somewhere between a handshake and two kisses

recent posts

about

Paige Green is a documentary and portrait photographer, whose storytelling approach to photography frequently addresses issues involving agriculture, land use, and food. Her work is featured in nine books and has been published in Glamour, National Geographic Traveler, New York Times Magazine, Conde Nast Traveler, GQ, Country Living, House Beautiful, and Culture. Paige lives in Petaluma, CA with a house full of boys.

  • Artists & Farmers… October 3rd… Come!

    When you visit a new town, what is the best way to get to know that new town and community? We think the best way to get to know a community is through the food and the art.

    So we want to celebrate the Artists and Farmers who make our community unique by sharing their faces and stories. I am working on this project with a very talented team of people, including Beau Bouverat who made this film:

    ARTISTS & FARMERS: *the SHEPHERD & the DOLLMAKER…,

    We are just now getting started with the documentation of Sonoma County, and we still have a long way to go to tell the story of this one county. But we want to share what we have so far with other people who are interested in celebrating community through our Artists and Farmers.

    So we are throwing a free Artists & Farmers event at Cornerstone Gardens on October 3rd from 11-4 pm. There will be:

    Live music by Arann Harris and the Farm Band, The Easy Leaves and David Luning.

    Food to taste and buy from some of our local farmers.

    Art demonstrations, as well as finished art pieces to admire, made by some of our local artists.

    A photo booth for you to take your own artist and farmer portraits.

    And some of the portraits that we have taken so far will be on display.

    So if you like food and art. Or if you grow food or make art… then please come and celebrate with us on October 3rd.

    If you are an artist or farmer in Sonoma County and you would like to be a part of this project then please leave a comment or send me an email.

  • A very simple story about very good ice cream…

    These two women, Anne and Kris, needed a kitchen to bake their baked goods for the Bi-Rite Market. Eventually they found a kitchen that also had a store in the front, so they needed something to sell. They couldn’t just sell their baked goods because the store front is right next to another very delicious bakery, so they had to think of something else. So they thought… Why not organic ice cream?

    And here is what happened…

     

     

     

    With a line continuously stretched around the block, it is obvious that their ice cream makes a lot of kids (and adults) very happy.

    So now Kris and Anne want to make a cook book for their ice cream.

     

    Here’s hoping that this is an ice cream story that will be continued.

     

     

  • Inspiration…

  • Once upon a time…

    The End….

    Jude, my stock photography partner, planned a trip to Gabriel Apple Farm, in Graton, this evening. She did a great job of making sure we had lots of models to work with, so we could both go off and do our own thing. While she went off with a cute mom and her cute little boys, I got this crew…

    We didn’t have an agenda, which was good because my crew did not want to work with an agenda. So we just played. I realized it has been a long time since I just played… and I realized it was fun.

    I think we should all remember to just play as much as we can.

    And if you need help on how to start playing, why not start with a little creative writing. Make up your own story about what is happening in the photos above and share your creative fairy tale in the comments below… The best story may just win a prize.

    May the person who has the most fun win.


  • Sometimes you have to look back…

    …to see how far you’ve come….

    …and to see just where you need to go.

    All of these photos were taken at least five years ago… if not more. I am sharing them now because the other day I had to dig through an old hard drive for something, and because I dig through old hard drives the same way I dig through my closet, I got lost looking in each folder. Before I knew it, several hours had gone by and I was still pulling out photo after photo and trying each one on again for size.

    Luckily I was able to write-off my nostalgic meandering down memory lane because of my Photo of the Day album on my facebook page. Because I decided to try and post a photo every day, I thought it would be fun to share some of my old favorites that helped lead me to where I am, as a photographer, today.

    Sometimes on the roller-coaster of photography, I get lost and insecure about the path I am on, especially as we transition from the blur that was summer, in to the shortening days of fall, and eventually in to the quiet days of winter. The transitions make me wonder how much longer I can endure the uncertainty of photography, with all its highs and lows of emotions and money.

    And then, these old photos stand up like long lost friends and remind me that I really have come a long, long way… and if I am lucky then I still have a long way yet to go. They also tell me that if I am smart then I will start using 35mm black and white film again, because there really is nothing like it.

    To see more Photos of the Day click this public link: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=186972&l=719aab5a14&id=43263909756

  • My Husband is Hot…

    …very, very hot.

  • A good reminder…

    On the radio this week, there are lots of reports about the five-year anniversary of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Hearing these stories inspired me to dig through some old files of my own.

    In 2006, a year after the hurricanes hit, I visited my dad, who was working for FEMA to install the infamous trailers, in Lake Charles, Louisiana.

    This was just one destroyed home, out of many, that was just waiting around, a year after the fact, for someone to come and clean it up.

    And this was just one trailer park, out of many, that was built in Lake Charles to try to help the residents of the coastal parishes who lost their homes. Crying Eagle Village was the name of this FEMA trailer park. A depressing name, for a depressing place, in a depressing situation.

    The statistics that my dad shared with me then, which I unfortunately can’t remember now, of how much it cost to install each trailer, and how many trailers were never occupied, and how much it cost to remove the unused trailers, were absolutely astounding… and that was before the formaldehyde was discovered in the trailers.

    With natural disasters becoming more frequent all across the globe, how ready are we for the next one? Instead of wasting money on toxic trailer parks with bad names, what can we do that will really help people who have lost everything?

    One thing is for sure, we have lots of opportunities to practice, as Haiti still hasn’t recovered from the earthquake that hit in January, and Pakistan is in desperate need of international aid right now.

    With all this reflecting on our past, it is good reminder that we can help people in the present. So I did a quick search for reliable relief organizations to donate to, and I chose the Global Fund for Women as my way to honor the victims of the past, present and the future.

  • A Day in Point Reyes with Susan Hayes…

    I spent the whole day playing in Point Reyes today with three amazing women, and one very helpful man. The purpose of our playing was to create a new collection of photos for Susan Hayes to use to promote her store in Point Reyes Station.

    Conditions were perfect.

    We had the dream team of talent with: Mariah the gorgeous model, Aimée the fabulous stylist, Susan the director and artist extraordinaire, and Jack the debonair car-moving paparazzi. The locations were so fantastically diverse. And the fog came and went exactly on schedule.

    We had so much fun that it made me think that maybe, just maybe, I could get used to a little more fashion photography in my life.

  • Love is the only thing that matters…

    Dora and Emily got married on July 19th, 2009 in front of all of their friends and family at the Brazil Room in Berkeley. By choosing to get married, Dora’s two children, and Emily’s one child, now have two moms.

    I have photographed a lot of weddings, but this was the most amazing wedding I have ever seen. It wasn’t because of the dress, or the shoes, or the flowers, or any of the other details that we easily get lost in. It was because of all the love, the acceptance, and the incredibly beautiful children who saw nothing wrong with two women, of different races, getting married.

    Their wedding gave me so much hope for the future. And this week, after hearing Judge Walker’s decision on Proposition 8, the proposition that denied same sex couples the right to marry, I was filled with hope all over again.

    I don’t know how anyone can look at this photo and tell me that these people should not have the right to be legally recognized as a family. If only all children were raised in such a loving environment… the world would be a much better place.

  • Redefining Danville and Why I Continue to Blog…

    On May 10th, 2010 I received this email…

    Hello Paige,

    I work for the Town of Danville, overseeing both Transportation and Economic Development.  On the Economic Development side of the house, I’ve been looking for ways of capturing the depth of the people, and of the sweat and tears that went into the making of our lovely little Town of Danville – through photography – as a marketing outreach effort.

    I’ve been meaning, for the last 4 months, to e-mail you about your very touching post back in January:  https://paigegreen.wordpress.com/2010/01/07/my-horoscope-said-so/

    Therefore, I am wondering if you’re interested in this assignment, as I think of it as a documentary of a community … especially with our current quintessential small town Mayor at the helm.

    Let me know –

    And my response… “Yes, please.”

    Since our initial email conversation, I have been to Danville three times to document the Veteran’s Hall Groundbreaking Ceremony, the Dog Friendly campaign, which included Yappy Hour at the dog park, the 4th of July Parade, and today the first of two Annual Car Shows.

    And after my first few visits, I can wholeheartedly agree that Danville really is a lovely little town with a fantastic mayor at the helm.

    I really respect the Town of Danville’s efforts to promote, especially during an economic recession, their small businesses and to celebrate their town’s unique charm. It would be so wonderful if this became a trend that spread to other towns.

    In other words, if any other towns are reading this… have a camera and will travel.

    (Visit my Paige Green Photography facebook page to see large photos without having to click each photo.)