Travels With Max

I can't imagine living on the road without my dog, Max.  There are many alone moments traveling and when he's with me, I am never really alone.  The few past years when we lived in a tent, I was a bit afraid in some of the remote places we settled in since rangers were quick to remind us at every step that we were in BEAR COUNTRY!  Max sleeps inside of my sleeping bag (yes, true story), so at times I was a bit afraid that the bears would think I'm hiding a snack for them.  We made it through and now I feel a bit safer sleeping with him in the van.

As much as I think this journey is for me, it's really for Max.  I make decisions on where to go based on how Max would like it and how comfortable he would be.  He LOVES the beach!  It's the only place besides dog parks that I will let him off leash.  When we get to a safe area where there are no roads close to the beach and there really isn't anything for miles, I click him off of the leash.  He knows once he's off, he gets to run as far as he can and dig like a crazy beast in the sand.  I've attached a few videos to prove it.  Once he digs a hole, he likes to lay in it and doesn't mind if I start to bury him in the sand.  He's been relaxed enough a few times to let me bury him.  

On our first getaway with the Van, I keep looking back to make sure that he's comfortable since he doesn't have a "routine" in the van yet like he did in the car.  He quickly found that he likes the back (after I built a throne of pillows and blankets) of the van to hang out in.  Each time I look back and see him there, he makes me smile.  

For those of you who don't know Max, I adopted him three years ago from a rescue group that had him at a farmer's market.  I've never had a small dog as my own before so I wasn't sure.  He has brought so much joy to my life.  Not to sound like a crazy dog lady, I really do love him so much.  He keeps me laughing each day.  It's amazing how a rescue dog can bring so much joy in my life.  If you are thinking of adopting, please rescue a shelter dog.  They will rescue you right back.

Why Max stays on a leash (above)

Learning at the beginning how a freak Max is at the beach

Meeting My Neighbors and Taking Their Portrait

I've lived in the same place for nine years...as far as I remember. I mean, I'm pretty sure it's been nine years.  When I travel, I rent my home out, but I have been living here the majority of the nine years.  Besides a few select neighbors, I have no idea who my neighbors are or what their life is like.  I see interesting people walk by and sometimes I wonder about who they are.  There are a few who walk by everyday like clockwork and I have a nickname for them, based on their style. I always look forward to "pirate" walking by and I hope to get his portrait one day.

When I'm on the road, I don't mind approaching strangers since they will never see me again most likely but when I'm in my own neighborhood, I tend to avoid meeting anyone that is within viewing distance.  It could be that I am pretty shy or might not have the energy to talk to anyone, or perhaps both.

One of my photography instructors told me in front of the class that I spend too much time in my head.  He is right.  Then I thought..."How does he know this?"

I tend to think and think about things and ideas until it drives me crazy and the only way to get it out is to do it.  Most likely this isn't the brightest of ways to motivate but it seems to have served me well for the most part.  I have to admit that sometimes it takes someone saying something to get me to take action.

I decided that it's time to talk to people that live around me.  The other night I went for a walk and smiled and said hello to everyone I passed by.  It's a fact, smiling is contagious.  For someone who usually puts her earphones in for a walk, I was surprised on how easy it is to meet people.  Not only meet them, but each person I met allowed me to take their portrait.  Sometimes I would start with a smile and a compliment while other times I didn't know what to say so I just blurted out, "may I take your portrait?" Not only did they say yes but many were flattered I asked and one woman was so thankful that I talked to her and said hello.  How could you have a bad day after an experience like that?

Do you know your neighbors?  I challenge you to say hello and introduce yourself.  I bet you will be glad you did.  Here are some of my neighbors I met on my walk yesterday.  I intend to continue to meet as many neighbors as I can in the next few months.

Long Beach Transit Mall Photograph Installation

I am thrilled to be chosen as the photographer to showcase eight images of Long Beach for the new Transit Mall!  The mall is located on first street between Pine and Long Beach Blvd. in Long Beach, California.

I would like to thank Craig Watson with the Arts Council of Long Beach and the Transit authority for selecting my photographs to represent this beautiful city.  Each photograph matches a poem that is located on the other side of eight newly designed bus shelters.  You will now know exactly when your bus will arrive with the new technology installed at the mall and are able to relax in comfort with the state of the art sail cloth shaded shelters.

The grand opening celebration of the new Mall is scheduled for June 2nd at 5:30p.m at Promenade Park (off First St., between LB Blvd. and Pine).  I hope you are able to make the opening and if not, please be sure to take a stroll down first street if you find yourself in downtown Long Beach.

My images of Long Beach are for sale on my photography website so you are able to have these prints at home.  To see more, click HERE.

At The Beach With Ariana

My friend Ariana has the best hair and the most brilliant blue eyes. I always knew I wanted to photograph her.  We finally were able to take a day trip to the beach for a photo shoot.  She was a great sport this day to roll around in the sand and plants for me.  Thank you Ariana!

Long Beach Transit Photographs

I am thrilled to be a part of the reopening of the Long Beach transit Mall in downtown Long Beach.  In the next few weeks, work will be completed on the project including eight canopy shelters, serving an average of 20,000 commuters daily.

Eight selected photographs that I took of Long Beach will be on display in and around the new mall to coordinate with the "nautical" theme expansion.  I spent about four months walking on the beach each night and a few mornings with my point and click camera capturing everything I came across on the beach. Images from these moments will be blown up and installed around the mall so people can experience the beach without actually being at the beach.  I look forward to the completion and encourage you to use public transportation.  You never know what you might come across.

The photos from this blog are some I took during those months, but you will have to see the chosen ones once they are installed in a few weeks.

The press Telegram writes, "After months of work, improvements to the Long Beach Transit Mall downtown are nearing completion.
Eight canopy shelters and public art should be completely installed in the coming weeks and transit operations will move back from Ocean Boulevard to First Street on Sunday, said spokeswoman Marcelle Epley on Monday.
Last August, Long Beach Transit announced that it would begin a $7 million modernization of the regional transit hub on First Street between Long Beach Boulevard and Pacific Avenue.
The Transit Mall, which serves an average of 20,000 commuters daily, has grown since opening in 1982 and now accommodates passengers taking Long Beach Transit buses, Metro Blue Line trains and buses and Torrance Transit.
Funded with federal stimulus money, the project will feature improved night lighting, upgraded landscaping and newly designed bus shelters with public art.
Done in partnership with the Arts Council of Long Beach, the public art will feature photographs by Long Beach photographer Alison Turner and nautical-theme poems by Long Beach poets, as well as poets from Long Beach literary magazine, Pearl."

For the full article, click HERE

Taking A Class And Watching A Fight

I am always up for learning something new.  I was lucky enough to be able to take a flash class at the Julia Dean Photography School in Venice beach for the day.  Most of my photographs use natural light so I wanted to take a class to use a flash the correct way in certain situations.  It was very informative with both technical learning in the class room and a few assignments in the field.

I love people watching in Venice beach.  We all had a partner and an assignment to go out and practice using a flash for a fill light.  My partner and I walked down the boardwalk and I found a spot where he would be sitting in the shade for practice.  He sat there and I started taking his photograph and playing with my camera settings when this man approached us.  He stood pretty close to me and was obviously out of it.  He couldn't focus on me and he smelled like death.  He tried to tell us how to get the best shot and how to compose it to make it look interesting.  I didn't like how close he was standing next to us.  My partner was nice and said, "oh yes, thank you for that information" while I backed away and waited for him to leave.

He left and we continued our practice taking photos of each other making sure we remembered everything technical we learned in class.  About a minute after meeting our new stranger "smells like death" friend, my partner pointed behind me and said, "hey, isn't that the guy that just came up to us?"

I turned around and sure enough, he was in a fight with a Venice regular, "Mr. Muscle Man."  I don't know if that's his name but I see him each time I am there and he does have muscles and I am pretty sure he's a man so that's what I will call him.  As soon as I saw them fighting, my instincts kicked in.  No, not to break up the fight but to take photographs of the action!  They first wrestled to the ground then popped up with a few punches here and there while a crowd formed.  It got pretty nasty when "death breath" started flicking his blood on "Mr. Muscle Man."  I kept snapping away, forgetting what I was there for.  Shortly into the fight, my partner said, "ummm...ok, well...do you want to practice over here?"  Practice?  What?  Oh yeah, I forgot that I was taking a class and we were on an assignment.  Eventually I had to pull myself away and put my technical brain back on.  I felt like a kid at the park wanting just a few more minutes to play.  I pouted a little inside and broke away from the action.

After our outside assignment was up, everyone gave their CF cards to the assistant to upload on the computer so we could all share what we did on the big screen.  Uh oh, I didn't expect for that.  While everyone followed the assignment correctly and had three pictures on their card, mine was full of the fight that, at the time seemed more interesting.  I tried to hide and not give my CF card to the assistant, but he remembered me and asked for it.  Of course I was first to be critiqued since my name starts with an "A".  Julia flipped through my images trying to find the flash assignment and then said, "what is this?" I had to say, "oh, um...yes I slightly veered off the assignment for a few minutes."  A little embarrassed, she was kind enough to look through them and give me feedback on each one and the class thanked me for capturing the moment.  I felt a bit of relief after that.

I am glad I took the class.  Very informative and Julia is a wonderful instructor.  If you are in Southern California, I would recommend looking into their program if you want to learn something new about photography.

Here's the sequence of the fight until I was pulled away...
My money is on "Mr. Muscle Man" to win.