The Start Of A New Decade

Today is the beginning of a new decade for me.  I put out a list of 39 things I wanted to accomplish on my 39th year on this earth and I am proud to say that I completed most of them over the year.  Now on to a new decade of my life and more adventures to come.

Thank you to everyone who followed me on my crazy "driving around the USA in my tent adventures" for the past year, and the year before that.  It was an incredible few years and I hope to experience many more things to come.  As I did before, I will compile a list and share that with you.

As I mentioned, the past three years I have been wandering around the country with my dog, camera and tent.  I made the decision to go back to school for a year to see where that takes me.  I am always up for learning and it will keep me in the same place for a while.  This doesn't mean that I won't take a break for adventures here and there.  I plan to continue this roller coaster ride called life.

I look forward to more and sharing it here with you.

Roller Derby Girls And Cake Pops

It's been a while since I've blogged and for those of you who are stopping by and wondering what's going on, I apoligize.  I've been doing this and that and haven't found the time to stop by here.  Well, here I am again!  Yesterday I was asked to shoot a photograph for an ad for blueberry bakery celebrating the one year anniversary of Moxi roller skate shop in Long Beach.  I love cake and derby girls so of course I was happy to be a part of it!

The vision was to get a couple of derby girls fighting over a cake pop in typical derby style.  Looking oh so tough but so cute at the same time.  I don't know how these women do it.  I used to roller skate around my neighborhood as a kid in my quads and thinking about it now makes me a little nervous.  It's not that I don't want to do something fun, it's just a long way down if a small pebble gets in the way of a long stride.

I am six foot tall so it would make me about six five in skates. A long way down...and oh yeah, I am about to turn 40 with minimal health insurance, so there's that too.

It doesn't keep me from admiring these woman who participate in the sport.  I've been to a few bouts in Long Beach and my photographs are on the Long Beach Roller Derby's website as well as many more on my photograph website.

For today, it was about cake pops and roller skates.  I met these ladies early in the morning and once we got to the shop, it was time to strip down to their skating attire.  As this was happening, a man happened to be standing in the right place at the right time to get a glimpse of two women stripping in the middle of the street.  I'm sure as he stood there, he had no idea about what was about to happen.  From the look on his face, I think it might have been his lucky day.

Thank you ladies for being such great models!  I look forward to the next bout!

Palm Springs Modernism Week Vintage Trailer Show

Last week I was lucky enough to tour some amazing vintage trailers and meet their owners during the modernism week in Palms Springs.  I arrived a few days early to spend some time with my friend, Kristiana Spaulding who is a jewelry designer, stylist, and proud owner of several trailers, one of them she showed during the event.  Max came along for the ride and we all stayed at an RV park in the area for a few days before the trailer was moved to the Rivera to be on display for the public to tour.

I met up with people I met at Alumapalooza including John Long who is a proud owner of a bowlus and author of a book on the history of this trailer.  John, Kristiana and I woke up at the crack of dawn to photograph this wonderful trailer at the home of designer, Trina Turk before the event.


During the event, I met the Funky Junk Farm's owner trio of John, Ed and Steven.  They all were very patient with me as I took their portrait a few times.  They had a few trailers on display that were all unique and different.  Their personalities matched well with their home on wheels they had on display.  Thank you to all of the owners who allowed me to take their photograph and for Airstream Life for hosting the event.  I look forward to an even bigger showing in 2012! 


For More Photographs from the event, click HERE.

Indio Date Festival

I took a trip to the date festival to visit my entertainer friends John and Ellyn.  They do a traveling bubble show for fairs around the country for the kids.  They are both great people and I love being around them and seeing their show was a treat.  It's not the easiest thing to travel around the country and be "on" several times a day doing the same show over and over while performing as if it's the first time.

I spent the day visiting with them and walking around the fair taking photographs of things I came across.  It's always interesting to see what the fair has to offer and I had the opportunity to hang out behind the scenes in the "entertainer community city".

As much as I love seeing the smiles on kids faces, I always feel a bit sorry for the animals that travel with the fair.  There were camels, zebras, tigers, lions, and a monkey on a leash ready to pocket your cash once you held it out.

At night is when everything comes alive.  I love the neon, the smiles and the carefree feeling in the air.  It reminded me of summer.  I am looking forward to the change in season.