Alex Hoffman

It’s feeling like a new season, who dis? 😎

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That feeling when the state parks closed. So glad they’re open again! Can’t wait to escape and explore more. Where are you adventuring to next?

Here’s a nice story to start the week! One of my friends who recently moved from Connecticut to Texas reached out to me looking for photos featuring heart shapes. She was working on a Mother’s Day project for her Mom, who lives in California, and wanted to replace a wall of photos. Are you keeping track of the geographical locations? You should! The photo featured here came to mind though it wasn’t a complete heart at the time. The original was shot on my iPhone (see next photo) when I was first moving from St. Louis and touring new places in Seattle to call home. While I try not to manipulate my photos past a certain sense of realism, I really wanted to help bring her vision to life after hearing more about her motivation. I set a goal to make it look as realistic as possible and phoned a friend who I consider a Photoshop wizard – shout-out to Simon at 2e for sharing his Photoshop expertise with me! Then, I partnered with Bay Photo Lab based in California, where my friend’s Mom is also living, to figuratively and literally complete the heart (see last photo for the Map). Earlier today my friend told me that her Mom’s longtime boyfriend just proposed – she said, yes! Icing on the cake: they both have visited Seattle together, too! I’m so humbled to be part of this story and thought it was amazing to hear the stars align. Thank you to my friend for letting me post this and congrats to her family (who will remain anonymous, at least until they’ve had more time to spread the news)! 🥳🥂❤️

P.S. To be fair, everyone thinks St. Louis is in the Midwest so there’s that. 😂 The moral of the story: no matter where you are, you can always find and show love.