Sunset in Santa Monica

As I've shared, I lived in Central Texas for a while. One of the things I missed the most, was the beach. Sitting on the sand, watching the waves and just being there. So, since I moved back over three years ago, I take every opportunity to just sit and watch. It's become my happy place.

The other day, I took a drive in order to know where I had to go for my photography class. Afterwards, I just sat on the beach and shot the sunset. There was this fisherman who was right in front of me for most of it that I got a few shots of.

Anyways, here is a sneak into where this introvert likes to just chill by herself.

*Again, these shots are not edited.

Death Valley

If you haven't been to Death Valley, you need to go. Once we got off the 15 and headed east, there was no one else on the hwy and I was able to stop and take these photos. It was a nice drive and definitely worth it.

One of the main reasons I had wanted to get out to Death Valley, was to see the wildflowers. We ended up going the first weekend of April in 2016, and the #Superbloom wasn't very super. But, it was still beautiful.

A waterfall? That's what I thought when my friend told me she wanted to hike to the waterfall. But we went and it was perfect. The water was cold and crisp but not freezing. The hike was nice, climbed some rocks and crossed the creek, but nothing major. But, the road into the hike.... that was damaging. I managed to destroy the tires on the vehicle I was driving. I have no clue how, as I wasn't driving all crazy or anything. So, this would be something to be aware of.  

Anyways, we only went for the day and I am totally going back. However, the rest of what I want to see is on the north end of the park, and I have been told you need an off road vehicle to get there. One day, I will get back there. It is too beautiful and too close not to go back.

Small Town Texas

I used to live in Central Texas. It was a beautiful place, it just wasn't for me. We are all meant to live somewhere, and I believe I am meant to be near the ocean, in Southern California. But, when I say that Central Texas was beautiful, I'm not lying. Here are some shots I took back when I lived there.

Most of these shots are taken in Temple or Salado, Texas. Just a few minutes outside of the town, the countryside seems to be empty.  I loved, absolutely loved, driving down random roads and just exploring. I'm a pretty fast driver, I get it from my dad; however, on these back roads, I was always one of the slowest, because I never knew when I wanted to pull over and take a photograph. My dog, Rusty, LOVED these drives. He always had his head stuck out the window. I miss that. In LA, this isn't exactly something we do.

So, I hope you enjoy these photos as much as I enjoyed taking them.

*Again, none of them are edited. Taken with my Nikon D80 about 4 years ago or so.

While in Texas, I fell in love photographing these. 

I probably have a ton more from my random drives. 

Travel Blog?

So, a friend of mine told me I needed to start a #travelblog last night. Huh. I never really thought about it. I love traveling, and all I do is take random shots of the places I visit. To the annoyance of my family, hardly any photographs of myself while I am exploring. Just of the buildings, the scenery, the culture and the people.

So, why not? I'm not really sure how this would work, if anyone would actually be interested in what I have to say. Or, even how to do this. But, I've been traveling, primarily on my own for nearly 15 years. I haven't gone to 1/2 as many places as I want to go... but, maybe that will change :) Add to that, I am returning to college on Tuesday (this is gonna be fun) and will be focusing on my photography, so.... isn't this the perfect time?

I think so. So, this will be my attempt at combining traveling, photography and social work into one blog. Maybe, one day it might actually take off and go somewhere. We'll see.

So, here are a few photographs from my favorite places I have been in the past :)

*Note, none of these shots are edited. Just taken with my #NikonD750

Hopefully, if you're checking this blog out, you'll enjoy it!

-Tiff

Some views of the #ColumbiaRiverGorge

A few shots from #Abingdon in England 

A day in #Paris

Decisions

The past year has been full of the unknown. Fully of possibilities. Full of pending decisions.

This blog, is my photography blog. I love photography. Fell in love with it in 2002 when I took my first college photography class and learned how to use the darkroom. It was fun. I loved the images that I was able to capture. I had looked into studying photography at the Brooks Institute of Photography; however, that was way above my price range. So, I decided to focus on my education in other discipline. I landed on Social Work and I LOVE it. Ever since I got my MSW, I had wanted to get another masters degree or my doctorate. Dr. Tiff. It just sounds awesome. So, last year, I applied and was accepted into the DSW program at USC. I was (and still am) super excited about this. However, due to a whole bunch of different things, I have decided to turn down the opportunity to get my DSW and have enrolled into the photography program at Santa Monica City College!

I have been looking at different photography programs for years. Classes here and there. The timing was always horrible. So, once I decided to turn down the DSW, I really focused on looking into the photography schools. When I was younger, my dad's colleagues had told him to have me go to SMC for photography. My dad worked at NBC, and I figure that if photographers in the business thought I should go to SMC, why not? So, I enrolled :)

Now. What to focus on. This, I think I have finally got an actual idea of. I want to merge my profession and my passions. After attending this years Womens March in DTLA, I realized how much fun it was to document it. I took 1227 photographs on two cameras. A bit ridiculous, but it was fun. I have also worked on my photography project, #WhatMakesAmericaGreat / #AmericaIsAlreadyGreat and love being able to visually communicate social work issues. So, I think I've figured out what I want to do. Documentary photography. Turning it into #SocialWorkPhotography.

Here are just a few shots from the Womens March 2018 in DTLA.