-
Adventures in the Bay Area
I’m up in the Bay Area with Matt for a month while my parents travel to Texas to see my brother (and Cody and Momo!). I chose not to go with them this time because I wanted to visit Matt. I love Texas but there is only so much for me to do on their ten acres of mesquite scrub. I am a little sad not to see Codes and Momo but I get to see Matt!
Here in the Bay Area, there are TONS OF THINGS TO DO! And most of them are walkable. I easily get over 10K steps daily. It’s been a little cloudy and rainy, and I miss my big desert sky and sunshine, but I’m making up for it with long exploratory walks in new neighborhoods, which is my favorite!
Every day, I explore a new section of town. I love to look at houses and flowers, walk where the locals walk, and see new things I’ve never seen before. Matt lives in an amazing neighborhood with places to discover everywhere. I’ve always been a happy solo traveler. All I need are my earbuds and phone, and I’m good.
I’ve seen a lot of random things: pink houses, wild turkeys, skeleton antenna toppers, and funny graffiti. Every day is a scavenger hunt for fun pictures to take.
Matt and I hiked up the big hill by his house. We took the long way up and said hi to a cat named Marlow.
Then we found a poison oak-covered shortcut for the way back. I’m allergic to poison oak, so I am happy to say I made it down the hill without getting infected.
Spring is the perfect season to explore. The weather is beautiful, and flowers are popping up everywhere.
The next day, I found another hill to hike. This one had lots of fancy houses and a park tucked away in a woodsy crook. I thought I had gone as high as I could go, but then I climbed a little higher and found another path to another street. I just kept going and going.
So, of course, the view was amazing when I finally made it to the top.
Please don’t be jealous of my free time to walk and explore. I still wake up every day wishing I had a regular 9-5 job.
I mean, look at these houses!
I found a place I could afford to rent but couldn’t fit in the doorway. Wah-wah.
-
Age and Beauty
Sometimes, I am lucky enough to have friends who ask me to do an “artsy” photoshoot of them. This is my favorite kind of photography. I get to play with light and image, personality and whatever wildcard the setting provides. I love the joy of creating images. It gives me a high.
Bethany is an old friend from junior high who’s done modeling over the years. We are both seasoned at being behind and in front of the camera. We know how hard it is to pose and not feel like an idiot. We know how to mix things up to create a good image. We are also both incredibly vain.
Bethany visited me at my parents’ just this last month, so we took advantage of the funky tile in the clubhouse bathroom. I’ve always loved its retro charm. Then we walked out to the *famous* red barn, but funny enough, I don’t love the barn photos. I love the close-ups in the barn that created this stark contrast of darkness behind her and light on her face.
Bethany is a natural beauty, obviously. Her face structure and Grand Canyon-level cheek indents are otherworldly. We often joke that she is of alien origin with her Rh-negative blood type and crazy oversized eyes. I haven’t used Photoshop to create these images. Just a camera and selective lighting.
I love this one because it captures her charming side. Bethany can give resting-ice-queen-face but also has an adorable mischievous side that is probably why we are such good friends. Nothing is ever boring with Bethany. I have stories of her shenanigans to prove it.
Bethany trusts me and lets me create any image I want of her. I love that about her. She is confident in herself and me. It gives me a lot of freedom to capture and create. Photoshoots can be rigid and stressful. It can take a lot out of me to put the subject at ease with silly banter and jokes and remember to pay attention to the settings on my camera at the same time. One of my deep secrets is that I’m not a gadget geek; I never really mastered f-stops or film speeds. I hate using a flash… It’s too much math! I’m more about composition and form meet personality and chemistry between model and photographer. It’s a delicate dance.
This image is my favorite. I don’t care that there is a spit string. I think it makes it more real, in your face, and punk. We are Gen X and still hanging onto our it factor.
We’ve come a long way.
Love you, bestie!
