payton marie: people

When I discovered an amazing parking garage with a perfect view of downtown OKC, I instantly knew I had to shoot there. Thankfully the opportunity to shoot with the adventurous Leah soon presented itself, so it was on an early Sunday morning when we found ourselves up on the rooftop, snapping photos with the sunrise. I used this shoot to play and experiment and try out some new shooting styles and techniques, tips I've picked up from photographers like Ben Sasso (who is basically my photography hero, I mean what the heck how on earth is one person so darn talented). Leah and I started out with some rooftop drama, inspired by Taylor Swift's Wildest Dreams, then transitioned into a groovy urban style a la Ben Rector. The weather was perfect, the lighting was gorgeous, and as you can see, the model was stunning. I basically walked away from this shoot never wanting to put my camera down again. And that's a really, really good feeling.

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read part one here

Get ready for another picture-loaded Israel post, and can you believe it, there's still one more part to go. At first I felt bad about splitting this into three parts, but then Jess assured me that not only were we in Israel for two solid weeks and I took a couple thousand photos, but how could I possibly do justice to it in only one post? So if you're annoyed, be annoyed at Jess. Okay, let's move on.

Our next few days in Jerusalem were filled with just as much excitement as the first. We never ran out of new things to see. We decided against taking any public transport, instead opting to walk everywhere. Literally. Everywhere. But honestly, that is the one thing I recommend to people for travelling. Trams and buses and taxis just rob you of so much! They give you a quick once-over, while walking immerses you deeply in the culture. You hear, smell, and see everything. You can stop and talk to people. You discover gems off the beaten path.

Highlights of these days included the Western Wall, a tour of the tunnels underneath the Western Wall, the Israel Museum (at which we saw the Dead Sea Scrolls and a scale model of the entire Old City of Jerusalem), Mount Zion, a little German colony (where we found the most wickedly scrumptious waffle/crepe shop eveeeerrr), experiencing a dust storm (notice a little bit of a haze on some of the photos?), and of course, Ben Yehuda Market. Oh my. I could have spent days in that market. Not only did it feature a spot-on coffee shop, but I loved watching and interacting with all the people. We chatted with shop owners and tried out different Israeli foods, and there were just so many smells and colors and delights! And one afternoon, we took a cooking tour around the market with an amazing tour guide, Omri! (Check out his website here) Omri gave us some history on the market and let us taste some delicious food. Then we loaded up on groceries, went to his house, and cooked an authentic Israeli meal. It was a delightful, hands-on experience, and definitely helped me discover some new favourite foods. And as we finished our meal together, we all broke out into Fiddler on the Roof tunes, complete with Tevye impressions. What could get better than that?

part three coming soon...