hippie chic :: a polaroid portrait series of 2 women in flowers

you may have noticed that lately i've been obsessed with shooting faces in flowers ... i find it's a way for me to be close to nature whilst drowning in the bustle of big city life. and lucky for me, my dearest friend Anyssa came to LA this past week, and if you know LA, you know that there is always flowers in bloom all over the city - all sorts of varieties and colors. so for a couple of days, we drove around scouting for the prettiest flowers and then shot one another's portraits in them. this is just one of the reasons why i love LA - there are always bright, beautiful flowers in bloom. and this is why i love Anyssa - she is always down for taking photos, no matter the time, nor the place. i adore this series of us in nature - these bright, vivid flower bushes - all over LA. 

^ we came upon this last series of shots when i took Anyssa out to Malibu. the bougainvillea is so other-wordly. Anyssa commented that the photo of me looks like i'm on a cloud of flowers, it truly does look this way, and she, a angel on earth. we felt transported to a magical land that only exists in fanciful dreams full of magic and beauty.

some of these will make their way over to my lovely new website, come take a peek soon!

KELSEY + MATHAI : layli samimi photography wedding shoot | POLAROIDS

i had the distinct pleasure of shooting not only kelsey + mathai's engagement photos, but also polaroid & analog photography for their beautiful wedding. the wedding took place at the silverlake reservoir in late december, overcast and dreamy. their ceremony was so full of love and light, joy and peace. at one point during the ceremony i looked up at the sky and saw a huge flock of birds flying, circling above the wedding ever so gracefully - they circled the entire ceremony, as a blessing - confirming on a whole other level this amazing union of theirs [and their families] and how the world is so fortunate to have a team as beautiful, strong, loving, funny and thoughtful as these two love birds. 

here are the polaroids i shot of the prep and the ceremony. enjoy.  *film shots coming soon! stay tuned.

i am so grateful to have been able to capture their special day through my eyes! 

♥

a polaroid summer

we have had the most amazing summer filled of family, dear friends, laughter and waves. i learned how to boogie-board [i know, so extreme], which baktash and i can do together, having a blast laughing and crashing, my entire family came to LA [who would have ever thought!!] in cycles, we ate tacos till they came out of our ears, coffee till i got sick. i got to hang with shepard fairey, collaborate with my dear friend & badass aaron huey and go out to sodak twice to help serve the Lakota of Pine Ridge, i got to squeeze on some cute as hell babies, which happen to be my nieces and nephew, and much more, all the while living with this overwhelming sense of gratitude and awe that God can be so great, so generous with His love, His abundance of gifts and opportunities for growth and joy in this world.

i also go to do some photo shooting with some of my nearest and dearests. and here are the polaroids to prove it. enjoy:

containing us

He said the world could only be known as it existed in men’s hearts. For a while it seemed a place which contained men, it was in reality a place contained within them and therefore to know it one must look there and come to know those hearts, and to do this one must live with men and not simply pass among them.  - C. McCarthy, The Crossing

here are some "polaroids" [aka fuji instax] shots that i took recently on our way to malibu. we hiked up this beautiful hill and found this golden paradise all to ourselves. it seriously felt like i was dreaming, like heaven on earth - to be so surrounded by such awesome beauty, such innocent and unassuming perfection. we were so pumped to be there, i'll never forget being on a hillside surrounded by yellow.

then i went home and sneezed a lot. 

a family portrait | ray, gus + wolfgang

i wanted to share with you these beautiful photographs from a shoot i did with my dear friends, ray & gus and their amazing little son, wolfgang. ray & gus & i have been dearest of friends since our undergraduate years at the evergreen state college in olympia, washington. ray was one of my "bridesmaids" at our wedding and they have recently welcomed the most precious, wolfgang in to their beautiful family.

i hadn't seen ray & gus since my wedding - pushing 2.5 years [!!!] - nor had the privilege of squeezing wolf. well, this past trip to NYC i was able to be reunited and introduced to wolfgang [which consisted of basically smothering him with kisses, allowing him to drool and tug at my hair and face and smile]. when they arrived at a party in the park that we were attending, i dropped my cameras, and ran straight in the direction of my loved friends. as soon as i saw ray and his son, tears came streaming; it was so amazing to see my dear friend now be carrying a child in his arms - a beautiful child. it was pretty hilarious - when i went to embrace goose - er, gus - before hello she just said, "come on, are you crying, lay?!?!". i wouldn't expect anything less from my honest, hilarious goosey.

to be able to spend such quality time with my old friends and fall in love with their son [and there is proof that he also fell in love with me, just look at all these photographs...], was such a blessing. when you have friends that you've had for so long, friends you've gone through so many things with, when they have a child, it is like your own family. he really feels like my nephew and i will forever look out for him & love him like an auntie. i know you know the feeling of how special it is to have dear friends in your lives, friends you've had forever, and to experience new beautiful things with them [above all, marriages and births]... it is SUCH A FUN RIDE.

so without further ado, here is the HEARTBREAKINGLY gorgeous, blissful, radiant wolfgang and his handsomeashell parents:

ARE YOU EVEN KIDDING ME?!?!

have you seen a happier family? nope.

photo by ry slash

handsome son of a gun

my sister and wolfgang

i adore this photo of beautiful gus.

you are killing us, wolf!!

three ladies and a baby

father & son 

booshyyyyy

one of my fave pola shots of all time. 

// all photographs taken with my fuji instax & my beloved 35mm camera.