FEB 2012
U C I L D IMPRESSIONS
LOOKING AT
40
YEARS OF MARRIAGE
LOVE LOVE THE BEAUTY OF
BOUDOIR
HEARTBREAK
IS IMPORTANT
IN THIS ISSUE... wtf is love
from the voice of Bams
40 years of marriage
taking a look at 40 years of love
heartbreak is important from the voice of Jay
inner monologue
from the voices in my head
the beauty of boudoir it’s not just about taking off your clothes, it’s about capturing the essence of senuality
EDITOR’S NOTE When I first set out on this Valentine’s Day project, I questioned my sanity. What was I doing? Didn’t I already have a lot on my plate? Wasn’t there reruns of Friends I was missing? Had I forgotten, J wasn’t going to nag himself? But it was evident in my mind and heart (double trouble), that this was one of those things I wanted to do. You wanna talk about love? I’ll be the first to admit, I’m a sucker for sappy recounts of uncovered love. Love is the foundation of my business. Love pays the bills baby! When we love each other and we want to capture that through family photos, maternity photos, children photos, travel photos, and the ultimate love fest, weddings. Would you have your pictures taken with someone you didn’t love? Don’t answer that.
WTF is
LOVE
- by Bams
W
hile pretending to be an aircraft on the sidewalks of a neighborhood, a young boy gets distracted by a shout from an abandon house. His curiosity leads him upstairs, where he encounters a weird girl. The shouts were coming from her while she was playing make-believe; she was a dreamer like he was. She looks at him and questions his presence. The timid boy had no response. He stood there nervously, while she stared waiting for a reply. The tension was eventually broken and the boy and girl began to play. They discovered their common love for imaginary adventures. Their friendship grew with every passing day. They read daring stories to one another and built forts out of chairs and blankets to protect themselves from invisible monsters. They were inseparable. Years later, they fall in love and commit to a lifetime of friendship. Did I just steal and adjust a scene from my favorite Disney movie, UP? Yes I did, but there is a point to my plagiarism. I enjoy watching this movie because it sets a great example about real love, not that passionate love mumbo-jumbo William Shakespeare would produce. I believe that undying love between two people does not always happen spontaneously. Expectations of love have become over exaggerated. The best forms of love are ef-
fortless. The foundation to a great relationship is friendship. Friendships are combinations of any sexual preference, size, age, ethnicity, ideas, opinions, and interests. Therefore, love exists in a countless amount of ways. Like Carl and Ellie, their adventures together as dreamers made them compatible as a couple. Love is not determined by the number of years a couple has been together or the number of babies a couple has made or even marriage. It is the rough and pleasant they experience together. Love is ambiguously defined and overly used. The real love that I am attempting to describe can be mainly understood by someone in love. For now, the best way for me to illustrate the meaning of love is to refer to a scene from a children’s cartoon.
40 MARRIAGE
Looking at YEARS of
They really don’t know if it’s their age or the age of their marriage that makes them feel the way they do. But at forty years of marriage, they’re free, liberated, and they just don’t give a f*$&! The kids are all grown and out on their own, providing them with more “just us” time. They’re not getting any richer or poorer. Any aspirations of overnight success have been replaced with desires of quiet nights and mellow mornings. Now, it’s more about searching for the best paths for evening walks and less about career searching. Yes, they still bicker and fight, but the chemistry that was there 40 years ago, is still very strong here today. I was truly in the presence of matured love. And as if the universe sensed the same thing, the trees transformed into canopies of twinkling lights while the breeze became soft and sweet. Even the grass beneath our feet became big fluffy clouds. Pressing into each other, Jimmy and Jo began rocking to a delicate cadence. He begins to sing quietly in his best Dean Martin voice, “When the moon hits your eye, like a big-a pizza pie, that’s amore. When the world seems to shine, like you’ve had too much wine, that’s amore.” OH how I LOVE love. Rarer than the four-leaf clover, they know they’re an anomaly. How do you get into this exclusive category? I don’t know! I lost my love guru licenses when I tried to play matchmaker in the 5th grade. There’s no single recipe to a successful long marriage. A cup of hard work, a dash of long-suffering, a pinch of romance, a clove of forgiveness, 2 teaspoons of passion, and eight pounds of ground attraction. Sounds yummy.
marriage lets you...
...annoy one special person for the rest of your life
LOVE doesn’t score
that many
POINTS
H E A RT BREAK is
IMPORTANT - by Jay
A
short while ago, my son came home teary eyed and looking as if his world was coming to an end. As I often do, I tried to determine the source of his anguish before asking him to explain what was really wrong. I was thinking that he had some over exaggerated minor issues that could be solved with a slice of pizza, couple scoops of his favorite ice cream, and a few laps around the local gokart track. I thought he might have broken his iphone or got cut from the soccer team. Because when you’re in the 8th grade, having an iphone and being on the soccer team can instantly transform you from joe schmo to JOE, the coolest kid in school. However, it wasn’t until after he divulged that the girl he loved had just broken up with him did I realized we were both in trouble. In fact, there wasn’t anything that I could give him to make his troubles go away. Our conversation would be much deeper
than “Dad, watch this epic fail I just saw on youtube.” I paused for a moment to determine my approach of explaining the ebb and flow of heartbreaks and love. Realizing that this moment would be crucial in determining how he would approach future relationships; I frantically searched for an anecdote that I could tell him about some experience that I had growing up, in hopes to ease the emptiness that he was feeling inside. I started to tell him to listen to Dr. Dre’s the Chronic Album, especially track 16, and “holla at me when you’re done.” Instead, I asked him did he remember the story of Romeo and Juliet and how they met. For those of you who don’t remember, Romeo was at a party with gold bottles and scolding models for spilling Ace on his sick J’s. He was attempting to forget about Rosaline who had broken his heart. Then, from across the room, he spotted Juliet wearing a fly ball gown and bustier. The two instantly fell in love and the rest of the story is better told by Sir William Shakespeare. After I reminded him of that part of the story, he didn’t seem to be amused. So, I explained that if it were not for Rosaline, Romeo would have never met his true soul mate, Juliet. I told him that he needed to test fate and experience love and hurt on the road to becoming a better person. The only way to fill a hole that love has left in your heart is to fill it with love. I warned him to be cautious and to take his time when it comes to matters of the heart. Girls will come and go, but it’s all about the one. The one that will see you to the end. And, when he finds that special someone, he would know it without a doubt.
13)
3)
2) 19)
4) 12)
7)
inner
Monologue 1) The best part of the fish is right behind the cheeks. The meat there is the size of a quarter depending on the fish but it’s the juiciest, most flavorful part of the fish. And since there are only two cheeks on a fish, I would call dibs. 2) Red Velvet has to be my current favorite cupcake flavor, but I also dream of one day finding the perfect peach, salted caramel, or sweet potato cheesecake cupcake. 3) One day, I hope to have children that will love my cooking, like I love my mom’s. Her culinary expertise is legendary. 4) Before a shoot, I listen to music really loud to calm my nerves. 5) When I’m eating breakfast, I am thinking about lunch. When I’m inhaling lunch, I am thinking about dinner. When I’m enjoying dinner, I am thinking about breakfast. 6) I don’t judge a book by its cover; I feel the same way about people. 7) When I say, “I’ll be there in 20-30 minutes,” I mean I’ll be there in four minutes because I’m actually just around the corner Instagramming. 8) Adriana Lima and I have the same birthdays, I’m just older. 9) I don’t feel guilty about guilty pleasures so you shouldn’t feel guilty either. 10) Ican only devote six minutes of undivided attention to anything I am doing at the moment. While writing this, I’ve already checked my email, shopped for shoes online, went to the bathroom, put the wet clothes in the dyer, sang a song, and stalked Pinterest. 11) I refuse to carry a handbag. 12) If I had more time, I would read. 13) Because I’ll find any nonexistent reason to buy a dress, four silk chiffon gowns, with tags, in my closet, are waiting to be worn to that nonexistent ball I’ll be invited to. 14) My sight is my weakest sense. 15) I know hate is a strong word, but I hate ketchup. If we have to share french fries, I highly recommend that you be considerate and squeeze your ketchup far off to the side. I will be kind and refrain from hideously distorting your picture in Photoshop and posting it all over Face Book. 16) Confrontation and Dubstep scare me. Confrontation because I’m a lover not a hater. Dubstep mostly because I don’t know how to dance to it. 17) Photography is good for my spirit so please don’t deny me. I get really sad. 18) A good photo will get seven minutes of my undivided attention. 19) Be generous because it will only come back. 20) No one can be me.
The Beauty of
Boudoir
So you’re thinking about taking most or all of your clothes off for the camera. But you have reservations and your last waxing experience was less then desirable and left some scars. Could you really bring yourself to expose your most vulnerable state for someone you hardly know? YES! I know what you’re thinking. And since we’ve established that I’m a little crazy, why break that pattern?
Couples in love are my favorite subjects to photograph. There’s something unreserved about romantic love. If I could just tap into the honeymoon photographer business, I’d be one extremely happy camper. So if you’re going on a romantic trip with your significant other and can get past the third wheel (me), let’s talk.
Dude-oir
as demonstrated by a dude
the BODY says what WORDS cannot
THANK
YOU
Thank to our readers and the contributors to this first edition of Lucid Impressions. Special thanks to two of the most influential voices in my life. Their long-suffering grants me calmness and stability to my otherwise restless and turbulent mind. I am so fortunate to have their unwavering support so I can continue doing what I was meant to do. Also thank you to all my victims models who were tortured by the elements (what-
ever) so that I could do what I love. And all that hotness you see, right there, that’s all YOU. I’m just a glorified button pusher with impeccable timing. Want to get a hold of me? hanh@lucidimpressions.com www.lucidimpressions.com P.O. BOX 4152 Oceanside, CA 92052 © Copyright 2012 by Lucid Impressions Photography, LLC. All rights reserved. No part may be reproduced or transmitted, including photocopying without written permission from Lucid Impressions Photography. All images are copyrighted to Lucid Impressions Photography. Say no to stealing.