Travel

I am thrilled to have my photographs included in the Spring 2011 edition of Airstream Life Magazine , including the cover!  As I traveled the country, I was fortunate enough to meet so many amazing people and on Labor Day weekend, Max and I headed to upstate New York to gather with Westy owners for their annual Westyfest event .  The cover photograph was a candid moment between Tim Frazier, his wife Margaret and their dog, Lucy in front of their Westy. Inside, there are more photographs from the event including Zach and Deb Wood's son Zane.  I just love Zane and he is a joy to photograph.  When I first arrived, I was able to take a portrait of friends Peter, Dick, Bill and Juju.  Bill owns the property that everyone camped on and even offered Max and I our own Westy to stay in while we were there.  We accepted and fell in love with this way of camping.  I love my tent but have to say that the Westy is easy to fall in love with. There is also anoth...

I spent the weekend with some friends in the desert and if you like dirt, cactus, golf and the like...it's the place to be!  Indio is known for dates and Shields is the place to go for the their world famous date shake. We stopped there on the way out to sample some dates and partake in what many say is the best date shake in the world.  Most stopping by are tourists looking for a sugar rush and to sample some of the many varieties of dates.  One couple I talked to at the counter live in Colorado and they make it a point to stop by Shields just to continue their tradition of drinking a shake every time they come to California. I sampled several dates and the shake.  Delicious!  I haven't had a date shake in the desert since I was a little kid and it was just as I remembered.  If you are in the Indio area, it's a stop not to miss!

"We have more fun than anyone" is the motto of the group, Sisters on the Fly .  I found out about this group a few years ago and decided that since I had a teardrop trailer, it would be a good idea to join them to meet other women who love to camp.  I joined and went on a few outings with the S isters in Arizona and Sisters in Califonia .  Indeed, they do have a lot of fun. There is a bond between these sisters that is as tight as family, or sometimes even more so.  I'm always up to join and support groups that empower women to do what many are afraid to do, like towing your own trailer or ditching the husband and kids at home to get out on your own. A few of the photographs I took of these wonderful ladies have been published in the March 2011 edition of Trailer Life Magazine in an article written by Becky Blanton. Thank you ladies for the great time!  I hope to see you again down the road.

On Halloween, Max wanted me to enter his photo in a costume contest that painter, Kellie Straw was having on her facebook fan page .  He dressed up as a fisherman.  You can see the photo HERE. Max and I were so thrilled to learn that he won!  For a prize, Kellie painted Max doing his favorite thing...having fun at the beach.  She painted his portrait using a photograph I took of Max on the beach in Cape Cod last year with the wind in his face. I love her work and I love this painted portrait of Max!  She even has note cards available of this painting HERE. Thank you Kellie!

I am always up for learning something new.  I was lucky enough to be able to take a flash class at the Julia Dean Photography School in Venice beach for the day.  Most of my photographs use natural light so I wanted to take a class to use a flash the correct way in certain situations.  It was very informative with both technical learning in the class room and a few assignments in the field. I love people watching in Venice beach.  We all had a partner and an assignment to go out and practice using a flash for a fill light.  My partner and I walked down the boardwalk and I found a spot where he would be sitting in the shade for practice.  He sat there and I started taking his photograph and playing with my camera settings when this man approached us.  He stood pretty close to me and was obviously out of it.  He couldn't focus on me and he smelled like death.  He tried to tell us how to get the best shot and how to compose it to make it look ...

My good friend Jamie turned 30 the other day and Traci thought it would be a good idea to throw a surprise party for her at my home.  Well, I suggested to have it at my house.  It's been a few years since I've had a get together here since I've been traveling most of the year in my tent while the house is rented to vacationers. We started planning this party about a month in advance and I don't know how she pulled it off.  Each time I would see Jamie, I wanted to talk about the party or tell her who was coming.  There were several moments where I almost blew it or freaked out that someone might blow it by accident in her presence.  Each time someone would bring it up around me I would say, "shhhhhhhh!!!!!"  People looked around and thought I was crazy.  That's not unusual but I just didn't want to talk about it out loud just in case Jamie was standing near by. Durning the last few days of coordinating, I seriously don't know how Traci was able to p...