July 4, 2015:  Point Reyes National Seashore with Jennifer Schwartz

all images copyright Casondra Sobieralski

My friend Jennifer, Yalie playwright with good East Coast sardonic wit, just moved to SoCal in November---sniff sniff!  Just one more reason to visit the sunny end of the shore!  

We got a couple fun visits in before she left, though.  Here is one of them.  Most of these pictures are kinda cliche, but it was a peaceful setting.  Click for large detailed versions.

my favorite shot of the day...

Playing with stripes...

June 27, 2015: Martinez with Elaine

All images copyright Casondra Sobieralski

My dancer friend Elaine and I went to shoot photos in the historic town of Martinez, about 30 miles east of Berkeley and on the Carquinez Straight.  Martinez was the home of John Muir and where Joe DeMaggio grew up.   The town deservedly boasts a lot of diverse historical architecture spanning everything from Spanish colonial casitas to I Dream of Jeanie era office buildings.  

Now that the artists who were priced out of San Francisco are priced out of Oakland, Martinez is starting to buzz a little bit. But the reason it is more affordable is it is so close to the oil refineries. The air quality is unhealthy.  

I don't think my cells would want to live there, but it is fun to visit!  I highly recommend the EXCELLENT Thai/Malaysian/Vietnamese food at a restaurant called Lemongrass.  I am a tough critic on Thai food, and I give it 5 stars.  ;)

June 7, 2015: Crystal Cove and Laguna Beach with Alex

copyright Casondra Sobieralski 2015

A short but fun hike followed by a quick dip at the shore.  A Sunday, but we both had lots of work to do! Click on images for large/detailed views. 

I like this one because it seems like it is in dialogue with the Dutch photographer Rineke Dijkstra.  The postures of the young people remind me of her figures, but the background strategy is 180-degrees opposite of her flattened, minimal backgrounds. 

 I (accidentally) found I can get backgrounds like that if I use a deep depth of field for something very close, like the inverse of what you are "supposed" to do.  [See a blog post back in March 2014, a trip to Tennessee Valley with my friend Juniper.]