Low key was ours. We didn’t fight the crowds to watch fireworks. Instead since we live in one of the few cities in that Bay Area that sell “legal” fireworks we bought an atrocious amount of them and entertained the kids for about 20 minutes.
We had some friends stop by for dinner, beer, dessert and pyromania.
All photos were shot at an outrageously high ISO of 2500 at some point. Whatever. My camera CAN HANDLE IT.
I didn’t photograph any hot dogs, flags, watermelon eating, picnic tables, sack races, egg tossing, water gun fights, yankee doodle dandy stuff. I just photographed “Safe and Sane” pyro sticks that made lots of smoke and trash to pick up this morning.
Have a fabulous 3 day weekend…I am off tonight to meet some special people that I hope to tell you about in the future and tomorrow it’s a day of photographing dogs.
In the immortal words of Beavis…”FIRE! FIRE! FIRE!”
You really can’t see it here below, but Kyle got a bad @##$# buzz cut last week that I can save for another story because it all happened at a party and I never thought we would leave it with him “buzzed”. I saved $20 and was thrilled. I dig Dante’s new sneakers. When they don’t wear velcro on their shoes they seem so grown up.
It took miss J awhile to come forward with holding one of these. Finally she got up the courage and was sparkling like a champ.
Happy 5th of July!
Oh I forgot to add. Someone from the next street over shot this bizarre parachute firework thing (it was a flare!) that was a big red glow in the sky and it slowly started heading toward my street. It looked like it was about to land on my next door neighbor’s car but instead it settled in a tree in the front yard. The darn thing was still glowing and full of combustible crap and I ran over to make sure their house did not ignite in fire. It was that concerning. Maybe I am getting older, but it was not cool and when you live in a state known for all the fires and drought I don’t get why people do these things. Oh and thank you for all the M-80’s you shot off last night until 1 a.m. people. Thank goodness my dog Riley doesn’t mind the noise, but I can only imagine the poor creatures last night shaking to the shock of a M-80. My poor Golden Paddy used to crawl into the bathtub and shake. That is enough PSA for today. Thanks.
It’s all about the humor. Rule number one in the Pam Biasotti book of requirements for friendship: MUST HAVE A HUGE SENSE OF HUMOR! Last February I spent a weekend in San Diego at the Secret Photography Workshop as a staff member and met some really cool people. Ashley McNamara was one of the funniest new friends I made that weekend. We had a lot in common–she hails from the Bay Area originally and knew exactly where I was from and understood the lingo. We text messaged each other on our beloved iphones. We took pictures of others and ourselves with lots of makeup and teased hair while we experimented with off camera flash in a swanky room at the W.
I love Ashley’s photography–she has a style that’s all her own. This is a capture of her Flickr images that says it all about her. She is a genius who knows how to execute the image! She has this set on her Flickr stream that says “Failed attempt at 365″ which I wish she would just start doing again. She makes me want to do one for myself and I HATE having my photograph taken. (That’s why it’s important to have someone you trust who can do the job well. I was pleased with the outcome.)
So when I knew she was visiting from San Diego a few weeks back she did me the ultimate favor by taking some images of Riley and me for my new dog website that I am working on. I was thrilled–check these out! My portrait session by Ashley McNamara
Which image of Riley and me do you like the best? My favorite is the one blowing in Riley’s ear. Hee hee! I can’t help but wonder if I need me some botox….
This little man belongs to another local Bay Area photographer, Alpana. He’s a hoot. Full of expressions and full of life. Mom preferred his somber expressions to his silly ones, so I thought I would show you some pensive, moody images of an otherwise funny little boy!
J and her dad performed in a father/daughter dance that was in Livermore last week at the Bankhead theater. I actually was invited by J’s mom to watch the recital and it was so much fun since I don’t have girls of my own and sometimes I need to remind myself that testosterone invades my home. I have no one to share my Barbies with, no one to shop with, no one to do girly things with. So, yes, it was a sweet scene to see all sorts of little girls dancing and wearing their cute costumes.
The final dance was the father/daughter number and I don’t think there was a dry eye in the house.
Today I did 2 family sessions in Walnut Creek. The weather has been extremely hot! I think we cracked over 100 degrees today but thank goodness the fog is rolling back in and cooling down the Diablo Valley and San Ramon Valley.
The first baby is 8 months old and I had the pleasure of capturing him as a newborn. Baby L is on the go now and probably going to be walking very soon. Mom played a big part of the session today. I promised a quick sneak peak for both families.
Now baby W is a little younger at 4 and a half months and not yet as mobile. She definitely loved her beautiful room and her tummy time.
Whew…my office is still warm and my computer is working overtime. Where’s that San Francisco Bay breeze I was hoping for? Tomorrow it’s only going to be in the 80’s. Everyone stay cool. Off to check on the boys. Until next time.
I can’t decide if I am Larry David or if the man next to me today was Larry David. Either way I felt I saw him passing by me in a frantic moment of anger and humility as I committed the big no no while working out at my health club this morning. Sure there are signs that say no cell phone use. Ya. Whatever. I had my earphones on. Plugged into my iphone. My iphone is not only a cell phone. It’s an ipod, internet browser, email checker, map finder, note taker, meat cutter, finger print kit, cholesterol measurer, ovulation kit, medicine dispenser, candy machine, beer tap—OKAY YOU GET MY POINT. It does many things. It’s not just for being a phone ho.
So yes, I ADMIT I was speaking to another person on the phone while I was working out. I have to multi-task my busy life–even if it means breaking a rule at the health club. Doesn’t mean I would talk on my cell phone in the movie theater or in a restaurant. I do possess some minor etiquette traits. But a health club? Where machines are whirring and making lots of noise? Where a woman on my other side is talking loudly to her friend next to her while she is working out? What’s the difference?
As I was getting off my phone the man on my right gets off his machine and tells me I should be talking outside on my phone and blah blah blah which means as soon as I saw the finger wagging and his condescending voice lecturing me he became Charlie Brown’s teacher and I didn’t hear another word. I smiled and nodded as he walked away and out of nowhere I heard myself say something on the sarcastic side. I guess I was naughty this morning. I should have told him I was a paranoid schitzophrenic talking to myself.
For all I know, he might be the owner. He wasn’t wearing a uniform or anything. No soup for me!
Below, is kind of a funny clip from my favorite show Curb Your Enthusiasm. I had such a Larry David morning. Except I wasn’t Larry David. I was the bluetooth fella I guess. Too bad the man next to me didn’t do what Larry did.
Warning: Language is on this clip. Not advised for young children to hear this.
In the Biasotti household teeth have become an ongoing issue of importance. One kid is losing them and looking like a vampire/jack-o-lantern and the other just got his braces. The reality that the camera I really want and covet is wired into my oldest’s mouth right now really depresses me. Why didn’t he get the teeth from my side of the family? Why did he have a small cramped mouth and jacked up jaw? Do I sound bitter? I don’t mean to be. We just can blame the genetics on his old man. I am hoping my youngest takes after my side of the family as he seems to have lots of gaps and spaces between those teeth prior to losing them yet those 5 years of sucking his thumb probably caused our family orthodontist some sick thrill that he’s going to have two patients in his chair from the family.
I like the orthodontist actually. He’s a very nice guy that actually did quite a bit of visits and watching my older son’s mouth change before he dropped the bomb on me that I wasn’t picking up my new camera any time in the new future. Sure there are credit cards you tell me, but what do you think I did to pay the down payment on K’s braces? Just when I get them paid off it will be time to pay for college–watch.
Sigh….all for a good cause…
I guess you are just a dream.
Now D is very excited about all the new teeth he is losing. So far he has 6 out in the last few months. What’s funny is that the two front ones don’t have any new ones budding through yet so he continues to look like a vampire when he smiles at us. If they aren’t in by Halloween we have a costume already waiting for him. Hey, I have to save $$$$ now that son #1 has some “ortho bling” going on. What color did he choose for his braces? Oakland A’s green of course.
The one thing I don’t like about my iphone is the bad camera. Don’t let these images influence your decision to hire me, OK?
Before Braces:
And now: That camera looks great in your mouth.
Dude, you might not have inherited my straight teeth, but you sure got my catapillar eyebrows.
Oh Theresa. I am so glad you are awake at 1:00 am in the morning. I am so glad you check your email religiously. I am so glad you are an HTML, CSS coding goddess of the high heavens that was sent to this earth to rescue people like me who make the mistake of having her website through an unmentionable company that has given me 400 new gray hairs over the past two weeks. I might know something about building a server, maintaining a server and networking….however I hate coding. Theresa helped me out tonight. It was a hairy mess–really poor customer service from the unmentionable company. So thank you, my friend. I raise my Irish Coffee to you and will buy you many when you come back up to visit.
The good news is that I have a website again and you should be able to access it. If you still are getting any kind of error message feel free to shoot me an email. It’s 2:26 am–I think it’s time to catch some zzzz.
Update:
Everything is running except the gallery/shopping cart which is being worked on right now. Thanks for your patience.
I shouldn’t say that. I am not procrastinating. I am working on getting a website back up by the end of the day. Remember Terrilyn who came out to visit last month from Florida? She just discovered how to use her webcam. So she’s into video chatting (welcome to distractions my friend) and tried to get me to chat. Well, the problem there is that I was on my PC. Do not have a webcam for the PC. I do however, use my mac for those things and we decided to have a little video chat. Terrilyn has a Golden Retriever too. (She’s not only a gifted photographer –Terrilyn is a SMART human for having a Golden). So she’s got that going for her too. Anyhow, Riley and Sandy decided to get in on the ichat. They are so much alike–both want their mama’s attention and need to be pet 500x a day and cuddled. The old head butt on the wrist while typing is ever so endearing. That is cause enough to blame any misspelled words or grammatical mishaps. I must really really really be brave to do this. It’s 11:42 am and I am in my bathrobe, without shower, disheveled and wearing my reading glasses (yes I am THAT old). I haven’t brushed my hair, my teeth and yet my dog still comes up to me to be acknowledged. See what I mean about unconditional love? Here are some cyber snapshots of the two dogs ichatting. At least T looks beautiful. It’s 2:45 pm on the other side of the country so I know T took a shower -she’s one up on me.
Update. I apologize for my missing website. Unfortunately it was destroyed by forces beyond my control–my web host is kindly giving me a new site to be constructed which I am working on at the moment. Your slideshows, photo galleries and shopping cart are not affected and you should still be able to reach them. If you need to reach me please contact me by calling 925-556-1529 or email me at info@pambiasotti.com.
Sometimes things happen and we just have to make do with what we have and move forward. Riley probably has some thoughts on this whole fiasco, but he’s too busy on the floor next to me dreaming.
Tomorrow I am assisting another local photographer second shoot a wedding in Napa. I have assisted for weddings before but I don’t like to broadcast that I shoot weddings…I like the second shooter aspect. She’s a very talented photographer and colleague. I look forward to working with her.
Have a fabulous end of the month weekend. Sex and the City is out and I can’t see it until my good friend Amy returns from her trip to Virginia. I promised her we’d see it together. I have been waiting 4 years for this!!!
