symphony sunday.

so i am off to see the symphony with my sisters and their kiddos. it's the "funny side of music". its all about the interesting sounds that instruments make. i think it's gonna be a noisy blast! so what better way to celebrate that then by posting some photographs that were taken in New Orleans back in 2008. 

 

 

 

  

  

  

  

xoxo.

searching for my lucky clover.

i have these terrific memories as a child, laying in the fields of barra de tijuca. sun blazing overhead keeping us warm. the sweet smell of ripening guava in the trees tickling our noses. the sounds of sugar cane stalks gently clanking together in the breeze, nature's wind chimes. as we lay bellies to the ground, giggling and telling tales, we searched. always wanting to find our fortuna in fields of clovers. convinced that one of us would indeed find the mythical 4 leaf clover. so much happiness and joy happened during those lazy hours. innocence bellowing. even though we never found one, luck was with us already. what i would give to be able to be that innocent again. to find so much joy in doing something so mundane, even though we knew the odds were against us in finding that clover. i want those moments back. some days, i would do anything to be a kid again. free of responsibility. not having to be "adult" about things. so on days like today, where fortuna is nowhere to be found, looking at the following photographs brings me back to that time, where luck was always with me.

 

 

  

xoxo.

an ART-official sky.

yesterday, while i was working, i looked out the window and noticed the most amazing thing happening in the sky. granted this was not going to be an epic, ground breaking sunset, but, it was going to be incredible. and not only was it going to be incredible but, it was gonna change the lighting in the air, soften it if you will, give photographs, if taken properly, that "rosy eyed" effect. so i grabbed my keys, grabbed boo, (whom i always wish we had spelt her name as bue, like sue), our family black lab, and ran like a bat out of hell, (just ask my dad whom almost got knocked over in the process), to my car. windows down, both heads out the window (someone shoulda photographed that one), we dashed to the beach. 

granted we coulda really ran but why be hasty when you can drive three blocks so much faster. truth of the matter is, with photography, time is of the essence. and when you have the timely essence of fighting the sun, (remember when i was able to put the sun on hold for fossil falls????) you just have got to go go go. sorry greeny's but gas guzzling is a must. carbon footprint a little bigger, check! (i've got to make my stamp somehow people!) well, before you chastise me for some of my non green tendency's (i use ziplock bags too if you wanna add that to the growing list), check out the following pics. because to me, adding to the atmospheric pinks with my car exhaust was well worth it!

two things. one i love sunsets. two i love it when pictures blur the lines between photographs and paintings. that is, when it's not digitally done. otherwise it's just an artificial illusion. these, are an "ART-official illusion".(i just made that up, but shoot, maybe i'll coin it.)

 

  

  

xoxo.

sunshine.

here's a little mock sunshine for this rainy evening.

xoxo.

picture is worth a thousand words.

i was at work the other day when i looked out the window and watched as the following moment unfolded. thank god i had a camera on my phone. in a way, this image captured just leaves me speechless. i hope you enjoy it as much as i.

xoxo.

port townsend.

 i had a delightful conversation this am with my lovely friend up in washington so i felt it only appropriate to share today some photos from our terrific, albeit intoxicating, trip to a little town in washington called port townsend.

these first pictures are taken from the ferry. legend has it that the town was built on two levels intentionally. above the bluffs, old victorian houses lie, housing the moral and pure. at sea level, was where the debautchary occured. sailors and ladies of the night flocked the streets, as did brew houses and brothels. well the brothels are gone, but brew houses not.

although we never made it to the above bluff side (no snickering), sea level proved to be a beautiful array of buildings and well, brew houses.

 

 one of the most beautiful parts (for me) about this town was the array of signs that hung on, and comprised of, walls. as well as tattered doorways.

our final stop, although at the time we did not know it, was into a fantastic brew house called,

water street brewing. http://www.waterstreetbrewing.com/  i highly recommend going there and trying their brew and just "enjoying" it. the decor is amazing as is their blown glass. just look at the beer handles!

 

 

 

anyways, i absolutely adore this town. and even though at the time i was bummed that i didn't do more, i wouldn't change what i did see there for anything. but, heed my warning. i will return!

xoxo.

conquering fear.

there's a few things that i really don't like. one of them is heights. and it's not that i can't drive over bridges or fly in airplanes. i just can't stand on bridges, or look over edges, or hike on vertical hills or or or... lets face it. the reality is, i am clumsy. i am ungraceful. and i have big feet. all these things just add to the practical reasoning that when looking over the edge, i will somehow, trip and fall. now at times, like peering over the side of a bridge, this trip would logically have to be HUGE! i mean like stumbling, being propelled across the ground and some how include a vertical leap of 5+ feet to make it over the railing and falling. but like i said, grace here. so SOMEHOW i will probably manage to logically do the unlogical and fall over the railing. but then again, who said logic had anything to do with fear. although, if you're afraid of bears (which logically you should be) my theory kinda goes to the dumpster (which illogically one time i stalked, camera in hand, as a couple of of bear cubs rummaged through. now why the heck does that NOT scare me????) anyways. the point of this rant is. i am having having a bad day. i am sick. and when i am sick i get all woe is me. and i don't like feeling that way so i want to go back and remember what it feels like to do something that makes you inexplicably proud. and for me, it's conquering a fear.

so here we go, back to bridges. in washington state there is a little bridge called deception pass. the damn thing terrified me to walk across... in fact, i get to the middle of this perfectly safe bridge and for no reason, my legs just locked. no thank you, i will go no further. and i am talking about the kind of leg paralyzing, knock you to your knees, fear. well. as i was here on this great solo adventure, i decided to one up the damn fear thing. so i did the scariest thing imaginable. i climbed down a muddy cliff, under the bridge so that i could take pictures of this beast that strikes such irrational fear in me. and legs shaking, falling to my knees occasionally, shedding a couple of misguided tears, i photographed the crap out of the thing. i went all paparazzi on this bridge. britney spears and her mental breakdown got off easier than this bridge did.

the point of this total ramble is that i was able to do something that was bigger than myself and bigger than my fears. i was able to conquer them temporarily. and when i ran, and ran i did, back up the hill,  (which was formally a cliff, anyone see the symbolism there? it's intentional people. keep up.) rocky's "eye of the tiger" screaming in my head, (pretty sure if i didn't have one hand on the ground, (i was realistically probably crawling up it), and the other hand on the camera, fists would definitely have been pumping) and pride was exuding from my pours. for those very short moments, i felt and believed that at that moment i could do anything.

with that being said, this is a perfect example of how emotional connections occur through photography. because as most of you will see the following series of photos as images of a bridge, to me, well to me, its a world of fear conquering. 
 

every straight, non blurred line, symbolizes non shaking hands (which when petrified is really hard to do!).  

every hard angle reminds me of digging my muddy feet into the ground, leaning towards the "cliff" so as not to fall into the water.

  






but more importantly, every photograph reminds me that even though i was petrified, i was able to shut the fear up and use my brain to rationally photograph an image.

in a way we are a lot like bridges. all of our experiences, flaws perfections and fears creates our human strucuture. (not to mention bridges kinda look like dna strands). but like bridges, we are stronger than we think. and every time we fear that we are at our breaking point, it's always in us to shut that fear up and move through it. just like by now, i have shut up that i am sick, woe is me, and pushed through.

 

xoxo.

do you see what i see?

i had the most interesting experience on sunday. i sat and listened as someone else described my photography. for those of you that know me, i'm not a show boater. i am humble and i am quiet about what i do. (can you be self described humble or does saying your humble negate the actual humbleness?) the point is, my least favorite thing to do is talk about myself or what i do. i seem to have some sort of social retardation occur if you ask me about myself point blank. so while trying to answer a question on sunday, noticing that i was dumbing the situation down, a wonderful friend stepped in and started to talk about me and what i do. the warmth and love that filled my heart listening to him talk about who i feel is a complete stranger really struck me.

so as i try to do with everything, i carried this conversation along with me for the rest of my day. later that evening, as another friend and i crossed the street, something caught my eye. as the usual curiosity that follows when i pull out my camera and start taking pictures of random things, she asked to see what it was that i saw. from across the street, through a window, with a street lamp casting a ray of light, this is what i saw.

i take quiet pride in my ability to frame and inability to photoshop. the dot and bolts are part of the storefronts window graphics. the bicycle is painted along the wall.  the four lights are reflections on the window of the lights across the street.  so if you are curious, next time you are in downtown san diego. go to the corner of 16th and g. take a look. then let me know, do you see what i see?

xoxo.

writers block.

not sure if its the combination of post holidaze blues or this working day time thing but, i haven't been very motivated to pick up the proverbial keyboard this week. which would totally be fine if it wasn't for that whole examiner.com gig. for that i have to write. i will prob have to start scheduling a time to actually sit and write. what would be fantastic is if i could start a backlog of articles so in these types of moments i would have a fail safe! but, alas, that is neither here nor there..... in the mean time, here is a picture of snow flakes. which like my days lately, although similar, it seems that nothing is ever the same.

xoxo.

wanna feel like you're on mars?

have you ever tried to put the sun in a state of pause? i have. and after begging and pleading, the sun, she finally obeyed. driving home from mammoth, there was one mission at hand. beat the sunset to fossil falls. there is this fantastic little area right off of the 395 called fossil falls. it boasts being these natural formations that have been created by fire and ice. and they are awesome. as you walk across this rocky plain, you suddenly come across, what i can only describe as a mars like, world. caverns and gullys, all made of this petrified lava rock, litter the canvas. it is sensational. i have been there several times but trying to hit it, right when the sunlight is at it's rosiest, was an absolute mission. and on this particular day, two girls were able to put the sun on pause for one afternoon, as operation beat the sun to fossil falls was in full effect.

so to get to the falls, you have to take a quick little detour down a dirt road off of the hwy 395.

 

once you park, you'll get out and follow the sign towards.....

(ps. they have a delightful bathroom there if the need is there)

once you are on your way, follow the path forward....

(doesn't it seem a little mars like???)

in approximately .21 miles you will start to notice low and behold, giant lava rocks.

 

according to the helpful sign i now know that these are formed by the flowing fire and ice.

 

some of the crevasse's are so big that you can sit inside them!

 

mars i tell ya.

 

and then the sunset and we had to high tail it out of there!

 

xoxo.

diary of a wannabe phototaking fashionista.

for those that were there for the very first fashion shoot i ever pretended to shoot (ie katie, my little sister, who i would dress up and then make "model" in the back yard), you know that secretly, i have always wanted to take editorial photos. well, fortuna was with me this month and i not only happened to have a beautiful friend with me, but she was more than willing to be my guinea pig. as mentioned in the previous post, i stopped at red mountain, ca along my travels across the 395. not only is the town a fantastic photo shoot on its own, it is an amazing back drop. so with the assistance of a beautiful, willing model, and an incredible location, i present you with the following.......

 

 

 

 

xoxo.