Montreal Swing Riot 2017
As a lindy hop dancer I have known about Montreal's Swing Riot for a few years. I had always hoped to make it one year as it brought something new to the swing world that I had not seen before, the yearly infamous Street Dancers vs Vintage Dancers Invitational Battle. Professional lindy hop dancers can perform to a crowd and throw tricks just as much as the next professional dancer. Often thought of first as a social dance that your grandparents did (which it is), the showmanship side of it is equally as fun. And when lindy hoppers compete, watch out, people will be flying in the air. So at Swing Riot, two teams of vintage and modern street dancers were invited to battle against each other. Since it was invitational you knew the dancers were going to be great and the battle was going to have you screaming. This year's battle didn't disappoint. Both vintage and street dancers were amazing. In the end, the crowd crowned the street dancers as this year's winners.
Now for the technical side of this post. At the time, I had just recently upgraded my Fuji X-T1 for a Fuji X-T2. Because I wasn't the primary photographer for Swing Riot, I chose not to use my normal swing event OCF set up. I typically set up two flashes, but I wanted to test this camera and it's autofocus and low light capabilities. Seriously, photographing dancers (especially lindy hoppers) in low light with no flash is a huge camera test. Finally switching from my Canon 6D that I had been holding on to for solely this exact situation, to the Fuji was a tiny bit tricky. There's definitely a learning curve to the Fuji coming from a DSLR. I have been shooting Fuji primarily (except dance and a few weddings last year) for a few years now. I have loved my Fujis and always gush about them. But this was a new test. A hard test for a camera system that has been known to not have the fastest AF. After a few tests of different focus settings I finally started to feel comfortable with it and then by the end of the night I was convinced. This Fuji X-T2 could hold up to the Canon 6D. I had learned how to adjust my shooting and was catching the moments I needed to catch. So, since then, I have sold my Canon 6D. I finally felt like the Fuji could do anything the DSLR could do. It was a great feeling.
Alice in Jazzland - Sweet Jubilee
Next month Sweet Jubilee is debuting their first original, full-length show, Alice in Jazzland. Back in April I took some promotional photos for them while I was in Albuquerque visiting. We chose the ABQ Botanic Garden and ventured into the Children's Fantasy Garden that was the perfect backdrop for Alice and her friends. I can't wait to see some videos (hopefully) of the performance since I'm so many miles away now. If you are reading this and in Albuquerque, go check out their show! Ticket and performance info HERE.
Porter Family: Family Session & Day in the Life
The Porter Family - Family Session
For the third year in a row I was fortunate to photograph the Porter family. This year they welcomed baby Thaddeus to the family. You can easily tell how in love the entire family is with him. Big sister Jane didn't have to be asked to hug or kiss him, she was so excited when she was holding him she naturally loved on her little brother. I love creating family portraits that a family will look back on and remember they didn't have to pretend for the camera, they just got to be themselves.
Day in the Life - 1 hr Session
This year we also did a shortened "Day in the Life" session. After their portrait session I followed the Porters back home to capture a bit of their new daily life as a family of four. If you are interested in a "Day in the Life" session please contact me as they are quickly becoming my favorite thing to photograph!
World Breastfeeding Week 2017
A portrait series of local breastfeeding mothers for last month's World Breastfeeding Week 2017.
I haven’t done much photo work in Montreal since our move, but I gave myself this portrait series project and a deadline for World Breastfeeding Week and I’m so glad I did! Getting behind the camera on a regular basis again felt so good. I had my tiny little assistant on my back the whole time, and wouldn’t you know, he was already helping me get smiles out of people and making them feel comfortable.
Thank you, thank you, thank you to the wonderful mamas who volunteered to be photographed for the series and for sharing some words about breastfeeding! It was a pleasure getting to know each and every one of you and capturing this special time in your life.
I am available for hire if anyone would still like a breastfeeding photo session. Please contact me and we can chat.
❤️
Morgan
New Chapter, New Country
Four-month-old Moby Hjelm helps Beth Trujillo lay out A1 on Friday, Jan. 27, 2017, on his mother's last day the Albuquerque Journal.
This post is a bit overdue I'll admit it. Back in January of this year I had my last day in the newsroom of the Albuquerque Journal. A newsroom that had come to feel like a second home. Journalists, we're funny people. We know our city or our beat all too well, way better than our non-journalist friends. We become a second family when we spend such odd hours with our coworkers, sometimes on last minute road trips, sometimes just filing and editing late into the night racing to the final deadline. We eat (free) pizza on election nights together as the results come in. We celebrate when our coworkers have family milestones: marriages, births, and graduations. And also support each other when harder times hit. I was only supposed to be in Albuquerque for six months. SIX MONTHS. I arrived in the summer of 2007 and almost immediately started counting down. Not that I didn't love it. I did. However, I was in my "intern" part of life and expected to move on to another internship in six months and thus wanted to make the most of my short time there as most interns do. I had a blast. I took every opportunity that came my way. I climbed a crazy peak, flew in a hot air balloon, drove all over the state whenever asked, and tried my hardest to make some cool photos.
I ended up staying nine and half years. The Land of Enchantment really was the Land of Entrapment. I became a staff photographer, then the assistant photo editor, and then the photo editor. A lot changed in that window of time as well. A newspaper that was so focused on the print product, finally started paying attention to the web. (I feel like I can say this as a GenY-er who saw the writing on the wall from the day I walked in the door.) And with the push to web, the photo department had a chance like never before to be seen.
But, I've gotten off track...
About the same time as my maternity leave was starting with my son, my husband was offered a post-doc at the University of Montreal. So it was finally time to say goodbye to my Journal family and start a new chapter in Canada. So on a bittersweet Friday afternoon, I brought my 4-month-old son to work with me and said my goodbyes to the people and building that had welcomed me nine and a half years earlier. It's been a few months now, and I still miss the journalism adrenaline rush, but mostly I miss my co-workers and comrades who made the daily battles worth it.
So, here I am, now in Montreal, missing New Mexico a little, but also enjoying this new wonderful city. If anyone needs a photographer, or a journalist, I'd still very much love to tell your story.