Lasting Memories

The past few days in Southern California has brought on some record rain, if you haven't heard. It found its way into my driveway and into my garage. I was gone during the day for the first big storm wave and I came home to inches of water in my garage.

Since I live on the road several months out of the year, there are only a few things in my home in case I need to pack up quickly to get on the road. For the most part, I live like I am still living out of my car...but in my home. Most of my belongings are stored in my garage. Some things are in plastic bins (smart choice) however there are a lot of items in cardboard boxes (not so smart choice). All of the boxes on the ground were soaked along with the contents inside of the box.

I wasn't really concerned when I came home, but I looked in the morning and didn't realize how many cardboard storage boxes were on the ground. A lot of them had old family photos in them. I also had framed pictures resting on the ground that are now soaked along with clothes, furniture, and other miscellaneous items. Although it was a bit sad to find, I wasn't that upset about it.

Because I have lived out of my car for so long, material possessions don't mean as much to me as they did in my 20's. I was never one to spend a lot of clothes and things. I think the "treasures" that mean the most are trinkets from places visited and pictures from those trips. Some of the damage leaked into albums of my grandparents. This picture I scanned a while back is one of my favorites of them.

Losing my father and grandparents was extremely painful, but all of the memories I have in my head will never be damaged by a flood. I am thankful that I had the time with them. I am fortunate for that. I can't complain. I am fortunate to have a roof over my head, food and love ones to turn to.

For all of that, I am forever grateful.

During the time the water was creeping up in my garage, I was out snapping these pictures.

Seeing Things In A Different Light

Sometimes we might take for granted all that surrounds us. We see the same thing over and over in our routine to work, to the store, going to the park, etc.

Is it the same?

I tend to go to the same places to see new and different things. I might see something I didn't the other 10 times I went to visit. Or, I might see something in a different light to give me a fresh perspective on something. Sometimes if I enjoy looking at something, I visit it several times to look at it again. Even something that stays in the same place like a tree, a lifeguard tower, or a house. Depending on the time of day, weather conditions or your mood...it can be different each time.

For the month of September, I would visit the same house on a bluff at the beach in Cape Cod each day to look at it and take a picture.

There wasn't a pattern to my visits. I would go at a different time each day...sometimes twice a day. In the sunshine, rain, wind, sunsets, or at night. I walked out to the ocean and looked back at the house until I couldn't see the right side. I would then snap the same picture of it sitting in the bottom left hand corner of the shot with a small strip of grass.

Even at home, there are things I see more than twice a week that look different each time. I took a picture of this tower while standing in a different spot on different days. It's the same tower but with a different feel each time. Not better or worse, just different.

Perhaps I look at certain things in too much detail. I never used to do this, but it's exciting when you know that even when you visit the same spot you've been to many times before...it will never be the same.

I like that.

Long Beach Skate Park Opening

I was asked yesterday by "We Love Long Beach" to photograph the opening of the Michael K. Green Skate Park. It was a wonderful event! It was great to see all of the kids come together for a great cause in the community.

We Love Long Beach (WLLB) is a non-profit (501c3) community organization founded by Scott and Robin Jones in 2008. As fourth generation residents of the City of Long Beach, the sibling pair started the organization after extending a breakfast invitation to fifty of their neighbors. It was a free breakfast in the park with no other agenda than for neighbors to have the chance to get to know one another.

I've been taking a lot of Long Beach pictures and Scott and Robin reached out to me to photograph their participation in this event. I am so glad they did! I will continue this partnership with them so they can share images with each community in Long Beach with the goal of bringing all communities of the city together.

For the most part, I usually wander around and take pictures of things I find interesting. Like fences, birds, trees, open fields, the road, bird feet, etc. The shots I've taken of people are usually candid and they don't know I am taking their picture. I just capture a moment in time without them knowing.

This is the first time I set out to take action shots of kids and some posing for the camera. The energy at the event was so positive so it was easy for me to snap away, observing the kids anxiously awaiting the opening of the park. I hope I captured that with these photographs.

Thanks to "We Love Long Beach" for including me in the opening. I look forward to more events soon. Here are some pictures from the day. For more, click HERE

Mornings And The Sunrise

I am not a morning person. I admit it. I am not one to jump out of bed, sing a song, welcome the day and whistle while a bird sings along with me on my shoulder.

I wish I were. Well..I would like to be.

I have never been.


I have always been a heavy sleeper and a night person. My mother was the one singing songs to welcome the day, ripping off the covers so I would freeze and turn the light switch on and off over and over until she woke the dead (me). Even when I was a child, the waking up part was hell. Then it was even worse when I had to sit next to my father for breakfast and he would eat grape nuts. I don't think there is a reason to eat that cereal unless you want to annoy the person sitting next to you with all of the crunching going on. In fact, I don't think you are able to hear anything when you eat that cereal. Maybe that was the point. There is nothing like two "morning haters" sitting next to each other annoyed by everything while my mother would sing away, skipping around the house.

Things haven't changed much. Well, my mother isn't around to turn the lights on and off, but people close to me know to wait until I have been up for a while to speak to me...ok, that sounds horrible. I am not painting a good picture here. I am not THAT bad, really.

My former boss and I had a deal that he wasn't allowed to call me before 8am (for his own sake, really). I would get a phone call most mornings at 8am on the dot. Maybe it's a problem when I have to tell my boss not to call me before a certain time.

It's not that I can't do it. I did a fitness bootcamp class at 5:30am for six months before work each morning. I don't really know how I accomplished that, but I did. I think I was tired of the voices in my head debating on weather or not I was going to work out that night all day during work, or if I would be too tired...or fill in the blank for another good reason. At least when I worked out in the morning, I didn't have to think about it all day.

I've been telling myself lately that I need to get up to see the sunrise. I suppose my mind told my body that it was about time for me to get out of bed and get out of the house to see it this morning. After the head debate...I went out. It was beautiful. Peaceful. I walked along the shore and took pictures of the birds, the pier and then took a stroll to the dog beach to watch the pups play in the ocean for a while.

I am glad I did.

Etsy Fridays

I have slowly but surely decided on a few pictures to put up for sale on Etsy. It's not easy sorting through 30,000 pictures to find one that I like enough to offer to you.

Each Friday, I am going to post new pictures that I have put up for sale on Etsy that week. I will put them up throughout the week but will send you a notice on my Facebook Fan page each Friday on what is new so you don't have to check back on the ETSY page if you are looking for something. I always welcome suggestions so if you love a picture but don't see it for sale...let me know!

You can always take a quick look on the right side of the blog to see what's up for sale. I am new at this, so thank you for your patience as I work out the kinks. To get updates, please become a Facebook fan by clicking HERE

So, it's a goal completed on my 39 things I am going to do in my 39th year list. Now it's off to discover new things and places to talk about! Keep exploring! :)

Don't Fence Me In

There is beauty in a fence. For some reason, I love to take pictures of them. Perhaps it's because it is a boundary trying to keep me out while I think of ways I can get to the other side. It's the line that tells you to stay where you belong. Sometimes, there is no beginning and no end. Most of the time, I respect the definition but there are moments I don't listen by crossing to the other side.

I am watching the PBS special, "An Emotional Life" that aired last week. You can watch this three part series online about how our brains react to emotions. Part one is friends, family and lovers, part two (I am watching this now) is facing our fears, and part three is rethinking happiness. I would recommend viewing each one.

What does this have to do with fences? Well, I suppose it's not the actual fence, but what the fence represents that's intriguing to me. I know that I have built fences in my brain in ways where I think that I can't get to a place I want to be because of something in the way.

As time moves on or when I think about it, the fences start to soften and loosen up for me to cross. It's still there reminding me of what I built up in my brain to get to a place I want to be.

I think it's good to question why we put up fences in our brain. Blocks to get to where we really want to be. Fear is a big reason and if we face the fear, the fence doesn't seem as intimidating to cross.

As an example: I had a well paid career that I worked hard at for years to get to a place where I had the flexibility to work from home and the amount of money I never thought I would ever make in my lifetime. Why would anyone give that up?

There were so many fears around the unknown for me. There is a good chance I will never make the same amount of money, have the flexibility and perceived "security" that I had. However, it wasn't what I really wanted to do and it didn't make me happy. After much thought and consideration, I left that world to wander around the country with my dog. After two years of being on the road and living as cheap as possible, it has given me more personal fulfillment and satisfaction than the job I had for 7 years.

Don't get me wrong, I love a challenge and I learned a lot in that career position. It just wasn't me and all the amount of money didn't fulfill my need to be who I truly wanted to be.

So here I am. Taking pictures of fences.

I would recommend watching these episodes if you haven't already. They are well done and gives you a chance to reflect on your own thinking and what you can do to get to the place you want to be. I am thankful that I took the leap to make a much needed change in my life. I wouldn't trade it for the world. Thank you for letting me share it with you. Here are some more pictures of fences I've taken during my travels:






More Fences

I Love Birds

As you might have noticed, I love taking pictures of birds. There is something about them that I love. They get to roam around, fly wherever they want, float on the water, and watch us as we go about our day.

Last night I went out to take pictures of the sunset but was more interested in a group of seagulls doing the same. Well, they weren't taking pictures but they get to sit there and watch the sunset each night at the beach.

Throughout my travels, I made sure to take pictures of birds wherever I went. In fact, I put together an entire photo album of birds here.

I might be a litle nuts, but I think they are beautiful.

Huntington Beach Today

I love being by the ocean. There is something magical about it. All it takes is one foot in the sand and all of your worries from the day seem to disappear. The ocean waves, the salty air, the breezes...there is nothing like it.

I took a short drive to walk along the beach in Huntington Beach yesterday as the sun was setting. As you know, I enjoy watching people so the evening did not disappoint.

There were surfers out trying to catch the perfect wave, a little girl playing in the sand, tourists wanting me to take their picture, people out with their cameras and everyone else stopping to seize the moment.

I stood there and soaked up each moment. It's hard to be miserable when you are surrounded by beauty. I suppose you could, but you would have to try really hard.

Here are some pictures from my stroll along the beach yesterday:






MORE PICTURES