Art Show, Snow and Findings in Fort Collins, Colorado

As I mentioned in the last blog, I spent a few days in Fort Collins, Colorado to attend the "Dreams" photography show at the Center of Fine Art Photography.  I was fortunate enough to have one of my images chosen for the exhibit by judge, Aline Smithson.  The center is a beautiful art gallery full of photographs that changes every month or so.  My image, "Dissolve" is currently on display and available for purchase at the center, just in case you were wondering.

I am taking photography classes in Los Angeles and signed up for one taught by Aline.  I submitted to this show without knowing her but once it was time to take her class, I knew that name sounded familiar.  I finally put two and two together and on the first day of class, I showed my work including the image she chose.  I have now taken two classes with her and I have to say that she is one of the best photography teachers around.  I am not the only one who thinks so, either.  She is listed as one of the best workshop instructors featured in PDN (Photo District News) magazine.  Be sure to take a class in Los Angeles or Santa Fe...you will be glad you did. It was nice to be able to hang out with her for a few days during the show and before the show we went out and took some photos of snow. I think it's the first time I've seen snow in a few years.

After the show and art events the following day, I decided to take a drive around the city and the outskirts to get lost and see what I found.  For the most part, people stayed indoors where it's warm and who can blame them?  I found some interesting lawn art, took some self portraits, and visited the locally famous Swetsville Zoo. Bill Swets is an artist and has been building "zoo" creatures since 1985.  All of his creations can be found around his property.  It's open to the public to walk around to view his art and if you're lucky you might get a glimpse of the artist himself, as I did when I got in the car to leave.  It's quite the sight to see if you are in the area...I would recommend it.

The town is also full of great restaurants and shops located in the heart of downtown.  Here are some photographs I took during my weekend in Fort Collins.  Oh, did I mention Bingo?  That had to be the highlight for me.

Bill's Creations:

Manifesting Dreams In Joshua Tree National Park

There is something about an idea in your head.  The more you think about the idea, the more you see it right in front of you.  I think this assumption has  always been there, but recently with "The Secret" phenomenon, we can learn that we have the power within ourselves to manifest anything in our lives once we put our mind to something.  Sometimes the whole idea sounds far fetched, but you never know. You may or may not believe it's true, but it "sorta" happened to my twice over the weekend.

As you know, it's a dream of mine to own an airstream and perhaps get a fancy camera (don't read this post my little trusty point and click!), specifically the Canon 5D Mark II.

When I was touring Salvation Mountain, I was snapping away when a young woman in her early 20's asked me to take a picture of her and her friends.  Of course I said yes!  Then it happened.  She handed me her Canon 5D Mark II and asked me to snap away.  I had to get a picture of the group with my camera as well so I had my point and click in one hand and her...sigh...Canon 5D Mark II in the other.  I told her how much I wanted that camera and she said it was the most expensive thing she owns.  She lives in a house with nine other kids her age in order to afford it.  Wow, did I just say "kids?"  Whew...getting old already. The same night I logged on the computer and 2 people wrote status updates that their new 5D came in the mail.

The following day, I headed to Joshua Tree and look what appears out of nowhere, a piece of land with a vintage airstream just sitting there, looking pretty.  I took pictures of it and stood there for a moment to day dream.  Sigh.

I visited Joshua Tree for the first time last Thanksgiving and my second time last weekend.  It really is a beautiful place.  If you are into rock climbing (I know I'm not!), this is the place for you.  If you would rather stay low to the ground (I know I would!) there are miles and miles of desert to walk on and hundreds of cactus...all with seemingly different personalities.

I have found that you really can't beat our beautiful National Parks.  I ranked my favorites here and I look forward to visiting more this year.

Of course this morning I woke up to the today show talking about airstreams and how celebrities are "downsizing" their life to have one of these trailers (click here to view).  Anytime they get bored of theirs and want to get rid of it as a charitable donation, I would gladly take it off of their hands.

Specifically, the Ocean Breeze International 16 model. Ahhhh, she's the one.

We Can Do It Too!

I love stories of women achieving their dreams.  There really isn't anything we can't do once we put our mind to it.  We are so fortunate in America to be able to do what we want to do.  We can set forth and achieve any goal we wish with hard work and determination, unlike many women in other countries.

At this moment, 16 year old Abby Sunderland is setting sail to reach her personal goal; to sail around the world solo.  You can read about her journey on her blog by clicking here.

How inspiring to young women!  She realized her dream and is living it at such a young age. Also, how great is it that her parents are supportive of that?  At 16, I was crossing my fingers and hoping to pass classes so I could graduate high school.

I always played sports growing up and my family enjoyed camping together when I was young.  I have one brother who is 7 years older so as I child I learned how to entertain myself and explore on my own.  It could be a reason why I enjoy wandering and exploring new places today, at 38.  It's just inside of me.

The thing is...it's never too late to do what you have always dreamed of doing.  I have to admit that it is easier for me since I chose not to have kids.  Instead, I worked right out of college and continued to work hard and climb a corporate ladder until I just couldn't stand it anymore.  The suits and heels weren't me.  I was pushing a product that didn't inspire or excite me.  Don't get me wrong, I am thankful for the opportunity I had and I learned a lot in the process but even as I left the company, most people knew and commented that the job just wasn't a reflection of who I was.

Who am I?  Well, I am a work in progress, as we all are.  I know that I am enjoying taking pictures and traveling.  Camping and being in nature rank high on my list of things that bring me joy.  As I mentioned with a previous blog, I met up with a group of strangers with one thing in common: we all had silver trailers and a love of the outdoors and camping.  A common topic of discussion among the group was how great it was for them to ditch their "normal" lives to come and spend a weekend with other women to talk about ideas, life and support each other with the belief of yes, we can do it too!  There were stories of how men would be in control of hitching and towing and that they never had the chance to do it or the opportunity to learn how to do it.  This was their chance to learn something new, feel empowered and leave with a sense of hope that they can achieve anything they set their mind to.

I am thankful to all of the women who paved the way for title 9 so I was able to have the opportunity to play basketball in college.  There are so many women who stuck their neck out to be trailblazers for a realization that yes, we can do it too.

I started a group on facebook for women who have a shared interest in camping and the outdoors.  If this is you, please click here to join (there is also a widget on the right of the blog).  No fees, just fun.

Today I am thankful for all of the women who took a chance so we are able to do the same.

Released From The Computer

I am starting to bring some of the photographs I took to life on paper. It's been interesting to watch them come to life, so to speak. I had a new printer in a box that was given to me as a gift that I never used so I decided to pull it out and give it a try. Although it's not the highest quality, it's been fun seeing how some of the pictures look out of the information box.

I don't know how I chose the ones I did...I just picked a few to look at. It's exciting to see them and remember the moment they were taken.

It's good to dream. Recently I visioned owning a food truck to drive around the USA. Once I went to Venice to see the massive amount of trucks and the logistics of licenses, where to park and the whole timing of everything...it was a reality check. Oh, and yeah...I don't cook. Then there is that problem.

Anyway, taking pictures has been fun and I've only been yelled at once so that's a plus.

I am always striving to learn. This has been, and continues to be an exciting learning process. Traveling, taking pictures, being alone, learning about myself and all of the things that are associated with that combination.

This photo above is an output of a a few memories from my trip. I look forward to sharing more. In the meantime, I went out again last night and snapped some pictures in Long Beach. Here are a 3 of my favorites.


If you like the pictures, please become a facebook fan by clicking HERE.

I have a little contest going on.

If you (or a friend you recommended) are the 532nd fan, I will send you a FREE 5x7 image of your choice. That is anything you have seen on this blog. Well, except for pictures of me...that would be weird.

Thank you for the support on my photographs and journey!