Photographing Dogs

I love dogs.  I dream of having a large piece of land where I can adopt all of the homeless dogs and we would all live together happily ever after.  I am lucky that Max likes dogs too.  I am able to go to the dog park with him where I wasn't able to with Maggie.  He just wanders and does his own thing and checks back with me every so often only to run off again.

Dogs are fun to photograph since it captures their personality in an instant.  There is a lot of character in their face when you take an unexpected snapshot without going through the routine of "sit""stay""no..siiitt""staaaayy""waiiiiit", etc.  They are challenging to photograph since they're always moving around which makes it interesting.  Most of my favorite shots are ones where I got lucky when I look back at the pictures I took.  Here are a few of my favorite from the past month.

I adopted Max from the Hearts for Hounds rescue organization here in Long Beach.  They have several dogs that need a good home.  Please click HERE to learn more.

I have more of my favorite dog photographs from traveling around the country HERE.

There is a good chance that your dog may be in one of them.

If your dog isn't in the album and you would like me to photograph your dog, please email me at alisontravels@gmail.com

Max and I are off to do something different and I look forward to sharing it with you soon...

The Joy Of Painting

Who doesn't like a happy tree?  I know I love happy trees and if you do too, you must love Bob Ross.  He's the painter on television you might have seen in the early 80's when you were too lazy to get up and actually push the button or turn the knob to change the station.  And why would you? He is pretty entertaining to watch.

His voice and calm way about him would capture my attention.  I wondered how he makes it look so easy and why is he so happy and nice saying things like, "let's build us a happy little cloud that floats around the sky." Of course when something looks that easy, I have to try it and his "happy little cloud" would turn into a thunderstorm of mud on my painting.  Not a thing happy about it.

Last year I dabbled in watercolors and one of my goals this year is to paint with something other than that.  I don't know if I can count these paints as "other than watercolors", but I just might!  So, goal completed!

Sometimes it's nice to do an activity to turn off your brain for a while and not think about anything but what you are doing at the moment.  Turning my brain off is a bit of a challenge for me so when I was at the art store the other day, I thought perhaps Bob Ross could help me do just that.  Don't let the "for kids" on the box fool you, this is some serious paint by numbers project.

I set up my "painting station" and started painting away with number five first, then one, then seven...and for a moment, I didn't think of anything but filling the space with paint.  Bob Ross sure knows a thing or two about painting happy trees.



Here are the 12 watercolor scribbles I did last year and let's not forget my new Bob Ross happy snow mountain landscape to add to my collection!

No plans for the weekend?  No worries!

I think a masterpiece is just waiting for you at the art store.   Just look for the man with the crazy hair on the box and you are in the right place.

Women of Waves

On Saturday, I went out to support the opening of WOW "Women of Waves" exhibit at the California Surf Museum in Oceanside.  Julie Cox helped put on the this wonderful collection of and history about Women in the sport of surfing.  Not only is Julie a pro surfer, she was the person who taught me to stand on a board two years ago in Todos Santos, Mexico.  Believe me, that was no easy task.  Not only is she an amazing surfer, she is tremendously patient...as I learned first hand.

The exhibit featured influential women surfers, cultural movements, a variety of important surfboards, and surf fashion trends that changed the lifestyle sport forever.
From ancient Hawaiian princesses to today's ASP World Champions, "Women On Waves" gave a historical glimpse inside the female surfing experience.  

The display will be up until January of 2011 so if you are in the area, I would recommend a visit.  

Congratulations Julie for a terrific opening!

Days of Summer

Summer is just around the corner!  I can feel the days getting longer and the air getting warmer.  Well, not so much this weekend but soon.  I headed down the coast yesterday and drove mostly in the rain.  I captured this moment with two girls playing on the beach and in the water by themselves while their grandmother was huddled on the beach in layers.

These pictures just remind me of summer as a child.  So innocent and carefree

Award Winning Photographs

Lately, I have been enjoying crossing off things off of my goal list for the year.  One of them is to win a photo contest.  I suppose that the first step is actually entering a contest in order to win it.  I have to admit that I am a bit intimidated when I see so many amazingly beautiful photographs submitted in a contest when I only use a point and click camera and don't use photoshop or lightroom.  The task of entering can seem a little daunting and pointless.

After thinking about it for a while...I wondered what really constitutes an "award winning photograph?"  I think anything that is displayed on your wall or on a shelf at home would be an award winner.  It doesn't have to be the best photograph, just one that brings up memories that you are proud of or that you will cherish forever.

The day you graduated from high school, a family reunion, the day your child was born, the picture of you after you completed a race....all moments in time to be proud of.  All award winners.  Even if you are not in the photograph, it could be the beach you spent your summers on as a child, the city you fell in love in, the house you bought from working half of your life to afford.  All winners.

We are drawn to images that stir up feelings. Whether or not they win prizes, it's really the memory that means the most to us.  I would love to see your personal award winning photographs.  I hope you post it to my facebook fan page for others to see.  Click HERE to post.

For me, I will always have photographs of the places I've been to and the people in my life that I will cherish forever.  Those are my personal award winners.

Day Trip: The Salton Sea

Nothing happens when you sit at home. I always make it a point to carry a camera with me at all times…I just shoot at what interests me at that moment. – Elliott Erwit

I decided it was time to leave the nest and go on a day trip with Max and my camera in tow to take pictures of things I thought were interesting.  
I have always wanted to visit the Salton Sea so I took the opportunity to go out and take a tour. Since it's on my goal list, I also get to check another activity off.

The Salton Sea, located in the southeastern corner of California, is actually a lake which occupies a desert basin known as the Salton Sink. This body of water covers a surface area of 376 square miles, making it larger than Lake Tahoe and Mono Lake.  In fact, the Salton Sea is the largest lake in California.  The Sea’s current elevation is about 227 feet below mean sea level, its maximum depth reaches 51 feet and its total volume is about 7.5 million acre-feet.

Besides the actual body of water, it is a pretty interesting place.  I drove around the the entire "sea" and took side tours of the neighborhoods surrounding this body of water, including the State park area and campsites along the shore.  


My favorite part of the surrounding areas were all of the old, broken down cars, trailers and homes in each neighborhood.  There are people living here so I didn't want to be obvious when taking pictures of their broken down things and at times, I wasn't sure if there were people still living in the trailers or homes I came across.  Maybe it was the excitement of the unknown that drew me in.  I found one house that was destroyed but had all the evidence of the "comfort" of home including a television, sofa, skylights, fireplace, and a random bowling pin and many other "treasures" to be found. Max and I took our picture in that fantastic dream home of the moment.


Since the salt content of the sea is rising, you will find a lot of dead fish on the shore along with a distinctive smell.  I enjoyed watching all of the birds as you can imagine.


At one point, I was taking pictures of what seemed to be a shallow mud pit until I got closer and my leg sank about 2 feet in the mud with my flip flops on.  Good thing my car is still packed with camping gear and clothes!  I found another pair of sandals to slip on and the rest of the day I had a mud mask on my feet.  


I was surprised to find that not many people living in Southern California know about the Salton Sea.  I am glad that I took the opportunity to tour it.  It's worth a trip for a day.  On to the next adventure...

For more images of this interesting place, click HERE

To learn more about the Salton Sea, he's a video of Anthony Bourdain touring the area in the exact same spot as I did.  I didn't know it at the time until a friend shared this link.  It's quite informative as well.  Click HERE to see the clip.

Goal Completed: Bake a Cake

I know it may sound hard to believe, but I don't ever remember baking a cake.  Because of that severe lack of experience, I put it on my list of 39 goals to achieve this year.  Perhaps a simple task to most. For me, it seemed like something I would have to mentally gear up for.  I didn't specify that I was going to achieve this by baking a cake from scratch, so I did it the easier way...by way of a box mix.


The cake was a gift for my best friend's birthday.  Earlier in the week, I asked him what his favorite flavor of cake was.  He said German chocolate cake so I was relieved to find that exact flavor at the store.  A bonus was that they sold frosting for it on the next shelf!  I studied the box to learn that I also had to buy oil and eggs.  Remember, first time...

I had a day to mentally prepare for the cake bake off.

Today I was ready to make the magic happen.  I got all of the ingredients out and read the directions over and over.  More like, step 1,2,3...back to 1...then 2...

I was thrilled to see the photograph of a child and mother having such a wonderful time together on the box making this cake. They look so happy.

This is going to be fun!

I searched and searched for a measuring cup.  I swear that I had two at some point.  Today, they are nowhere to be found.  I know that I need exact measurements and couldn't just guess what a third of a cup looks like in a coffee mug.

Low and behold I found a blender with measure lines.  That'll work!  I measured, threw everything in a bowl and mixed it up.

 Glancing back at the photograph of the child while I was mixing...I didn't feel that excited in the process as she was. Maybe because she had measuring cups.

What are they so happy about?

Anyway, I poured the mix in a pan and baked it up.  I didn't have a toothpick so I used a match to test to see if it was ready.

I am not sure if it was ready (a small amount of batter was left on the stick) but I just assumed it was.  I'm sure the happy little girl had a toothpick.

The box told me to cool it for 10 minutes.  I let it cool for 4 hours. There is no way it would be cool in 10 minutes!  Not even close!

I spread the frosting and used some cocktail animals I found in the garage to decorate.

Voila!

A cake is born.

It was tasty.  Glad I put that experience under my belt.  I am so proud that I can hold my head up high and say, "why yes, I have baked a cake" in conversation in this highly discussed topic.  On to the next experience...

What's next?

I'm always wondering what's coming up in life but at the same time, I like to be surprised.

I've been saying yes to things lately that have been the most rewarding, even though there is a level of discomfort to the unknown.

I think I thrive on the unknown.  There is so much to learn when you do things that you are not 100% sure about, although the outcome might not be the best.  Whatever happens, there is a lesson to be learned.

I showed my house to a nice young couple yesterday to rent for the summer and it brought on some feelings of discomfort.  I haven't really planned what I am going to be doing in the months ahead and renting my house is one way to be forced to leave and go somewhere I haven't been before.  It's just that I am not completely sure where that will be.  It will be easy to pack since I haven't really unpacked my car from the last trip.  I kept everything in it just in case I needed to leave on a moments notice.

When I was on the road the past two years, I would wake up and decide where to go next. I love the freedom of being able to pick up and go to places I have never been.  There were times when I made wrong turns and there were some huge lessons learned, but somehow it all seemed to work out in the end.

So, it might be time for a little planning.

I haven't taken "trailie" out on the road for over a year.  It has stayed put in my driveway since Maggie and I came home from our trip in October of 2008.  It still reminds me of her when I'm in it.  I am thinking of dusting it off and taking Max for a ride in it soon.  It's a little different experience with the trailer versus having a tent where I can pick up and go anywhere without anyone noticing.  Trailie gets looks everywhere I go.  Most people want to know what it is and want to look inside.  I have pictures of it on the right side of the blog. It's just 4 feet by 9 feet and pretty light so it's easy to tow.  It's been a while so I have to get used to the fact that something is following me on the road when I look in the rear view mirror.

After traveling in a tent for months, I've learned that I don't really need that much.  Everything I need can fit in the car so the trailer is pure luxury.

Luxury without a shower, bathroom, privacy or warmth.  Who needs that anyway?

There are places that I want to see, that I didn't come across the past two years of being on the road.  I didn't go to Canada, North Dakota or the Salt Flats in Utah.  I also would like to visit the Salton Sea in California.  I am sure there are so many places to explore that people don't know about, including myself.

I feel that I am paying attention more today than ever before.  I hear what people say and what comes into my life.  I am listening.  Listening to how I feel about things as well and going on instinct.  I know for a fact that I feel at peace most when I am in nature.  I also get excited about learning new things and when a photograph captures a moment as I saw it.

Many women light up when they see jewelry.  For me, I get that feeling when I go shopping and look at a really nice tent at REI, or if I try to convince a camera shop to take the Canon EOS 7D out of the box so I can touch it.  No luck.  Sigh...someday...

For now, I will continue snapping away with my pocket Canon Powershot.  It's been good to me so far.

Haiti Benefit - Carnival Del Corazon

Tonight I went to "Carnival del Corazón - My h(ART) goes out to Haiti." This event was an artist response Haiti benefit and festival with 100% of proceeds benefiting the Ye´le Haiti Earthquake Fund.

What an amazing night of music, art, food, and performances! It was so nice to see so many people in our community come together to help another community in need. I love to see people in their element and there were certainly several at the event that were right at home...getting lost in the music.

I have never been musically inclined, but I have a deep appreciation for people who can pick up an instrument and start jamming with other musicians...just by a feeling. At the same time, I am never one to dance in public. I have respect for the people you see at concerts standing in the front and dancing as if they are the only one there. I have great admiration for their ability to be in the moment and not care if people are staring at them while they are dancing.

For me, I tend to hide in the corner and observe...and that's ok by me. All dancers and musicians need people like me to be there to enjoy their performance and that would be my skill...watching. And that, I did.

Here are a few pictures I took at this inspiring event. As I travel, I enjoy taking pictures of people in their habitat. For more snapshots of humans living their life, click HERE

Goal Completed: Get A Photo Published Somewhere

There is something about writing down your goals and keep them up somewhere to remind yourself what you want to accomplish for the year. I don't believe in New Year's resolutions, but I do believe that if you write down some specific goals, you will achieve them.

Key word...writing them down.

I wrote them down in a journal, blogged about them and posted the list on the right side of this blog so I have held myself accountable. If you are ever bored and think that life is passing you by without doing anything, it's a great way to get back on track.

I am not the most social person in the world. I don't mind being alone and away from the crowds...in fact I prefer it at times. I do know that when I say yes to things that I don't feel 100% comfortable doing, it's the best way to learn and grow. The other night was a mixer of local artists that I thought would be fun to check out. It was a place I have never been to and I went alone so I couldn't hide in the corner with the familiar.

I soaked up the energy and sat down for a bit. The founder, Tanya Quinn sat next to me and we started chatting. It was so nice to meet her since we exchanged a few emails here and there. At the same time, a writer for the District Weekly came up to talk to her and needed someone to take pictures for the article he was doing on the event. Since I brought my camera to take pictures for a blog, I took a lot more to see if there was any he could use for his article.

He did.

By saying yes to something that felt uncomfortable at first, it lead me to achieve a goal that I wrote down at the beginning of the year. It's easier to say no or come up with an excuse on why we can't do something. The reward for a little discomfort is so much greater than the perceived "secure" feeling of sameness.

I would encourage you to write down what you want to achieve this year. You might be amazed at all of the opportunities that come up to achieve those goals if you pay attention.

A big thank you to Tanya Quinn for organizing such a great event and to Greggory Moore for using a photograph I took that night. If you are in the Long Beach area, you can pick up a copy of The District all over the city. A link to the full article can be found HERE.

As far as the bike goes...I saw it outside of the event as I was leaving and liked the way it looked so I had to take a picture of it.