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Happy 2015: Once in a Lifetime…

January 5, 2015

Well, it’s that time of year again…

Meaning it’s time to dig through the memories of last year…

Pull out the highlights…

And make big plans for the coming year…

Thing is, I have been chasing big plans for the past 15 years…

Finding a job turned into building a career…

Six years of saying, “my boyfriend Arann,” turned into five years of saying, “my husband Arann…”

One great dog love was lost and another amazing dog love was found…

Paying the rent turned into paying the mortgage…

And two people became four…

So now that all the important life boxes have been checked…

I have a lot of brain space that is available for rent…

But instead of searching for the next big thing…

I would rather slow life down…

And celebrate how amazing things are right now…

Because the most important lesson I learned from 2014…

Is that life does not always go as you planned…

And it all can change so fast without any warning…

So in 2015, I am looking for more of this…

And less of this…

Because hopefully there will be more harvests…

More drinks…More cook books…

More clothes…

And more weddings…

But these two will only be like this…

Once in a Lifetime.

So Happy 2015 (five days late.) Here is to a year of no big plans.

Day 12 – Thistle Meats…

January 11, 2014

A neighborhood butcher shop, serving ethically raised and locally sourced meats… Brought to our little town by these two rad Petaluman women…Is coming soon. (ps: They are going to have homemade biscuits too, which means I can hardly wait.)

I am a film pusher…

January 10, 2014

In case you don’t know by now… I love film.

And I am determined to use my film cameras even more this year.

So I decided I need to ‘Show & Tell’ a little more.

Digital photography is an amazing tool.

With the invention of the ultra fast…

Incredibly versatile…

And instantaneously gratifying digital cameras… You can now have over 5,000 photos of your wedding.

Photos that capture every single moment (and pore) flawlessly and beautifully.

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But photographs taken with good old-fashioned…

Incredibly slow…

Frustratingly unpredictable…

Most likely grainy and potentially blurry film cameras…

Will hopefully give you at least one or two photos…

That you’ll want to hold on to…

…forever.

And no fancy Photoshop actions required.

Because photographing with film is about more than just using a tool to document.

It is about turning a moment in to art.

It is about quality…Not quantity.

And once you fall in love with film…

You just may become a film pusher too.

(All of these photos were taken with my medium format film cameras.)

Day 9 – this is film…

January 9, 2014

These were the last photos my beloved Rolleiflex took before it broke on Christmas morning.

These photos remind me how much I love that camera.

And I hope it comes back very soon.So even though these photos were not actually taken today, because they are film, I think they are allowed to break the rules.

Goodbye 2012, Hello 2013…

January 1, 2013

At the end of a year I love to look back at the year gone by…

…and get inspiration for the new year to come.

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After I have finished reflecting on the year gone by…

…I take that inspiration in to the new year and…

…with all of my heart.

Thank you for being a part of my inspiration…

…on my journey through photography.

Happy New Year!

I hope you have the best 2013 possible.

A Photographer’s Wedding…

August 4, 2011

Klea and Dave got married at the Westerbeke Ranch in Sonoma on July 23, 2011.

Klea and Dave’s wedding may have been one of the easiest and one of the hardest weddings that I have ever photographed.

It was one of the easiest weddings that I have photographed because Klea is also a photographer so she knew how to create a beautiful wedding… She picked a photogenic location with amazing light and carefully planned all of the details.

It was one of the hardest weddings because Klea is also a photographer so naturally she has high expectations of the photographs of her own wedding. With Klea’s high expectations weighing heavily on my mind, I may have been a bit more nervous than I normally am before I photograph a wedding. But I had to remind myself that she hired me for a reason and that my job was to stay calm and to do what I always do… except with more film. Because like every good photographer, Klea loves film and she wanted me to document each part of the day with my film camera as well as with my digital camera.

So to make sure I had every moment covered, I hired Annika Erickson, another talented photographer, to be the second photographer… and here is our story of Klea and Dave’s wedding...

See if you can tell which photographs are digital and which photographs are film…

Congratulations, Klea and Dave, and thank you for trusting me to document your very photogenic and love-filled day.

To see more photos of Klea and Dave’s wedding and to find out which photos are film click here.

You tell me… (contest below)

February 9, 2011

I often get asked, “What is the difference between film and digital.”

So I have a series of descriptive words that I use to try and convey why I love film so much.

But it is hard… so I need help.

I’d love for you tell me what you think the difference is.

So… this is film.

And… this (click here) is digital.

Now you tell me what you think, by Friday the 18th, and I will pick one person to win a surprise film print.

It’s All About the Family…

February 1, 2011

Last week I received this email:

I am looking for someone to take photos of my extended family (13 people ages 3 mos-75 yrs) in Bolinas. We are renting a house there for the weekend for my mom’s birthday. I think we would want some photos of everyone and some of the four nuclear families that make up the 13 people. Your photos are beautiful. I didn’t look at all of them but they seemed to be mostly one person. Do you have any examples of larger groups?

Thanks,
Deborah

So, inspired, I decided to dig through the archives and share some of my favorite Rolleiflex “family”photos…

To see what digital group photos look like click here.

Faces behind the food…

January 22, 2011

Mitch wanted me to take portraits for the Town Hall cook book… I was more than happy to oblige.

This assignment was the first time that I used my new Contax 645… but I couldn’t help but use my Rollei too. I am happy with the results but I still love the square best.