Cat Comes To Town

The past week I've been offline and visiting with my friend Cat from Spokane.  During my travels, I spent quite a bit of time with her in Washington during the summer and last week she came down to Los Angeles for some business and stayed longer to hang out with me.  We toured Venice beach,  saw some movies, had some nice meals and did a photo shoot on the beach.  Since I spend most of my time alone, it was nice to have a house guest for a few days.

The best part about our photo shoot was that she was game to do about anything.  When I was in Cape Cod a few years ago, I took a bunch of timed jumpie pics as the sun was setting.  If you need an activity to look crazy in front of people and laugh at yourself, this is a good one to try.  It is stupid and is great for a good laugh and some fun photographs. Also, Cat is not as fond as birds as I am.  She was even willing to walk around a flock of birds and run towards them to try and get a shot of them surrounding her.  The one where she is standing still is a moment of her thinking, "Really? You want me to do what with the birds?" to the shot where she casually jogged through them, not missing a beat. Some of the best times you can have with a friend is being silly with a camera.

I haven't made the time to take my camera out to take photographs lately so it was a nice change of pace to do that again while we toured around.  Here are some photographs from our time last week.

 

Maine. The Magazine Jan/Feb 2011 Issue

I am thrilled to be a part of Maine. The magazine's January/February 2011 edition.  I interviewed and photographed Ralph Lewis for the Q&A section and was also selected to be featured as a contributor in this issue.

During my travels, I come across some interesting people and have blogged about them along the way.  When I was staying as a guest of Adam and Susan in Bailey Island, Maine, I met and chatted with their neighbors, Ralph and Dolly.  Susan introduced me and told Ralph that I was a photographer and after he kiddingly waved his hand at me and turned his back, he turned right back around with that contagious smile to greet me. A few days later, he came over for a visit and we chatted about what it was like for him to be the photographer for the State of Maine.  He showed me Maine road maps where his photographs were featured and told me tales of the people and things he took photographs of.  I blogged about my time with him HERE. Listening to his stories was such a treat. I asked him if I could come over later that evening to take his portrait and he said, "sure."

I went over later that beautiful fall afternoon to chat with him and his wife, Dolly.  They were certainly a pleasure to be around.  I instantly felt at home with them.  I went back to their winter home a few weeks later to record an interview for the magazine and took some additional shots of him talking about his experiences and while showing me one of the cameras he used. Ultimately, that photograph was chosen by the magazine to use for the feature.

The best part of this experience was getting to know Ralph and Dolly.  I feel as they are a part of my extended family now.  They are so sweet to me...I even received a Thanksgiving and Christmas card from them.

I also enjoyed meeting Susan, the editor of Maine. The Magazine and the people who work there.  I am very thankful to all of them for the opportunity. Each and every staff member was a pleasure to work with.  After falling in love with the state of Maine, this just added to my positive experience in that beautiful state of ours.  I know I will be back.

Max At The Beach

When I decide to go somewhere, Max usually gives me his input to let me know that he would like to go to a place where there's a beach.  I think the beach is his favorite place to be, next to a dog park.  Last year, we went to several dog parks in different states which was always an adventure.  He especially loved the dog parks in Albuquerque and Provincetown.  His favorite beaches on his journey has been Orange Beach in Alabama and the Cape Cod National Seashore.  Each one goes on for miles and if he's lucky, if it's allowed, and there isn't anyone around, he gets to be off leash.

These photographs are from a day at the beach in Cape Cod.  It was an especially windy day but Max didn't mind even though he was low to the ground with the sand blowing in his face.  He's on to me with the camera, though.  Each time I get it out to take a photograph, he usually looks the other way.

We will be heading to the Southeast part of the country soon.  I know that Max will have "beach" on his places to go but I am still up in the air about the specific destination.  Is there a place that we shouldn't miss?

Leaving Spokane

I haven't blogged for a while and I am sorry for the delay, for those of you who read this blog.  I have not taken my computer out for some time and I have been in places where I haven't had the reception to do so.

I have been lucky enough to stay in Spokane for several days and my friend Cat calls it my "Northwest Basecamp."  Max and I really enjoyed the company of Cat and her friends.  During my stay, I was able to participate in many activities including going to the lake, concerts at the gas station, walking in the park, going on a merry-go-round, a trip to Idaho, eating a shrimp boil, herding cows at a working ranch, and many more fun things that I wouldn't have had the opportunity to participate in if I didn't make the trip.

I especially enjoyed my time with my dear friend.  Sometimes we get so caught up in doing our daily activities and responsibilities that spending quality face time with friends ends up towards the bottom of the list.  As much as we can connect online with email and facebook, those things won't get you closer to the people you love as much as sitting in the same room for a chat will.  I am lucky I had the opportunity to take the time to slow down a bit to catch up on each others lives.

After my short trip to Long Beach to attend the roller derby and catch up in my home town, I flew back to Spokane to stay another night and plan a few days ahead.  Max had a great time playing with her dog, Bella and I had such a wonderful time with Cat's friends.  Thank you to all of you who made me feel like part of the group.

As with all good bye's, this was a sad one but I know I will be back.  Now it's time for Max and I to get on the road and head East.  I will talk about our adventure in the next few days of blogs.  Thank you for reading and for being a part of it with us! Also, a big thank you to the WSU design team and Danna Snow for allowing me to come in and photograph you!

Spokane, Washington And A Trip To The Lake

I traveled South from my bear free campsite to visit my friend Cat who lives in Spokane.  Cat and I have known each other for a few years now so each time I see her I know it will be a nice and relaxing time.  On this day, she had a group of friends that were going to the lake for the day so I was lucky enough to be here to participate.

I met another online friend, Kari who supplied the boat for the day of fun.  There was waterskiing, wakeboarding and for me, I ventured out for a ride on the tube.  Well, it's more of an inflatable circle mattress with handles to hold on for dear life, which I did.  Lucky for me, I didn't get bounced off of it.  I yelled out to the group on the boat to take it easy on me since I have, "limited health insurance."  Thinking this would be the ticket for an easy ride, the group yelled back, "you, and millions of other Americans!"

I survived the tube and took a back seat on the boat to capture others having a good time.  The weather was hot, the sun was out and the water was surprisingly not too cold.  To finish the day off, Cat coordinated a shrimp boil with the other women at a beautiful cabin owned by a few of the ladies in the group.  I felt very fortunate to be a part of this fun and special day.

On top of it all, Max had his very first boat ride!  He wasn't too thrilled about it or walking on the moving pier.  I took his kennel on the trip so he could hide away if he wanted.  He's not much of a water dog but I think he did have fun with Cat's dog, Bella.

I will be exploring the area for a few days to see what NorthEast Washington has to offer.  I look forward to sharing it with you.

Camp Chung - A Visit With Dear Friends

I don't really know where I will be at any given time so I am thankful for friends who allow me to come at a moments notice and stay at their house for a few days.  I've been friends with Katy and Richard for years and for now, they live in a community outside of Seattle.  I got up pretty early from the campsite and called Katy to say I was near and she said, "sure, come on by!"  I arrived a few hours later and decided to stay for a while.

It is so relaxing here.  Her guest room is like sleeping on a cloud.  After days of camping and sleeping in the dirt, sleeping in a home and being among friends was a welcome treat!  It's been too long since I've been here and I am so glad I was able to stay for a while to catch up.

Richard and Katy are so kind to me, I am lucky to have them as friends.  I love their little girls and Max does too.  Max had a lot of play time with them in the backyard and around the house.  When they weren't watching, Max would steal a toy from their room to play with.  I actually saw him smile for the first time in days.

I enjoy traveling and being alone but there is something about the comfort of being around good friends.  It will be hard to leave, but I am so glad I had this time with them.   Next stop...being a tourist in Seattle and then, who knows?