somewhere between a handshake and two kisses

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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.

  • I Do… photograph weddings… especially if they include a pittbull in pearls.

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    It has been a fun summer because I have been super busy doing lots of different kinds of photography jobs. While I am very grateful to have been so busy, as a result of my crazy schedule, I haven’t had time to post all the amazing weddings that I have photographed… which now totals 10… which is a new record for me.

    And I feel like if I post one wedding then I have to post all the weddings, because all of the weddings were so wonderfully different, and all of the couples are so wonderfully fun that they all deserve their own wonderfully different and fun blog posts. But I can’t post all of the weddings at once, so I am going to start right smack in the middle with Emily and Sam… and Mia, their ring bearer dog.

    My friend Michelle recommended me to them, and we arranged to meet so that I could get to know them a little before their wedding. I knew it would be a wedding that I wanted to photograph, as we sat in a dog park in SF and Emily told me all the food for their wedding was coming from farmers who she met at the farmers’ market, like Jesse from Marin Roots Farm, and that their dog was going to be their ring bearer. Fresh, healthy, local food and dogs = the perfect wedding to me.

    They got married in the cypress grove at Chrissy Field in the Presidio, one of my favorite places to go when I lived in the city with my dog. And although they were hoping for sun, I wasn’t disappointed when the fog rolled in just as the ceremony was about to start. That big beautiful soft box from the Pacific Ocean made the already photogenic event even more so by softening the light just enough and giving everything a magical glow… oh it was lots of fun. I love the fog.

    And I love homemade weddings. Almost every detail of their wedding was made by someone they know and love… including Emily’s incredible dress and her veil, that I was obsessed with photographing, and including the most amazing flour-less chocolate cake. A cake that could be reason enough for me to get married again… to Arann of course.

    So congratulations Emily, Sam and Mia… and stay tuned for more amazing weddings to come.

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  • Calling All Artists & Farmers of Petaluma…

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    The Genius…Tyler Young… is at it again.

    This time, Tyler‘s Petaluma community project focuses on the Farmers and Artists of Petaluma, because as he says…

    Pitchforks, tractors and hay bales.
    Paintbrushes, video cam’s and laptops.
    From dirt to digital art, Petaluma lies
    precisely at the intersection of
    agriculture and creativity.
    ProjectHERE wishes to celebrate Petaluma’s Artists & Farmers
    recognizing them as cornerstones to what it means to live HERE….

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    To make his vision a reality, we are photographing every artist and farmer we know, and especially those we don’t know.

    We will be celebrating the farmer, the artist, and the gifts they create, on Saturday, October 10th, 2009, from 11:00a to 4:00p in the backyard of Central Market at 42 Petaluma Blvd. North, Petaluma, CA 94952.

    So if you like food, art and farmers, or if you are one of the above, then please come and bring as many art and farmer friendly friends as possible.

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    Also, we are just getting started on our Farmer & Artist documentary journey, so if you know of either a Petaluman artist or farmer, who you think would be good to document, then please let us know. We are accepting recommendations now.

  • Our First Ever… Fall Camp at Windrush Farm…

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    We are now accepting applications for our very first Fall Camp Sessions at Windrush Farm.

    If you would like your child to spend their fall break learning how to herd sheep, milk goats, catch frogs, harvest tomatoes in the garden, and felt wool then please contact our camp director, Arann Harris. His phone number is 707-364-9929 and his email is harrisarann@yahoo.com.

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    You can download a brochure here… camp-brochure-fall09.

    You can download applications here…  Harvest Camp. Please fill them out and send them to 1423 Western Ave, Petaluma, CA 94952.

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    Thanks for visiting and we hope to see you very soon!

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  • Apple Dumplings, Root Beer Saloon, My Grandparents and Me…

    It has been over 15 years since my last solo trip to visit my grandparents… and that is 15 years too long.

    I am very lucky. I get to see my grandparents, who live 2,173 miles away from me, at least twice a year. But those visits usually include at least 12 other relatives as well, making one-on-one time highly unlikely.

    So when I knew I was going to Missouri for the fiber arts book I am working on, I decided to make a special trip to see my grandparents, who live in the next state over. And it was wonderful.

    As I drove our usual route to their house, the endless fields of corn and soybeans were the first difference that I noticed. Because in December, when we usually go to their house, the endless fields of corn and soybeans just look like endless fields of flat brown-ness. They laughed when I told them about my astute observation.

    So the next day, my grandparents took me on a drive to see more of their farm and wine country.

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    The first stop on our adventure was an old apple orchard where we got to watch the machinery sort and bag the apples. Watching the machine put the twist-ties on the bags was the most surprising part. I never thought about how the twist-ties got on to bags of apples before.

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    We met the patriarch of a 4th generation apple farm. He told us their farm started with 42 acres, but now it has grown to over 2,000 acres, and a lot of their apples go to Wal-Mart. He doesn’t think his grandchildren have any interest in taking over the farm.

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    I had my very first apple dumpling. Although, I couldn’t tell much difference between it and apple pie. It tasted the same, but just a little more gooey. Next time I think I will stick with the pie, like my Grandma.

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    After filling up on pie and dumplings, we drove through a small town that is home of the Root Beer Saloon. Honestly, I was so full from sweet stuff already, I couldn’t imagine having a root beer… but how could I not?

    I told them we had to go in, because Arann would have wanted us too, and I was glad we did.

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    Not only is it a Root Beer Saloon, but the husband/owner also makes custom guitars and is a taxidermist. So the place was covered head to toe with amazing dead things to look at. Sadly, I was told no photographs, but I managed to get this one in, before I was politely asked to refrain.

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    To make me feel better, the wife/owner offered to take our picture. At the time, I reluctantly agreed to, in a humoring sort of way. But now I am so glad I did. It was such a special occasion and I am grateful to have a photo remind me of our adventure together… just the three of us.

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  • Fog, Sheep and Cheese at Barinaga Ranch…

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    It is MALT time again for me, which means I get to go explore amazing ranches in West Marin and document what goes on, for MALT’s (Marin Agricultural Land Trust) annual report.

    This time I went to Barinaga Ranch. The owners, Marcia Barinaga and her husband Corey Goodman, wanted to buy a farm and retire in West Marin. But they quickly decided that they didn’t want to retire in the usual way, instead they decided to keep the land in agriculture by raising sheep for cheese. Neither having grown up on a ranch, they had a lot to learn.

    But they have been learning quickly, and only a few years after they purchased the land, they now have their very first cheese available on the market this fall. Some of the places you can find their cheese are: Oliver’s in Santa Rosa, Cowgirl Creamery and Osterina Stellina, in Point Reyes Station.

  • A Few Favorite Rollei Faces…

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    I often get asked what is the difference between film and digital, and so here is a collection of some of my favorite Rolleiflex (medium format film) portraits. It is not a requirement that you look serious when you are being photographed by the Rollei, but it is a requirement that you take the photo seriously. It is a beautiful camera that deserves respect and I think people feel that way… either that or they are just waiting patiently while I slowly manually focus it.

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  • Gathering Color. Encampment, Wyoming: Population 452

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  • Drink Sustainably…

    To make our April wedding affordable, Arann and I did what we could to barter our talents. During the planning days, one of my bestest friends, Lindsay, suggested that I trade my photography for wine at Parducci Winery. And, lucky for us, they were into the idea, so I traded one full day of photographing for lots of amazing wine.

    Not only is their wine extremely yummy, but it is also… local, family owned, organic and the very first winery in the country to be carbon neutral. This means they are doing lots of really cool things such as… solar installation, an energy-efficiency audit in partnership with Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E), using biodiesel in company vehicles and farm equipment, converting from incandescent to fluorescent lighting in the winery and a local tree planting program.

    They also use chickens in the vineyards to eat pests and mix up the soil; they have owl boxes all over the winery; they are recycling extensively, and they have created a wetland habitat with reclaimed water.

    And to top it all off, they are wonderful people. It was such a huge compliment that they wanted to trade wine for photos, and it was lots of fun getting a sneak peek behind the scenes at such an ecologically responsible business. I definitely recommend this wine for any and all occasions.

  • Gathering Color in Arizona…

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    For the next year, I will be working with Rebecca Burgess, ecological artist and writer, on her book Gathering Color. The book will teach people how to create natural dyes, from native plants in their region, for their fiber arts projects. In order for the book to have national appeal, we are traveling to as many different geographic regions as we can, to work with locals who use native plants for their own fiber creations.

    Our first adventure was to the Navajo Reservation in Window Rock, Arizona. It was my first time in the Navajo Nation, so I did a little more documenting than was necessary for the book, but I couldn’t help myself. Not only were the urban and natural landscapes so visually interesting, but also it was Inter-Tribal Ceremonial weekend and National Navajo Code Talkers Day, so there was a lot going on.

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    Our adventure was divided between two days. One day for hunting and gathering, and one day for dyeing.

    Our day of plant hunting began bright and early on Friday morning and it involved lots of driving, climbing under barbed wire fences, digging for wild carrots, walking on endless plateaus of sage, and discovering Navajo Tea in an incredible Navajo Veterans’ cemetery at sunset.

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    To link the traditional Navajo plants with the traditional Navajo wool, we also went on a search for the rare Navajo-Churro Sheep. We found a herd at the Hubbell Trading Post, where we learned how the US government almost killed off the breed completely, on two different occasions, and consequently devastated the Navajo people, who depended on the sheep for survival. It is absolutely amazing that both the Navajo and the Churro still exist today.

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    Day two…our dyeing day, was spent at Rose’s house, where we were welcomed by a chorus of cute dogs and a few of her fourteen grandchildren, who she is raising with the help of her husband, Henry.

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    When Rebecca and I arrived, we found Rose already getting the pots ready over the fire pit. Once the water started to boil, it was on. Everyone had to work quickly in the heat and smoke. I learned that dyeing wool with natural dyes is about finding the perfect balance between plant matter, wool, time, heat, and water, in order to get the perfect color.

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    If you are curious to know more about the people, the process, and the plants, visit Rebecca’s blog: http://ecologicalartist.wordpress.com/2009/08/18/desert-harvest/. Rebecca took lots of good notes about Rose’s story, and about the plants that Rose’s family has been using for so many generations.

    It is really really nice to work with writers who focus on the details, while I get to focus on the visuals. I wish all my projects came with talented writers. Thank you Rebecca and Kitty for this amazing opportunity.

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  • 65 Years (part II): with the Holga

    I made a decision to document one of the most important trips I may ever take, with two cameras: my Rolleiflex and my Holga. The Rolleiflex, I love, so that was an easy decision. But the Holga, I was not so sure about. I knew it could be wonderful, but I also knew it could be unpredictable, and I knew there was a chance that I might not get anything that was worthwhile. But because we did a lot of activities that did not make it easy to use a twin lens reflex (hiking, biking, kayaking) the Holga became my default.

    And so, today when I picked up my film from the lab, I had no idea what to expect… and I had no idea that I was going to have a new camera love…

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    Here it is… simple, fun and wonderful. A camera that takes photos that make me excited about photography again.

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