Sheila Bocchine, Photographer

Wanting to keep with the black and white theme from yesterday, this is another image from the photo shoot I did of Babs and Kiera in their Marie Antoinette Costumes, in November in a park in downtown Phoenix. I was quite pleased when this turned out exactly how I imagined it. I love Kiera’s cute little feet in the foreground, how the butterflies look like they are circling Bab’s fabulous wig looking for a sweet place to land and how both of their faces look divine! This photograph is one of the reasons I love pinhole photography.

So after a dramatic day at work yesterday. I went home, grabbed my dog and went to the clubhouse. Shadow, our black lab, LOVES going to the clubhouse, she’s very social and sits next to me while I work on my laptop and everyone pets her. She knows when I grab my laptop bag that I’m going the clubhouse and basically won’t let me leave the apartment unless I take her with me. So, she wins and I take her. I turn on my computer and nothing… it just won’t work (insert tears here)… lovely Jared goes to his apartment and returns with a bottle of white wine and two glasses… so while I sit and stare at my computer that just won’t work, I am able to enjoy a lovely glass of white wine.

So my computer decided to go kaput on me last night. My first reaction was to head to the apple store at the Biltmore and buy a new laptop. I seriously cannot live without a computer. I work all day at work and then I go home and work for a few more hours on personal things. I was devastated because I did not finish putting my photographs in my FTP and I didn’t finish burning everything that needed to be backed up… and I had files that needed to be emailed to myself. I’ve lost things before with electronic devices so I try to make a conscious effort to be on top of things, but I got behind.

Lucky for me I have a friend who can fix any computer! Also, he has a great blog and is a pinhole photographer! He lent his expertise last night and jotted a few notes and will come back on Monday to bring my laptop back to life. Gary and I did go to the Apple store last night and I did pick out the laptop that I wanted, but alas, did not make the purchase. I just couldn’t justify it yet. I need to book a few more job or sell a few more pinhole photographs before I spend 3K on a laptop.

After dreaming and touching and playing with apple laptops we made a quick stop into Godiva…. mmmmmm….. coconut truffles and champagne truffles!!! we also picked up a piece of dark chocolate covered marzipan and a creme brule chocolate… and then after we had sushi at Zen 32 we split each chocolate, savored them and ranked them… we rank them completely opposite, it’s so funny! I say: coconut, champagne, marzipan and creme brule…. flop that around, and that’s how he would rank them….

I also must note that having sushi with Gary is a wonderful and new experience for us. We’ve been together for over 6 years. I LOVE SUSHI, love it so much I could probably eat it every day. He would never go get sushi with me, then in December his whole family, us included went to a sushi restaurant and now he likes it… whatever. I’m just so grateful that we can now eat sushi together. I feasted on Octopus Salad and with a little coaxing and a promise (not fit for my blog, because my mom might read this one day), I got him to eat Octopus. He made the most wicked faces. I’m still not sure he actually chewed it and really tasted it, but he did try it. And I was there to witness it!

So yesterday was full of surprises and ended with super yummy dinner and dessert, so all in all, I would say that it was a wonderful day indeed.

Concordia, Missouri. The town I went to high school in. The town my parents, nana and brother still live in. The town I couldn’t wait to leave. The town I enjoy going to visit now that I’m older. Every fall, Concordia blocks off Main Street, puts up a carnival and beer garden, invites bands to show off their marching skills and is host to the funniest parade I’ve ever been too.

This was taken on Saturday evening the weekend of my 5 year high school reunion, in the Concordia Beer Garden. The spinning goodness in the background are the carnival rides. Wow, now that I think about it, this fall would be my 10 year high school reunion. That is crazy! I wonder if I’ll make it back home for that. I’ll certainly try.

Gary and I booked another wedding last night. In case you didn’t know, we are Phoenix Wedding Photographers. It’s something we both absolutely enjoy doing. What could be more fun than photographing the happiest day in someone’s life? It’s a big party and everyone is smiling and having a wonderful time! Fortunately we haven’t met an unhappy couple yet or any bride-zilla’s! I’m starting to think bride-zilla’s don’t exist!

Jessii by the waterfall. She was due in two weeks and I wanted to take pinhole photographs of her. They turned out beautifully. This was my favorite photograph of the day. I was surprised to find such lush landscaping in Sun City, Arizona. Hidden in a maze of houses that look alike was this park with a waterfall, lake, putt-putt course and walking trails.

I very much enjoy photographing pregnant women, they have a glow like no other. I also think my pinhole portrait packages make fabulous gifts for expecting mothers.

Gary Millard and I road tripped to Boyce Thompson Arboretum in November 2007 to photograph their fall festival. I was hoping for more leaves turning a gorgeous autumn color, but alas, there was only one tree with golden leaves. I still had a wonderful time and am looking forward to the spring when the butterflies are dancing among the blooming flowers. This photo was my favorite from the trip and when I find a few extra minutes this week I will make them into my holiday thank you cards.

I learned about Google Alerts last week and have signed up! It’s very exciting to get alerts once a day with my choice of words, hence using Gary’s full name. He signed up too and is alerted when his name is typed anywhere on the internet. Won’t he be surprised this evening when he gets his alerts for the day!

I went to Third Friday Art Walk in downtown Phoenix on Friday night and had a wonderful time. I think I’ve finally decided that I don’t like First Friday. I’m uninterested in the crowd that attends the walk. I jive better with the Third Friday crowd. I had a couple of interesting experiences occur at this month’s event, I’d like to share:
*In Bunky Boutique I was searching for a pair of earrings that caught my eye in November and this guy asked if I was on flickr! Which of course I am! He recognized me from my self portrait! How rad is that! I’m a flickr celebrity! It was totally random and just made my night!
*In a new space on Roosevelt that I had never been in, this woman, I forget her name but I did grab her business card opened up her studio to sell her personal items. It’s an interactive art installation. She interacts with her viewers, makes transactions, etc. I thought it was a brilliant installation idea! Functional and different. She recognized me from Tuesday’s opening at the Shemer Art Center and Museum (where my photographs are on display this month). Then as soon as she said that, the other man, I believe his name is Jerry asked if I knew Marilyn Szabo, which of course I do. Based on that woman’s comment on the Shemer, he knew who I was! How amazing is that!
*My first gallery on Grand, four white walls, has changed to be many things since we left the space (a hair salon, a raw food manufacturing company…) but now some local painters occupy the space. I’ll be doing a scrabble game with them in February and they’ve also asked me to exhibit. They were so excited to meet a Grand Avenue Legend. I liked the way that sounded and was thrilled that they asked me to exhibit work in the place that started my Phoenix art career!

I spent the rest of my weekend working. I designed two ads for Arizona Wedding Magazine and 7 postcards for our photography business and researched pet photography and tons of other things. I wish there was more time on the weekends. I had so much more to do. I will be spending my lunch hour today, preparing another To-do List. I’m obsessed with lists. I love making them and then scratching the items off when I’ve completed the task. It gives me a sense of accomplishment. I’m also going to build a time line for my list because it won’t all get done in a few days.

Where ‘o where does the time go!

This photograph is one of my favorites (see a pattern here, I like to post my favorites). I work with both of them and they are such wonderful people. Tracyann (TA) is the director of Pets911 and introducer of bunco to me, which we’ll be playing tonight. She’s so caring, smart, funny and beautiful. Her husband, Derrick, also works with us and is one major character. Ever boisterous, his musical abilities are fabulous! He’s a singer in two bands, and his new blues band is one I cannot wait to see.

I spent the most amazing weekend in Santa Monica. I seriously cannot wait to go back. It was the perfect way to start 2008. I’m full of inspiration as I type this. I picked up everything photography this weekend and poured through it on our drive back. I have so many ideas and cannot wait to attack them. It was great not seeing any pinhole photography at Photo LA. There will definitely be some there next year… mine! Large beautiful pinhole photography images… red dots next to each image. SOLD SOLD SOLD!

I will also be working on getting representation from a gallery in Bergamot Station. What a wonderful art gallery haven. I saw the best exhibit I’ve seen in a while there. I’ll have to mention it tomorrow because I just cannot remember the artist’s name right now. I also wrote down a list of artists that impressed me at Photo LA which I’ll type out for another entry this week.

Venice Beach, was not on my itinerary, but we ended up there and thank goodness we did. It was incredible. The characters on the boardwalk were a riot! You’ll just have to wait to see my photographs!

The energy on the beach was seriously perfect. Every couple of feet I’d meet someone new and take their photograph. I got two people’s address and will be sending them prints. The first group of people I met were building a sand castle! 3 hours later, I found them, sitting in their deep hole, a fort of cup sized sand bricks surrounding them. I took a couple of pinholes of their castle, and then a few portraits of them sitting inside.

I also met a mermaid! Walking along the beach, these two adorable girls were sitting in the sand, feet buried in the shape of a mermaid tail. They were so cute. I talked to them a little and took some photographs of them. One of the girls kept saying that she really was a mermaid. Her father came over to us and we talked with him for a while. And his daughter really is a mermaid. He spent all of his time surfing on the ocean and name her Sirena, which means mermaid in Spanish. He also took the whole summer off to teach his little mermaid how to surf! I think that is to adorable!

Dinner was had at Juliano’s Raw. AND it’s makes the list for one of the best meals I’ve ever had. It was so incredibly delicious. I could seriously eat that way every single day if someone was preparing food like that for me. It was heavenly. We started off with strawberry almond cheesecake. At a raw food restaurant you eat dessert first because it’s easier to digest sweets first. You order food in the order it is on the menu to make sure you’re properly food combining. So that may have been one of the best cheesecakes I’ve ever had and it was dairy free! AMAZING! Then we had spring rolls with the most incredible sauce, I have no idea what the sauce was. Gary had lasagna and I had meat and potatoes. The lasagna was mouth watering. I wish I was eating a piece right now. Mine was interesting, but maybe not as good. My mashed potatoes were made from cauliflower and those were super yummy… but my meat was a dehydrated mushroom type patty, and albeit good, not my favorite. I wanted to go back for breakfast the next morning, but I was out voted.

We spend our evening walking around Santa Monica and the pier and I was dreaming up ways to stay there and never leave. Oh Santa Monica, perhaps you have taken the number one spot on my list of places to move too…. move over NYC, you’re too cold and dreary compared to gorgeous ocean side Santa Monica.

Gary and I are making plans to go back to Santa Monica in February. I seriously think I need to go there every weekend. We also want to go to Venice Beach in May for their famous art walk!

Babs and Kiera. Mother and Daughter. Marie Antoinette inspired pinhole photography shoot. I spent a glorious afternoon doing this pinhole shoot and couldn’t have had more fun. They were as delightful as could be and brought the most wonderful props and costumes with them. An afternoon in a Phoenix city park went from ordinary to magical.

Yesterday I found out that I will be exhibiting in the show ‘Urban Nature’ at the Centre Culturel Andre Malraux, in France, right outside of downtown Paris. The exhibit opens March 4th, and right now I’m using all my powers to find a way to be at that opening. I have been in a daydream like no other for the past 24 hours.

Paris, can you even believe it! I can’t keep from smiling when I think of that gorgeous city hosting my pinhole photographs. Four images will be on display: bunny and bird, squirrel and statue, snail, and pink flamingo.

The first three came from my grandmother’s garden and the pink flamingo from a woman’s garden in Phoenix. What a treat for all my grandmother’s hard work to be displayed in Paris! I love going home and sitting in the back yard, listening to birds, watching the squirrels eye you curiously and smelling all the wonderful scents from the flowers and grasses….

This weekend is Photo LA. I’ll get to spend the day in Santa Monica with Gary and Marilyn Szabo. I am ready to gleefully run from booth to booth and soak in all the photography energy that will be radiating from collectors, curators, artists, gallery owners, magazine editors… I’ll have so much reading material for our drive back home.

Tuesday night is my first museum exhibition at the Shemer art center and museum! I feel like dancing and singing “it’s almost here, it’s almost here, it’s almost here!” If you happen to be in the Phoenix area on Tuesday January 15th from 7-9, do stop by! The Shemer is a beautiful little museum surrounded by one of the prettiest neighborhoods in Phoenix and right up the street from 56th Street, one of the most amazing streets in all of Phoenix.

Have you ever driven north on 56th from Camelback? It winds up the side of Camelback Mountain, past mansions of all shapes and sizes, and when you least expect it, opens up to exquisite views of Phoenix. My favorite time to make the drive is sunset… Phoenix is known for gorgeous sunsets and to watch it from the top of Camelback Mountain, while the lights below start to flicker and dot the city in an organic pattern is a great way to experience Phoenix…

Paris! Have you ever been? I have not. I can already smell the cobble streets and bakeries…. I do believe I’ll disregard my doctors orders and eat as much bread and cheese as I can possibly handle! Gluten free in Paris? Seems almost impossible! Cappuccinos and croissants for breakfast… wine and cheese for dinner…. mmmmmm…….