Technically we met last March in Las Vegas. It was the fifth and final day of our conference and I had just a few short hours remaining before I was to hop a plane back home. I walked into the Photographer's Unite meeting and, as fate would have it, found myself an empty seat beside Emily. This Emily. The naturally beautiful, oddly fascinating, and easily approachable, Emily. We exchanged a few words before the program began, but I left quickly after the session assuming I would never see this sweet girl again. In fact, when I ran into her a month later at the Jasmine Star Workshop, I didn't even remember her name. But I knew her face. And her smile, and her laugh, and the way she made everyone around her feel comfortable. And so our friendship began. Since that April morning when Colton and I so (so, so, so) nervously modeled for Jasmine's workshop, Emily has, in the truest sense of the word, been my friend. While we are both at similar stages in our businesses, we have had the joy of sharing a summer full of texts, tweets, and phone calls discussing photography, life, and everything we love about the both of them. I remember standing in H&M when I got the text from Emily saying she had big news. Big, big news. I responded with a hundred exclamation marks and begged her to tell me everything. When she let me know that she was headed to Maui for the Making Things Happen workshop, I started shaking. Shaking because that's my default reaction. To exciting and disappointing news alike, my body immediately searches its reserves for every last ounce of adrenaline before shooting it through my veins like an IV drip of strong, black coffee. Too shaky to type I called Emily back. I was excited, yes, but mostly I was speechless. Speechless because only a few hours earlier I had discovered I too would be joining Lara Casey and a handful of other amazing individuals at the Maui intensive.

Last week Emily and I shared tears, laughs, and a week full of changes for our lives and our businesses. When asked if I would capture the new portraits for Emily's website, I was elated. Hawaii, the Fairmont, a flawless blue sky, and my friend. I could not have orchestrated a more perfect day if I tried. Enjoy.