yep, i belong in a redwood forest // santa cruz, california

if i could live in two places at once, i would certainly move back to california and set up camp among the redwoods along the coast. i'm pretty sure i left a piece of my heart there last november with two crazy special groups of people. i was invited by this beautiful family that has grown so dear to me over the years. i've photographed them several times in Los Angeles, documented their vacation in Hilton Head, SC, and most recently flew to their new home in San Francisco to document their sweet baby #3 at just 2 weeks of age. it was a crazy special time, to say the least!

the only challenge was an immense amount of rain and fog that swept through the bay area and seemed to be timed ever so ironically with my exact arrival and departure. literally. there were rainbows apparent from my airplane as i landed and again when i took off, which i now believe was the universe winking at me.. as with everything, you roll with it.

thankfully, i managed to squeeze in one good, soggy hike in the redwoods with my great friend, Jill Fox of Awear Yoga and her sweet fam, who so graciously put me up for the weekend at their home in Capitola.. the cutest little beach town. besides the newborn photo session, this was the only other time i pulled out my dSLR that weekend and i'm so glad i did..

i am already looking forward to returning to this place.. rain, fog, and all.

cotton candy colors.

These two photographs appeared on the same roll of film as the Runyon photographs in my previous post and they stood out to me immediately. So, maybe it took me about 3 months to take 12 exposures on this roll of film using my plastic, imperfectly-perfect Diana camera (and 5 months before I actually saw the photographs!) As I explained in this post, it happens.. and it makes each photograph something really special.

In this fast-paced digital age, I find it pretty satisfying to have something that lets me slow down and wait patiently for the results. I guess it's somewhat similar to taking the time to cook a great meal from scratch. What helps you escape from our so often rushed culture we live in?

. . .

Before moving away from Los Angeles, I had to take the quintessential Venice sign picture (for no one else but me) and I love it! The cotton candy colors are utterly dreamy and reminiscent of a perfect summer day.

When I saw the ocean photograph, I sat with it for a few minutes, quietly remembering that day and why I took the picture.. September 29, 2010. The movers had come and gone. Our home of 4 1/2 years (the longest my husband and I had ever lived in a place together) was empty. After I made a couple of phone calls, I found him asleep on the floor in our empty bedroom. I nudged him awake and insisted he get in the car and let me drive him to the ocean to sleep on the sand. And that is how we spent our last afternoon as Angelenos. I took 2 photographs of the ocean, so I would remember the feeling of that day. As we packed up our blanket, we breathed in deep the ocean air and said goodbye for now.

runyon canyon bench series (post 8)

I had to refer back to the tiny purple notebook I carried along on my hikes to figure out when this roll of film was started: August 10th, 2010.. 5 months ago! In December, I finally mailed my exposed roll of film back to the photo lab I used to live down the street from. It was such a treat to see these photographs after many months and a life-changing move across country. Instead of taking photographs of the bench during those final weeks I lived and hiked in Los Angeles, I decided to discreetly leave behind envelopes containing a variety of triptychs (3 prints) from my Runyon Canyon Bench Series. I thought of it as the final phase of my project – giving back to my fellow hikers and lovers of this trail. So, each time I hiked, I lingered until the area cleared, if only for a second, so I could anonymously stick an envelope into a crevice for a lucky one to find. As simple as the act was… it made my heart so happy and full each and every time.

The note on the envelope says: “To whoever finds this: I hope you enjoy these photographs as much as I enjoy taking them.”

Runyon Canyon Hollywood California

I had my husband take the photo on the right on our last hike sometime near the very end of September. It is the only photograph in the series of myself on the bench and I am so thankful I have one!

Runyon Canyon Hollywood California

A favorite set of photographs from the series:

[photographs taken at runyon canyon in hollywood, california with my diana film camera, August-September 2010]

Catch up on the Runyon Canyon bench series: Post 1 | Post 2 | Post 3 | Post 4 | Post 5 | Post 6 | Post 7

realizing life while we live it

“I didn't realize. All that was going on in life and we never noticed… Good-bye, Good-bye, world. Good-bye, Grover's Corners… Good-bye to clocks ticking and Mama's sunflowers... And new-ironed dresses and hot baths. And sleeping and waking up. Oh, earth, you're too wonderful for anybody to realize you. Do any human beings ever realize life while they live it? - Every, every minute?”

-Thornton Wilder, “Our Town”

I’ve wanted to see the play “Our Town” since I was 14 years old. I remember being moved to tears as I first watched Emily Webb’s goodbye monologue so candidly performed by “Rayanne” on “My So Called Life” (circa 1995).

I could never get her tone and those words out of my head. Even 15 years later, while preparing for our recent move away from Los Angeles, I would hear myself silently ramble my own version. “Goodbye, California. Goodbye to palm trees and Runyon Canyon. Goodbye to eternal summer and flip flops in January. Goodbye, mountains. Goodbye to Bhakti Yoga and gelato on Sunset. Goodbye to our coffee shop up on the hill. Goodbye, my friends…“ Heart-wrenching, it was, to leave that life.

Sometimes I wish that I wasn’t so emotional and sentimental, but then I realize that we are the way we are for a reason. Maybe that’s why I am a photographer. I can’t help but become overwhelmed with the little things.

...

We arrived to our new life in Michigan one month ago today. My tears over what I was leaving behind were washed away once I realized our new life’s surroundings. We were met with the sight of leaves turning the vibrant colors of fire. We have new cities to explore and new beaches to discover. For the first time in 10 years, I’m not surrounded by buildings and millions of people... and I feel so much more relaxed. Nights are finally quiet enough to sleep undisturbed. There is a clear view of the sky out my windows and I can see the stars at night! (Sometimes you just know when you are on the right track. And I finally saw “Our Town” this past weekend, performed in our new town.) :)

...

As I’m sitting here at my computer, across the country from where I was a month ago, I can’t help but reflect on the whirlwind that is life. For my clients friends, near and far, I can only hope that the photographs we make together might act as daily reminders to be present and to fully realize this beautiful life you are living… every, every minute!

runyon canyon bench series (post 7)

There is no need to look for the bench in this next set of photographs. (Because I'm either sitting on it or walking away from it.) Each time I reach the peak of my hikes lately, I no longer feel the need to take a picture of the bench. Instead, I feel a strong pull to take a seat, breathe in the vast experience of these last few years living in Los Angeles... and exhale.

[photographs taken at runyon canyon in hollywood, california with my diana film camera, july 2010]

Catch up on the Runyon Canyon bench series: Post 1 | Post 2 | Post 3 | Post 4 | Post 5 | Post 6

runyon canyon bench series (post 6)

There is another reason this project exists. I am hopelessly sentimental, so when I know I will miss something, I photograph it. It’s how I deal with change.. and change is not my favorite. It’s why I chose to start photographing this bench several months ago. I knew that change was upon us and here it is, peaking at me now from just around the corner. My husband and I have decided to move away from Los Angeles to West Michigan at the end of next month. We know it’s the right move to make, but it is just never a good time to say goodbye to the people and places you have grown to love. So, here is the next installment of my bench series and one of my last. I decided to see the bench in color again.  I love the soft focus, dreamy quality of photographs made with my plastic Diana film camera. They feel like memories from another time.

June 22, 2010 / June 24, 2010

June 29, 2010 

More to come...

[photographs taken at runyon canyon in hollywood, california with my diana film camera, june 2010]

Catch up on the Runyon Canyon bench series: Post 1 | Post 2 | Post 3 | Post 4 | Post 5