I have done so much traveling this past year, I impress myself.

LONDON
June of last year I went to London where I stayed with a great friend/performance artist Katie O'Brien. Katie and Sinead started a project called The Muffia (http://TheMuffia.co.uk), part of which includes them donning blonde wigs and Merkins. They have recently gotten a lot of press including an article in London's Guardian. Katie took me to this abandoned tunnel under the Waterloo station where graffiti artist Banksy held a 3 day street artist event he dubbed the Cans Festival. The artists, with permission from the city, filled the walls with absolutely incredible art.



CAMA BEACH, WA
In August I went to a family reunion at Cama Beach on Camano Island about an hour north east of Seattle. We stayed in these amazing little wood cabins right on the water. Each cabin comes equipped with it's own little kitchen and bathroom and each bed has it's own handmade quilt made for the Cama Beach cabins from the Stanwood Quilters. My sister Margarite came and we spent the last day in Seattle walking around and laughing till I almost peed my pants. Then I went to Portland for 4 days for a friends baby shower and had the opportunity to hang out with drag king stay with Billy Clarke a photographer/friend up there.



FLAGSTAFF, AZ
And then there was Swing Kid Vote (http://SwingKidVote.blogspot.com). Swing Kid Vote was a panic blog I started in September of 08 in response to the Palinisms that filled the airwaves. That blog and it's readers sent me to Fort Lauderdale Florida where I hitchhiked with Billy Mitchell- the world record holder for Donkey Kong and Ms. Pacman, and then onto Virginia where I got in a car chase with an angry republican housewife (her chasing me), and then to Flagstaff AZ where I met my late grandfathers last wife, author and folk singer Katie Lee. Did I mention that my Grandpa Brandy was a race car driver... awessssome. His life was pretty much a mystery to me, so getting to meet Katie Lee was a treat. She wrote a book called Sandstone Seduction that has a 22 pages of memories, love letters and photos from her love affair with my grandfather.



Really though, Swing Kid Vote was an amazing adventure and I strongly recommend reading the blog and the feedback. There are tons upon tons of photos from the trip. Truly the greatest benefit of that project was seeing how many people deeply cared about the 2008 election and were willing to do whatever they could to help.

MAUI, HI
In January a friends father flew me to Maui to see her as a surprise for her birthday. I love being a birthday gift. I got to get grounded and feel my feet on the earth in one of the more beautiful place on this planet.





NEW ORLEANS, LA
The following week after NYC, my friends Adrian and Judy Allen bought me a ticket to go see them in New Orleans. I LOVE NEW ORLEANS. Judy is an excellent photographer as well and part of the goal of the trip was to shed whatever photo knowledge I could in the time I was there. Adrian and Judy are amazing, they stayed in New Orleans during Katrina and own 4 houses, 3 of which are in the 9th Ward. The 9th Ward is where Adrian grew up and it is where Katrina hit the hardest. As Hunters Point is to San Francisco, the 9th Ward is to New Orleans. The trip was wonderful in part because Adrian and Judy are huge foodies. We went to incredible restaurants every day for lunch and dinner. Of the tops I would say Jacques-Imos was up there with creole,
jambalaya and gumbo. Mmmm. The highlight of the whole trip for me was the last day there they took me to Holy Cross- a Catholic boys school that got hit hard from Katrina and, with the exception of minor juvenile vandalism, is still frozen in time. I honestly think these are some of the most exceptional photos I have ever taken. The last photo in the grid was taken by Judy Allen.


SECRET LOCATION
In late April for my fathers birthday I drove him and a friend of his to a spot where they go train hopping. I know what you are going to say... yes it is dangerous, but he started hopping freights when he was 13 with his brothers. Here are some shots from that day trip. Unfortunately right as we pulled up a train was leaving, so I didn't get any photos of them hopping on. Next Time.



ROADTRIP SAN FRANCISCO TO NORTH CAROLINA
Now up to present time, I just took a cross country road trip with my friends Janice and Don Christopher who are blessed enough to be retiring. They bought a house in North Carolina, so we drove HWY 40 across the southern part of this beautiful country. The second day driving was my favorite- Flagstaff to Amarillo Texas, stopping in Albuquerque for lunch. The color pallet is amazing. I never really realized the varying color pallets of each part of this country. That stretch of earth is miles of salmon colored mountains speckled with rich brown bushes and the occasional tree that runs up against the pale blue sky with edible white cloud puffs. It is amazing.


We stopped for two nights in Nashville. I could definitely see myself living in Tennessee. We went to the Country Music Hall of Fame, which thankfully is dedicated to the older country musicians- Hank Williams, Johnny Cash, Kitty Wells and Waylon Jennings era. I love the outfits they used to perform in. All of the personalized elements- stitched initials on the boots, abalone inlaid names into the instruments and embroidered garments. While there I magically landed at a house turned cafe called Cafe Cocoa. There I met up with a friend of a friend (and aspiring photographer) Carrie O'Brien. She was an excellent hostess and took me out to dinner with about a dozen of her friends.

And now I am back. Home and grateful for my nest and my kittens.

Little Miss Knocked Up

Natalie Murray.

Racquel Valle, the CW and Lahaina

I have not written in an embarrassing length of time. I do have excuses, but don't we all. The cats are well... you will be getting photos of them at some point and I have been staying busy with a few jobs here and there.

One of my favorite designers and a close friend Racquel Valle came back to San Francisco for the winter half of her bi-coastal life and we got together to shoot her new line. I am always impressed with her fabrics and unique, but classic style. That sounds cheesy, but it is so true. Her clothes are so well made.











She lent us some of the clothes for a shoot for the CW: America's Next Top Model- Bay Area Contest that we did the following week with wardrobe stylist Shakira Holmes and hair and make-up students from The San Francisco Institute of Esthetics and Cosmetology. The winner was Keli Hampton. Super cute.







And I went to Maui for a close friends birthday. This trip totally opened me up to add the landscape portfolio to my website, which I have been thinking of doing for years after I saw that one of my favorite photographers Stan Musilek has a landscape portfolio on his site too. Here are some of the other images of me and my friend lounging at the beach in Lahaina.





So that is my brief but loving update. I have 3 more shoots coming up, so there will be an update very soon.

xoxox

Frankie

Deaths and blogspot

England was amazing. The wedding was in Huddersfield which is a town North of Manchester, South of Leeds. We were there for 4 days, then Timothy and I headed to Manchester for an afternoon and then onto London to stay with my friend Katie O'brien a performance artist.

I loved it over there. The wedding was beautiful and it was sunny 6 out of 7 days. I usually never shoot weddings. This is because they are insane. Everybody says "I want something unique... I don't want traditional wedding photos... I really want your style in the pictures." What they don't realize is a) They do want traditional wedding photos and b) "my style" takes hours to set up each shot and stylize, and it usually doesn't consist of a bride, a groom and Great Aunt Jeanie. But this was family and it was really fun. It made me think that maybe... just maybe I would shoot another one.

Introduction.

A photographer friend of mine suggested I make a DVD introducing myself with some photos... So I did.  

I take suggestions.  Go ahead and give me some.

So I had a dream last night that I was talking to the building manager of my loft and I was telling him how I needed to get out of our lease because I had a business opportunity in London.  

Is this a premonition?

I leave Tuesday for the UK.  I am thrilled.  I just got my passport on Friday... I like to live on the edge.  And I have not packed yet.  However I did purchase a new lens to shoot with while I am there.  

On Friday I also met with the Ford Agency in SF to talk to them about what they need from shoots, also about scouting models- as I always seem to run into stunning people who... once they find out I am a photographer, want me to jumpstart their career as a super model.  It was a good meeting.  They were nice, however model and talent agencies always sort of creep me out.  Everyone has a huge ego... or at least they put on that front.  I get that you are working with pretty people that are making a bunch of money, but seriously... you are just the pimp. 

I am also finding it an interesting learning experience to blog honestly.  My last blog was extremely honest, I had a lot of readers and received tons of hits daily.  Then myspace booted my profile :(  I hadn't backed up any of my blogs, so it has been hard getting back on the blogging wagon.  It is like writing a novel and having your one copy burnt in a fire.  

This time I have opted to not blog about super personal life stuff- unless it is really funny- but to instead focus on my photography, my goals and being a young up and coming artist.  Which is I think much harder than just telling you guys about all the silly nonsense in my life.  It is also hard to show all of yourself when your career name is tied to it.  Like if I tell you guys about the time I sat on the shower drain and my butt cheek accidently got hickied in the shape of the drain- would you think I am a complete freak and not hire me...

You tell me?  How much over-disclosure should one participate in when blogging?

This last month has been filled.

day 4 of Lé Apple

Oye... I am exhausted. I have been a photo warrior these last couple days. I think hugely because of my deadline (ie: plane back to California) thus I have been super photo girl knocking on doors, sending emails into the wee hours and being fearless with the hundreds of NY security guards I have met. I have decided where I would like to live if I do ever dig my heals into the East Coast. SOHO. Mainly because of the cute boutiques and restaurants... Kim says "you and everyone else".

Here is where my journey has taken me so far:

Artist and Creatives,
Ogilvy,
Universal Music Group,
Cosmogirl,
Redbook,
Seventeen,
Harper's Bazaar,
Rolling Stone,
Elle,
Complex Mag,
Ecko,
Tokion,
Fader,
Condé Nast (ate lunch in their amazing cafeteria... seriously, wined and dined... well, at least dined.)
Concept Farm
Duetsch
Kid Robot,
Kate Spade, (the receptionist looked like Jackie O.)
Marilyn Cadenbach,
Oliver Piro,
Publicis
Randy Cole (super awesome place. I hung out there for almost an hour, telling a little too much of my life story to Meredith- Randy's assistant.)

I really enjoyed going to Randy Cole's place today. The building is awesome and reminds me of my loft in Oakland, (which I now miss terribly). I first sat down with her assistant Meredith for a bit and showed her my website which she remembered from previous emails. Then I got waived into Randy's office and I encountered the moment of "ahh!" that many people experience when they meet this girl named Frankie. I wanted to be like "SEE! We are a match! It's perfect, you... woman... Randy... me... woman... Frankie... get it..." Thank god for the occasional filter that edits out those brilliant mental moments.

Anyhow, Meredith showed me the portfolios of some of the artists they represent and I was in awe. Mostly amazed by the incredible editing of images (page layout and selection within the book, and digital manipulation of some of the photos), along with the presentation that left me feeling slightly juvenile.

I wish there was a better education for young photographers. Like how do you expect us to show art directors the images that are appropriate for them to see, when we don't know which campaigns they work with?

Example: My first year out of school I went down to LA and met with a ton of creatives including Tobias. Tobias was with a huge agency outside of LA. I had pulled his name from a list of art directors, knowing that this agency had many clients that I would one day hope to work with.

So I emailed him, he said "Yes, come, show me your book and we will have lunch with another AD". So we go out to eat at this nice place and we order food, I start showing them my book and they are like "Great, do you have any cars?" Err... Not really... I have some shots with cars... kinda. Turns out that Tobias only worked with Automobile companies.

Seriously people.

Anyhow. I am looking forward to gettin back to California... I hear the rain is coming this way and I am not so smitten with wetness.

Tomorrow I have to drop by mini-portfolios to 3 more boutique advertising agencies, and another rep. Then the question is, should I rent a car and take off to MA for a night to see Josie Mae or stay in the city. I guess I could just relax on Saturday and go to the MOMA.

We shall see. Wish me luck.