Category: adventures & travels

2011 Travel


This year will be looking a bit hectic but all in good reason and surely enough adventure 🙂
If you are interested in a portrait or love shoot (or wedding or mentor session) in any of the following locations, please get in contact with me! I am also always more than happy to just meet for coffee and chat 🙂

Monterey, CA // April 29 – May 1
New York City // May 3 – May 9
Los Angeles + San Diego // May 22 – May 23
New York // June 1 – June 4
Los Angeles // June 26 – June 28
Minnesota // June 29 – July 3
Napa Valley, CA // July 22 – July 23
Cabo San Lucas // August 4 – August 8
Los Angeles + San Diego // September 9 – September 11
Warsaw, Poland // September 19 – September 30
Albuquerque, NM // October 2 – October 5
Costa Rica // October 10 – October 20
Hong Kong, Vietnam, Thailand, Korea // November – December
Turkey // December 23 – December 31

Modern-day Muse

The road up the hill was windy. The heat was sweltering. So much so that you could sweat even with the AC blasting in the car.
“What about here?” she said.
“Perfect!” I replied as I pulled up to the side of the road. Megan got out and immediately walked up to the horses while I got my gear out of my trunk.
“Ooo… you’re just the sweetest creatures.” Megan says as she pulls one of the horses’ faces close to hers as if she were kissing a boy. “I wish you could come home with me old boy.” She continues talking and I start shooting…

This is how I first met Megan. The photos from that day came out great. The photos of her today, still come out great. So begins my topic on muses. Every photographer has one. Mine is Megan.


My most recent photo of Megan.

It has always been a pleasure to shoot with her and the adventures have been very random and endless… (including shoots with chickens, tall trees, and tiny mice… oh my.) Megan has been a great inspiration to me, as a person and as a friend. I sometimes think I am hanging out with Snow White when I’m with her. Animals seem to have this affinity to her. It is almost ridiculous.

Cheers to you, Megan!

pura vida


Throughout Costa Rica, “pura vida” is an expression used to describe a way of life. There is satisfaction, happiness, peace and the warmth of home in this beautiful country. My trip here over the winter is one that I will never forget.


Blankets of sugar cane fields can be found throughout this diverse little country.

Each day had the most beautiful closure, sunsets that could leave you speechless.

Home for the holidays



Of course, I couldn’t resist snapping a few shots during the holidays. Christmas this year was in Florida again. Too bad the weather was not as warm as previous years. Anyhow, here are a couple photos from Christmas where I am. Hope everyone is enjoying the holidays with their loved ones.




It’s not Christmas without all the holiday decorations 🙂

Kiko is sound asleep… as she is most of the days.

Looking for trouble nonetheless.


If you haven’t tried Samuel Adams’ Utopias, I highly recommend it. “Not just unlike any other beer but unlike any other beverage in the world… having been aged up to 16 years in the barrel room of our Boston Brewery, in a variety of woods… This flavorful, slightly fruity brew has a sweet, malty flavor that is reminiscent of a deep, rich vintage port, fine cognac or aged sherry.”

Ahh… Christmas dinner.

… And Christmas food coma.

Merry Christmas to each and every one of us!

Traveling


Time flies too quick sometimes. I remember quite clearly when it was just February and I had booked a wedding in Costa Rica and am now just realizing tomorrow I will be on a plane on my way there. Although I had not initially planned on an international trip this year, I somehow managed to go on one regardless. I am not complaining as I am very excited as I will be covering a wedding for an accredited IMDb cinematographer while I am out there as well.

The rest of this year will be mostly travel, as I will be heading to Los Angeles, CA and Orlando, FL after my trip in Costa Rica. It will be a nice end to 2010 after working long hours every week/weekend since April.

To all my current and prospective clients, I will be be traveling and unavailable on the following dates:
November 9-21, 2010 — Costa Rica
December 2-6, 2010 — Los Angeles, California
December 20-29, 2010 — Orlando, Florida

Ratatat @ the Warfield


It has been a while since I had gone to a concert and I have to admit I miss the scenery and blowing out my ears with good auditory sensations. Ratatat, one of my favorite bands, played on Friday night and although I didn’t get to bring my camera with me, I still managed to get some photos with the point-and-shoot. It’s funny how I always initially try to hold any point-and-shoot up to my eye, then realizing it’s not one of my own cameras. The concert was definitely a treat after 4 months of non-stop work and late-night edits. They had an awesome encore, ending with “17 years,” my all-time favorite. My ears were still ringing the next morning… Success!
Check out some of the photos!




For the encore, the sky fell on the crowd 😉




Fin.

Tell Me a Story…

It’s all about telling a story. Whether it’s an expression on a face, a mysterious destination, or a moment of pure genius, if the portrait makes a person ponder, submit it to me!

Here are the rules:

1) Submit your photo(s) to vivian@viviansachs.com – 3 entry max
2) Label Subject of your email as “My Story Photo Competition” and include your name and phone number.
3) No nudity/partial nudity or distasteful images

The competition starts today and is open until January 30, 2010 – the top three best photos will be in the running to have a chance to win a free portrait session and photobook (valued at $50).

Winners will be notified via email on February 1st, 2010

Australia

Well… I can stop running “away with the pixies” now because I’m “happy as Larry” to be headed of to the land of Aussies, kangaroos, and didgeridoos tomorrow with my camera in hand. My “swags” are all packed with jeans and “jumpers” (as it will be the beginning of spring over in Melbourne) and I won’t be returning till the end of September. Many photos to come 🙂

Reference to Aussie slang here.

Volvo car meet

Carlson Volvo in Palo Alto was hosting a Volvo car meet on Saturday, August 8th. My boyfriend heard about the meet on Swedespeed, a forum for Volvo lovers. I went along with him because I finally had a break from the fashion shoots and brought along my camera just for fun – Glad I did since there were some interesting cars there and I played around along with different picture perspectives and compositions. For those who know their Volvos, “there were over 80 volvos, including a lot of [S60] Rs and some cool P1800s” (as noted in my boyfriend’s post – he brought his S60 R). There was a Volvo R there with blue stripes which was probably my favorite. My boyfriend posted the photos on the swedespeed forum. Here were some comments my boyfriend got from swedespeed users for the post:

“I love the photograph of the nose of that S60R, something about the composure, absolutely great!”
– m.olennick

“The Carlsen show was cool, nice pics thanks for sharing. Your lady takes some cool images, she must have her PP (post processing) down.”
– 850arrrsaylikepirate

It’s always nice getting feedback from others – it puts a smile on my face to know that people like my photos and reminds me why I love photography so much! Yay! Below were the photos I gave my bf to post:
classic red volvo
blue stripes