Our friends Josh and Katie are moving to Oakland! We went out to dinner to celebrate and the light (and my husband) were so beautiful I had to snap a photo. And the pizza was great.
Sunday Morning on the Yuba
The morning after Jen and James' wedding, we got bagels from Bubba's and headed to the Yuba River. The water was crystal clear and the granite boulders were massive. It was the best swimming in recent memory, hot well before noon and we were glad to get there early. Feeling grateful for good friends and beautiful scenery. And the time and ability to get away and also slow down and enjoy.
My Father, the Musician
in Portraits
My father is a musician, and has a deep appreciation for music. When we were kids, he would blast the Beatles from homemade speakers to get us out of bed in the morning.
When I was old enough to pick out his presents, I chose "best of" CDs of bands he loved. Later I learned that he prefers actual albums over hits, because of how they are constructed. He enjoys an album as a piece of art.
My dad is a jammer, and a damn good one. When we first started dating, Jeffery played guitar and was in a band. He brought his guitars over one time and he and my dad tried to jam. It was like worlds colliding. Old school psychedelic rock meets hard core punk. But over the years Jeffery's taste in music has drifted closer to my father's, and when Jeff lived with my parents in Hawaii for a couple months before coming to live with me in England, my dad gave him pretty much all of his music.
Some of my earliest memories of music involve me and my dad sitting at his keyboard, singing along to kid's songs. Upon my request he would play the same songs over and over again.
Although the list of instruments he plays has grown past repeating, he just started taking piano lessons, and I admire his desire to improve as a musician.
Happy Father's Day, dad. And thank you for the music.
Jen & James Get Married!
I have known James as long as I have known Jeffery, over a decade. They've been best friends since middle school and James is like a brother to me. I only met Jen at Sam and Christian's wedding last June, but as soon as I did, I wanted more of her in my life. In fact, I'd like a whole lot more of their entire family in my life. They are an inspiration of what it means to keep family close.
(Click the orange arrow below to play a song.)
What a beautiful evening. As soon as the sun went down behind the hill, the pond transformed into a liquid mirror. It was the perfect backdrop for a perfect day. This couple is blessed with an incredible family. So much love. And what a wealth of beautiful little nieces (and one nephew!). Congratulations, Jen and James! Wishing you a lifetime of happiness.
Raelyn Turns One!
This little one is so loved. I got to be the fly on the wall at her first birthday party.
Baby, grandma, and great-grandma. :)
Auntie. :)
Grandpa. :)
Aunties are the best!
Grandmas are too.
Raelyn is such an unbelievably happy little baby. And she brings so much joy to her family. Thank you Davis family for letting me spend the day with you, your love inspires.
Dead Flowers and Starting a Business
The last flowers I purchased from the farmer's market didn't hang around very long, they started to turn before I could photograph them in their prime. I gave myself a challenge to take some beautiful photos of some not-so-beautiful subjects, and I'm pretty happy with how they turned out. It's amazing how far good lighting and perspective can get you, they looked a lot father gone in person.
I've been going 100 mph lately; outside my two nanny jobs I've dedicated almost every free hour towards developing my photography business. I just ordered business cards with my new url, so that feels good. Every person I talk to about it has some valuable insight that makes me stretch and grow, and I need to not be afraid to continue reaching out as much as possible. Yesterday I sat in the shade at the Tilden Park Golf club while Jeffery was at the driving range and I brainstormed business ideas. I had a couple realizations:
- o not be afraid to ask people you know for help. They want you to succeed and will be flattered that you thought of them.
- Do not be afraid of what you don't know. It is ok to show vulnerability, it is much better than arrogance.
So it's time to reach out to other photographers and earn all that I can. It's also time to jump in and start taking photos for people, as many people as possible. I announced on my facebook page that I am offering free family sessions to new clients. If you know of anyone in the Bay Area that may be interested, please pass my info along! It's a scary thing, putting so much of myself into something that will eventually be my livelihood, but it is also completely worth it.
I also need to thank Jeffery for making sure I take a break and walk away, get some fresh air (drink a beer) and gain some fresh perspective. (And he looks really cute swinging a golf club.) We had a good weekend. The perfect mix of productivity and relaxation. And for dinner tonight we made fried chicken, cornbread, and kale sauteed with olive oil, garlic, capers and tomato. Delicious. On to Monday.
A Weekend on the Eel River
in Lifestyle
Sunday morning sunrise, we awoke to birds chirping and the sound of the river. "Someone turn off that water." -Jeffery's first words of the day
I haven't visited the Eel River in seven years. Not since high school, when as soon as the weather warms up in May, everyone piles into cars after school and drives the 25 miles towards Covelo. (Or if you're feeling rebellious you ditch after lunch. We only did that once, on Jeffery's 18th birthday, and I ended up serving detention—totally worth it.) But you never forget the mile marker numbers of the good spots.
We had such a prime location, nested on a bed of sand in between a giant rock and the hillside. Perched over one of the deepest parts of the river where the swallows put on a show, swooping and diving for bugs that glowed at sunset. There was so much diversity, in the colors and textures of rock, in the wildflowers and butterflies, in the birdsong. The water was so cold it took your breath away, but it was the only relief from the hot sun and sand underfoot. We did our best to avoid dehydration, slathered on the sunscreen and hiked in eight gallons of water, but the [multiple] 12 packs of beer, and [multiple] bottles of champagne and wine combatted the water and we all had dry lips come Monday.
A weekend in the wilderness made me love my husband even more. He is such a man, gathering load after load of firewood, never complaining, making me laugh, all while looking adorable in a floppy sun hat. While on the river I had a bit of an epiphany about marriage. I am so glad to be in a place in our relationship where we no longer think in terms of "if." If we're going to be happy together, if we'll make enough money, if we'll make good parents. Now we can think in terms of "how." This is how we are going to do the things we want to do. This is how we are going to make each other happy. There's no wondering. We are going to make the life we want and we're going to do it together.
And I have such good friends. Josh and Katie may be the only two people I could spend ten hours in a jam packed car and 40+ hours in the woods with and not want to to hide under a rock. For never having camped in California as adults, we were pretty well prepared. Biodegradable soap and all. We skipped a lot of rocks, grilled steaks in a cast iron directly on the campfire, ate bacon and eggs and had coffee for breakfast, and turkey sandwiches for lunch. Directly across the river are railroad tracks, and I knew that if I got up there I could get the best shot. So with my camera double bagged, Katie and I waded through the rapids and I got the shot (the diptych with the red Indian Paintbrush). All of these images were shot with my fixed 50mm lens. This trip reaffirmed that I need a wider angle lens, so I just ordered this one, and it arrives Tuesday. Just in time for a Grass Valley wedding next weekend with more of our favorite people.
Hello summer. And happy 28th birthday to my darling husband, I love you. Here's to another decade.
Russian Easter
in Lifestyle
Life has been really busy around here with my parents visiting and the launch of my new site. I finally managed to post photos from our Russian Easter celebration. Enjoy!
I think I'm becoming more sentimental with age. We haven't celebrated Russian Easter in about ten years, since my great grandmother Zoya was alive. My memories of it are mostly of the recipes and I realized how important it is to keep those recipes alive. I was so engrossed in the party that I didn't get to take as many photos as I would have liked. But it was a lot of fun. We shared Russian recipes with our mostly non-Russian friends, played a lot of croquet and enjoyed Lee's garden. Susie brought buckets full of roses and though it wasn't as warm as the day before, the weather cooperated and we were able to spend most of the day outdoors. Thank you to all who made it happen, it was so nice seeing friends we don't get to see often enough. Hopefully it won't be another ten years before the next celebration.
I moved!
Things are getting more grown up around here. It was time to create a portfolio. You can check it out at www.roseannbathphoto.com also, follow me on bloglovin!
Cuatro de Mayo
My parents are visiting! We spent last weekend together at our friend Lee's lovely home up in Sonoma County. We had a Russian Easter celebration on Sunday (photos coming soon!) and decided to celebrate with Mexican food on Saturday, the fourth. When we arrived Marina was making piroshki.
Jeffery took this one of me.
And I took this one of him, while swinging in the hammock. I really love the reflection of the garden in the glass. And I really love him.
Taking turns in the hammock. Happy Mother's Day, mom! I know a lot of people think this, but I really do have the best mom in the world. I love you, and I only wish I saw more of you.
Cerveza, tamales, carnitas, tilapia tacos, guacamole, margaritas. We know how to do it right. Beautiful home, amazing yard, perfect weather, delicious food, cold drinks, no agenda, just being together and having a meal.