But the realization hit me.  I don’t have to be liked by everyone.  My style is unique, and clients and friends will value me, comment, and applaud or critique whatever I produce.  Pictures are personal and don’t resonate with every single being.  And I think this is an important point to bring up.  Many a time I feel like I have moved away from what really moved me.  I haven’t pressed the shutter on the moment I thought would be great.  I haven’t pick selected the imaged that I liked the most.  I haven’t been unrepentantly sure of my images enough.  Maybe that’s the other part of dharma that isn’t defined: Not only finding your path, but sticking to it as well.

Greatness requires risk and attitude.  If you don’t think your great, maybe you’ll never be great.  Self-fulfilling prophecy and what not… I don’t know.  But if you have an idea, a dream, a vision- produce it and don’t look back.  Do you think I would have gotten these sweet rake guitar skills if I had listened to anyone!

-Todd

Heading up on a dark Monday evening, tail-lights illuminate my path to the city for an evening meeting with Prospect’s new head chef/part owner, Ravi Kapur, and magical word slinger Adam Starr.  It’s been some time since our last creative meeting, and I am excited to hear good news ranging from full funding of  the restaurant to everyone’s latest and greatest ideas.  I really didn’t know what to expect beyond that.  I was just hoping to have a few drinks, brainstorm, and walk away with the creative juices flowing.

Reaching the city, I found an unusually amazing parking spot close to my destination on what seemed to be a very crowded night in the Mission for a Monday.  As I walked to our meeting place, I passed by a few people whom I thought were dressed pretty far out for even SF standards.  Capes and goth galore, it slowly dawned on me that everyone was dressing up for the Day of the Dead.  Ah yes, my birthday is also in line with hoards of people, some in costume, pilgrimaging candies and favorite foods to the grave sites of  loved ones gone the way of the Dodo.  Glad I brought my camera.

I truly love photographing people, but how do you approach someone off the street, bust out an intimidating camera, and then make them comfortable with you?  A good starting to point is to just ask.  I couldn’t let all these great faces, images, and shadows drift off into the night.  Once a year my friend…  So I bucked up the courage and asked a few kind-hearted souls to allow me to photograph them.  And it felt damn good.

 A new goal is emerging: Making a point to ask people if I may photograph them.  The more uncomfortable I am, the more reason for me to stretch my boundaries and push my creative ideas.  

I swear it’s like asking your high school sweetheart out for the first time.  And after she says yes, you think, “Why didn’t I do that sooner?”

-Todd

Haven’t gotten to post this last week.  Things have just been popping up here and there, which is a good thing.  Edits with a recent wedding and family session, putting together a commercial bid, and general maintenance of websites, the garden (which is going to be awesome) and life has been keeping me at bay.  But I am back baby!

I’ve also been laying some groundwork on some fun projects that have been bubbling around in my head, more of which I will be commenting on as I go.  I don’t want to say too much now, but I will say it does involve birds that lay eggs.

The other really good news is that I’m heading out to New York with Gaby Moreno and company (through Leslie Lowe…thanks Leslie!).  They are opening for Ani Difranco for part of an East Coast Tour. I will be covering 3 shows in mid-November and some behind the scenes and down time stuff.  It’s such a big break for Gaby and crew.  I am so sure that they are going to spring into stardom, and I feel honored to be a part of just a few shows.  I am also looking forward to freezing my ass off in NYC!  Gonna miss that good old CA weather.

Seeing as tomorrow is my birthday, I am going to make this short and not post photos of anything, including the Lucha Libre mask I wore last night for Halloween.  Demoralizing at best, I would not recommend a mask for anyone to wear for Halloween.  Three words:  Hot and Sweaty.  Ewwwww…
Besides, have you ever tried to eat 7 layer dip through a little mouth slot?  Not feasible.  Go with something easy: Face paint and some hair color go a long way.

Till next time.

-Todd

Kind of funny to find a National Wildlife Refuge here at the jumping off point for planes, a water treatment plant, and train tracks ilking there way across what was once tidal flow but now landfill, forged metal, and low income housing.

More after the jump.

I tried not to think about the funny smells eminating from the ground, or the hawk like mosquitoes buzzing around.  “My they look awfully large,” echoed in my mind before she (it’s only the females who suck blood…go figure) took a position on my arm to make a little withdrawl.  Not a good time to set my bag down to make a lens change!  I hastly moved on towards the end of the point to see what else I could find.  If anything, it was nice just to be up before dawn and take a stroll.

Had to get my morning coffee fix at Peet’s today, as the net was on the fritz yet again.  When you poach you just never know.  So I headed out with laptop and camera.  Once at Peet’s, I struck a few items off the list and things were turning out to be a “pretty nice little Thursday.”  As I drove home all of a sudden the street I was on was full of fire engines and police cars.  I pulled over and jumped out to see what was all the commotion.

More after the jump-

I approached the scene with a bit of caution and then hailed a civilian guy who was helping with traffic.
He told me that basically a car had run the stop sign and T-Boned the van pretty good.  There was radiator fluid and some random debris everywhere, 
and I hung around a bit longer, wondering if I would be shooed away the the cops. Inquiring to the fireman if anyone had been hurt, he cuttingly said, “Do you mean did anybody die?”  Before I could reply he said with a matter of fact, “No, nothing too bad.  Nothing they won’t get over in a few days.”  And with that he picked up the license plate that had been flung in the street and walked towards the scene. 

When you work in that kind of environment; when all you seem to do is aid in the rescue, recovery, and salvation of people’s well being and/or their lives, you start to marginalize the day to day accidents.  Surely it is a survival mechanism of the trade, just like how doctors must be able to pull away from the emotion of holding someone’s life in their hands.  They have to view it as a body, a machine with all the parts where they normally are.  Open the hood and yep, the oil and tranny fluid look good.  Gaskets are tight.  Just have to go in and adjust the spark plugs via… the heart.

I know I couldn’t be a doctor.  I watched an open heart surgery on television once in Biology Class: Mr. O’Brien’s class with the anatomical skeleton and schematics of the human muscular system in the far corner.  One day he brought in a video of an open heart surgery to show us.  I moved myself to the front of the class to get a better view, and boy did I ever.  In thirty seconds I was seeing too much, and I arose pale white to inform Mr. O‘Brien that I would be leaving class for a quick jaunt to the toilet.  As I approached, without looking up, “Sit down Parsons,” was the curt reply.  Placing my hand on Mr. O’Brien’s arm (something no student would ever do) I stated again, “No, Mr. O’Brien, I really need to go to the bathroom.” 

Yesterday I spoke of relaxing in the moment for a bit to catch your breath. I went to the forest and just cruised around smelling the fresh air. Well, sometimes you don’t need to go far to have a little moment. I hung around the house all day doing odds and ends. Mowed the grass and watered plants. Finally have the chickens contained in a little run so they won’t destroy the winter veggies. After watering, I took a look at the front. I just stopped and stared away. You’d be amazed at what starts to pop out at you if you just stand still long enough.

And I thought it was the perfect moment to go and grab my macro lens. Kneeling down in the wet dirt mud, I came across two different snails marching towards different destinations. They were only a few feet apart, but would most likely never meet. Searching for the best angles, I got close with the lens and captured a few images.

I don’t know, I am not a big fan a slugs nor snails, but when I see these guys up close, I just can’t help but laugh and say something in snail speak that is lethargic at best with a southern accent.  “Hey Herb.  Wha’cha doin?” or something to that effect.  And for all you snail haters out there, we’ll finish up with nice and non slimey.

And remember, take time and smell the…oh how cliche!

See you down the road.

-Todd

Sometimes when I am in bed, I can hear a thousand little voices talking about all sorts of different ideas, conversations, and/or topics.  It’s just the noise of the day’s ideas “downloading” as I call it.  If this goes on for a while and I am restless, there seems to be a certain point where one voice shouts over the rest, “Hey!”  And in that instant, an eerie calm descends over my mind, and I usually fall to sleep.

The same could be said for walking in the forest.  You first step in and walk a few paces over noticeably softer earth.  The ground, with all its decaying matter, softens each footstep that you produce. 

You look around and everything is glimmering with moisture and dew.  Downed trees jut out around corners and, acorns litter the forest floor from all the wind howling through the tree tops.  The whole place is alive, and it calms even the busiest mind. You look at that trail and wonder where it goes.  Think to yourself, “Why don’t I just walk a little bit and see where it takes me?”

I decided to take a walk in the woods to clear my head from all the stuff I have been attending to these last few days.  It feels good to be so busy, but a little quiet time will do a mind some good.  So I jumped in the car and headed up 1500 feet to the nearest ridge line.  It’s amazing that I can leave the valley floor with its sun and traffic and noise, and in no time at all be surrounded by trees that move and sway to the pulses of wind.  To hear the stuff that is air move through the trees, and breathe in that deep forested musty earthy smell revitalizes my soul and energy.

The next time you find yourself so busy that you don’t have time for this or that – take the time.  Walk away from whatever you are doing.  Put down the legal pad, the laptop, the cellphone or Blackberry iPhone; go somewhere quiet.  And I guarantee that you will be more productive when you return.

-Todd 

Today I had to drop off something to a friend in SF, and I brought my gear with me, cause you just never know what you are going to find out there.  After a rain filled drive in the city, the light staying behind the clouds, and not much happening, I decided to head home via the coast.  Surely there will be something of interest along Highway 1?  And if not, at least it is a gorgeous drive.  So I revved the Ford Focus (POS…but still kicking!), cut off a taxi, and headed up and over the hill to Pacifica and down the coast.

Putting along, I saw a bicyclist with panniers and the whole nine yards.  Ahh, how he reminded me of…me.  It wasn’t too long ago that Jen and I were in Japan pedaling our way to the next point on the map in Japan.  Now she is taking abuse from kids in 2nd grade and I am…what am I doing?

Not a few miles down the road another blotch of chartreuse green and blues appeared on the horizon.  They were pulled over no less, organizing the gear, and as I drove by them I just couldn’t take the guilt anymore.  I swung a U-Turn and pulled over next to them.  Looking at my passive aggressive Nikon, I grabbed her and proceeded to introduce myself.  Then I asked their story.  More after the jump…

 Joff and Joy are from England, and they are bicycling down to South America by way of, and get this, Halifax, Nova Scotia.  Now I have been one for adventure, but damn…  Such an ambitious journey, I could only wish them the best of luck.  It has been a pretty good ride for them so far.  Not much rain and nice drivers.  I doubt they will be so lucky once they get into Mexico and further south!  Aye Dios Mio, son locos por alla!  But that is neither here nor there.  They are riding for charity, namely Muscular Dystrophy, and have a web page/blog set up that you can visit here.  Give it a go and read their story.  Pretty amazing.

As I was taking a few photos we talked about me and my wife’s adventure in Japan.  They asked if it was a good place to ride, and I immediately said it was great.  I had one reason.  The Onsen.  Japanese Bath.  If you don’t know, you have to go.  If you do, nuff said.  As we chatted a bit about gear, the ride, and their goals, I could see that they were ready to hit the road.  I bid the adieu and wished them a safe journey.

It’s always sad seeing someone off whom you will likely never meet again, and if you really drink that moment in, it can be both touching and saddening. 

But there are only a few degrees of separation, and I am sure I will meet someone down the line that wished Joff and Joy a fond fanfare.  So wish them all the best, and if you see them doe-eyed in Los Angeles traffic, please give them a soft warm bed, a nice hot shower, and a clean wash of clothes.  There’s nothing better than the simple things in life (that we really take for granted) to make a person’s day.

See you down the road.

-Todd