le suburbs/

Can't you just hear the sprinklers starting up when you look at this? Every Monday night as I am leaving San Jose, I notice this happening all over the neighborhood my Mom and sister live in. It feels so summer to me. So American. Today I finally stopped and took a picture of it. I got a little wet but it was worth it.

countdown begins/

Just a pretty and mentally relaxing image today since I am in the countdown to leaving for Europe on Thursday. Trip two to shoot the European book. This is the big trip. One to two houses a week for the next 9 weeks. It is gonna be good. Hope you all come along.  : )

yelena yemchuk/

I have been going through images trying to make a nice little gallery for a Chinese magazine and I just kept stopping at this one that I shot at Yelena Yemchuk's loft in Brooklyn. I have barely had time to edit the images I shot there a couple of months ago. But wow! Do I love this one...

daily life/

Just a pretty picture from my friend Charles' place. Been loving this one for awhile.

bar tartine/

Last night I had an early dinner at Bar Tartine and was lucky enough to take a peek into what will be the new sandwich shop. The bread ovens are ready to go and I expect the line will be out the door soon...cannot wait.

roaming/

I forgot how much I love these mosaic walls at LAX. I was roaming my image files last night looking for an image (which I have yet to find) and ran across these. I have a special fondness for the yellow/grey combo. Can you say perfect?

daily life/

I had an early morning scout yesterday and I circled around to shoot this on an alley in the Mission. So amazing, right? I especially appreciate the two perfect "x marks the spots" on the doors!

window light/

I am in love with this window at the new San Francisco Heath factory. Every time I am there I go visit it, which sounds crazy but I just cannot keep myself away! These are a few shots from last weekend. Clearly it is still a construction site in this area. Just the prettiest light ever...

janet hankinson/nyt.people watching/outtakes

A couple of outtakes today from Janet Hankinson's beautiful work at Alice Water's home garden. See more on my People Watching post on the T Style website.

sunset/

We have been having a very typical San Francisco July lately. This means that I have pulled out the space heater and my big wooly sweaters because it is freaking cold. June was fantastic. July has been brutal. Once a week, I drive down to the S. Bay to see my family and get some sun. This image I shot on my drive back up north. Even though I know that it means I'm heading back into the cold, I never tire of the way the fog looks tumbling over the mountains from the coast. It is always a breathtaking sight.

bell's bookstore/

One more from Bell's bookstore in Palo Alto. I thought I posted this yesterday but apparently not...my brain is a bit of mush lately with my impending travels. I am in the "trying to get everything done before I leave" mode.

bookstores/bell's in palo alto

I went to Bell's bookstore in Palo Alto the other day. I have been going here since I was little as so many have. It has been around since 1935. Bookstores like these are rare nowadays. Remember when our free time was not spent trolling the internet, but rather browsing for hours in amazing bookstores like this one? I had the happiest hour there. Lots of books from every era and just one look at any shelf and it is obvious that there are treasures to be found if you just take the time. I found mine in the furniture section (surprise, surprise). "American Craftsman by Williamson" just leaped out at me since I am doing a project originally called that (it has since gone world wide). I probaby snickered out loud. Apparently that book has been done...in 1940. But of course I HAD to buy it. The only way these wonderful bookstores stay open is if we actually buy some books!

ocean beach/lucky 7

I shot this a couple of days ago at Ocean Beach. My closest friends will laugh when they see this because they know I am a little enamored with the number 7. How can I not be? I was born on 7/7! And yet, here we are on Friday the 13th. But I see that as lucky as well. It can only be a great weekend, don't you think? Enjoy it my friends!

euro book update/mollino

I've been dying - seriously dying - to share some of the images I shot in Europe for my next book. So today, I gave myself leave to do so because I am excited! I have news!
But first things first! This is an image from Carlo Mollino's kitchen. I figured this was ok to share because this most likely won't make it in. It is a room still used so not exactly in tact. But I still love it. It was a rainy day when I was there in May, so the light was just nice and soft. I love the two little weights hanging down in the window. At least I think they are weights.
OK, so on to the news. I am just about to head out on the road again - back over to Europe for the rest of the shoots for my book. This will be the bigger trip. I am seriously pinching myself by some of the emails I have received from these amazing houses and people. I am always surprised when people know my book in Europe because it was not really distributed there. Grateful. Honored. Surprised. This week has been an onslaught of YES! I love it! The trip looks like this: Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Czechoslovakia, Austria, France, Italy, Germany, Belgium and the UK. I think that covers it. And while on the road I will be doing some super good People Watching posts for the NYTimes. I hope you all come along for the ride.

nyt.people watching/janet hankinson

New People Watching post for the NYTimes T Style is up! Gardens this time, just for summer. Meet Janet Hankinson, landscape architect. Outtakes next week!

blog post 1/

One realization I had from redoing every single blog post was that my first post, or what I intended my first post to be, was never published. This is the image I intended to start of my little blog. The first Pic of the Day. This is one of my favorite images from Henry Varnum Poor's home. The paint chips on the floor are especially good aren't they?

500/really?

Apparently I have done over 500 blog posts. Today will be the 507th to be exact but I have been sitting on this news because I have been in blog crisis for awhile. I've been moving all the images to another server. That means looking at each and every image I have ever posted and slowly redoing each post. I am at a point where at least all the images are redone (not all sized, but soon!)
It has been illuminating looking at each blog post, to say the least. Happily,  I am at the point where I can squeal a proper WHOOHOO!!! I never thought much about what posting a picture each weekday would mean when I started back in April 2010. Some of the time I wonder what the heck I was thinking, but at other times, I realize what a wonderful practice it has been for me. So thanks for being along for the ride. I am leaving in a couple of weeks for round two in Europe. Looking forward to sharing more of the journey of my European book with you all.
Today an image from one of my shoots in LA. I loved seeing an old Mac floppy on the wall...how far we have come...

what is ugly/

I have been thinking about ugliness lately. OK, maybe that isn't the right way to put it. I'll go back a bit.
I was driving from LA to SF after a long weekend of work there this past weekend. I LOVE driving the I-5. Most people really hate it, but the mundane, landscape always inspires me somehow. This time, though there was road work so it was a bit more arduous with traffic slowly bottlenecking to one lane not once but two times in the 300 some odd miles. And it was hot. So my mind was wandering and I began thinking about all the things I have been shooting. I am so fortunate. I get to shoot beautiful, amazing places and people all the time. It almost seems easy. Of course it isn't really, but you know what I mean? I started to think "You need to do shoot something you would never shoot. You need to challenge yourself." This has been rolling around in my brain ever since. There are so many things I just have no desire to shoot at all. Maybe I should try and shoot those things just to push myself and my work. Self assignments are so valuable. Handcrafted Modern was basically a self assignment! Photographing ugliness is not the right way to put it, but I am compelled by this idea of shooting things I have no desire to shoot. Maybe it will be the most interesting thing I have ever done...I wonder how it will make me feel?
When I was sitting in stopped traffic, with sweat dripping down my ribs I realized I was in a stretch of the I-5 I always want to stop, but never can. SO here are two pics just out my window. I didn't notice that beautiful bit of roadkill in the first one. A bonus! Clearly I don't consider roadkill ugly.  ; )

happy 4th/

travel day/

Driving the 5 back to SF from LA. I'll be back after the holiday...or maybe on the holiday...who knows.
; )

quotes/

I've been in LA this past weekend doing all sorts of fun, work related things. Yesterday found me shooting an artists studio. I caught myself reading his walls quite a bit because they were filled with wonderful quotes.
This one has stuck with me. I hope this is true...