again tonight.

And, not a proper image, but I like it still. This is Greg swinging on our porch hammock reading his book.

Thailand...starting to forget which day

Ok, so let’s see where I left off. We were headed out on our 3 day/2night safari trek. To backtrack, it is really hard to decide on which trek to book. I would say the majority of people show up to Chiang Mai, check out their options and then book their trek. There is a large population of people traveling for months at a time, and they have the luxury of being more flexible with times, etc. Jealous! So, this is what I was most worried about when planning the trip. We had such a short time there we wanted to make sure we were headed out on the right one. I had been joking with many that we would not return because we had booked the “budget” trek. $50 for both of us for 3 days! It’s crazy!

Well, to make a long story short, we booked the right one. We could not have been with a better group! The tour company picked us up at our hotel, we picked another couple up at their hotel, and then we set off to meet up with the rest of our group at a local market to get our supplies for dinner, breakfast, etc. And, then we were off! All in all, there were 12 people on the trek and 3 guides…2 Brits, 2 French, 2 Germans, 2 Austrians, 1 Finnish, 1 Japanese, and us. We were a great mix and had so much fun exchanging stories. I’m not going to lie, the trek started off incredibly rough…just imagine walking on a stairstepper (if those still exist), at the highest level, for 5 hours. Yes, this is how I was feeling. We headed up a waterfall first, and went for a bit of a swim. That was one of our highlights for sure. The power of the falls was crazy, and I could barely hold on. After that we set off on the stairstepper again…we were the sweatiest, most dirty people I had ever seen.

And, oh, I forgot! Before we made it to the beginning of our walk, we stopped along the way to take a brief ride on an elephant through the jungle and down through a river. I wasn’t sure how I was going to feel about this, because I have a strong belief that elephants belong in the wild. But, the outfit we used seemed to be very nice to the elephants, and gave them lots of space. So, I decided to be ok with it for the time being. It was more fun than I was expecting. As we walked with him, there were stops along the way where we could purchase bananas to feed him. Don’t even think about giving your elephant just one banana…he would eat 4-6 at a time. I guess in a day they eat about 200 kilos worth of food. We had fun walking with him, and Greg even sat on his head for a bit.

Ok, so to get back to trekking. It was so hard! We were so sweaty, and I wasn’t even carrying our pack! Greg was my hero! We only had one small backpack so we packed our things in it, and he carried it the whole time. I would say day 1 was 80% uphill. We were relieved when we finally made it to the village we were to stay in that night. The accommodations were basic, and a sight to be seen. But, it didn’t matter, there was a cold shower and no more hills to be walked over for a bit. That night was one of my favorites. We had a great meal, sat around telling stories, and one of the guides played the guitar. To top it all off, he even played “Country Roads” without me requesting it! Somewhere during the evening, I ate a cricket. Greg ate handfuls of crickets…I ate only one. Eating bugs here is a normal occurance. They season them and fry them up! When in Rome, I guess.

Sleeping that night was not so good…there was a thunderstorm, pigs squeeling, locusts buzzing, and the village rooster crows at 3am. So, day 2 was a little tough, but luckily mostly downhill. We made it through hiking, and ended the day with a bamboo rafting trip down a river. At this point, Greg and I were the only 2 to continue on for one more day. Everyone else had signed up for the 2 day/1 night trip. So, in the end, Greg and I decided to cut our trek short one day. We had honestly had so much fun with the group, plus we and all of our belongings were soaked from the thunderstorm, so we decided our trek was over as well.

We returned to Chiang Mai, moved our flights to the islands up, and are currently residing in our bungalow on the beach! More to come…

Thailand Day Three...

Sa-wut dee! Poot pah-sah tai mai bpen. That means…Hello! I cant speak Thai. Hi! So, we are just beginning day 3, I think. It has been an incredible whirlwind here in Bangkok, and it's hard to believe we are already off to Chiang Mai today. Yesterday we spent the day fishing on a lake loaded with monster catfish as you can see above. I've been trying to think of something witty for a holiday card later this year to accompany the pic. Anyway, Greg's largest fish was about 68 or so pounds! Huge! Together we caught about 10 fish, and had quite a few get away and broken hooks. When we started planning the trip here, this activity was at the top of Greg's list and it definitely did not disappoint!

The day before fishing we did all kinds of things...hired a long tail boat to take us up the river to Wat Pho, home of the beautiful golden reclining buddha. Traveled by tuk-tuk to the weekend market and made friends with some ladies over a Pad Thai for lunch. Saw squirrels being sold as pets (we think) as well as all kinds of puppies. It wasn't the depressing kind of animal sale I have seen before. After the market we returned for a little nap before we navigated Bangkok public transportation (including a train transfer) to attend a Thai boxing match. It was not all that we had hoped for, but still entertaining. Apparently, there was a big football match on so many thais had gone to watch that. But, we still had fun watching the matches as well as the locals placing their gambling bets with enthusiasm.

So, now we are leaving our magic home in the sky above the canal (our Bangkok hotel has been marvelous), and headed to the jungles of Chiang Mai. Tomorrow morning we leave for our jungle trek, so it will be a few days before I post next!

Till then!

Thailand!

Life somehow got in the way before we left, and I didn't have time to post.  So, we are now officially in Thailand!  I came here many years ago with one of my best friends, and we traveled to the island of Ko Phangan with many plans of traveling all over the beautiful country, yet somehow we never left the island.  I have wanted to come back for many years, and it finally worked out to be the best time for Greg and I to make the trek.  So, we have arrived in Bangkok and are at the end of day 1.  I'll write more later as Greg is urging me to get ready so we won't be late to a Thai boxing match tonight.  We are exactly 12 hours different from Indy.  So, as we are getting ready to head out, most of you are probably just getting up.  Talk soon!!!  

A blast from the past + a bit of inspiration

After a 3 week hiatus and a location move, Bella Chic reopened today in it's totally fun warehouse space.  Julie has been hard at work to turn the space around, and it looks as if it were meant for Bella to be here.  I showed up today to help out, and was blown away.  Not only has she morphed the space into this completely cool, urban location in the middle of Carmel, but when cleaning out the old space she had also discovered 8 of my old black and white prints that we had framed for a home show back almost 2 years ago.  So, she surprised me and hung them in the door frame to the left of the counter shown in this first image.  I couldn't stop looking at them today...I have said it before, but there is something so incredible about a black and white fiber print.  These images were just step one in the discovery for my final project in grad school, but many years later, they tend to be some of my favorites!  These are some digital pics of the framed b&w's, so the color is a bit off, but it was fun to unexpectedly get to revisit them today!  Makes me want to get back into that darkroom... 



And, a couple on the wall of the bathroom

The Power of Dance

So, I have a new calling in life.  For most of you who know me, I love to travel.  I love the adventure of new places, the colors and smells of unfamiliar lands, and I mostly love meeting the people along the journey and learning from them.  I was fortunate to learn at a young age that international traveling is very possible if you take the time to figure it out.  I can't believe I am just mentioning this now, for I have been so excited I can hardly stand it, but free time has not been on my side.  Greg and I are leaving for Thailand this Thursday!!!  I have a lot more to say about that in another post.  But, first I want to share with you my new friend Matt...well, we're not really friends but I hope to stalk him on the internet until we are.  And my new calling...someday I hope to be Matt.  You have to watch his video.  I have watched it 3 times tonight...it will bring a smile to your face and your toes a tapping!!

Favorite Image...

During this home stretch to get us out of Winter, I have been working on a few special projects for Sara Morris Photography.  And, today I was asked what my favorite image that I have taken thus far is.  It didn't even take me a second to know which one it was.  I'm not sure exactly why...maybe because it's from the early days of SMP, or maybe it's because my memory of taking this is so strong in my mind.  But, I think this image says so much about who I am as a photographer...I love adventure, I'm willing to do anything, and I love the good light.  Plus, I'm not ashamed to put your new, precious cargo in a suitcase!  Looking back on it, I would have done many things differently...maybe a diaper cover, maybe a different hand motion.  But, there's always room for improvement.  Honestly, I love it so much I'm tempted to blow it up, print it on canvas and hang it in my office as a reminder of what it feels like to snap your favorite image...

Portrait: Gregory | Indianapolis Children's Photographer

I am so thrilled to introduce Mr. Gregory Robert to the blog.  I am thinking this will be the first of many times he appears on here.  His parents are some of my favorite people, and Greg and I traveled down to Nashville, TN over the weekend to take his portrait.  He is just 10 weeks now, and a complete angel.   Plus, according to my Greg, he is his namesake.  {He chooses to ignore that Gregory is the little guys mommy's maiden name}  We had fun just watching him, feeding him bottles, and watching my Greg and Gregory's father try and dress him was the highlight of my weekend.   Gregory's mommy and I quickly excused ourselves off to a party and let the men figure it out.  So, without further ado, Mr. Gregory Robert...

And, SUPER CUTIE!!!