The Santa Anas

The Santa Anas... those oddly warm winds that blow through southern California and are often attributed to fanning wildfires. Familiar with them?
Well, during last week's stint in SoCal and Vegas, those winds were a blowin'. Not in the physical sense, but in a LIFE sense. Does that even make 'SENSE'? Much happened, I was challenged, I was questioned, I was forced to reevaluate different areas of my life and I must admit the winds of change feel nice. Tiny little fires in my soul, simple little sparks, were fanned into flames and spread across the desert lands of my life. Contrary to the damage caused by real life Santa Ana's, the ones *I* experienced brought new life... exciting life.
I'll share them as they unfold but first let me begin with a challenge. While visiting Vegas and the WPPI convention, my darling Jasmine looked me in the eye, prefaced the following comment with "Im about to call you out on something" and then proceeded to ask why I don't blog anymore. I stumbled over my answers and dont think I really gave her an official one, but needless to say I am on a mission to remedy that. Because I took it as a challenge. ;)
I'll start with the rest of the month of March. I'll begin by trying to blog every WEEKday. Even if it's something simple. It will be good practice to get back in the habit.
So here is step one. day 1.

And I will leave you with one of my favorite favorite images. So simple, nothing spectacular photographically speaking, but it truly makes my heart smile....

Until Tomorrow...

Italy [part 2] :: The Rome I saw.

St Peter's Basilica at Night

Underground Subway

St Peter's Basilica inside

And the Colosseum (Both before and after the drama debacle)

The band. I think I shall name them 'The Victim and the Calvary'

Italy :: the drama, the prayers, & the power of social network.

Roaming around Rome last week began as any other day. You know, a visit to the Colosseum -- The Palentine -- The Sistine Chapel -- Vatican -- St. Peter's Basilica -- The Pantheon -- Trevi Fountain. I'm talking whirlwind tour here. We crammed it all into a day so we could leave Rome early and hopefully have a chance to visit Verona after the trekk to Venice. That was the PLAN anyway.
After heading back to the Hotel, brother Mark had one thing on his mind... a night shot of the Colosseum. He is way more dedicated then I am because all I wanted to do was sleep. Now if we stuck a bride in there, I would have whistled a different tune, but instead, he set out to shoot and I crashed out. And come morning -- no Mark.
Long story short, he was gone for 36 hours. The only phone between us was on him so I had only email to communicate. Early on, I was more frustrated then anything. Emailing a few people but nothing serious. Then, after 18 hours missing, my boyfriend made the call to parents and eventually through connections and hours passing, I was being contacted at the hotel, by the police, the embassy, and receiving emails from FBI international affairs. Then I was informed The Calvary (Dad Jim and Boyfriend Daniel) we both on a last minute plane to Rome. holy crow, this was intense.

I made a comment on Facebook and within a few hours there were re-tweets, re-posts, and hundreds of Facebook messages and comments letting me know people were praying. All in all I received nearly 400 emails/messages and the support was overwhelming. The words 'thank' and 'you' seem much too common place for the gratitude I felt and continue to feel. Not once did I 'freak out' or stress out... it was more of a calm concern. The times I got emotional was when I realized the love and power of community. So, again, to everyone who offered up a thought, prayer, kind word, email or phone call.... thank you. You truly show me the power of together-ness. A statistic tracker from the news informed us that news of Mark missing generated 12,000+ views and responses



Thankfully the story has a happy ending... Mark is found, and the hours missing all made sense once we found out the reason. He had been drugged and then mugged. Apparently this is happening a lot to American Travelers surrounding the Colosseum over the past few months. Young Men start up conversation, and eventually befriend you... They essentially slip you a 'date rape' style drug and proceed to relieve you of anything of value in your possession. Mark, being a professional photographer as well, had all his gear/monies stolen but thankfully they left is passport and IDs.

The media caught wind of the situation and within hours it was on the evening news, and in the Oregonian.





I also managed to snap a few photos of the drama going down in the hotel room...

waiting

searching

I wish you could hear the frustration as Daniel tried to convince the airlines to let us change our flights without astronomical fees

SO, ALL IS WELL :) Despite astronomically expensive last minute flights to Italy by the Calvary, and the airports refusing to allow us to change our flights without fees (even though we had necessary paperwork), we are all back in the states safe and sound. Now, armed with police reports, embassy reports, and the purchased travel insurance documentation, I am off to write some forceful letters to the airlines that refused to aid...

Danielle + Erik | part 1

My Danielle. My beautiful Danielle. I knew she would make a beautiful bride but I must admit I was literally blown away with how AMAZING she looked. Seeing her all put together literally took my breath away. I know these are a little out of order but bear with me.... I had to post these first. :)

The Penguin Tree '09

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas over here. ;)
I put the tree up this past week and we finally had Christmas-like temperatures that brought our first snowfall of the season last night. (see below)
Friday Night our friends gathered for a yummy turkey dinner [with spiked hot chocolate, I might add] and then we walked across town to watch the tree lighting ceremony. It was barely chilly enough to don a coat (yet we had 3.5 inches of snow 24 hours later). The live band serenaded us with Xmas carols, kids danced, I learned the Cha Cha, and life was grand.
Saturday morning, our friends gathered again for coffee and Donuts and then headed down to the landing to watch Santa arrive via lobster boat.... take in the town Christmas parade and then back to the house for, warm fires, Beer (juice boxes for the kiddos ;] ) and hot dogs.
I cannot tell you how wonderful it is to be a part of a "Norman Rockwell" community & lifestyle here in Marblehead. The town traditions make me fall more and more in love with this place every day and my community of friends here make it truly perfect. I mean seriously.... how often do you hear of a group of 30 friends who gather to celebrate every stinkin' holiday together. Sometimes I feel like I live in 'the truman show' with how perfectly orchestrated everything is.

Anyway.... Here are a few glimpses of Christmas 'round my home. And the annual Penguin tree with the myriad of penguin ornaments I have collected for years and years.

Happy Christmas season everyone. :)

revisiting the archives I

I was rummaging through old archives and found a few images I thought I would share. They are totally random with no real rhyme or reason, mostly just forgotten images that deserved their moment in one way or another.

and so it begins....

This is in the infamous Salton Sea taken in '06 on a trip with some of my people favorites [see below]. (I found the following picture in the same folder!)

[nick onken, moi, kyle barnes, michael norwood, sara france, fred egan]

barn concert | Hanneke Cassel

Last month we held a concert up in the barn and I totally forgot I had even taken pictures!
You may remember the barn from THIS SHOOT but it's since been renovated to accommodate guests for such events.
Last month, Hanneke Cassel (fiddler extraordinaire) volunteered her time to come play for us as a charity fundraiser event benefitting a Kenyan Orphanage called One Hope Many Homes which helps educate and care for young girls. [The place was packed and fit WAY more people than I imagined!]
This was a blending of some of my favorite things (Marblehead, folk music, music in general, people, and children's charities) so you can imagine how excited I was!

The plan is to hold concerts like this on a regular basis so if you're ever in the area and want to take in some good music and meet new people, come on out. Next up is a Christmas concert :: date TBA.

I love the little guy who thought the music was too loud!

Danielle + Erik | engaged

After shooting D and E's actual engagement on Saturday, we went shopping to style their shoot Sunday and drove up to Santa Ynez on Monday in search of the perfect barn I had in my head. It was a little risky setting out for a themed shoot with 'hopes' of finding the right location but it totally worked out. We happened upon this farm and Erik simply went up to the door asking to use their property for the shoot. He did preface it with "I just proposed to my girlfriend..." which would result in almost anyone saying yes - I'm sure. ;)
Apparently Dodge filmed a commercial here recently as well.

Anyway... Danielle is my bestie (that means special treatment!) and I had so much stinkin' fun shooting these that couldn't stop myself from posting a gazillion images. It was way too hard to narrow down. SO you get to see a bunch...AND you get to see a slideshow.

Um, by the way... I have never seen a couple make-out so much during a session (as you will soon see)... but they totally worked it.

:)

.... ***CLICK HERE*** to see the Slideshow.

The Climb.

I'd been wanting to climb Mt. Katahdin for sometime now, and what better time to go then the peak week of fall in New England? So, I found a willing hiking buddy and set off on an adventure the last few days.
Words cannot express the beauty and majesty we encountered along the way.

We set up camp in the rain and I must hand it to the fire-starter :e:xtraordinaire for managing to get a fire going while it was pouring. Granted there was a HUGE golf umbrella involved and several instances of smoke inhalation but it was an act of greatness none-the-less.

Thankfully, the rains held off on Thursday and we trekked up the mountain. Signing off at the Ranger's station at 7:45am we were a bit bummed that the trails we hoped to embark on were closed. Knife's edge (three feet wide with sheer drops on either side) was closed to ice so we settled for another route. Not 20 minutes in, however, I rolled my ankle... and with subsequent rolls afterward, I was a little gimpy. Couple that with taking my dear sweet time to make sure I saw every weird bug, took in every passing brook and listening to all the little sounds along the way... I was slower than Speedy McMountaineer I was hiking with. And despite the fact I now look like I have a cankle, it was worth it.
So I may be the clumsiest Mt climber you have ever seen but whatever, I attribute my clumsiness to the fact that I simply didn't WANT to watch my feet when I walked, I wanted to see everything around me, not the ground.

It took me a few days to process the experience because I truly don't have words to explain the majesty I encountered. I feel alive in nature and more impassioned there than anywhere else.... I had a lot of time to think... to process... and to dream. Ask me about it sometime and I'd be happy to share. ;) [Thanks to 'K' for the reminder to see everything with 'fresh eyes']

A quick comment I heard from my good 'ol hiking buddy - when I was complaining about my ankle but determined to get to the top- was: "it's not about the destination".
We hear that a lot but being there in the midst of climbing a mountain really made that statement hit home.

It's not about the destination... it's the journey.

It's who you are... and who you are becoming along the way.
Yes, I am clumsy and I'm sure my journey is clumsy...filled with spotters who are convinced I am going to give them a heart attack or people who make fun of me every time I stumble, trip, or fall. But in the end all that matters is who I am becoming along the way... who cares if I trip over a tent stake or fall on a few rocks along the way because my journey means I'm fixated on looking around, not at the ground.

:)

So what happens when photographers embark on an adventure sans their camera? cell-phone pictures!

I use APC.

My dear friends over at Artistic Photo Canvas have launched a new campaign highlighting a few of their professional users and they were kind enough to feature me! You may just be seeing your funny-faced friend over the next few months when you peruse through a few industry magazines like Photoshop User or Digital Photo Pro

I may just hold a contest to see who can do the funniest thing with that ad and reward one lucky person with a free APC Canvas to try for yourself.... so stay tuned for details once the magazine hits the stands.

I can't praise Lew and his crew enough for all the amazing work they have produced and the fabulous customer service to boot. You can read my testimonial and see the online version of the ad here....

Special thanks to the following souls who seriously came thru in a pinch to help me get last minute photos for the ad...
Doug the Umpastic, E-man, and the fabulous crew at LensProToGo who let us use their awesome new studio space!

Chebeague Island | The way life should be

Today is the first day in nearly three weeks where I haven't had guests. First my bro came out... then my parents... then the day my bro left, my BFF and her BF came from Santa Barbara. Its been a whirlwind of playing tour guide to a myriad of west coasters. (all of which I am trying to convince to move out here because it's just... well.... awesome)

Anyway, now onto the funness of the weekend... I trekked on up to Chebeague Island to play with some fabulous friends. There is something truly magical about that island... (something like the LOST plot). 5 miles long and 2 miles wide... all time stops, no one wears seat belts or owns a car newer than 1985, and you wake up to crows cawing or wild turkeys gobbling in your front yard... a 15 minute boat ride from the Maine land yet you feel miles away. The Maine state motto is: " The way life should be". There is so much in that statement that they got right. Life should be slower, savored, and filled with country music (if you've driven through Maine for any length of time you know that there are 5 times as many country stations as anything else).

Between BBQing, polish horseshoes, bonfires, the boys going scalloping and complaining that the water was so cold they lost "inches", checking each other for ticks, acoustic serenades on the porch and late night star gazing on the dock, life was truly perfect. There is something so romantic about nature and savoring creation.

LIfe truly is good.

Now for pictures!

You have to park at a remote lot off the 295 in Maine and shuttle to Cousins Island to catch a ferry to Chebeague Island.

I actually have a wedding here on Chebeague Island next year... I am stoked!

The crew got there before me because I was shooting a wedding on Saturday but the first thing I noticed about the cabin was its collection of beer cozy's. I was highly entertained and I didn't even get them ALL.

B scarfing down the most amazing Macaroni n Cheese I've ever tasted.... don't worry, I got the recipe!

trying to figure out why this shot loads so small... but whatever.. That's Kara :)

There seems to be a recurring "beer theme" in these photos. haha! I guess that's the Maine way of life?

We went down to the docks to jump... but the water was FREEZING so I pulled the "photographer card" and peer pressured the boys to jump in instead. ;) B and Folds

My fav shot of the weekend...

Sunset from the porch. I thought the colors looked better through my sunglasses so I gave the camera a little "rose colored filter"

I only wish I had shots of the amazing star-show to share... I also got to experience a part of the island that had phosphorescence bioluminescence. (Microscopic organisms that emit sparkling luminescence in short flashes when you run your hand through the water) Its like something out of a Harry Potter story or something... waving your wand and sparks of light flash forward. Photographing that proved to be practically impossible...

A HUGE thank you to the Emery Family for allowing a crew of twenty-something y/o crazies to inhabit your place for the weekend!!