Califonia Cruiz'n !

I'm back from San Francisco! My purpose was to attend the One Light Workshop by the incredible Zack Arias, but I had one day to myself to do some exploring in the most beautiful city I have ever seen.....so off I went!

Of course I couldn't pass up the chance of photographing the popular Golden Gate Bridge at dawn

Don't even ask me how I got this shot......I can get crazy sometimesHere's Alcatraz. It was a very dark and strange feeling walking through the cells where the prisoners stayed. And in particular, standing in solitary confinement.





Inmates arrived on the "Rock" cuffed and shackled. Upon entering the cellhouse, they showered and then collected their prison-issue clothing.

Here is how woman officers in California give out tickets

Here is the amazing........and humble Zack Arias working on some images taken at the workshopTim & Shannon of "Round Top Photography" were kind enough to open up their home studio to us for the workshop. During class, I felt a furry thing brush up against me. It was "Turbinado"! Their adorable litty kitty. Of course, I couldn't stop photographing him after that. I must have about 50 shots of him alone! He's so sweet.And here is Courtney. A sweet, homeless man that I was destined to encounter at Pier 39. I ended up talking to him for at least 2 hours. He is the happiest man I've ever met, and just loves to sit by the pier and encourage people by telling them about God. He told me a story once of a lady who wanted to commit suicide by jumping of the bridge. He freely spoke to her about the Lord. He is just an amazing man full of smiles. He lives off his bike, and people have offered to put up a home for him, but he refused. He says he is the happiest doing what God called him to do.........and doing it on the streetsHere is his well-used Bible, which he reads to the Max!Okay.......so I get back to my hotel and walk past the vending machine. I had such a craving for Gummie Bears. So there they were. I put in my money, and was anxiously awaiting the dropping of the bears, but it stopped barely on the edge! It was being blocked by the Sun Chips! Here's a close-up of the ordeal. The poor Gummie Bears were hanging by a thread of it's life. Needless to say, I had to use my talented "tilt and shift" skills (after I made sure no one was looking)
Ahhhhhhh....sweet Victory !!


Here is Lombard Street.........the most crooked street in America!

Of course I had to feel the thrill of driving down this street with it's 8 sharp turns. It was pretty tight, but lots of fun!These are the stairs leading up the street. Wow....did my legs ever get a workout!



And here is Amanda. A sweet homeless woman living on the streets of San Francisco. We spend some time together and had lunch. She told me her story of how her young daughter was kidnapped and taken away from her. Her daughter was only 5. This was 6 years ago, and Amanda has not seen her since.

When Amanda was in front of the camera, she let her hair down and just loved the attention! So sweet.

Me and Amanda!

One of my favorite parts of the whole trip..........the Sea Lions at Pier 39! How cute! I laughed as I stood there listening to all the barking they made as they slided on top of each other. Ha!


Here's a little video clip I took with my point-and-shoot so you can hear the barking