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sindisiwe photography || the blog bio picture

come on in...

welcome to our blog! we are so glad you stopped by. we love having visitors and meeting new people.

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. 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 wedding photojournalism and natural-light portraiture.

questions? 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!}

getting my ducks in a row.

08.19.2010 posted in personal.

i’m leaving seattle in 4 days. and i’m not ready. not even close.

my duffel bag is still in the garage. i have a half-written packing list. and an even longer to-do list that needs to be accomplished…like yesterday. my sister’s wedding is saturday and the whole house is insanity. we are in wedding mode to the max.

i still can’t wrap my head around the fact that i will be living in washington dc for the next 4 months, studying global development and interning at world vision. it’s going to be a good experience. lots of learning. especially because i don’t entirely know how to do what i’m supposed to be doing for my internship. but they want me anyways. go figure!

i’m trying to figure out how i’m going to fit everything into my duffel bag. it’s going to be one fun life-sized game of tetris.

tuesday night, 7 of my dear friends and i went out for indian food, watched the sunset from volunteer park, and then finished the night off with molly moon’s. the best way to say goodbye to my beautiful city and celebrate this next season of life.

i’m going to miss this view…

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and i’m definitely going to miss these girls…

friends

a week from today i’ll be unpacking and settling into a new apartment with 5 new roommates. in washington dc.

just hope i’m ready for it. and that i can manage to line up my ducks quite nicely before getting on that plane come monday morning.

here we go. time for a new adventure.

by Mandie

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christina || the senior session.

08.18.2010 posted in seniors.

Christina’s beautiful face has been on the blog once before when I did a random session with my old high school cadre. I’m proud to say that she was once one of my cadre girls! I’ve watched this girl over these past few years as she’s grown. Christina challenged herself with AP classes and is involved with sports at school and also our church youth group. And now she is a senior!!! Yay! Now comes the time for college searching and applications. But Christina’s got a good head on her shoulders and is ready to take on what’s next.

I was psyched when she sent me a message about her senior portraits. We had to reschedule once due to rain and silly Seattle weather, but I’m so thankful we did because the sun decided to come out an join us at 9am on a Wednesday morning. And the light was beautiful! We walked around Kirkland by the boats chatting about new things in life. And laughing.

After a bit, I suggested that we head over to the used bookstore in Redmond. Christina’s reaction: “I love books!” As always, the bookstore is one of the funnest places to shoot. Add in the train tracks and field, and you’ve got a great start to the morning. In our 2 hours together, I may have taken a few too many photos. ;)

So here you are: some boats, a few books, and the beautiful Christina!

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A new favorite…

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{Christina} Thank you for spending the morning adventuring around with me. I so enjoyed just hanging out, talking, and taking a few photographs in between. So excited to show you the rest soon! : )

by Mandie

2 comments

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27.08.2010 - 10.24 pm Nerissa - Oh wow these pictures are so GORGEOUS as is Christina!!! Wish you did MY senior pictures JUST SAYING!!! LoL

19.08.2010 - 12.34 am Dorothy - these are gorgeousssssssssss

steph’s getting married || the bridal shower.

08.17.2010 posted in engagements. personal. weddings.

my older sister is getting married. the wedding is in 4 days actually. crazy! the big day is coming so fast. it seems like a long time ago that i did steph + steven’s engagement session. and now the wedding is almost here. and i’ll be photographing that as well.

a couple of weeks ago my mom and paige, steph’s maid of honor, threw her a bridal shower. and it was pretty much the coolest bridal shower. ever. no, really it was. i mean, seriously, garden tea-party themed bridal shower at our friend’s house on the lake? yup. not to mention steph, paige, and my mom are all masters at creating, decorating, and planning.

most guests came wearing dresses and hats (we had a hat competition). we played some games, ate cute finger sandwiches and little tarts, and sipped at iced tea and lemonade. all with some of steph’s closest friends and family members.

after looking through these images, i can’t wait for the wedding this weekend! congrats steph!

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steph’s friends from england were in town, so they taught us this game called “pass the parcel.” there is a prize wrapped in many layers, and as you unwrap each layer there is a task or question you have to complete. then the parcel is passed on to someone else. the person who gets to the last layer wins the prize. such a fun game! i think i’ll play this at my next birthday party.

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steph opened some pretty cool gifts. including this one from paige. two matching shirts that said: here come the newlyweds…stephanie + steven lentz. august 21, 2010. to infinity and beyond.

yes, steph and steven are going to disney world for their honeymoon. ; )

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me with the bride!

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and there was a hat competition. a few people came with some very unique hats.

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here were two of my favorite hats…LOVE laura’s hat on the right.

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mother of the bride…

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little sister, tara.

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and of course the bride, herself.

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and to finish it off…favorite frame from the day.

shower

by Mandie

3 comments

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18.08.2010 - 1.05 am helen - amazing looking party! beautiful shots..as always :)

18.08.2010 - 12.11 am Dorothy - these. are. so bomb. I'm sitting across from you. you are beautiful.

17.08.2010 - 3.03 pm Nerissa - These are AMAZING!!! :) I LOVE the picture of Laura with her HAT, she looks like a model SO pretty not to mention her HAT was GREAT! Incredible job Man Muffs,all of them are so beautiful and it looks like soo much fun!!! Love you!

lauren || the portrait session.

08.10.2010 posted in portraits.

A while back  I did a giveaway on the blog. Lauren was one of the winners! At that time she was still studying abroad in Spain (so cool!), and then when she came back to the states Lauren headed down to Portland. But after a few months of emailing back and forth, we were finally able to work out a time for her session. And I’m so glad we could make it work.

Lauren is a University of Washington student and attends Generation Church, so we have a few friends in common. We spent the morning driving and wandering around Fremont and the U District talking, laughing, and snapping photographs. Lauren told me about her year living in Spain. She is a Spanish major at UW and would maybe like to go into some kind of non-profit work eventually. Lauren has such a sweet heart. After a few hours of wandering around together, I feel like I’ve made a new friend.

Oh, and she is gorgeous and great in front of the camera. Just see for yourself.

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I noticed Lauren’s shoes the minute she got into my car. How cool are they?! She picked them up while in Spain. Lauren says she thinks shoes should be the center piece of an outfit. When it’s shoes like these I happen to agree!

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Always like shooting outside of Theo’s Chocolate in Fremont. Smells amazing!

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Seriously Lauren?! You’re beautiful. Love this!

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Definitely a favorite. Laughter is always the best.

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{Lauren} I’m so very glad we got to spend the morning together. It was great hanging out with you and just talking. I hope to see you around when I return from DC if you are still in Seattle. : )

by Mandie

2 comments

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10.08.2010 - 1.40 pm Lauren - Mandie! I had a blast gettting to know you and I just love what you've done with the photos! Great job! And I am very impressed you got a decent hair-swishy photo out of me despite my awkwardness. Haha! It was fun!Let's stay in touch!

10.08.2010 - 12.15 pm Dorothy - these are beautiful mandie! great job :)