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Away in The Bay

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I’m up in San Francisco today and tomorrow for a big photo event.

I hope those of you who live in the Bay Area will come join us.

(Over 1,100 people have RSVP’ed and I’m sure even more will show up.  I imagine there will be news coverage, etc., etc.)

I have a hard time “packing light” when I travel.

First of all,

I’m female.

We women need our hair brushes and lotions and potions.

And our shoes.

I always travel with a laptop so I can upload photos and work on them in my “spare” time.

In addition, I usually have one or two cases of heavy photography crap with me.

But, this time is different.

I’ll only be in the Bay Area for two days.

I vowed to travel with one standard size shoulder photography bag (which I’ll wear crossbody so it doesn’t hurt my bum shoulder/arm) and nothing more.

The very idea is shocking to my psyche.

My plan?

Stick a toothbrush, a travel toothpaste, a hairbrush, and a change of clothes into my photo bag.

No laptop.

No makeup.

Of course, I’ll also have my camera.

But, only two lenses!

(OK, three if you count the lens on it at any given moment.)

No tripod.

(It sort of kills me not to bring a tripod to an evening photo walk, but I’ll hunt down other stable surfaces to use instead just this one time.)

I do have some concerns.

First of all, I will automatically regret not having “all” my lenses with me.

Whatever I don’t have with me, I will “need.”

Also, what happens if I pull a lens out of my photo bag and my spare panties fall at the feet of Famous Photographers?

Most likely, they’ll start photographing them and post the photos all over the Internet.

“Suzanne’s thong makes the news!!”

Then, of course, there’s the fact I’ll look really ugly and rumpled all day Wednesday.

(Let’s be honest, I’ll look rumpled by afternoon on Tuesday.)

Looking terrible isn’t the smartest idea when you’re hanging out with zillions of photographers.

Why am I traveling so light?

Today, when I arrive in San Francisco -

I’ll be going straight from the airport to some pre-event shooting with a friend.

I don’t want to have to haul around a suitcase.

(With my arm – the less I take, the better!)

I probably won’t get “home” to my friend’s house until well after midnight – if we stop shooting at all.

Sleep is only a vague possibility over the next 36 – 48 hours.

I’ll look like death on Wednesday, but does it really matter?

After all, I’m pretty sure I’ll be too exhausted to care.

Are you a light traveler?

Or do you take tons of stuff even for short trips?  (Like I usually do!)

If you travel light, what’s the bare minimum you’ve taken on a planned trip?

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The Weekend Recap

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I hope you had a nice weekend.

I had a fun couple days.

I’m about to begin a very chaotic two-week schedule, so it was nice to have a relaxing weekend.

On Saturday, I spent time up in L.A. enjoying a (slightly early) Mother’s Day celebration with my family.

I wore a black dress, and sparkly flip-flops.

(You can do that in Southern California!)

Here’s a bad iPhone selfie photo.

It shows my wrinkles.

24Selfie © SHaggerty 2013 W-1

My daughter gave me flowers she bought at a local farmer’s market.

They’re so pretty.

Click on photo to purchase, or view larger, in 24atHeart gallery.

The day ended with an excellent dinner at Jiraffe (yum!) followed by a long walk by the ocean.

It was really nice.

On Sunday (“real” Mother’s Day), I spent some time shooting film with my youngest son.

He’s taking a photography class and we’ve been planning some film shooting time together for awhile.

It seemed like a perfect activity for Mother’s Day.

I was shooting a Diana F+ and my son was shooting a Holga.

Click on photo to purchase, or view larger, in 24atHeart gallery.

I haven’t shot film in a long time.

It was fun.

(It’s also kind of a pain in the ass, especially on a Diana.)

And no, I’m not ready to give up my digital camera anytime soon.

Late in the afternoon, I took my “real” camera to 1,000 Steps beach in Laguna.

I wanted to go for a walk, and also get some strenuous exercise … because hello 1,000 steep, narrow, steps.

(It was just too nice of a day to hang-out in a gym.)

Of course, I can’t ever go for a “normal” walk on the beach like “normal” people do.

No, I ended up waist deep in the ocean, fully clothed.

I didn’t intend for fully-clothed-in-the-ocean to happen.

But, there was a sea cave, the tide had come in, and I just “had” to explore it.

In hindsight, it was a very  stupid  risky move with several thousand dollars of camera equipment in my hands.

Don’t be like me!

(By the way, the Pacific was feeling a bit chilly yesterday.)

I also managed to get pretty scraped up on coral.

I never advise having a run-in with coral.

Coral always wins.

Coral can also lead to nasty, difficult to get rid of, infections.

Don’t ask me how I know that.

Anyway, I emerged from the ocean with one foot and leg bleeding.

No big deal – it’s to be expected if you’re me.

Also, if I hadn’t had the camera gear with me, I would have missed my favorite shot from the day.

I was wading through an area at the entrance of the cave when I nearly stepped on this:

Click on photo to purchase, or view larger, in 24atHeart gallery.

It wasn’t the only starfish I came across.

It is the only one I nearly stepped on though.

(Starfish usually cling to the rocks in the ocean, or hang out in tidepools.  It was a surprise to find one resting on the sandy bottom of the sea cave entrance.)

It seemed quite happy to be there.

That made two of us.

All in all, I had a very nice Mother’s Day weekend and I hope you did too.

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Update, Update!

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Hello again Internet!

I don’t usually write two back-to-back “random” posts, but here goes -

•  I wanted to let you know I WILL be in San Francisco next Tuesday and Wednesday.

•  And, I WILL be at the huge San Francisco Photowalk.  (The world’s largest ever?!  Over 800 people have RSVP’ed!)

•  And, I do hope to see you there.  Please come say hi if you’re attending.  And, please forgive me if I don’t remember everybody’s names.  I get flustered when I meet 800+ people at once.

•  Google will be giving away one Google Glass at the photowalk!!  Whee!

•  I want to win!  I want to win!!

•  I’ll be staying at Thomas Hawk’s house next week.  Have I told you he and his wife are the greatest/most gracious people ever?  Are you one of Thomas’s five million plus followers?  The man is amazingly talented.  You really should check out his work if you don’t already follow him.  He’s my idol.  And/or I’m his stalker.  (Or something like that?)

•  It’s okay.  He knows I’m his stalker and he’s okay with it.

•  Thomas Hawk is also one of the very nicest people you could ever, ever, meet.

•  He also NEVER sleeps.  I’m pretty sure that means I’ll be shooting with him for 48 hours straight while I’m visiting.

•  Does anyone own stock in Red Bull?

•  I’m in the midst of a “bad” pain flare-up.  (There is no such thing as a good one?!)

•  How bad is it?  Yesterday, I kept sending Paul Newman random pain-filled text messages.  They said things like, “It’s sooooooooooooooo bad!”  (With lots and lots of o’s!)

•  Of course, Paul Newman called me after receiving my  whining  text messages.  (Because he’s the best PT in the world?  Or so I would stop texting him?)  After giving me lots of good advice, my text messages continued.  But, they became much nicer and mellower and said things like, “Drugs make everything better.”

•  I’m counting down the seconds until he can work his magic on me today.  I think all this pain is a result of my three days shooting in Santa Barbara.  Add in an unforeseen circumstance which resulted in Paul Newman having to cancel my appointment with him earlier this week and you get Me+LotsOfPain.  I would have shown up on his office doorstep begging to see him yesterday, but the man had the day off.  Texting him odd (drugged up) messages had to suffice.  I’m pretty sure he’s glad to have me in his life????

•  Doesn’t it seem like there are a lot of really exceptionally insane evil criminals in the world lately?

•  I realize the above comment about criminals has nothing to do with the rest of this post, but that’s why this is called a random post.

•  This entire post might have been written under the influence of pain meds.

•  I should stop now?

•  Happy Mother’s Day weekend everyone!

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Randomness

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Is it just me, or is this a crazy-busy time of year?

Weddings, and graduations, and Mother’s Day, and more graduations, and birthdays, and Father’s Day and, and, and …!

I seem to be spending a lot of money on gifts lately.

Also, my calendar is resembling more of a jigsaw puzzle than anything organized and/or orderly.

Click on photo to purchase, or view larger, in 24atHeart gallery.

I thought I’d compile a very random list of tidbits for you today:

•  There’s a BIG (700 people and growing?) photo event going on next Tuesday, May 14th, in San Francisco.  You can get details here.  Everyone is welcome.  Yes, even those of you who “just” have the camera on your phone.

•  I’m trying to make my way to San Francisco for the event.  I’m in search of a cheap place to stay the night of the 14th.  Thomas Hawk’s couch is my only option right now (and I hate to impose on him his wife).

•  I will also be heading to North Carolina in the (very?) near future for my son’s college graduation.  Pinch me … how is it possible he’s graduating from college?

•  I like BEING places, but I hate “the act” of air travel.  Airports, security lines, sitting sardine-like with germy people, trying to handle camera equipment and luggage with one arm … it sucks.   (Hello pain flare-ups!)

•  A couple days ago, I received a text message from Paul Newman that simply read:  Innocent REALLY?  I knew he must be getting caught up on blog posts.  He had probably just read the last few sentences of this one.  Apparently, he doesn’t think I look at all innocent.  (It’s only because he knows me!)

•  In contrast, yesterday I sent a text message to Paul Newman which read:  You have become indispensable.  Don’t die.

•  He replied:  What did you do?

•  Paul Newman and I?  We are an endless source of comedic material.  It never stops.  I sometimes wonder if my orthopedic surgeon purposely sent me to Paul Newman while thinking, “THIS will be amusing to watch!”

•  Baby Face (my once-a-week personal trainer) is FINE.  I actually got him to talk a little yesterday.  Usually he’s all business, but I’m wearing him down.  I’ll find the human in him any day now!  Yesterday was my day to do arm s.  He added an extra ab workout too.  (Probably because working out one arm takes less time than working out two?)  He’d never consider letting me off easy.

•  No, I’m not in a “gym routine” yet.  My life is chaotic and, apparently, I travel a lot.  BUT, I’m sticking with it and enjoying (??) it.  Baby Face is constantly changing up what I do, which keeps me from getting bored.  He also seems to find new  weak  muscles every time I see him.

•  You might have heard, Adobe is moving its Creative Suite (Photoshop, et al.) to a cloud-based, subscription (pretty high monthly fee), service.  A lot of people are very upset about this, particularly photographers.  In a nutshell, if you’re a casual/amateur/hobbyist/beginning/small business photographer it is not something to sign up for, in my opinion.  You can find lots of unhappy people bitching about Adobe’s change on photography websites everywhere.  If you’d like my two cents on any aspect of this news feel free to email me and I will do my best to answer your question(s).

•  I miss Doc a lot.  He was my therapy dog.  He was there for me through the car accident, all nine surgeries, and a very hellish recovery road.  I’m so happy I still have Mocha.  She’s laying on top of my feet as I type this.  I’ve been giving her lots of extra attention because I know she misses Doc too.  I love animals.

•  I’ve been testing out some fun new photography gadgets.  I will have news about them soon!

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I’m Stronger Than You Know

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One of my favorite shots from my recent trip is titled I’m Stronger Than You Know.

Click on photo to purchase, or view larger, in 24atHeart gallery.

I was so impressed with this old oak tree.

It has seen so much and weathered countless storms.

The bark is beat to hell, but it still stands proud.

(In fact, it even pelted me with acorns as the wind whipped through it.  It’s got a spunky spirit!)

And yes, as I stood there, I couldn’t help but feel a connection to it.

Life isn’t easy for any of us.

I’ve certainly had my share of things to overcome.

For some of you it might seem odd to be inspired by a tree.

I am, though.

Nature inspires me every single day.

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Santa Barbara Photo A Day

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I thought I’d share a “photo per day” from my trip up the coast.

It’s definitely spring in California.

California poppies are everywhere right now.

I was thrilled to find some blooming against a fence on an otherwise boring sidewalk.

Click on photo to purchase, or view larger, in 24atHeart gallery.

It was as if they were growing right there just to brighten up a very mundane spot.

“Look at me!  I’m beautiful,” they seemed to say.

They were surviving, thriving, and showcasing their beauty in spite of their less than ideal surroundings.

Here’s a shot of my friend, Ben.

Ben enjoys photography as a hobby.

I think he was amused watching me wade into the ocean, lay down in the sand, etc. while shooting.

He kept shaking his head and grinning at me.

(I was, of course, a sandy mess by the end of our adventure.  Ben was still clean like a normal person.)

We saw some dolphin and a whale while we were shooting.

It makes me so happy when I see ocean animals.

Of course, there were pretty sunsets too.

I couldn’t resist pulling out my filters and taking a few long exposure sunset shots.

Click on photo to purchase, or view larger, in 24atHeart gallery.

There is no place like California’s central coast.

It rejuvenates my soul to “go home.”

I’m thinking about shooting the entire California coast (over the course of one, very long, extended, car trip) in the fall.

I’m not sure if I’ll be able to pull it off, but the idea has been with me for a couple years now.

I tell myself all the reasons why it might not be a practical idea,

But thoughts of The-Entire-California-Coast-Photo-Excursion nag at me incessantly.

After all, if anyone is going to make a project of photographing the 3,427 miles of tidal coastline -

It should probably be me???

Of course, I’d take all of you along with me ….

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Stormy Skies

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I’ll have more to share about my trip “up the coast” soon.

(I’m still unpacking and uploading photos.)

I had a chance to see my long lost friend, Ben, while I was out of town.

We even had the opportunity to shoot some photos together.

It’s so nice to have him back in my life.

There are certain people in life who you “just know” you can always count on.

I was also really excited about the great weather while I visited.

It was hot, hot, hot on Friday – way hotter than it usually is in Santa Barbara.

(But, it was also spectacularly beautiful.)

Saturday was “normal” beach weather … coastal fog in the morning, followed by a beautiful afternoon and evening.

Yesterday?

I was SO excited to wake up to a storm rolling in.

I LOVE storms at the beach.

For sentimental reasons,

I particularly love storms in Santa Barbara.

Click on photo to purchase, or view larger, in 24atHeart gallery.

I walked along the wind-whipped beach for hours.

Beach storms are exhilarating.

I feel like a missing piece of my soul was restored over the last few days.

I just wish I could have “played” for a few days longer.

Sigh …

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Santa Barbara

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I sure needed some time away.

It’s been a beautiful few days.

Click on photo to purchase, or view larger, in 24atHeart gallery.

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Hot Weather, Fires, And Baby Face

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•  It was 90F/32C here yesterday.

And windy.

And wild fires are consuming local news stations.

One very big fire is in Ventura County where I’m headed early today.

(After Paul Newman yanks my arm out of the socket a few times, that is!)

This is life in Southern California.

It may sound callous to say I’m used to it,

But I am.

The air conditioner is on.

The pool is heated.

I know there are (slightly) cooler temperatures if I hang out at the beach.

I find myself wishing I could capture some good shots of the fire.

It’s only the first week in May.

•  Yesterday, I had another “training” session with my (relatively) new personal trainer, Baby Face.

It’s a good thing he doesn’t know what I do for a living because I’m not sure he’d appreciate his “blog nickname.”

He is adorable, though.

And, he DOES have a baby face.

And, he’s also a villain in disguise – as most personal trainers are.

Yesterday was a leg and ab workout.

As usual, I’m pretty sure I flunked.

In fact, I think I will ALWAYS flunk.

But that’s okay.

I like being tortured by him anyway.

(Even if I’m really sore after seemingly doing next to nothing.)

Have you heard of wall sits?

They are THE DEVIL.

Yes, they are.

You do them until you can’t do them anymore – and then you do a lot MORE.

•  I don’t think Baby Face knows what to think of me yet.

For one thing, I’ve been on pretty good behavior.

I’ve only said the f-word one time.

I haven’t even made any dirty jokes yet.

(It’s difficult for me to act like a grown-up, but the truth is – I’m not nearly as much of a smart ass when I’m out of breath.)

Baby Face has also already made it clear distracting him with questions and chatter won’t work …

He never forgets how many reps I’ve REALLY done.

“More?” I ask, surprised.

“Yes, more,” he answers time and time again.

Baby Face is all business.

I’m pretty sure I’ll be able to sneak stuff past him eventually, right?

After all, I look so innocent to the people who don’t really know me.