just over a week

til my birthday, and three weeks til i get to play with my new lens.
Which all means, of course, that my least favorite holiday is finally over and life can go back to normal.

I went to work today to make sure there had been no changes made to my schedule, something that happened a lot for the last two months.  The drive usually takes me 15 minutes with regular traffic, today it took me half an hour.  At Arden Fair, the giant Westfield Mall close to Target, there was a kiosk outside each of the major department stores for returns, and the lines were outrageous.

I guess NOBODY was happy with their Christmas gifts this year.

pummelvision

i've been messing around with time lapse photography, was hoping to have enough to make a short film for mom for her birthday, but that looks like it's on the back burner for now.  then i saw this website called pummelvision, headed by a guy who works with Reggie Watts, and decided to give it a shot.  Basically, what he does is turn your photostream from either face book or flickr into a high speed slide show set to music of his choice.

I made two of them, one from facebook and one from flickr.  i'm not particularly happy with either one because none of the photos are in order so the slideshow doesn't make any sense.  but it's fun to have your life flash before your eyes, from the self portraits to the roads you've walked to the minor daily events that nobody ever sees but you.  i get a real kick out of seeing just how much yeti has grown, and how much my face has changed in the last two years, and how many places i've been in that amount of time. 

Flo, I know you've seen these, but i'm posting them again anyway.

Flickr Pummelvision

Facebook Pummelvision

easiest and worst shoot ever!

this past weekend, i did a series of photos for a friend of mine and her family.  they wanted family shots, were hoping to get a fam photo to frame and give to mom and dad. i went there with some trepidation because the last person i shot for portraits was such a nightmare.  that girl didn't want to take direction from me, and had no ideas of her own.  i basically sat there watching her chain smoke. 

so i was pleasantly surprised when Deb served up mimosas, seated her family in front of their Christmas tree, and was totally happy with the first photo.  um, what?  are you sure you don't want to take a couple more?  and the rest of the shoot went the same way.  i showed her the preview, and each time she said- "that's the one!"

did i mention there were mimosas?  well, i may have gotten a little toasty in the head because when i got home, i suddenly felt like i wanted to reshoot the whole thing.  in one photo, her youngest son looks like a giant.  in another, everyone is squinting in the fog.  in yet another, only one person is in focus. 

what a nightmare.  and the worst part is that Deb is totally into these photos, and each time i look at them i see nothing but mistakes!  wrong aperture here, poor focus there, depth of field errors and poor staging.  ah God, I SUCK! i blame it on the alcohol.

Hole - Northern Star @ Shepherd's Bush - Feb 17, 2010

well well well
i did not know she had reformed Hole and was performing again. i love this song, and others of course, but i find her a little too rough still. it's like she hasn't grown out of that awkward girl she used to be even after becoming a movie star, a mother, etc. i still think she had something to do with Kurt's death, but am not sure if it was something she did out of mercy or jealousy.
one thing for sure, her lyrics seem so personal, so much about her relationships not only with Kurt but with her family and friends too, as few as there were. i can respect her for baring herself in this fashion, but i was sorta hoping that over the years there would be some redemption, some polish, some new incarnation of her. i should dig a little more and see what she has done musically to deserve this reformed band and tour.

photo contest

Urban Oasis Photo Competition

I'm currently shooting for this competition, finding spots here in Sac and in SF.  I urge you to enter as well, since you have some really cool photos from SD.  Don't worry about editing in PSE, just shoot to thrill.  seriously.  DOOOOOOO IIIIITTT!!!!!

eye candy from yerba buena and treasure island

SF memories

i hated the NJudah.  From the Sunset to downtown (7 miles) it would take an hour and a half.  Empty metro cars would pass by full bus stops, packed buses crammed to more than capacity would be the devil's playground.  It wasn't often that the metro was this empty, and this girl with her headphones on was lucky to have that seat.

The view from Nick's deck.  The moon was a lovely half full, the lights below a pathway from the city into the way Outer Mission. 

Lion sentry to a Duboce Triangle home.  We walked through the neighborhood, taking in all the lovely homes and junk sales.  Usually, the junk in the neighborhood is way better than my junk, so it's fun to rummage through, or at least let my eyes sweep over it all.

A poster for an exhibition by one of my favorite photographers.  "The Art of Looking" explores the voyeuristic nature of stealth photography, something I have yet to muster the nerve to do.  I personally don't like having my photo taken, but I don't normally do anything photo worthy.  I often catch myself raising my camera to shoot someone in the act, but then never trip the shutter because the experience is too important or too personal to be recorded.

dance one from Trolley Dances at Harvey Milk.

John Cusack's Buddha

Even though I abhor James Lipton and his pretentious buggery, I love John Cusack. Sometimes hearing a celebrity speak is a huge letdown, so I prefer not to watch interviews so I can avoid vapid drivel. I haven't been letdown by Cusack...yet :)

Mr Coffee

Ladies and gentlemen, meet my new boyfriend, Mr Coffee. My old reliable finally brewed his last bubbling gurgling cup and died. :)
if only replacing our loved and cherished ones were as simple as going to the store.

Been quite some time

since the last time I posted here.  so much for a photo a day...sometimes life makes the luxury of shooting daily an impossibility.

So what is new?  I'm working on a collaboration with one of my coworkers.  He is one of those dudes who is constantly making excuses for himself, but has an unusually high opinion of himself.  I am one of the few people who talks to him, mainly because he can be incredibly offensive, but I might also be the only person who calls him on all that shit.  Bad manners aside, he has a pretty nimble mind, and a funky sort of creativity.  In a week or two, I'll be shooting a series on him.  He has all these fun ideas of what he wants to do in front of a camera, and while I am setting up I will be showing him how to set his own camera and do self portraits using his remote.

Secondly in the works is a time lapse for my mom.  I have different locations scouted all over Sac and the Bay Area for different times of day.  I'll be shooting one frame every five to ten seconds depending on location and atmospheric conditions, so several hundred frames for a couple of minutes in playback.  it's a math equation, one I have to internalize before I start shooting.

I still can't get over how little I've been shooting the last three months.  time to get going!

full moon

the first full moon photo i shot with my dslr.  it was tricky to catch the leaves of this oak tree because the wind was blowing, and this was a lucky shot.
for more information about this photo, click on this link to my flickr page.  most of the info contained on this page is useless, but you can find info on fstops, shutter speed, focal length etc.
metadata for this photo

this is one of my most favorite, though i have shot the moon in all its phases over the last year. 

memories....

i have a small collection of memories, stored in 1, 2, 4,8, 16, 160, 320 and 500 GB volumes.  i forget that i have so much space available to me, and when i'm out shooting, i am so glad to find SD cards with nothing on them, ready to be used.  i still can't get over how many images i have.  i think that if i put all my digital images, not just photos but drawings and doodles too onto one compendious volume, I could easily use up 2 TB.  aw jeez, i even forgot that two of my three ipods store images instead of music!  Yep, 2 TB would probably just cover me for the last two years worth of images...

forgotten toys

toys are meant to be played with, to be clutched by grubby little hands or carried around in doggy mouths.  and when they are left behind, even for only a few moments, there is something so very lonely about a toy without an owner

photoshop fun

so i was sitting in front of my computer, as always, looking at photos and looking for some inspiration.  i'd read a post earlier about a guy who made a long exposure of a slideshow with mixed results, and I thought I'd give it a try. 

grrr

it looks fine, but it isn't :(

I was about to go for a late night stroll with the dogs and camera, but I was almost out of room so I stopped to download photos and then format the card.  I went through the process, open camera, push card in, pull out, push into SD card slot on computer...but no images!  I knew I hadn't moved anything over, hadn't formatted the card at all since last May...so I take it out of the computer and lo...the plastic casing is stuck somewhere inside the new laptop!  I tried to put it back into the camera and use the cable to transfer photos over, but it won't lock into place with the plastic casing ripped to shit. 
So, there goes my $40 8GB SDHC memory card.  fuck. 

shooting through the window while driving

i like to live on the edge, provided it's a very wide edge.  the road to SF is one landmark after another, and this one is the second to last one, the one that tells me I'm almost there.  Sure, it's the iconic western span of the Bay Bridge, the entry into the city from the east, but there are still a couple of miles to go before I am "home away from home".
I love this sight, it reminds me of that first week I spent here with Flo when we made the move from San Diego to the Bay Area.  Even now, some 15+ years later, I still get that sense of impending big adventure when I see these towers.  How I love this city :)

pensive Yeti

Pensive Yeti

Sure, this is an old photo, but I love my cat. This past weekend, he ate something, poison probably, and after drooling from nausea, he started throwing up uncontrollably. James wanted to wait a day, to see if he started to feel better, but the drooling and vomiting continued.

I got an appointment with the worst vet in town, the only one that had an appointment available. We don't have a cat carrier big enough for him (he's a BIG boy!) so we tried to cram him into the one we have. As soon as we got him in there, he started ramming his head against the gate, digging at it with his claws. Somehow, he managed to get the gate open, and we had a cat freaking out on the leather seats of my car. He finally crawled under James' seat, and meowed himself hoarse on the 8 minute car ride to the vet.

Long story short, what ever he ate that made him sick had been expelled in the food and water that he threw up. The vet took an xray, determined that his bowel is full of gas. In the xray, it shows up as a black cloud! lol

the vet prescribed a bland diet, and some antibiotics for an abcess that he had on his butt, and sent us home with an unhappy cat. I made James drive home this time, and Yeti stayed nice and calm all the way home. no crying, no clawing the leather seats, just lay at my feet and chewed a bit on my flip flops. when we got home, he jumped out of the car but refused to come inside. when he finally decided he was done being mad at us, he joined us in the living room, jumping back and forth between ottoman and chaise to climb on us by turns.

I think he is still feeling a bit off. Usually, he doesn't like to snuggle with me, will only do so when he doesn't feel good. I think it is a throwback to the way it used to be, when we first got him. He was so sickly the first couple of days, and I kept him with me the whole time, let him sleep in my sports bra right next to my heart. The past two nights, he's been sleeping with me. Not just on the bed, but cuddled up close to my chest. It's a sweet little thing, but it kinda sucks because I've just recently discovered that I am allergic to him :(

World's Best Dog...EVER!

Bath time for Frankie

I miss my dog :(  He is a border collie and Australian Shepherd mix, 13 years old!  He has really bad arthritis, is overweight by a good 15 pounds, but he is happy where he is, happy with my sister.

summer peaches

these little sweeties are almost ready. 

lunchtime photo shoot with Lalo

today was my first day back at work, and i had the happy reunion with my giant half, Big Ed.  Now now, don't get all excited, he's my big scary bro, my homeboy, the one person who can crack me up at 4am.  No matter how shitty my mood is, five minutes with this guy will change it  and he does it without even trying; he's a goof ball.

But he got himself into a little trouble while I was out of town.  He went to a Deftones show, and somewhere between the booze and the end of the show, someone either head butted or punched him right in the chest.  He asked me to check it out for him, since I have a little skill with that sort of thing.  As I was feeling around, looking for signs of swelling, he was making faces, and I felt the part where his sternum was at an odd angle, jutting forward in a way that it shouldn't. I think they broke his ribs at the sternum.  It is a painful injury, and so he can't lift anything above his head and he can't laugh.  So what did I do all morning?  Went out of my way to make him laugh.  Y'see?  it's a perfect arrangement, we crack each other up. 

At lunch time, he decided to join me, bribed me with a cookie, in fact.  I never say no to cookies, as everyone knows :P  Whenever he sits with me, we play with my phone, with all its various applications.  Today, we played with FxCamera; Ed was my willing model.  Not that I'll sell these little photo shoots with him, but I do have to remember to get him to sign a release form.  Enjoy the show!

symmetrical

normal cam

fisheye 1

fisheye 2

fisheye 3

ed goes to the beauty salon

Chandra's masterpiece- Ed has a "BumpIt" installed

all work and no play

While at home this past week, I picked up a second laptop.  My sister had an extra one, so I asked if I could have it, and she agreed :)   I spend a lot of time on my laptop, time spent waiting because it takes forever for my old laptop to load just one image while I'm connected to the internet.  I was thinking of splitting the work, so that one is connected and the other is dedicated to photo editing and music.  But I think it's hilarious that me, a confirmed slacker, should have two computers. 

So here is a photo of my improvised work station.  I'm set up on the chaise lounge of my living room set.  I either sit on the ground on one of my many pillows or lay on the loveseat part of the couch to work.  Of course, to the left of this view is my TV, behind it is my collection of ipods, and the little station where I keep camera chargers, various cables, blank CDs and DVDs, prints of some of my photos, and SD memory cards.  I have been pretty wrapped up in other things that seemed more important than stock photos, so I haven't been shooting anything for Getty, PhArt or Shutterstock. But now that things are starting to settle down again and the weather is turning pleasant, I think I'll be out on the road again looking for those special moments, those unusual things that catch my eye.  Been a while since I really felt in tune with my camera, this past week was a fun reminder of how close we ought to be.

my "work" station

I feel like I should explain what is going on here in this photo. On my old laptop, I am transferring photos taken last week while I was in San Diego to and external hard drive. In the task bar, you can see Nikon Transfer and PSE, and it's connected to the house WiFi. On the new laptop, I have an open browser window in Nikon USA, with the overview to my camera. I am trying to get my brother in law to invest in a DSLR, so I "shared" this with him via Facebook. I am such a loser. Really :P

welcome home

Yeti is king of the mountain

So there we were, chatting about my trip home, when Yeti decides to join us.  Not unusual, he likes to be part of all the action, but this is the first time I have ever seen him do this to James.  It's nothing important, just a cute moment.

late night wandering

Tonight was the night to watch the Perseid meteor shower, the night when you would see the most spectacular show of lights.  So of course, since it also happened to be the last night we were all together, we went out in the dark in search of stars.  I did see our sickle moon before it set, and I got to watch Mars and Venus cross each other in the eastern sky, but alas no shooting stars.  It was perhaps too early still, but we had our mother with us, and I didn't want to keep her out in the cool air.  So I took these photos instead, of our first scouting location at Torrey Pines State Beach.  I used to go here when I was still in high school.  There is only a little traffic as nobody comes here unless they're gonna make out. Or if they want to sit at the end of the world and contemplate then end of the world.  There is still a little bit of editing I want to do on the series of photos I took this evening, but I really like this shot looking north along the coast.  That bright light is from the headlights of passing cars, and the breakers down below look like thick fog.  I love coming home and spending time with family, and going to places where you can enjoy a little of nature's beauty in the dark.

crevice

_DSC0153
Originally uploaded by vivienne_onymous

I was out for a walk today with my sisters in one of my favorite places in San Diego. When we got there, it was still overcast, and I was wearing a tank top, didn't really think about sunscreen or even that there was enough sun to get a burn. But here I sit, contemplating this very suggestive photo while the skin on my shoulders, neck, back and face burns with a red fury. ow.

private beach

La Jolla

It's not easy to find a spot just to yourself on the many beaches of San Diego.  For a time, this family had this private little beach to themselves.  Fifteen minutes later, they were overrun by tourists.

La Jolla certainly lives up to its name; it is a jewel of a community, insulated by a large income difference but the subject of many tour books for San Diego.  There are caves to be explored, boutiques to be shopped, specialty restaurants to be eaten at, and beautiful people to look at.  This is one of my favorite destinations in my hometown, there is just so much to look at.

Micah Lawrence is Awesome

I got to see my niece swim in competition for the first time today- and she is an amazing athlete.  She clocked the second fastest time for 200M breast stroke, second only to Rebecca Soni, the local gal/national champ.  My niece is awesome to watch.  Way to go Micah!

little animals

bugs really bug me.  I don't like 'em, not one bit.  I tolerate some because they are beneficial to my environment, but mostly I just wanna squash 'em.  James on the other hand is one of those people that doesn't like to kill anything, except black widows.  And when he finds little critters that look cool, he'll tell me to grab my camera and shoot.  Well, I don't like getting that close to bugs, particularly ones like this little bastard, but I didn't have either of my auto cameras, so I had to get in close (15 inches!  that's too close for me!) to get this shot.  And even though James will leave little critters like this one unmolested, he will do just about anything to make me get up close and personal with bugs I am afraid of :(  while I was setting up for this shot, he was coming toward me with a spider and its egg sack he stopped once I started crying.

baby sized praying mantis

it's what we do...alllll day!

i have the distinct pleasure of having coworkers that are funny, do funny things.  there are lots of reasons that I leave my phone in my locker, but with all the things happening lately it's worth getting in trouble to capture some of the dumb stuff that happens.  today, Jacob (pronounced Yay-Cub) was installing the giant plastic signs for Paul Frank and Hello Kitty, so with a little persuasion (only a little) I got him and Tim to pose.  

the first instrument I learned to play

99.5% pure silver

still has that silvery sweet sound

cleaning out my apartment was like opening a time capsule.  I went there looking for photos, I came out of there with two musical instruments I'd forgotten about.  First I found my ukulele; yes, I have one, and was pleased to find that I could still play it, though the a string keeps going flat.  The second thing I found was my flute.  I thought it was gone for good.  The year I turned 30, my sister and I took a trip to Spain, left our apartment in the care of my boss' cousin.  While we were overseas, we checked in with him to see how things were going, and he brought up my flute, asked if he could buy it from me.  I said no, it wasn't for sale, and when we got back I could not find it.  And Daniel was already at the airport on his way home to Galway.  I assumed the worst, had a serious falling out with my boss, and kissed the thought of my flute goodbye forever.  So when I found this sweet silver thing hiding in the back of my closet, I let out such a sound of surprise and delight, I think I scared Big Ern :) 

just give me the light...

i love lamp

one of the few things i remember from my short college days was a philosophy class.  in this particular class, we talked about how each thing, living or not, has a purpose, and sometimes it waits a lifetime to fulfill that purpose.
I was sitting in my living room this evening, just enjoying the last bit of afternoon light that was bouncing off our neighbors house and back into our east facing windows.  it was bright enough that I didn't need to turn on this lamp, would be hours before I would need to.
call it a flight of fancy, in which case this might actually belong on my other blog, but I anthropomorphized this lamp.  I imagined that it was looking through that window, just waiting for the sun to disappear.  I imagined that it had been waiting hours and hours for its chance to shine, to fulfill its purpose.  even the angle of the shade made me think of some sentient being, peering out from under a hat.  maybe i should doodle on this, give life to my little flight of fancy regarding this lamp.

friendships gone by

fly on a daisy

last year i was in a very intense friendship with a lady named Pilar.  Long story short, she went down a road that led her to incredible heartbreak, and being the practical and dispassionate person that I am, I could only tell her "You have to let him go.  He lied to you, slept with you, and left you.  There is nothing else to say, just let it all go."  She of course wasn't hearing any of that, and she deleted me from her FB and messenger.  And, she left me a very nasty message about how I have no heart.

Not true.  I do have a heart.  And just weeks after I told her those words, I found myself saying some of those same words like a mantra.  Just the part "just let it all go".  Funny how I have a hard time following my own advice. 

Anyway, the reason I bring her up here is that once upon a time, we started collaborating.  I took photos, she painted her interpretation of that photo.  One of the first things I sent to her to paint was a folder full of macro shots of flowers.  This daisy was one of those photos.  It was a fun little side project, and pretty soon she had bought herself a camera, was learning how to shoot the moon and stars.  I haven't seen any of her work, but I really hope that she is doing something really amazing with her camera.

Heading Home

San Diego Skyline

In just five short days, I am heading home to hang out with entire family.  It has been 7 months since the last time we were all together, and what an eventful 7 months it's been!  I will be taking family portraits, of course, in our favorite places.  I can't wait to go home :)

City by the Bay

one of the many pleasures of San Francisco is the foggy weather, weather that encourages you to stay in with a bottle of robust California red wine and good company, or to skip work, brew a pot of dark roasted coffee and open your favorite book.  Here, high on a hill in Excelsior Heights, I took a few deep wet breaths of misty air, shot this one frame, and went inside to join Jerry for dinner.  It is such a part of my experience, this dampness that could chill you to the bone if you forget to dress in layers; it is the one thing I miss the most about my life in San Fran, particularly now that I live in a hot valley.

say hello to my little friend

I met Ernie a decade ago, when we both worked at the Daly City Trader Joes.  He was quiet, shy, very involved with work.  This past week, I spent a little time with him, getting my stuff out of the apartment he sublet from me, the one I am now giving up.  He told me to come over at 7am, a little early considering he worked till 11 the night before, so I showed up and rang the bell.  He came to the door, his hair was like that claymation HeatMiser dude from the Year Without a Santa Claus, and his tattoos were showing.  What??  He didn't have any when I met him, so I asked him to show me.  It's pretty extensive, covering both upper arms and his chest.  And he isn't done yet.  His artist lives in Hawaii, so on his next trip out he'll have the rest of his left tricep, his entire right arm, and possibly his right leg.  He's a madman!  But, he's also the coolest filipino dude I know.  Just like me, he doesn't fit the stereotype, and I am so sad that he is leaving the Bay Area.  But, I am really glad that he is moving back home, to take care of his mother and of his son.  I used to ask him all the time why he lived up here, he never had a good reason other than he just needed to find a little bit of himself.  He is much happier now, I think he's found what he was looking for, and now he's ready to go home.  Good luck to my good friend Big Ern, I can't wait to see the rest of his tattoo.

right arm (creation/self)

bull horns

left arm (mandala)