I recently watched the movie The Cove and it wasn’t easy.  I’ve always loved dolphins since I grew up watching Flipper.  My mom after a while though wouldn’t let me watch anymore because I would always end up crying!  Well, this movie is well done and utterly important and it’s crucial that change happens and soon.  I’ve grown up with animals and not known a day without them since a child.  Whether dogs, cats, cows, horses, birds they are just a cause that is important to me.  Dolphins too.

I have to admit I did do the swim with the dolphins before I knew any of this was happening.  It was the most amazing experience and while I will never forget it I do regret it.  I felt so at peace with these creatures and I know they felt my feelings, admiration and love.  For most of the “swim” there were 3 dolphins that chose to stay with me and 2 that were with the 12 others.  It was amazing, incredible and one of the most inspiring moments of my life.  I know these creatures need to live and breathe and commune in the world with us. Looking into their eyes is a memory I’ll never forget.

Please, please take a moment if you care to The Cove site.  Spread the word!  The sad irony here is that many Japanese don’t know the dolphin kills even take place and sadly dolphins are laden with mercury and their flesh is eaten by their own children and disguised as expensive fish.  Mercury poisoning is preventable and an utterly horrible existence to suffer.  Please take action and share on Twitter, Facebook, your blog and anywhere you can.  Thank you!

I recently had the absolute pleasure of photographing little Angel this week.  He’s a total charmer!  He’s a patient at UCSF unfortunately but they are taking great care of him.  His older brother and mom visit him every day and the nurses just love and pamper him like crazy.  He has the most amazing temperament being confined in a hospital.  I’ve been working with Moment by Moment for years and so highly recommend them and the idea of giving families a chance to photograph their kids in sometimes very difficult situations.  I wish all the best to this wonderful family.  Please visit www.momentbymoment.org and your support is greatly appreciated.

I love my photo albums. I know the ways of the big heavy album have been taken over by scrolling on your computer screen but you miss out on that tactile experience this way and it just doesn’t have the same feel.  No matter what I print up my photos from my travels, family functions or whatever it may be.  I recently came into photos as a young girl at my grandma and grandpa’s farm in Saginaw, Michigan.  The farm is still actually there and my dad lives there now.  Looking at these images really bring back memories.  The older images of my grandparents are just so dear.    Your history is forever recorded in your photographs.

• Take the time and effort to keep them safe in archival albums or boxes.
• Keep the organized and ready to pass on to your loved ones.  Write names and dates on the back so there is no confusion later.
• If you have film images you can get the negatives or photographs themselves scanned for safe keeping.  Make sure that the images are appropriate sizes if you want to print them later.  A square image should be scanned square and printed square.  A good lab can do this for you.

So I’m sharing a little bit of my history and maybe even give some of you a little better sense of the big City girl I am today!

What a beautiful country.  I always love traveling just at the beginning of the winter season.  The light is ten times more dramatic, far less tourists to contend with and the mood is always kind of more festive with the oncoming of the December holidays.  Last year I walked the streets of Auschwitz almost alone, saw the festivities of the holidays in town squares like Berlin and Vienna and Warsaw. It’s just more amazing than the blue sky and green grass of summer in my opinion.  So this year was a great follow up.  The skies poured on us often but left such amazing scenes to photograph.  You just don’t get that in summer.  So please enjoy my somewhat touristy photos and more artistic visions that happened during my time in Ireland.

This is absolutely my favorite time of year and especially in New York City.  The crisp air, colors and light is just the best.  Here are a bunch of photos I took on my average 6 mile per day walk.  It’s the best way to see the City by far.  I used the Canon Mark II for this to test as I’d just gotten it which was fun but I sure missed my film camera!!!  Remember when you travel always keep your camera with you!  You just never know what you may see.

I finally got to see Avedon at MoMA yesterday and what hit me immediately is how he got people, some strangers, to communicate with him so honestly and deeply.  I snapped these pics of just the eyes and that is all you need to see to feel.

This time why I love San Francisco…

Went with a friend last night and it was just a good time.  I was expecting Chris Cornell and got Ozzy but I have to say oddly he is quite the adorable rocker.  The fire hose of soap suds made me laugh the hardest I have in probably 5 years!  But a great time to be sure.  Great crowd and only wish I’d taken more pics of the spectators. Some of the best experiences in life are those most unexpected.

Why I love California…

So this was an interesting kind of day…for some crazy reason I decide to help a friend with his trailer for a movie he’s written about the lady at Stow Lake whose child drown sometime way back when.  Well, I do not consider myself an actress at all by any means but I can jog and I can walk and row a boat so I decided to help out.  But these were just some fun shots I took with my hidden camera of the crew.  Just an FYI, I was a far better rower!!!