Quotidian Photography by Jessica: October 2011

Kittens at the ACC

Would it be strange or wrong to say that I've always wanted to volunteer as a photographer for an animal shelter? Because that's kind of how this story begins.

So once I got the chance to work with Animal Care and Control in San Francisco, I'd say I jumped at the chance. Taking good care of all animals has always been a priority for me. I can't exactly say why, and I know that there are those who might not understand, but if I have the opportunity to help an animal, I'll take it.

Especially if I get to use my camera at the same time.

For my first hour long session, we started with something pretty easy: kittens. I mean, it's pretty hard to take a picture of a kitten that doesn't just make your heart melt, am I right?

So, enjoy! And if you like what you see, they're all adoptable!

Sunday in the Park

Wordless Weekend - House with a Face

Fall, For Real

Remember when I announced that fall had arrived? I think I was a little premature. Yes, it's October, which is traditionally summer in San Francisco. Confused? Me too. In October you can go outside without a sweater on. This is huge, people. I sleep in a sweater. No, seriously, sometimes I do. To Evan's everlasting chagrin. My closet is full of sweaters. One big giant sweater pile. I wear one every day. Every . single . day. I don't wear just a shirt, and I never wear a jacket.

San Francisco is a city full of people wearing sweaters. Except for these past few weeks when we were temporarily liberated.

But now fall's arrived, and my hands are cold again, as usual. And it's time for the sweaters to come back in full force. I swear, two days ago there were no leaves on the ground and then today, there they were. Crunching under my feet all along the blocks.

Well, fall, welcome. Again. Don't worry. I've got my sweaters ready.

Toothsome Thursday

I was at the Farmer's Market last Wednesday when I happened upon some organic raspberries going for a very decent price. Twelve boxes for only $20! In October! I'll admit I took advantage of the opportunity.

This is not 12 boxes. This is only 6. I had already rinsed six when I realized it might be nice to take a picture.

The only thing about raspberries is that they go bad if you look at them sideways. I knew there was no hope of eating them all before they went downhill. Fortunately with my tiny amount of canning experience I was pretty sure it would be easy to make some delicious jam out of them with little to no trouble.

So I set some aside for snacking, rinsed the rest and threw them into a pan on low heat.

Then I crushed them with my trusty wooden spoon, raised the heat to medium and waited for it to come to a boil.

And after a while the raspberries looked something more like this.

Then I cooked them over medium-low heat for about an hour, maybe more, stirring frequently. This is a great time to fold laundry or watch mindless television. I think I read a book on my iPhone in between stirrings. Yes, you need to be near the kitchen, but you don't need to be over the stove every minute.

I waited until the raspberries thickened up and there was almost no liquid left, then I added some sugar to taste. I'm not sure how much, maybe 2 cups? Maybe a little more. They were pretty tart to begin with. And what I ended up with wasn't extremely sweet, but just sweet enough.

Then I canned the jam in a hot water canner. (Boil the jars for at least ten minutes fully submerged in a large pot, then allow them to rest on a towel for about 24 hours. Don't forget to check the seals.)

And I ended up with five cups of gorgeous, delicious raspberry jam that's so flavorful you only need the tiniest bit on a piece of toast to enter nirvana. Yum! I decided not to attempt to remove the seeds because I think they might add some healthy fiber to the jam, and yes, I was feeling a bit lazy. Also, I really don't mind seeds. But if you want to remove the seeds, my guess is that a food mill could probably help you out with that.

I like making things. What can I say? The joy of creation and seeing tangible proof of my efforts is addictive. Jam making, cooking, photography. They're not so different. What do you like to create?

My Thoughts Are with Thailand

As the flooding continues in Thailand I can't help but think about one of my adopted countries and grieve for what it's going through. Evan and I spent a year there, but it felt like so much more. I still remember the sounds of waking up in the morning, the chattering of geckos and the trills of the birds outside our window. In Thailand you don't forget the power of nature. Armies of ants swarmed our house, spiders bigger than my hands inhabited our kitchen (gently, I might add). Wild dogs were everywhere, not so gently. There was a softness about people that I loved, and also a great sense of fun. No matter where I am, some of Thailand comes with me.

So I'd like to share a few photos from our time there again. My apologies if you've been a reader long enough to have seen these before.

This was the tree outside our bedroom window. I saw it every morning when I woke up. When it monsooned, everything was drenched. Immediately.

These were our street dogs. They lived on our street, and unlike most of the dogs they were pretty nice and they never tried to attack us.

Whenever we had a long weekend we usually took a bus to the islands. This is Koh Chang. Elephant Island.

And these are the types of places we stayed. From here, sitting in chilly San Francisco it looks pretty good.

Beer Chang. Yup, Elephant beer. You can speak about as much Thai as I can, now! (Ok, I speak maybe a little more.)

These were our sunsets.

And these were our pet cats.

Ok, not really. That's a baby tiger. But I did get to pet this one and feed it some milk from a bottle, so that wasn't too shabby. And we did bring home a cat that was a little (well, a lot) smaller than this one.

Thailand, I miss you and I hope you get through this troubled time without too many bruises. My thoughts are with you.

Katie and Trevor - Second Shooting for Amanda Lock

It was through a series of slightly confused emails that Amanda Lock (to see her site, click here) and I sent to each other that we finally decided I would help her shoot the wedding of Katie and Trevor. (Before anyone thinks anything about Amanda, the confusion was all on my side. Sometimes my emails are not the clearest.)

But on the day of the wedding, there was no confusion. Only a beautiful ceremony for Trevor and Katie, who were surrounded by the best and most loving group of friends and family. I've very rarely seen a couple who were quite so fully in love, a love that all around them were eager to proclaim special and rare.

The men were especially dapper. I loved Trevor's white suit and blue vest. Quite an eye-catching combo!