Death Valley x Tony Bridal & The Secondhand Society

A few weeks ago, I went on a day trip with some photographer and model friends to the Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes in Death Valley. I don’t know why we decided to go here in summer because we almost died of heat exhaustion haha but the photos still turned out amazing and we have memories to last a lifetime.

I recently collaborated with two different companies and thought this trip would be perfect to shoot them at. I have been looking to shoot a bit more bridal stuff because – let’s be honest – brides have the money to spend on photos and ya girl needs more paid gigs! Plus, I’m all about a romantic fairytale type of shoot. Tony Gallegos (@tony.bridal) is a local Long Beach wedding dress designer from Mexico.  Him and his husband came along on our adventure and it was such a pleasure to have them! The two dresses were very elegant and detailed in their construction - seriously so stunning!

The other brand accompanied on our excursion was the Secondhand Society (@secondhand.society). They are a recycled fashion subscription box company that sends you personally styled pieces once a month ranging from purses, dresses, accessories, pants, etc. – whatever your preference is! You fill out a style quiz with your likes/dislikes and sizes prior to receiving a box. They even check out your Pinterest fashion boards to make sure they’re picking out styles you would like! I received a complementary box from them with a dusty blue BCBGMaxazria dress, black and grey printed Free People kimono, gold fan brooch, gold and black circle earrings, and a silver/turquoise bohemian style bracelet. The box value is insane – just the retail price of the dress is likely $150-$250 but you get 4-5 pieces for as low as $27 a box (depends on the plan that you choose)! There are so many subscription boxes out there, but very few are committed to sustainability issues. By using thrifted, vintage, and recycled fashion finds you are working towards decreasing textile waste and manufacturing emissions, off-setting your carbon footprint, giving unwanted clothes a new life, and the list goes on! One of the easiest ways to live more sustainably is to shop secondhand – but still keep in mind to buy quality over quantity!

Our trip consisted of 14 photographers and models collaborating and creating content collectively. I know it sounds cliché, but it’s such a beautiful experience and makes you feel so alive to be exploring, wandering, and working with new friends and old to create not just to create art together, but memories as well. The best photos are the ones that have a story behind them or the ones that make you feel something. That’s what we hope to gain on these trips. We made photo stops along the side of the road in the middle of nowhere, shot at Badwater Basin (the lowest point in North America), the rainbow rocks in Death Valley National Park, and ended the evening shooting at the Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes until dark. We took a moment on our way out of Death Valley to get out of our cars, star gaze, a few of us attempted to get some Milky Way shots on our tripods, lit sparklers, and danced in the lone road to music.  There were no other cars for miles, just us and the desert. You know those moments that you’ll remember forever - those moments that make you feel like you’re apart of something so much bigger? This was one of those moments.  So much love to all the people that came and to our trip coordinator Laurence (@photosby_laurence) for making it happen! Can’t wait for our next adventure together!

Southwest Road Trip: CA > AZ > UT > NV > CA

This year both my boyfriend, Zach, and my brother, Nathan, had the same spring break - yay!! My brother is in medical school at the University of Arizona and Zach is in physical therapy school at California State University Long Beach, so you can imagine our family's excitement that they would be out of school at the same time! When schedules align, my dad loves to plan family trips so this time we made it a southwest road trip!

Zach and I drove out from Long Beach to Scottsdale, AZ where my parents live and stayed a couple nights. Nathan and his wife, Deanna, drove up from Tucson and met us in Scottsdale a day later. We then caravanned in two cars (mine and Nathan's) to Sedona/Oak Creek Canyon for two nights. We stayed in the cutest lodge right on the creek and it was super roomy for our group of six. While in Sedona, we hiked, explored and shopped around downtown Sedona, went to Tlaquepaque, etc.

On day three of our trip, we ventured north to Flagstaff and stayed at my aunt and uncle's cabin in Forest Highlands. We did a little bit of hiking, explored downtown Flag, etc. We also went to one of my fave restaurants, Whyld Ass - literally the best vegan mac and cheese and baked goods omg. unreal. 

We continued north on day four and drove up to Antelope Canyon and Horseshoe Bend in Page, AZ. My dad booked us on a tour of Upper Antelope Canyon which was pretty cool! I had seen the Lower Antelope Canyon before but this was my first time seeing the Upper one. The main difference is that the Upper one is more expensive, there aren't any stairs or climbing that you have to do, you get driven in, and you walk through it there and back. After Antelope Canyon, we stopped by Horseshoe Bend. It was really windy and people were getting way too close to the edge it looked like some of them were going to blow off the edge! Serious anxiety there haha but the view was worth it! Nathan and Deanna parted ways with us here and drove back down to Flagstaff for the night as we continued the trip to Utah. 

Once we left Page, we drove into south Utah and made it to our cabin in Duck Creek Village around dusk. It was such a cozy place but every restaurant nearby was closed so we ended up scrounging up some food from the cooler to put together dinner. It was super cold and snowing out too which we didn't prepare for either. 

On Day five, we drove through Bryce Canyon National Park which was spectacular! There is one main road and many lookouts and places to stop along the way. We didn't bother hiking much here because it was snowing, my dad has a bad hip, and Zach recently hurt his ankle. We ended the day at a hidden gem of a restaurant that was super nice! We drove back to our lodge in Duck Creek and stayed for a second evening. 

In the morning, we packed up our stuff and got ready to go to Zion National Park. Because I was so cold the day before, I thought it would be a good idea to wear four pairs of pants (three leggings and one pair of loose fitting jeans over lol). This was a new record for me, but Zion was surprisingly much warmer than Bryce Canyon so I ended up taking off most of my layers. Zion was much more crowded than I was expecting and it made for a less relaxing time there than Bryce. It was still very beautiful and scenic though! Once we were done driving through the park, we started making our way to Las Vegas!

We checked into the Mirage and got settled. They got both of our room arrangements wrong and my dad through a fit haha but they wouldn't do anything to fix it - pretty bad customer service if you ask me. Anywho... we ended up finding this super vegan-friendly steakhouse (lol, weird I know) at the Wynn and ate dinner there! This was probably one of the most expensive menus I've ever seen but everything was amazing and they really catered to vegans so my mom and I were super happy. After dinner, we went back to our hotel and got ready for the late showing of the Cirque du Soleil show Beatles Love. It was very 70's and hippie vibes - pretty cool tricks and acrobatics as well! We finished off our night in Vegas drinking at a cocktail lounge and hanging around the casino. 

We ended the last morning of our trip eating at a buffet at the Mirage for breakfast. Zach and I parted ways with my parents and drove back to Long Beach. It was such a great trip and even better times with my fave people! Can't wait for our next family vacay :)

 

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NOW ENTERING...

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LAST STOP... VEGAS!