There are many reasons to love Instagram these days. One of my photo mentors Jeremy Cowart has called it “the new photo industry,” and I think there’s some truth to that. All I know is that it offers the opportunity to connect with people in ways that were never before possible.
Meet Thomas and Tiantian. When I bought a ticket to Iceland back in July, I made a point to comment on a photographer’s photo that I follow on Instagram – a photographer who lives and works in Iceland. I told them that I would be flying out there and would love to connect with them. Meanwhile, Tiantian was planning a trip to Iceland with her longtime boyfriend Thomas (who both live in Paris), and was perusing through photos from Icelandic photographers on Insty. She saw my comment, went to my page, which led her to my website… and the next thing I know, I have an email in my inbox asking if I would be interested in doing a couple’s shoot with the two of them! I was like, “Hmm… lemme think… photograph beautiful people in love in Iceland… gosh that’s a hard one…” 🙂
So, we kept planning things out. She sent me Water Mitty quotes and photos she likes. We skyped at one point, and they were just a delight. After that conversation, I got a sneaky email from Thomas informing me that he wanted to propose to Tiantian during this photo shoot. Just when you think things couldn’t get any more awesome… So, we met in Reykjavik for drinks the night before the shoot for the first time. They were lovely. When Tiantian went up to order at the bar, Thomas and I made up a signal for him to give me when he was ready to ask. (it was an over-the-top wink. nice and subtle.)
So, we met the next morning, and I rode all over the west of Iceland with these two! It’s an amazing experience– being entrusted with the precious memories of two total strangers and riding around in a car with them listening to Sigur Rós and the Walter Mitty soundtrack all day. It was kind of perfect… and here are the photos to commemorate that glorious experience.
