Laura Boyd Studio » travel

jamaica travel journal: geejam

admin — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 20:35:44 +0000

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Last week we spent seven glorious nights at an amazing hotel in Port Antonio, Jamaica called Geejam. It is a tiny little luxury resort nestled on the side of a mountain in the Jamaican rain forest, and it couldn’t have been more perfect. Especially because we live in a place as crowded as NYC, we really prefer to go to small hotels when we do beach vacations, and this place is SMALL. There are only five rooms!

There is a drop-dead gorgeous private beach at the bottom of the property, and you get a bonus leg workout getting there and back because you have to take about a million stairs to get there. But, oh man, is the hike ever worth it:

Our room was called Ska, and it was this perfect little haven that felt like an upscale treehouse when you were in it. With the all white decor and the super cozy and comfortable bed, I felt like I was in a dreamland when I woke up in the mornings.

Geejam’s origins are actually in the music business – the two hotel owners, Steve Beaver and Jon Baker, are music industry big wigs. Long before Geejam was open to the public as a resort, it was a working recording studio. Geejam Studios hosts artists year-round to cut their records, and we were allowed to pop in the studio to have a peek. A few people who have recorded here: Amy Winehouse, Drake, Gwen Stefani and No Doubt, Gorillaz, and Bjork. Guests can book recording sessions, too! It’s a shame I can’t sing….

In addition to the amazing Geejam private beach, there are quite a few other beaches in the vicinity that you can visit. The closest one to Geejam is Frenchman’s Cove, and one of the hotel’s drivers, Mr. Bentley (I couldn’t make that up if I tried), took us over and showed us the sites from the cliffs before dropping us off at the beach. The beach at Frenchman’s Cove may just be the single most beautiful place I have ever seen!

We are already starting a countdown to when we can visit again! Thank you so much to Steve and EVERYONE at Geejam. You make every guest feel like a rockstar!

washington dc

admin — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 16:06:49 +0000

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We had a little free time last weekend while in DC to shoot Julie Sara and Dallas’s wedding. The first day was SO flipping hot, we got as far as the White House and turned back. It was just miserable. But then Saturday night after the wedding was glorious and we made it all the way down to visit the Washington, Lincoln, and Jefferson memorials. Turns out it isn’t so easy to just hail a cab in DC like in NYC. We were ridiculously tired and grumpy by the time we limped back to the hotel. A little dessert ordered from room service at 1am is a cure for the tired grumpies, though!

Not pictured: Jefferson Memorial. His memorial and I did not get along, photographically speaking. It may have had something to do with it being midnight and me being totally over the whole thing. I might have spoken the words, “I hate Jefferson and his stupid monument.” I’m sorry, Thomas Jefferson. I don’t hate you! But I didn’t get a pretty photo of your monument. Next time!

au revoir, paris

admin — Sat, 29 May 2010 07:17:49 +0000

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This month in Paris has gone by far too quickly. I am fairly devastated to be leaving this morning (although I am admittedly excited to see Greg and the cats and sleep in my own bed again). Paris is a life-changing place, and it certainly changed mine in these last 33 days. I can’t say thank you enough to those of you who sent me here by supporting my RocketHub project. It has meant the world to me, and I can’t wait to share your rewards with you!

paris photo journal {day thirty-one}

admin — Wed, 26 May 2010 20:40:24 +0000

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Today was Greg’s last day visiting me in Paris. We had brunch near le Jardin de Luxembourg and then took a walk through the park. I became a little obsessed with the boat pond.

paris photo journal {day thirty}

admin — Tue, 25 May 2010 23:43:19 +0000

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I am so sad that this is day thirty already. So very sad. We shot a few different things today, but the main item on the shot list was Pere Lachaise Cemetary:

paris photo journal {day twenty-nine}

admin — Mon, 24 May 2010 22:02:20 +0000

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paris photo journal {day twenty-eight}

admin — Sun, 23 May 2010 21:57:13 +0000

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I think the size of today’s polaroid collage speaks for itself. We had the most wonderful day! Our main photographic subject was the Pantheon:

paris photo journal {day twenty-seven}

admin — Sat, 22 May 2010 20:39:04 +0000

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Saint Merri Rue des Rosiers

paris photo journal {day twenty-six}

admin — Fri, 21 May 2010 17:16:16 +0000

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Today I finally had my photo session with Katie and her new 2-month-old puppy, Louis. We had to reschedule a few times to make it work, but in the end we got to shoot on the MOST beautiful day! I am not even really a dog person, but I seriously wanted to tuck little Louis under my arm and abscond with him. Can you even handle this adorableness?!

paris photo journal {day twenty-five}

admin — Thu, 20 May 2010 23:12:20 +0000

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He has a kitty and TWO bunnies. Saint Germain des Pres Place Saint Sulpice

paris photo journal {day twenty-four}

admin — Wed, 19 May 2010 22:26:14 +0000

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I visited Monet’s gardens in Giverny today and cannot even tell you how unreal they were. These photos already look like a dream to me, and I was just there a few hours ago!

paris photo journal {day twenty-three}

admin — Tue, 18 May 2010 19:56:33 +0000

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Carousel, Hotel de Ville
Place Igor Stravinsky

And a few of the markets of the bustling rue Cler:

paris photo journal {day twenty-two}

admin — Mon, 17 May 2010 23:25:33 +0000

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Sunset over Pont des Arts
Les Deux Magots, famous left bank cafe
Candy Man

paris photo journal {day twenty-one}

admin — Sun, 16 May 2010 20:45:46 +0000

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Whoa… I walked so much the last three days that I could die. Have serious blisters. And am seriously backlogged on my photo processing. So today was spent healing up my feet and furiously working on photos. Tomorrow, I kick off week four in Paris with a double photo shoot – pet portraits and boudoir!
Pont Alexandre
Amazing skies over the Eiffel Tower
Eiffel Tower and Les Invalides
Les Invalides
Louvre
Louvre
Le Petit Pont and Notre Dame

paris photo journal {day twenty}

admin — Sat, 15 May 2010 23:39:36 +0000

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Oh my gosh, I had such a long wonderful day today. I didn’t get home from shooting until after midnight, so I’m too tired to post much. Tomorrow I will share a lot more pics from the last two days of shooting, but in the meantime here are three of my faves from today:

paris photo journal {day nineteen}

admin — Fri, 14 May 2010 22:16:27 +0000

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Palais Royal A plain old corridor @ the Louvre “Ecoute” @ Saint Eustache inside Saint Eustache inside Saint Eustache

paris photo journal {day eighteen}

admin — Thu, 13 May 2010 23:15:49 +0000

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I took a nice long walk around the Marais today, spending quite a lot of time on the charming rue des Rosiers. Then I wandered around Place des Vosges and made my way home via Isle St. Louis so that I could stop at my favorite place for hot chocolate – la Charlotte de l’isle.Place des Vosges l’Hotel de Sully la Charlotte de l’isle Notre Dame from Square René Viviani

paris photo journal {day seventeen}

admin — Wed, 12 May 2010 22:01:19 +0000

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It is starting to seem like everyday I say that my shoot didn’t go as planned. I’m learning to just roll with that fact. I am nowhere near done editing the pics from today, but here are the first few that jumped out at me to process. After not getting what I wanted at the Louvre and Tuileries, I spent some time again in the Montparnasse area. Something this evening about the cafes there just hit me. I had to stop myself from shooting all of them!

paris photo journal {day sixteen}

admin — Tue, 11 May 2010 19:41:25 +0000

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Today was soooo nasty and rainy, so I changed my original plans for shooting and instead hit up Notre Dame. I shot the outside on my first morning here, but I hadn’t yet gone inside this trip. Pretty much every tourist in Paris was escaping the rain inside Notre Dame, too, so it was more than a little frustrating in there. But, despite the crowds and getting busted twice for using my tripod, I came away with some shots I love. Keep your fingers crossed for nicer weather tomorrow – I want to shoot outside!!

paris photo journal {day fifteen}

admin — Mon, 10 May 2010 20:26:01 +0000

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I’m dealing with some blisters and general tiredness on this first day of week three, so I made today a rest/office day. Here are a couple of pics from days past that I haven’t posted yet:

My view of eglise saint severin
Eiffel tower from montmartre

This is going to be a super busy week, and I can’t wait! I have a double photo shoot on Friday – portraits and boudoir. I’ll also be visiting Giverny with a friend who will be in Paris, and I have an ever-growing shot list I’ll be working my way through. So stay tuned!!