Saturday, April 28, 2007

Sarah, Gene & Noe

A couple months back, my Fabulous Ultra-cool hairdresser Sarah inquired how my photography was going. I told her it was great and gave her my website address so she could see for herself how things were going. A couple days later she called me and told me she thought the photos were fabulous and would I be interested in trading haircuts for a session with her family? How do I respond to a trade like that? With a resounding, "Hell, YES!" of course.


Busy schedules pushed the session date back a bit, but we finally met up in Balboa Park last weekend. Sarah's little family is so gorgeous - how could the pictures be anything but? Noe was a blast - a real fireball who refused to sit still. Oh, he's also a Jedi in training, although his favorite is Darth Vader. His parents kept telling him my big lens was Darth Vader's eye so he would look at the camera. Worked every time....


I have so many favorites from this session, but here is a glimpse:















Can you tell I loved this session? There was no way I could limit myself to posting just one or two.


If you'd like to see the rest of the set, you can go here.

Monday, April 16, 2007

The Badlands

We went out to the desert last weekend. It was a spur of the moment trip - one of those long car rides you take just because you feel like driving and singing along to whatever the Ipod serves up. Mike received a new gadget for his birthday: a GPS system. It was Marisa's idea actually, to test it out. We drove out as far as we could, trying to get lost, trusting technology to find our breadcrumbs and steer us back home.













After the scenic stuff, I took advantage of my willing muse and snapped a few portraits.









{sigh} So loving my new lens.

Oh Baby!

I've been shooting a lot of film lately for class. Not only does this mean that my photographic process is very different (and less prolific), I am horrible at remembering to scan the prints I do make. Thus, it seems like I have fallen off the face of earth, while in reality, I am shooting my ass off. The good news is, I am beginning to get more requests for portraits and I've got my first corporate gig coming up this week. I'm scared to death, but I'm trying not to think about it too much, beyond the necessary prep.

But back to the portraits. I did my first maternity shoot about a month ago (yes, I am way behind in posting!) and got all the proofs done in about 3 weeks (only a week later than I said I would! Also, I told her I would wait to post anything until she had a chance to look at them first - it's only fair.). Working full-time and going to school part-time tends to make my time-lines a little drawn out. (Speaking of work, my job as I know it will be ending in 2 weeks - the last Thursday of April. While I'm more than a little nervous, I should get a decent severance package that should help keep me afloat for a bit. I'm trying to hold out for something decent in the photographic field (what better time to jump the career ship but now??) but as time goes by, my field is starting to broaden a bit. As long as I don't settle back into the admin world solely for the paycheck, I'll be happy.)
I did the shoot as a bridal shower gift for my friend. Although I was only able to use one lens and limited backdrops, I think this first session went well.

















So, I'm hoping with my upcoming free time, I'll be able to get more photo-time. Also? It's incentive to get my act together (business-wise) and maybe put off the inevitable return to cubicle-land.

Tuesday, April 03, 2007

I know you don't owe me anything, Internet & Co. You probably felt abandoned, left out in the cold, neglected, and a lot like chopped liver. And I understand if you want to give me the cold treatment too. But, it's not like I did it on purpose. It's not like I didn't think of all y'all over this 2+ week hiatus. It's not like I didn't miss you or anything. It's just that everything had been all over the place lately. What with the school, and the relationship, and the work or the lack thereof due to my imminent lay-off.... So much uncertainty and not enough words to make sense of it, or even convey how I feel about it.

And so, instead of sitting on my keester, and facing it like a woman with cajones, I am going to take a road trip, and hightail it to San Francisco for the weekend.

I've never been to San Francisco. I've heard a lot about it; a lot of, "OMG! You would love it!!!! It's so YOU!!! It's HELLA YOU!!!!!" And it's been nothing short of frustrating to nod and smile and not be jealous because dammit, they didn't even send me a postcard. I've always known I would go there, I've always known I would like it.. it's north and on the western coast, right? What is there not to like? I already have memories attached to the place... letters written from hotel rooms by a high school boyfriend... the beginnings of a short story that starred yours truly packing up all my posessions and leaving for SF.... and a halfway point - a neutral ground - for a reunion in my imagination. How is it then, that I've never been there?

But, enough of the ramblings. It's not like I pictured, but I'm going and I'll be there for 3 days and 2 nights and then in Monterey for 2 days and a night.

My question is this: According to all y'all, where do I have to go? What can I absolutely not miss? Between me and Frommer's, we've come up with Chinatown and the Ferry Building. But after that, I'm kind of at a loss. And short of wandering around with my camera, which I will probably do anyway, it would be nice to have some kind of a plan. So, any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I promise to show oodles of pictures when I get home.

Speaking of pictures, since no post is complete without them, one of the highlights of last weekend was decorating easter eggs with my niece and nephew. It's something my family has been doing for years and years. My brothers don't participate so much anymore, but every year, my mom gamely pulls out her box of crafts and martha stewart magic and calls me, ensuring I will fill my daughterly duty as assistant craftician. Since we usually end up coloring about 12 eggs a piece, it was nice to have the help of the kidlets this year.









After the decorating, we all gathered around and proceeded to be awed again (and again and again... they're that age) by "Happy Feet."



I'll be checking e-mail while I'm gone, so feel free to send suggestions!