I'm so glad you found me! I'm a San Francisco photographer, and this blog charts my journey in the ever-evolving world of photography. One of the things I love about photography is that it's a journey, not a destination. I'm constantly learning and meeting wonderful people. Please peruse the blog to your heart's content, then check out my website and feel free to contact me! (I love hearing from you.)

“Which of my photographs is my favorite? The one I’m going to take tomorrow." – Imogen Cunningham

“A portrait is not made in the camera but on either side of it.” – Edward Steichen

Do What You Love

I was walking home and this wall caught my attention. As a photograph, it's not going to win any prizes, but just the act of framing it made me happy.

I think it's so important to be doing what you love. Yes, if there's a paycheck involved, people will do most anything. And there are quite a few who choose their life's career based on the size of their monthly deposits.

I happen to think the true test of if it's meant to be is this: what do you do in your free time?


Do you leave a job and just-want-to-check-that-last-thing, hmmm-what-if-I-try-this-next-time, oh-I-think-I-figured-that-thing-out-that-was-bothering-me, or is it more like I'm-so-dead-can't-wait-to-get-home-and-tune-out?

I was walking through a fairly dicey part of town recently, feeling slightly on edge, at attention should anything happen. Then I turned the corner and the light was just so beautiful that I had to relax, and smile and enjoy myself. Before I picked up a camera seriously that never would have happened, because I wouldn't have been watching the light. Wouldn't have always been thinking. "How would I photograph that?"

All this to say, I count myself lucky that most of the jobs I've had in my life, I've enjoyed. Even looked forward to. And the older I get the more important the enjoyment seems, and the less the rest of it all matters.

So, what about you? What do you love? Is what you love what you do, or do you keep the two separate?

PS Check the top of the blog for a note about an art exhibit I'm part of these next two weekends in Oakland. All the gory details are there!

PASS

We walked into the room and we weren't quite sure what to expect. Not the numerous red vinyl couches, the offbeat decor and the tealights strewn about. No. That's not what I was expecting.

And I certainly wasn't expecting to leave with a such huge crush on Zach and Jodi Gray, Promise Tangeman, and David Jay. Because all of them ROCKED it!

So what is PASS exactly? That's the one question I definitely wanted answered. Well, basically it's a file delivery system and a way to store images from past shoots. But it's really not basically anything at all, because I think it is going to majorly change how we handle digital files and certainly how our clients view them.

First up: Promise Tangeman discussed branding and website design. I really loved when she talked about doing less than your competitors, not more as we so often want to do. Underdo. Not overdo.


Next Zach and Jodi Gray taught us all how to court our clients. How to build a personal relationship with them, not just a business relationship. I loved everything they had to say. If you get the chance to see them in person, take it! They are so awesome together. I love watching couples react to each other. You get to see the love, but also the running jokes, the things they struggle with and overcome. And they seem like a very evenly matched team, which is not as common as it could be.


By this point the house lights were almost off and I couldn't see my pen any more, but I still kept taking notes!



Then David Jay gave us the skinny on PASS and why it's so white hot. If you have the chance, sign up to hear about it yourself!


All in all, it was an awesome evening. Can't wait to play around with the software some more and finally figure out how to put it all together!