Self Portrait Double Exposures - Whaleshead Beach

I spent several hours this morning getting lost inside my head. With so many variables in my future right now I am really concentrating on living in the moment.  I may not be in control of next month or next year, but I'm in control of today.  That is enough.

Sea Bird

If you've been following this blog you know that all I own at the moment currently fits in my car. Maybe the oddest item I shoved in my trunk is a shawl made of rooster feathers. The necessities you know...

Several months ago I was watching a Lindsay Adler workshop on Creative Live and won a Glamtastik gift certificate. Awesome right? But I didn't know what to do with it. I've actually been dreading making images with it because I knew it would push me out of my comfort level and I've been playing chicken for a few weeks.

Fear... Somedays you need to just saddle up and kick it in the face. Over and over and over. Things I fear: looking stupid, ruining my new feathers, applying make up, my own style, being free. Yes, I said being free. Fear is what keeps me from running down the beach carefree. Fear is what keeps me from jumping in the water wearing pantyhose.  Fear keeps me in the parking lot reading a book and my camera in the trunk.

So I gave it a ya and a hiyah. I dropped my boys off at school. My oldest looked at me then at the crosswalk guard and says. "they are going to see your hair!"   I was the first person to the beach this morning. Scattered along the shore were large patches of white sand that had washed up the night before. I kicked off my shoes and ran through the mist with all my gear bobbling behind. I posed for my own shots (big awkward fear) and let the ocean wash around my feet.

It's called living. Fear gets in the way. Don't let it.
 

Row Your Boat

Basically there are no ideal situations. I have a terrible habit of looking at photos and thinking how easy it would be to take equally stunning images if I had the same amazing model, location, equipment, time, or any other number of resources I perceive the other photographer had. But when it comes down to it these people are pushing through and working hard for their images. Am I willing to do the same?

Recently I took an photo in a huge redwood tree. I started to wonder if other people view it the same way I look at their work. "Must be nice to have access to the redwoods..." So I laugh when I recall what a pain it was get the shot.

I woke up around 5 am to pack my kids lunches, plan out the location, and gather all my gear. Once they were off to school I drove 30 minutes then hiked with everything loaded on my back for another hour or so running half of the way from all the bees that kept buzzing around my face. I took the wrong trail then backtracked to the intended location I had scouted out the year before in the rain. That location was now collapsed on itself and too dangerous to enter. Everything was wet and cold. I would guess around 40 degrees. Several times along the trail I changed into the dress and tried to take self portraits. None of which turned out. At all.

While driving out of the area I pulled over one last time at the above pictured tree. My tripod broke during set up robbing me two feet of height and I forgot my wireless remote switch. The setup consisted of setting a delayed timer on the camera then sprinting through mud reach the tree. All while shooting on the side of a touristy road making me quite self conscious (yes, it's always awkward!) Then I took several more shots of the tree so I could stitch it together and fix the perspective in Photoshop. I cleaned the mud off me then got in my car just as the engine light popped on.

We are all in the same sort of boat. Some of us are rowing.

Lucky 13 Series Part II

No time for chit chat, these public computers have time limits! Just wanted to post a quick update of photos for my Lucky 13 series. All photos are taken at 1/13th of a second. The series encompasses the mystery, motion, and child play of life on the coast. I'm pulling the single parent gig this Spring with my two little lovies. But I always feel like a better mother when the ocean is close by.