More importantly, I would be remiss if I didn’t share my new favorite joke that I learned from Becky that day… wanna hear it? Here it goes!

“What do you call cheese that’s not yours?” …. “Not-yo cheese!” lol (say it faster!)

Thanks Becky + Romi! Congratulations to you both!

xox

Jewel

Want to see more from this photo session? Click HERE!

{Chorus}
Oh, island in the sun
Willed to me by my father’s hand
All my days I will sing in praise
Of your forest, waters, your shining sand

I remember as a child growing up in the Caribbean, there were many songs that told us of our heritage. They were folk songs like the snippet above written and performed by the incomparable Harry Belafonte that we learned in school and sang in assemblies, music classes, church… EVERYWHERE! I loved those times, we were able to express our history in song and dance and take a break from our demanding studies. This particular song comes to mind because of my recent trip back HOME to St.Kitts. As a youth growing up, I thought I understood what the lyrics meant, (I knew them backwards after all) but it wasn’t until I was on a ferry going for the short ride from St.Kitts to our sister island Nevis that I felt what they meant. I’ve always known of the beauty and uniqueness of our Island in the Sun, its culture, its people, but I didn’t realize how much the air smelled of these things, the breeze spoke of these things, the earth was the foundation for these things. This trip was an emotional one for me, I travelled there with my daughter to celebrate the 50th anniversary of my parents along with my other siblings.  While there, in my old house, in my old room (which by the way, my mother has kept exactly the same as when I was there), watching my school books… teddy bears… pictures, I looked over at my sleeping daughter and thought WOW, this is BEAUTIFUL!

Words can’t express the joy of my life growing up there, I mean I could seriously go on and on and onnnn. Today though, I won’t, I’ll just leave you with these lyrics from Harry Belafonte’s ‘Island in the Sun’ with a promise to share more of my memorable stories in the near future.

What is it like to take a saturday afternoon, drive onto a boat (no that’s not a typo) and spend the most wonderful weekend at a beach-side Plantation Inn? Ooo, oo… wait, what about what it feels like to take an afternoon drive to a beautiful secluded beach, take a dip in the warmest water, relax on a sunbed with a mango coldada and swordfish sandwich served at your side… all on a MONDAY! Bet you can’t top that! Well, take a dive into the shots below and maybe you will have a taste (minus the drink and the sandwich because I murdered it without even THINKING of taking a picture lol).

….

I pray the day will never come
When I can’t awake to the sound of drum
Never let me miss carnival
With calypso songs philosophical

{Chorus}
Oh, island in the sun
Willed to me by my father’s hand
All my days I will sing in praise
Of your forest, waters, your shining sand

Never heard of Harry Belafonte’s ‘Island in the Sun’? Click here to see a live performance of this iconic song! Want to find out more about Nisbet Plantation Beach Club, click here. Want to know where there’s a secluded beach where they serve you swordfish sandwiches and mango coladas at a whim? Click here and here.

One Love!

Circus Clock

View from National Museum to the Circus Clock

National Museum, Old Treasury Building

My old church, St. George's Anglican Church, St.Kitts

This was so interesting, a project done by the school kids outlining the effects of pollution on the Leather Back Sea Turtle

Represent your flag!

This is my country. I just love this shot!

View atop Sugar Mill

Old Sugar Mill circa 1700

Prince Charles with Harriett Turner, 1973

Abandoned shack circa 1700

The Beauty of Nisbet Plantation

Isle of palms

Quite beach.... BLISS

Our Cottage

A tree planted in honor of every couple married there! Hence the multitude of palms! Just go for it, I have a wonderful Wedding Photographer for you

I love this little girl!

Nisbet Plantation. No matter which direction you stood, these palms created an isle! Absolutely BEAUTIFUL!

CSR and Ting! The drink of Champions! Thank you Nisbet Plantation!

The Killer Gigantor Caterpillar!!!

It was soooo much bigger in real life!

I know this shot is a bit blurry but I just had to include it because it almost makes YOU skip off too! I don't think this child walked the entire time there! lol

Love the slogan!

On one of her last trips home, Lexi asked me to take photos of her and her number one fan… her Mom. I just love to see these two together. They are the best of friends and are constantly looking out for each other. Lexi’s Mom is the perfect example of what a mother should be: nurturing, patient, strong and always counting on her daughter to do the best at EVERYTHING she does. As her rock, her Mom waits in anticipation for the day her daughter walks across that stage (for the third time) towards her dream of being a lawyer (and returning home).

Until then, they continue to treasure quick visits, and endless calls to each other, checking in and sending love.

On a beautiful day in December, we were able to capture the following shots at Tree Tops Park with a proud Mom and her loving daughter. Wondering where the Goodball part comes in? Well, at the end of this session, I made the mistake of asking Lexi and her beau if they wanted me to snap a few shots of them and after a weak 10 seconds of denial, they both ran over to a walking path and went into full foolishness mode!

I hope you guys enjoy and I look forward to documenting more moments with you!

Love Jewel

I’m spending my Martin Luther King Jr. day off shooting a good friend’s maternity session at the beach! I think that’s as good of a mix of business and pleasure as any. Great weather, great friends, celebration of life… BLISS!

A few weeks back, I was cyber-squealing about a wedding photo session that I was invited to be a part of that… ohh… just HAPPENED to be featured on the number one wedding blog for all upcoming brides…. (eeekkkkk) Style Me Pretty! Ok so, as promised, here are a few of my shots taken from this session.

As you might have read on SMP, this awesome wedding was the inspiration of Kasey D Weddings who wanted to inspire South Florida brides to think outside of the box with creating a wedding that had a winter/lodge/cabin feel. We incorporated things of comfort, luxury and homemade goodness to merge those Northern elements with South Florida’s trendy style. Shooting alongside my dear friend Diana Lupu, we were able to capture every detail and sweet moment to put together what I hope is an example of weddings to come…. UTTERLY CREATIVE!

Want to see even more from this wedding shoot? Click HERE.

Enjoy!

What I want for 2012…

I want to DARE TO DREAM. This is my selfish wish for 2012. This may sound trivial to you but for me, it means sooo much. Our dreams are what keep us moving forward, yearning for more and striving for better. Dreams come to mind today for me, because one of mine has come true and I feel so blessed! In my journey as a photographer, I have realized the power in a story, it gives you an idea of what is to come and sets the stage for your imagination to take off! For this reason, ‘Lost Treasure’ was conceived. Initially it was a bunch of thoughts in my head, then it matured to lines on a paper, sketches, and finally a sound concept. Turning this concept into a reality took a lot of determination and some good old ‘right timing’, but all in all it has worked out to be my latest joy for this awesome year!

In my previous ‘Lost Treasure’ post, I introduced you to a collection of work that inspired me to create a story. A story about treasure that had washed ashore and had never been seen before by anyone. These custom pieces of jewelry are just that, unique and valuable pieces that are cherished by anyone lucky enough to own one.

I would love for you to join me as I introduce to you ‘Lost Treasure’. Get the inspiration and a sneak peek of the shoot below, but for the real action go to our gallery!

Credits:

‘Lost Treasure’

Styled by: Studio Walwyn

Jewelry by: ND Chong Jewels

MUA: Sarah Riley

Models: Alexis Kemp and Ayesha Nichelle Beckford

As a brief recap, I spent 10 days in my home town, my home away from home, my personal PARADISE, St.Kitts, to surprise my parents who a ooober anti-surprise! This trip with my siblings was to celebrate their 50th… uhhh huhh… wedding anniversary. We rented bungalows at a breath-taking Plantation Inn on our sister island of Nevis where we treated our parents to a wonderful and accident prone dinner (lol you had to be there), ate breakfast on the beach, collected baby coconuts, hunted for ginormous caterpillars (no really, they were HUGE), and most of all, spent time with family.

Then, my little munchkin and I hopped back on a plane for home to spend Christmas Walwyn style with daddy; opened presents, ate health conscious goodies from Santa (thanks love), gathered with friends, ate waaayyyy too much with friends and finally, slept in.

Fast forward to two shoots starting the day after christmas, editing, New Year prep…. 3, 2, 1… HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!! Oy Vey! I’m tired!

So now, here we are, wow, 2012! How has your year started out? I hope its been inspiring, happy and most of all hopeful! My year has started out with a BANG and the bar has been set high! After a few weeks of impatient anticipation, I can now present to you my sneak peek of a wedding shoot that I was invited to be a part of and, as of this morning, has been featured on STYLE ME PRETTY!!! I’m feeling like a bee on the hunt for honey and its ohhh so sweet!

Come take flight with me and visit Style Me Pretty to take a look at this amazing wedding shoot. There’s so much more to come!

Enjoy!

Leave a Dream

Today, my thankfulness focuses on a wonderfully written article in an awesome magazine that I had the pleasure of doing a shoot for. When Nichola asked me to do this shoot, my response was “really?” then “sure man” lol. We took lots of great shots and the result is one lucky detail shot capturing her at her craft on the pages of MACO Magazine! Thank you Nichola for the crazy request!

You can look for your own copy of MACO Magazine at select US bookstores and many others internationally. To see more photos from Nichola’s shoot click HERE.

For right now though, I have an equally exciting affair to show. One written in history and practiced by Royalty… Afternoon Tea. I had the pleasure of second shooting this amazing Bridal Shower Tea Party with my local muse and dear friend Diana Lupu.

Set in a breathtaking mansion in Southwest Ranches, this soiree was in element, surrounded by Antique furniture, beautifully carved interiors and grounds that would absolutely blow your mind! What made it even better though, was the occasion, the celebration of love for two people and the uniting of two families. In between shots, I was able to feel the interaction of each person there, their relationships to each other and their stories, and help a friend document it for them all!

Please enjoy this version of Afternoon Tea, Florida style!

Today is Halloween but I’ve decided to skip Halloween and head straight to Thanks Giving. I’ve been in a very thankful mood lately (having time to reflect on what’s important to me) and I would like to share the reason why. I began this journey somewhat skeptical of what to expect, just deciding to jump in head first and ‘DO’ as much as I can with no end in mind. Well, that decision has been the scariest but BEST decision I’ve made and I’ve done so with absolutely NO regrets!

Though there are many THANK YOU’S to be expressed, I will take this time to say a special one to this cute couple… Warren and Tammy. These two are the lucky parents of Brandon and Caelyn and I think best exemplify my Thankful Theme today. Had I not picked up my camera, I would not have been able to witness this duo in action. After shooting their Pixie Caelyn, I decided to turn my camera on them and was able to EXPERIENCE what you are about to see. Their playfulness, their ease with each other… no wonder they have such a pleasant family!

At the sight of an empty swing, Tammy says, “Lets SWINGGG!”, Warren responds with a laugh and a not too convincing, “You must be mad!” lol. Of course it did not help his case that I was encouraging his wife to do the unthinkable! All in all, they both survived and the swing was left unharmed! lol

I truly had a wonderful time with you both and look forward to more of these moments with and without the camera!

xoxo

Jewel

Loving and Laughing

What great Dads are made of!

A Mother's Joy...

A Couple's Escape!

A loving Family.. Priceless!!!

Here is Little Ma’am (Maaahm – as pronounced by her Mother). She graced us with her presence only six weeks ago and already she’s attempting to make her way off of EVERYTHING her mother puts her on! I tell you, it never ceases to amaze me how babies develop so quickly!

Her pure eyes, her warm skin, tiny little fingers… the way she can already track her mother around a room. These I think, give you a great head start to answering that question. What a wonderful start to life Kendall! As I like to say, there’s only UP from here!

A Precious Moment...

Sleeping Beauty

Ohh the little details...

Mummy's Touch...

What afternoons should feel like!