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.  ; )

california/

I am heading to Europe this weekend to shoot my next book and yesterday I just dove into the California hillsides and coastline. Maybe it is because I was born here, but if I think about it too much, being away from this land gives me a little pang. But there are great things ahead!!! I'll focus on that!

Next time you hear from me, I'll be in London. Have a great weekend, friends.

christmas gifts/

This year's holiday season has been a bit of a weird one for me. I usually get in the holiday spirit, but this year, I have felt like I am in a bubble. I definitely sense that the year is ending but the whole Christmas gift thing I have not participated in. You see, my family decided just to do charitable donations as gifts this year (except for my niece and nephew, who were FULL ON in the holiday spirit!!). I have to say, it was rather nice. I was grateful just to be with my family, and know a tree would be planted and a hive of bees given to someone needy. And then I started driving home. This was the sight as I got into my car. The crows were cawing to each other as I drove away and those cloud formations? It was just stunning. And as I continued on my way back to San Francisco, it just was getting prettier and prettier. There are perks to a "Spare the Air" day. Pink sunsets is one of them. Finally I couldn't take it anymore. I pulled off the freeway and drove along the reservoir for awhile. And just on that stretch of road I watched the sky turn a brilliant pink, the first star of the night, the tiny sliver that is the moon tonight (barely perceptible if you aren't looking for it), and a bunch of deer having their evening meal including a gorgeous buck. Seeing all these things in the space of an hour felt like the most stunning Christmas gift of all. How lucky am I?

seascape/

What is there to say? I look at this and I feel calmer. I am one of those people that goes to the water when I need to clear my head, to figure out perplexing issues, you name it. All answers come to me and all feels right when I am sitting near a large body of water. Where do you go?

pacheco pass/california

One thing about that absolute shit weather we have been having (I've heard it called Junuary more than once today), is that we get some gorgeous sunsets after all the rain and mayhem that Mother nature has been pulling on us. You can't really complain when the sunset looks like this.

I-5/

Another image from my drive down the 1-5 Wednesday.  So pretty!

I-5/

Tuesday I woke up in NYC. Wednesday I woke up in LA. And today I woke up in San Francisco. It has been a bit of a blur, frankly. But yesterday, to get my bearings, I drove home from LA along the I-5. So many people are bewildered when I say I love the I-5. Well, yesterday it was easy to understand why. Absolutely breathtaking scenes out my windows the entire ride. I had to stop and shoot 5 times.

fort ross/pioneer interiors

I have found myself repeatedly thinking about this shot I took while at Fort Ross a week ago, so I am posting it today.

Fort Ross was an old Russian Fort on the California Coast and it is now open to the public with some of the rooms in the fort recreated. Lots of animal hides and rustic log cabins with little Russian flourishes like hand carved cabinetry and chairs and hand painted strawberries on some of the beds. But this room is the one I keep coming back to. A bearskin on the wall and cabbage roses on the bed...there is something so brilliant about this juxtaposition. It reminds me of a book I ran across at William Stout book years ago on Alaskan pioneer interiors (yes, I bought it right away...it is completely amazing). But what is it about this rusticity that I respond to? What do you think of this? I am still figuring it out.

hwy 1/

you really can't beat California in the springtime...

sea ranch/

another lovely shot from Sea Ranch this past weekend.

fort ross/

Back in California and to celebrate that fact, I took a little day trip yesterday up the California coast. The drive along Hwy 1 always make me feel so damn fortunate to live here! I stopped into the old Russian settlement (est. 1812) Fort Ross to look around.  I hadn't been there since I was about 9 or 10 years old, so it was fun to walk around and have errant childhood memories flood back. I found myself rather in love with the interiors they had set up...surprise, surprise...the light was really beautiful.

california book events...a big thank you!

Just wanted to extend my sincerest thank you to everyone at William Stout Architectural Books in San Francisco and Heath Ceramics in LA for two wonderful book signings and slideshows last week. I get a bit nervous giving these talks sometimes, but I had such a great time! And thanks to everyone who came out and bought Handcrafted Modern. It was a joy to talk to so many of you and know that my enthusiasm and love for these people and homes are shared by so many.

Yesterday, my friend Michele and I decided to take the long way back to San Francisco. I have to say we timed it perfectly. Just as we were driving into Big Sur the sun was setting. California, how I love thee....

daily life/california hills

So much of my life is spent on the road. But I never tire of the golden California hills. I see them and I know I'm home.

This one is on Lucas Valley Road, heading back from a shoot in Inverness, CA.

somewhere in California/