c'est si bon, janvier

The month isn't over yet, but I didn't want the posting queue to fall too far behind. Here's what has seen fit to pass in front of me during the first twenty-four days of 2012:

These didn't go live until 2012, even though technically I did the shoot in December. This is the back room at Local 360, where they've got a whole expanded private dining area in the back of the restaurant now for standard receptions or a huge community-table style dining experience (or however you want to slice it). I've literally never seen so much locally sourced stuff on a menu (all the way down to the booze!) in my life -- Local 360 is the kind of place that makes me proud to be a resident of Seattle. There's one shot up on their site so far, best-ofs are up on flickr here.

There's been a good amount of miscellany this month, between procuring Jeff Mangum tickets and getting through the snow-haze -- Laura's been full steam ahead with the wedding planning, we took a quick jaunt to Portland to catch Pickwick at the Doug Fir and had the best breakfast in the history of breakfasts at Broder, and I caught a peek of the newly-redone Gainsbourg on a happy hour date with Ma'Chell. Odds and ends (still trickling in) here, a few shots from Gainsbourg here.

Zoe Muth stopped by the Roadhouse to do some new songs in advance of a few shows around town -- and seriously, I was converted to full-frontal fan by the time she wrapped up soundcheck. Some days I want to wrap up in a Zoe Muth / Star Anna mixtape blanket, as they both continue to put out incredibly compelling new pieces of work. Shots here, nerd-out-ery about Star Anna here.

It's with a bit of a sad pang that I realize Loryn's departure to Colorado is looming -- she'll be taking off the day after I land back from my trip to Italy. She procured my services with the promises of brunch and sightseeing this past weekend, and we took a trek around practically every neighborhood in Seattle (well, the good ones, anyway) to put together a photo history of all the places she's lived and worked. Full set of shots here.

And, last but not least, a portrait session with Alicia. Wherein I learned that (a) I have a lot to learn about taking formal portraits for people and (b) that I'm not as bad at it as I think I am. It was also a good reinforcement that there are few things more satisfying than having a photo in your head of how you'd like to shoot someone, and then having it come to life -- the couch photo above is what I saw in my head the day she asked me to shoot her. A handful of best-ofs posted here.

That's all the news that's fit to print at the moment. On the horizon: David Bazan at Gainsbourg, Nada Surf at the Tractor, and more grey skies. It might be hibernation season around here, but it's nothing a little vitamin D won't fix. Right?

Stay warm, everybody. xo