A Bouquet of Peonies

I don't know where the time has gone. It's been a challenging last six months, and my focus has clearly been elsewhere. I have done a little shooting, but not nearly what I am capable of. I know it's early for a New Years resolution, but I swear I am going to try harder...beginning right now. My attraction to flowers hasn't disappeared, so when I got this particularly lovely bunch of pink peonies, I shot a few frames. I was pleasantly surprised to see this one. It's what I love about shooting. Happy New Year all!

A Dog's View

I love this image of Sebastian. I have to confess that I sent my daughter outside to wave at him to get this shot, but it still makes me smile. It is so simple, but extra sweet.

A Child's View

This is Pari. After flying across the country for the fourth of July, I woke up early the next morning as I usually do. The gardener was outside mowing the lawn, and Pari was very interested in watching him riding back and forth on the riding mower. I quickly ran upstairs to grab my camera and tiptoed back down to grab this shot of her. She's even more precious in person.

A Room

After a fantastic long weekend on the east coast, I have been perusing the images that I shot while I was there. This room keeps coming back to me for some reason, so I thought it would be a good one to share. It's been long empty, but holds lots of stories and memories within it's walls. I love the old wallpaper and the muted color tones.

A Favorite House

I have mentioned my cousin Carol's house in previous posts. She lives in a grand old red brick Victorian house in a small New England town. We have our family reunion there every other fourth of July. After many years of living there, Carol has decided it's time to sell the place. It's huge and requires a ton of upkeep. We all get it, but it's going to be sad to see it go. I took these shots two years ago. The second image is the view looking out the screen door at the front of the house. It's a beautiful old door with incredible woodwork. The view is great too. In a few weeks, we will all gather there for the last time. I can't wait.

A Party is Over

The neighborhood had a big garage sale yesterday. Signs and balloons were put up all over to create a celebratory atmosphere. I got up early this morning to go for a walk, and this is what remained in the early mist.

A Sleeping Beauty

This image of Lindsey was taken at the house on Broad Street. She was visiting during the holidays and came and crawled into bed with me one chilly morning. When I got up and saw this sleeping angel, I had to capture the moment. I only shot a few frames so that I wouldn't wake her up. This shot says it all.

A Pug

I have always been a huge animal lover. As a kid, we had pets of all kinds. My parents made sure that we took good care of them, and this early "caring for others" definitely helped to shape who we were. Since animals are always willing models, I find myself shooting them often, but have rarely showed any of these images. I'm not sure why. As I was going through some folders today, I came across this shot of Sebastian, who is one of my daughters adorable Pugs. He has been a patient "model" more times than I can count.

A Bouquet

I love flowers. It's the one extravagance that I never feel bad about. The local Farmers Markets in L.A. have an abundance of beautiful flowers year round. Every week brings a new bouquet to my home. I've been playing with my flash and some long exposures, and am sometimes pleasantly surprised. This is one of the frames that I liked.

A View

We sometimes take the motorcycle up to Griffith Park on the weekends. A few weeks ago, we drove up and found incredible storms approaching from the distance. The clouds were very ominous, but gorgeous. We're so used to consistently good weather, that this kind of view is rare here.

A Spring Day

It's officially spring. I couldn't resist sharing the gorgeous pink blossoms that are in bloom in our neighborhood.

A Tulip

Today, I'm sharing this image of a single tulip. I shot what seemed like a million frames of these, and keep coming back to this one. Sometimes less is more.

A Bed

This is another image from my personal project at the house on Broad Street. I'd already shot the perfectly made bed, and wanted to create the "after" version to go with it. This one is shot from above (with me hanging on to a ladder). It's very different from the previous version, but I liked the "frosting" like texture of the comforter. The truth is, this is how my bed usually looks.

A Tree

When I was young, my brothers, my sister and I, each had our own tree in our yard. We spent countless hours alone, and with our friends climbing in our own personal jungles. We discovered birds, snails, lizards and even snakes in our trees. These were not ordinary trees to us. Their majestic green canopies gave us cool shade on hot, humid days. Then magically in the fall, our trees would create virtual mountains of leaves that we jumped in, played in, and buried ourselves in. I spent many lazy days daydreaming in mine. When my parents sold that house many years ago, it was the trees that I missed the most. I love taking pictures of trees, and my fond memories from childhood probably explain why. This one was a quick grab shot as I was walking down the street on a summer morning. It makes me think of those carefree days so long ago, and it makes me smile.

Donald

Every other fourth of July, my family has a huge reunion at my cousin Carol's house on the east coast. She has a great old red brick victorian house with a big old barn in the back. I had just gotten my 5D, and was still learning how to use it. My little blonde nephew Donald was wandering around with me one morning while everyone else was still sleeping. I was taking pictures of the barn door, and then saw Donald standing in the doorway. His little figure was so perfectly framed by the grand old doors that I had to shoot a couple of frames. I think both images are nice, but I love the one of Donald the most.

A Winter Day

I went to NC for the New Years holiday this year. It was cold and rainy almost the entire week. The rain forced me to stay inside for most of the trip which allowed me some time to relax and recharge. One morning as I looked out the kitchen window, it struck me that the scene outside looked as if it were in black and white instead of color. As I often do when I am there, I took a quick picture of the cold, wet morning. Later when I went back to edit some of my work from that week, I came across this image, and it's simplicity and lack of color surprised even me. What had seemed so cold and ugly, was now beautiful.

A Door Opens

This image is a continuation from the personal project. I love the light and the point of view on this one. Sometimes it just takes getting down on the ground (literally) to find the shot. The sense of "when one door closes, another one opens" is what I was going after on this one.

My Personal Project

Where does one begin a blog? For me this is a visual journal, and a place to share what I have seen. Photography of all kinds inspires me, and it is my hope that I can somehow inspire others. With that in mind, I've decided to share some images from a personal project that I have been working on for the last year and a half. I have a little house in North Carolina, where I go to escape my hectic life in Los Angeles. I always take my camera, and on a whim one morning as I looked at the beautiful light streaming in my bedroom window and across my bed, I shot the first image of what has become my project. From there, I grabbed my favorite white cotton gown, and hung it in the window. As I clicked away frame after frame, trying to catch the great light that was happening, I decided then and there, that these would be the first of a series of my quiet life in the little house on Broad Street.