shyonelung

365 Photo Project - Day 277

2011-10-06T05:53:00.000-07:00

Taken: October 5, 2011
Location: Brooklyn, NY

I took a side trip to New York City this week -- for a bit of business and a chance to drop in a see some friends and relatives. The best part so far has been taking the East River ferries to and from Manhattan and to different stops along Brooklyn's waterfront. It's a beautiful week in New York -- yesterday the temperature was in the 70s. Perfect for a boat ride though that part of me that left New York for the West Coast can't help but wonder how this trip is going to be like when the temps drop and the ice and snow arrive.

Makes me happy to be heading back to Northern California on Saturday. Still, as the song says, I'll always love New York.

365 Photo Project - Day 275

2011-10-03T15:42:00.000-07:00

Taken: September 15, 2011

Location: Healdsburg, Ca

Since I talked about our new little pug man a couple days ago, I figured it was only right to introduce him to y'all. That's Ulysses on the left. That striking fellow on the right is Chamuco, who also happens to be Ulysses' uncle. See the resemblance? Seriously, take a good look. Ulysses is a mister fluff ball with the most amazing teddy bear feet and a penchant for licking face, unfortunately. He has taken to waking my husband and I up in the morning with a full-on face-lick attack and we have taken to hiding under the covers until he goes away.

The first few weeks were very difficult. The new guy terrorized his uncle incessantly and we had to separate them a few times before someone lost a pug eyeball. But as any pug owner will tell you these are tough little dogs -- a big dog in a small package -- and they seemed no worse for wear. They're getting along famously now, according to my husband. I haven't seen them in nearly three weeks. I miss the little devils. Look at those faces -- I mean who wouldn't?

365 Photo Project - Day 274

2011-10-02T15:41:00.000-07:00

Taken: July 10, 2011
Location: Healdsburg, Ca

Now that I've changed the way I eat and gotten over some of my more self-destructive habits, I've found some solace in working on my small but growing collection of Converse sneakers. I believe these are my oldest current pair, dating back about 20 years. I really didn't get into buying Cons until about three years ago when a friend gifted me a new pair for my birthday and when I bought these, I didn't have that much to spend on sneakers (and I probably had a job that required I wear something other than Chuck Taylors to work). Still, I'd like to think the obsession can be traced back to these simple kicks. Every few months, I go through my collection and give away or trade in the pairs I don't wear anymore. These ain't going anywhere.

I often will drag my Cons out to practice shooting and editing pictures. This was from one of those sessions.

365 Photo Project - Day 273

2011-10-01T15:41:00.000-07:00

Taken: August 1, 2011

Location: Avenue of the Giants, Humbolt Redwoods State Park, Northern California.

Hello again.

I wanted to continue this 365-photo blog by putting up photos I take on the day of each post, but circumstances have conspired against me once again.
I'm actually posting this from Washington, D.C., where I'm staying with my brother and his family as we care for my Mom who is recovering from major surgery. I've been here since September 16th and originally expected to be home earlier this week but while my Mom is improving every day, I was asked to stay and so here I am, hanging in the Nation's Capital for another week or so. I am armed only with my iPhone for a camera though as my fancy DLSR is at home. So in the meantime, I'm going to put up some photos from the last year instead.

This one was taken in one of the coolest places I've ever been -- Avenue of the Giants, a 31-mile road that winds through 51,000 acres of redwood groves that are surrounded by the Humbolt Rewoods State Park. This was one of the stops on a road trip to Calgary, Alberta my husband and I took summer. Our stops included Eureka, Ca., Portland, Or., Spokane, Wa., Fernie, BC., Calgary, over the Canadian Rockies down to Salmon Arm, BC., back across the border to Seattle, to Portland, Ashland, Or., and back home to Sonoma County. We drove more than 3,000 miles in 13 days. I love road trips but it's been a long, long time since I've taken one this ambitious.

I usually take my road trips for a purpose -- like the time I moved across the country and decided to visit as many friends and cools places as I could on the way out West. This one was no different. As many of you know, I had to say goodbye to my beloved pug Louie on May 20. I have written about him a lot on this blog because he was such a big part of my life. Though we were together for only a few short years and he was sick for a good amount of that time, we had a true bond and he was a great friend to me. I loved him as much as I loved any person I've ever known, perhaps more. I know some people think that's nuts. I just think they don't understand and that's okay with me.

It's hard to quantify this loss -- Louie was a part of our family, a constant companion, a true friend, an original. He came to us as a rescue, sick and half-blind but proved to be stout and full of life, defying some pretty good odds to have made it as far as he did and as well as he did. He went deaf a year ago and was slowing down a bit but he continued to patrol our deck barking at birds, squirrels and all forms of invaders, kept our younger pug in line and never lost his appetite, even at the very end when we fed him some of my husband's grilled skirt steak.

He suffered a Grand Mal seizure, seemed to recover at the vet's overnight and came home with us. The prognosis wasn't good -- the general thinking was a brain tumor and we hoped to have a few months left at least. But that night, it was clear his neurological functions were already compromised -- he could barely stand up, cried and whimpered and trembled the entire night, and the next morning couldn't even lift his leg to pee. I stayed up the whole night with him and uncharacteristically he buried his chin in my arm and did not move or complain, even though he always grumbled in the past when his space on the bed was disturbed. I took that as a sign that he had had enough.

That Friday, my husband and I made the hardest decision we've ever had to make and we drove to the vet's office, Louie in my lap and the window open -- just as we all were when we first brought him home. This time, though, he could barely lift his head to catch the breezes he loved. It's moments like that when you know it's time, as sad as that is. He died in my arms with a belly full of steak. It was peaceful. I cried a river into his fur and said my goodbyes.

It's still so hard. I cried a little as I wrote this. I am fortunate to have so many wonderful friends and in the days afterward, many reached out to me with words of kindness and wisdom. Two stood out. One said, "I’m not one of those people who says “it’s for the best” because it’s fucking awful and unfair. But I’ll bet Louie knew how horrible you felt about leaving him…. and who wouldn’t want to die with a belly full of steak in the arms of their favorite person in the whole world? A true friend even in the end." All I can say is I hope that's so.

What else can I say about the King of All Pugs, the dog who we thought we'd rescued but who, if truth be told, really rescued us? He was as good a friend as I've ever had in this world and his loss is like an irreparable crack in my heart. Over the last few months, the pain is easing a little. I'm starting to think of the good days more than the last horrible days and I'm making peace with the decisions I made, only stopping occasionally to ask myself if I did the right thing, that question for which nobody has an answer.

Another friend said "the heart is big enough for the whole world." When she wrote this to me, I was in the first days of grief and a pug person I know (who bred my other rescue pug Chamuco) had offered me a 2-year-old pug that had been returned to her. I couldn't believe I was already considering another dog, a "replacement" was how I put it. But my wise friend said Louie could never be replaced, that it would just be a new pug to learn to love. She was right of course.

That pug happened to be on a ranch outside Calgary, Alberta and that is why my husband and I decided to take a road trip. It's been a long, hard year for us, full of personal challenges, family illness, new and difficult responsibilities to take on. We needed a vacation and I convinced my husband that this road trip would be just the remedy we needed, especially since waiting at the end would be a new friend. My husband was reluctant and we had some things to do before setting off -- weeks went by and then one morning, I noticed my 16-year-old cat had seemed to lose a lot of weight suddenly. Then I realized she had lost her eyesight -- just a few days earlier she could see just fine. I tried to get her to eat even brought her out to the deck for the sun she loved to roll around in. There was no rolling around, just stillness and a few sad meows and, eventually a trip to the vet. She had kidney failure. There was nothing I could do except say another goodbye.

That evening, I told my husband is was time to go on the road. We packed up my car and set off, most of the trip not knowing where we would sleep until we got there. It was crazy, ridiculous, liberating and invigorating and we picnicked and laughed and saw mountains and vineyards, valleys, winding roads and highways, towers, rivers, lakes and, when we pulled into our driveway on the evening of the 13th day, the pug we named Ulysses snoring peacefully in the backseat, we both knew the journey had been worth it. Even the bad parts.

See you tomorrow.

Note: I realized in prepping to restart this blog, I've missed a few days. I will fill them in as I go along.

Time to Finish What I Started

2011-09-13T21:13:00.000-07:00

It's almost been a full year since I last posted here. Every day that has passed without my posting on this project has been full of regret.

Life happens and it sure as hell happened to me. Where have I been? Everywhere. To Florida and the Nation's Capitol and Raleigh-Durham to be a student for six weeks, I drove 3,000 miles through the Pacific Northwest, to Calgary and then over the Canadian Rockies, did my first 50-mile bike ride in 20 years, riding the biggest hill I have ever climbed. I even saw the Hollywood sign up close for the first time, which I never did once in the 15 years I lived in Los Angeles. I also lost my best friend, Louie the Pug, in May and my 15-year-old cat Sassy just two months later.

It's not all bad news. There's a new pug in our lives and well, if you recall that diet I started last year, I'm still going strong -- less 40 pounds and nine inches off my waist.

In all that time and those miles and the ups and downs, I never forgot the promise I made to myself -- and by extension to you, my loyal readers, and that was to finish My 365 Photo Project. Lying awake the other night, the thought suddenly came to me: who said I had to do it in 365 consecutive days?

Hell, my project, my rules. And so, my friends, Shyonelung is back. In fact, that's me in Newport, Oregon at the Rogue Ales Public House (this photo doesn't count -- it's an iPhone shot taken by my husband).

I'm gonna finish this. Starting October 1, I plan on returning to the 365-day blog so I can finally bring closure to this project, day by day, photo by photo. These will mostly be new photos, taken each day though I will post some of my favorite from the last year, too. I hope those of you who remember this will drop by and say hello. You can follow me on twitter @shyonelung if you don't mind me blabbing about my sports obsessions.

See you October 1.

365 Photo Project - Day 272

2010-09-30T20:39:00.000-07:00

Taken: September 29, 2010, approx 4 p.m.

Location: Marshall, Ca.

We spent the day down at Hog Island Oyster Farm in Marshall, Ca., which is right on the Bodega Bay. After two straight scorchers that reached over 100 degrees, it was the best respite ever. It felt like the last gasp of summer but somehow the coming fall and winter makes me more hopeful than usual. We packed a picnic and went with some friends to celebrate my husband's birthday. Beautiful day, wonderful friends, great food. It's all good.

365 Photo Project - Day 271

2010-09-28T11:55:00.000-07:00

Taken: September 28, 2010, approx 6 p.m.
Location: Santa Rosa, Ca

Whole Foods recently opened a huge market near us and, having shopped at Whole Foods, for almost 20 years, I was looking forward to seeing the new place. They have a lot of a lot of stuff - -most notably and incredible selection of local and international beers. I'm an old school beer drinker -- my husband and I met at a micro-brew bar and one reason we moved up to northern California was for the fresh, local beer (it's really "beer" country to us". I'm not drinking at the moment but that didn't lesson the pleasant jolt of walking around a corner and seeing this. They even have a beer bar in the middle of the store -- 30 locals on tap and they'll open any beer in the store for a dollar. However, it's most useful for me when I lose track of my husband in the maze of aisles. At least I know where to find him.

365 Photo Project - Day 252

2010-09-09T00:23:00.000-07:00

Taken: September 9, 2010

Location: Rutherford, CA

Whenever I say I live in Northern California wine country, most people assume I mean Napa Valley. Sonoma County is still behind Napa in terms of tourists if not its equal in winemaking. I would say most of us are very much okay with that as Napa has become very tourist-oriented and traffic can be awful there. That aside, every few weeks or so, I find myself driving through Napa -- in this case I was staying in St. Helena for a week to watch a friend's wonderful 13-year-old while they were away.

I had a chance to take a drive around the valley and it was one of those days that make you glad to be alive. Temperate and sunny with some post-rain clouds drifting harmlessly across a bright, blue sky. Just beautiful. I didn't have my camera with me so I snapped this shot with my iPhone 4 hrough my windshield on a two-lane cut-through road between the well-travelled Rte 29 and the Silverado Trail.

I pulled over about a mile down the road, got out my notebook and wrote under the shade of a row of olive trees. The thing about moving -- and committing to staying on in wine country is that you get reminders every day why the choice is such a natch. I guess the day I get sick of the view will be the day I move somewhere else. Not expecting that to happen anytime soon.

365 Photo Project - Day 249

2010-09-06T00:22:00.000-07:00

Taken: September 6, 2010

Location: Forrestville, CA

I live in Northern California. Any questions?

365 Photo Project - Day 243 (From the Archives)

2010-08-31T00:18:00.000-07:00

Taken: August 15, 2010

Location: Healdsburg, CA

I shot this image in the same session as this shot. This is my "old man" pug Louie, who we rescued in Los Angeles about five years ago. We think he's around 10 years old and he's now completely deaf and blind in one eye. He's the dog that started my love affair with pugs and he'll always have a special place in my heart. I love him madly. Hell, everyone who meets him does too.

365 Photo Project - Day 242

2010-08-30T00:18:00.000-07:00

Taken: August 30, 2010

Location: Healdsburg, CA

I shot this from the road where I live. My house would be off and out of frame to the right. I love the drama of the moment -- a late afternoon day on the day of or right after the first rain we got in months. No matter how much I've come to love color images and certainly no matter how easy it gets to work with them in the digital world, I'll always love the black and white shots the best. More of my Dad's influence no doubt.

365 Photo Project - Day 241

2010-08-29T00:17:00.000-07:00

Taken: August 29, 2010

Location: Healdsburg, CA

It's been a remarkably temperate summer, not that I'm complaining. I think it got over 90 degrees maybe a half dozen times which compared to last summer is like Christmas in July. And August. The place we rent doesn't do well in extreme temps, especially the heat. My other pug, Chamuco, will park himself on the chaise lounge outside on the porch until well after sundown. It's almost always 10 degrees or more cooler out there than it is inside so it's hard to argue with him.

This shot of Louie was taken (with my iPhone) on one of those hot, hot days. If pugs know anything, it's how to get cool. And pressing every available area of your fur-covered body against a cold wood floor is about as cool as it gets. Smart dog.

365 Photo Project - Day 239

2010-08-27T00:15:00.000-07:00

Taken: August 27, 2010

Location: St. Helena, CA

This is one of those images I wish I'd taken with a camera other than my iPhone, but when is life ever perfect right? That's my hand in the picture. I love the composition of this shot -- a lucky break if ever there was one. But you know what they say about luck. I'll take it.

365 Photo Project - Day 237

2010-08-25T00:13:00.000-07:00

Taken: August 25, 2010

Location: Santa Rosa, CA

Shot this through my windshield with my iPhone 4 while I was driving through Santa Rosa. Not the kind of thing you see every day, even up here in wine country.

365 Photo Project - Day 230

2010-08-18T00:08:00.000-07:00

Taken: August 18, 2010

Location: Healdsburg, CA

Another image using my twins-reflex camera. This is of my friend and her baby girl who was born in May. I shot an image of her just a few days after she was born, here and here. I love the depth of focus in this image -- and again, the rich colors. I can't quite put my finger on it but there's just something about shooting on film over digital. Maybe it's the richness and the depth. I don't know. I just like it. I got a few more rolls of film. I'll see what shakes out and post them when they come back from film developing.

365 Photo Project - Day 228

2010-08-16T00:06:00.000-07:00

Taken: August 16, 2010

Location: Healdsburg, CA

This is a first for this project -- an image shot with a film camera. Remember them? A few days ago, I blogged about getting some camera equipment from my Dad, who has been cleaning out a lifetime worth of junk out of his garage in our summer house on Martha's Vineyard. The one diamond in the bunch was the Ricoh twin-lens reflex he got from my Mom as a wedding present in 1959. I suspected it was in near-flawless condition, as he had stored it in its original leather case and with the lens protector. Well, here's the proof. This photo was edited only for size. I did no other touch-up.

I'm way impressed by the deep color and clarity of the image -- I shot this on 400 film which accounts for the graininess of the image. But everything else, pretty much wows me.

The image itself is of our local Healdsburg Post Office, one of my most favorite spots in all of town, more for its convenience and the people who worked there than its architecture. It burned down yesterday in a fire that was initial reported as "possibly suspicious" for reasons that have never really been clearly elaborated to me. The next day, the road was roped off and I walked up to take some pictures. The guy on the left has "ATF" on the back of his shirt and the one of the right told me he was a federal agent. He came up to chat with me because he wanted to see my camera. Turns out he restores old cameras as a hobby. Funny I write about crime for a hobby. Now that's some very nice symbiosis yes?

365 Photo Project - Day 227

2010-08-15T00:05:00.000-07:00

Taken: August 15, 2010

Location: Healdsburg, CA

This is by far my most favorite image of my young pug, Chamuco. I love it because it perfectly captures his personality, I'm quite proud of this shot, as I am of little Chamuco who might be the most friendly dog in the history of dogs. My vet calls him the social butterfly. That's why I always worry he'll go home with one of our guests. :-D

365 Photo Project - Day 226

2010-08-14T00:05:00.000-07:00

Taken: August 14, 2010

Location: Healdsburg, CA

The weapons of mass destruction.

365 Photo Project - Day 225

2010-08-13T23:04:00.000-07:00

Taken: August 13, 2010

Location: Healdsburg, CA

My Dad decided (likely on the strong prodding of my Mom) to clean out some of his stash of stuff. And by stuff I mean while my Dad would not make it on Hoarders, it's only because my Mom has managed to rein him in over the years. His current bout with garage-cleaning though is my gain. I've mentioned this numerous times on this blog, but it's my Dad who got me interested in photography in the first place. He let me use his cameras and play around in his darkroom. He taught me how to shoot, develop film and make prints, told me about Adams and Bourke-White, Cartier-Bresson, Westin in his favorites the Afreds: Stieglitz and Eisenstaedt, the latter a long-time resident and photo-historian of Martha's Vineyard, where we spent the summers of my youth and where my father's latest stash arrived from.

My Dad sent me two boxes of camera equipment he had saved over the years, some of which he picked up at garage sales, others he bought new and still others, like the one pictured above, were gifts. Most of the stuff is in need of repair or long since outlived its usefulness but there's a few gems in the lot -- some just because it sparks memories of my youth.

The image above is a Ricoh twin-lens reflex camera, a so-called "medium format" camera because the negatives are so large. It is the type of camera used by many of the great photographers of the 20th century and one I've been longing for since I got more serious about taking pictures.

This one is special in all sorts of ways. For one, it was a wedding gift from my Mom to my Dad -- in 1959. Equally thrilling is the camera's condition -- the outside is flawless and the glass looks very clean. I can't wait to see what photos this thing takes. I'll be sure to post them up here soon as I get out and get them developed. Might be awhile though. I am so spoiled by the instant gratification of digital photography. See if my patience holds.

365 Photo Project - Day 222

2010-08-10T23:55:00.000-07:00

Taken: August 10, 2010

Location: Healdsburg, CA

Late-afternoon August sunset off the porch of my house in Healdsburg. This is one image I didn't edit at all. I imported into Photoshop and played around with it but I kept going back to the original. I know it's far from perfect but I like it.

365 photo Project - Day 221

2010-08-09T23:54:00.000-07:00

Taken: August 9, 2010

Location: Healdsburg, CA

Taken on a lovely and temperate summer day, late in the afternoon when the trees were reflecting off the roof of my car in the golden light of the setting sun. I can feel the cool breeze just looking at this image.

365 Photo Project - Day 219

2010-08-07T23:52:00.000-07:00

Taken: August 7, 2010

Location: Healdsburg, CA

I have alluded to this day in previous posts, rather cryptically. This day right here is the first day of the rest of my life. And that's no mere cliche. I'm deadly serious.

I have been slightly overweight for the last 10 years or so but worse is how I've felt. Tired, achy, lethargic, low energy and a host of aches and pains I've been attributing to getting older. I've decided to do something about that. After consulting with my doctor, I chose a detox diet -- basically a diet where I'm eliminating certain foods that can cause allergic reactions and intolerances in people. Those foods in no particular order: caffeine, dairy, glutens, nightshade vegetables, table sugar, eggs, red meats, and of course all that crap they pack into processed foods. Anybody who knows me knows that I have my own personal food groups, which are cream, butter, salt and bacon with chocolate as the dessert. I don't think I've gone two days in a row my whole life without eating one item on that list. Well, that's about to change.

Starting tomorrow, I'm changing my life. The diet I'm doing is a basic 7-day plan that you can expand to three weeks -- or with modifications for life if you want. I'm shooting for three weeks to start and I'll see how I feel. I don't expect it to be easy. As I write this blog entry, I've gone without coffee for six days, one of my real food loves. Making and drinking my morning coffee has become a ritual with me. New me, new ritual.

We'll see how it goes and I'll try to report back to y'all how it's going.

365 Photo Project - Day 217

2010-08-05T23:50:00.000-07:00

Taken: August 5, 2010

Location: Healdsburg, CA

Another self-portrait plus a little bit of fooling around in Photoshop. This photo says a lot about me -- there's my iPhone headphones I almost never go without and that little thing around my neck is my portable hard drive (for all my photos and other work) and I'm wearing my usual uniform -- t-shirt and jeans. And sunglasses. I love my sunglasses.

This photo has some other import -- like the image on this day, I'm actually leading up to a big change in my life. I'll explain in a few days.

365 photo Project - Day 216 (From the Archives)

2010-08-04T23:49:00.000-07:00

Taken: March 24, 2006

Location: Palm Springs, Ca.

One of my favorite shots ever. I took this of my brother's first child, Sylvia, on what I believe was her first birthday. They were visiting California from the east coast and I drove down to see them in Palm Springs and spent the day there. I shot this with a point-and-shoot digital camera. We were eating on the patio of a local deli and Sylvia met a dog there. They fell for each other, naturally.

365 Photo Project - Day 215

2010-08-03T23:48:00.000-07:00

Taken: August 3, 2010
Location: Healdsburg, Ca.

Anybody who grew up a baseball fan in New York would get the irony of this photo. That's my credit card there. The hat was a gift. Only way I'd ever buy one.