I learned that to hunt for crayfish, all you need is a garden stick, string, some sort of wire shaped into a hook for the salami and a pond. Beer, dogs and friends help too.
I didn’t actually eat any of the crayfish, and neither did Arlo, but my friends said they were yummy. I hope to be able to try them after our next crayfish hunting adventure.
(Photographed with my beloved Rolleiflex in Sonoma, California.)
Happy Birthday, Juliet. I hope it is the perfect birthday, filled with all of your favorite things.
My man really knows how to throw a good birthday party, especially for himself. My only regret is that I didn’t take more photos… but I was too busy rollerskating. We’ll just have to do it again soon.
ps: I love my rolleiflex… film wins again!
The photo above is my absolute favorite photo, maybe ever, but that’s because it is of my family.
The elegant bathing beauty is my grandmother, facing her is my grandfather, and to the left is my mom. And I need to do my research, but I’d like to believe they are at the same beach we all still go to every year, but I am not sure.
My grandparents are now 84 years old and still want to go swimming in the ocean… although they are frustrated because they can’t get in and out as easily as they used to. For the rest of us it means we all come together and work as a group to get them through the rough waves and out past the breakers. It definitely was a little scary, but we made it through, together, every time. And as a result that experience is one of Arann and my favorite memories of the trip.
And for all my fellow photo nerds who are wondering how I got these photos… very nervously while holding my Rollei over my head and jumping very very very high when the waves came… I do NOT recommend it! As soon as I was out in the middle of it all I realized what a bad idea it was, but I figured I should at least try since there was no way of getting out quickly.
The Rollei seemed to weather the adventure just fine, but my light meter, the same one that went swimming in the Byrnes High School toilet last summer, did not live to see another photo shoot. It seems it was a fresh water meter only. RIP dear meter, you served me well.
At first I was bummed about the fuzziness of the photos, but I think it is appropriate and I like how it somewhat matches the old photo.
But the photo below… is my new favorite favorite… not planned, or staged, just a real moment (told to wait for a minute while I run and get my camera) on the way to the beach.
My two favorite boys, I mean, men.
Putt-putt at Ocean Isle Beach in North Carolina with my whole family and the same decrepit safari animals that are older than I am.
These are my cousins…. they were featured here last year as well, and now it seems photographing them with our favorite fiberglass animals has become as much a tradition as anything else.
And appropriately, the 2008 series is definitely my favorite thus far.
This is my color version of Richard Avedon’s Dovima with Elephants. It was a happy coincidence.
I knew my cousin Riane was planning to wear her red dress, and I knew the elephant would be there, but it wasn’t until we were all standing next to each other that I saw the opportunity, and I was super super excited… I think the golf club is a fantastic touch.
And just like Avedon’s, my masterpiece has a flaw as well… I chopped the poor elephant’s trunk off. I would say, “There’s always next year, to try again,” except next year we are going on a special trip for my grandparents’ 65th wedding anniversary. And, who knows how long our poor elephant will be allowed to roam the Earth, since Ocean Isle has been trying to spruce itself up lately. So there is a strong probability that he may not be here the next time we return, and therefore this masterpiece will have to be complete as is.
The night after I returned from my 3 week East Coast jaunt, I had to do another photo shoot for the cover of the farming book I have been working on, because the marketing department changed their minds and said this…
We're hoping to find an image that speaks a little more to the subtitle of the book: A Year of Farming, Eating, and Drinking Wine in California.
I'm thinking of something informal looking, the aftermath of a meal outside, before the table is cleared off. A meal involving vegetables and wine of course. Some background (blurry or otherwise) showing the farm might be nice. I don't think there need be any people in the picture (but maybe animals are OK!).
But the deadline was, of course, set for the Friday after I returned. So, nothing like jumping right back in. Luckily, I had Mimi, Arann’s mom, who is an experienced food stylist, with me to help make sure everything was as photogenic as possible, because I didn’t even have time to think about that aspect as well.
Now, which of these photos as a cover of a book would tempt you to pick the book up to find out more…
As a “professional” photographer, it can get overwhelming photographing all the time… and sometimes the last thing you want to do is take photos during your free time because taking photos means editing photos and that means more time in front of the computer… but playing with your camera is the best way to keep photography fun. So this summer, I tried really hard to balance my computer editing time with my playing time… and what’s better than a cartwheel competition. Although another important lesson to remember as a photographer… put down the camera and do cartwheels too, or if you can take a photo while you cartwheel, that’s cool, I just haven’t figured out how to do that with the Rollei.
Jude and I met yesterday and picked our top 15 photos to submit to the stock agency in order to hopefully get accepted and hopefully start getting paid for all the fun photo shoots we have been having. Here are 5 of our favorites that have not been posted yet… to see some of the other ones (preteen rock-star and skater girl, bed in field, woman on bicycle) click here.
Don’t worry we only took one photo of crying baby, after her sister knocked her with the plastic fish and before mom picked her up. So no babies were mistreated in the making of this photo… but even crying she is still so cute.
It was hard to choose only 15, we have so many more that we love… so hopefully we will be admitted to the club and then we can put them all in. Thank you to all of our beautiful and wonderful models!!
My good friend Rebecca runs the Sonoma Garden Park garden and she has started her own business helping people plant and maintain organic fruit and veggies in their own gardens. Rebecca wanted some photos for her business and to help promote the garden and she thought I might get some good photos for my stock photography project. Arann and I were late and I was bummed that we were going to miss the good evening light… but we made it just in time. We had lots of fun eating yummy fruit, arranging bouquets for her Saturday market and drinking cold micro-brews. It was a perfect Friday night and these are my favorite photos….
So, it is cover time for Jonah’s book. They want color, veggies, something different, something to show the bounty of the farms and something to compliment the title, which is: Field Days.
This was my first attempt… any thoughts?
The one above would probably have some cropping. I don’t know if it is cover potential, but I am proud of it.
Then there is this field photo, or the one that I posted long ago…. click here.
Thanks for voting!!
somewhere between a handshake and two kisses 
