Oh, Okay, So That's Why That Happens!

I580 Angel 
Spring 2005

"When you wake up with a song stuck in your head, it means an angel sang you to sleep."

~Denise Baer

I love music! Almost all genres of music, except country. I have never much cared for country, however there are some country songs I have always enjoyed, and certain country artists as well. So now that I think about it, do I really dislike country music, or is it just way down on the list of types of music I enjoy? Hmmm?

Sometimes music makes an otherwise sucky day, so much better! Who doesn't love turning up the music, super loud, and singing along with a song that makes you feel really good inside? I do it all the time! But usually only when I am in my car, because my singing usually scares the cats! Well, mostly Hendrix, who does his best to comfort me. Dylan merely stares at me in annoyance. It's a hazard of naming your cats after musicians.

The worst time spent with music is when you get a song stuck in your head, and can't get it to go away! I once spent 27 weeks of my life with Take The Long Way Home by Supertramp, going around and around in my head like it was hopelessly stuck on a turntable! Don't get me wrong, I love the song, but really, one can only take so much!

Hey, looking on the bright side, at least it was a song I really love! It could have very easily have been a song I loathe like MacArthur Park or My Ding-A-Ling. LOL. Yes, Take The Long Way Home was much better! A couple months ago I had This Old Man in my head... why? Shrug... I have NO idea, but there it was! And it was playing LOUDLY! What the HELL was that about?

But see, the quote above has finally solved the mystery! We are all at the mercy of angels, who apparently have very strange sense of what is soothing... or very strange sense of humor! Personally, I think mine has a strange sense of humor! That makes sense, I just know God, who also has a strange sense of humor, would pair me with a silly angel!

Not that I am complaining! It's better than an angel who only listens to country music! Or 1960's television theme songs. Can you imagine getting the theme to Petticoat Junction hopelessly stuck in your head?

No, lets not do that! At least Supertramp's Breakfast In America was my favorite album ever! :)

Take The Long Way Home...
Supertramp from the Breakfast In America album.


:)

Mood: Quiet But Content

Me :)

Art About Town: San Mateo "Stilt Walkers" By Dennis Smith

"Stilt Walkers" By Dennis Smith
Leo J. Ryan Memorial Park
San Mateo, California 2009

"Art an love are the same thing: It's the process of seeing yourself in things that are not you."

~Chuck Klosterman, Killing Yourself To Live: 85% Of A True Story

Just a short post tonight. I am tired. My Fibromyalgia has been raging all week, and my whole body aches. There isn't much I can do but wait it out. It will turn around again... with rest. Plus, I am not in the best of moods for other reasons. Someone I care about, a pal, is going through a tough time, and there is very little I can do to help. It's a frustrating situation, but time heals all things. In the mean time it's hard to see someone in pain, from hurt feelings, and not be able to help. Life is kinda stupid that way. 

So... it's into the art for me! :) Nothing on earth makes me happier than climbing into art, as a way to dust off the head noise and cares. 

 

This is a sort of repeat. I first posted it back in 2009. I love this piece, it's truly one of the loveliest works of art around the bay! It sits in Leo J. Ryan park in San Mateo. The park itself is absolutely stunning, with a sizable pond, and plenty of shorebirds, but it's also lovely with roses and amazing trees with plenty of shade. Just talking about it right now brings a smile to my face. I must stop by there again, the next time I am in San Mateo.

:)

"One eye sees, the other eye feels."

~Paul Klee

Mood: Quiet

~Me :)

The Car, The Lock And The Key... The GM Recall Of 2014

"The worst dream of the night, when you are parted from someone you love and you do not know exactly where he is, but you know that he is in the presence of danger. You are tormented by a desire to keep the one you love safe."

~Whitney Otto, How To Make An American Quilt


The Lock. 2007 Saturn ION

I am just going to say upfront... this is a RANT! It has to do with the HUGE General Motors Recall Of 2014. It has to do with the fear I feel deep down in my soul, every single time my husband, Alan, gets in his car to leave for work, and then come home at the end of his work day. It has to do with the sleepless nights I have spent, after reading about the various problems other proud G.M. customers have had with their Saturn ION's and other G.M. cars. The repeated repairs at the owners cost. The dismissive behavior of G.M. and their dealerships. And the full on lying about there being any problems with the vehicles at all, because of G.M's bottom line... their loss of profit!

Here is what happened...

On a beautiful day in September of 2006, Alan and I decided that the time had finally come to trade in our 1998 and 1999 Saturns in for new ones. They had served us well, but they were ready to put out to pasture. It was a hard decision, at least for me, because I get attached to inanimate objects, and I absolutely loved my Saturn SL1! Her name was Angelica, and she took me through some profound moments during those years. You never really put it together... how much a car can mean to you... until you go to sell it, and you realize all the memories you make in your car. Vacations. Long drives on Sunday afternoons. The trip to the cemetery to say a final goodbye to your mother. 

Moments.

Okay, so the decision was made. Our late 1990's cars were reliable and so we reasoned why not just upgrade to the newest model Saturn? Which is what we did. Alan and I bought matching Saturn ION's, his in gold, mine in green. Cypress Green to be exact! I named her Lilith, and she was beautiful! She was dependable and got decent gas mileage, right up until 2 days after the warranty expired in 2009. That's when, for whatever reason, the problems began to happen. And they happened with such frequency that we couldn't afford to keep up with the repairs. Selling the car wasn't an option, because we wouldn't have gotten anything for it, so basically it sat in the driveway as little more than a planter box, while we saved up enough money to get it fixed!

 

Along the way Alan's car began to experience problems as well. Some of the same that my car had, and some that hadn't affect mine. The repairs were less expensive, but a bit more constant. We were doing our best to hold on until we got to the end of the payments. We finally made it! The pink slips came in the mail, and with the added money we now had each month, we put it together with our full tax return for the following year and put it into fixing my car, with the idea of now, with it completely fixed, I would have a car that was practically new. It only had 20,000 miles on it, and it was 6 years old. So, $3700.00 later, my car was fixed and drove like a dream, for exactly six months. Then the exact same fucking problem happened again!

The car nearly stopped dead on I580! We managed to limp to the side of the road, then we took the nearest exit, but let me tell you, it was some scary moments! Alan and I pulled over, on a street we were unfamiliar with, looked at each other, cussed a while, and agreed... enough was enough! The next day we took the car to a dealership, and traded it in for our current car... a 2013 Chevrolet Spark. And things have been less stressful every since, except for the fact that Alan is still driving his Saturn ION. I want him to get rid of that car, but he has held on because, frankly he just wanted a break from having to make an additional car payment. 

Understandable. 

But when I read about what has happened to others who have owned Saturn ION's... it keeps me up nights. I remember him calling me, late in day, and telling me that on his way home the power steering just stopped! Dead. Fortunately he was able to pull the car over, and then limp it home, but how scary is that? The dealership told us it was a faulty ignition switch, but that we would have to pay for it because it wasn't on a recall list. Between his car and mine, we replaced the ignition switch 3 times... at our own expense!

So, sleepless nights and now a letter sitting on my desk, from G.M. finally admitting that there is a problem, but also admitting that they knew there was a problem with the ignition switch put into G.M. cars as far back as the early 2000's. That means that they deliberately put that damn switch in our cars, prior to our purchase of them, knowing there was a safety problem of epic proportions. EPIC! And adding insult to injury, the recall letter reads as follows...

"G.M. is conducting a recall. We apologize for this inconvenience, however we are concerned about your safety and continued satisfaction with our products."

Then the letter goes onto say that they don't currently have the parts to fix the defect, but that they will contact me when they do. Until then, just drive the car with the key off the ring. In fact, drive the car with just the key, no fob. Nadda. Nothing. Seriously? SERIOUSLY?

Seriously?

 

Alan and I are in the process of considering our options. I don't know what exactly will happen. G.M. says they will pay for the past repairs, which I hope will go easily, but in that we have already sold one of the cars, who knows how that will go. Sheesh. In the mean time, Alan is still using his car to commute to work, and I am losing sleep every time he gets behind the wheel. Hopefully things will be decided soon, but I am not sure. We have had our share of sudden expenses, everything from Elvis's chemotherapy a few years back, to having to install a security system because the new owners of our cottage think they can walk into our gated yard any time they want. 

Life is dumb sometimes. And it's damn inconvenient. But at least we didn't die on the highway like some have. Whenever I get too far into feeling sorry for myself, I think of those poor souls, and I count my blessings, and remember to be grateful for this life. And for Alan. And I say a prayer of thanks, and then I pray for each new day, with the hope that all will be well, not just for us, but for others in the same boat we are in.

What else can I do?

Hey, at least there is a congressional probe underway. Gee, don't I just feel all better now?

Mood: NOT HAPPY

~Me :)

*Here Is Why You Should Pay Attention To The G.M. Recall Probe
(The Wire)

*A Complete Guide To The Stunning GM Recall That May Be Linked To Over 300 Deaths
(Business Insider)

Art About Town: Berkeley... "In Topaz" By Toyo Suyemoto

"Painting is poetry that is seen rather than felt, and poetry is painting that is felt rather than seen."

~Leonardo da Vinci

Here is one more poem, from the Addison street poetry panels. I like this one very much, but then again, most of the poems in this project speak to me. 

In Topaz
By Toyo Suyemoto

Can this hard earth break wide
   The stiff stillness of snow
And yield me promise that
    This is not always so?

Surely, the warmth of sun
  Can pierce the earth ice-bound,
Until grass comes to life,
  Outwitting barren ground!

The eastern states have had a dreadfully snowy season, and I am sure that the first warm spring day will feel like a little piece of heaven! But this poem speaks to me beyond the obvious. It gives me hope that like cold days, cold relationships don't always last forever. Eventually the sun comes out, again, and that cold is nowhere to be found. Not on the mind. Not in the season.

Just forgiven.

Just forgotten.


Mood: Happy

~Me :)

Spring And Monet

"It's on the strength of observation and reflection that one finds a way. So we must dig and delve unceasingly."

~Claude Monet

It's officially spring, which means I am going to be searching out all things pastel and garden! I am planning a trip, very soon, to the central coast. Monterey, Pacific Grove, Carmel, all along to coast of Monterey County, which will be an all day long event. One of which  that will leave me completely exhausted, but very happy inside! It will be a physical and mental workout to be sure, but nothing brings me to life inside, like a really good day with the cameras! The picture above was taken in the spring of 2005, at the Japanese Tea Garden in Golden Gate Park. It's gorgeous there in the springtime. It should be absolutely stunning right now. I might pay a visit there this week or next. I will be in the park to photograph the tulips at the Queen Wilhelmina Garden, so I will probably try to take in as much as possible.

The following are some photos I did this past winter. Again I was inspired by Claude Monet and his attention to light and color. There is a small amount of enhancement to bring the original photo to a more artist feel. Most of the time I refrain from doing too much editing to my photographs, but when I set out to do something a little different, something slightly more romantic of just give the subject a softness, I will use the editing tools to create my version of impressionism. I am hoping to get the paint brush out later this year and do a painting, but then again I have been thinking of doing that for several years and have ended up procrastinating. LOL. We'll see if this is the year!

Three Of My Favorites By Claude Monet...

The Complete Works Of Claude Monet

Two New Original Photos From Winter

The Cliffs Of Pacifica...




I get excited just thinking about the outing with the cameras! The 17 Mile drive is full of amazing beauty, and the purple ice plant along on the cliff side in Pacific Grove is breathtaking, as is the Monarch Sanctuary! So much beauty! Spring may not be my favorite season, but it is full of a lot of my favorite things. If only we could drop autumn leaves in spring time, life would be just about perfect!

"Every day I discover more and more beautiful things. It's enough to drive one mad. I have such a desire to do everything, my head is bursting with it."

~Claude Monet

Mood: Happy, Inspired

~Me :)

Flutterby

"We are all butterflies. Earth is our chrysalis."

~LeeAnn Taylor

The Conservatory of Flowers, in Golden Gate Park, just wrapped up it's incredible Butterflies and Blooms exhibit, last Sunday, March 16th. I meant to do a post about how much I had enjoyed the exhibit long before now, but something always came up. I did write multiple blog posts, as I visited throughout the year of the exhibit, but somehow, now that's gone, it seems that the year went by way too fast! I enjoyed it very much, just as in past years! Hopefully it will come back soon. In the mean time the conservatory has a new exhibit opening in April... "Chomp! They Came From The Swamp." It will be all about carnivorous plants. Excellent! I can't think of a better way to spend an afternoon, then in the company of man-eating plants! 

:)

My Butterfly Gallery
Conservatory Of Flowers
Golden Gate Park
San Francisco, 2013 & 2014

Waiting To Emerge...


Newly Emerged Great Southern White...


Great Southern White Enjoying Life...


Great Southern White On Daisy...


Beautiful Monarch...


Orange Alfalfa Sulphur...


Morning Cloak...


Anise Swallowtail...


Zebra Longwing...


Zebra Longwing In Motion...


Common Checkered Butterfly In Motion...


Such beauty! I have learned so much about photography, just from this one subject alone. Again it was a subject that Steven gave me a lot of encouragement with! We didn't know each other a lifetime, but in the short amount of time we were friends, I learned a lifetime of photography tips and it's still like his is just right here. :)

"Always be aware of the background, remember to look deeper into the shot." ~Steven

Mood: Grateful

~Me :)

Love Bugs...

"Actually, it's nature itself that creates the most beautiful pictures, I'm only choosing the perspective."

~Katja Michael

When I saw these two love bugs on a wall the other day, I couldn't help but photograph them. Once again it was a reminder of my friend Steven. He used to occasionally post what he would call... "Bug Porn." Or sometimes, "Frog Porn." It just depended on what love sick creatures he came across. LOL. It was always funny, because Steven was such a gentleman. He was kind, and courteous of others, so he didn't say much flirty, although he would be flirtatious on occasion, but it was all in good fun. I miss his talent with the camera. I miss talking to him about stupid stuff, or laughing at one of his odd photos of two frogs mating. I don't know why, but sometimes it just comes up and hits me in the face, that he is gone. I don't know... maybe I am thinking about him because his favorite color was green, and that was the topic of yesterday's Round Robin Challenge, and I know he would have come up with something amazing!

Shrug.

I miss my friend. 

But I think of him often.

So somehow it feels like he is still here. 

I guess he still is in a way.

Shrug.

Mood: Quiet

~Me :)

Round Robin Challenge: Being Green

"I'll write the blue in green and when I ask you what color it is, the proper response is turquoise."

~Jarod Kintz, A Story That Talks About Talking Is Like Chatter To Chattering Teeth, And Every Set Of Dentures Can Attest To The Fact That No...

RRC: Green

For this Round Robin Challenge outing, Karen has asked us to see the GREEN. So, that's what I did! I thought about St. Patrick's Day, but decided to photograph other green things because it just seemed too easy, and I really wanted to stretch my creative bone. So, here is what I came up with!

The Green Gallery!

The Politics Of Green...

 

The Beautiful Orchid Being Green...

 

The Turtle And The Moss Being Green...



The Early Heirloom Tomatoes Being Green...



The Walton Lighthouse In Santa Cruz, California, Being Green...



As for the photo at the top, well, that is my green eye. My left eye to be exact. I have posted it before, but it's been a while. I didn't actually take the photo, my optometrist did, but it's kind of cool, so I thought I would include it anyway. 

Okay, now that you have seen my gallery of all things green, how about you go and check out what the other Robins have come up with for the challenge. Just click the link above to be redirected to the official Round Robin blog. That's where you will find all the information you need to play along, plus a list of participants! 

Mood: Happy

~ Me :)

Some Days With The Camera Are Better Than Others

"Art is what gets us beyond what is real. It makes reality more real. It also shortens the distance we gotta travel to see how connected we are."

~Laura Pritchett, Sky Bridge: A Novel

Some days I pack up all the cameras, 6 of them at last count, and I head out of the house with no expectations of what I will photograph. Other days I plan, and plan, and I map it all out carefully, from the routes to the time of day I want to be in a certain spot, and I know what I want to accomplish right down to the last detail. Two very different approaches, that usually have two different results. I swear, I do my best photos on days when I have no expectations as to what I will see or come across! I am not quite sure why that is... except that perhaps I do better when I don't assign myself the added stress.

For the most part, my photography has been a creative outlet. A way to process emotions and head noise. I know it has been instrumental in keeping myself sane! LOL. I have taken some of my best photos during times of deep grieving, and sorrow. When my friend Frank died and the weekend Pam passed away, I managed to see things with a more appreciative heart. I was still alive, and grateful for all the beauty I was seeing. It felt especially strong after Pam's passing. She and I talked more than once about the natural beauty of the world around us. She had a good heart. I miss her terribly. No one should die at 50!

Cancer is an asshole!

Anyway, it frustrates me when I leave the house with all the equipment I need to take a really excellent photo, and I just can't seem to accomplish it. The photo above is one such example. It was a perfectly clear day. I was focused on the Golden Gate Bridge, there was very little wind to mess with the focus, and yet I just couldn't seem to get the photo as sharp as I wanted and even right now looking at the photo, and remembering the day, I just don't know why. Like I said... it's frustrating. I remember giving up that day, because at one point I just knew that if I tried to force it, the whole experience would have become a chore, and not a joy. There is definitely a time to let go.

Still, in an attempt to pull something positive from the photo, I love the way Cozelman road, along the headlands, lines the hillside. It looks really sharp I think. Okay, so it wasn't a total waste of time. And at least I have the experience of knowing when to give up, and save it all for another day.



Mood: Quiet

~Me :)

Welcome To Spring 2014 12:57 P.M. EDT

"Springtime is the land awakening. The march winds are the morning yawn."

~Quoted by Lewis Grizzard in, Kathy Sue Loudermilk, I love You

Spring begins at 12:57 P.M. today. Just 3 minutes shy of tomorrow. Odd. But that's Mother Nature's way, isn't it? Everything, including the seasons, are left up to her whim, and she has been acting strange here on the west coast. I can only remember 3 truly cold days, and they were way back in late November, while it was still autumn! It's been unseasonably dry and warm since then, and frankly I am damn tired of it! I want some nice, cold, windy, rainy days. Days when I can curl up with one or more of the cats, under a big blanket, with a bowl of popcorn and a spooky movie on the TV! But instead I am getting relentless, sunny, GOD AWFUL cheerful days!

On the other hand, it's perfect weather for getting the vegetable and rose gardens up and going! There are some big plans in the works for this year. Like I said in a previous post, pumpkins are a new try. I love those little orange heads. Little souls. I know, it's a pumpkin, it doesn't have a human soul, but to be honest, since carving my first pumpkin as a child, when I made the pumpkin's face friendly, I kind of began believing that pumpkins did indeed have souls, as well as full on personalities! LOL. Now, as an adult, I know about how healthy pumpkins are for you, and how versatile they are to cook with, and I believe more than ever that they absolutely have souls!

Call me quirky!

So, as the earth breaks forth with all the colors possible, and everything becomes hopelessly cheerful, I know that spring is just something that's necessary, in order to have healthy happy pumpkin patch come this autumn! So I will smile, sneeze, and be grateful. 

:)

Mood: Happy

~Me :)

Ukalele Lessons

"Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything."

~Plato

While on my little art walk down Addison st last month, I looked up from the poetry panels and noticed this sign outside a music shop. The thought of learning the ukulele made me smile. I have always thought of maybe taking music lessons, but the piano was what I had in mind, I had never considered the ukulele. But somehow, as I was smiling that day, the idea of playing that particular instrument intrigued me! Sure. Why not?

I have officially added ukulele lessons to my bucket list!



Sing, it with me now...

Tip-Toe Thru The Tulips With Me

                                                 Tiptoe, through the window
                                           By the window, that is where I'll be
                                        Come tiptoe through the tulips with me

Ladies And Gentlemen... Tiny Tim (Rowan And Martin's Laugh-In)




I can see myself holding impromptu ukulele concerts. You'd come... right? 

Mood: Silly

~Me :)

Whisper To Me

"Every time I stand before a beautiful beach, its waves seem to whisper to me: If you choose the simple things and find joy in nature's simple treasures, life and living need not be so hard."

~Psyche Roxas-Mendoza

What can I say? The weather in the Bay Area has been nothing short of summertastic! Yes, I know, not a word. But we will ignore it in favor of setting the mood. And what is the mood I am speaking of? Why... summertastic of course. LOL. It's winter, and it's so hot in the Bay Area that we are putting the air conditioner back in the window today!

All things being subject to Murphy's Law, you know what that means... right?

Snow in the Bay Area by Friday!

Just in time for Spring.

You may thank me now!

:)

Mood: Silly

~Me :)

Happy St. Patrick's Day! 2014

"St. Patrick's Day is an enchanted time... a day to begin transforming winter's dreams into summer's magic."

~Adrienne Cook

May the Irish hills caress you.
May her lakes and rivers bless you.
May the luck of the Irish enfold you.
May the blessings of Saint Patrick behold you.

~Irish Blessing

:) Kiss me, I'm Irish! Well... no not really... but it's a fun thing to consider isn't it? :) Not kissing me specifically, but having a day when you must kiss someone, just for being who they are. I know, I know that is kinda what Valentine's Day is for, but somehow that has gotten lost in all the candy hearts, and Duck Dynasty love greetings! LOL. I have to admit, after seeing those valentine cards, I may never think of that heart shaped made up holiday the same way again! LOL. 

I am not Irish, but I love St. Patrick's Day all the same! I love the cooking, the green clothing, the silly "Kiss Me I'm Irish" buttons, all of it! Halloween will always be my favorite holiday, but St. Patty's day comes close. On Halloween you can be anyone, or anything you want, but with St. Patrick's Day, you can wish your friends all the wonderful things in life that are possible. An action that should be done anyway... don't you think?

It's a nice reminder about how much your friends mean to you, Irish or not!

Here is the original version of the photo above. I took it last year in Half Moon Bay. It was a very beautiful day, and I was grateful for it!



:)

Mood: Happy And Blessed!

~Me :)

March 2014: The Full Worm Moon...

"I love the silent hour of night, for blissful dreams may then arise, revealing to my charmed sight what may not bless my waking eyes."

~Anne Bronte, Best Poems Of The Bronte Sisters

It's time for another full moon! I have been blessed to be able to photograph all of them this winter, as the weather has been unusually warm. Good for me, bad for the drought situation. Still, I am going to focus on the positive... the beauty of the full moon. 



Mood: Happy

~Me :)

The Morning After...

"Perhaps the most important skill in photography is learning which images to show."

~Leslie Dean Brown

Is it a tree ghost? No. Is it a plastic bag ghost? No. Is it a spider web? No. So what is it? 

You tell me!

Oh, okay, if you must know... it's a sheer camisole. Someone got lucky last night!

Outside a Starbucks.

LOL.

It wasn't me!

But...

Good for them!

;)

"You can lead a horticulture, but you can't make her think."

~Dorothy Parker

Mood: Inspired.

~Me :)

My Happy Place

"You must learn to let go. Release the stress. You were never in control anyway."

~Steve Maraboli, Life, The Truth, And Being Free

Okay, I have been a little stressed lately. I could give the laundry list, but why? No good comes from ruminating, and besides, why burden you, and possibly stress you out, about what I stress about! So, what am I going to do about all the stress? Glad you asked! I am going to spend a lot of time at one of my favorite places on Earth. Point Montara Lighthouse, in Montara, California.

Lighthouses have been my passion for years! I have been to many of them up and down the California coast, and have been intrigued and inspired by all of them, but there is something about Point Montara Lighthouse that I love, and let me tell you, it's true love! I love it's size, and it's history. I love that there are benches overlooking the water where you can sit for as long as you want, and just let go of whatever stress or pain that is in your way. I love that I can go there when nothing is wrong, and leave even happier than when I got there!

It's always there for me. It doesn't judge. It just shines it's light on me. 

See...





And look how beautiful the sun is, as it begins to set, on a January day.



Who wouldn't want to spend the day there? Perhaps one day I will stay at the hostel on the grounds for a couple days, or maybe forever. You never know. Shrug.

Point Montara Lighthouse Hostel

Mood: Quiet But Okay

~Me :)

Art About Town: Berkeley... A Poem And A Sculpture

"Strange New Cottage In Berkeley"
By Allen Ginsburg

"Concentrate on what you want to say to yourself and your friends. Follow your inner moonlight; don't hide the madness. You say what you want to say when you don't care who's listening."

~Allen Ginsberg

I look to a lot of different sources to influence and inspire my photography. Poetry, sculpture, music, literature, you name the art, I will bury myself in it to help me look at life differently, or at least with new perspectives. I get excited by other peoples art! I do! When I find someone who is truly talented, I want to know more! So, I study. Not to gain their perspective, but to challenge my own. I am lucky enough to live in the Bay Area, a place of immense culture and art. In Berkeley, there is always something to see. I know that sounds like a big statement, but it's true. You should walk around Berkeley and take a deep look around. There is a vibe the transcends decades. The architecture, the history, the art, the people, the students, it's all here, ready to be discovered. I am very lucky to fall in love with the town deeper with each new camera jaunt. 

A Strange New Cottage In Berkeley
By Allen Ginsberg

All afternoon cutting bramble blackberries off a tottering brown fence
under a low branch with its rotten apricots miscellaneous under the 
leaves,
fixing the drip in the intricate gut machinery of a new toilet;
found a good coffeepot in the vines by the porch, rolled a big tire out
of the scarlet bushes, hid my marijuana;
wet the flowers, playing the sunlit water each to each, returning for
godly extra drops for the stringbeans and daisies;
three times walked round the grass and sighed absently;
my reward, when the garden fed me it's plums from the form of a
small tree in the corner,
an angel thoughtful of my stomach, and my dry and lovelorn tongue.

And Now For Some Sculpture...


"Caliope" By Joe Slusky

"Poetry is not an expression of the party line. It's that time of night, lying in bed, thinking what you really think, making the private world public, that's what the poet does."

~Allen Ginsberg

Mood: Inspired

~Me :)

Setting The Mood

"I don't just look at the thing itself or at the reality itself; I look around the edges for those little askew moments... kind of like what makes up our lives... those slightly awkward, lovely moments."

~Keith Carter

So, my quest to understand lighting and B/W verses Color photography continues. I have been a bit under the weather the last few days, a common bout of insomnia, mostly due to the changes in the weather, the stress of getting the computer and TV changed from one carrier to another, plus Joey is getting bigger, which mean his wrestling with his older brothers takes on a whole new level of grrr. On top of it, well, you know, life in general I guess. My point is, because of all the stuff going on, I haven't been able to get out with the camera as much as I would like, if at all! The photo at the top is a new one, I took it a couple days ago, but the following ones come from the archives. I am wanting to do more nighttime photography because I haven't done much with it, and I could use the challenge. So, when I chose a favorite night shot from the files, I decided to convert that one, along with some color favorites, to black and white to study the different vibes.

Observe...

Nighttime On Columbus Avenue


Treasure Island Pier


Bay Bridge At Night


Stockton Street Tunnel


My work, my passion for photography continues. It never bores me, in fact it continually inspires me to do better. I love it so much!

Mood: Happy

~Me :)