i have a pretty friend

who is just as pretty on the inside. shes a sweetheart too, and knows her stuff when it comes to doing hair. she makes me blonde when i am ghostly white. she and emma used to play barbies together, many years ago. they combined their barbie stashes together and made one mother load of barbie stuff. i saved them in a large purple crate for all these years, until hunter got his hands on them and donated them to the haunted hallway at the school, last october. needless to say, the barbies i had been so carefully saving, got mercilessly maimed at the hands of some teenage boys. and i thought ava might have fun playing with them...in about 6 or so years. so much for carting around a big box of unappreciated, well used barbie dolls. i think i was the one who wanted to lay them all out and sort them one by one. maybe reminiscing about a time when my kids were little and times were simple.

but back to my pretty friend...shes simply beautiful.

fakers extraordinaire

so i went to this seminar taught by my good friend, judy hailey, who is pro photographer extraordinaire. in a nutshell, she talked about her 20 year, successful career in about 4 hours at this great facility, backdrop outlet , which has every toy any photographer could want. she also brought in this beautiful couple for us to photograph, and showed us a few of her tricks. they are a sweet newlywed couple, who were really good fakers...playing bride and groom very well. so basically, im on information overload, and feel way overwhelmed and somewhat lost, but came away with some great information.  even had this pretty girl hold a bouquet i whipped up from trader joe flowers. i realized this is hard work, especially when she offered to put her giant lens on my camera. my arm about broke. needless to say, lifting weights might be on the list of things to work on. maybe one day i will be well worth the thousands someone will pay. i better get busy...first with the weight lifting.

the artist in me

so ive had this friend for a very long time. we attended college together and knew each other when we were carefree, not a worry in the world teens roaming palos verdes, and hitting the beach in our spare time. we got in trouble together at church and never seemed to be quiet when we were supposed to. college was filled with many experiences of looking at the artistic side of life and comparing illustrations and notes from dr weiss's design class. we enjoyed the same kind of progressive music and i think i sort of turned into a pseudo hippie for those brief months we were on our own and exploring the world, trying to figure out this whole "life" thing. we failed miserably at times, but seemed to come out of it unscathed, and possibly a little better for all the trouble we got into and all the learning we actually did digest. its a miracle, we actually did retain some of that intelligence that was gathered way back when. so, after all these years, hes kept true to the faith, has religiously pursued his art thing, and kept it going. i unfortunately dropped my illustration pursuit and put a guy through law school, raised a bunch of kids and sat here, an unfulfilled starving artist. but the stars lines up correctly, and my creative side has reared its head again, and gotten a much needed recharge. my friend and i are still doing the art thing, he is now painting legendary rock superstars in dramatic black and white, hoping to be famous one day and i get my kicks photographing beautiful people instead of illustrating them. i just think you may see his images around town, and wouldnt it be nice if mine were there too...keep a look out, and say a prayer.

my thorn named eli

some more fantastic beach light, especially at three arch bay...the way the sunlight bounces off the ocean or something. not sure the way it happens but it always is unbelievable. however, there is an art to the angle and where you position yourself when you shoot. you gotta get the exact right angle to get it right, so i dont want to give myself away or anything...but shooting at the beach does take a little talent...

so our little group of oddballs ventured to the sand one spring break evening. a special pass we had just for that day, so we took advantage of this gorgeous private beach and even a little bonfire. just glad we brought our personal model pocahontas with us...she made it all worthwhile, even if eli did bother everyone, run into everyone and proceeded to dig holes in inopportune places, strewing sand in faces. he is the proverbial thorn in my side...but unfortunately i have made the commitment, and i take commitments seriously...so hes mine forever.

i will continue to love him through his confusion and disproportionate awkward long legs...

i think hes impaired or something. 

retarded might be a better word.

but hes an unfortunate rescue from mexico, who never knew his father...thats his excuse.

family dysfunction.

 explains it all.

opposites attract

for some reason im always feeling rushed when i shoot. i am limited to what light the sun is offering that day, so as i witness the sun creeping down behind the hills, i get panicked a little. but i truly need to relax and calm down. the light just gets better as the sun hides. i am shooting completely on manual now, so i have more control of what kind of image i am getting...also a new lens which allows more light in and also has this beautiful knack of blurring backgrounds. everything is seen through this rosy glass...so to speak, and the subjects before me just get more beautiful as the light changes and the lens does its thing.

but when they dressed in more formal wear, and she walked out onto the dirt path in these great patent leather high heels...that big oak tree called their names. the contrast of the black dressy clothing paired with the rustic, gnarled branches of that oak spoke to me. truly opposites attract, as this beautiful arrangement came together right before my eyes. and as with every other shoot...the last ones are always my favorites. i think their boxer, sebastian may have been the reason...

its not easy being green

green may be the new black. i see so many green bouquets and now succulents are being used in many arrangements. they are a hardy alternative to a perfect blossom. you know, wedding floral has trends. if you look at old wedding photos you can almost tell what era it was just by the flowers. remember the perfectly round bouquets with lots of babys breath? or the huge cascading arrangements chuck full of leatherleaf fern and equally spaced tight roses? not the case anymore...now, green in in, and a more natural, tossed together look is hip. clusters of open blooms in groups look good, and not so much babys breath as a filler...but babys breath maybe all by itself.

so i put together a green (well, i couldnt leave out that dusty blue thistle) arrangement...and even added some sprouting willow to the mix. good stuff.