Albuquirky, NM

Whew, what a whirlwind few weeks it has been! The week after my last blog post, I flew to Albuquerque, NM for the national National Organization for Women (NOW) conference, then the following week flew to Miami for my family’s annual July 4th gathering, and then was supposed to go to a lovely lake house the following week with my partner and his co-workers but became really ill and had to stay put in DC. FINALLY this weekend I was able to feel “normal” again since I felt like death last week and all I did was start and watch all two seasons of The Mindy Project on Hulu.

I had planned on going to ABQ for the NOW conference early on and mentioned it to three of my bestest friends, Emily, Kristyn, and Jess in a Facebook message thread we have had going for quite some time now. Jess lives in ABQ and I suggested that they all join me on the trip - much to my surprise and delight, Emi jumped on board and Kris followed right after! Emi met me in Baltimore and we flew to ABQ together. There is nothing better than grabbing dinner and froyo with a dear friend and talking non-stop for hours while looking forward to being reunited with two of your other closest friends in a new city. While I did enjoy seeing some feminist friends from DC and the panels at the conference, I am so glad I got to spend quality time with my friends and meet Clay, Jess’ partner. He took me climbing for the first time and it was a great work out and so much fun!

Below are a few shots from a day we spent hiking in Ghost Ranch right outside of ABQ. The landscape and architecture were so different in the southwest and I had a blast eating, shopping, and drinking my way through ABQ and Santa Fe, NM. ABQ was a quirky town (hence, the title of this blog) and it made me definitely want to explore more of the southwest. I can’t wait to be reunited with my dear friends again - we are planning a trip to a beach somewhere in FL for sometime in October/November and I am sure it will be just as fun and adventurous!


Layali Webzine Photo Shoot

Yesterday I had the great pleasure of shooting my dear friend Isra for the cover of Layali Webzine, an online-only lifestyle magazine for Muslim American women. Isra will be featured on the cover of their summer issue out in July. Isra began her social activism from an early age and has since become a well known role model in the Muslim American and hijabi community on Instagram. Once she established her social media following, she began israspeaks.com to provide an “open and safe place to engage in honest dialogue about problems facing underrepresented communities around the world. It’s a platform that advocates for meaningful work and organizations worldwide that benefits struggling populations worldwide.” We shot at the George Washington University campus in Georgetown and it was a lot of fun to explore the campus and search for great shots. The young women who started the magazine, Omama and Rawan, interviewed Isra and I took a couple of shots while they talked. After the interview, we discussed issues facing women of color in the US and how we, Latinas and Muslim American women, can come together to combat some of these issues. There’s nothing more invigorating than meeting like-minded young women who share a passion for social justice, activism, and art. Here are just a few photos from the shoot!


Kennedy Center

Last Wednesday my good friend and a great photographer, Reema (reemadesai.com) invited me to go shooting at The Kennedy Center. We had an interesting discussion about architecture, photography, and life ambitions and it was so nice to feel inspired again! DC is a lovely city but the art scene seems far and disconnected from the everyday hustle and bustle of NGO, government, and private sector work. Here are just a few pics from the day. I took most of the photos on my iPhone for my Instagram!

p.s. Afterwards, we walked around Georgetown and ran into Dave Grohl (Nirvana, Foo Fighters). We ended up sitting next to him in RiRa Irish Pub and chatted for a bit. He seemed like a genuinely kind and chill dude. It was a fantastic end to the day!


Portraits with Nina

I made a very dear friend last February and although we have only actually seen each other once since then, we have kept in touch via email and Facebook and I am so glad! Nina is such a wonderful person and has an amazing job at MomsRising.org, an advocacy and grassroots organization that focuses on critical issues facing women, mothers, and families. To check out Nina’s work at MomsRising, please visit their webpage or check out her blogs here.
p.s. This is my first blog for my photography work and I am really excited to share more work with everyone! If you need a photographer or have ideas for collaborations, please email me at monica.s.weeks@gmail.com. Til next time…

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