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True Confessions & The True Beauty of Art

 My Confession Looking at this photo as I was preparing this post, I had a realization. I can honestly confess that: Sometimes what I experience when looking at one of my finished photos is way more awesome than the one I had taking it. There. I said it. It’s true for this photo…

Shark Fin Cove

The Perfect Pirate Name How can you resist a place that sounds like a pirates’ landing? From the moment I heard the name “Shark Fin Cove”, my hearty imagination had me hobbling around on a peg leg “Arrrr-ing” to passersby. Of course, I know the whole “Pirates say Arr” thing is a myth… but don’t…

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Small Men in Armor

The Armory at the Castle The Castello di Amorosa armory – like the rest of the Castle – feels completely authentic. I always stare at medieval armor – even in Europe – because I can simply never believe that those fierce, iron-clad warriors of the middle ages were so small! Seriously… I have yet to see…

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Shooting in the Cellar

Castello di Amorosa, Redux I had an opportunity to revisit Castello di Amorosa in the Napa Valley recently. WooHoo! This time I got to bring my husband Joe along. He’d heard all the stories from my previous visits, watched the episodes of The Chat with Dario Sattui (who created and owns The Castle), photographer Annette…

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Get The Most Bang For Your Buck on a Sunset Photo Shoot

If you’re shooting sunset at a location that lends itself to moving around AND if you enjoy photo processing, here’s a quick tip for maximizing the impact of an evening’s shoot: MOVE your butt around – and process each photo differently. The latter is if photo processing is your bag, of course. All the image…

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The Bonsai Rock Mission

Avoiding Bonsai Rock: “all that” or merely insecure? Bonsai Rock on Lake Tahoe, Nevada side is an icon. An endless stream of photographers has been to this spot to shoot this very rock it seems; its wee stunted pine trees doing their mightiest to grow out of a crack in the granite. Just do a…

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Valley of Friends

Valley of Fire, Nevada. Recently, I attended Photoshop World (PSW) in Las Vegas, Nevada. It was awesome to see old friends, meet new ones – make 2 on-location (LIVE!) episodes of The Chat and… get to visit the Valley of Fire for the very first time!