Category: Weekly Blog

A start to my busy season

Life has been pretty busy, in both good and bad ways, since I last posted.

Fire season continues to wreak havoc on the landscape here. Thankfully, our home has been spared from any imminent wildfire threat. Unfortunately, the Line Fire has begun to advance once again toward my childhood summer camp. Camp de Benneville Pines is incredible special to me. All I can do is keep watching the updated maps on the Watch Duty app. The fire is climbing up steep mountain terrain, which makes it near impossible to fight. I can only hope for the best.

On the lighter side of things, both photography and music have kept me busy over the last several weeks. I took part in a reunion concert for the high school theatre department in my hometown of Claremont. This was originally a small reunion concert for the class of ’74, but turned into a full-blown fundraiser for the current students of the theatre department at Claremont High School. This was also a memorial for Dr. Don Freuchte, who was a huge figure in creating the theatre department and had just recently passed.

I was really lucky back in high school. I had always had an interest in the arts, but I was all over the place as a kid. I had was too much excess energy, a need to fit in even though I was the quintessential outsider, and I was just an overall weird kid. It was in the theatre department where I found not only my voice, but I found a place to channel all that energy. And thanks to my teacher, Krista Carson-Elhai (Dr. Fruechte’s successor), I was given many chances to succeed. You couldn’t get me out of that building.

I’m dead center, dressed in a gold sailor suit, for the 42nd Street ballet. June, 1999.

It was a great time meeting and connecting to older CHS Theatre Alumni. I got to reunite with two of “co-stars” from way back when, Craig and Amanda. We three lead the cast of 42nd Street, a giant production with massive scenery, costumes, and we painstakingly learned the original Broadway tap choreography. It was a fun experience reliving that, and truly refreshing to slip back into a chemistry with my fellow performers as if no time had ever passed since we were last onstage together. The one downside is that these one-off concerts like this are over so soon.

Me, Carolina Garcia, Jefferey Deards, Amanda Coclough, Craig Coclough. My fellow theatre alumni, all grown up!

The very next weekend, I was able to perform once again with The Singers of Soul, a gospel, pop, and soul choir I’ve been a part of since 2019. Being able to sing with them is an incredible treat for me. Back in 2019, my friend Carolina (shown above) was creating a solo cabaret and had asked me to sing a duet with her. I was thrilled to say yes, and then she asked me to join a group number to close the show featuring a choir which ended up being The Singers of Soul. In that moment I was nothing short of blown away but the talent in one group, and I’ve been lucky to sing with them several times since.

In between singing, I’ve been jumping straight into my busy season as an event photographer, staring off with a marathon of clients including NBSO LA, and Segerstrom Center for the Arts. I have more in the pipeline. At the moment, I’m hoping the current heatwave in LA calms down along with these wildfires.

This Fire Season

I must have been sensing something because not long after my last post the Bridge Fire began burning in the hills directly near my home. I’m no stranger to fire season, though I don’t remember them being this bad when I was a kid. I’ve watched the hillsides near me burn, then renew, then burn again a few times over the years. I was even evacuated once in the middle of the night with three very confused dogs. I was genuinely optimistic about this fire as it started since it was in relative close proximity to the two fire stations nearby. Much has changed in SoCal fire defense of the last few decades, so I thought they would nip it pretty quickly.

Our local fire department acted quickly and communicated constantly for the first few days, even posting a video to social media illustrating how they kept the fire from reaching our homes and structures. Our home was spared, but the fire then began to act aggressively and spread fast to mountain communities to the north and east. Thanks to technology and ongoing communication, I didn’t panic too much as large smoke columns filled the sky.

As I write this, the fire has grown past 50,000 acres and is minimally contained with the area closest to us being classified as contained. Several mountain communities have been devastated and my heart hurts for them. I’m also currently currently worried about another wildfire, the Line Fire which has spread dangerously close to my childhood summer camp. Just four years ago, the El Dorado Fire had actually entered the same camp and was saved by firefighters already there.

It’s in situations like these where, not too long ago, I would’ve thought “grab a camera and go document.” And certainly I could go document from certain vantage points. But honestly it’s not always a great idea. The air quality is bad, and the last thing firefighters and emergencies workers need are more cars clogging up roadsides near the blaze, most of which are closed to begin with. There are photographers who specialize in these situations, even photographers who seek out storms, tornadoes, and fires on purpose. As of yet, I’m not one of those photographers.

End of summer, hot fall

Like most Southern Californians, I’ve spend the last week dealing with oppressive heat. We somehow always forget that as the light begins to tilt slightly and the days shorten, suddenly it becomes unbearably hot around here. And it can stay hot into October or November. A few years ago, I planted pretty pink hyacinth in the backyard hoping for a spring bloom. They now regularly begin to emerge in November, long before the spring and sit there awkwardly as the colder months approach. A few of the plants I started way back in June are in a sort of delayed adulthood. My sunflowers live in containers and are just now starting to bloom while also being endlessly thirsty.

A few of my potted sunflowers struggling to open in this heat.

A few watering hacks for fellow gardeners with thirsty plants:

Keep a bucket of water in the sink for when you rinse produce or your hands. The excess water is perfectly fine for watering plants outside. Plus, you pay for that water so you might as well get the most out of it.

I’ve used a product called SoilMoist for a few years now. It’s a polymer that expands when watered to provide an extra supply of water when needed. Although, in this heat I’m sure it’s much needed. It says it’s safe for vegetables, but I only used it for non-edibles.

Another hack I used are terracotta watering spikes. Terracotta is porous clay and once these spikes are inserted in the soil, you can invert a glass bottle filled with water (gently, please) and the water will slowly seep through the terracotta into the thirsty soil.

I’ve written on this before, but the book I recommend for all California green thumbs is 52 Weeks in the California Garden. This book changed how I approached all of my outdoor projects with the main planting season starting in September. Fall is our spring here and the most advantageous for good results year round. I should post more updates on my gardening projects in the future.

I get a little wistful writing about the end of summer, even with the extended blazing heat. For Labor Day, I drove once again to the desert house out on the Colorado River to spend time with my aunts, uncles, and baby cousins. Talk about heat. It was about 111 degrees on regular days, most of which we spent splashing around in the water and always with a cooler full of beer and soda water nearby.

I hardly had time to take pictures or anything like that because I was mostly on guncle duty to seven-year-old twins. Besides the aforementioned time playing in the water, activities included: word searches, activity book mazes, putting together a 500 -piece jigsaw puzzle (didn’t finish), and I got to introduce them to Mad Libs. Alas, that was the last family occasion of the summer, though I may be able to squeeze a few more trips in during the warm months. That’s the good thing about the desert house being so close…

…and by close, I mean about a four-hour drive from where I live. Tell that to any Angeleno and they’d probably fly into a tizzy. Palm Springs is about as far away as most LA people can stand. While the four-hour drive doesn’t really bother me, I do fill the time with either podcasts or audiobooks. My selections this time around:

”I’m Glad My Mom Died” by Janette McCurdy – listened to on the Libby app (free library books, y’all). The title is outrageous, but earned in this memoir on the author’s life as a child actor and Nickelodeon star, her fraught relationship with her mother, and dealing with eating disorders and alcohol abuse. I was already aged out Nickelodeon during the iCarly era, but like many I so wanted to be a teen TV star like her. Many years later, so many millennials are starting to come to terms with what this meant for the child stars themselves.

The podcast Weird Medieval Guys did a four-parter on the Hundred Years War. I’m not sure how I got started listening to this podcast, but I appreciated the deep dive into this. Like anything historical, it just makes you want to dive in even deeper, especially into the enigmatic life of Joan of Arc.

Onward to a very hot fall, and what is shaping to be a busy work season for me.

Part of the cityscape

I’m spending the week housesitting in LA. After many years in the burbs, being back in the mix feels a bit like whiplash. It’s not like I’m never here. I grew up in SoCal, grew up in an around the TV industry. When I was 12, I took my first solo train ride on the Metrolink to Union Station in Downtown LA (I was meeting my stepdad, and parents allowed their kids to do stuff like that back then). And I lived in West Hollywood for several years. I’m always working events in and around this vast urban sprawl. And yet…LA feels rougher now. While driving in LA has always been an exercise in chaos, drivers now seem to be at least 20 percent worse. Running a few basic errands means navigating a maze of reckless or absent-minded drivers, parking in an overcrowded lot, then having to flag down store employees to retrieve basic items encased behind plexiglass. City-dwellers seemed to have never recovered a sense of spacial awareness. And there’s definitely a new crop of showbiz hopefuls, younger and having come of age during pandemic lockdowns. All while the entertainment industry is still reeling from two major strikes.

And we’re hosting the Olympics soon…

My Photos app brought up a collage of different cityscapes I’ve shot of LA over the years. From Griffith Observatory, Runyon Canyon, the Hollywood Hills. Some are smoggy and sun-soaked. Some are a glittery nighttime urban landscape. They all remind me of the millions of dreamers dreaming hard in those cramped streets and apartments. I’ve dreamed just as hard as all of them, and some of my dreams definitely needed more time to cook. And spend any amount of time here and you’ll see just how many broken dreams there are. Disappointments, rejections, many horror stories of people who now find they have nowhere else to go, much less dream of. There is a lot of a magic here, but there is also a lot of need.

I had another blog post I was going to publish. A despite knowing that very few people actually read these, I decided it was maybe a bit too cynical. Who knows, maybe I’ll post it eventually. But the gist of it was about the many people come here and eventually leave with those broken dreams. They return to wherever they left from, and offer one maxim to anyone who asks: “LA is garbage.”

Okay, sure. LA is garbage. It’s garbage to people who came here expecting everyone who was already here to make their dreams of fame, stardom, and wealth come true. LA is garbage if you only associates with fellow social climbers, star f***ers, and sleazebags trying to take advantage of you. LA is garbage if you never seeks to learn about the culture, climate, and history that was here long before you arrived. Not many people ask, but if someone were to ask me how they should go about moving to LA, my advice is often simply: Don’t move here. Seek out a medium-sized city where you can gain experience, training, social media followers before you even consider moving here. I’m one of the lucky ones in that my family and my entire support system is already here. But if you come here with nothing but a suitcase and dream, you’re just another car on the 405. And is that how you want to spend your youth?

Fine, it’s frustrating here. As my brother likes to put it, it’s the best place to live and the worst place to live. It seems always to be the best of times and the worst of times. Billionaires and the unhoused with literal TVs playing inside their roadside tents. Hellish heat and biblical level rain storms. “Free”ways that are no longer free. It sometimes takes some squinting to see what makes Los Angeles so great. Again, I’m one of the lucky ones who gets to see it when LA really gets it right. I saw my late stepdad work harder than anyone else in the television industry and be able to rise to about as far as one could go. I’m becoming a lot more like him, knowing these freeways and off-ramps like a map on my hand. Enmeshing myself across this town, and becoming part of the landscape like he did. Part of the cityscape.

Summer: Oversized, hot, lazy

My big tush is made for hiking, dancing, being at photo sessions. After a weekend away in the desert, I’m dragging myself back to work mode. How easy I forget that the job of a freelance artist is mainly in front of a computer screen.

I’ll also admit that reaching to find inspiration in these dog days often involves me arguing with myself. “Do I have to? It’s way too hot! I’m already sweating my SPF off!” The sun shines a bit too brightly on everything midday. My neck is burning. Those eternally classic images I’m trying to find seem to elude me because everything and everyone looks hot and moist.

An oversized beet at the OC Fair.

This time of year is usually the slowest for me. My regular client are usually off on vacation, or otherwise out-of-office (OOO). And yet, the summer weeks are drawing to a close and it’s time to answer emails. The busy part of business calls.

The bloom spike on the agave in my front yard towering above at nearly 30 feet.

Much like myself when I’m in the desert, I want to remain lazy. The emails can wait, right? Not in my business, and certainly not at the point in my career. Despite being at this photography thing for awhile now, I’m still in the establishing phase. I’m still laying the solid foundation that keeps me solid as a build and grow. Laziness need not apply.

Overflowing bounty at the farmer’s market.

I’m holding on to the last bits of summer. In SoCal, we know the heat will last well into September, October, even past Thanksgiving and into Christmas. Before I know it, the time changes back to Standard Time and that’s when things get really tough for my mood and overall motivation. But I’ll cross that bridge when I get there.

August 4 – Planting basil, OC County Fair, summer cooking

These long, hot summer days. No matter how much prepare, I sweat through my clothes and off the serums and sunscreen I paid decent money for. In my house, we’re frugal with the AC. So for a few days, when the heat wasn’t quite as brutal, we flung all the windows open and enjoyed the warm breeze for what it was. Eventually, though, I gave in as the days once again became unbearable. And, no matter how careful I am, at least once mosquito manages to get inside the house and wreak havoc on my ankles.

A project: I managed to assemble the beautiful cedar garden planter I got for my birthday. It only took a few dozen bolts, nuts, and some patience. I was able to get it done in an hour. The next day, I filled it with soil and different varieties of basil, which are hanging in alright in their sunny spot. I worry they might perish if I happen to leave down. The risk one takes in garden. Vigilance is key, but so is being willing to walk away when needed.

Slightly related to gardening, I visited the Orange County Fair with my dad and my brother. I hadn’t been in ages, and didn’t remember quite what it was like. And since I had gotten so used to working the LA County Fair, I was surprised to see just how small the OC Fair is in comparison. The Pomona Fairplex is truly a giant and nearly impossible to take in all in one day. I’m partial to the LA Fair, but I will say the OC Fairgrounds in Costa Mesa make for an easier walking experience.

Cooking:

I’m trying to remember to take more photos of what I’ve been cooking at home lately.

Here is a vegan potpie. Very simple, no recipe, but full of vegetables I had in the freezer and topped with a drop biscuit recipe from The Joy of Vegan Baking. (This book is a staple in my kitchen, especially during holiday baking.)

Everything tastes better in vintage blue cornflower Corningware.

Right around now is where I can sense the light changing, even though I know we’re in for a few more months of intense California heat. I feel it, too, as I begin to gear up or what is normally by busy season in event photography.

July 28 – Bauer, Donuts, and Martini

This technically happened the previous week, but on the Saturday before my birthday I went with a friend of mine to the newly reopened Bauer Pottery showroom in LA. It was conveniently located right next to Dodger Stadium, as we were also going the Dodgers vs. Red Sox game there.

Bauer Pottery is a huge part of LA history, operating DTLA from about 1895 until it shut down around 1961. The brand was revived again by new owners in 2000, recreating the original pieces inspired by the original designs and colors. I have a few of both the vintage and revived pieces. Collectors like myself note the Bauer is similar to Fiesta ware in both the colors and the ring ware patterns. I wanted to buy the entire store, but I’m keeping an out for their very adorable Bauer jack-o-lanterns they make in limited quantities each year.

Dodger Stadium in the afternoon light.

With work being a tad slow during these last few weeks, I’ve been seeing friends and catching up with personal photo uploads. My friend, David, who runs the blog Good Things By David, was in town visiting his family. He has a penchant for donuts while traveling, so I told he has to stop by The Donut Man in Glendora. Another classic of LA County, The Donut Man has been a staple on Route 66 since 1971. There’s never not a line.

I also had a belated birthday dinner with my family in Orange County. I seem to have been all over SoCal these days. A martini shot as summer comes to its final leg.

July 21 – Lessons at 42

It’s my birthday today. Entering my forties wasn’t the easiest thing. It wasn’t that I was getting older, it was that many things in my life that I had thought of as dependable and rock-solid turned out to be not so. Friends I thought were my ride-or-dies turned out to be not even “ride.” Okay, so I had to make some changes, and I did. Despite the world being a chaotic mess, I’ve managed to move forward in ways I never thought possible. Yes, I had to let a few friends go, but letting go is sometimes just what a friendship needs. A few have come back. Some have stayed gone. I move on…

While I definitely don’t have it all together, there are a few lessons I’ve learned at 42. These are, of course, general life lessons that I’m continuing to evolve with and not directed to any one person in particularly.

It’s not always obvious, but getting older is a blessing.

Honestly, my life is pretty darn good, overall. Still, life has pulled the rug out from underneath me quite a few times. You really can’t learn resilience unless you’ve been knocked down. Getting up, dusting off, and moving on is part of getting older. You can learn to see the blessing in that.

Don’t tell me, show me.

This has been one of the harder ones because I generally take people at their word. But these days, I watch what people do much more than what they say. Words have much more meaning when paired with action.

If they wanted to, they would.

That’s pretty much it. The next time you’re wondering why they haven’t called, texted, shown up… see above.

Stop chasing.

I’ve pretty much stopped chasing things, people, love, acceptance, approval, achievement. They might be worth working towards, but they’re not worth chasing after.

Every workout and healthy meal is with an eye towards my 65-year-old self. 

I’m around older folks a lot, and as they all say: aging ain’t for sissies. Time is coming for all of us, and for me it’s all about healthy choices I make now and how they play out in 20 years. It’s a roll of the dice, and you want the odds in your favor.

Moisturizer and sunscreen. Every day.

Every day. Also, hydrate.

You don’t have to let your 13-year-old self dictate the rest of your life.

This one I hit me many years ago when an actor friend of mine said “I decided to do this when I was 13. What does the adult version of me want now?” I ask myself the same question when it comes to life choices, reactions, even my own body image issues. Is this the 13-year-old in me reacting? What does the adult me want? 

I can’t make myself more miserable in order to make others happier.

This one can get complicated, but I’ve learned a few times (and the hard way) that some people will undermine your happiness because of their own dissatisfaction in life. Don’t let them. You can’t dim your own light thinking it’ll make someone else’s brighter.

Dedicate yourself to your own personal mission(s) and align yourself with those who share similar missions.

This is especially true for those of us that are ambitious, driven, productive. Instead of dedicating all your time and energy to one person, organization, or company, understand that things can and will change. None of us can do it all alone, but there are moments where you’ll have to adjust. Knowing where your true north is makes that adjustment much more clear.

Change often means people will say “what’s with you?” Nothing is “with” me, this is me.

Get ready for the cocked heads, cranked necks, and furrowed brows. Change comes with a variety of these looks.

Life is hard, but life is also beautiful. There is still a lot of good in the world.

It’s hard out there. It’s hard to see it, but there is a lot of good out there and it’s worth fighting for. Stop doom-scrolling and go for a walk. It takes mental clarity and balance to thrive when the world seems to be always on fire.

Eat more vegetables. And oats, oats are really good for you.

‘Nuff said.

Again, these are on the general side and don’t often apply across the board. I’m still learning as I go, and I’m grateful for another year in a decade that is being good to me.

July 14 – More heat, the ESPYS, and pool party

It’s been the kind of week where the days feel unending and the is almost an excess of time. I was born in summer and I luxuriate in that strange moment in the afternoon/evening where time seems to suspend itself, and you realize the day is almost too long. I’m aware the days are actually becoming shorter, but it doesn’t seem so this time of year.

Southern California has had a prolonged heatwave paired with an excess of smog and bad air quality. This limits my outdoor activities, but I did manage to get in a few hikes between my lifting days. The chaparral foothills are dry and dusty. The creeks are down to mere trickles. I struggled a bit on one of my usual trails, I think due to the bad air. Most of the rest of the week I spent indoors with the AC going.

At the last minute, I got a call from a regular client of mine to photograph the ESPYS afterparty at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, on of my favorite LA historical establishments. The party was fun, a little chaotic as big events tend to be, and I ran into a few old friends that I didn’t know would be there. This is where I remind myself of how lucky I am that I still get to do this as my job. Afterwards, I snuck into the lobby to see the classic old ceiling and atmosphere.

The heat seems to have calmed a little bit. Off in the distance, I can still see smoke from a few wildfires. I have a lot of hope for my home state, and believe that we can pull through many future fire seasons as climate change worsens. What choice do we have?

On Saturday, my family had a pool party for my twin baby cousins turning 7. It was just us, cooking, playing in the pool. The kids continued to play wildly in the pool long after we were all worn out. Later, I came home and realized that someone tried to assassinate the former President. I’m grateful for those few hours I was unaware. I try to leave my underlying sense of dread about what is to come over the next few months off of this space, but I must acknowledge it. Again, I’m sure just about no one reads these words I write every week, but this blog is for an audience of myself primarily. I hope to look back in a year and feel at least somewhat more at ease about where our country is headed.

July 7 – Slowing down, monster trucks, fireworks

It’s a time of year where much of my client work slows down. I have to remind myself that being a solopreneur means that, besides the creative force, you’re every role in the company from CEO down to the janitor. A slow month means it’s time for things like inventory, accounting, equipment maintenance, training, etc..

Thankfully, I have plenty to do here at home, including my own birthday in a few weeks. I spent much of the week cleaning up from my mom’s big 70th birthday party, which became more of a long weekend of celebrations. Our neighbors came by throughout the weekend, which felt very fun and old-school neighborly.

For the fourth of July, my family decided last minute to attend Kaboom! at the Pomona Fairplex. Monster trucks, motocross, and fireworks. I photographed this event last year for the Fairplex, the same site the hosts the LA County Fair. I was hoping to work this one again, but I’m happy to see fellow photographers working. Plus, I’m rather happy with the shots I got last year (see above) and I don’t always like to get the same shots year after year.

Another decent use of a slower month is to explore projects and creative expression outside the realm of client work. It seems counterintuitive–why work on anything unless it’s for pay. For creativity’s sake that isn’t always the best approach. It’s good to take time to learn, explore, challenge yourself. And I’m someone who does many, many things. It can be a little frustrating, to be honest. I often find that I’m wandering a bit, camera in hand, with no real direction. I breathe and try to remember that this is part of the process.

Seeing the fireworks at the Fairplex reminds me of last year when I had to photograph a few events with fireworks, and how it was actually a skill I learned specifically for these events. Some examples below from Angel Stadium in Anaheim.

I’m generally anti-fireworks, but pro-learning new things.