the dark room

My first photography class was a film class at the local community college over ten years ago. That's when I decided I wanted to learn photography and start at the beginning - film. Little did I realize at the time film is such a beautiful, expressive art. My husband had taken the class many times and I used to tease him about smelling like chemicals when he got home after lab, despite my teasing he agreed to take the class again with me.  The class was hard but amazing at the same time - I learned about f-stops, shutter speeds, and if that wasn't enough the whole developing film process - there was a lot to accomplish.  The lab hours flew by with time spent loading film into canisters in pitch black and laughing until your stomach hurt with friends while trying to not ruin your film.  There were hilarious circumstances involved,  how could anyone learn to load film onto those holders and get them into the canister, sometimes it required using and passing scissors in the dark!  My photos were definitely not award winning and that's ok, what I learned about photography and the respect I have for film developing was the prize. I became truly impressed at all the weddings my husband had done using film. Not having the instant gratification of knowing if your photo turned out until you were in the dark room was difficult, but watching your photograph develop before your eyes was very cool.

Another bonus of taking this class was the teacher, he has one of the most inspiring life stories to tell. He has explored and hiked for over 60 years and he still does. Lee takes amazing black & white photos of nature while he hikes. Students get to go with him on monthly field trips to isolated desert and mountain areas for the weekend where they take photographs and explore and camp(he's all about roughing it no glamping for him.) In his spare time, he teaches survival classes and his second book is about his 35 day hike from Death Valley to the Salton Sea.

Putting this blog post together has inspired me to take Lee's class again! Hopefully I will improve my black & white photographs since I have a better understanding of photography.

 

a path of fulfillment

I knew I wanted to do something that captured my interest like nothing else, I knew I wanted to create from home, I knew I wanted my creation to bring peace and comfort to others. I have tried every hobby that sparked my interest, at 8 my mom taught me to knit, I love to knit but that's not it, at 10 my aunt taught me to embroider, I love to embroider but that's not it. I have tole painted, scrapbooked, crocheted, rug hooked, and quilted to name a few.  I tried so many hobbies but many of them didn't last - I didn't have the desire I was craving something I had to do everyday and it didn't matter whether I made money doing it or not.  I remember being at yoga class every Saturday and during quiet time asking the question to myself what is my dharma. I would just ask the question and keep trying every hobby that called to me.  

 I made the decision to start photographing flowers after watching a class on creativeLive by Kathleen Clemons she is a photographer and photographs beautiful flowers.  I had to give it a try I did it to have something of my own. I helped my husband photograph weddings, events, and portraits. He has his thing of photographing fires for LA Co Fire,  I wanted my own personal work. After all I took Botany in college I had an interest in flowers and plants it just made sense.  I wanted something I could photograph that I didn't need to work around someone's schedule - something I could do by myself whenever I wanted.  When I started photographing flowers I had no idea how this would become exactly what I had been searching for, something that brought me the joy and comfort I wanted to provide to others with my work.

 When I read the post today from Think, Grow, Prosper it was exactly the right advice about finding passion. "Don't worry about finding your "passion." Instead, start by acting on the small things that excite you or spark your interest each day.  These are the threads that will connect you to a path of fulfillment." ~ Ruben Chavez

I still give in to trying new things that capture my interest. Right now I am learning calligraphy and watercolor. There are great classes on Creativebug that I have found. But all this for another post. My flower photos always come first it gets me grounded for the day.

 I think of my blog as a visual path leading to where I am today.

boho tree stump

I found this tree stump while out roaming around on a photo shoot. I was so  thrilled to find something besides tumbleweeds and Joshua trees (not that there's anything wrong with them.) He's a very crooked stump which just adds to his charm. The possibilities are endless and I enjoy photographing here especially when the sky is filled with clouds like it was on this day.  "Blessed are they who see beautiful things where other people see nothing." - Camille Pissarro I wasn't always one of those people it's a journey. Thank you Dave for the photographs of me and adding the light.

10 Reasons I Photograph Flowers

1.  I'm an introvert and find the alone time with flowers energizing. (I think extraverts would love it too!)

2.  They are peaceful.

3.  They keep me in the moment.

4.  They help me appreciate nature.

5.  They don't care if they have wrinkles.

6.  Even when they age they are beautiful.

 7.  They are all unique.

8.  The more I look at them the more miraculous they become.

9.  I love it when they dance.

10.  No matter how I pose them, they never complain.

A peaceful stroll through Descanso Gardens

 

Life is so funny - when I was in high school my best friend, Teri, and I would hang out at Descanso Gardens.  I know it isn't a likely hang out for most teenagers but she had a brother that lived very close to the gardens and we would stop all the time to enjoy the flowers and the bird sanctuary. Believe me we spent our fair share of time at Toluca Lake Bob's Big Boy and the Pickwick stables but the gardens have come full circle for me.  After many, many years I started going back to the gardens this time with my husband and our cameras. We try to visit a few times a year to catch all the different flowers blooming through out the changing seasons. It's still one of my favorite places to hang out and I think of my friend every time I return.  I am so happy to add to this blog post due to some recent news regarding my friend that I went to Descanso Gardens with. I was cleaning out my desk drawers and found a folder with old photos in it one of them was my friend's senior picture. I quickly checked the spelling of her name again and searched for her on Facebook. I went to message her and saw an old message sitting there from 2 years ago that she had contacted me! So I sent her a new one and we are now Facebook friends, I am thrilled and hope to see her soon.