mattresses on Fell St., SF, CA

Driving in SF the other day I had to pull my car over to a screeching halt when I saw this abandoned furniture on the side of the road. Something about the way it glowed in the sun made my photographer’s heart palpitate. Just as I wondered if I was crazy, if maybe I had lived in the suburbs of Berkeley for too long and discarded furniture was starting to look exotic, I saw another photographer shooting the same decrepit old chair. I grinned to myself and as I stuck my head out of the window saw that it was one of my favorite photographer pals– cookbook author Heidi Swanson and her husband.

“Heidi!” I shouted and pulled over to say hello, waving my hands wildly.
“I was photographing that too!”
I said this in a very uncool and extremely excited away. Clearly I don’t get out much.

But this is the joy, the thrill of seeing something that delights your eye, your photographer’s heart. And the feeling that other people might share in that joy as well? Priceless.

discarded chair on Fell St. taken with my point and shoot

Treasure Hunts

One of my favorite parts of the Superhero Photo class (next session begins this Monday, September 19th) are the treasure hunts. We download a PDF to print out with fortune cookie sized photo prompts (or treasures) to find. As we go about our days we look for “the mess” or the “riot of color” or the “peeling paint on a wall.” It’s a bit like bird watching, a field guide of sorts.

Discarded furniture? Check.

self portrait in the leaves, taken with my point and shoot

Images are powerful

Do you want to capture more beautiful photos for your blog?
Take better portraits of your kids?
Learn to really use that camera?
Create a new way into joy?

Join me for this fall’s session of Superhero Photo!

Class begins Monday, September 19th.