Nicole Mason

www.nicolemason.co // @neekmason

[nicolemason]

“It doesn't interest me what you do for a living. I want to know what you ache for, and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart's longing. It doesn't interest me how old you are. I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool for love, for your dream, for the adventure of being alive. It doesn't interest me what planets are squaring your moon. I want to know if you have touched the center of your own sorrow, if you have been opened by life's betrayals or have become shriveled and closed from fear of further pain. I want to know if you can sit with pain, mine or your own, without moving to hide it or fade it, or fix it. I want to know if you can be with joy, mine or your own, if you can dance with wildness and let the ecstasy fill you to the tips of your fingers and toes without cautioning us to be careful, to be realistic, to remember the limitations of being human. It doesn't interest me if the story you are telling me is true. I want to know if you can disappoint another to be true to yourself; if you can bear the accusation of betrayal and not betray your own soul; if you can be faithless and therefore trustworthy. I want to know if you can see beauty even when it's not pretty, every day, and if you can source your own life from its presence. I want to know if you can live with failure, yours and mine, and still stand on the edge of the lake and shout to the silver of the full moon, “Yes!” It doesn't interest me to know where you live or how much money you have. I want to know if you can get up, after the night of grief and despair, weary and bruised to the bone, and do what needs to be done to feed the children. It doesn't interest me who you know or how you came to be here. I want to know if you will stand in the center of the fire with me and not shrink back. It doesn't interest me where or what or with whom you have studied. I want to know what sustains you, from the inside, when all else falls away. I want to know if you can be alone with yourself and if you truly like the company you keep in the empty moments.” - Oriah, Mountain Dreamer, Indian Elder - Full set of these images now up on my website: link in profile.

[nicolemason]

Last Friday in Oregon, in a canyon, at a cabin, married beneath trees beside a creek, surrounded by 50 loved ones: Brooke + Em. (at Vida, Oregon)

[nicolemason]

I'm working up some 2017 branding that I'm really excited about - and also, I'm open for booking for the 2017 wedding season, anywhere and everywhere ✈️🌊✨! Inquiries can be sent through the contact form on my website! (at Denver International Airport)

[nicolemason]

Waking up early for a sunrise photo session on the California coast is always worth it. 🙌🏼✨ (at Rodeo Beach Marin Headlands)

[nicolemason]

First looks in a bathhouse built in the 1800s by a lake... I'll take more of these, please. (at Lake Erie State Park)

[nicolemason]

i have thoughts that could stretch across a thousand seas. some of them for you. some of them, for me. some of them swallowed by waves that crash too quickly. others, too far out to see, or even fathom. some of them, quiet - comfortable in the waiting. others, shout to be heard, but only echo through a medium far thicker than air; like a hand unseen, reaching up to feel the wind, but once again, pulled down into the persistent resistance. one day, the calm will come. - I'm not sure when I wrote this; I actually have no recollection of writing it. but I often write things scattered across so many notebooks and pages, that when I come back to them, and find them, it's like I'm reading something that someone else wrote. (at Portland, Oregon)

[nicolemason]

A couple years ago I dreamed of shooting weddings and portraits on the west coast, in beautiful places, with adventurous people, and traveling to shoot as much as I could. As my 2-yr anniversary with Portland comes up in November, I've been looking back on all the ways I've grown, the work I've been able to do, and all the people who have made it all possible. The people (behind the brands, in front of my camera, and by my side) throughout my journey as a one-woman business, are what it all comes down to. I don't think there are words for my gratitude. In the middle of this busy, travel-filled wedding season I'm also thankful to be carrying my gear in an Ona bag. It has seriously changed my life. I used to drag two bags around with me (one for my laptop and one for my camera gear) and now I can fit all in one. Hallelujah. P.s. I'll be taking over @onabags Instagram story this Friday as I shoot a wedding in Oregon with @kodiak.stag by my side so keep your eyes open for it if you wanna see the behind-the-scenes of a wedding photographer! - #ONAbags #weddingphotographer #destinationwedding #pnwedding (at Portland, Oregon)

[nicolemason]

Just got my film back (thanks @prophotosupply) from the last foggy Oregon coast adventure with friends. Can't wait for many many more days like this. 🙌🏼 (at Portland, Oregon)

[nicolemason]

Lousy piles of logs have more potential than one may have originally thought. One of my favorite things about shooting weddings is the unexpected and unpredictable. I usually have never been to the locations that I shoot in, which I think offers a fresh perspective, and the chance to see very ordinary things and make them look like this. 🙌🏼 (at San Francisco, California)

[nicolemason]

If you've got some empty walls, or need some new placemats or something, I have a print shop! I'm doing a little 50% off Labor Day sale for all you people who work 9-5s (or don't, and work 24/7 like me) I'll be getting a few more California landscapes up today too, just use code PRINT at checkout. Link in profile! (at San Francisco International Airport (SFO))

[nicolemason]

I have spent the last few days with some of the sweetest people. Tiny ceremonies, dinners with closest friends, and sunrise hikes on the coast, make for some of the best weddings I can ever ask to be a part of. And some of the best photos I could ever dream of capturing ❤️✨. Heart is full. (at San Francisco, California)

[nicolemason]

Jamie & Luke in Sisters, Oregon. Jamie's non-traditional dress was one of my favorites, pockets and all. No wedding party and no cell service kept things focused on the celebration of their love, and gave us more time to wander through fields and forests. 🙌🏼 (at Sisters, Oregon)

[nicolemason]

Today, in San Francisco, I got to be one of three witnesses to these two devoting the rest of their lives to each other, and then we got to wander around city hall taking photos in all the pretty light. (at San Francisco, California)

[nicolemason]

I haven't shown a ton of my wedding work on here, I've realized, and so I'm doing just that for a little while. Some of my favorite moments are the ones like this: the thoughtful details of vows written out by hand. (at Big Sur, California)

[nicolemason]

When your husband does your hair for your wedding. This is a shot from one of my favorite days where @joncastellanos and @abuffallanos got ready in a cabin in Big Sur and said "I do" on a cliff. Yeah, the entire day was full of moments like this. 🙌🏼 (at Big Sur, California)

[nicolemason]

I moved across the country to pursue what I loved and the direction I wanted to take my work. And two years in, I've come back home to New York over and over to shoot. Here are Emily and Tucker strolling through an old bathhouse built in the 1800's in western New York just before their beautiful outdoor ceremony overlooking the lake. (at Lake Erie State Park)

[nicolemason]

It's the middle of wedding season, so I've decided to dedicate the next number of posts to the couples who have let me have the opportunity to document such beautiful days of their lives. I've got a full season this year, with weddings in three different states over the next couple weeks. I'll be trying to post more of my story behind shooting weddings and a whole lot more photos from them over the next bit of time! (at Portland, Oregon)