I love Berlin! It’s true. I don’t get there often. Heck, my last visit was in 1999. But this summer I had a chance to get back and it was glorious, short, but glorious. The visit to Germany also included two days in Munich and two days in Austria. But Berlin has my heart and always will. You can see more photos from my trip to Berlin.
I’m thrilled to announce my new workshop:
Capturing the Spirit of Chinatown
September 10, 17 and October 1, 2011
$150.00
Offered through PhotoCentral – http://photocentral.org
San Francisco’s Chinatown is not only the oldest Chinatown in the Americas but home to the largest Chinese community outside Asia. It is also one of the most photographically-rich neighborhoods in the Bay Area. We will spend the first day photographing during the Autumn Moon Festival. We will begin with a quick orientation to Chinatown and discuss various ways to best capture the spirit of a festival. The second day includes a tour through some of Chinatown’s hidden gems. Explore the lively markets, shops, parks and narrow alleys and enjoy lunch at a local restaurant as part of the workshop. The final meeting is at PhotoCentral where we will show off our best images from the two days. The images can be displayed digitally or printed. Please be familiar with your camera’s functions prior to the workshop. This course is open to people with any type of camera – film, digital, even a camera phone of that’s how you take photos. Let’s be creative and have fun!
Prior to our first meeting, I will send out an email introducing myself, my background and philosophy. I will include some tips and tricks on gear – just suggestions, don’t worry, you can bring whatever gear you feel most comfortable bringing. I will also include a Chinatown map, including the parade route, information about parking, and a schedule for the first day. The map will have my cell phone number and a list of regular meeting spots listed/marked for us where we can gather throughout the day where I can answer questions, review photos and offer guidance. I will have my camera with me so I can work with people who prefer to watch as I work before heading out on their own. This can be helpful when taking photos of people. I find that this is one area where many photographers freeze up.
I would have preferred to reverse the schedule of the workshop and have our meetings so that the parade is our second meeting but the Labor Day holiday falls the weekend immediately before the Lunar Festival weekend. Instead, we will have a fun time making great photos during the festival, at the parade, and street fair on our first day, and then on our second day go back for a tour through the main streets, markets, parks and alleys of San Francisco’s most interesting neighborhood. Let’s make the most of it and enjoy everything Chinatown has to offer.
Please feel free to email me at neeley@dhp.com if you have any questions about this workshop or future workshops.
There are just a few seats left. To register visit PhotoCentral’s website and click on “Photo Classes/Workshops”.
You can view some of my Chinatown work here: Chinatown by the Bay
My book was chosen as Blurb Staff Pick of the Week
People often comment “You travel a lot”. While, I don’t think that I travel enough, I suppose for some, I am on the road quite a bit. But for me travel was my first love. Though I didn’t realize that it really was love at the time. Travel was just a way of life, or really it was life. We moved every few years, starting from when I was not even a year old. It was not really a gypsy sort of life because we didn’t live on the road in caravans, but we didn’t have a home in the same way that many people have a home, with close relatives nearby and a traditional sense of community. Our family included our friends, our schoolmates, and our neighbors. They had different cultural backgrounds, skin colors, and often spoke different languages. We were all part of a community of some sort or other. I didn’t know any different then. I am not sure that I know any different now. If there is a difference, I don’t really care. Differences are just opportunities to learn something new, not walls that divide us.
Now that I travel as an adult with a camera, I’ve come to realize that my second love is photography. The three of us are a match made in heaven.
In February, I went to London for a week to visit family and wander with my camera. The crowds on a Sunday at the Columbia Flower Market are huge, but light-hearted. The flowers cast a spell even on the dreariest of London days.
Click on the image below to see the rest of the photographs that I made during that week.
I saw this as I walking through Shoreditch in February. This image brought up lots of conflicting thoughts about women, advertising, mass consumption, the use of women in advertising, repression, religion, etc. I was reminded of one of my favorite songs by Lily Allen, The Fear.
The calendar says it is the first day of spring but the sky says it’s not. It feels like England, not California. I miss our electric orange poppies.
This lovely lady from Siena doesn’t have to worry about aging. Her beauty has been preserved in marble for eternity.
I know that it’s only January, but the sun is out in full force here in Northern California. Rock on!
-
-
I go to Las Vegas about once a year or so. Usually I don’t bother taking pictures. Vegas has been photographed so much that I figure that there isn’t anything new to say. Also, I was actually a little nervous about taking pictures with all the security in the casinos. This year, I decided to try my hand and snap some shots. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed making photographs in the casinos and out. Security was pretty relaxed and people were pretty cool with the camera being waved about.
Even though Vegas is known for garish lights, black and white is what worked best for me. The lights and colors distract from the reality of Las Vegas. There are more stories to tell and pictures to make. Next year, I will take more pictures, definitely.
Click on the image below to see all the images.
In September I spent two eye-opening weeks in Cuba. Havana was the focus of the trip, visiting with artists, photographers, seeing sights and just wandering Havana’s streets, but I was able to get to Cienfuegos and Trinidad for a few days. All three towns are distinctly different in not just their history and how they look but also their pace of life and their people. It was an amazing visit, though as always, two weeks was far too short. I hope to return soon and explore the next layer of Havana.
If you click on the image below you will be able to view the whole digital collection. I also made photos in traditional black and white film that are in a separate portfolio called “Cuba: Lime Optional”.
