Studio Shoot - July 18-19

Two beautiful models graced my studio July 18 ... so nothing better than making this a 2 day shooting bonanza ;-) ... some images below ...

SaraLiz and Kayla ... make-up and hair by Lauren Warner (SaraLiz) and

Christal Saville (Kayla)

The images of me at work are all courtesy Ankha Desh who did an excellent job of watching my back and came up with some great prop variations for her own shooting sessions with the models.

On the 19th Seema Hamid joined up for wardrobe styling while Heather Hartel made sure I got my solo venti white chocolate mocha ... lol ...

Great images, great camaraderie and

no drama ... just the way I like it ... this team performed flawless and we got some great images to boot ... what else ;-)

SaraLiz and me ... this was my second shoot with the Florida based pro model ... beautiful, gracious, great posing and easy to work with

This image and next are (c) Ankha Desh

Chimping ... SaraLiz and Kayla delivered great team work on their first shoot together ...

No time to loose ... shoot Kayla while Seema is fixing shoes ... this was our 8th shoot together ... like I wrote a couple of weeks ago ... watch ...

Seema did a fabulous job mixing and matching wardrobe, shoes and accessories ... I had the pleasure working with her before at the Salton Sea shoot ... she's highly recommended ...

The joy of chocolate ...

I'm not the only one who's enjoying chocolate ... 

Ankha wrote:

"It's official.  My number one favorite chocolate in the WORLD is Gianduja by Cote d'Or ... WONDERFULLY AMAZING ;-)

This bar is widely available in the US ... for those who don't know Cote d'Or ... they don't know what they are missing ;-) ... Google is your friend ;-)

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Fortune cookie of the day:

You are admired from afar ...

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I wouldn't mind being admired from a bit closer ;-)

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Picked April up from her shoot with Jason Fassnacht ... I absolutely love Jason's work and it was a delight to finally meet Jason and J

Sacramento ... crazy drive ... loads of fun ... and my little car got over 29 miles/gallon ... not bad for a MBZ roadster ;-)

Chuao Chocolatier ~ Chinita Nibs

The second bar I'm trying from this chocolatier.  If you like nutmeg, then this is a hit.

I spread the degustation out over two days ... ;-)

The Spicy Maya aftertaste from the previous bar was too much rear upper palate for me ... this nibs bar with nutmeg and caramelized cacao delivers.

The caramelized cacao nibs are clearly present and give this chocolate a great texture ... the nutmeg infusion works and gives a very pleasant front upper palate tingle ... just right for me.

So in spite of the average chocolate quality, a highly recommended treat ... try it out ...

Continued ...

Chuao Chocolatier ~ Spicy Maya

Tried another chocolate bar out of the Christmas survival package from Ankha.

The packaging is appealing for all the Chuao bar's I've seen so far and their tag line did get my attention ... ;-)

Unusual, Unexpected and Delicious experiences ...

These bars are quite large ... so proceed with caution ;-)

I went through half a bar over the course of an evening and I have to admit, at first I fount the spicy Maya ... well ... too spicy ... overwhelming the chocolate

Then again, the chocolate is quite dark and misses the smoothness I so savor in a good bar.  The spice made up for the shortcomings of the chocolate if you're up for extreme spice ... this one clings to much to the rear of the palate and get's a bit heavy for me.

Second day I knew what to expect and things went a bit smoother but then I got that rear upper palate heaviness again and that spoiled it for me ... 

Next bar shortly ... continued ...

3400 Phinney Chocolate

I savored this bar in one 30 minute session ... pure indulgence ...

If you believe this is a crazy combination ... dwell on it for a second ... no ... make it two ... good quality chocolate with coconut and the spicy curry aftertaste biting your tongue ... to die for ... OK ... lol ... almost ...

This gives a new meaning to curry ... always loved curry chicken ... even more love this chocolate bar

Highly recommended ... taste-buds tickled to the extreme in a smooth barely creamy chocolate texture ...

Thanks Ankha ...

I love ...

... horses.

As a kid I grew up with a horse in one of the many stables of the carriage house we lived in ... located a stone throw from the castle of the count of Marnix de St. Aldegonde.

On occasion I got to ride it as taking care of the horse was one of my father's many duties.

My addiction to the Rode Ridder strips followed later by an emphatuation for everything Wild West didn't lessen my admiration for this beautiful animal.

I'll take any opportunity to photograph them and I'm absolutely thrilled by the many books of equine photography that are currently available.

I couldn't resist photographing the wooden horse in the Mingei International Museum in Escondido a couple of weeks ago.

All images were shot through glass windows at night ... only lighting used was the available tungsten light of the museum window display.

Images shot at ISO3200, totally possible on a D3 without noticeable noise.

This camera changed the way  I shoot.

Continued ...

A beautiful day ...

... sightseeing with Ankha along the I 1 while babbling Dutch ... from Aptos over Half Moon Bay and Pacifica to San Francisco ... great weather and what a surf ... 

Catching the blimp over San Francisco from the Marin Headlands and waiting on sunset while pondering synchronicity  ... priceless ... 

Coincidence - Synchronicity

I have to much time on my hands on those long flights back from Europe ...

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Most of us are familiar with coincidence ... the alignment of two or more events/circumstances without obvious causal connection.  

A coincidence does not prove relationship but there may be a higher level of probability.  Coincidences are inevitable from a statistical perspective and are often less remarkable than they may appear intuitively once you do the math.

Some (mostly followers of eastern philosophies) insist there is absolutely no coincidence in the world, that all that occurs can be related to a prior cause or karma no matter how vast or how minute or trivial the event is.

In all cases, you need our mind connecting two or more events, so without our mind, there's no coincidence ... the latter maybe a sobering thought for many ...

Enter "Synchronicity" ... the conceptual relationship of minds, also defined as relationships between ideas, structured in its own logical way.  The latter results in relationships which are not causal in nature.  Cause and effect occur together and these relationships can manifest themselves as simultaneous events that are meaningfully related in a larger framework than needed for a simple coincidence.

Jung seems to be the first one to describe synchronicity as "... the temporally coincident occurrences of a-causal events ..."

For me synchronicity is more of a "meaningful coincidence" where lives are parallel impacted by a-causal events in a non-trivial manner and without ever being able to prove these events wouldn't have existed or impacted us in the same way otherwise.

I believe a lot of our social, emotional and psychological experiences are governed by synchronicity rather than coincidence due to the probability in terms of causality.

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My life seems to be governed by synchronicity rather than coincidence lately ... it doesn't matter in the end but it is intriguing to analyze and observe the undeniable impact on all lives touched ... it just can't be undone ...

Maybe continued ...

San Diego

Speaking on a conference and using the weekend to reconnect with San Diego and surroundings.  Meet Ankha and speak some Dutch again ... funny how quickly one looses vocabulary ... ;-)

Top to bottom, left to right

Sunset in La Jolla, Lavender Fields at Night on the French Bakery in Escondido

Chaos Art in La Jolla, Rocks in La Jolla Cove

The road not taken

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

and sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

and looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim

Because it was grassy and wanted wear

Though as for that the passing there

Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had troden black;

Oh, I kept the first for another day !

Yet knowing how way leads onto way,

I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence;

TWO roads diverged in a wood, and I--

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

-- Robert Frost (1916)

Thanks Elley for sharing...

Ankha, thanks for the editorial comments ... that makes a difference ...

I choose to create ... rather than destroy ...

I didn't come up with this ... Og Mandino did, so I'm told.

But it fits best what I feel and believe in after today's spousal support hearing in an Oakland courtroom ... the law doesn't have to be fair ... only blind ... yet ... I'm smiling ...  you ... you know ...

*   *   *

I breathe

I live

I create

I'm inspired

I'm moved

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I didn't come up with that one either ...  Ankha did ...  I feel it ... thanks Ankha ...