These Are A Few of My Favorite Things...

I like to get people talking about themselves, their lives and their favorite things when I photograph them, but lately, it seems like my clients and subjects have been turning the tables on me and asking me to tell them about myself.  Hey that's my line!  My initial list obviously included my family and dog, but one of my clients told me since that was a given, to name 10 more.  This weekend, we spent some time on a weekend project that included several items on my list--a new full wall of reclaimed wood headboard, so I thought it'd be a good time to share my 10 favorite things that keep me happy in no certain order.

"When the dog bites, when the bee stings
When I'm feeling sad
I simply remember my favorite things
And then I don't feel so bad"  My Favorite Things, Sound of Music

1. Leopard.  I don't like carpet (our house is all tile and hardwood) but if I did, the carpet would be leopard.  I have Ralph Lauren leopard sheets for our old queen bed, but now that we have a king, I can't find any.  And I love wearing anything leopard.  But it has to be a really great pattern--some patterns can be not so great.  I do consider it a neutral.

2.  Reclaiming.  (Also known in some circles as thrifting, or the thrill of the hunt)  Whether a flea market, off the street, from the dumpster or from Goodwill or a garage sale.  I'm not afraid of a little work to turn trash to treasure and if I can't find room for it in our house, I'll sell it.  Win win, right?

3.  Gardening.  I love my drought tolerant garden.  It fulfills me on so many levels--it's great exercise in a non traditional way, it exercises my creative spirit and yet, lets me zone out in a non thinking way.

4.  Pinterest.  Sometimes I'll create a board for a client or a client will share their board with me, but really, I just use it to pin all those pretty pictures of fantastic living rooms and dream kitchens, crafts and recipes that I may never get to.  It's my guilty pleasure on Sunday mornings while Michael reads the paper and we drink coffee.  (which is bad because I can come up with all kinds of Sunday projects for him!)

5.  Photography. Obviously.  I cannot go anywhere without composing an image.  I guess that could be a curse, but I love figuring out how I would light and compose something.  My husband is terrific at containing me when I shouldn't be shooting (as in holding my phone hostage at a recent wedding where we were guests) but he can't contain my thinking about it!

6.  The ocean.  I am definitely a water baby and love being near the water.  Many mornings find me by the water taking a walk to start the day.  There have been several opportunities to leave California but besides my parents, the ocean is what I would miss most.

7.  Spanish stuff.  I love spanish tile.  I love dark woods.  I like to think of our house as spanish, rustic, bohemian modern.  That's a term, right?   I think I might have been a spaniard in a past life.

8. Coffee.  It's my grandma's fault.  When I was little, she let me put a couple of teaspoons in my milk.  I'm not one to drink coffee during the day, but that (LARGE) cup in the morning is heaven. Add to that my husband brings it to me most every morning in bed.  Can you say lucky?

9.  Reclaimed wood.  Honestly, almost all wood.  Except for honey oak.  Which is what my kitchen cabinets are.  Someday when I have a week without anything to do, (hahaha!!)  I'll stain them, (or rip them out!) but until then, I hang air plants and pretend that my kitchen is bohemian chic.

10.  Music.  I love a wide variety of music.  It gets me moving when I'm working out, it keeps me pumped while I'm working, and  provides the background to living.  There's a special place in my heart for 70's, Justin Timberlake and Steely Dan but I'll listen to just about anything.

So, hey, there you go.  10 of my favorite things.  Now we can get back to your favorite things--do we have any in common?

What I know now.

This morning, I dropped my daughter at theatre camp.  It's the last week before school starts and she's been looking forward to it all summer.  During the parent orientation, the director made a comment that was something like, "it's the week before school starts and parents AREN'T YOU EXCITED!!!!" And my daughter looked back at me with a quizzical look and I shook my head no.

It's been the shortest summer on record.  School starts earlier for us this year and that certainly doesn't help.  This being a summer full of worry for my daughter (she's starting middle school--eek!), we've been hanging out a ton and talking, talking, talking.  And it's been really cool.

And for some reason, I've been very affected by the parents of the high school seniors I shot this year, watching their kids go off to college.  Perhaps it's my own kid heading to middle school or perhaps I'm just projecting into the future--I don't know, but it just seems like it's going really, really fast.  And I just can't savor the time enough.

The first thing people said to me as a new parent was to savor the days, they'll go by so quickly.  I didn't know.

We were at the store the other day, and my daughter was picking out something for her room--so excited because it was something that she really, really loved.  As she stood, deciding between blue and pink, a woman came up and watched her.  I asked the woman if I was in her way and moved to the side of the aisle so she could pass, but she said no, she was just enjoying watching the obvious joy my daughter was emitting.  And then she looked at me and said, "Tomorrow she'll be married."

And the trouble is, now I know this is true.  And so I savor the moments with this girl as much as I can, because tomorrow will be here before I know it.

Featuring: Senior portraits--Blake Duarte

When Blake's mom called to inquire about senior portraits, we spoke for some time and I learned so much about her relationship with her son.  And when we ultimately met to photograph him, I was able to see their amazing relationship first hand.

I can't imagine yet what it's like to have your only child ready to venture off to college and conquer the world, so I watch and learn from the wonderful mothers of the seniors I photograph, so that when the time comes and my own little bird flies from the nest, I might be just a little more prepared.  Maybe.

Thanks to his parents, I feel confident that Blake will be soaring.

Dreaming about the things that could be.

Photographing high school seniors is like standing on the precipice of the world.  I don't even know if that makes sense, I just know that when I'm photographing them, the feeling of the world being wide open for the taking is just palatable.  

Last week, photographing this young woman, with her infectious giggle and beautiful smile, made me think about all the things that could be.  Sophie, you've got this!

Want to see more senior sessions?  Here, here and here.

Are you a high school senior standing on the edge of the world? Let's create images that really show who you are--there's only a few weeks left!  Talk to you soon!

Own every second.

"Hoping you take that jump
But don't fear the fall
Hope when the water rises
You built a wall
Hoping the crowd screams out
Screaming your name
Hope if everybody runs
You choose to stay"

"I, I did it all
I, I did it all
I owned every second
That this world could give
I saw so many places
And things that I did girl
With every broken bone
I swear I lived"

One Republic


Honestly, I'm a little speechless--but as I was editing, One Republic's I Lived came on and the words just fit.  I've only scratched the surface of Carly's senior portraits and I can't believe all the gorgeous-ness of her.   

There are great things in store for you Carly--own every second.