Cover Shot

Thanks for putting me on the cover Scottsdale Health!

Outtake

Blue Steel

Here's an outtake from today's photo shoot for my new sponsor Athena Water! ... shot by John Segesta ... hair & make-up by Margarita GoDiva.

Hair & Make-Up

So many choices and only one face to make-up!

Swim Mommas

Who hired the clowns?

Mugging with Angi Greene on the Aqua Sphere set. Girls just wanna have fun!

Set Shot

Hair & Make-Up Poolside

It was cold on the Aqua Sphere set yesterday! I'm always amazed at how photographers can make a dreary day look sunny.

Goggles Galore

Look at the selection of colors! Almost makes me wish I could wear more than one pair at a time.

New Suits

I don't remember how many suits I put on but it was a lot!!! "Do any of these come in flannel?"

Set Shot

A shot of today's Aqua Sphere set with one of my fave athletes Angi Greene and photographer John Segesta.

Top Gun

Call sign Blaze

Shanghai Flashback

View From the Bund

Here's a shot from my trip last summer to Shanghai. It is an incredibly interesting city that is home to some of the most interesting architecture in the world.

Christmas Pageant

Shepherds & Sheep

My Boys and I

Sacha, Amanda & Blaise

One of my favorite family pics from our last trip to Oahu.

5 Things I Love on a Lazy Sunday

1)  Influence by Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen - Okay, so I've been given many amazing birthday gifts but one I have yet to grow out of is the book Influence. Yes, if you only look at the cover, it can be mistaken for a silly little girl book filled with frou-frou pictures from Mary Kate and Ashley’s childhood but turn a few pages and you’ll realize they’re now an extremely bright minded dynamic twenty-something entrepreneurial duo. The book is an amazing collection of pictures and interviews of people who have inspired them in their design/fashion/personal life, from Diane von Fürstenberg to Alexander McQueen, and proof the girls lead an eclectic life. Mary Kate and Ashley's passions are nothing short of contagious. What I take from it: they never do what is expected. They do and create what they love, stay out of the crazy limelight and don't let what others think dictate who they are and what they love.

2)  houzz.com is a website my Aunt Wendy (an interior design genius) forwarded to me recently. I just bought a house in my hometown of Louisville, KY, and let's just say that this website has seen consecutive hours of usage by lil' ol' me. The site allows you to put together digital idea books from beautiful and amazing homes all over the world (I'm obsessed with Mediterranean style homes) in any way you want; by color, room, theme, location, etc. What I take from it: it's ADDICTING!

3)  weheartit.com is a site filled with fun photography/creative photos for any age ( it caters more to adolescent girls, but hey, to each their own). I often save my favorites and use them for fun backgrounds on my phone, computer, and iPad.

4)  Twilight: Breaking Dawn Soundtrack - Don't knock it till you try it. - ps #TeamJacob.

5)  Two Moms in the Raw make bars you can get from most any health food store (or sold individually at Starbucks now)! They’re healthy, delicious, ADDICTING, and the perfect fiber-filled, good-fat snack to sustain energy that you need throughout your Sunday!

Sunday Quote: "I am who I am, that is that. I am who I am thank God, I am". - Guru Singh

-By guest blogger Caroline Stilwell Burckle

If you have any questions please ask in the comment section below and remember this is only an opinion. When making any changes to your diet you are doing so at your own risk and should have prior approval from your physician!

Instant Gratification

Stop Sign between Tucson and Santa Fe/FUJiFILM Instax 210

I love instant film. There's something incredibly satisfying about snapping a picture and being able to hold a finished object a few seconds later. There's no downloading, no processing, no converting, no color correcting and no printing. The hermetically sealed film pops out of the camera, the image slowly appears and it's done: shake and bake. 

Blaise and I at the Beverly Hilton/FUJiFILM Instax 210

The two most well known maufacturers of non-professional instant film cameras and instant film are Polaroid and FUJiFILM. Polaroid once dominated the market and their name is still as synonymous with instant film as Kleenex is with tissue; so much so that I regularly call my FUJiFILM Instax 210 camera "my Polaroid". Unfortunately, the only current analog offering from Polaroid is their 300 which puts out very small images that are more like quaint little souveniers to give away or slap on your fridge than something you'd put in a photo album or frame. Don't get me wrong, the tiny little pics are cute and fun and there's definitely a thousand uses for them, they're just not my preferred size.

Supposedly, the 300 is a relabeled FUJiFILM Instax mini 7 that shoots relabeled Instax mini film and if you look at the two cameras and films side by side, it's hard to argue otherwise. If there's truth to that rumor it means Polaroid actually makes nothing when it comes to traditional instant film … a tragedy to say the least. Ideally, I'd love to see Polaroid get back in the game by making a larger format again, maybe something cool and retro like their famed SX-70 that allows for more creative control but alas, I'm not holding my breath.

Sacha and I at a bar in NYC/FUJiFILM Instax 7

FUJiFILM, with their Instax 210 did a great job of picking up where Polaroid left off. The camera itself is a bit bulky and very plastic but the picture it takes is a unique landscape format(6.2cmx9.9cm) and the overall image size(8.6x10.8) is very close to that of Polaroid 600. The Instax film is medium in contrast and saturation, as you might expect, but gains a little in both areas when the flash is turned on in low light situations. Also, the 210 has an attachable close-up lens that works great but I'd really like to see it integrated into the camera so I don't have another thing to keep track of.

Having dragged this camera with me on many a trip, I can say I really do hate the 210's clunkyness but love most everything else about it. It's a favorite to take just about anywhere I go.

FUJiFILM Instax 210/iPhone

Another option, and my husband's choice, is to buy instant film from the boutique manufacturer IMPOSSIBLE for an old Polaroid SX-70, 600 or Spectra. IMPOSSIBLE started making film because Polaroid stopped and their products, dare I say, are as creative as anything Polaroid ever put out. However, now that getting film is relatively easy again, finding a good condition used Polaroid takes a little work. Check eBay often or marry a photographer, chances are he(or she) will have a few lying around.

Whatever you buy, you'll definitely have as much fun with it as you would your digi cam or iPhone and you might even take a pic or two that's worth hanging on the wall. If you think I jest, buy a copy of The Polaroid Book by Taschen: It's filled with images that exemplify the creative possibilities of instant film.   

Instant film cameras and instant film can be had at Amazon, B&H Photo and Urban Outfitters.

*Special thanks to my husband/photographer Sacha Brown for help with this post.