Superbloom Splendor!

With all the rare rain Southern California has had lately, you knew there was also going to be a rare wildflower Superbloom - and People, it is here! And it's only the beginning ... !

I'm kind of a wildflower dork, and I'll go way out of my way to see a natural phenomenon - and so will my brother, Paul (Also an awesome nature photographer, so I'm double lucky), so a day trip was planned for a Sunday drive to Lake Elsinore, where I'd read was the spot of the moment ... and I had read correctly! You can see the flower covered mountains right from the 15 Freeway, and sure enough, the closer we got, the more backed up traffic became. We didn't even care though, because you know what? I'm STOKED that a whole bunch of people still care about nature and will get out there to appreciate it (even if they don't really deserve it, as I'll address shortly). It's special.

We wanted to really get into it, so we weren't going to settle for snapping shots from the shoulder of the freeway, and waited in the traffic line to find a parking spot at the trail head of Walker Canyon. It's not really a true nature park, I don't think, as there is no one around handling things. A couple Port-A- Pottys have been brought out to handle the huge influx of visitors to little Lake Elsinore, and there was an ice cream truck smart guy there, but that was it. The hills were crawling with nature lovers, but the higher up and deeper in we went, the more space to explore and photograph this natural wonder we had. It was truly spectacular, and THE most impressive wildflower display I've ever seen in nearly half of my life in California. And the big flower spots haven't even started yet! This is going to be some Spring!

Yesterday was also Daylight Savings first day, so we had extra time to explore the absolutely surreal colors bursting out all over. Some of the trails were pretty steep, and my boots were slippery, so it was adventurous also ... which I dig. Every photo we snapped was impossibly beautiful without doing a thing to it. The bright, almost hunting outfit orange of the state flower California Poppies was dominant in this area, with ridge after ridge exploding in the citrus palette that must be seen to be believed. Purple lupine and some other little tiny purple ones were also everywhere, with yellow and white blooms for contrast ... and it was all simply breathtaking. In one case it really WAS breath-taking, as both my brother and I got lightheaded when standing up. One of our new flower friends from the trail gave us a banana, and we realized we didn't really eat in our haste to get to the beauty. There are still good people, People!

There are also idiot people, and it must be addressed that several idiot jerks decided to leave their bright blue plastic dog waste bags along the trails - just thrown there to mar the total majesty that we were witnessing. Had I seen it in action there would have been words - which no one wants on such a beautiful day, but ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?! Let this be a warning.

I also saw several seemingly clueless parents thinking it was adorable to let their kids pull the flowers to make little bouquets - literally teaching their kids to vandalize nature. I'd be like "Um, you know, I don't think you're supposed to be picking the flowers" (because I couldn't help it), and I'd be met with a look like I was the obnoxious one. Wow. O.K. There are no rangers or anyone enforcing anything, so it is a bit of a free for all, and you have to hope people get it by now, but nope. Maybe someone will read this and be like, "Oh, we're jerks" ... but I don't hold out much hope for these clueless, selfish sorts ... or now their kids. Blah.

ANYway, you can't let a few bad apples spoil a glorious day, and it was a real joy to see all the elated faces everywhere. Families taking their Christmas photos. People getting engaged, and married! Babies laughing. Senior Year photos. Many, many international visitors (I'd say the majority. Flower love worldwide!). Old couples holding hands and canes to get up the hill. I saw so many people taking selfies that I had to intervene and offer to take a real photo several times ... it was worth it to know that this beauty would be seen in its glory ... and maybe then the world will care more about taking care of it ... Maybe?

The sunshine came in and out so it was kind of a moody lighting deal for serious photographers, but my little phone camera took all of these, so it was obviously hard to take a bad photo. I can't wait to see my brother's real camera photos (though I'll have to - he's a perfectionist)! There is going to be serious nature photography coming at people all Spring long, if these hillsides keep this up ... we were honestly going "WOW!" "LOOK!" "Oh my goodness!" and just gasping aloud all afternoon long. Everyone is saying "The Hills are alive!" - and we actually were compelled to sing that song out loud. Had to. "Climb Every Mountain" too, as it felt like we did. People seeing our posts aren't even believing it's real, but I assure you, it is. Between our unreal sunsets, ocean waves, and these wildflower blooms, it really is a big reason why we continue to love and live in California, despite the real hardship it often takes to do so. Beauty prevails.

I'm so looking forward to exploring the other flower fields as their blooms open up and give us reason to rejoice, and remember that THIS is what should be important. All the people climbing those hills yesterday are better for it today, and so is everyone who sees their photos, and knows that this kind of natural beauty still exists. The smiles on everyone's faces said it all ... and it was free, nothing but time and energy spent. The Earth was free to do what it naturally does. WE were free to roam and ramble on.

Someone told me there's a girl out there, with love in her eyes and flowers in her hair ... 

I heard that beautiful and classic Zeppelin song  when I was a little girl, and I knew in my heart that I would live here someday. Now I've spent almost half of my life here in California, and yesterday I felt exactly like the girl in the song. I hope you'll get to feel that too (or what the guy that was appreciating her felt)  ... while it lasts. Going To California!

*Thanks to Paul Gronner for snapping photos and Perle Mer for my butterfly dress! 

Paris Photo At Paramount Studios

When it's breezy at the beach, you come up with field trips. Sunday's excursion was to Hollywood to check out the Paris Photo exhibit taking place at Paramount Studios. As my brother, Paul, is one of this town's very best photographers, we thought we'd go take a gander at some of the work by his peers.

It was a gorgeous day, and the show was a big, sprawling affair so you got a chance to be outside strolling from booth to booth, so you didn't have to feel guilty about being indoors.

Sprawling, because this exhibition hosts 80 galleries from 17 countries around the world. There's so many photographs to see that it's a bit overwhelming (especially when you had to keep an eye on the clock to not miss a second of the Minnesota/Chicago hockey game). We did not nearly see it all.

The huge sound stages were set up like a convention center, with each gallery having a booth to display their artists' works.

The New York backlot streets had all their storefronts filled with galleries, some so tiny that lines formed in front while one or two people at a time looked inside.

There seems to be a trend recently in photography where the subjects are blurry or out of focus on purpose. I don't love it. I'm always a sucker for an ocean photo though, and there were quite a few of those to choose from, so I'm fairly confident I'm not alone there.

With all the great (and not so great) photography to look at, I'd have to say the people watching was even better.

The trend among ladies was big hats and rompers, or as Paul put it, "There's a lot of '80s "Holiday" Madonna here." He speaks the truth.

There were so many hipsters in the place that Paul also cracked, "How did the Hipster drown?" I didn't know. "He fell into the mainstream." BAM! And it was happening before our very eyes.

The good spots to do this people watching from were the various bars set up around the lot, so you didn't have to be thirsty - or sober - while you checked it all out. There were also, of course, the ubiquitous food trucks that now seem to be a requirement of any larger scale event. Because it's so fun to stand in long lines to eat food off of a truck. I guess. We passed.

There were also spots for the photographic book people, well represented by the Taschens, etal ... The Rolling Stone photos were cool, but nothing that you haven't seen before. That was the thing with this show, was it didn't really feel like anything you hadn't seen before.

With SO many fine photographers in the world - and now everyone can be one with their Iphone cameras - you really do have to figure out some way to distinguish your work from all the rest.

I liked how this person turned their nudes into a little house of film.

I liked the sentiment on this photo book.

I was a total sucker for the beach photos by David Alan Harvey.

Frankly, I spent a lot of the time thinking my brother's work needed to be there. I'm definitely biased, but I also know what's good, and Paul Gronner Photography should really be featured in there next year, Gallery Owners. You'd be cleaning up, from what I saw.

That was seconded by the friends we'd bump into along the way, who confirmed that sentiment, unprompted. As the clock was ticking, we did one last lap, which was cool, because we turned the corner to see skater/artist Ed Templeton sitting there signing his art book. Cool.

Though it was tempting to take a seat in the sunshine outside the Parisian looking cafe, we had to split. I know now that a couple hours is not sufficient to take all this in, so will plan accordingly next time ... and hope to maybe be sitting there myself, helping to share Paul's work.

It was inspiring to once again see a whole bunch of people out and about in the name of art (and maybe just a little bit about being seen) on a sunny Sunday. Thanks for the good time, Paris Photo!