Paris 1

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1000 words

Don't worry - I won't go on quite that long about this latest wedding photo - but I do love it.

I love it, and at first I thought I was wrong to like it at all - too busy, too much going on in the background, too...too.

But I love it, and I think it's because their silhouette is so simple, except for the beautiful folds of the train on her dress, and him kissing her forehead is so sweet.

They are on their way out of the church, out into the world for the first time as a couple, with Fat Matt's in the background, and traffic, and a glimpse of their limo, but they haven't stepped out there, yet.

They paused for one more kiss.

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Oregon 3

A couple of leftovers from my trip to Oregon at the beginning of my sabbatical...

Stucky's GardenThe Three Sisters...Washington Forest...Columbia Gorge

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Oregon 2

Backpacking 35 miles:
Hike Panther Creek to Spur Creek - 15 miles
Hike Spur Creek to Gillette Lake - 16 miles
Hike Gillette Lake to Columbia River - 4 miles
Hitchhike to Carson Hot Springs for a soak & a towel wrap - Priceless
Flowers along the Pacific Crest Trail (including trillium, bear grass, groundcover dogwood, and wild yellow iris.)

...

...and a couple of stories:

Comparing newspapers: op/ed in the main section, classifieds in business, obituaries in living?

Headline - '13 firs in Sills Park to be cut.' They are serious about trees here.

A friend lost some property taken over by the city for a light rail line. He renamed the wine produced on his remaining vineyard 'Eminent Domaine'.

My hetero friend M is always curious about the gay lifestyle. 'Do you know any evil queens?' Enough to give Disney a run for the money, baby.

Taking a soak at Carson Hot Springs - When I finally relaxed, I leaned back in 1880's era, cast iron tub and listened to all the different water sounds - strong rush out of the tap, gentle dripping, rhythmic sloshing. Very calming...until I opened my eyes to see that the sloshing was made by this fat guy flipping over in his tub, face-down, like a walrus looking for fish, sticking his black-bottomed, claw-toed feet up in the air. (I guess even Bigfoot needs a soak now and again.)

All in all, a very relaxing experience, until the attendant came over to scrub and then hose out the tub next to me; suddenly it became very elephant house at the zoo for me.

A whale washed up on Seal Beach while I was in Oregon. The paper stated that following an autopsy, the body would be buried. Remembering a news story from years ago, this would avert the disaster following a previous whale death when officials attempted disposal by dynamite. (Immediately following that fiasco, it wasn't men it was raining.) link

The next day, a follow-up story was headlined 'Police seeking anyone who took dead whale parts.'

Weather - Temperature got up to 87 deg on Tues and I heard a lot of 'Boy, it's hot!', but with the humidity at only 30% and a low of 54 at night, it was v. comfortable to me (Atlanta had the same high, but only got down to 64 in the evening.)

Waiting on a stoplight at rush hour next to several bikers lined up in their own lane.

A flyer posted in brewpub/theater window: 'Wanted - Used saxophone for 8 year-old girl whose influences include John Coltrane, Charlie Parker, and Lisa Simpson.'

Lottery ticket proceeds pay for new State Park land.

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Oregon 1

Looking into the sunrise; the Columbia GorgeHiking the Pacific Crest Trail

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Laguna Beach 3

Holy smokes! America's on fire!

Two weeks ago, the day after I got to Laguna, the ocean air was clear enough to see Catalina Island off the coast for the first time in quite a few weeks. Then, the day after I left for Atlanta, it was on fire, shrouded in smoke.

So, I totally missed that, only to be wake up a week later to smoke-filled skies in Atlanta from the wildfires 250 miles away! Yuck! Al Gore! Save us!

(The tower barely visible in the distance is City Hall East, just over a mile away.)

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Here are the last pics from Laguna (John at the beautiful Zinc Cafe in Laguna Beach is going to carry them - as well my faithful and tireless supporters at YES here in Atlanta.)

(They are the last new pics from Laguna...cuz camera and I are off to Oregon to hike in the snow this Wednesday!)

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Laguna Beach 2

Black and white at sunsetCrystal Cove - Bette Midler's "Beaches" shack
Lunch

I would sooner walk on my tongue than say I had more fun photographing and hanging out in Laguna than I did in Oh-Hell-Hole...but... ...aaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyeeee.... aaddddddddddd.... ooorreee.... uuun.

NIGHTLIFE - One fun - almost mandatory - thing to do in Laguna is to go to the Boom Boom Room to see the boys dancing in their underwear. We had to pony up a couple of bucks before seeing all the "sights", because - all due respect to the movie - there's no such thing as Free Willy.

DRIVING - D & A were super sweet enough to let me borrow their jeep to drive the 1.5 hours up to see relatives in Woodland Hills. They asked me "can you drive a stick?"

Rising to the Man Challenge, I puffed out my chest and said "Sure!"

Now, while that may be true (I've driven a BMW on the Autobahn), knowing your way around a manual transmission is not the only preparation you need to drive a jeep. There's also "can you drive with no top, no sides, deep brakes, a shallow clutch, bouncy mirrors, flickering headlights, and occasional, random clunking noises?"

It was awesome! I was much more aware of being...transported. The wind, the sun, the car next to me, the sound of the engine, shifting, changing speeds, taking corners with my whole body. Even though I was constantly wrestling with the wheel and the gears (there is no checking of the map, answering of the cellphone, fixing your make-up in this vehicle), I loved it. I wasn't just steering...I was driving.

TAKING PICTURES - There's 2 things I hate - people who are intolerant of other cultures...and the Dutch.* I was just sitting there at the Getty Villa, minding my own business, waiting for the crowd to disperse and watching this spikey-haired, 55-ish woman with a camera/lens rig longer than my arm just breeze through the gallery, quickly and dutifully snapping a picture of each and every statue. She was literally cataloging everything in the museum as she worked her way towards me. Suddenly, she was standing next to me, shooting a wall plaque, and, spotting my camera, leaning over and whispering in my ear.

'I just hate people, don't you?'

I knew what was next - she was looking for a fellow photographer so she could brag about her camera. Before I could escape, she asked the question:

'I was just in Amsterdam in (insert Dutch name) Gaarten and I couldn't get a decent shot for all the people. What are you shooting with?'

I told her - a Canon 20D - and she replied - 'I had one of those; I sold it to my son and bought the 30D with the profits - it's really much, much better.'

I just hate people.

* Thanks to Michael Caine in "Austin Powers"

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Laguna Beach

Here is the photo most folks would expect of Laguna Beach; the beach is lovely, of course, but I had more fun taking pics while hiking first up Bluebird Canyon to the Top of the World, along the ridgeline, and down a different canyon on Park Ave to Main Beach.

It's no surprise that a 2600 sq. ft. house in this area is listed at $2.4 million!

The pics below are from that hike.
- 1st Laguna Moment - Standing at crosswalk w/1 guy carrying a surfboard wearing only shorts, 2nd guy in a wetsuit holding a ukelele, and a 3rd guy in jeans & a tweed jacket on a skateboard.

- 2nd Moment - Entering the ridgeline park and reading posted warnings that the fire danger is "extreme" and, by the way, watch out for ticks & rattlesnakes.

- 3rd Moment - While holding my camera on the beach, I was told by some drunk guy to 'take the pic man, really, cuz the light is perfect. No, really, a good friend of mine is the editor of Surf magazine. I should know. Now, excuse me, I've gotta go sit on my wife's $10,000 bench.'

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Atlanta - Skyline, L5P, & AFF

I just can't tell my reader how much fun I'm having just being at home with S. and friends...I am keeping very busy - taking pics and cleaning house - trying to be as Annie and Martha* as I can be.

Last Friday was the best day ever; to break in my new boots for the trip to Oregon**, I walked from from Metropolis, down Ponce, through the Carter Center, lunched in L5P, then walked down Moreland and N. Highland to shop in Va-Highland, then down Virginia to Landmark to see the Atlanta Film Festival. Here's my roundup of the Horror Shorts:

Last Zombie - What if you might be the last undead guy on earth? Apparently, given the chance, you would bite a co-worker, and then make hot, zombie love (it went downhill from there). The ringer? This scene was filmed on the same Decatur train tracks where we had just shot a wedding - 6 days before!

Little Lise - Cute girl / Betty Davis eyes / Linda Blair temper.

Happy Bday 2 Me - Serial killing, when you do it with your family, is kind of social.

Hollow - What if the monster in the closet is actually your whole life?

Haunting Matt - Will a friend filming your life for a movie 24/7 help solve your poltergeist problem? Would you do it? Would you watch it?

* Annie Liebovitz has a show coming up at the High Museum. Martha Stewart Living costs $24 per year.

** "Breaking in your boots" is a misnomer; my boots broke in me.

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Atlanta - Centennial Park

Last Friday was the perfect, Atlanta, intown day. It started with MARTA to downtown, CNN, and Centennial Park, then the Aquarium, followed by lunch, the High Museum, and dessert at Chocolate Pink.

All that, and no poison ivy.

I'm home.

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