I’m down to counting days rather than weeks til my Germany trip. I’m nervous. I don’t know why. I mean, that was… is… my “home.” What if I forget how to speak German? What if I drive slowly in the left lane on the autobahn because America totally ruined me? What if I don’t see all of the friends I want to see? What if… I don’t know. Darn you, Gray’s Anatomy and your plane crash finale.

I got some film back yesterday from our recent trip to Neah Bay, Washington, and the famous Shi Shi beach. I’ll blog all of the photos soon but for now, a starfish.

See you soon, Deutschland!

xo
j

I always say that animals are my therapy. You can’t say there isn’t healing in a furbaby looking at you and the one thing they’re counting on in life is for you to help them have a great day.

Since I’ve gotten my own little puff of never ending canine affection, I’ve practically had a shock to the heart. Now, don’t get me wrong… the 20 pounds of feline love in our home is in abundance but let’s face it, cats aren’t always on the same page with humans about when and where affection should happen, so it was only fitting that we add a 24 hour attention-seeking machine.

Every night, when the little terrier crawls onto my pillow to get squeezed before she heads off to the foot of the bed, I rub her face and ask her, “did you have a good day today?” If her eyes tell me anything less than absolute content, I feel like I’ve failed. A living being that has no malice never deserves less than the best of days.

Unfortunately, there are people who do not agree.

Such as Jake’s former “caregiver.”

My friend, Kelly, who is the main artery of my personal support system, recently took in a tall, dark, and handsome golden retriever, who was being fostered by a less than stellar human. For the majority of Jake’s mere 5-6 years of life, he knew little more than suffering and neglect.

Jake walks with a limp and has a significant amount of daily pain, as his ACL is torn and is in desperate need of a long overdue surgery. Rather than passing him along to the next unsuspecting golden lover, as was done to him in the past, Kelly has committed to caring for Jake and helping him see his own best of days.

Jake and Kelly need our help for this expensive surgery. A ChipIn has been established in Jake’s honor. Donations are more than appreciated. A donation from you isn’t just monetary. It’s a symbol to Jake and the rest of the innocent, that there are humans who do love, feel, and fight for them.

HERE is Jake’s ChipIn site, where you can also read a little more about him.

xo
-Jake, Bella, Kelly, Mabel, Archie, and Jessica

This is where I’d like to be today. Mit kaffee, bitte.

Today went entirely too fast. It’s days like today that remind me how cool my life is and how lucky I am to have the experiences that I do.

I visited one of my faaaaavorite friends in Seattle. We tooled around the city, had a vegan lunch, nerded out at a camera shop, had coffees and a hot chocolate with whip and sprinkles for our 5 year old partner in crime, all while two rolls of my medium format film was being processed at MoonPhoto. What a great little photo lab.

The first set is from my beloved Mamiya RZ67. The second set from the new to me, vintage twin lens Mamiyaflex I scored a couple weeks ago.

I was just reading a film photographer’s post last night about the “imperfect” out of focus images that turn out amazing. I’m very seriously considering a pirate eye patch for the moments my face is exhausted from closing one eye so hopefully those out of focus moments soon become few. However, it just so happens that the missed focus photos were some of my dreamy faves this time.

Lots of flowers lately but who can resist spring?

xo
j

And the Mamiyaflex…

Medium format film. Perfect in every way.

Sometimes you wake up and you know even before your feet hit the floor that it’s going to be a weird day.

The first half of today was odd, beginning with a fantastic morning headache. However, things turned around when I paid a visit to my PNW BFF and her family. I shot off the remainder of a roll of film during our visit then dropped it off for immediate processing.

Really, there’s nothing like film. I haven’t been this excited about photography for a while. Even better was seeing how incredibly happy film made my friend today, after she picked up her first processed roll in nearly a decade. I’ve watched her shoot a number of times but the confidence she has when holding a film camera is noticeably more than when the digital hangs from her neck. I think we both feel a little renewed.

My entire roll was devoted to flowers. Here’s to the next four months of photographing blooms, on film.

xo
j

xo
-m

This guy asked me to take his photo. I happily obliged.