Jillian Mitchell Photography | Destination Wedding Photographer | Puerto Vallarta | Mexico | New England | Worldwide

SXSW Film.

Jillian — Wed, 15 May 2013 17:02:25 +0000

So this is the last of it. I shot some film in Austin. Lots of portraits and some street stuff.

To see my digital photos go here and for Macklemore and Ryan Lewis here.

SXSW 2013.

Jillian — Fri, 10 May 2013 15:33:26 +0000

This is a long one. Apologies in advance. In no particular order here are: Dead Sara, Robert Delong, Poolside, Girl in a Coma, Hector Guerra, The Smashing Pumpkins, Airplane Boys, Cafe Tacuva, Swear and Shake, The Black Lips, Icona Pop, Gemini Club, St. Lucia, Talib Kweli, Capitol Cities, Big Freedia, The Sword, and some other people playing music, walking on the street and hanging out in a killer vintage Airstream called Utourpia. The film that I shot is coming soon.

If you haven’t heard of Dead Sara, Girl in a Coma, and Robert Delong you absolutely need to check them out.

You can see my photos of Macklemore and Ryan Lewis who were so good live they deserved their own post here.

Macklemore and Ryan Lewis.

Jillian — Sun, 05 May 2013 16:57:04 +0000

When I covered SXSW in March there were a handful of groups that were must sees for me. I knew I wouldn’t be able to get into all of them, but Macklemore and Ryan Lewis were deal breaker for me. I really, really wanted to see these guys live. I was already a big fan of the new album, but I wanted to see how they threw down on stage. They had a five or so shows that week at least and I figured I would be able to get to at least one, but as Friday night rolled around and I knew that Saturday was going to be a tough one to get into I started to get a little worried. They were playing the Tumblr show and when we arrived there was a line down the block of people with badges and passes who had been waiting for hours. The venue was at capacity and only VIP’s were getting in. The thing you need to know about SXSW is if you can talk a good game and act like you are supposed to be wherever you want to be then most likely you will get in. At least that’s what happened to me. Most of the time. The Tumblr house was an exception. These guys weren’t having any of it. I saw my chance when two girls were getting their bags searched. I just made my way behind them like I had been with them the whole time and boom, I got my VIP bracelet and I was in. From there we made friends with a local named, of all things, Austin, who knew everyone working at Rainey St. and was able to lead us through the packed crowd to the side of the stage to shoot.

There is a lot of hype surrounding these guys right now and hands down, it’s all worth it. From the moment they took the stage to the moment the show ended they put everything they could into their performance. The energy was a bit surreal to be honest. I had now seen three days full of shows and although my expectations were high I also knew that they had already played four or more times in the past three days. Who can bring the same energy to every show? Mack and Ryan Lewis that’s who.

If you haven’t heard their album or listened to their music it’s a must. Macklemore’s words along with Lewis’s production is just insanity. There are a ton of hits on the album and even though Thrift Store is the single that blew them up, for me Same Love is one of the best songs of the year if not the decade. I know that’s a big statement, but when it’s 2013 and we’re still fighting over basic rights for human beings it’s time to wake the fuck up and to me this song helps people to do so. Love is love people and no matter what anyone tries to tell you we all know deep down that you have absolutely no control over who you love. That’s why it’s called falling.

So these are my faves. The first being one of the highlights when I jumped onstage after Mack started crowd surfing. You could tell he wanted to do it since the show started and I was just waiting for my chance… and I got it.

For the love of film.

Jillian — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 02:53:41 +0000

I’m catching up on a lot of back editing including SXSW which I hope to have up here soon. For now here’s a favorite from a recent wedding in Los Angeles at the oh so hip(ster), Marvimon, the sister location to the SmogShoppe.

San Ignacio

Jillian — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 18:25:46 +0000

Even with the influx of tourism to our area there is still an immense amount of poverty and lack of resources for the surrounding towns. Sayulita and San Pancho have a multitude of programs for the local kids, but San Ignacio and Las Lomas tend to get thrown to the wayside. This past year some friends rented out a small room and piece of land in San Ignacio to open a youth community center. There are several different classes ranging from silks and African dance to English and math. These are some images I took on my last visit.

Black and White equals Rock and Roll.

Jillian — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 20:19:33 +0000

A photograph is a secret about a secret. The more it tells you the less you know.

- Diane Arbus-

Love in Seattle.

Jillian — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 03:37:05 +0000

Slacker! I know. I’ve been busy galavanting in the US of A. Lots of fun, lots of work, and lots of photos taken, but now it’s time to get back down to business. When I was in Seattle I had a chance to shoot a love/family session with a super rad couple. I’m a huge fan of getting all up in people’s lives and documenting the real day to day stuff and I think that this session is a perfect example of that. Just enough love and just enough Big Wheels. Who doesn’t want to jump on that thing? I did. It was as amazing as you think it’s going to be. Like transport you back to being eight years old amazing.

This session is all film all the time. Portra 400. The killer black and white film is up next.

Fanita+Dean | Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

Jillian — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 17:40:00 +0000

There’s been a lot of talk lately about how wedding photography isn’t really art and to be honest that’s what I had always thought, but when it comes down to it we are artists and so much more. We are documenting an insanely personal moment and our imagery will soon be the only memory of this rite of passage. No matter how good the food is, what cocktails you offer (although that is, of course, extremely important), or how many intricate details you have so (fingers crossed) you can get into the blogs/magazines, none of that really matters. The only thing you will want to remember and take with you are the moments you shared. Being the person to capture these moments is an honor and no more present than in the elopement of Fanita and Dean. There are no details, no frills, and no mason jars. What there is, however, is love. An incredible amount of love. That they chose to share with me.

To see the whole wedding or to buy prints go here. Their wedding is also being featured on What Junebug Loves.

Kids Surf Torneo | Sayulita

Jillian — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 06:25:19 +0000

A little while back there was a kids surf torneo en Sayula and the Wahine girls who I do the surf clinics with were making t-shirts so I went down with my old school Yashica Mat and some film. It’s always interesting shooting an event in a format that normally wouldn’t be thought of at all. There were other photographers there with the typical DSLRs and 300-500mm lenses, but I really like how this format caught the action. That along with the colors of Kodak Ektar and I think it kicks serious ass.

And this is me that day taken by the lovely Octavia who has the bird on her shoulder above. Not gonna lie, my life rocks.

Monchis.

Jillian — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 06:32:09 +0000

I took some portraits of my friend Monchis a while back. I likes.