In a world of so many great photographers and writers, I am venturing into some unknown territories, leaving comfort zones, finally very willing to practice the art of seeing. By maintaining the practice of posting daily photos, I hope to continue learning about the possibilities that I trust are out there for the taking.
April 5th I’ll be backpacking home about 150 miles along the Pacific Crest Trail with my buddies JJ (Joyful Jim), and Jeff.
Backpackers have trail names. Trail names are like Handles. Other backpackers, after getting to know a fellow backpacker on the trail, often give a backpacker their trail name based on some funny experience, character traits revealed etc. I noticed how joyful jim was when I first met him and suggested he be called Joyful Jim or JJ. He liked the name and kept it. If a backpacker doesn’t like a trail name offered up he doesn’t have to take it of course. But he officially indicates acceptance of his trail name once he first introduces himself using the new trail name when meeting another backpacker he doesn’t know.
My trail name is Gottago. My husband really named me. I’d been training in the Santa Monica Mountains for my first long distance hike, a thru-hike of the PCT in 2002. I was on a fire road and had to pee. There was no one in sight. Just off the side of the dirt road, well within sight, I squatted to relieve myself. Not two seconds later, and unable to stop what I was doing, did a group of dirt bikers, approaching at lightening speed, reach me. They rode by politely, looking away, but murmuring loud enough that I could hear, “When you’ve gotta go, you’ve gotta go.”
Bikers on a Santa Monica Mountains' fireroad.
Back home I related this experience to my husband. He smiled and without pausing said, “That should be your trail name…..not only because you pee so often but because you never stop. You’re always doing something, never still.”
Me at the Pacific Crest Trail southern terminus monument in 2003.
Yogi, Cupcake and Capetown Jenny are the trail names of my PCT friends below.
Capetown Jenny, Yogi (on top), Tina and Cupcake 10 feet from the Mexico/California border.
Lake Morena, 20+ miles from the border. This will be JJ, Jeff and my 1st campsite this April 5th.
It was great having Cindy here for the last two days. I am so organized now. Well, my office is organized.
Ray took this shot of me and Cind before the meeting last night.
I’ve been going too non-stop and I have not spent any time out training for the backpack with JJ and Jeff. I also haven’t been out with my camera in the last week. Not good.
And Connie is coming tomorrow night for the weekend (this is really good though). Saturday I lead the MHCC hiking group on a PCT section hike north of the I-10 Freeway that involves time consuming car shuttling. Saturday night a group of us will go to dinner and hear Ray speak at Fellowship Hall.
So, Sunday I’m going to hopefully focus on preparing for the Palm Springs Photography Festival I’m attending in 9 days. The THE JOEL MEYEROWITZ MASTER CLASS I’ve signed up for requires I bring up to 10 prints. I’ve never printed out any of my photos. I think I’m over my head here. I just want to learn. I don’t want to do show and tell. I haven’t much to tell yet. I have over 40,000 shots in Lightroom and I am not thrilled with any of them. Yesterday and today I did finally come up with 10 I’ll take to Sam’s Club and have printed in 8 x 10′s with a matt finish (like the high school girls do with their class photos I was told) Oh God. I thought of posting my 10 selections here for you to see, but I chickened out. I even ordered a Portfolio folder to hold the 10 photos. I’m sure everyone else will have beautifully matted prints. Sigh.
What is it about me that I keep putting myself in situations where I am the least knowledgeable.
Off to get some much needed sleep now because as I write about the “Master” Class I’m getting all nervous (I thought I was signing up with a Master Photographer, not signing up for a Master Class!).
Cind at the end of two long days working on my office organization.
Cind, all cleaned up after a long day working in my office.
Minutes before we went out tonight, I pulled out the Canon 40D and shot Cindy with the 50mm lens. I knew I hated the background plant thingies growing out from behind her head. Haste makes waste. But doesn’t Cindy look pretty ladies?
Cindy drove down to the desert to work first for Sandi and today and tomorrow for me. Cindy is really good at her job as an Organizer. I believe this is the third year in a row she’s helped me find homes for the piles of paper, clean out, organize and re-structure file cabinets, draws and shelves. It is unbelievable how fast the clutter accumulates, and I’m a pretty organized person. And to think I almost didn’t have her come to work because I believed I was too busy! Thanks Cind. I love how my office area feels again, even though we still have more work to do tomorrow.
Cind, doing her annual and magical spring cleaning in my office.
Cindy left at 6:00pm, with just enough time left for me to walk outside for a few seconds and enjoy the feel of the balmy, still air and remaining light in the sky. Living in the desert with temperatures in the high 70′s is heaven.
After a full day of work, I briefly stepped outside......aaaah.
This week’s assignment is “Orange”.
Ray and I disagree on this one.
Orange assignment I submitted for the week.
House in Jackson Hole.
Grand Teton blanketed in Orange.
Fall color in Jackson Hole, WY.
Tree roots along the Snake River.
I’m orange because no one can get Blackberry Internet email to accept my email address. I am lost. And, my computer man is going off to duty in the service.
Ray and I used our Sunday to drive into Rancho Cuchamonga to shop for some backpacking food and odds and ends. It’s not as fun going to REI like it used to be. But I made the most of our visit and bought some hiking and desert wear.
This was a planned shopping day LR.
Handles! Where were these when I had handles for a photo assignment.
Haven’t been out with my camera lately and am not happy about it. I intended to go out and shoot late this afternoon, since it would be light longer, but I made the mistake of choosing to troubleshoot why my Blackberry Curve was no longer receiving emails and then when I couldn’t figure it out, calling and getting stuck on the phone with a couple of Verizon techs. This was all after earlier having left a Verizon store that was terribly crowded, believing calling would be faster. Wrong. I still don’t get email and one of the level one guys changed things and I can’t figure out why I can’t set up a new email address after having deleted it. I get a message saying my server isn’t recognized. Needless to say I am disgusted that I spent so much of today on this ongoing problem.
I did get most of my meals figured out and packed for the PCT though.
This week is going to be insane. Cindy is coming to work for me Tuesday and Wednesday. Connie is coming to stay with me over the weekend. Monday, Wednesday and Saturday nights I’m out too. Oh the trail is calling.
Shot through very dirty windows, with my sidekick, the Canon Powershot A650. I wonder what the other 3 ladies in the car thought of me shooting and driving?
Driving grab shot #1 on the I-10 last night.
Driving shot #2.
The Woman’s Pro Golfers will be here soon. It’s Kraft Nabisco time.
Out on a quick walk around the block with Ray minutes ago I spotted some of the spectator stands already in place and photographed one of the main vendor tents going up. My husband dislikes playing on the Mission Hills golf course this close to the tournament because the golf course rough is getting too long and gnarly in anticipation of the Nabisco Players.
Ray told me the day he is driving me to the start of the backpack is the last day of the Nabisco.
It's that time of the year.
Golfers looking on at the workers.
Four of us will be driving to Upland tonight, Joan, Patricia, Sandi and I. Sandi’s speaking at a meeting out there.
Twenty three days before Ray drops me off at the Mexican/California by the PCT Monument where JJ and Jeff will be waiting for me. 6pm is when we are supposed to meet up and set up our tents before dark. We’ll sleep out at the border and begin backpacking bright and early in the morning. (I’d like to get a picture of me and my tent by the border fence!)
I am the least trained before any previous backpacks. Walking around MHCC carrying a pack filled with 28 pounds is not really much training. Saturday I lead the hiking group on an 8 mile PCT hike north of the Whitewater River. Our group gains the PCT from the Mission Creek Preserve parking area. We have the gate code to drive within 2 miles of the PCT where we’ll park.
Sunday I also hope to get in a little longer hike, maybe going up Murray Hill.
But this morning I was just happy I made time to at least get out and move about. Driving into LA on Thursdays takes its toll.
The flowers are beautiful and in full glorious bloom in our neighborhood. I shot about 20 photos on the walk this morning but they were all boring, except this one I took of me using a dirty car’s right-side rear reflective area. It’s not often I miss an opportunity for a good reflection or shadow shot of me. The woman who walked by me as I was repeatedly trying to get this shot was kind enough to only smile and keep walking. So many people say, “What ARE you doing?”
Me and my backpack out for a walk this morning.
I haven’t mentioned before what I’m going to write about now because I didn’t want to jinx the outcome.
3/1/10 – I received a very complimentary email from a local MHCC resident who had found my blog from a MHCC Hiking Club link.
He mentioned that he does wedding photography. http://www.palmspringsphotography.net/.
3/1/10 – I very excitedly responded to him offering up that I’d be interested in assisting him if he ever needed help, writing I really have a desire to learn more about photography.
3/2/10 – Rick responds asking if I’d mind letting him know what equipment I am currently using.
3/2/10 – I respond 3 hours later listing all my gear.
3/3/10 – Rick liked my gear. (See LR, its good I spend a lot of money on lenses.) He also asked if I’d be interested in being a 2nd shooter at weddings with him.
My thoughts went like this………I can’t wait to get on the phone. I’m so excited I don’t know what to do with myself. I need a reality check. Can I really do this? Am I kidding myself? Self doubt and fears are overtaking my excitement. I call my sponsor first, and then call someone I know will tell me the truth, my photography teacher, Carol Leigh. She’s excited too, once I calm down enough to let her process what I’m saying. At the end of our talk she mentions that my busy life (she reads my blog and knows) might be a deal breaker. I fear this too. Then I run this by Ray. I can see he is excited for me too. He thinks it sounds great.
Things you don’t know about me:
1. I’ve not had a job since I was 19 or 20 years old. That’s a loooooooooong time ago.
2. And because I’m not had a job, I’ve not had an interview.
3. My days are usually of my own making.
4. I don’t usually put myself in situations that I am not at least a little familiar with.
I was a wee bit nervous about meeting Rick, but what was different about me was I just trusted the outcome of this meeting was going to be what it was going to be and I was just going to show up and be present and available.
I got to our public meeting place before Rick this morning. We started in talking like we‘d known each other before. Our first meeting was so nice, so easy, AND fun. We are alike. It’s nice to have someone to share with who understands and is so excited about what you are excited about.
One hour and 40 minutes later we began to end our visit. Actually I could have stayed a lot longer. I found our visit exhilarating. I was given an envelope filled with four pages of all the information Rick gives his potential clients. Rick asked me to talk to my husband, think about what we had talked about and get back to him with an answer as to whether I would like to be his 2nd shooter.
At home, my head raced. It raced mostly with thoughts of how am I going to find time to work with him. I know better than to think too long about a problem. I started going through my calendar, month by month, making a list of all my already scheduled committed days. The list revealed I have no time in March or April to be available to work. I continued listing dates in May, June, July, etc. through December. Thank God my schedule lightened up considerably after April.
I printed out the list of already scheduled dates and showed it to Ray. He said, “I’m glad that’s not my calendar!”
I copied and pasted the list and emailed it to Rick. I was sure he would say, “No way. You aren’t available to work.” But I sent it anyway, letting him know I would like to work but would understand if he said he needed someone to begin right away.
Surprisingly my busy March and April weren’t a problem as he often books assignments out 6 months in advance. His only concern was staying ahead of my busy schedule, surmising that soon my June, July and August would begin to fill up.
In this same email, Rick asked if I’d be willing to do something he’d mentioned during our talk this morning…..whether I’d be interested in shooting and covering the action shots after Rick leaves the wedding he is shooting in a few months.
I replied, “Yes.”
It begins.……just like it began the day I started planning for and setting out on my 2,660 mile thru-hike in 2002 when I backpacked from Mexico to Canada, at first not knowing how I was ever going to do it. I have a love/hate feeling about leaving the comfort of the known and venturing into the unknown. All is good.