Photowalk Awesomeness

I can't believe I never shared about my first Faded & Blurred photowalk! I had initially learned about the new photography group (open to all photo enthusiasts) through Nancy, because one of the main organizers is a teacher of hers over at Tri-Community Photography Center (which I will be attending in the spring, I'm proud to announce). You should check them out even if you're not local - some great tutorials and discussions going on in the forums!

So I had missed the first couple of walks they held, but was determined to make the one at Griffith Park the weekend before last. Not only were we shooting the 38th Annual Sidecar Rally, but afterwards we'd be exploring the abandoned zoo, which is the original site of the L.A. Zoo that they've made available to the public (no, not creepy at all...). And they also offer prizes to winning shots! I didn't win, but I was still really pleased with what I was able to capture.

I should note that when I'm nervous or around people I haven't met before, I'll crack jokes. It's a nervous habit; laughing (especially when it's shared) always calms me down. So, when we gathered round at the beginning to go over the game plan, Frank was saying that they [those at the rally] were all chromed up, shiny, roaring to go, and I before I knew what was happening I was saying "And those are just the guys!" About half the group turned around to look at me. I can only hope I didn't turn too red, but at least most of them were laughing. A few later asked if I'd seen anybody I liked (the minimum age of the rally participants was 50), hardy har har. Guess that'll teach me!

At any rate, I had an awesome time. Mindy, Sean and Nikki caught up with us just before we headed up the hill to the abandoned zoo, which made it even more fun.

Without further ado, here's a few of my favorites. To see the full set (with my comments/explanations), click here.

 

The people watching was amazing, of course:

And my absolute fave shot of the whole day turned out to be my very first one:

Afterwards the four of us headed to Swinger's in West Hollywood for lunch. Holy mother was it good food! Definitely will have to go there again.

This Is Halloween

The weekend was so much fun! A party Friday night with a bunch of lawyers (eek! scary!) and Saturday night too, except a bunch of non-lawyers (phew!). Dante even got to come with me Friday, and the Land Shark was the life of the party (watch the original SNL skit here). The poor dog slept half of Saturday, he was so worn out! (Full disclosure: so did I.)

I'm not the most creative when it comes to costumes, so I was thrilled when I found an Alice in Wonderland costume for more than half off through Disney (bonus points for the skirt being just the right length, i.e. not slutty). All I had to add was bangs, white stockings, black headband and black Mary Janes (three out of four I already had).  Easy peasy! And yes, I totally wore the same thing both nights. And I'll probably rock it next year, and possibly the year after that, just so I feel like I got my money's worth. :)

Alice in Wonderland and the Land Shark = obvious pairing.

First, party at the Otley's Friday night - they had some awesome decorations! Too bad I didn't get any photos of them. (Don't ask why I make such ridiculous faces. I blame the G.A.T.E. program.)

Then Saturday night was the party at Sophia's. Katie was Collette Reardon (unfortunately Colby wasn't feeling well so they had to scrap their original idea) and Nikki and Lindsey were adorable chimney sweeps. Also at the party were some Blues Brothers, Dick in the Box and the "needs more cowbell" guy from SNL among others. :)

I think my favorite costume this year was Katie's, by far. What do you think?

November is turning out to be a crazy month for me. Here's a sampling of what's coming up:

• The SmugMug meeting hosted by the awesome Jasmine Star
• Birthday celebrations for the lovely Lena
• The Orange Historic Home Tour on Sunday
• A free small business lecture (taught by the amazing Tracey Clark!)
• Cheryl visits the 13-17 (so many fun things planned!)
• The Wizard of Oz in theaters (if you love it too, check here to see if there's a screening near you!)
• Another Faded & Blurred photowalk - this time in downtown LA!
• and then its time for Thanksgiving.

Holy heck.

Sooo...how was your Halloween? Did you stay in? Party it up? Take the kids out?

xo

In Love

With Garance Dore's blog. She recently started an English version, and I'm SO glad she did. The woman is hysterical. Brutally honest about her own thoughts, insecurities and obsessions. Oh, and let's not forget she's a famous artist who occasionally takes photos, and is dating none other than Scott Schman, aka The Sartorialist.

I'd kill for mad photog skillz like this:

And a print of one of her gorgeous sketches, like this:

Yup, got a girl crush. For sure. So who's your girl crush? Don't be shy!

xo

October Roundup

I got really inspired by this post over at The Daily Digi, so hopefully I'll remember to keep doing it every month! I just love the idea of consolidating everything into one post. Helps my scattered brain. :)

What books and/or magazines did I read this month?

More of the Outlander series (which I finally finished last night), namely A Breath of Snow and Ashes and the latest release, An Echo in the Bone. Boo to catching up! Also read In Style, of course. I'm addicted. I also just read The Art of Racing in the Rain in two days. :)

What movies, television shows, plays, etc. did I watch this month?

Actually caught a few, saw Whip It and The Invention of Lying in theaters and finally rented Away We Go, which was SO good. Talk about poignant commentary on current American family culture! 

What fun things did I do with my family and/or friends?

Oh wow. It was my birthday this month, so I had an amazing sushi dinner with friends, yummy homecooked dinner with the fam and a trip to Vegas. I'm a lucky girl! Plus this month there were several trips to Disneyland to see the Halloween fireworks show and ride scary Space Mountain. This weekend we went to two different Halloween parties! And of course I've been taking a ton of photos along the way.

What gifts did I give and/or receive?

An awesome jacket from my parents, tons of hilarious birthday cards, a cookbook, scarf and earrings from Nancy and Kris, money to fix my poor iMac from Nikki, gorgeous embroidery from Mindy, Starbucks merch from Laura...again, I'm a lucky girl!

What special or unusual purchases did I make?

Books, of course, are always special. I'm gonna need a whole room devoted to them eventually. Also indulged myself with this lovely gocco print and this supercute coffee cup sleeve (I know it sounds frivolous, but it saves paper and the seller donates to sighthound rescue!). Also got costumes for me and Dante...to be revealed in photos later.

What illnesses or health concerns did I have?

None to speak of, knock on wood, except a few medium-scale migraines.

What were my accomplishments this month?

Edited and delivered an engagement/portrait session (technically shot in September), kept up with Project 365, attended an awesome photowalk, helped my mom rearranged the office and family room (still a work in progress, but we're getting there).

So what are you answers, dear readers? I love to know what people are up to...part of the reason I'm so obsessed with reading blogs and Facebook! :)

xo

Jennifer & Josh & Co.

I was lucky enough to have the chance to photograph Jennifer and Josh last month, in order for them to have some photos to mix in with their slideshow for their upcoming wedding (they're getting hitched on Halloween, how cool is that?). I met these two awesome people through Eirik and Roseann, and we bonded immediately over puppy love - they've had Pee Wee (short for Peter Weiner), a daschund, for several years now, and then brought home Philip (daschund mix) late last year. Such fun loving pups! Of course they had to be part of the session. :)

So we headed over to Fullerton one very hot afternoon and spent some time at Hillcrest Park and wandering around downtown. All they had to do to look good was smile, so they made it very easy on me.

Here's some of my favorites (to see more, go here):

Hooray for sunflare!

Pee Wee was a natural! And only a little bit of a scene stealer.

Stop. Cuddle time.

Like Jennifer said, totally 90210 right? But I still love it.

This is what happens when I ask people to give me Blue Steel:

He's got heart.

Fierce!!

I know, I'm jealous of her eyelashes too:

By that time the heat had taken its toll on us and the pups, so we called it a wrap.

J & J, I know everything is going to go perfectly for you guys this weekend, but I'm sending you happy thoughts anyways. And Jennifer, you're my hero for pulling off a wedding while finishing up your masters - good luck next week! Can't wait to see the wedding photos!

xo