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I discovered art glass many years ago, but at the time it never occurred to me that I could learn to do it myself. So about 3 years ago I took a glass blowing class at Santa Monica College, one of the very few public institutions left that still offer it. I have not blown much in the past year as I have been to busy shooting or working on my classes at UMass to devote the time and energy to it that is really necessary to get good at it.
It's incredibly demanding, and also very expensive and time consuming--kind of like photography, but more dangerous :-). The glass is over 2,000 degrees, and when you work with it, sometimes the only thing between you and a large glob of molten glass is some wet newspaper. Cuts, nicks, dehydration, and of course burns, are quite common. Glass can also explode (literally) if it cools too fast, so when you are in a hot shop, frequently one can hear cracks and pops above the roar of the furnace. I've been cut by flying glass on at least two occasions that I can remember.
I made one pic as a self portrait--look carefully and you will see my reflection. The deep red is because thats just what this glass looks like when it gets "thin" at the bottom of a piece.
The other pic is of the same glass bowl with no added light or photoshop tricks. The patterns and colors are from the metals (gold in this case) in some of the glass I used. It is a process called reduction. It is called reducing because you bring out the metals to the surface by reducing the amount of oxygen in the gas/oxygen mix when you re-heat the glass.
Anyway..... so, um, Dude, what's the wedding connection, huh? I'm so glad you asked! At Rob and Amy's wedding, they gave away succulents as wedding favors. My mom hauled some of them home. The TSA cops at the airport looked at her funny, but let her through with them. I just transplanted them in a larger terra cotta pot, and I put some colored bits of purple/blue and yellow glass shards in the pot also. I think it looks really cool! Do you do any crafty kinds of things, dangerous or otherwise?

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I had the afternoon free yesterday, so I went to shoot a local Dia de los Meurtos festival (Day of The Dead festival in English for us gringos). And that tiny bride and groom in the foreground of the vertical shot? Yes, that is indeed a cake topper! That dude in the car--yeah, I'd be worried too if I saw him at the wheel :-)

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On Saturday I shot an absolutely gorgeous wedding at Grand Tradition in Fallbrook, CA, with Silvia of Cara Mia Studio. The couple, Michelle and Simon, wanted a group shot of the entire wedding party. A staff member was kind enough to tip me off that I could get to the top of the waterfall. "Make a left at that palm tree and go behind those bushes," he tells me while pointing. So I climb up there, and as I look down I see that there is no way to get a clean shot--unless I get INTO the waterfall. I start taking off my shoes and socks to get in, yelling down to Silvia and everyone else that I'm going in. Apparently, everyone thought I was nuts. I got in and everyone was cheering me!! How cool is that?!? Getting cheered on by 100 plus people at a wedding? It was awesome!! Silvia nailed a shot of me before crouching down behind some guests so that she wouldn't get in the shot. At right is Barbara, a photog that Silvia is training. I'll do almost anything to get the shot for a client :-)

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I shoot mostly weddings, but being a photographer, sometimes I shoot unique events.Lebowski Fest is definitely unique. For those who are not Achievers (this is how Lebowski fans refer to each other), Lebowski Fest is based on the Coen Brothers movie, The Big Lebowski. It has become a bona fide cult classic. It has even inspired a philosophy and a book. Jeff Bridges plays the main character, The Dude, and John Goodman plays his mentally unstable sidekick, Walter. It is really impossible to describe the film, but it has to do with a slacker who loves bowling, a stolen rug (it really ties the movie together), a case of mistaken identity, fraud, kidnapping, and some nihilists. The Coen Brothers (who have NO association with the Fest) have said that the film is not really supposed to make much sense, and frankly it doesn't, but that's not important. What's important is that the movie is hysterical, and the fans of it have a very high commitment to the film. Very high. You can see more of my pics on the Lebowski Fest web site.
What cult films are you into??
(NOTE: Most of my work is candid photography, NOT camera aware or posed. Lebowski Fest is an exception.)