Photography

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Photography: Generational Woods

Mom said she wanted witchy photos in the woods. She wanted to dance in the moonlight and howl. She wanted pointy hats and dark makeup. She wanted her vision of us to be captured forever.

What she didn’t say is generational pain lives in our bones and she wants us to be free. She didn’t say mortality knocks and time moves oh so quickly. She didn’t say let’s be stronger, my dearies, and stop letting others control our happiness. She didn’t have to.

Mom said she wanted witchy photos in the woods. I gave them to her, minus the hats.

This is for you Mom, the one who gives and loves so big, who taught me to be strong, and who carries so much and still laughs. I hope you like the photos and know how much you are loved.

“You’re breaking generational curses. That’s why this doesn’t come easy for you. You’re who your bloodline has been waiting for.” —unknown

  • These photos are of my mom, my daughter, and me. All photos were taken with an Olympus OM-D and edited with ON1 Photo RAW, except the last one and it’s a screenshot from a small video I took on my iPhone 13. My talented daughter took the photos I’m in.

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Photography: Blue Moon

Surrounded by the pink sky, the blue moon winks at the girl walking with her brother and his little dog. The moon knows the unspoken things they don’t say to each other. The dog does too. The wind blows softly and the waves lap against the shore. Seagulls watch and the girl can’t help but wonder if they are the same ones she saw last time.

“I’m okay,” she wants to call to them, even though she’s not sure it’s true.

It could be.

“Here I came to the very edge
where nothing at all needs saying,
everything is absorbed through weather and the sea,
and the moon swam back,
its rays all silvered,
and time and again the darkness would be broken
by the crash of a wave,
and every day on the balcony of the sea,
wings open, fire is born,
and everything is blue again like morning. “
—Pablo Neruda

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I saw the eighth full moon of the year while at Dillion’s Beach with my brother, mother, and my two teenagers. These are my favorite full moon photos so far. I know they are kind of repetitive, but I liked so many and hope you do too. Please let me know if you have a favorite.

Also, I’m considering entering a photo contest. More on that soon!

Oh, and here’s my brother’s dog Henry. Isn’t he cute in his little sweater?

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

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Photography: San Francisco

Take a trip with me to the iconic city of San Francisco. We will stroll the Ferry Building, visit Fisherman’s Wharf, and spend a fair amount of time in Chinatown. Will finish our evening beside the beautiful Golden Gate Bridge. Let me know if you have a favorite image.

“In San Francisco—life goes on. Hope rises and dreams flicker and die. Love plans for tomorrow and loneliness thinks of yesterday. Life is beautiful and living is pain. The sound of music floats down a dark street. A young girl looks out a window and wishes she were married. A drunk sleeps under a bridge. It is tomorrow.”
—Hunter S. Thompson

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These photos were taken with an Olympus OM-D and edited with ON1 Photo RAW. Here’s a bonus selfie photo taken with my cellphone.

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Photography: Folsom Lake


I spent an evening at the lake with my daughter and her best friend. We swam in the murky water with ducks and seagulls. A beautiful crane watched us from afar as the sky turned gold. While I search for balance in my life, I’m still creating. For now, that’s enough. Let me know if you have a favorite photo and thank you for all the love and support you continue to show me.

“‘YOU are the big drop of dew under the lotus leaf,
I am the smaller one on its upper side,’
said the dewdrop to the lake.”—Rabindranath Tagore

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These photos were taken with an Olympus OM-D and edited with ON1 Photo RAW. Here’s a bonus selfie photo taken with my cellphone.

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Photography: Beach Camping

A few weeks ago I threw my couch cushions into the back of my van and went camping with family. It was only two nights, but the ocean was incredibly healing. I read some books, sang songs, and ate roasted marshmallows. I hope these photos transport you for a moment. Let me know if you have a favorite.

“If nature has made you for a giver, your hands are born open, and so is your heart; and though there may be times when your hands are empty, your heart is always full, and you can give things out of that—warm things, kind things, sweet things—help and comfort and laughter—and sometimes gay, kind laughter is the best help of all.”—Frances Hodgson Burnett, “A Little Princess”

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

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Photography: Buck Moon

She walks into the artificial wilderness on unsteady feet and looks around. Nothing seems real. Perhaps she’s fallen. Perhaps she’s dreaming. Perhaps she’s lost her mind. It’s not until she looks up that she finds herself.

“There you are moon,” she says.

The moon says nothing back and she feels better.

“If I had a world of my own, everything would be nonsense. Nothing would be what it is, because everything would be what it isn’t. And contrary wise, what is, it wouldn’t be. And what it wouldn’t be, it would. You see?”
—Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland

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The seventh full moon found me feeling lost. I’m surrounded by tough things; sudden death, cancer, money troubles, injury, hurt friendships, and mental health struggles. Those I love are hurting and I feel helpless. So, here we have some photos that aren’t exactly right. They are a bit nonsensical. I hope you like them. Let me know if you have a favorite.

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

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Photography: 4th of July

You-ou-ou, you got the right
Stand up for yourself, we’ve just begun to fight
Ain’t no way we’re going back in time
Forward to the future baby, yours and mine
—RuPaul, American

It’s not easy to love America right now, yet I’m tired of those seeking to destroy freedom while disguising it as patriotism. If you haven’t heard the RuPaul song “American,” go listen. It’s the energy I brought into the holiday yesterday. It’s how I fight back.

I attended a local 4th of July parade in the morning with my daughter, her best friend, my sweet nephew, his dad, my goddaughter, and her family. It was terribly hot, but it felt nice to just smile and wave for a bit. Sometimes we fight and sometimes we rest. Let me know if you have a favorite image and have a great week.

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  • All photos were taken by me using an Olympus OM-D and edited with ON1 Photo RAW.

At the end of the night, we drove to watch the big fireworks show. We couldn’t find a place to park and drove around in circles for over an hour. I was about to give up when the show started and all the cars stopped. We happened to be stopped RIGHT where the fireworks were being set off. Life can be so hard, but it can also be unexpectedly wonderful.

Here’s a grainy screenshot from a video my daughter’s best friend took.
Look how close we are!
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Photography: The Sacramento Zoo

Last week I took my mom and 5-year-old nephew to the Sacramento Zoo. We saw plenty of lovely animals, but the flamingos on their nests stole the show. Let me know if you have a favorite image and I hope you are having a wonderful day.

“When I draw it, I’m going to make my skin see-through and what you’ll see is that all the animals in the zoo of me have broken out of their cages.”—Jandy Nelson

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All photos were taken by me using an Olympus OM-D and edited with ON1 Photo RAW.

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Photography: Strawberry Moon

Darkness swallows the city. I drive for hours looking for the moon until I find it beside the courthouse at the top of the hill. It’s lit for the Fourth of July, a beacon of patriotic light.

“I’m going to live there someday,” I used to say. An entire childhood spent dreaming of a place that wasn’t at all what I thought it was. 

I park near an antique shop and stare at the oddities inside. Cars streak by below. The moon blends into the city lights as a warm breeze dances around a patch of thorns.

“Does time ever feel like it’s not moving normally? Like it’s all out of whack?”—Maddy, I Saw the TV Glow

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The sixth full moon of the year arrived the day after the summer solstice. I set out fairly late and felt uninspired by the view until I drove to Auburn and found my favorite building. These aren’t very “strawberry moon,” but I like them anyway. Let me know if you have a favorite.

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

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Photography: Foggy Morning

The sea spoke of you. Its voice, usually thundering and loud, lowered to a rhythmic whisper. I listened as the fog hugged the sand and the birds scurried in search of scuttling breakfast. I listened as my heart hurt for the world and my beautiful baby girl turned 17. I listened as your pain became mine and my pain became yours. I listened and listened as my body felt it all, as my heart broke and repaired itself again and again and again. I listened. The sea spoke of you.

“To the ocean I offered a seed 
and its body dissolved it
like time, composing
a life.” —Howard Altmann

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We are at Dillion Beach (yes, again) celebrating my daughter’s 17th birthday. I’m amazed I can still find things to delight my camera and I hope you are too. Please let me know if you have a favorite. As usual, these were taken with my Olympus OM-D and edited with ON1 Photo RAW.