sara remington

take out the reaction of the person on the receiving end of your 'yes' or 'no' decision...

2011-12-19T08:30:00.000-08:00

...and you'll learn to trust what you want and need instead of what you think others want you to want.

I found a box of old photos, unorganized, there for no other reason in that it gives me joy to forget about them and discover them again and again. A shot of my dad in his 20s with a very important mustache caption, my grandpa looking charming at a party in the 70s on the porch, my mom and dad’s wedding gifts circa early 70s, and a love letter from my grandpa to my grandma before they were married (previously posted in 2008)- all surreal and lovely and create a non-cohesive story of comfort, family. Below are bits and pieces of the love letters all in one:

Dearest,
One week from today we will be well on our way. Whether north, or south, or east, or west, which direction is the best? Keep on guessing Katie dear, and before very long I'll be near...Freddy and I went to the movies early this afternoon and saw Primrose Path. It made us lonelier...I really felt lonesome about 8 o'clock Saturday night when I usually called you, and I knew you were thinking of me too Katie. I really have missed you so much. All the clothes in the store windows remind me of the things you like and the dresses I hope you can wear. Katie dearest in less than a week we shall be with each other and will have so much to say...I'll write you again before I leave. If you get a chance write me a note in Rochester, a last line for your best boyfriend. I love you dearly. Your, John.

france vs. italy or italy vs. france

2011-10-09T14:58:00.000-07:00

I realized a few things during the 'Italy and France shoot adventure' (starting with landing in Milan, driving to Franciacorta, driving to the Cinque Terre coast, ending in Genoa, train to Nice, Italian train strike in Ventimiglia then quick 10 minute 80 Euro cab ride over the border, another train to Nice, a few days there, another train to Paris, drive to Fountainbleau with a little rock climbing on the side, drive to Charles de Gaulle, sit in 3 hours of traffic, flight to SF, mini wine bottles most of the way home):

- Italian drivers are the BEST. They have a mission and they’re not afraid to ride your bumper. I brought back some of the same driving skills to SF. I am the one behind you honking while you do 15 mph in a 40.
- No matter how good your GPS is, you’re probably going to end up on some muddy mountainside road blocked with some mountain animal.
- The more camera gear I carry on my back, the more I will eat pasta and heavy creamy stuff.
- If I have an absolute, nailed down shot list, 99% of the time it’ll be thrown out the window and something even better comes out of shooting in the moment. Less concrete = more fluid = sexier.

detroit rock city.

2011-09-26T13:59:00.000-07:00

Detroit. This is where I’ve been shooting for the past week. My friend Shawn inspires me to experience each assignment city so that I don’t fall into the cycle of shooting 10 hour days, back to the hotel, TV, room service, and repeat. So this time, after our shoot wrapped, it was downtown Detroit, totally surreal. Driving through, it felt like a war zone; every other house is abandoned, every other factory is a busted out shell, and some blocks are essentially a modern day ghost town. Because a lot of the buildings are owned by the city, you can easily walk in without technically trespassing. Even if you were, the cops have better things to do then to bust some 5 foot tall lady with a camera. These are from the Fisher Body 21 plant, used for car body assembly, and the Packard Car Plant, once a legend for building high end autos.

All I heard was the sound of dripping water (remains of the storm from the day before), the echo of footsteps, and occasional wind gust.

be small forever

2011-09-16T10:21:00.000-07:00

I want to recreate something bigger and brighter and more strange than it really is. This is the only way I feel like I can really make things interesting after the fact. Seeing them in real life is boring. The reality is boring. But when they're recreated, the unreal possibilities can be perfect. I miss the way I saw Paris and Provence when I was little. Everything was like a dream. Why did I remember some things like it was yesterday more than others, like how the cold cobblestone felt on my knees or the sound of the rocks on the beach being sucked back into the sea while my head was under the salty water?

I tried frozen lemons with citron sorbet for the first time. And now what I'll remember is the sound of my spoon scraping the sides of the frozen lemon. We can probably make a tiny symphony with only those sounds - rocks, water, scraping.

A film awakening…

2011-08-13T15:25:00.000-07:00

The image of the woman with the pink shirt reminds me of when I was 5 or 6, and we were at a house of my parent’s friend in France. They were gutting a chicken and all the organs were laid out on the table. One of the kids grabbed my hand and said with a cute French accent: ‘touch! touch!’ as I watched her push my finger to put a dent in what looked like a kidney or liver. They were all so slimy and I thought they were going to start moving and crawling off the table.

The image of the table reminds me of the hours and hours we’re ‘forced’ to stay and eat dinner each night. Do you remember what your parents made you eat and you couldn’t leave the table until you finished it? Mine was usually steak, and I remember endlessly chewing until it was completely mushy and tasteless, kind of like chewing on a wet sock.

en français, si vous plait

2011-07-19T00:21:00.000-07:00

1. the sound of rolling thunder while the big dog snores on the tiles as you eat bread with honey.
2. thoughts as a run on sentence like this: what if bees wore tiny leisure suits and had tiny briefcases because it's like grand central station and wall street all wrapped in one in a big sunflower field and they are paid in honey!
3. relive your life a second time exploring a tiny detail.
4. chocolate on your face.
5. broken french.
6. melon and croque monsieur and yogurt and rose.
7. delicious.
8. c'est tout.

amazing food for thought from GOOD Magazine....

2011-05-30T15:10:00.000-07:00

Let's make better mistakes tomorrow. Let's scratch our heads and give up and wake up and try again. Let's fail at digging the well the first three times to get it right the fourth. Let's build faster horses and then strap rocket ships onto them. Let's start a company, let's watch it fail, and then let's start another one. Let's be the boss. Let's take the boss down. Let's order too much of something just to see what our limits are. Let's take a chance precisely because it might fail. Let's take the hard way out. Let's go to the moon. Fuck it; let's go to the moon again. Let's quit our jobs. Let's work at being better at what we do by fucking up faster, not less. Let's fuck up really fast. Let's wrestle sharks, fight monsters, and disagree with the board. Let's borrow so much money it becomes someone else's problem. Let's start a 10 hour drive by announcing "I'm not into you anymore". Let's dump everything out of the garage onto the sidewalk and build something really cool in that space. Let's start out to build a better mousetrap, and halfway there let's decide to jump on the mice's team. Let's bet on a longshot. Let's buy her a drink. Let's start baking bread in our cubicle. Let's try bringing fresh water to distant villages precisely because we have no idea how to do it. Let's pool our money. Let's take their money. Let's solve that hard problem. You know that one that keeps you up at night? Let's tackle that bastard. Let it kick our ass a few times, and then finally get it right. Let's find out what's at the bottom of the ocean. Let's tame the Kraken. Let's just fucking tell people we've read Infinite Jest and move on. Let's forgive our parents. Let's do something with the goddamed planet. Let's rent an electric generator and open a food cart that sells nothing but frosted PopTarts, but makes a lot of fucking noise. Let's have a breakthrough. Let's have a breakdown. Let's agree that bruises fade, bones heal, hearts mend, and tomorrow we're right back on that horse and that THIS TIME! we've at least got another rocket strapped to it's back.

discovering some old work: 2001 - 2005

2011-04-26T10:25:00.000-07:00

success / intuition / letters from the east coast of Italy, aka wine makes everything better.

2011-04-20T04:55:00.000-07:00

Success: it can be designing, executing, and continuously breathing life into a brand with a clearly defined vision that projects vast influence and recognition for change and growth. Or just being perfectly happy doing exactly what you’re doing at this moment, accepting it as it is.

Intuition: 'In the act of tearing something apart, you lose its meaning.' Malcolm Gladwell

Relaying into semi related new letters post; overheard in Italy: ‘I must drink wine; if I drink water, I will rust’.

this can be about anything or anyone.

2011-01-26T22:36:00.000-08:00

I don’t care how long it takes I will wait for you.
if I'm done with what I have now and you're not there, I’ll still be happy to know that you exist and you changed my life and now I can live a different way. your ideas change me, your life changes me, I already know I love you, you can make me dream again, and I know I love you. I loved you before I knew you.

slow.

2010-10-22T23:04:00.000-07:00

This is how I've fallen in love again. Mamiya C330 and film. It forces you to slow down and focus. I feel like I've gone from spraying machine gun bullets with my digital to a slingshot and a rock with film. If it had a voice, it would probably call me on my birthday, send me flowers, and tell me everything is going to be okay, if we can all just slow down and realize this is why we started loving photography/art/life in the first place.

letters from paris and provence, part 2

2010-10-04T09:59:00.000-07:00

We can be in the same room together and we don't have to say a word; we're totally comfortable and just know...

letters from provence

2010-09-29T09:59:00.000-07:00

dear provence,
will you marry me? I can't live without you.

letters from paris, part 1

2010-09-24T11:27:00.000-07:00

dear paris,
i love you. on a scale from 1 to 10, how much do you love me?

looking back at what we did makes me want to go back.

2010-08-27T17:45:00.000-07:00

The biggest gift that extreme emotion can give us is that the most intense beauty can emerge from it. This sounds ridiculously cliché, but once you experience it first hand, you’ll know. You’ll know. Within the core of the core of the self lies something deeply awesome, but no one ever wants to go there because it can be really painful. Once you enter this 'awesome / painful' area, all you can and should do to feel in control is grab as much inspiration as possible. I had a writing teacher in high school give me the best, shortest advice: ‘don’t think about it, just write’. That is what I’m doing when I’m writing this paragraph: no stopping, just banging my fingers on the keys. I then go back and change, tweak, whatever, but when I’m writing, my head is separate from my body. My heart is doing the word purging, my head is off to the side, waiting to weigh in when necessary. The struggle to create is as important as the creation itself.

And I end with: my camera is the greatest relationship I’ve ever had: it’s always been there for me, it always delivers, it waits patiently without judgement, it’s always honest, it will never leave.

on the way to something else.

2010-07-25T19:23:00.001-07:00

One summer. 12 round trip Southwest flights. Put your child's oxygen mask on before yours! 24 mini bottles of terrible Sutter Home wine (to and from destination). 24 mini bags of peanuts. Turbulence. Excitement. Recycled air. Seats and tray tables in their upright positions.

new project: plum gorgeous

2010-07-08T12:34:00.000-07:00

Hello again. Working on a new project with Nani Steele, and she creates the most simple, incredible tastes and flavors with her dishes. And she works like a true artist. It's like a Jackson Pollock painting in your mouth. Or like that scene in 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory', where Violet eats the three-course meal piece of gum and is shouting names of the dishes she tastes. Like this: cinnamon! cardamom! fennel! honey! spicy! sweet! delicious!
All these polaroids with a poem by William Carlos Williams:

I have eaten
the plums
that were in
the icebox

and which
you were probably
saving
for breakfast

Forgive me
they were delicious
so sweet
and so cold

(old) letters from France

2010-06-15T14:48:00.000-07:00

I’ve been thinking a lot about France. Not just the food, but having these elaborate daydreams of shutting myself in a three room apartment, writing (most likely about shutting myself in a three room apartment in Paris and how romantic it can [or should] be) and photographing objects of memory. It can be something so simple as the smallest bit of peeling paint on the ceiling, but it’s peeling paint “in France”. I wish there was a way I could capture old, squeaky, wood floors in French apartments.

There are days, like today, where I feel like I want to stop time and live in the photos. I’m always looking to the next thing, one day ends faster than the next, and the only time it seems I get to really experience what I’ve seen is after the fact, in a photograph.

And there are other days, when I wish my eyes were cameras, and every time I blinked I took a photo. At the end of my life, I look at the hard drive in my head full of these subconscious memories, and it will feel like living a life all over again, but for the first time…

pancakes

2010-04-05T13:46:00.000-07:00

This idea popped in my head while sitting in traffic on the Bay Bridge. What better way to spend a Saturday then to make pancakes the size of steering wheels doused in a bucket of maple syrup? We ended the shoot in a sugar frenzy, running around the park. Zing!

letters from athens / crete / evvia

2010-03-29T06:59:00.000-07:00

I have many places on my long list to visit and eat and drink (noodles in southeast Asia, ham in Spain, Australia, more Argentina, Chile, Africa, anywhere and anything to eat in Mexico, Saag Paneer in India, Turkey, more Malbec in Argentina, Alaska, sushi in Japan, Peking duck in China, camp food in the Westy all over the US making stops at funny diners and useless tourist destinations) and I couldn't think of anything in Greece that would suck me in. Then comes my assignment to Crete and Evvia, and all of a sudden I taste the ocean in everything I eat. And eat. And eat. And the food doesn't stop coming until you really say 'I honestly can't fit another thing in my stomach'. It's good, healthy food, full of fish and greens. Heart disease is virtually unheard of over there, yet smoking a pack of cigarettes a day seems like the norm. Give up your lungs, but you have a healthy heart full of vitamins and omega-3.
Crete is one of those places where I would throw the map out the window. Where are we going? Who cares! Look at those sheep with giant bells, and the pine trees, and narrow alleyways, and abandoned structures, and that guy with a speedo, black socks, loafers, and a cigarette dangling! He looks like a sexy Henry Kissinger.

the art of appearance

2010-02-28T11:43:00.000-08:00

This is an article written a few years ago about a fascinating experiment with world renowned classical violinist Joshua Bell. Joshua began playing "Chaconne" from Johann Sebastian Bach's Partita No. 2 in D Minor on a cold January morning in a Washington DC subway during rush hour. Bell called this piece "not just one of the greatest pieces of music ever written, but one of the greatest achievements of any man in history. It's a spiritually powerful piece, emotionally powerful, structurally perfect.”

The result was this: in the three-quarters of an hour that Joshua Bell played, seven people stopped what they were doing to hang around and take in the performance, at least for a minute. Twenty-seven gave money, most of them on the run, for a total of $32 and change. That leaves the 1,070 people who hurried by, oblivious, many only three feet away, few even turning to look. This was all videotaped by a hidden camera.

He played this intricate piece on a violin worth 3.5 million dollars. Two days before this subway performance, Joshua sold out a theater in Boston where the seats averaged $100.

Here is another example from Mark Leithauser, a senior curator at the National Gallery, overseeing the framing of great works of art worth millions. He thinks he has an idea of what happened with Joshua in the subway station that morning:
"Let's say I took one of our more abstract masterpieces, say an Ellsworth Kelly, and removed it from its frame, marched it down the 52 steps that people walk up to get to the National Gallery, past the giant columns, and brought it into a restaurant. It's a $5 million painting. And it's one of those restaurants where there are pieces of original art for sale, by some industrious kids from the Corcoran School, and I hang that Kelly on the wall with a price tag of $150. No one is going to notice it. An art curator might look up and say: 'Hey, that looks a little like an Ellsworth Kelly. Please pass the salt.'"

Basically, his point is that we shouldn't be too ready to label the folks in the subway station as uncultured idiots. Context DOES matter.
“Kant said the same thing. He took beauty seriously: In his Critique of Aesthetic Judgment, Kant argued that one's ability to appreciate beauty is related to one's ability to make moral judgments. But there was a caveat. Paul Guyer of the University of Pennsylvania, one of America's most prominent Kantian scholars, says the 18th-century German philosopher felt that to properly appreciate beauty, the viewing conditions must be optimal.”

In relation to this experiment, there is a quote from Seth Godin’s book ‘All Marketers Are Liars Tell Stories. His quote cuts to the point:
“Many things that are true are true because you believe them. …”We believe what we want to believe, and once we believe something, it becomes a self-fulfulling truth.”

I bring this up because this business is LOADED with perception, and it shouldn’t be taken for granted. There are experiments done where in that it is proven a person makes a conscious or unconscious decision about us in the first 3-5 seconds of meeting. One perfect example: if a client walks in my studio and sees, say, huge lights, a big camera, a slew of assistants, and lots of buzzing about, they will think to themselves what amazing images they will get before I even click the camera. Regardless of how much equipment is set up, I will still use mostly or all natural light, minimal equipment, etc. and stick to my successful ways of shooting that I’ve always done. I won’t, however, deny the convincing power of one’s location and equipment and how that can completely change an idea about what you’re presenting or what you’re about to present.

You can read the full article about Joshua Bell here.

You can see the time lapse youtube video here. It's so gorgeous; it'll give you chills.

some time away from phone and email can look like this

2010-01-06T14:03:00.000-08:00

big sur extravaganza

2009-10-02T00:10:00.000-07:00

It's finally here: the big sur books are out! #1, which was actually released in June, is the ‘Big Sur Bakery Cookbook’, and #2, which is coming out in a few weeks, is ‘My Nepenthe’. Both with completely different stories, both about a mile away from each other on the ocean side of highway one, 26 miles south of Carmel. One of my favorite things to do is drive south with Tim, comfortable without talking, music playing, my bare feet on the dashboard, looking at the water. Then we go on a big, sweaty hike and end up drinking a big, cold beer / eating a basket of fries on the deck of Nepenthe. When the sun goes down, I look at the water again and I try to imagine what it would be like to be all by myself, in the dark, in the middle of the ocean. Totally terrifying or totally liberating, nothing in between.

Letters from Argentina, round two

2009-08-29T19:54:00.000-07:00

It's winter here in Argentina, yet a nice 75+ degrees every day. I packed the wrong clothes and I'm sweating all the time. Things are much more relaxed this time around, and I can actually experience what I'm shooting, cherishing that extra half hour of sleep every night. Here's my 8 steps of success:

1 - Don't think about it, just shoot.
2 - Loosen up.
3 - Drink Malbec.
4 - Life is too short, eat the chocolate and shut up.
5 - Life is too short, eat the blood sausage and like it.
6 - You're your own best friend and treat your body like it's the best thing that's ever happened to you.
7 - Sleep.
8 - Repeat.

Letters from Calabria

2009-05-06T17:42:00.000-07:00

Today is my first day back from Italy, and I'm fighting a bad case of jet lag. I shot up and down the southwest coast, otherwise known as the beautiful unknown Calabria, for a book about, what else, the food of Calabria. Let me tell you, I've never eaten more food or better food in my life. Everything is so simple and so fresh, it puts "fresh and organic" in this country to shame. I'm so frustrated that I don't have access to unpasteurized cheese right now and I don't know how anyone in their right mind could come up with something so tasteless and stupid. One of the highlights of the trip was shooting a shepherd making fresh ricotta. He scooped a bit off the top of the giant black pot over the fire, put it on some homemade bread, and that was my breakfast. I almost passed out; it was too good.

Letters from Argentina

2009-04-18T04:38:00.000-07:00

Just returned from a seven day book assignment about local culture and winemaking in Argentina. I've never visited Argentina or South America for that matter, and now I'm considering selling everything I have and buying a goat farm in the mountains in Salta. Honestly. I am in love. I never knew that stressing out grape vines and forcing them to grow in a seemingly uninhabitable location will make the wine taste even BETTER. I now have so much more respect for vines, and compared them to crazy artists: when one is put in a stressful situation to create an art that makes them extremely uncomfortable or what they aren't used to, the result can be the most beautiful thing you've ever seen (or tasted).

thank you, kathryn

2009-01-10T12:00:00.000-08:00

Kathryn, my rep from Tidepool (Brooke is the other fabulous one) posted this quote by Paulo Coelho for me a few months ago. It's simple and true, especially in a business where you are constantly faced by creative and financial setbacks. I've always struggled with the idea that there is an "end" to our efforts, like someday we will magically be at our destination that we worked so hard to get to. There is no end, and there is no beginning; just a path, and the most important part about your goal is what you do on your journey to reach that goal. Because 'goal' in a sense, is very abstract. When we reach "it", it's no longer there, and we create a new reason to strive and struggle again and again and again.

Published by
Paulo Coelho
on November 13, 2008
in Q&A

Q: If you were offered one of your dreams to come true, what would you prefer?

A: "I don’t like to think of “being offered” a dream. I’ve learnt that this is a pointless fantasy. Reality is rather on the side of those that know that they have to “fight for their dreams”. My personal legend has always been to become a writer. I’m glad I can say that i’m fulfilling my dream. But this must not the interpreted as “the end of the line” – on the contrary – I have to commit everyday in order to stay in this path that I’ve chosen. One is constantly challenged – even by success."

france - 1982

2009-01-09T20:20:00.000-08:00

In the new year I have been focusing on the task of cleaning house. All the time. I'm not talking about just dusting here and there, I mean I see something out of place in my office and everything around that particular item or piece of paper or photo has to be pulled, examined, rearranged, touched up, replaced, dusted, cataloged, or just thrown away. I have a collection of old odd photos that I find at flea markets, vintage stores, or just hand me downs, and as I was on a cleaning tirade, I found my favorite photo of me when I was little, which was mixed in with my anonymous photo collection. It was a lovely discovery and made my day. I love it because it reminds me of being comfortable and innocent. I don't care that I'm standing next to a cute dead rabbit (which I assume we ate for dinner), I don't care that my clothes are big and mismatched. I was so lucky to be standing there next to my dad's friend's gardener at that very moment and I didn't even know it. I was happy and little and free with the best parents in the world that took my sister and I to France every other summer and drove around Europe in a little Peujeot. What I would give to be little again, just for one day.

Ira Glass explains the importance of editing your work and killing a boring story

2009-01-05T14:15:00.000-08:00

This is a fantastic commentary by Ira Glass (an award winning radio producer) about the power of editing. He has amazing stories and in my hours and hours in the car I often find myself leaning closer and closer to my ipod in anticipation of what's going to happen next. It really makes me wonder why in the past I pushed some projects so hard when deep down I knew that I should have killed the idea right off the bat. If it doesn't feel right, kill it. This leaves more room for better stories, projects, etc. to emerge and for one to be even more creative and get out of the toxic cycle of being mediocre.

quiet dessert

2008-12-29T15:05:00.000-08:00

we pass the time of day to forget how time passes

ethan

2008-12-28T19:36:00.001-08:00

I just read a quote from Catcher in the Rye where Holden Caulfield describes who the catcher in the rye is: "...all those children running about on the edge of some crazy cliff with no adults around to stop them falling over the edge..." I thought this was very pretty and I wanted to pair it with this shot of my cousin Ethan.

polaroid house

2008-12-09T22:58:00.000-08:00

A friend of mine recently showed me a link on Flickr (which can suck you in just like Facebook sucks the life out of your eyeballs) about a house off route 5 north an hour away from LA. So, on my way back from my last visit, I found it. It was called the 'polaroid house' - nothing more than an old, dilapidated, abandoned house filled with polaroids. I didn't find it as exciting as I had hoped, but I have a thing for old houses and I brought my camera, so this is what I have for you.

big sur fire

2008-08-12T17:31:00.000-07:00

Unless you've been hiding in a hole for the past few weeks, you've no doubt heard about the fire in Big Sur which destroyed more than 64,000 acres and over 30 houses; the biggest natural disaster in Big Sur history. One of these homes was Mike Gilson's, the owner of the Big Sur Bakery (the cookbook that I've been working on for over a year). Mike is a sweet, gentle guy and has such an inviting personality. He's someone you can be around when you're on fire with stress and within minutes, you'll feel relaxed and happy you're alive. I went to what was left of his property yesterday and we searched through some incredible belongings, one of which was a pile of "books" that if touched, would turn to dust. A couple of the only things remaining of the house were the dishwasher and bathtub.
There are so many philosophical levels in this place, one of most importance (in my opinion) is how we define 'self' through the objects we surround ourselves with. How can a human be a "person" through their stuff when all of the stuff is ash? This also brings up the question: what would you take with you from your house if you had an hour to evacuate?

the smell of fresh cut lawn…

2008-07-23T20:46:00.000-07:00

…and other things that remind you of summer. Just got back from assignment in New York and managed to visit Tim’s family for a mini summer vacation. Perfect day at Jones Beach complete with Bomber Blueberry popscicles, watermelon, body surfing, sleeping on sheets, and at the end of the day, emptying out our sandy bathing suits with the outdoor shower. I love the things that come to mind between June and August: ice cream trucks, bike rides, sidewalk chalk, playing the driveway during a rainstorm, waking up at noon, barbeque, going to the movies in the middle of the day to escape the heat, road trips with all of the windows down, and kissing summer crushes up in the woods near the high school.

business cards

2008-07-03T08:02:00.000-07:00

The best part about a lot of these travel shoots is simply all of the wandering around. Granted, I take hours and hours to set up the necessary people, locations, lighting, etc. to make it look effortless, but when I do scout an area, I often stumble upon these little pockets of heaven I never knew existed. Take, for example, this teeny tiny bar I found in Jack London Square in Oakland that is surrounded by modern construction scaffolding and ugly tarps. It's been around since before the 1906 earthquake and the floor was so buckled from it that the bar was at a 10 degree angle. The room was filled with layers of crap including hundreds of business cards tacked to the ceiling which, over the years, have attracted so much cigarette smoke you can hardly read them. Aren't you glad there's no smoking in bars anymore?

transition

2008-06-29T15:28:00.000-07:00

I've been really lagging these past months on posting due to working 7 days a week and not having enough energy to sit in front of my computer screen for another 3 hours. So, today is Sunday and lo and behold, I have some time to post.
I've been working on a shoot for Sunset / the state of California up and down the coast. One of the locations was the California Academy of Science which has been under construction for the past four years and is finally opening in the fall. Upon trying to find a spot, any spot, to shoot that wasn't a complete hard hat area, I found the 'African Room' full of plastic preserved wildlife in their painted element.

chocolate and cheese

2008-06-27T23:39:00.000-07:00

Not the Ween album, just some cheese from Cowgirl Creamery in Pt. Reyes, about an hour north of San Francisco.

more brownies, please

2008-06-04T22:58:00.000-07:00

Just finished a packaging shoot for Tulocay & Co., a manufacturer of all-natural specialty food products in Napa, CA. It was one of those days where everything fit perfectly: the sun, the ambiance, the creative juices, and the leftover sweet stuff we got to take home.
Would you like some brownies with a nice, tall glass of milk? Here you go. How about some yummy sea salt crackers? I wish I had some stinky cheese, then my life would be perfect...

big sur bakery

2008-05-07T11:56:00.001-07:00

I just bought a 4x5 view camera and I forgot how fun it is to shoot large format film. The age old debate of film vs. digital is based on so many factors, mainly cost and turnaround time, which is one of the reasons why I'm almost 100% digital. But when the rare opportunity arises that a client has a budget for film or that they give me a lot of creative freedom with a job, I throw in some film images for a nice treat. It makes me happy and renews my love for all things photography.
These images are of Phil, the head chef, and Michelle, the pastry chef, from the Big Sur Bakery book project, which is wrapping up this month.
I also forgot that Polaroid went out of business, so 50 sheets of film is now nearly 100 bucks. So instead of pulling polaroid like there was no tomorrow, I was thinking of $5 bills being torn up before my eyes.

ever been to Post Secret?

2008-04-16T17:00:00.001-07:00

See it here. Make sure you have a good hour to kill, since you will surely get sucked in.

'I don't think photo booths were meant for first dates: 4.8.08' by Vanessa

2008-04-15T12:12:00.000-07:00

Gardening at the Dragon's Gate

2008-04-01T08:54:00.000-07:00

Wendy Johnson is a 35-year practitioner of Zen meditation and organic gardening, and was the master gardener of the Green Gulch Zen Center in Muir Beach, California (about 10 minutes past the Golden Gate Bridge). She's also the author of an amazing book, Gardening at the Dragon's Gate. I got to meet and photograph her for the New York Times last week, and she taught me to constantly stay young by surrounding yourself with positive, happy people, drinking lemon tea, and getting your hands in your compost pile.

finally, a look into the mind on the other side

2008-03-14T12:21:00.001-07:00

I recently discovered the fabulous blog, A Photo Editor, and have been in love with it for weeks now. APE is Rob Haggart, the former photo editor for Men's Journal and Outside Magazines. In my experiences thus far as a freelance photographer, I often feel lost in a sea of industry questions, rhetorical and otherwise. It's so nice to have this information hub from someone that has experience on both sides of the table. Not only that, it's honest, straightforward, and Rob really makes a point of bringing you back to the reason why you love photography in the first place.

pomegranate fist fight

2008-03-14T11:55:00.000-07:00

thoughtful Ben and Haley

2008-03-07T08:05:00.000-08:00

Tim's niece and nephew, who, by the way, can beat you in chess in less than 10 moves.

thoughtful chicken

2008-03-01T21:31:00.001-08:00

This is a work in progress, and will be part of a bigger promo coming your way sometime in early April. He's going to be paired with a couple of sunny side up eggs over crusty sourdough topped with sea salt.

these chocolates are Rich

2008-02-26T19:27:00.001-08:00

Lauren Pett is the brainiac behind the deliciously decadent Rich Chocolates in Chicago. Not only do I get to shoot her unique and quirky inventory of candies and chocolates, but I also get to eat everything after pushing them around for hours to get the right angle. My favorite is the Whimsy Collection which is a take on childhood favorites like mint chocolate chip, bananas foster, pecan pie, and smores. I need a napkin for my pile of drool.

rainbow

2008-02-20T19:06:00.000-08:00

Driving up to San Francisco at 7:10am, a break in the rain.

letters to a young poet

2008-02-17T18:33:00.000-08:00

I've been reading "Letters to a Young Poet", a book about a young writer Franz Kappus. He wrote Rainer Maria Rilke looking for guidance and critique on some of his poems. The result is a five year correspondence on what it is to be an artist and person. I will end the evening with a quote from Rilke written exactly 105 years ago today (and I would like to put the word "photograph" in place of the word "write"). I paired it with one of my favorite photographs by Francesca Woodman, "Self Portrait at 13":

"...No one can advise or help you–no one. There is only one thing you should do. Go into yourself. Find out the reason that commands you to write; see whether it has spread its roots into the very depths of your heart; confess to yourself whether you would have to die if you were forbidden to write. This most of all: ask yourself in the most silent hour of your night: MUST I write? Dig into yourself for a deep answer. And if this answer rings out in assent, if you meet the solemn question with a strong, simple ‘I MUST,’ then build your life in accordance with this necessity; your whole life, even into its humblest and most indifferent hour, must become a sign and witness to this impulse. Then come close to nature. Then, as if no one had ever tried before, try to say what you see and feel and love and lose."
-Rainer Maria Rilke, February 17th, 1903

I heart china

2008-02-14T19:57:00.000-08:00

These were taken in Beijing in 2007, when I went with my assistant / friend / photographer extraordinaire Gia. She and I shot this incredible wedding and after the ceremony, all the guests got their own rickshaws to get to the reception (88 to be exact). I can't remember the last time I had that much fun shooting - I was standing on my rickshaw backwards, yelling in mandarian 'slow' (chi) and 'fast' (ju) so I could keep in line with the bride and groom. The reception was at this beautiful, colorful, elaborate old chinese opera house full of gold and red detailing. The food was incredible and I ate that entire sweaty 1000 year old egg right after I shot it.
My favorite shot I came back with was of this old woman casually pushing her glasses up with her index finger in the Forbidden City. I love the way it was taken and I still marvel at how everything seemed so fluid as I shot: I was slowly turning 360 degrees with my camera at my chest, attempting to be as discreet as possible, and as I was turning, there was less than a second when that woman put her finger to her face. In that half a second, my finger pushed the shutter once, all the while I was still turning back to my original spot. It was like a little dance that she didn't know she was a part of...

love letters

2008-02-14T10:53:00.000-08:00

A few years ago I helped my parents clean out my grandparent's house after my grandfather (Papa Doc) passed away. Not only was this interesting because we got to see everything my grandfather left behind, but I think it was nice closure for my parents. I often find myself snooping through other peoples' medicine cabinets, closets, and kitchens to see what kind of story they have lived (I know you snoop too), so this was really super because I had a personal connection to much of the stuff in the house. We found a lot of old love letters that my grandfather wrote to my grandmother before they were married. What better what to celebrate Valentine's Day than to read my grandfather's scandalous thoughts from the 30s and 40s. I love the picture of him above; he looks like a happy-go-lucky Lenin. Below are some excerpts from a few of his letters:

Dearest,
One week from today we will be well on our way. Whether north, or south, or east, or west, which direction is the best? Keep on guessing Katie dear, and before very long I'll be near...Freddy and I went to the movies early this afternoon and saw Primrose Path. It made us lonelier...I really felt lonesome about 8 o'clock Saturday night when I usually called you, and I knew you were thinking of me too Katie. I really have missed you so much. All the clothes in the store windows remind me of the things you like and the dresses I hope you can wear. Katie dearest in less than a week we shall be with each other and will have so much to say...I'll write you again before I leave. If you get a chance write me a note in Rochester, a last line for your best boyfriend. I love you dearly. Your, John.

The Sketchbook Project.

2008-02-13T23:22:00.001-08:00

My friends Vanessa, Rebekka, Lauren, Liz and I decided to make a sketchbook years ago because we all were tired of having lots of ideas and creative energy but no outlet where we were free to do whatever we wanted. Even though this book has taken a slow turn we still manage to muster up anger, happiness, sadness, altruism, love, hatred, nausea, inspiration, indifference, hunger, etc. etc. every month and pass the book on to the next person. Liz Allen included the third one down, which is really beautiful and reads:

The way my heart has felt in the past year:
-like an avocado
-like a hallowed out avocado
-like a little sprout was forming
-like grass was tickling the walls
-like weeds tickling the walls
-like dried leaves and dead wood chips
-like a solid block of ice
-like a dirty ice cube in warm water
-like a hallow plastic replica with branches
-faded away or a ghost
-absent vs. thin air

More sketchbook images to come...