LIAM'S ADOPTION STORY // PART 1 // THE FIRST MEET

Ashley and Kurt are a force of love with which to reckon. They journeyed from Missouri to adopt their precious boy, Liam, accompanied by Ashley's father, Pastor Mark, while gramma watched their daughter, Evy, back at home. It was the culmination of over a year of paperwork and prayers, of waiting and wishing.

The photos here are from the first time that the Lancasters came face-to-face with Liam and his incredible foster family. They were matched by DJ at Holt International in March, and have been in close contact ever since.

This was truly a watermark moment for me personally and professionally. I felt humbled in the presence of such unconditional love. I feel lucky to have been a witness and to have helped them tell their story.

LIAM'S ADOPTION STORY // SEOUL, KOREA DOCUMENTARY PHOTOGRAPHER

Ashley and Kurt contacted me last week about documenting their adoption story. Here are just a few teaser images until I get the rest of the scans back from the lab. You can follow their entire adventure over at her blog.

AMARISSE // SHIFT/TILT: SEOUL BRIDAL PHOTOGRAPHER

Amarisse has become an adopted sister, friend, and a bit of a muse in the few months that I've known her. She also rocks the half-Korean blood and hails from Seattle.

I had a chance to shoot her in our traveling workshop wedding dress with Fer just before he had to dash to the airport to catch his flight home to Mexico. A delightful close to his all-too-short trip.

All shot on Leica M6 / 35 Nokton on Ilford 125. Enjoy! :)

SEOUL KOREA PHOTOGRAPHY WORKSHOP

We wrapped an amazing weekend workshop here in Seoul with my good friend and co-host, Fer Juaristi, a few days ago. Special thanks go to our models and couples, and our guest speakers Vincent Sung and David Kim, and everyone that attended.

Kim and Oojin are two of my favorite people in the world. Oojin was one of my high school roommates half a lifetime ago, and remains one of my closest friends. They stopped by to see one of my presentations on Sunday afternoon, and quickly switched gears to be one of our model couples when another couple was running a little late. Here are some of my favorites from our mini-session.

I shot this with Fer's Leica M9, 35mm Zeiss and 90mm Elmarit.

More photos from the workshop to come soon!

LEAVING NYC

I've been back in Seoul from my East Coast adventure for about a month already, but I only just picked up 18 rolls of "personal" film from my lab in Chungmuro this week.  We've had a lot going on recently: we moved into a new (3-bedroom!) apartment at the beginning of this month, Jenny finished her job contract and is settling back into the ever-important role of stay-at-home mom, and I've been preparing for my SHIFT/TILT: SEOUL photography workshop, set for this weekend.  Lots of exciting things going on, but these street and personal images from my last few days in NYC were a nice reprieve from juggling so much recently.

Enjoy, and please say "hi".  I know I have many visitors who prefer to stay anonymous, but I'd love for you to leave a comment or question. :)

-Romin

p.s.  It's our second son Joely's first birthday today!  Happy Birthday Joel!

Shot on Leica M6 + 50mm Summicron f/2 and Canon Elan 7 + EF 35mm f/2.  Portra 400 and Ilford HP5 400.