bits of home // january

Winter in California: I don't hate it. More like a delayed autumn really. With lots of rainy days.

And leaves. So many leaves.

Dearest donkey tail succulent, may you live a long and fruitful succulent life. I promise not to over-water you like I have in the past. Sincerely, Me.

I'm pretty sure this is guava? Whatever it is, this is its first appearance since I've moved into this house. Also, if you look closely, you can see how the kittah successfully snuck into the shot. I seriously did not even notice this until just now.

tuesday tunes // The Peach Kings

Hmm, maybe this could be a regular thing? Tuesday tunes, it has a nice ring to it...we shall see.

So....The Peach Kings. I was listening to this first song today while driving. It was sunny and warm out, and hearing this made me feel like I should be driving to the desert, on my way to a shady meeting with people of a nefarious nature, à la Breaking Bad or something.

The Peach Kings - "Thieves and Kings" from Paul Trillo on Vimeo.

This next one is way more somber, but kind of fitting to my mood as of late. But the visuals are pretty rad.

The Peach Kings - Lonely from Paul Trillo on Vimeo.

a portrait session // Tea

Oh man. I've been away from this space for nearly a month, but honestly, I feel okay about that. But it's a new year. And one of my goals this year is to shoot more portraits. Of regular people. Friends. Strangers. All shapes and sizes. Close-ups of faces. Or full-length, it doesn't matter. There are no rules.

So a few weeks ago I visited my friend Tea in downtown San Diego, and as usual when I bring my camera along, an impromptu portrait session happened. I hadn't seen her since last year, when we worked together on this fashion shoot, so it was fun to turn the tables and photograph her for a change, rather than her designs.

Thanks Tea, for indulging me :)

adios 2012!

Today is Christmas Eve, and I have grand plans to watch the entire fifth season of Mad Men, snuggle with the kittah, and Skype with the Mister.

This year has had its share of good fortune and sucky deployments (the latter is still on-going), so I'm trying to stay positive for the most part. Going through the holidays while your other half is thousands of miles away for several months at at time is tough, but I've been fortunate to meet great people here in San Diego who not only let me occasionally vent about the aforementioned sucky deployment, but remind me how much I really do love living in this city.

So here is my official sign-off for 2012! I'll see you guys next year :)

creativity works // debbie

And so begins a new photo series! I've been wanting to start a new photography project that involves taking portraits of rad people who work in any kind of creative field, so first up is Debbie Chialtas of Soapylove Soaps! I first met her over the summer at a Creative Connection event, and not only is she an inspiring business owner, she's super gracious and makes some pretty good photo booth faces. She also recently started a new line of products called Super Simple Soaps that use three ingredients or less. Right up my alley.

While we were doing this little shoot at her office, I couldn't help but take more photos as I wandered around and took a peek at all the neat products she makes. Her space is so bright and happy, and I love all the color and framed prints on her walls.

Debbie, you rock. Thanks for letting me photograph you :)

from where I stand, aka "I look at the ground a lot"

Sometimes it's worth the time to take a look down at your feet and see what's there. I do it. 

Maybe a bit too much :)

oh crap, it's December!

 I took this photo on the east coast recently, where their autumn is way cooler than ours.

Where the heck did November go? It feels like the election was just weeks ago! Thanksgiving was practically yesterday! I'm not ready!

But actually, I am. There's just lots of things/projects I'd like to get done before the Mayan-predicted apocalypse happens. Such as:

1. My car needs an oil change/tune-up. I know, real boring life things, but I keep putting it off.

2. Send out Christmas cards. I meant to do this today, but nope. Even if I send them out later this week, I'm still ahead of the game right?

3. Get a bunch of my poster prints framed, so I can finally commit to putting things on some of my bare walls. I've been living in this house for just over a year now, so it's kind of embarrassing that the main wall in my living room is still empty.

4. Finish my Christmas shopping. Of course. Like I would ever have this done before December first.

In photography-related things, things are looking up! I found out today that one (or more) of my photos from this shoot will be published in a local magazine next week, so I'll definitely be sharing that soon. And I've got a new portrait series in the works that I'm starting next week as well. I'm excited to see where it takes me...I've been itching to photograph new faces!