Summertime Sadness

I miss my home country...

The nostalgia is strongest in the Summer, which I always associate with a vacation in Lovech, Bulgaria, where I feel most free and like myself.

Here are a few images from the archives, including an outtake from a portrait shoot with my sister. Taken with a Sigma macro lens that produces the most amazing flares!

Flower Power

This is my last post before Julian's arrival tomorrow!  Before I take this baby break, however, I want to leave you with a few current - and positive - images.  John gave me farmers' market flowers this morning, and I photographed them this afternoon with the help of Shelby.

See you guys soon!

Kids, Cats, and Cameras

And just a few more shots from the same day - after we came home from the park Johnny decided to attack Shelby.  It is the sweetest kiss-attack you can imagine, even though the cat would disagree.

Chasing Light

As I was saying recently, I am lucky have many great photo opportunities, but lately they have been limited to capturing special moments rather than special lighting conditions.  Most of the time it's either a work gig or an outing with Johnny, both which inevitably end up happening in mid-day sunlight and although I try to make the best of it, it's been months since I've captured anything during a sunset/sunrise, or at night.  In other words, thanks to motherhood and pregnancy my light hunting days are temporarily over.  

It's just so hard to get out of the house only to shoot stuff...so I try staying in to chase the light.  We work  best artistically with limitations, don't we!

Here are a few pre-July Fourth shots representing my usual subjects - kids, cats, and naturey crap...but with a bit of a bokeh/flare twist.  Enjoy!

I hate cameras. They are so much more sure than I am about everything.

~John Steinbeck

I had two photoshoots scheduled for this week, plus a good number of chores and engagements planned, but they all fell through when I got sick, followed by Johnny, so we spent many days sitting at home nursing our coughs and fevers.  Adding to my horror of getting up a billion times at night (and having to deal with a very cranky, very stubborn toddler), I was faced with the failed opportunity of using the Sigma lens I had rented for the occasion of my cancelled gigs.  It's a 30mm, f/1.4 glass of near perfection, and I was dying to try it out.  Luckily, I refused to accept such an anti-climatic development of things, and I started shooting whatever I had and saw right here at home, with no regard of elaborate artistry.

The lens performed exceptionally well in the low-light indoor conditions at home; on top of things it finally rained and it got dimmer than ever.  Still, I am quite happy with what I came up with.  The following images are practically representative of my life in general - Shelby and Johnny, my Mom and John, the daily routine of cooking and bathing and reading and watching the gardeners and the garbage trucks and hanging out, and the occasional walk around the neighborhood.  Not too shabby, after all.  Not too spectacular, either, but full of love, which is much more precious to me in the big scheme of things!

I still can't get over the way Blogger completely ruins my image quality.  I'll try and post some of the shots on Flickr for a better viewing experience!

Oh, and the headshots of me?  Johnny took them :)

So welcome to my world, thanks for visiting, and enjoy!

P.S. Johnny has discovered his "camera smile".  It's crazy to think that he is becoming increasingly self-conscious even at that early age.

P.P.S. Roseola sucks.

Enjoy iLife

I haven't used my camera much in the past couple of weeks, but I always carry my phone with me, and promptly take photos whenever a good chance presents itself.  In this case, I captured our transition from Sunnyvale to Belmont, and the accompanying surroundings exploration.  The last few images are from Palo Alto, where I went on Saturday to drop my first roll of 120 mm film to be developed.

The good thing about iphonography is that one can really take advantage of the mobility it offers, and touch up the shots later (I favor VSCOcam over Instagram these days).

Coming up next, my adventures in Medium Format! 

New Beginnings

We moved to a new house in Belmont, California this past weekend.  It's a wonderful place to be, both literally and metaphorically, and I am glad that we are settling down as I have a few important projects I want to concentrate on in the upcoming months, one of them being a stray animal charity I will be conducting here on the blog by selling prints to help out my furry Bulgarian friends. Stay tuned for more details soon - I'll be adding a "Donate" button, and there will be information about how it all works.  Of course, I'll also start writing again.  It's all so exciting!

I took a few images at home yesterday morning, and even though the light is much better at sunset, I wanted to capture the tranquil feeling in the early hours.  We don't live fancy, we live well - it's a secret I wish everyone knew.  Getting caught in the rat race isn't a wise way to spend your time, and we have no intention doing it, despite of the pressures that come with moving to a wealthier neighborhood such as this, and having a two car garage.  The truth is, wealth is a state of mind, and being able to enjoy my family, my craft, and the moment makes me richer than a king.  So we brought tattoos and Transformers decals and jazz music and geeky culture to Belmont, and a certain kind of freedom - to be ourselves.  

My favorite part is the hilly landscape and the country feel of the area.  The air is great, so is the light, and it's safe and quiet, ideal to raise a child.  Take a look, enjoy, and I hope to have you over soon!