A Winter Walk

Went for a walk on Christmas Eve with my family. Took a Canon 85mm 1.8 lens with me. Surprisingly nice lens considering the relatively low price. Managed to snap these shots on the way. As you can see, it's a pretty sharp lens and has some nice bokeh. And it's got a great angle of view for just walking around. The only problem I encountered with it is that you really can't focus and recompose at f/1.8, especially if you're close. Throws your subject completely out of focus. It's better to set your focus point where you want the focus in the shot to be.

Thought this house was a good candidate for some holiday bokeh.

I love taking guerrilla pictures of animals when I'm out and about. There's something about pets and animals in general that I just find irresistible. This cat reminded me a bit of Mouse, as it has a bit of the tiger vibe, and although it looks a little fierce was really a sweetheart. Walked right up to me and asked for a scratch behind the ears. And then proceeded to chase off another cat who also wanted a pet.

And then this pooch was so sweet looking! How much is that doggy in the window? A great California Christmas scene, somehow.

There's nothing better than a walk with people you love (and a camera to capture it all!). Here's hoping you're having some of both this holiday season.

Merry Christmas!

It's been a lovely couple of days. Yesterday Evan and I spent the day with my family, leisurely cooking, taking walks, and just hanging out. (Plus, we may have exchanged some gifts, in the spirit of the day.) We ended it all with a delicious meal and some good conversation. It was nice to have some time to spend together that didn't seem jammed into the schedule of a hectic workweek.

Then late last night we drove up to the snow, arrived about 1 am and collapsed into bed. When we woke up, it was Christmas. And time to hang out with Evan's family, have cookies for breakfast and take some more walks, snowy this time. It's feeling like the right place to be, and at the right time.

I just wanted to take this moment to thank all the people who come here and take their precious time to read my silly little blog. Without you, it would be harder to keep it all up. I hope your holiday season is as good as mine, and that you too have some time to just relax and unwind.

Merry Christmas!

Happy Christmas Eve

I've always been a fan of 'Twas the Night Before Christmas. It's a pretty well-written poem. Vivid, pictorial, has a great narrative. And some really wonderful word-painting. Some of my favorite lines:

The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow

Gave the lustre of mid-day to objects below,

Now, granted there's no moon and no snow in this picture. And maybe it doesn't even look exactly like mid-day. But there is luster, you have to grant me that. (And I am NOT British, so I will not spell it lustre. No matter how many times you try to force me.)

This concludes the holiday poetry portion of the blog for 2010. Tune in next Dec 24th, when I attempt to illustrate

And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.

with a picture of a down pillow. Or some such nonsense.

The Ferry Building, and Resolutions

SF Ferry Building, tonight. We had some LOVELY weather in SF today. I may have even seen the sun out for hours at a time!

It's been a long week, I won't lie. A couple of mornings I've wanted to hit snooze, roll over, hide under the pillow, and go back to sleep. But, fortunately for me, I haven't.

And fortunately for all of us, the week is over. (Unless you have to work tomorrow. In which case, that sucks. My sincerest apologies.)

Anyway, it's been kind of an amazing year. Back in January I made some resolutions, and for a while it seemed like they might not happen. But  . . . then actually they mostly did.

Shoot More Portraits. I can still improve on this one, but I have made progress. Like with Miguel. And Barrie. And Lara. And a few others that I haven't blogged. I've been braver about sticking my camera in other people's faces, and that's only to the good.

Get Paid. I did it! I'll be sharing the gory details (well, some of them) with you all soon enough. But I have finally made some money from my passion. Yes!!

Increase My Percentage of Keepers. Well, this one's tough. I think I have. But honestly, if I haven't, I'm not fussed. What I feel I have done, which is more important, is improved my overall photography. And that counts more. 

Print More. I did. And then I made a book. And I taped my prints all over my walls. Check! What I really need now is more wall space. I'm kind of running out.

What's up for next year? You'll have to wait until January to find out . . . .

*So, how did you do on your resolutions? Feel free to confess or brag in the comments section.*

Another Cat Photo!

Sorry I've been MIA, I've had lots of photography-related business recently. I'll tell you all about it soon, I promise!

Happy Tape, AKA the cheapest frames ever

 As some of you may know, my living situation for the past year has been a little unstable. We're still renovating, so the walls I have now are not the walls of my future. Due to that, and the general cost of frames, I haven't put much of my work on the walls.

That  is, until recently. I stumbled across a site called Happy Tape a while back, that sells Japanese paper tape (kind of like blue tape, or painter's tape, but in cool colors and designs. And then I saw a blog post where this delightful tape was used as a cheap alternative to wallpaper.

And I had a great idea. Why not use it as a frame? Wayy cheaper than traditional frames, no holes in the wall. Not going to pull off the paint, which is good. And temporary, but permanent enough. Why not?

So I did. I recommend it. I printed out a bunch of my NY photos, and I also put up some previously printed Thailand shots.
 I used the make-a-frame two pack, but you could probably go hog wild, and color coordinate with your prints, or use silver and gold to make it look extra fancy. The sky's the limit!

Self portrait? With annoying ring flash.