This is what I can tell you about my North Carolina trip so far:

•  It takes one full (entire, loooooong!) day to travel from Orange County to North Carolina.

•  A great son is willing to pick his mom up at the airport late at night.

•  Hotel bars can be awesome.

•  It has been completely grey and/or raining every second I’ve been here.  ”Carolina Blue” must be a myth.  It rained all of my last visit, also.

•  As a result, I have apparently hauled massive amounts of camera gear across 3,000+ miles for no reason, whatsoever.

•  I lied.  There was actually one spot of blue sky for thirty seconds.  I photographed it from a parking lot just to “prove” the sky is still blue behind all the grey.

•  There are a lot of trees here.

•  I ate a fried green tomato.  Well, actually, just a very thin slice of one.

•  Other food that I’ve had served to me:  Biscuits (minus the gravy – I just can’t “do” gravy no matter how much “they” want me to try it), collard greens, fried french toast.

•  THAT’S RIGHT FOLKS!  THEY FRY FRENCH TOAST HERE!

•  Who knew people did such things?

•  I’m pretty sure I no longer have arteries.  They closed up and left for California …. the land of sprouts and greens.

•  Did I mention the hotel bar?

•  Rainy days are good days for movies.

•  I traveled 3,000+ miles to go to the movies.  (Which are much cheaper to see in NC than in California, by the way!)

•  I saw The Great Gatsby … one of my all time favorite books.  (I love Fitzgerald!)

•  I saw Star Trek.

•  Both movies were good and I’m glad I got to see them.

•  I’ve also had a lot of great time with my oldest son and his girlfriend, Pretty.

I’ll have more for you soon.

(I think?)

There hasn’t been much time for being online …!

(Because I haven’t traveled enough lately …?)

I hate traveling cross country, but I’m sure it will be worth it once I arrive.

After all, I have a son graduating from college!

Oh my!

How is it possible when I’m only 24?

I’m not sure how much time I’ll have and/or when I’ll have Internet access while on this trip.

I’ll probably be sporadic with my blog posts for the next week-ish.

Yesterday, my appointment with Paul Newman was my top priority.

When he works on me regularly, I live with less pain.

(Although, I am always in MORE pain for a day or two after I see him.)

I wish I could take him with me to keep my arm on track when I travel.

Instead, whenever possible, I see him as soon as I return to “undo” whatever I’ve done to myself by traveling/shooting.

My trip to San Francisco was brief and involved more socializing than shooting.

Paul Newman was happy with the status of my arm when he saw me.

My North Carolina trip will be a little more challenging … more luggage, more gear, more shooting, more days ….

But, I’ll try to pace myself.

(I’ve actually scheduled extra days on this trip just for pacing-myself purposes.)

Yesterday was a blur of unpacking, laundry, post-travel chores, pre-travel chores, and then packing all over again.

I’ve been stressing about some aspects of this trip.

For instance,

I’ve been worried about getting my luggage from my car to the check-in area.

That probably sounds odd,

But, it is really difficult when I can’t carry/lift with my right arm.

(Yes, I’m traveling alone this trip.)

I honestly don’t know how I’m going to do it.

“Little” things can be such difficult obstacles for me.

Sheesh, I’m tired.

I realize a lot of you have never been to a photowalk, so I thought I’d share a little about it.

Most photowalks are small (4-10 participants who live locally).

Photowalks are usually organized by one or two photographers.

Participants of various skill levels meet, take photos – all the while networking and learning from each other.

Tuesday’s event, however, was huge and organized by a combination of photographers and Google.

Group Photo by Peter Adams.

The big “draws” for this walk were:

•  Google was giving away one Google Glass at the event.  (Worth $1,500 and impossible to buy anywhere right now.)

•  Trey Ratcliff would be attending.  (He’s a famous photographer who primarily shoots HDR photography.)

•  Thomas Hawk would be attending.  (He’s a famous photographer who has a goal of shooting the 100 biggest cities in the United States.)

I flew into the Bay Area on Tuesday and did some shooting in the East Bay.

In the late afternoon, I was honored to attend a meeting Trey and Thomas had with Google.

During this meeting, they were fitted for (and taught how to use) “Glass” to wear on the photowalk.

Trey Ratcliff (left) and Thomas Hawk (right) getting “fitted” with their new Google Glass.

I had a lot of fun chatting with Google Glass developers and trying out (Thomas’s) Glass myself.

Photo taken by Thomas Hawk with my iPhone.

I knew Glass would be fun to take photos with.

I knew finished photos from the perspective of a person’s eye/s would be cool.

I didn’t know Glass would be SO SMART.

The technology in Google Glass is absolutely amazing.

The glasses can take photos, upload them, share them, etc. via voice activation.

“OK Glass, take a photo.”

You can ask it questions, get directions … Glass is intelligent.

(I get so excited by technology and the glimpses it gives us into the future.)

Kudos to Google for exceeding everyone’s expectations with Glass.

After the Google Glass “fittings,” we rushed over to the photowalk.

I really enjoyed seeing old friends and getting to meet many, many, new people too.

San Francisco Photowalk

Eventually, the photowalk came to an end.

A fairly large group of us gathered at a lounge for cocktails.

As the night wore on, a few of us moved on to another location for dinner.

It was really a lot of fun, but (as expected) it turned out to be a late night.

Also, once we got “home” we *needed* to upload and look at Glass photos.

Yes, I’m a photography nerd and so are a lot of my friends!

I also fell in love with the Hawk’s two black labs.

They’re approaching three years old.

(They loved me too because I gave them LOTS of great tummy and ear rubs.)

Here’s a photo of one of them ….

So adorable!

I would have packed both dogs in my bag and snuck them home if I could have ….

I’ll update you tomorrow about my adventures here.

In the meantime,

I wanted to share this storm photo from Santa Barbara.

Once in awhile I’m lucky enough to catch extra-magical light.

This was one of those moments ….

Click on photo to purchase, or view larger, in 24atHeart gallery.

I hope those of you who live in the Bay Area will come join us.

(Over 1,100 people have RSVP’ed and I’m sure even more will show up.  I imagine there will be news coverage, etc., etc.)

I have a hard time “packing light” when I travel.

First of all,

I’m female.

We women need our hair brushes and lotions and potions.

And our shoes.

I always travel with a laptop so I can upload photos and work on them in my “spare” time.

In addition, I usually have one or two cases of heavy photography crap with me.

But, this time is different.

I’ll only be in the Bay Area for two days.

I vowed to travel with one standard size shoulder photography bag (which I’ll wear crossbody so it doesn’t hurt my bum shoulder/arm) and nothing more.

The very idea is shocking to my psyche.

My plan?

Stick a toothbrush, a travel toothpaste, a hairbrush, and a change of clothes into my photo bag.

No laptop.

No makeup.

Of course, I’ll also have my camera.

But, only two lenses!

(OK, three if you count the lens on it at any given moment.)

No tripod.

(It sort of kills me not to bring a tripod to an evening photo walk, but I’ll hunt down other stable surfaces to use instead just this one time.)

I do have some concerns.

First of all, I will automatically regret not having “all” my lenses with me.

Whatever I don’t have with me, I will “need.”

Also, what happens if I pull a lens out of my photo bag and my spare panties fall at the feet of Famous Photographers?

Most likely, they’ll start photographing them and post the photos all over the Internet.

“Suzanne’s thong makes the news!!”

Then, of course, there’s the fact I’ll look really ugly and rumpled all day Wednesday.

(Let’s be honest, I’ll look rumpled by afternoon on Tuesday.)

Looking terrible isn’t the smartest idea when you’re hanging out with zillions of photographers.

Why am I traveling so light?

Today, when I arrive in San Francisco -

I’ll be going straight from the airport to some pre-event shooting with a friend.

I don’t want to have to haul around a suitcase.

(With my arm – the less I take, the better!)

I probably won’t get “home” to my friend’s house until well after midnight – if we stop shooting at all.

Sleep is only a vague possibility over the next 36 – 48 hours.

I’ll look like death on Wednesday, but does it really matter?

After all, I’m pretty sure I’ll be too exhausted to care.

Are you a light traveler?

Or do you take tons of stuff even for short trips?  (Like I usually do!)

If you travel light, what’s the bare minimum you’ve taken on a planned trip?

I had a fun couple days.

I’m about to begin a very chaotic two-week schedule, so it was nice to have a relaxing weekend.

On Saturday, I spent time up in L.A. enjoying a (slightly early) Mother’s Day celebration with my family.

I wore a black dress, and sparkly flip-flops.

(You can do that in Southern California!)

Here’s a bad iPhone selfie photo.

It shows my wrinkles.

My daughter gave me flowers she bought at a local farmer’s market.

They’re so pretty.

Click on photo to purchase, or view larger, in 24atHeart gallery.

The day ended with an excellent dinner at Jiraffe (yum!) followed by a long walk by the ocean.

It was really nice.

On Sunday (“real” Mother’s Day), I spent some time shooting film with my youngest son.

He’s taking a photography class and we’ve been planning some film shooting time together for awhile.

It seemed like a perfect activity for Mother’s Day.

I was shooting a Diana F+ and my son was shooting a Holga.

Click on photo to purchase, or view larger, in 24atHeart gallery.

I haven’t shot film in a long time.

It was fun.

(It’s also kind of a pain in the ass, especially on a Diana.)

And no, I’m not ready to give up my digital camera anytime soon.

Late in the afternoon, I took my “real” camera to 1,000 Steps beach in Laguna.

I wanted to go for a walk, and also get some strenuous exercise … because hello 1,000 steep, narrow, steps.

(It was just too nice of a day to hang-out in a gym.)

Of course, I can’t ever go for a “normal” walk on the beach like “normal” people do.

No, I ended up waist deep in the ocean, fully clothed.

I didn’t intend for fully-clothed-in-the-ocean to happen.

But, there was a sea cave, the tide had come in, and I just “had” to explore it.

In hindsight, it was a very  stupid  risky move with several thousand dollars of camera equipment in my hands.

Don’t be like me!

(By the way, the Pacific was feeling a bit chilly yesterday.)

I also managed to get pretty scraped up on coral.

I never advise having a run-in with coral.

Coral always wins.

Coral can also lead to nasty, difficult to get rid of, infections.

Don’t ask me how I know that.

Anyway, I emerged from the ocean with one foot and leg bleeding.

No big deal – it’s to be expected if you’re me.

Also, if I hadn’t had the camera gear with me, I would have missed my favorite shot from the day.

I was wading through an area at the entrance of the cave when I nearly stepped on this:

Click on photo to purchase, or view larger, in 24atHeart gallery.

It wasn’t the only starfish I came across.

It is the only one I nearly stepped on though.

(Starfish usually cling to the rocks in the ocean, or hang out in tidepools.  It was a surprise to find one resting on the sandy bottom of the sea cave entrance.)

It seemed quite happy to be there.

That made two of us.

All in all, I had a very nice Mother’s Day weekend and I hope you did too.

I don’t usually write two back-to-back “random” posts, but here goes -

•  I wanted to let you know I WILL be in San Francisco next Tuesday and Wednesday.

•  And, I WILL be at the huge San Francisco Photowalk.  (The world’s largest ever?!  Over 800 people have RSVP’ed!)

•  And, I do hope to see you there.  Please come say hi if you’re attending.  And, please forgive me if I don’t remember everybody’s names.  I get flustered when I meet 800+ people at once.

•  Google will be giving away one Google Glass at the photowalk!!  Whee!

•  I want to win!  I want to win!!

•  I’ll be staying at Thomas Hawk’s house next week.  Have I told you he and his wife are the greatest/most gracious people ever?  Are you one of Thomas’s five million plus followers?  The man is amazingly talented.  You really should check out his work if you don’t already follow him.  He’s my idol.  And/or I’m his stalker.  (Or something like that?)

•  It’s okay.  He knows I’m his stalker and he’s okay with it.

•  Thomas Hawk is also one of the very nicest people you could ever, ever, meet.

•  He also NEVER sleeps.  I’m pretty sure that means I’ll be shooting with him for 48 hours straight while I’m visiting.

•  Does anyone own stock in Red Bull?

•  I’m in the midst of a “bad” pain flare-up.  (There is no such thing as a good one?!)

•  How bad is it?  Yesterday, I kept sending Paul Newman random pain-filled text messages.  They said things like, “It’s sooooooooooooooo bad!”  (With lots and lots of o’s!)

•  Of course, Paul Newman called me after receiving my  whining  text messages.  (Because he’s the best PT in the world?  Or so I would stop texting him?)  After giving me lots of good advice, my text messages continued.  But, they became much nicer and mellower and said things like, “Drugs make everything better.”

•  I’m counting down the seconds until he can work his magic on me today.  I think all this pain is a result of my three days shooting in Santa Barbara.  Add in an unforeseen circumstance which resulted in Paul Newman having to cancel my appointment with him earlier this week and you get Me+LotsOfPain.  I would have shown up on his office doorstep begging to see him yesterday, but the man had the day off.  Texting him odd (drugged up) messages had to suffice.  I’m pretty sure he’s glad to have me in his life????

•  Doesn’t it seem like there are a lot of really exceptionally insane evil criminals in the world lately?

•  I realize the above comment about criminals has nothing to do with the rest of this post, but that’s why this is called a random post.

•  This entire post might have been written under the influence of pain meds.

•  I should stop now?

•  Happy Mother’s Day weekend everyone!

Weddings, and graduations, and Mother’s Day, and more graduations, and birthdays, and Father’s Day and, and, and …!

I seem to be spending a lot of money on gifts lately.

Also, my calendar is resembling more of a jigsaw puzzle than anything organized and/or orderly.

Click on photo to purchase, or view larger, in 24atHeart gallery.

I thought I’d compile a very random list of tidbits for you today:

•  There’s a BIG (700 people and growing?) photo event going on next Tuesday, May 14th, in San Francisco.  You can get details here.  Everyone is welcome.  Yes, even those of you who “just” have the camera on your phone.

•  I’m trying to make my way to San Francisco for the event.  I’m in search of a cheap place to stay the night of the 14th.  Thomas Hawk’s couch is my only option right now (and I hate to impose on him his wife).

•  I will also be heading to North Carolina in the (very?) near future for my son’s college graduation.  Pinch me … how is it possible he’s graduating from college?

•  I like BEING places, but I hate “the act” of air travel.  Airports, security lines, sitting sardine-like with germy people, trying to handle camera equipment and luggage with one arm … it sucks.   (Hello pain flare-ups!)

•  A couple days ago, I received a text message from Paul Newman that simply read:  Innocent REALLY?  I knew he must be getting caught up on blog posts.  He had probably just read the last few sentences of this one.  Apparently, he doesn’t think I look at all innocent.  (It’s only because he knows me!)

•  In contrast, yesterday I sent a text message to Paul Newman which read:  You have become indispensable.  Don’t die.

•  He replied:  What did you do?

•  Paul Newman and I?  We are an endless source of comedic material.  It never stops.  I sometimes wonder if my orthopedic surgeon purposely sent me to Paul Newman while thinking, “THIS will be amusing to watch!”

•  Baby Face (my once-a-week personal trainer) is FINE.  I actually got him to talk a little yesterday.  Usually he’s all business, but I’m wearing him down.  I’ll find the human in him any day now!  Yesterday was my day to do arm s.  He added an extra ab workout too.  (Probably because working out one arm takes less time than working out two?)  He’d never consider letting me off easy.

•  No, I’m not in a “gym routine” yet.  My life is chaotic and, apparently, I travel a lot.  BUT, I’m sticking with it and enjoying (??) it.  Baby Face is constantly changing up what I do, which keeps me from getting bored.  He also seems to find new  weak  muscles every time I see him.

•  You might have heard, Adobe is moving its Creative Suite (Photoshop, et al.) to a cloud-based, subscription (pretty high monthly fee), service.  A lot of people are very upset about this, particularly photographers.  In a nutshell, if you’re a casual/amateur/hobbyist/beginning/small business photographer it is not something to sign up for, in my opinion.  You can find lots of unhappy people bitching about Adobe’s change on photography websites everywhere.  If you’d like my two cents on any aspect of this news feel free to email me and I will do my best to answer your question(s).

•  I miss Doc a lot.  He was my therapy dog.  He was there for me through the car accident, all nine surgeries, and a very hellish recovery road.  I’m so happy I still have Mocha.  She’s laying on top of my feet as I type this.  I’ve been giving her lots of extra attention because I know she misses Doc too.  I love animals.

•  I’ve been testing out some fun new photography gadgets.  I will have news about them soon!

Click on photo to purchase, or view larger, in 24atHeart gallery.

I was so impressed with this old oak tree.

It has seen so much and weathered countless storms.

The bark is beat to hell, but it still stands proud.

(In fact, it even pelted me with acorns as the wind whipped through it.  It’s got a spunky spirit!)

And yes, as I stood there, I couldn’t help but feel a connection to it.

Life isn’t easy for any of us.

I’ve certainly had my share of things to overcome.

For some of you it might seem odd to be inspired by a tree.

I am, though.

Nature inspires me every single day.