At The Beach With Ariana

My friend Ariana has the best hair and the most brilliant blue eyes. I always knew I wanted to photograph her.  We finally were able to take a day trip to the beach for a photo shoot.  She was a great sport this day to roll around in the sand and plants for me.  Thank you Ariana!

Dog Fancy Magazine June Issue Article About Camping With Your Dog

Max and I are excited to be a part of the June issue of Dog Fancy magazine!  In an article written by Becky Blanton, it's all about traveling with your dog.  For the past three years, I've traveled the country with my dog and can't see a road trip without my best friend.  The first year was with my dog, Maggie and the past two years have been with my little man, Max.

The article also features all photographs taken by me, including a self portrait of Max and I camping in Yosemite last summer.

When I am not camping alone with Max, I enjoy meeting other women on the road who also enjoy camping. The other photos are of Martha and her dogs, taken when I camped with the "silver sisters" (women who camp together with their Airstreams) and Zola and her little baby on my trip with the "Sisters on the Fly".

I am looking forward to more camping adventures in the future!  The June issue of Dog Fancy is on newstands now.

Morning Coffee With Kristy Jo and Valentina

When I spent most of my days on the road, I took photographs every day.  Even on days when I didn't feel like shooting anything, I did.  I did it because I never knew what I was going to come across and the amount of time I had in one spot was limited.  That was the motivator to keep going.  Now that I am home, it's been a challenge.

I am taking photography classes and this is an added push to get me to get out and take photographs.  Most of my photography has been done by chance.  Meaning, I like to take pictures of what is going on at the time and capturing a moment with no interruption with direction.  Now, I am in complete control of a situation.  Actually, I am never in control but I can get an idea and run with it to see what happens.

I have been thinking of certain situations for my friends to try to capture their personality and essence.  This is not an easy task but it's been fun the first week trying.

My friends Kristy Jo (K.J.) and her girlfriend Valentina (Val) said yes for me to come over and photograph them around their house.  We mingled for a while while we sipped coffee.  I looked around the house and decided to take a few shots in different rooms, hanging out on the porch and my favorite, sitting in a planter tub outside in the backyard.  Once I saw the tub, I immediately got excited.  Good news for me is that they were up for anything.  Even their dog, Clayton Wembley was up for anything and he made himself at home.

It was a fun morning of shooting and chatting a bit before we all carried on with the day.  I look forward to sharing more shooting adventures with you here soon.

Los Angeles Brewery Art Walk

Even though I won't be traveling and living out of my car for a while, I always enjoy exploring things nearby that are fun and interesting...especially when it comes to art.  There is a community in the heart of Los Angeles that used to be a brewery and now it's a city in itself of artists.  These artists live and work in the spaces of the Brewery Art complex.

Lucky for us, they open their studios to the public a few times a year for us to be able tour their home/work space.  It's a wonderful tour of amazing artists of all mediums.  I did this last year and blogged about it and I plan to go back.  A photograph I took of the experience was licensed by Palladium Boots to use on their website under their explorations video.  You can see that video HERE.  Along with the art walk, the video mentiones other jems in the Los Angeles area to explore. To find out more about the brewery walk, click HERE.

Even if a vacation seems out of the question for you right now, I bet there are places nearby that you can visit to give you the feeling of being in another world.

Long Beach Transit Photographs

I am thrilled to be a part of the reopening of the Long Beach transit Mall in downtown Long Beach.  In the next few weeks, work will be completed on the project including eight canopy shelters, serving an average of 20,000 commuters daily.

Eight selected photographs that I took of Long Beach will be on display in and around the new mall to coordinate with the "nautical" theme expansion.  I spent about four months walking on the beach each night and a few mornings with my point and click camera capturing everything I came across on the beach. Images from these moments will be blown up and installed around the mall so people can experience the beach without actually being at the beach.  I look forward to the completion and encourage you to use public transportation.  You never know what you might come across.

The photos from this blog are some I took during those months, but you will have to see the chosen ones once they are installed in a few weeks.

The press Telegram writes, "After months of work, improvements to the Long Beach Transit Mall downtown are nearing completion.
Eight canopy shelters and public art should be completely installed in the coming weeks and transit operations will move back from Ocean Boulevard to First Street on Sunday, said spokeswoman Marcelle Epley on Monday.
Last August, Long Beach Transit announced that it would begin a $7 million modernization of the regional transit hub on First Street between Long Beach Boulevard and Pacific Avenue.
The Transit Mall, which serves an average of 20,000 commuters daily, has grown since opening in 1982 and now accommodates passengers taking Long Beach Transit buses, Metro Blue Line trains and buses and Torrance Transit.
Funded with federal stimulus money, the project will feature improved night lighting, upgraded landscaping and newly designed bus shelters with public art.
Done in partnership with the Arts Council of Long Beach, the public art will feature photographs by Long Beach photographer Alison Turner and nautical-theme poems by Long Beach poets, as well as poets from Long Beach literary magazine, Pearl."

For the full article, click HERE