Form submitted successfully, thank you.

Error submitting form, please try again.

sindisiwe photography || the blog bio picture

come on in...

hey there! welcome to the blog. i am so excited that you have stopped by to say hi. i always love having visitors and making new friends. so kick off your shoes, take a look around the place, and make yourself at home.

let me introduce myself. i'm mandie and i'm the owner and main photographer here at sindisiwe photography. that's me over there on the left (thanks to the one and only jamie delaine for the great photo). we are based out of seattle, washington but are available for travel anywhere across the globe. yes, we love to travel and will jump at any opportunity to visit a new place! sindisiwe photography specializes in weddings and natural-light portraiture. the true passion and heart of our work though, lies in photojournalism and humanitarian projects. so if you know a non-profit looking for a photographer...send them our way!

well, that's all for now. questions or interested in scheduling a session? send us a note on the contact page!

{grace&peace}                                                                                                                                                                       --mandie sodoma | owner of sindisiwe photography

{side note :: you can find us on facebook and twitter...just fyi!}

learning and growing.

For every situation in life, good or bad, take it as an opportunity to be challenged, learn, and ultimately grow.

I think I am going to write that in big, bold letters and and hang it up in my room. I need to be reminded of that more often. Yesterday was one of those good days that had a not so good thing happen. During a long video shoot for a project in my Global and Urban Ministries class, I lost 4 of my 5 memory cards. We got back to the car afterward and they just simply weren’t in my bag, even though I know we started the shoot with them. After a few frantic searches through both of my bags and the car we were riding in, I gave in and admitted they were gone.

Let me be really transparent with you today, my lovely blog readers. To me, losing these memory cards was more than just losing $140 worth of equipment, it brought on insecurity about who I am and what I am doing. I did have a slight freak out at the idea of trying to find the money to replace everything. But mostly it made me question whether or not I’m really cut out for this. 18 and owning a business? I’ve had people ask me if I am crazy, and yesterday I actually asked that question myself. Seriously, what am I doing here?

But I am so thankful for my mom who did her best to calm me down. She said “it’s not the end of the world.” And although it was hard to admit, I knew she was right. All I lost was $140 and a few interviews for the documentary I am working on. The interviews can be filmed again and the memory cards can be replaced. It will be alright.

Through this whole experience, I’ve decided I need to take a more Pollyanna perspective on things. I should start playing “the glad game” more often and choose happiness and to focus on the good things. Yesterday, I realized how very thankful I am for the friends and family I have who support me. I got many hugs last night which was just what my heart needed. And a dear friend even brought me some soup and chocolate pudding with a sweet note attached. I’m so ridiculously blessed by the awesome people I have in my life.

As for those questions I asked myself, I’m going to continue to dream and run hard to make those things possible. I choose to learn in every situation, whether good or bad. I choose to grow and be challenged, and not let anything stand in my way. Happiness is a choice. So today I choose to be happy.

happiness{Image taken in Clarens, South Africa}

08.03.2010 - 2.44 pm Jamie - On the bright side, at least you didn't loose memory cards with a wedding on it! You know, you're going to make plenty more mistakes like this...and that's okay. That's how you learn. And just think - you'll probably never lose another memory card because of this experience. Once, I showed up to a photoshoot without a battery for my camera. Talk about mortifiying! Thank god I lived really close to the shoot and could run home and grab one. You better believe I triple check those kind of things before I leave the house anymore.

06.03.2010 - 1.14 pm Ella - It*s good to be reminded of Pollyanna sometimes! And also to discern the big issues from the smaller and really not so important after all - issues ! And you are just 18 - and the journey has just begun..

hong family || the family session.

There has been some ridiculously sunny weather here in Seattle. So random. But it came just in time for the Haiti fundraiser I did with Dorothy Huynh (she’s pretty amazing…just saying).

We showed up at Bellevue Downtown Park Saturday morning and chilled out in the sunshine, anxiously awaiting for the family to show up. I get kind of excited when I’m about to meet new clients. Feng came to shake my hand and introduced me to their son David, who is just about 3 years old. I knew right away that Dorothy and I were going to have a fun time hanging out with this family. It was just the four of them: David, his mom, dad, and grandmother. Family sessions are great. It’s so much fun to watch the chemistry between the four of them.

David has a lot of energy. He had Dorothy and I running around, laughing, and trying our best to do our job. That kid didn’t stop for one minute! It was fun. Lots of fun.

It was also a great experience to shoot with Dorothy. We have such different styles of shooting which makes it cool to see two different perspectives of the same setting.

So here we go…some of my favorites for the day. And don’t forget to run over to Dorothy’s blog and see it through her lens!

hong family.

hong family.

hong family.

Just look at that smile…

hong family.

hong family.

hong family.

hong family.

Here is the whole family!

hong family.

hong family.

I really like this. A lot.

hong family.

hong family.

{To the Hong family} I am so glad that Dorothy and I were able to work with you this week. I absolutely loved spending time with the four of you. David is such an adorable kid!

08.03.2010 - 10.32 pm Helen - You're very talented :) What a cute boy to photograph!!!

26.02.2010 - 9.05 am erin - You have the most amazing tagline ever!

24.02.2010 - 10.55 pm Dorothy - I love the third frame up from the bottom!!

25.02.2010 - 2.45 am hong family || the family session. » sindisiwe photography || the blog - [...] Here is the original post: hong family || the family session. » sindisiwe photography || the blog [...]

on dreams and running after them.

Confession…I have a slight obsession with the Olympics. Let’s just say that when it’s time for the Olympics I don’t get anything else done. Emails go untouched for a few days, textbooks stay stacked on my desk unopened, and I become very forgetful. There are nights at dinner when I get so excited and start talking about it only to have my friends give me strange looks. Yes. I really love the Olympics.

There is just something so magnetic about watching people follow their dreams. Many people have traveled thousands of miles, jumped through every hoop imaginable, and sacrificed so much more than I could ever imagine to see their dream lived out. It’s amazing. The courage that they have, the drive and the energy. Olympians don’t just dream, they push to make their dreams possible. Some will go home with medals, many more will go home empty handed. But no one will be able to say that they didn’t try.

I want that passion to see my dreams come to life. I don’t ever want to be afraid to run after a dream. Even more so I want to see other people accomplish their dreams. I want to help enable and empower people so they will see their impossible made possible. Somehow, I hope to be able to use what I love to do just that.

A few weeks ago I told you about a fundraiser that my dear friend Dorothy and I were holding to raise money for Haiti. Today we had a family session as part of the fundraiser and it was great. I love what I do and I am so glad that I can use it to help others. That right there is my biggest dream.

That’s all for today. All I have left is one of my favorite frames from today’s session. And a little bit of advice…

Go ahead. Dream.

dream-1

21.02.2010 - 12.02 am Dorothy - love this frame!

laura || the portrait session.

I love photographing people who have great style. Laura definitely falls in that category. That girl is always so fantastically dressed. When she walked out of her room before our session wearing a colorful shirt and bright purple shorts I might have jumped with excitement. I love color!

Laura is another one of my floormates at SPU. We talked about doing a photoshoot back in the fall but because of rain and schedules nothing worked out. Until last week. But I am so glad that we waited until this past week to do it. This shoot definitely made my list of favorites ever. Before heading out to Volunteer Park, we picked up a handful of colorful helium balloons. Balloons! I love balloons! We had just watched the movie Up the night before so balloons were a must.

Laura and I ran throughout Volunteer Park, climbed in trees, played by the sculpture, and laughed a lot. Perfect afternoon. So here are some shots from our day. I have to tell you, it was so hard to narrow it down to these images, I just had too many that I like.

Laura has such a great smile and laugh.

laura.

laura.

laura.

laura.

laura.

Balloons!

laura.

laura.

laura.

laura.

Favorite from the day.

laura.

laura.

This image makes me love my job so much more.

laura.

laura.

Oh…and if you didn’t know, I have a love for umbrellas. And polka dots…

laura.

laura.

{Laura} You’re awesome. So glad that we got to hang out and frolic with those shiny balloons. Such a great idea! See you around the dorms.

24.02.2010 - 8.57 pm alece - i LOVE these pics! so fun and vivid and beautiful.

15.02.2010 - 1.12 pm Hannah Ruth - I love these ones! Especially all the ones with the balloons!!! The 8th one down, looks like she's running -- yeah, I love that one. And the one above that where she's standing with the balloons above her head. These are great, Mandie.