Tag: san francisco

Succulence

Warmer weather is finally upon us! Cue the desire for outdoor photo shoots and beach excursions.

Our backyard garden is slowly waking up, and some of my orchids are beginning to flower. Growing orchids isn’t all that different from photography in combining detail-oriented O.C.D. tendencies with a more artistic (ie… scattered and intuitive) temperament. I got into the plant hobby with succulents and still have a relatively large collection out on the back steps where conditions are closer to ideal – our backyard doesn’t get a ton of sunlight.

Here are some product and garden shots I produced a while back for a terrific little shop called ‘Succulence‘ out in Bernal Heights. They’re tucked into the rear of Four Star Video on Cortland. They sell individual plants, succulent arrangements, terrariums, pottery, and crafts by local artists.

There’s a bit of a fad for succulents and tillandsia at the moment, a movement I’m completely in favor of. Years ago if you told me I’d have a house full of healthy and happy growing plants, I would have laughed in disbelief. It’s surprisingly easy to get yourself into the habit of caring for a plant, and very rewarding!

Here are some of my favorite blogs and local sources for green things.

Hortica – a wonderful garden center and nursery on Castro Street. I’ve picked up far too many tillandsia from this store.

Flora Grubb – they’ve been featured in a number of magazines and blogs. Really fantastic place, worth a visit. Check out their ‘cutting garden’ blog for examples of incredible wedding bouquet and centerpiece work.

Sloat Garden Center – Recently began carrying an expanded range of orchids! Great place for backyard gardeners, wide range of plants which grow well in the bay area. They currently have dahlia bulbs in stock, I picked up a bunch for the garden over the weekend.

Shelldance Orchid Gardens – Nice selection of orchids, and home to a staggering collection of bromeliads and succulents. They aren’t for sale, but if you’re a plant geek, you need to make a visit.

San Francisco Botanical Garden – Always worth the time to wander through.

San Francisco Conservatory of Flowers –  Amazing collection of botanicals, friendly volunteers and employees, and rotating special galleries including their very popular carnivorous plant exhibit.

Far Out Flora – I’ve never met the writers of this blog, but I feel it may be inevitable! They do day trips to nurseries, botanical gardens, and have an enviable back yard succulent garden.

Tattoo Story: J-Bird

“Everyone deserves a chance to fly”

This was my very first tattoo. It’s a quote from the musical, “Wicked”. Its sung at a very pivotal point in the musical where the “wicked” witch defies all odds and flies, even when there are people trying to stop her. This quote reminds me that even though people may try to bring me down, I know I can defy their expectations and just be myself. If I don’t at least try, they win.

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Arrows

My best friend Mo stuck and poked me right before I moved for the Bay. Not only did it symbolize our friendship but it also symbolizes that no matter where I end up, that compass will always keep me from getting lost.

Crane Tattoo

My grandfather was the first family member to pass away. I remember it was so hard for me to cope with his death that getting this tattoo in his memory was the only thing that helped ease my pain. I remembered my grandfather used to play with these Japanese playing cards. When he played, I remember as a child how that was the only time I really saw him smile and really enjoy himself. I took an image from one of these cards and did my own drawing interpretation of it.

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When I started to identify as “Queer”, not just as a “Lesbian”, is when I got this tattoo. I couldn’t have been more proud of how much I opened my heart and my mind to infinite possibilities of sex, gender, identity, and love.

 

Live in San Francisco and have some ink you’d like to show off, or are a tattoo artist who just finished a really cool piece? Contact me about a shoot. I’m always looking for people with creative and interesting tats to work with.

Dickens Fair!

Ever year I try to make it to the Dickens Christmas Fair at least once. What can I say? I’m a sucker for top hats. Dickens fair is a blast, drawing huge numbers of people with far better sewing abilities than I possess. The eye candy is through the roof, and the lighting is regrettably bad. In between cups of mulled wine, I managed to get a few shots worth sharing.

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The irony of re-creating London in San Francisco isn’t lost on many people. It was foggy, rainy, and gross the day we went. Perfect!

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The windows of the Dark Garden Corset’s booth are always a big hit. These kids were trying to decide if the models were real.

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“Without you, today’s emotions would be the scurf of yesterday’s”

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The title quote is from the film ‘Amelie’, which I felt inspired to watch at three am, the morning after we returned from Paris. Jet lag would not let me sleep any longer.

In the course of investigating the word ‘scurf’, I’m greatly amused that it can be defined as ‘a thin flake of dead epidermis shed from the surface of the skin’.  Tres Romantic, no?

Bride Portraits in Golden Gate Park

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These photos speak for themselves really… My friend AK is an incredible model and actress, who mentioned she had a wedding dress hanging around the house. I suggested a shoot, and we chose an absolutely perfect day in the park to go and have some fun. Our original idea was for her to be holding a sign – ‘Groom Wanted’, but after a while we ditched that in favor of just getting some lovely shots.

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