clouds like Maxfield Parrish

blue cloud, San Francisco, Digital Rebel

"The moment you leap free of yourself,
the wine of the friend, in all its brilliance and dazzle,
is held out to you."
-Jalal Al-Din Rumi

Photo Friday-Industrial

hydrant, Mission St., Digital Rebel

Photo Friday's theme this week is "Industrial"

clouds

clouds, Digital Rebel

I was thinking of my dear friend's one year old boy today and realizing that he is seeing everything in the world for the first time. The very first time!

Sometimes, while taking pictures I get the tiniest glimpse of what that wonder might be like, that feeling that you can't believe something exists. It's just too colorful and smells too delicious and is too impossibly beautiful. And instead of eating it, I grab for the shutter and snap, click, and share it with you.

Thank you for all of your comments about the new photos and new camera!

Good enough to eat

Sutro Baths, Ocean Beach, Digital Rebel

Matt told me a beautiful (true) story that has always stuck with me.

A little boy (maybe 5 years old) wrote to Maurice Sendak telling him how much he loved his books, his drawings, everything about him. As you might imagine, Sendak gets a lot of fan mail, but he was so moved by this one that he wrote the boy back and enclosed an original drawing, just for him.

The boy was so overjoyed when he received the drawing that he ate it, the entire thing, every last shred of pulp and ink.

His mom wrote back to the author, telling him the story. Sendak was thrilled, saying that that was the greatest compliment he had ever received.

If only I could tell god that I want to eat his ocean and warm glowy light.

beyotch

Ocean Beach, San Francisco, Digital Rebel

This is San Francisco. This is Ocean Beach in San Francisco. This is me at Ocean Beach in San Francisco feeling so grateful for this day, for my friend's car, for my hike along the hills, for the sun that rose and fell, for the salty air, and for my eyes that can see all this beauty.

"Look at your eyes. They are small, but they see enormous things." Rumi

hands

Michaels' hands, Mission St., Digital Rebel

Today's quote on my Zen calendar:
"Teach me, like you, to drink
creation whole
And casting out myself,
become a soul."

-Richard Wilbur

The hills are alive, and so am I

Michael LaFauge, Digital Rebel!

I spent the day walking around the city with my new beloved camera draped around my neck. I was a hunter today, a hunter for the beautiful and forgotten. The peeling paint, the cool juxtopositions of color, the graffiti on the cement under your feet that says, "How alive are you willing to be?" with a ballerina spray-painted next to it.

Michael was playing a song from The Sound of Music when I walked past. "The hills are alive with the sound of..." then he grinned at me, "Oh, you have a camera."

I promised him copies of the photos which I am very excited about. He doesn't have an address so I will have to go hunting again, this time for the pied piper.

another rainbow?

the rainbow before the storm, Nikon Coolpix 4500

I know. I know. It's hard to believe. There is another rainbow behind my house. It must be because I just bought my new camera and the battery is getting all juiced up!

Thank you for all of your words of encouragement. I swear if I could replace your voices with all of the evil voices in my head, I would be a lot happier. I think I'll try that.

self-portrait

favorite skirt, Nikon Coolpix 4500

I am getting ready to make the leap. I am on the precipice. I hear the siren song of the digital SLR and it makes me weak. I want this camera so badly I itch in the soul of my being. I am my 10 year old self and it is Christmas and I am longing for that bicycle, that doll, that magic set, that whatever-the-heck-it-was that I wanted so badly.

And then I remember that I am an adult and I can just stroll down to the camera shop and buy the darn thing. I don't have to be good. I don't have to put it on a list. I don't have to wait until December. There is no naughty or nice.

And then I am afraid that I don't deserve the thing, that I will choose the wrong one, that there will be a better one in less than a year, that it will break, that it will be dropped on the cement and it will break and it will be my fault.

I am regressing.

I want this camera and I regress when I want something big and expensive.

I am going to buy this camera dammit.

bottles

blue bottles, Alemany Flea Market, Polaroid SX-70

I am reading a beautiful book called How to Breathe Underwater by Julie Orringer. The stories are about some of the dark and mysterious parts of adolescence, the parts that we don't necessarily have language for. They are visceral and haunting.

I also recently saw the movie Thirteen, a more literal, in your face look at these years. The movie begins with the two main characters high on canned air and slapping each other to bits. Matt and I have since made a vow never to have a teenage girl.

As my friend James Rocchi says about the characters in this movie, "They are like feral angels."

lemons and sugar

tulip, Nikon Coolpix 4500

Okay. Call me crazy, but sometimes things don't smell exactly how you'd expect... I have found this to be the case with several flowers and other food items.

Here is a partial list:
Tulips: Certain varieties of tulips (like the one pictured above) smell like lemons and sugar. It is the most amazing and heavenly thing.

Cherry blossoms: Smell exactly like corn tortillas. Put your nose deep into one of the blossoms, inhale deeply. You will be transported to your nearest taqueria.

Raw carrots: Now this is the really weird one. I'm not sure if it tastes or smells like new carpet. But it truly does. I've wondered about this ever since I was a kid.

Try this at home.

Contest winners!

My beloved Matt, Polaroid SX-70

Thank you for all of the beautiful stories you sent in! It was torture trying to narrow it down to only three. All of the stories stirred our hearts and reminded us that there is so much beauty and love all around us.

In the end, we chose stories that represented different kinds of love. They are all so moving.

The winning entries are by:
Katia Tidic, Katrin Lambrette and Melody Murray
Congratulations to you!

You can view them here.

We also couldn't resist sharing a few more of our favorites with you by Henry Webb, Christine Scott, Sheryl, and Kariann. They were all so damn good.

I hope this Valentine's Day reminds you of the love that surrounds you, in whatever form that takes.

mustard flowers

Mustard flowers, Santa Cruz, Polaroid SX-70

You all are making it very hard to choose the winning stories. They are all so good! The judges are making their final selections...

In the meantime, here is a photographer that will knock yer socks off. Her name is Loretta Lux and she is my new photo hero. How in good god did she get these images to look so magical?

hearts

in a church in Venice, Italy, Olympus Epic

Thank you! to all of you who submit a love story this week. They brought an extra zing to my days and reminded me that love is indeed everywhere. It hides in the most unexpected places and moments.

Your celebrity judges (Matt Passmore, Kim Indresano, Keri Smith, Danny Gregory, Jeff Pitcher and Jen Gray) are working hard on reviewing all of the amazing stories that came in.

*One of the best stories I've ever read about love is at Dooce today.

Valentine's Day Contest

desert cowgirl, Kathryn Aaker wearing a cotton candy necklace,
Photo by Alon Salant

I've decided to do something different this Valentine's Day. A contest!

Here are the details:
Email me with a short story about the most romantic thing anyone has ever done for you. Or share a story about a time when you felt really truly loved.

Entries must be received by Tuesday, Feb. 10th.

Our 3 favorite stories will all win a Superhero Gift Certificate for $64 smackers. Yee haw! Favorites will also be published on the web site so we can all marvel at your deep, mad, beautiful love.

Also at Superhero Designs...
Free shipping on all orders through Valentine's Day!
Gift yourself, and be your very own sweeheart.

the other side

yesterday's rainbow, SF, Nikon Coolpix 4500

Disclaimer: I usually try to avoid blogging about rainbows.

One day, in my last incarnation as a clothing salesperson, an old man (70 something years old, white crazy hair, tweed jacket) walked into the store. As we helped other customers, he ran (not subtly mind you) behind the counter and opened the cash register, grabbing as much money as he could. He shoved one of the sales girls out of the way to make his escape, scared the crap out of her, and ran for the door. We were all in a bit of shock, like did that actually happen? and called the police to report him.

There was a lot of commotion in the store, customers recounting what they witnessed, sales associates looking stricken, etc. when just as suddenly, someone else ran into the store and shouted, "Look at the sky! A rainbow!"

In that moment, I grinned the biggest grin because I saw something that struck me as hilarious. No matter what is going on in our tiny, drama-filled lives, there will always be immeasurable beauty just out of sight.

That sky is SO much bigger than we are.

*

For more beauty without irony

phillippa

Phillippa Tan

This is the gorgeous Phillippa Tan in a honeycomb necklace.

I love it when people send me beautiful photos of themselves wearing their superhero gear.

Hint. Hint.