Photography

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Photography: Road Trip


This week I was reminded again at how complicated emotions can be, at how we can hold both tremendous grief and overwhelming love in the same breath. It was a week of tragedy, connection, rock camp, fairy doors, bubbles, car talks, and two panic attacks. 

Would I argue with the rain or clouds or the ocean itself?  I see faces, I see shapes, I see love wanting only to freely bloom.  I think I won’t complain.–Neil Reid

I’m still struggling, but I’m finding my way forward. Part of that path involves showing up here with you, even if I have to fight myself to do it.

About a month ago, my daughter and I drove up the coast of California into Oregon and Washington. Although this trip wasn’t what I had hoped, I got some pretty photos. Here are some of the best from day one.

I’d love to know if you have a favorite photo; can you guess mine?

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  • These photos were taken with an Olympus OM-D and edited with ON1 Photo RAW.
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Photography: Sacramento County Fair

On Monday, I spent the morning at the Sacramento County Fair with my camera. As a former 4-H member, I had a wonderful time chatting with the kids about their animals. I was especially interested in the goats, as I’ve started working on a re-write of my middle-grade novel which features a tiny goat by the name of Grizz. Research and cuteness—double win!

Let me know if you have a favorite photo and I hope you have a fantastic day.

Note: I’m sorry my blog has been so sporadic the last year. I’ve been terrible about reading blogs and posting. So many things are happening. I had my second book-signing. The poetry book honoring Neil Reid is halfway completed. I’m working on launching a new monthly newsletter. My daughter, my baby, is turning 18. I’m not giving up on this blog or my connection to this beautiful WordPress community. I’m working out ways to be more involved soon. Stay tuned and thank you for continuing to support me. It means the world to me!

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#15 Magician Murray Hatfield

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  • These photos were taken with an Olympus OM-D and edited with ON1 Photo RAW.

Here’s a bonus photo of me showing my horse, Rocket, at the county fair a million years ago. Aren’t we adorable?

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Photography: May Day

It can be hard right now to think about light streaming through ribbons, flowers, and youthful hearts, but the world still contains all the beautiful things it always has. Let me take you away from the news for a moment as we dance around the May pole and celebrate the spirit of spring. Let me know if you have a favorite photo and have a wonderful day.

“It is spring again. The earth is like a child that knows poems by heart.”
—Rainer Maria Rilke

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  • These photos were taken with an Olympus OM-D and edited with ON1 Photo RAW.
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Photography: Pink Moon

I haven’t chased the moon for ages, but this morning I did. With my daughter in the passenger seat, we drove through country roads looking for ways to capture the beauty in the sky before us. The pink moon, the moon of rebirth and change, played with us. It hid behind the puffs of a factory, near a barbed wire fence, between trees, within flowers, and amongst the birds. It even tried to compete with the sunrise. I found it for you. I hope it reminds you it’s never too late to try again. Let me know if you have a favorite photo and have a fantastic week!

Pulling us closer into its orbit,
shining the light of its fullness into the room,
we turn to hold in our hands
each other’s face as if
for the first time,
and the last—
Pink Moon, Egg Moon, Moon of New Grass.
—Cathy Song, April Moon

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  • These photos were taken with an Olympus OM-D and edited with ON1 Photo RAW.
  • Pink Moon 2024
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Photography: St. Patrick’s Day Parade

On Saturday, I attended the St. Patrick’s Day parade in Old Sacramento. Although I have mixed feelings about how the holiday portrays Irish people and the history around St. Patrick, it felt nice to forget politics and wave at dogs for a while.

I ran into a co-worker from my old Sacramento Bee days and met her adorable daughter. She remembered I always wore Docs and Converse. While many things have changed about me in the last 20 years, I still wear the same shoes.

Let me know if you have a favorite photo. Have a wonderful Monday!

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  • These photos were taken with an Olympus OM-D and edited with ON1 Photo RAW.

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Photography: Dillon Beach

In 44 days, my book will be out into the world. A book with my words inside and my name on the cover. It’s a strange feeling still buried beneath all the details of self-publishing, but I wanted to acknowledge it here. With you.

This week, I got the Library of Congress number and started Instagram promotions. Next week, I’ll receive my proof copy, meet the bookstore manager to plan the book signing event, reveal the cover, and begin pre-orders.

It’s all happening.

It feels like it did when I published my first blog post—terrifying. Will anyone but my mom buy it? I recently came across an interview with David Bowie where he said, “If you feel safe in the area that you’re working in, you’re not working in the right area. Always go a little further into the water than you feel you’re capable of being in. Go a little bit out of your depth, and when you don’t feel that your feet are quite touching the bottom, you’re just about in the right place to do something exciting.”

I’m going out of my depth, and it’s scary.

So for today, I’m going to share with you photos from a recent trip I took to Dillion Beach. Photos of water, birds, and starfish. These photos make me feel safe and I hope you like them. Let me know if you have a favorite, and I’ll see you next week with my heart in my hands.

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  • These photos were taken with an Olympus OM-D and edited with ON1 Photo RAW.

Over on my Instagram, I’m showcasing the vibe of each of the short stories in my collection. I hope you’ll consider checking it out.

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Photography: Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

“And now we welcome the new year. Full of things that have never been.”—Rainer Maria Rilke

It’s been a season of reading books, doing puzzles, snuggling under blankets, and savoring the warmth of my home. Big goals and plans are on the horizon, but right now I’m moving slowly and feeling fully into where I am at this moment.

Thank you to everyone who has read my blog this year despite my sporadic and inconsistent pattern. It’s been a year of tremendous highs and lows. I am mourning loss and also feeling incredibly blessed for new people who have come into my life.

May your New Year’s Eve and all next year swirl with beauty, love, peace, and hope.

I’m glad you are here.

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  • As always, photos were taken by me with an Olympus OM-D and edited with ON1 Photo RAW.

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Photography: Cold Moon

Although it was our last session together, the full moon hid from me. It danced among the snow but wouldn’t sit still long enough to capture it. I looked for light and cold instead. Winter held within a single frame. Tell me, can you feel it?

Moon rises fair and fleece.
Dark crow upon the fence outside.
Night thought, like snow concealed.
—Neil Reid

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I had high hopes and big plans for this final photo shoot, but the weather did not cooperate. I went out three different times but clouds and rain made it quite difficult. All the same, I hope you enjoyed this last installment and all 12 months of full moon photos. I learned a lot this year! Stay tuned for some big announcements in the coming weeks. I’ve got ideas for a new project and I’m still working on publishing my short story collection.

As always, all photos were taken by me with an Olympus OM-D and edited with ON1 Photo RAW. Let me know if you have a favorite and have a wonderful week.

One final note. For those who knew Neil Reid, I’m sad to say he passed away earlier this month. I wrote a tribute to him on his blog today, but I wanted to honor him here too. I will miss his comments, letters, and beautiful poetry. He taught me a poem is a poem if you say it is and to love B I G. I will miss him.

Neil’s kitties.
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Photography: Mountain Retreat

Last week I spent time recharging and writing in a beautiful house on Cobb Mountain. My creative, giving, and loving friends helped me figure out the title of the short story book I’ll be self-publishing in April. I wrote the introduction and edited several stories. They were invaluable in listening to me rattle on about my dreams and fears.

In this tumultuous time in America, it felt good to surround myself with strong women. We need each other more now than ever.

“They will want you seated, conformed, and quiet but don’t you dare fit in. Scream the house down if it’s what it will take to make your noise heard. The divine feminine has been shamed and shunned for self-expression for far too long, we aren’t here to silence ourselves anymore.”—Nikki Rowe

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As always, all photos were taken by me with an Olympus OM-D and edited with ON1 Photo RAW. Let me know if you have a favorite and have a wonderful week.

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Photography: Beaver Moon

For a moment I lost hope. Fear stuck in my belly and made me sick. I didn’t recognize my country anymore so I chased the moon with my camera. I couldn’t go over the pain. I couldn’t go under it. Oh no! I would have to go through it.

I’m not through it, not even close, but I found a few things to help. Rice fields at sunrise. Cranes taking flight. Gold-tinged farmland. You. We’ve got a long way to go and we need each other. So this is me holding my hand out to you. We are in this together.

“We all—adults and children, writers and readers—have an obligation to daydream. We have an obligation to imagine. It is easy to pretend that nobody can change anything, that we are in a world in which society is huge and the individual is less than nothing: an atom in a wall, a grain of rice in a rice field. But the truth is, individuals change their world over and over, individuals make the future, and they do it by imagining that things can be different.”—Neil Gaiman

*In case you didn’t recognize the reference above, it’s from the delightful children’s book We’re Going on a Bear Hunt.

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As always, all photos were taken by me with an Olympus OM-D and edited with ON1 Photo RAW. Let me know if you have a favorite and have a wonderful week. Only ONE full moon left! What?!!