Breathe again.

Phew. Back in California, where the air is clean and the oxygen is free. I spent a week in Vegas. Yep. Never say never folks.
I spent a week in Las Vegas. And much to my surprise, it was pretty fun. It was not the blood sucking craziness I have experienced in the past, and happy to report, no migraines. Of course, everything I brought with me has the scent of stale cigarette smoke and I probably should rush to the hospital and get a chest x-ray to make sure I haven't developed lung cancer from inhaling all the second hand smoke. Come to think of it, that is what probably kept me going most of the time; a second hand nicotine high.
With that said, I had a great time this year at WPPI. I took some fabulous classes and was able to study with the famed and talented Bambi Cantrell. I took her master class and was not disappointed.
Made lots of new friends along the way, from Canada to Australia and in between. Also got to watch Joe McNally in action. The guy is brilliant. And funny.


I have only taken one workshop to date outside of WPPI, and I have another one coming up this year. I am very, very picky about the workshops I choose. Most of the time, these workshops are not cheap. It can be a wonderful learning experience, or after speaking to many photographers at WPPI; a sorry waste of money. The trouble is you don't know until the workshop is finished what you will get. My first workshop was with Zack Arias. Worth every cent. Not only was the class technically informative, but hit me on another level as well. Zack is just an all around good guy. He shared his heart and his life experiences, for me it took the class to another level. Another photographer I follow, David Jackson, posted a link to a blog entry from Zack for Scott Kelby's blog. I watched it. I am compelled to link it as well. Check it out.
I can guarantee, just like me, you will not be disappointed. (just click on this link right HERE)

Are you loving all this rain?

Well, no. However, it does afford me the ability to work on editing inside completely guilt free. Seriously, if you don't have to be out in this mess, why would you want to be? I know we desperately need the rain (I kind of fear for the people living in the fire areas), but enough is enough. Global warming? Pffft. It has been a week or more since my last post. I have been going nonstop, and it has been really fun.

I always like to take a little time off after the holidays and get myself organized and clear my head for the coming year. I'm also attending WPPI 2009 in Vegas and I'm very excited for that. I really don't care for Vegas all that much. I could do without all the noise and smoke. The mass amount of people there kind of sucks the energy right out of me. But, I will forgo all of that to attend this conference. The reverse happens when I am surrounded by photographers. It's really energizing and fun. (if you love photography, I think my husband was a little bored)

I would not be a true Steeler fan if I didn't mention how fabulous that Superbowl was. My husband will be beaming from ear to ear for the rest of the year. He has replayed the game a few times already. Truly, they had a fairy tale ending. Thank God. I can't imagine the misery if they had lost. We watched the game from a small "black and gold" bar in southern San Francisco called Zacks. You can find these little bars all over America. Steeler fans are everywhere.
It's pretty fun to find a place where everyone there loves and cheers for the same team you are. I don't know if these kind of places exist for other teams. I've never asked. I'm not that brave.

Following the game, we spent a few more days in fog city. Since I haven't had much time to go out and shoot for myself, it was a dream to wander around the city with my camera. After a couple of hours, I was really wishing I had brought more comfortable shoes. I knew I had to have a few shots of the Golden Gate Bridge, so I travelled toward the park. As I carefully maneuvered down rocky running trails in newly purchased Joan and David boots, I began to regret every step. Each step forward would be twice as painful coming back, but I pushed awkwardly on. (note: this does nothing for creativity-it really helps to be comfortable and able to get to spaces without worrying about your shoes, not to mention feeling kind of ridiculous and out of place-lesson learned) I explored the Presidio, the national cemetery, drove up to Haight-Ashbury and went down to Fisherman's Wharf. I loved the mix of old and new and spent the day shooting only black and white. I can't wait to go back.


If you need a reason to visit San Francisco right now here it is, Wicked.
It was absolutely more than I expected. Go see it. You will not be disappointed at all. And pick up some sourdough bread.
Yum.









Just a few from the day....

Have a wonderful day...inside.

Lipstick Jungle

So, you see them all walk in together. They are in there for a really long time. What are they all doing in the bathroom for so long? I'll let you in on a little secret. There is another party inside. It's fun. And only girls are allowed.




Have a really really FABULOUS superbowl sunday!!! {go steelers!!}