somewhere between a handshake and two kisses

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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.

  • Rug Maker Emma Webber

    90 year old Rug Maker Emma Webber in her Petaluma studio. She first learned to hook and braid rugs from her mother in 1948. 60 years later she is still working on her rugs. She makes her braided rugs out of whatever material she can find. Every surface in her house is covered by her braided rugs and every wall proudly wears her ornate hooked rugs. She says she just can’t stop making them. She says most old people sit around and read, but Emma says she has read all she wants to read, so she makes her rugs instead.

    Emma sells her rugs from her Petaluma home on 4th street and at Knitterly in downtown Petaluma. As I was leaving her house she handed me one of her business cards and said she wasn’t sure if she should have another 500 cards printed, because she doesn’t know if she’ll live long enough to pass them all out.

    If you live in Petaluma, or anywhere close to Petaluma, and you are looking for an authentic beautiful gift that comes from a wonderful creative soul, then please visit Emma’s house and see for yourself. Also, her daughter, Laura, teaches classes on rug hooking in the same house… so you can dive in to the art of rug hooking as deep as you want to go.

    I photographed Emma for a story, for the Petaluma Magazine, on where to buy local art for the holidays.

  • So hard to choose…

    Meet Kiea and Colin. They got married on 6-7-8 (june, the sixth month, on the 7th day, and in the year 2008)… and everything about their love story seems to work in that amazing organic way… proving they fit together perfectly. They said their wedding was absolutely wonderful, and their only regret was there weren’t many photographs of just the two of them. They had a different photographer, who did an excellent job, but who didn’t get enough photographs of the two of them.

    So they called me and we made a date. Kiea scheduled a hair and make-up appointment with a friend and then we met in the middle… which happens to be in the middle of the most beautiful countryside and a perfect backdrop. And in a matter of 2 hours, we covered just about every beautiful setting possible. Now the only problem is, how do you choose which photo to pick as your favorite… because they all are so darn cute.

    It was wonderful to have so much time to play, and to play without the stress of the wedding day. I loved it and only wish I could have a photo shoot after the wedding with all my wedding couples.

    OK… I said it was hard to choose a favorite… but this one wins, for me.


  • Engagement Photos and Haiku’s…

    Meghan and Tom wanted engagement photos because they did’t have any photos of just the two of them together. And that made me very happy because…

    • it gives us time to get to know each other better
    • I get to see how they photograph
    • they get used to me hanging around and documenting their every move
    • and we get to play without having to worry about time constraints, like on the day of the wedding.

    So we met in San Francisco at the Ferry Plaza where we warmed up with baguettes and swing dancing in the bright sun.

    Then we made our way to the Golden Gate Bridge where the fog was playing at the edge of the sun, which made for great light and cold photos.

    Meghan and Tom were good sports and open for anything, even dusty old phone booths. And they were perfectly happy to be told to “get close” and “snuggle in” because it gave them a chance to talk about haiku’s and laugh.

    But my favorite photos of the day were at the very end. We were all more comfortable with each other, the wind was blocked by the tress and the grass was glowing green… everything was perfect.

    Come again soon to see their Nicasio Valley wedding photos.


  • I want it all…

    These days for my family photo shoots I like to offer it all… because why not?

    For fast moving colorful moments I use my digital 35mm (click here to see digital samples of the same photo shoot.) While I generally prefer the results of film better, there are lots of benefits to digital. One huge benefit for me is that at the end of the shoot, I know I have some good shots, should anything happen to the film.

    But regular viewers of my blog should know by now that my favorite favorite favorite camera is my Rolleiflex… the slowness of the camera can be a burden when trying to catch fast moments, but the results you get, especially when using black and white film, can never be matched by digital. (I have some really beautiful photos from this shoot of her nude silhouette, but unfortunately those are too intimate for the internet.)

    And my second favorite (but rarely used) camera is my 35mm film camera… because I can get the deep blacks, the beautiful soft glow and the texture from the black and white film, but I can also keep up with the fast moving attention spans of two-year old children, because the 35mm is so easy and fast compared to my Rollei. So I am happy to have an excuse to pull out my old 35mm and put it to use again.


  • One of a kind…

    This is Jess Brown, and her dog Shortie, in her Petaluma workshop where she handmakes the most beautiful and ecologically fashionable dolls I have ever met. Her inspiration for the dolls came from too many cashmere sweaters shrunk in the wash and a desire to have beautiful, yet functional, handmade dolls for her daughter.

    Why shouldn’t dolls wear silk and cashmere too? Especially when the fabric would otherwise end up in the landfill. Jess takes leftover fabrics from local designers and combines them with fabric cut from clothes she finds in local thrift store to make the hair and clothes for each doll.

    Jess’s wonderful dolls are gaining a lot of attention, nationally and internationally, so our local artisan is very very busy these day. And my recommendation, grab one while you can, because they won’t last long. You can find Jess and her dolls (and lots of other ridiculously cute children’s clothing) at Maude, her store in  Petaluma on Kentucky Street.

    This is Mima, the original doll Jess created for her daugher, who has had lots and lots of love over the years. If you click on the photo, you can read the very cute note Jess’s daughter left on her sewing machine. It is written in Mima’s words.

  • The Women Behind Biofuel Oasis…

    Today I got to meet the women of Biofuel Oasis.

    Biofuel Oasis was founded in 2003 to provide greater access to biodiesel, a renewable fuel that reduces harmful tailpipe emissions. They are a women/worker-owned & operated cooperative that values sustainability, local production, and community.

    And it is a very exciting year for this group. Not only is their business in the middle of the whole alternative-energy political swirl, but they are moving to a beautiful new station in Oakland in a couple of months, and most importantly… they now have new photos by paige green photography. Wow, it’s a big year indeed.

    I enjoyed my quick glimpse into the bio-diesel world of these rad women, although the priority of this trip was to take formal photos, so I didn’t get to see them in action as much as I would have liked. But I guess that just means I will have to make another trip.

    If only my little Honda, Ralph, were a diesel and if I lived in the East Bay, then I would most certainly go to them for all my biodiesel needs, but unfortunately Ralph isn’t and I don’t, so the best I can do is to tell all you… so if you live in the East Bay and you have biodiesel needs then these are the women to go to.


  • Word of Mouth…

    I was so happy to receive an email from JoAnn this summer. JoAnn is expecting her second child and she wanted pregnancy photos as well as photos of her cute family. JoAnn got my name from Maria, the mother of the 2-year old who’s birthday party I photographed in the spring, and Maria found me on the internet.

    I love that I have been in business for 3 years and I have yet to make business cards… word of mouth is way better than business cards– and it saves trees too! (Although, I know I will receive grumpy comments from my loved ones who wish I had business cards so they can pass them out…. so it is only a matter of time until I give in to the little white rectangles.)

    Anyway, here are my favorites so far. I took a few rolls of film too, so as usual, there will be more to come. It was such a fun photo shoot… gorgeous couple with a super happy 2 year old and big beautiful windows. It was a great way to spend a Sunday.

     

  • Not Waterproof Yet…

    I went sailing today, for the first time ever… and I loved loved loved it, and recommend it to anyone. I feel like I have a whole new respect for the Bay, the waves, the power of wind, and for my dear friend Kevin who taught us how to navigate through it all.

    But after being on a boat that was leaning at a 45º angle…. and therefore putting me and my two favorite cameras (aka: my only cameras and my only tools for making money as a photographer) at risk of a career change, should we tip any farther…. I decided it is time for equipment insurance or in the meantime, maybe just a waterproof camera, I hear they make such things these days… and that way I will be able to enjoy all my water sports a little more easily.

  • Stick to what you know…

    This is the email I received this week….

    Hi there,

    I have a last minute project I was hoping you could help me with?

    I have to get a professional headshot of an executive here at Safari Books Online. He will be in San Francisco tomorrow and I was hoping you would be available and willing?

    What do you think?

    We will need a professional backdrop and lighting.

    I was all fine, and ready to go until… “We will need a professional backdrop and lighting.”

    I don’t do professional backdrops and lighting… but of course, I said, “Sure, I’ll be there.”

    And then I freaked out. Professional backdrops… that means c-stands and drop cloths, but all I have are wrinkled sheets and Arann’s mic stands…. and I hate using lighting. So I ran around and borrowed what I could from photographer friends (thank you Jude and Randall) and loaded up my car with all kinds of gadgets and I took off for the city with a stomach full of butterflies.

    But because I didn’t have an assistant to help me set-up any kind of backdrop, and because I knew my client was going to be busy and not able to hang out while I try different “professional backdrops”… I decided, while I was in the car… no gadgets… do what you know how to do… find good light… and go.

    And I got lucky, because in his office (not a typical office building) they had a meeting room with huge beautiful windows, a cool brick wall on one side and a long white board on the other… and ta-da…. my very own professional backdrop and lighting.

    Thank you to all the architects who make beautiful buildings with good windows.

  • I only wanted to take pictures of clouds…

    It never fails, I get out all the things I need to sit comfortably in my window seat on the plane, usually in seat 22 if I get to choose, and once my seat-belt is fastened and my seat neighbors are comfy, then I remember that I wanted to have my camera. But by then it is too late, my camera is packed safely in my bag that is over our heads and far to inconvenient to get… so I try to remember, to remember that next time I fly, I want to have my camera.

    Because I love looking at the world from a plane and think it would be fun start my own plane photo collection.

    So this time, on my way back to SFO from my connecting flight in ATL… I remembered… and I got my Rolleiflex out ahead of time with an extra roll of film. I was very proud of myself… and ready to take off and snap away.

    As we were just about to take off, the piolot came on and welcomed us, and said that it was a beautiful day for a plane ride.

    I perched high in my seat with my big clunky camera perched in the window, ready…

    We started rolling, then we lifted, then there was a very loud bang, although bang doesn’t describe it well, but there was a very very loud bad noise, and then we wobbled and went back down to the runway, then wobbled on the runway with flames and smoke coming off my wing on the left side.

    Then we stopped and were surrounded by lots of firetrucks.

    “An engine blew up,” we were told first, then it was, “Mechanical failure.”

    And after the firetrucks gave us the ok, we hobbled back to the gate and got off to wait for our next plane.

    I was surprised how quickly they had us back on another plane, but somehow, I wasn’t quite as excited this time… I have to say, the experience definitely stirred my nerves and it served as a good reminder that life is short and not to be taken for granted.