Where Have all His Ghoul Friends Gone?

Did you ever meet Harrison’s Ghoulish Friend?  If not, you can meet him here it’s worth it. 

Well, had we ever wondered  what became of him after the Blue Light Special was over we now have our answer.

I stumbled upon him at the Rose Bowl Flea Market- literally.

I had a Mom’s day out at the Rose Bowl Flea Market a few months back. {I love going up there whenever I can; which is only about once a year}  As I was rounding a corner in the far end of the farthest end of the flea market, there he was! 
Of course, I had to snap a picture for Harrison.

Headless Harry sat on the ground still holding his head as if nursing a permanent headache.
I can’t say that I blame him based on his current condition.

Poor Headless Harry. 

Now he’s body-less too.

Redondo Beach Portrait Photographer | All Grown Up

If I dug deep enough I know I could find some images of her five-year-old self; one of the last few times I saw her.

I got married and moved away; soon after, her family moved away. 
And then time ticks by in leaps and bounds.

However, with today’s technology, her mom and I are only a Facebook update away from each other now days and when my dear friend asked me if I would take her daughter’s Senior portraits I was THRILLED to accommodate – even drive out to Temecula for the honor.
  
I had NO idea that there were so many vineyards in that area.  We drove around on a Sunday afternoon to find just the right vineyard to shoot at; being a gorgeous late-Spring day, the vineyards were bursting with people out for a day of music and wine-tasting. Lucky for us we found a little piece of heaven hidden off the road.



It’s hard to believe I was a Bride’s Maid in her mom’s wedding, it doesn’t seem like that long ago and now she has a high school graduate. And what a beautiful mother and daughter they are.

Linked In | Memories on the Shelf

Growing up, my mom had a lot of nick-nacks, on Ah. Lot. of shelves. 

And as soon as I was old enough, it was my job to dust them – All. Once or twice a week, I would take EVERYTHING off those shelves one by one, dust the shelf and the trinket and put them all back.

I hated it.

Yet I unwittingly fed into this curio collection by buying little things are yard sales in the neighborhood, coming home and joyously presenting them to my mom.  She in turn proudly added each one to a display on a shelf and I began the process of dusting yet another useless piece of junk found treasure. 

^{(My most cherished find for my mom. I still remember when and where she came from.)}

After my mom passed I was tasked with cleaning out her home. All the years of tchotchke collecting stared me in the face. Wooden Buda's and elephants from Thailand and India, porcelain dogs and figurines from England,  a trio of nuns that wound up to play a tune, vintage Avon bottles shaped like Victorian women a collection of brass piggybank 1920’s style cars from a bank, little cottages and don’t forget all those little add-ons from my childhood yard sale days – plus SO much more.  They all has sentimental value. I couldn’t discard them, but I didn’t want all of them either.

I was conflicted.

Thank goodness for shows like Clean House and Clean Sweep, though!
I loved watching these shows any chance I got and I learned a few things.  Two things I gleaned: 1) I kept what I loved and what meant the most to me (all the vintage books and most of the china) and 2) I took pictures of the rest for memory’s sake then lightened the load.

 

Now days I still have Tchotchkes; what can I say, I am my mom’s daughter.

But I have a lot less of them and
They are VERY dusty any given day.

And we won’t talk about my obsession with vintage Asian bobble-head dolls and globes!

Go visit other “Link-In” memories with Jenn,Heather, Tracey, Stacey, Andrea, Amanda, Heather,  Janet, Jean,  Kristi,Carla, Rose, Tracy, Heidi, Kristin, Hanne, Liza and Rhonda.

Redondo Beach Portrait Photographer | Wordless Wednesday | Portraits in Black and White

Sometimes I need to put everything aside and be creative.

Sometimes “being creative” is just spending time on an image in the “digital darkroom”.

Converting to black & white and color tones or adding texture and grain, like my film days.

I forget just how passionate I am about black and white images.
…and how powerful they can be.

Want some REAL B&W inspiration? check out this link, eight famous black and white photographers.

More Wordless Wednesday here and here.

Redondo Beach Senior Portrait Photographer | “Take These Wee Little Hands…”

I remember that little, two-year-old voice calling out those sweet words like it was yesterday.

I’ve known her mom since our college days and when our circle of friends transplanted to Southern California one by one we became better friends. That group friends are an extended family to me, we were there at each other’s life moments, new love, broken hearts, careers, weddings, births, loss...  And I was there shortly after she was born. Nervously holding her tiny body in my arms.

Two years later, she stood in the middle of a group of adults who were busy talking and planning an event, she wanted someone to stop and play with her. The adults towered over her like a forest of Redwoods, their words rustling like a wind above her head.  Then in the brief lull, she stretched out her small hands like an angel in an Italian Renaissance painting and asked, “Will Anybody take these WEE little hands and play with me?” 

Right then and there she commanded the room.  Everyone was silent, everyone focused on her.

Since that day, she has grown into an incredible young woman – ready to take on the world.  She has lived as a Missionary, she loves God, she loves her family, she is beautiful and I was delighted when her mom contacted me to take her Senior portraits.

It was like coming home.

And as most things in life, a senior shoot is best shared with a good friend.

Thanks Ladies for trusting me with your senior pictures and for coming out to play!  It was a blessing!