• Last night, when I was at the San Francisco Botanical Society Library waiting for the teachers to arrive for their workshop about soil, I began to wonder how I got there, not physically got there, but how I got so lucky in life to be able to be a photographer and to experience such wonderful events.

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    The wonderful event, where my ‘wondering’ began, was the soil class which is a part of the Professional Development workshop series for teachers in the San Fransisco Unified School District. The series is run by the The San Francisco Green Schoolyard Alliance in order to help teachers feel more comfortable using their outdoor classrooms.

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    The event was so much fun to photograph because the teachers were so involved in their own wonderment over the wonders of soil that they completely ignored my presence. The room was full of laughter and delight as the teachers became students and got their hands in the dirt.

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    And on my drive home, after my good friend Rachel who had invited me to photograph the event had thanked me again and again for coming, I wondered if I would always feel like I should be the one doing the thanking for the opportunity to photograph their world.

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    Not only did I get to have fun taking photographs, but I also got to see a cool new part of San Francisco, I got to meet people who are excited about soil and I learned how to make my compost pile better and why gophers aren’t so bad.

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    In the month of January, I went to my father’s wedding, took a trapeze lesson and ate grilled sardines.

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    I never imagined doing any of those activities prior to them being suggested to me, but one of the benefits of being a photographer is that no matter what the experience is, you can always turn it into art.

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  • One thing I am excited to do is pair up with people who are doing social research for either their own academic or personal endeavors.

    One such person I have been lucky to meet is Jonah Raskin, a professor at Sonoma State University. He is writing a book about his experiences on local organic farms. I was honored when he asked me to take photographs for his book last year, but unfortunately I was not able to help him much, because I went off to London for my graduate degree in documentary photography.

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    But since I have returned, he has asked me to fill in the holes for photos he does not have yet at an amazing farm in Sonoma called Oak Hill Farm. It is absolutely gorgeous and managed very well. Here is what I came up with after my very brief visit.

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    Another writer, who happens to be my future mother-in-law, Mimi Luebbermann, and Marlie de Swart, an artist and dear friend, asked me to join them on their book project. It is going to be a Wool book and it will be a combination of patterns for Marlie’s beautiful wool garments and stories about local farmers.

    To get wool inspiration, I photographed the shearing of Mimi’s sheep last week, with the hopes that some might end up in the book somehow.

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  • And it was full of challenges and delights…. and for someone fresh out of documentary photography school, there was definitely plenty to document.

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    First challenge, photographing at 12 noon without a single cloud in the sky and the sun directly beside the temple where I am supposed to shoot the group shots. And so Paige learns how to use a flash. I didn’t have a choice about where to do the group shots, and neither did the other three photographers I watched shoot the formal wedding portraits on Valentine’s Day weekend at the Mormon Temple in Oakland… because this is where the formals are taken, and not only that, but you only have 20 minutes allotted to do so before the next wedding is ready for their photos. And with all our creative licenses taken away, we all photographed the exact same way… 35mm digital slr, flash on camera and pointing directly to the subjects… not very exciting but it worked and having never used flash for formal portraits before, I was holding my breath just to have something to show for after the day was done.

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    Other fun documentary highlights: the bride noticed an ant on the cake just as all the final reception touches were being made… but to everyone’s dismay, except for the groom who was laughing, and me who was photographing, we learned where there is one ant, there are hundreds more near by. And these guys were coming from the fresh garland on the table around the cake.

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    Another amazing fact about the event… Jeanie, who I have mentioned before, is the bride’s very close friend and as a gift to the couple, she cooked dinner for the 200 reception guests. Not only is it amazing that anyone can cook for that many people, especially because I can’t cook for 2 people, but Jeanie is blind. And she pulled it off beautifully.

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    And the final challenge: photographing the reception in the very dark basketball gym… Paige learns flash again, this time with a sync cord that was permanently stuck and so I was forced to hold the flash in my left hand and try and keep the camera straight and still with my right hand. I went back and forth with trying to bounce the flash off the very high ceilings to pointing the flash at the subjects, and on more than occasion, I was pointing it in my own face as I pressed the shutter and that never looks very professional.

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    But the final lesson from this wedding is that I love the canon 5D. I rented one as a back-up from Looking Glass Photo in Berkeley, because my 20D is not very reliable these days. I love the full sensor, the huge screen on the back and the improved ability to shoot in low light and am going to purchase one this week.

    With my new flash skills and my new camera (soon), I am ready…. Let the wedding season begin!

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    I am excitedly brainstorming for my next fun project that I am going to work on… which is Roller Derby. It is not s topic that is new, but it is new to me, and it promises a lot of good challenges….mixed light that is very low and fast moving subjects. But the portrait potential is what excites me most, and the idea of working with rad women who are testing their physical limits as well as gender stereotypes.

    I went tonight to scope the scene and to meet people before I get too camera happy. My urge to strap on skates was high but I will save those bruises for later.

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    After borrowing Matteo’s medium format camera all summer long I needed to make my own purchase. And after many hours searching for used cameras on all the usual sites like B&H and eBay. Finally I found a great little one on the KEH site, based out of Atlanta. And so I started shooting away and piling up rolls of film. I was using it at very important events, like my father’s wedding, meeting my friend’s new human (above) and reuniting with my 6th grade boyfriend. But I had not been able to process any of the rolls until now so I wasn’t even sure if it worked.

    But to my excited delight, it does. And I am in love with it. It is so much fun to shoot, the shutter is almost inaudible and you look really cool with it and therefore get lots of comments from those who see you with it. To add to my excitement, I also bought a scanner a CanoScan 8800. I am still learning how to tweak it but I think it will be fine for my needs.

    I am definitely testing the boundaries with this camera though, as I don’t like tri-pods… so I hand hold it at very slow shutter speeds and with high iso film. The results vary… I think you have to be arty to appreciate some of them or just not mind the blur.

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  • So this is a summary of December….

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    Worlds collided as Arann came to London and got to experience my new British home away from home.

    Work continued as I photographed our good friend Claire who was selling up a cupcake storm at the Covent Garden Night Market.

    Spent quality time with friends as my impending departure drew near.

    More work, this time photographing one-week old Claudia with her big sister in time for the Holiday card season. Her mom was worried that she wouldn’t photograph well, being so new to the world, but add an adorable big sister and I think we got some keepers.

    Facebook reunions. I am now a shameless advocate for internet networking after being reunited with childhood friends from Hong Kong who I had not seen in over 20 years.

    Arann and I got engaged at the Isle of Wight and were congratulated by a 100 seagulls flying over our heads.

    Then back to the States and a rainy NYC at Christmas time.

    Then over to my traditional mid-west Christmas celebration in Carbondale, Illinois….14 people in one house.

    And back to Petaluma where I re-assumed my role as photographer of The Bluebellies at their New Year’s Eve gig at The Western, in Point Reyes California.

    And that was the end of 2007. Happy 2008.

  • So it is now January 11, 2008… and that means school is over and I am back in Petaluma, California, scratching my head and wondering what happened in the blur of the month called December. Well, here is a summary….

    Most importantly I made a book, with the help of graphic designer Yumi Kohsaka. She put an exorbitant amount of time, energy and patience into helping me. I had no idea how much work it would be and so I worked literally nonstop for two weeks.

    This what the back and front cover looks like:

    To see the first few pages of the book you can click on the po box link……

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    And as soon as I dropped the book off for printing…I had to start putting together my pieces for the final group show. I chose to go the more economical route by buying frames at a carboot sale (similar to our flea market) and creating a family wall type of exhibition…and with the enthusiasm of my dear Italian friend Matteo… I bought some gaudy wallpaper and, with the help of a wonderful guy from the film department, we created a living room scene complete with ugly pink lamp.

    So how did it all turn out in the end?…. the show was ok…. it could have been better. The super-stars in the program really stood out by helping and donating a lot of time and energy to other people, but unfortunately the lead-weights in the program stood out too by not contributing at all, so there were some ruffled feathers by the end of it. And as for my book, I was definitely disappointed with the printing quality, as most of the copies fell apart after a couple of viewings and the some of the photos did not print well at all….. but the good news….it is over and I learned a whole lot and I met a bunch of new wonderful friends and now it is time to go out and do my own thing….. and I have a book! A rough draft for the moment, but it is a book and I am proud of it… the test will be when I present it to the community.

  • that is how many pages i have transcribed from the interviews i did this summer…and i am not done yet……

    ps: what do you think about the blog name change? is that allowed?

    if my 5 faithful fans hate it, I will change it back, but I love the idea….it comes from the fact that I am an awkward american and still can not get the greeting right in this country (england)……

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    me….stiff american, I automatically stick out my hand when i meet someone new…well until I came to London where I quickly realized that people kiss on the cheek here…but it is not as easy as that…..some people do, and some people don’t…..and those who do, it can vary between 1 and 3 kisses…..because of all the cultures here (the swiss kiss three times).

    so as you can imagine every time I meet someone now, I agonize for a good 10 seconds…. kiss, no kiss, if kiss how many kisses, which side should I start with, make sure I don’t knock heads, or miss and kiss their mouth (that it the worst), and then there is the stigma about people who air kiss, so if you do kiss cheeks you have to try and make contact….and this is usually all with someone who you don’t even know their name yet……

    so I think the name fits the experiences I have had this past year, bumbling though photography, very well….

    what do you think?

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  • I clearly remember this summer thinking that i should start transcribing some of my interviews but instead I curled up in the oversized armchair and watched movies with my mom. I knew this day was coming and I deserve no sympathy. So I am making the most of it with digestive cookies, honeynut crunch cereal and my camera. I decided I want to try and photograph everyday for fun…even if it is for 10 minutes….here are some from today along with some thoughts about this whole sound editing process (it is required for school…so just look at the pictures if you’re not interested….I won’t be offended)

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    Despite my complaining…..I am so glad that I am listening to the interviews (many people in my class have said they are not dealing with their sound because it is too much work right now, which i completely understand, but my photos are dependent on the personal testimonies so i have no choice. ) I do wish I had taken notes as I interviewed though, or at least scanned them while I was still there, because I am hearing details that I wish I had photographs of….but that is a lesson to remember for the next project.

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    Some of the interviews are really fun and others, like the one I just finished, are so so heavy….and I am torn. I am not sure how this is going to work. Reidville is a small town, and for the most part it has a very easy history, but it is not exempt from conflict, including racial tension. And the interview I just listened to is accusatory and full of pain, so much that the person did not want to be photographed (the photo is an illustration….the person in the photo is not from reidville, she’s from spain and she is one of my housemates and this is her favorite spot to sit in the house….in the living room I have taken hostage)

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    I did not do the project so that i could do a glossy advertisement for the town…..but at the same time, I really like and respect the people I met this summer and I am grateful to them for letting me into their lives and trusting me. Now I have to put together this conclusion….and now as I am faced with compiling all the information I have, I am wondering how to put it all together in an honest, unbiased, unoffensive way……..because it is a small small town and I don’t want to be the grave digger that exposes people and leaves them vulnerable (and my mom lives there so I need to be able to show my face in the town again) but I also don’t want to sugar coat it either…it would be better if it were fiction….that’s it, maybe I can call it a novel….and change the names……..

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    I can understand how history books are biased because no one wants to offend their friends and if you write stuff people don’t want to hear, you potentially lose your friends and potential jobs in the future……how many towns will want to hire me to come and dig up the dirt in their towns?…..fiction is definitely the way to go……