My DNA changed

More later, but to find out that I have two sisters....and my mother is alive and well..... All of this is overwhelming, but as usual, I will woman up!

~~Quail Sighting!~~

During a recent photo walk at the local Desert Botanical Gardens (www.dbg.org), I overheard a couple talking about a pretty bird they had never seen before.

Trying to be helpful, I told them that this is a Gambel's quail and that they are common in Arizona. Some people even eat them. 

They looked at each other, laughing, and said, "We are from New Jersey, and they only birds we see are pigeons!" Well, some people eat those, too!

This is "Chester," the quail that visited me twice a day, every day, for 5-6 years....
He had one leg, and he must have passed to quail heaven....

~~Clients can be funny~~

Shooting landscapes, architecture, and destinations is easy compared to shooting people.  People can naturally feel awkward when they are staring into a camera and told to "SMILE!"  It is an unnatural situation. 

So I try to get them to relax and have a little fun before I sneak in the snaps!

Feel free to call or text me for your snaps: 480-319-2229

~~Opening Your Heart~~

Being a good photographer starts with opening your mind and your eyes.  You need to see things/event/people in ways that no one else does.  It requires keen skills of observation...not just looking around...observing.  It require that you are mindful when you are looking around.

However, you can be a good photographer by opening your mind and your eyes, but if you want to be a great photographer, you must also open your heart.  Love your surroundings, even if they are not loveable.  Love your subjects without judgment.  Want the best for your clients.  Love your clients and enjoy observing them opening their minds, eyes and hearts.

A client learning how to “see” differently to become a better photographer

~~Confidence is Weird~~

Confidence is critical to success in anything and everything we do. But confidence is not easy to come by.

I have a client that is an antique map trader, and he could not take proper photographs of his maps to sell on line.  He hired a dozen...yep...a dozen...photographers to help him take better photographs. Then he called me.

“I have ZERO experience taking photographs of antique maps, but I will give it a go with you,” I explain to him over the phone. He hires me, and I promptly panic. I have no clue about what I am doing. I reach out to photography forums, to my buddies and to the internet for ideas. I want to help my clients, but I don’t have a clue. I don’t know what I am doing.

The day arrives for me to tackle the task. I pack up all my gear...or a lot of it...and I trek to his place way out in the desert.

After seeing his set up, I simply tell him to change one thing at a time.  He starts to write everything down.  I say, “No. Only write the formula when we get it right.”

After just a few tweaks here and there with his set up, his lighting, his camera settings and his post work...viola!!  He was thrilled!  And by thrilled, I mean he had tears in his eyes, saying that these were the best photographs he has ever made....(and that was after taking 400 before I got to his place).

We never even unpacked my gear.

Yes.... Confidence is weird.

~~One Word~~

I read an article the other day that suggested that ONE work could change your life for the better....just ONE WORD!

(Insert drum roll here....)

The one word:  Nonetheless


Check out these examples of how to use "nonetheless":

• It is cold/hot outside; nonetheless, my entire day goes better after a brisk walk.
• 
  
• That piece of cake is "calling" me; nonetheless, the extra sugar will make me feel guilty and isn't for me anyway.
• 
  
• I don't feel like making that overdue phone call; nonetheless, when I make it, it will be off my mind.
• 
  
• I would like to spend the entire day crocheting on the couch; nonetheless, I get more done after a good hike <---Lacing up my hiking boots right now....

Purrl and I doing yoga after saying "nonetheless"

Joshua Darren Malyemezian

Joshua Darren Malyemezian

~~Getting Used to Nome... Loving Weird~~

Nome is a weird place; I like weird.  And Nome in summer, with 24/7 sunlight, is even weirder. I am an early riser, and that did not change when I got to Nome.  I would walk between three and five miles every morning.

Each morning, around 6a, I would put on my boots and wonder about the town.

Even though it is "light" 24/7 in the summer, there really IS a sunrise in Nome!

Sometimes I would walk along the Bering Sea and enjoy the magnitude of it.  Breathtaking.  The first few days, the sea was very choppy....too choppy for the dredgers to go out and dredge for gold.

MiMi Paris Photography: ~~Arrived in Nome, AK~~

MiMi Paris Photography: ~~Arrived in Nome, AK~~: Traveling to Nome was NOT easy, so I was happy to get off the third packed (and overweight) plane and see the person picking me up. I get ...

~~Arrived in Nome, AK~~

Traveling to Nome was NOT easy, so I was happy to get off the third packed (and overweight) plane and see the person picking me up.

I get to the house and meeting the gold explorers.  We make a motley crew for certain.  We have one man that is a gold explorer; another man that is a diver; and a third man that is a re-known geologist. Oh...and me.

Nome is one odd little town. Only 3,000 people call it home year round. Nome is 21 square miles, with 12 of those being land and the rest being water.

The Port of Nome from the top of Anvil Mountain

The World's Largest Gold Pan

There are RULES of getting around in Nome. Everyone...no matter the age...can drive a quad. However, no quads are allowed on the main road, Front Street.  So, you will see little kids, women, and everyone else, spinning around on side-by-sides or quads.

My Ride, Side-by-Side

Upon arriving and after meeting everyone, I wanted to take a walk around the block.  After quite a while I got a text message from the lead explorer.

Him:  Where are you?

Me:    I went for a walk.

Him:  Okay.  Don't get lost.

Me:    I am lost.

~~As hard as it was, I would do it again...~~

People think I am nuts.  And that is okay because everyone is entitled to their opinion, and I am entitled to be nuts.  I secretly believe that those people secretly want to be just a little more like me. That is my belief. So there.

An opportunity to go to Nome, Alaska presented itself.  Since I rarely say, "no" to adventures, I enthusiastically said, "yes!"

The goal was to follow three gold explorers to their secret spot and capture their adventure in photographs. I was thrilled to get this opportunity!  Who gets to do this as a photographer?

Getting to Nome from Phoenix takes a lot of time and work!  I had to get up and o'dark hundred and travel to Seattle...layover.  From there, on to Anchorage...layover.  Then had to climb up into the back of a 30-seat plane to fly to Nome.

By the way, they were dumping people off the plane because the plane got too heavy.  This foretold the way the entire adventure was about to roll out.

More to come.....

Port of Nome from the top of Anvil Mountain. It was raining...of course.

~~Amazing Trip to Alaska!~~

As if any trip to Alaska wouldn't be amazing, my trip to Nome was really more interesting than it was amazing.

The weather was perfect for the 24/7 sun, as it stayed in the 50's and 60's.

More to follow...... and photographs, too!

(Unfortunately, I got back to Arizona a promptly caught pneumonia and was down for 10 days!)

~~Sightseeing San Diego~~

Gaslamp Quarter

Sunset at George's in La Jolla

Boardwalk View

Midway

Train Station

The Kiss

~~USS Carl Vinson Aircraft Carrier~~

A crew of 6500 returned from duty near North Korea on June 23, 2017.

First Sighting

Fly Navy

Sailors and happy families....

MiMi Paris Photography: ~~San Diego Safari Park~~

MiMi Paris Photography: ~~San Diego Safari Park~~: Balloon Safari Cheetah Cheetah with a heart-shaped nose Sleeping with his tongue sticking out Wrestling Adole...

~~San Diego Safari Park~~

Balloon Safari

Cheetah

Cheetah with a heart-shaped nose

Sleeping with his tongue sticking out

Wrestling Adolescents

Baby flamingos are grey and fuzzy

Their tongues can be 18" long

Macaw