I have this really bad habit to wake up in the morning and checking my emails on my iphone before I get out of bed. Every morning I have the same question. Why do you do that? You should rather wake up, get ready for the day and then check emails when you walk into the office. But for some reason checking emails in bed prepares me for my day ahead. I know it sounds strange, but I like to plan ahead and know what’s coming. By glancing through my inbox I know what to expect before I walk into the office. This morning there was a HUGE smile on my face!

I received a message from Edmund. An email I’ve been waiting for! Let me explain…Iaan and I were standing in a line at WPPI to grab a sandwich and behind us stood two friendly guys. One of them was Edmud Prieto. We stated chatting, handed out business cards and every now and then we’d walk past them at the conference. After WPPI iaan and I visited Henry Chen in Los Angeles. And being the geeks we are, iaan and I tweeted about being in LA.

(Now let me first pause here. If you’re not on twitter yet, or you’re not using it, I suggest you seriously open an account! And not only open it, but use it actively! You never know who you might meet up with!)

That day I received a message from Edmund. He lived only 30min away and asked me and iaan if we’d like to do a shoot. One the one side I was super nervous and on the other side I was doing my little happy dance! Yes! We were in.

iaan and I hit the streets to grab something decent to wear, because after 3 weeks of traveling I don’t think anything I had in my bag would have worked :) Being on the other side is so strange. I’m usually the one staring through the viewfinder and there I found myself being stared at. Now I can say: “I understand.” If you’re a photographer I suggest you get friends to photograph you every once in a while. It helps you to see the other side. To experience the awkward feeling and to feel the anticipation to see the shots. It makes you stalk someones blog every single day until you see the shots and then you smile when you see them. And then, when you look at them, you don’t think only of that day, but you look at the photos and you see all the good things you’ve experienced with that person. You realize how it makes you feel and how loved you are. Last week was my and iaan’s 8 year anniversary and I can’t think of any better present than these photos. Edmund thanks for making me see the other side. For realizing what a privileged job I have. To help people see LOVE.