Cheryl Spelts | Photo Blog » Personal

Science and Health, and Art…

Cheryl Spelts — Sat, 31 Mar 2012 07:14:12 +0000

Time for a little truth…

I got sick, which was completely unexpected for someone as healthy and strong as I’ve always been. Plus I’m a non-practicing Christian Scientist. I wasn’t supposed to get sick.

After months and months of languishing, I finally went in for surgery. It was a Tuesday, and they finished surgery on a Thursday, and I didn’t wake up until Friday. And then I couldn’t walk. And no one knew why. For 18 days.

Completely and totally unexpected.

But this isn’t a post about almost dying, or the fright I gave my poor family, or the fright I gave my doctors, and it’s not about pain and suffering. This is a post about gratitude. It’s a post about the light, after the dark. About love, and the absence of fear, and the voice of God when I needed to hear it most.

I am lucky. I am blessed. I am grateful!

I’m NOT grateful for the illness, I’m grateful that I lived through it, and grateful for the recovery! I’m grateful to be almost healthy again, only four months later. I’m grateful that my doctors thought I was worth saving – they could have stapled me back up and sent me back home to slowly die – but instead they dove in and took the risks and did the almost impossible. They saved me. I may have been the most complex “case” they had ever seen, but they didn’t let that stop them. I am so grateful that I was at the right hospital, with the right doctors!

And I’m grateful that God spoke to me, the night before the surgery, and let me know it would be worst case scenario, but that it would end up okay. Going into surgery I was the only one in the room who knew what we were facing – the doctors had no idea – my family had no idea – but I knew. And I was okay with it, because I had a promise from God that it would be okay. I wasn’t afraid. I had no reason to be.

And once I woke up? I woke up grateful, and I’ve stayed grateful. I feel extraordinarily blessed and lucky! How can I not?

Life changing events happen to people every day. People win the lottery, lose a loved one, fall in love, fall out of love, get in accidents, and get sick. It’s not at all uncommon. But do those events really change the people involved? I think sometimes the answer is yes, and sometimes the answer is no – but in my case, I do feel changed, in a very real and meaningful way.

I am still the same basic person – I’m still enthusiastic and passionate, and I still love beauty and art – but I have a new sense of urgency. And what I want – urgently and now – is financial security and to own a home. In the past I was perfectly content to drift along financially, as long as I was artistically challenged. But now I want financial security as well as artistic fulfillment – and I believe the best way to accomplish that is to go back to the way I used to live, when I was first starting out as an artist – back to the days when I had a day job, and I did art on the side.

That may sound odd, coming from an artist – don’t all artists want to eventually give up the day job? I sure did! But now I’m looking forward to going back to working a real job. I remember the days where I created art, without any thought to making money from it, and I sort of miss those days. And while I’ve enjoyed the last decade more than I can ever express, I’m looking forward to a new challenge.

Back when I was in high school there were only two jobs that interested me – actor and lawyer – and I chose actor. Then somewhere along the way I discovered photography, and my career path shifted. And now? Maybe it’s time for my career path to shift again? And in a direction that I was attracted to, back in high school. I have always been attracted to the law, and while I’m not interested at this stage in my life, in going to law school, I think I’ve found a related path that will fit me just fine! I’ve been accepted to UCLA – into their graduate level certificate program to become a paralegal. The program will take a year, and I start in a couple of weeks, and I’m really excited. I was on campus this week, signing papers, and seeing where my classes will meet – and I am so ready for this!

I want financial security. I want to own a house. I want to create art in my spare time.

So today I am giving thanks for my new career path.

I’m giving thanks that warm weather and longer days and more sun are on the way!

And I’m giving thanks that I get to celebrate another birthday today! My Father says that this is the second half of my life – the first half ended on the day I went into surgery – and the brand new second half began that same day. I kind of like that idea. And I’m ready to make the second half of my life really count!

Happy birthday to me!

And the flowers? They are in my front yard right now – it’s definitely Spring in Southern California!

Spring Flowers, April Showers

Cheryl Spelts — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 05:30:22 +0000

One of the best parts about moving into a new house is seeing what happens in the yard over the course of the first year. Sometimes the tree you sort of, kind of don’t really like all that much, breaks out in blossoms, and you’re in love. Sometimes a neglected corner starts to fill in with new growth, and then explodes in riotous blooms. I’ve heard it said that you should live in a house for a year, before tearing out any plants, because you never know what those existing plants may do – and if you tear them out too soon, you may miss some great potential.

I moved last summer, so this is my first spring in this house, and evidently the previous owners were big on flowers – because the yard is full of blooming plants. It’s very cool!

We’ve been told that some of the trees are black walnut, and when I Google them, the leaves do look right – but I didn’t find any images of the blooms that were as magnificent as the ones here. We have pink blooms on one tree, and white blooms on two other trees. They look just like wisteria blossoms – and the leaves look similar to wisteria as well, but the rest of the tree, and the nuts that form later are definitely not wisteria!

ETA: Ooops! I’ve been told that the trees are actually Black Locust, and Googling proves that to be true!

There are lot of different kinds of bulbs and some primroses…

There are probably too many iris in the yard – if that’s possible.

During the Victorian Era, they were big lovers of fruit and flowers together – and it’s one of my favorite looks. There’s only one fruit tree in the yard – a lemon tree – but hopefully someday there will also be oranges and tangerines and apricots – all things that grow well in Hemet!

And I’ll end with a black tulip. Have you ever seen a flower that elegant? It’s definitely a statement blossom!

On a technical note, all of these were shot between 4:09 and 4:30PM this afternoon – so a few hours before sunset – and the wind was blowing hard for most of those twenty minutes. I used a 70-200mm lens, at f/4.0, ISO 320, and as high of a shutter setting as was possible. Part of the challenge was in shooting flowers that were blowing and moving – and still trying to get a perfect image, that looks like the world was perfectly still when it was taken. The 70-200mm is my least favorite and least used lens, but sometimes it’s fun to shake things up and force yourself to do things in a slightly different way than you may be used to.

Shaking up your art – especially when you’re doing something as trite as shooting flowers? It’s a good thing! So grab an unfamiliar lens, shoot in a windstorm, whatever! Just shake it up and see what magic happens…

And as I sign off, raindrops are starting to hit the roof again… Hopefully the very last storm this season!

Some of my favorite things in 2010

Cheryl Spelts — Fri, 31 Dec 2010 05:31:34 +0000

Last year I wrapped up 2009 with a couple of lists of my favorite things – and it was fun! So I’m doing it again for 2010.

My 5 favorite songs of 2010
Based on how I feel today, it could change tomorrow… The first two were actually released in 2010, the other three are older, and one is very old! And the last one is from a local San Diego band!

My favorite blog posts by other people in 2010
A very long list – just like last year!

Modern Art Movements To Inspire Your Logo Design 1/7/2010
The Fake Freeway Sign that Became a Real Public Service, by Alissa Walker 1/9/2010
Applying Mathematics To Web Design, by Adit Gupta 2/9/2010
ph. Greg Kadel, md. Anja Rubik in ‘Eden’ for Numéro 4/9/2010
Aimee Semple McPherson’s Castle in Lake Elsinore, by Adrian Glick Kudler 4/19/2010
An Angry Letter from Your Big Idea, by Ken Robert 4/25/2010
LA’s Latest Logo, by Neal Broverman 5/18/2010
Leah and Adam, by Susan Stripling 5/26/2010
Ruche | summer lookbook vol 2, by Stephanie Williams 6/24/2010
West Hollywood Studio for Film Noirchitecture Buffs, by Dakota 6/23/2010
Kristen + Jeff, by Stephanie Williams 6/30/2010
How to Create a FaceBook Landing Page for Your Blog, by Darren Rowse 7/2/2010
Artist Statements, by A Photo Editor 7/5/2010
Designing Facebook Fan Pages, by Julia May 7/7/2010
Christie and Andrew, by Susan Stripling 7/8/2010
Robert Gill’s Before Or After Yourself, by James Pomerantz 7/19/2010
youmightfindyourself: Saba Italia 7/19/2010
Confessions of a Much Too Serious Actress, by Ann Hu 7/20/2010
Seattle | fog in the morning, by Stephanie Williams 7/21/2010
California the Happiest Place in US, by Neal Broverman 7/22/2010
Add Color, Glamour and a Whole Lot of Fun to Your Kitchen, on 1912 Bungalow 7/23/2010
8 Parisian Apartments That Inspire, by Laure Joliet 7/23/2010
10 Common Spelling Mistakes That Haunt Bloggers, by Darren Rowse 7/24/2010
The best goal is no goal, by Leo Babauta 7/27/2010
Approaching the Modeling Agencies, by Melissa Rodwell 8/3/2010
Business Card Design, by Julia May 8/9/2010
You Know, by Danielle LaPorte 9/2/2010
The myth of preparation, by Seth Godin 9/13/2010
1 Easy Solution to 3 Big Blogging Problems, by AnnabelCandy 9/13/2010
My Dog Meets A Rock Star, by Cranky Actress 9/17/2010
How to Blog Like Bond. James Bond, by Steve Kamb 9/17/2010
Giorgia / Milan, by Garance Doré 9/24/2010
Doing Is More Fun Than Planning, by Chris Brogan 9/25/2010
Newport Beach Wedding, by Chenin Boutwell 10/11/2010
Options and Friendship Bracelets, by Jasmine Star 10/21/2010
Starting Over, by Chris Guillebeau 11/4/2010
8 Exotic Destinations You Can Afford, by Tim Leffel /2010
Alienating the 2%, by Seth Godin 11/6/2010
Last Night. This Morning. Just Now, by Jasmine Star 11/17/2010
Minimalist fitness, by Leo Babauta 12/4/2010
Living with doubt, by Seth Godin 12/5/2010
Brian Wurzell CD Design, by Promise Tangeman 12/15/2010

And finally, my 5 favorite photos of 2010
My choices for this year are all really simple – deceptively simple. I shot more complex stuff, more artistic, more ambitious work – but for some reason these five images speak to me in a way nothing else did this year. I love these five!

Wildflowers in Menifee, 3/28/2010

My nephew Nathan, 8/11/2010

Miss American Coed Pegeant Queen, 9/18/2010

Malibu, California, 10/8/2010

Happy New Year!

I have a palm tree!

Cheryl Spelts — Sun, 03 Oct 2010 03:05:23 +0000

I haven’t written much about my new home here – I’m still in the middle of painting and building shelves and removing wallpaper – which is NOT fun. Well painting is fun, but removing wallpaper is definitely not! But today I wanted to share one of my favorite things about my new home. I have a palm tree!

I would probably never plant a palm tree – I don’t really care for the short ones, I like the super-tall Hollywood palm trees that line main streets all over Southern California. The kind of palm trees that are disappearing in some areas. The kind of palm tree that’s expensive, and takes many years to reach it’s full height. The kind that doesn’t add much value to the landscaping of an individual home, since they’re so tall, you don’t even see them unless you look up.

But this house came with exactly the kind of palm tree that I like best.

It’s as tall as they come, just as tall as the palm trees in Hollywood. It’s in a corner of the yard and it’s so tall, you don’t even see it – unless of course you look up… Which is exactly what I did today!

An added bonus? I can see where my house is from at least a mile away – I just have to look for that sky-high palm.

Green Tea

Cheryl Spelts — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 21:34:22 +0000

I’ve never liked coffee or tea. I was a waitress for years, working mostly breakfasts – since it’s the most profitable time period, but don’t tell anyone! It’s one of the best kept secrets in the restaurant world… So I served more coffee in a few years than most people have seen in a lifetime. And smelled it. And cleaned up the grounds. But I never got hooked on drinking it. And tea held no appeal at all to me. I was always a Diet Coke drinker! Even for breakfast! I loved that big dose of caffeine and the taste – definitely a Diet Coke girl!

But times change, and two years ago I gave up Diet Coke. I still drink it occasionally, socially, but it’s not my daily drink anymore – more like my monthly splurge drink!

And I love water, so I haven’t really missed having a “drink” anymore – just give me some water and I’m happy.

But I keep reading about the health benefits of Green Tea…

And it would be kind of nice to have a drink again…

So, I decided this morning that I’m going to learn to like Green Tea.

But is taste something you can just decide? I mean, seriously, is taste a static thing? Can we decide to change what we like? I’m not sure, but I’m going to try.

I decided to start with one cup of regular strength tea, and then add enough water and ice to make 32 ounces. In other words, I decided to start with an extremely diluted version of tea – more like tea-flavored water. And it’s not bad! It’s not good either, but I don’t mind drinking it. And does it really matter if I drink one cup of full strength tea and my regular amount of water separately, or if I combine the two?

I also did a little Googling and found some tips on how to make Green Tea – from what I’ve read the key is to not get the water too hot – 180°F is perfect – and to only steep it for two-and-a-half minutes. If you use too hot of water or steep for too long, it supposedly gets bitter.

I knew that Green Tea is a powerful antioxidant, and that supposedly people who drink it have lower occurrences of heart disease and certain kinds of cancer. And during my Googling I ran into lots of references to Green Tea being good for weight loss – though I’m not sure that’s been proven conclusively yet – but hey, if it is true, that would be great!

I don’t know yet if it’s possible to change my taste, and learn to like Green Tea, but hey, it’s worth a try… Wish me luck!

Going Away…

Cheryl Spelts — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 06:19:00 +0000

My Mom is moving to Seattle and I’m sad! Seriously, I hope she hates it and moves back soon! But I sort of doubt that will happen… She’s on her way to start her dream job – preschool teacher to a class of four-year-olds. And perhaps even more importantly, my seriously cute nephews just happen to already live in Seattle, and I’m way too old to compete with their cuteness. Just click here to see what I mean. Seriously cute!

So to celebrate her going away, we threw her a little party tonight. It was especially small since the aforementioned nephews are already in Seattle and my other brother and his family are way down in San Diego, and my other nephew is far far away on a big adventure in Kentucky – so it was just Mom and Grandma and me! But that’s okay, we had dinner and cheesecake and we laughed a lot. It was a good night!

Me, as shot by my Mom – she’s getting pretty good!

Chocolate Cheesecake makes any party better…

And this one was taken by the hostess. And yes I really am that much taller than my Mom and Grandma – they’re both under 5’3″ and I’m a little over 5’9″ – I have a tall Dad!

I’ll miss you Mom!

A Big New Decade

Cheryl Spelts — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 02:57:25 +0000

I’m still not sure how we’re supposed to talk about this new decade – are we saying twenty-ten or two-thousand-ten? My friends seem evenly split on the issue – I polled them in person, on Facebook, and on Twitter… so clearly, I want to know! The best suggestion I got was just to say it in French… “Deux mille dix” See, instant sexiness, bound to make the year better!

But going into a new decade demands more than just knowing how to talk about it – it also demands a new plan – right? Do you really want to go into a brand new decade doing the same old things, thoughtlessly? Isn’t it sort of important to reflect and evaluate and evolve? I think so.

The thing is, I’m a little scared.

Don’t get me wrong, I think you have to push sometimes to make things happen – and that can be scary – so I’m used to embracing a little bit of fear. And honestly, when I break it down, nothing I’ve got hovering on the horizon is all that scary – but add it all together and it becomes a great big intimidating plan that honestly feels just a tiny bit overwhelming.

I remember where I was at the turn of the last decade (and last century!), and I really only had one goal. I wanted desperately to go from feeling like a girl with potential, to feeling like a full-blown artist, who could make things happen. And guess what? Somewhere in the last decade that happened – beautifully – and effortlessly. Like it was meant to be. But really, how could it not be meant to be? It was my heart’s most honest desire at the time…

My heart’s desire going into this decade though is a little more complex. I want more. As in more, more, more! Not just a little bit, but a lot.

Artistically, I want to build my body of work, with new images that really challenge who and what I am. I don’t just want more of the same, I want evolution as an artist.

Financially, I want success. At least some success in the financial arena. It’s not something I was much interested in previously, but after the last couple of years watching so much financial turmoil in the world, I’m suddenly wanting more success and more money.

And lifestyle-wise, I want a home. Something permanent and forever. I’ve flitted and floated and had lots of wonderful adventures over the years, but I’m feeling a desire to settle in one spot now and grow some roots.

See, none of that is all that scary, and I am talking about a whole decade – not just a year – right? Well yes and no! I’ve got plans to move forward in all three of those areas really soon. Lots of plans. Big plans. And yeah, it’s just a little bit scary. But scary can be good – it’s a sign that something big is about to happen – and in my opinion, that’s a very good thing!

So what have you got planned for this big new decade? Whatever it is, I wish you lots and lots of good luck! Especially, if it’s just a little bit scary…

Some of my favorite things in 2009

Cheryl Spelts — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 05:36:55 +0000

I thought it might be fun to wrap up 2009 with a couple of lists of my favorite things! So here goes…

My 5 favorite songs of 2009
Based on number of plays in iTunes….

Brand New Day, Ryan Star
New Day, Tamar Kaprelian
Right Now, Ryan Star
Honest I’ll Wait, Lovehammers
Neverfall, Lovehammers

My favorite blog posts by other people in 2009
A very long list….

House Call: The Millard House Los Angeles 2/10/2009
Inspiration: The White House, Daylesford Melbourne 2/17/2009
Look: King William Historical Neighborhood San Antonio 3/10/2009
Jeremy Cowart | Paper Route Shoot 3/25/2009
Models.com | Lonesome Dove 3/24/2009
Anna Kuperberg | Liz and Brian Engaged 3/31/2009
Write an Elevator Pitch for Your Blog 4/6/2009
Seven Productivity Tips For People That Hate GTD 4/9/2009
The Euphoria of Admitting When It Sucks 4/17/2009
Stop Reading About It and Do It 5/11/2009
Day Trippin’ in Los Angeles (portfolio 4) 5/16/2009
6 Small Things You Can Do When You Lack Discipline 5/22/2009
On Ambition and the Photographic Lifestyle 5/26/2009
RE: On Ambition and the Photographic Lifestyle 5/27/2009
John Keatley’s New Website 6/3/2009
5 Things I Learned From Traveling That Changed My Home 7/9/2009
Danielle LaPorte’s 8 Emphatic Suggestions for Rocking Your Business 6/17/2009
House Tour: Shawn and Amy’s Laurel Canyon Retreat 7/10/2009
Dixie, Dead Malls and Fires 7/20/2009
Inspiration: 500 Days of Summer 7/20/2009
PDN’s Top 20 Songs About Photography 7/22/2009
“500 Days of Summer,” and Its Real Star–Downtown Los Angeles 7/27/2009
John Mireles’s Party on the Boardwalk – Fourth of July 2009 7/31/2009
Bauhaus: Ninety Years of Inspiration 8/2/2009
Lazy Journalists Love Pictures of Abandoned Stuff 8/24/2009
Models.com | Such Great Heights 8/26/2009
How to Get Screwed by an “Ultra-Hip” Magazine 9/9/2009
Beautiful Black and White Photography 9/9/2009
Portfolio Design Study: Design Patterns and Current Practices 9/17/2009
Effective Twitter Backgrounds: Examples and Current Practices 9/18/2009
11 productivity tips that creative types already know 10/3/2009
ph. Federico Cabrera for Gilles et Dada 10/7/2009
Call to Action Buttons: Examples and Best Practices 10/13/2009
A Photo Student: 26 Important Movies We Should All See 11/24/2009
A Photo Student: Movies about Photography 11/30/2009
Brenda Acuncius’s Macro Florals 12/1/2009
A Pictorial Guide to Avoiding Camera Loss 12/6/2009
Jessica Claire | Wedding at San Ysidro Ranch 12/11/2009
Browser Size: a tool to see how others view your website 12/16/2009
The Grandiose Decay of Abandoned Detroit 12/29/2009

And finally, my 5 favorite photos of 2009
Based on how I feel today, it could and probably will change tomorrow…

Some of my favorite things…

Cheryl Spelts — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 23:01:00 +0000

Favorite Fun Read: Cranky Actress Blog
If you ever were an actor, or thought about acting, or want to act, then you gotta read Cranky’s Blog! She may be telling the complete truth or she may be making it all up – but either way, she makes me laugh! Honestly, my usual impulse is to steer clear of cranky people. Who has time for all that complaining? But I’ll make an exception for Cranky Actress, because she’s so much fun!

Favorite Bag: Floto Imports
I love these bags! I have the Casiana Tote and the Casiana Mini, both in black and they’re so cool they make me want to travel more – as if I needed any impetus in that direction! Beautiful leather, Italian style, and enough room to carry everything easily. I’m just in love… And I’ve had them for two years already, and use them often, and they still look great. I fully expect to still be in love years from now! Maybe someday I’ll add another Mini in orange to my collection? That might cause a love overdose!

Favorite Twitter-related Service: BackTweets
Twitter shortens long URLs, which is great, but if you want to do a search for all the times your website was mentioned on Twitter, those shortened URLs made it impossible – before now. BackTweets changes that! I only found a handful of mentions of my site by using it, but they were all really fun finds – so it’s my new favorite toy!

Favorite Site Design: DreamerLines
I just love the way this site works! There are no pages, you hit tabs and fly to your destination. Deceptively simple and incredibly cool…

My Absolute Favorite Thing This Week: The Water Necklace
It’s brand new and beautiful, and shimmery silver – what’s not to love? It’s from the MXC Silver Elements Collection, and while I didn’t shoot the campaign for this season, I love this piece! And it looks really good on me!

Josh and Nathan

Cheryl Spelts — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 13:35:00 +0000

My brother and his family moved out of state last week – so before they left California, I shot a few quick portraits of my nephews. Their new home is far away from Southern California, and who knows when I’ll see them again, so it was a good time!

My first goal was to get a beautiful headshot of each of them – something that Grandma could hang on the wall. I definitely feel we achieved that goal!

The second goal was to do a portrait that they got to set up themselves – Josh wanted a shot with his guitar, rock star-style, and Nathan wanted a shot in his bedroom, comfy and relaxed, with bare feet. Very different choices, but I love both images we ended up with!

America’s Forgotten Sweetheart

Cheryl Spelts — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 00:15:00 +0000

I received an email yesterday from one of the authors of a new book on Ruth Etting, coming out this fall. Ruth Etting: America’s Forgotten Sweetheart, by Kenneth Irwin and Charles O. Lloyd will be published by Scarecrow Press and is the first full-length biography of her life.

As excited as I am about the book, I’m maybe even more excited about the photo on the cover! It’s an image I’ve never seen before, and it features the pearls-around-her-upper-arm-look that I love – and in fact, the dress has strings of pearls hanging down her back, and off one hip. Ruth Etting wore pearls like no one else! Check out these images for further proof! 1, 2, and 3

More on the book…

“In Ruth Etting: America’s Forgotten Sweetheart, authors Kenneth Irwin and Charles Lloyd provide the first full-length biography of this ground-breaking artist. This book recounts Etting’s early hears as a pioneering radio performer who quickly attained national celebrity, her recording career as “Sweetheart of Columbia Records,” and her innovative work in early short subjects. The authors detail Etting’s unhappy marriage to her husband-manager, Martin (Moe “The Gimp”) Snyder, her second marriage to pianist arranger Myrl Alderman, and her Colorado Springs retirement. They also examine Etting’s place in the history of American entertainment, specifically her trend-setting vocal style and her innovative work in phonograph recordings and radio performance–as well as her enormous popularity throughout the 1930s and beyond.”

For more on the book and more on the authors, check out their website!
And for more on Ruth Etting, check out RuthEtting.com!

Memorial Day Weekend

Cheryl Spelts — Mon, 25 May 2009 03:16:00 +0000

I am so proud of my Mom! She’s always appreciated my talent and the images I produce, but she never really got into photography herself – until today.

My Aunt and Grandma and Mom were all in the same place at the same time – it is Memorial Day Weekend, and Idyllwild is perfect this time of year, so of course I was going to do some spontaneous portraits! And then it happened, she asked if I wanted her to shoot a couple of me. Now my Mom has always been one who rations shots – whether it was film or digital. Growing up she’d shoot exactly one frame of each event – maybe two frames if you got lucky. And she’s always astonished at the number of images I take. And when I said yes, and handed her my camera, she was a little surprised at how heavy it was, and how hard it was to hold up and press the shutter at the same time. I had an 85mm 1.2 lens on it, so she wasn’t wrong, it was heavy, so I expected her to shoot maybe four or five frames, just to be nice, and then be done. But I was wrong! She ended up shooting 40 frames! She started a little slow, but before long she was telling me to tilt my chin, look up, and smile like I had a secret. I was laughing so hard, and loving it so much, I had a hard time following her directions. But she was patient with me, and kept at it, determined to get the perfect shot – and she did! She actually got a shot of me that I really love. And to be honest, most of what she got is good. I really do like the majority of the stuff she shot.

So my Mom is now a photographer! Amazing things happen every day…

My Aunt Vicki and my Mom, the new photographer!

Me and and my beautiful Grandma

And the three of them in front of the cabin. Doesn’t the yard look magnificent? It’s amazing when you think about how all that was under three feet of snow not that long ago.

If I Could Be With You (One Hour To-Night)

Cheryl Spelts — Sun, 03 May 2009 12:00:00 +0000

I’ve written about my grandfather’s cousin before – Ruth Etting – who was arguably the most popular female singer in the 1930′s, but lost her career due to scandal – her ex-husband shot her new boyfriend. Today a scandal like that would likely give her career a nice boost, and cement her place in history, but back then it was the kiss of death for an entertainer’s career.

She made quite a few films, and so there’s lots of footage out there of Ruth singing – but not all of it has ended up on YouTube yet – although I have no doubt it will eventually! But this is the first time I’ve found a clip of her on a stage, with just a piano. I like the simplicity. And the song. And the fact that at the end of the song she plays with the phrasing. It’s definitely stylized, and definitely torchy, and definitely an acquired taste, but if you like a good torch song, she’s the best!

For more on Ruth Etting, go to RuthEtting.com.

Naturally Thin

Cheryl Spelts — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 06:38:00 +0000

In December of 2007 I gave up Diet Coke – not completely, I still have one occasionally, socially. But I gave it up as a daily drink.

I blogged about it in December, then on New Years Day, and then again later in January when I had finally kicked the habit. In other words, it was a big deal to me. Twenty years of loving it and drinking it daily and being addicted to it – not an easy thing to break free from!

I decided to give it up because I knew it was bad for me, and I knew it was an appetite stimulant, and I knew it was the next step I needed to take, if I wanted to get healthier, thinner, and more beautiful – but I never guessed such a simple act would have such a big impact. It’s not like I hadn’t given up Diet Coke before – I had – sometimes for months at a time – but I always went back. Maybe I never stuck with it long enough to really notice the changes that occurred when I wasn’t drinking it daily? You’d think that a couple of months would be enough time to notice some changes – but those changes never seemed like they were all that big – and the siren song of that cool silver can was so strong that I always gave in, eventually.

So what was different this time? I guess I just decided that even though the improvements might be slight, they were still improvements, so I was going to stick with it – for good. But surprisingly the changes this time were not quite as slight as I thought – and overall, they added up to something pretty impressive.

Yes, I knew that Diet Coke is an appetite stimulant, but I never went without it long enough to see what happened to my eating habits when that stimulant was removed. After a month or so I started to notice that I wanted less – the portions on my plate for each meal shrunk – without any conscious thought on my part.

And yes I knew that eating, or in this case drinking, one extreme food, causes your body to crave other extreme foods – in this case junk food. But I never left Diet Coke alone long enough to really feel the cravings for junky foods lessen, so it was a real surprise to me to find that I was eating less fast food and less junk food, without any concentrated effort on my part – but that’s exactly what happened.

And yes I knew that caffeine can interrupt your sleep patterns, and that lack of sleep is one of the leading causes of weight gain, but I really didn’t think it would have that big of an impact on my body. I mean, I slept fine – right? But once I gave up Diet Coke, my sleep patterns did change, and I did find I was sleeping longer.

So fewer bad chemicals were going into my body, my appetite was less overall, healthier food started to replace the junk, I was sleeping better and longer – those are major changes when you add them up – and they all stemmed from giving up Diet Coke. I did nothing else. Just gave up my daily Diet Coke.

By the end of last year, on my one-year anniversary of giving up Diet Coke, I had lost 25% of the weight I would like to lose – and with very little conscious effort on my part. It was as simple as give up Diet Coke and then watch my body change. Totally easy! I’ve now lost almost 33% of the weight I would like to lose – so I’m almost a third of the way to my ideal weight, and that feels great!

So why did it take me sooooo long to discover this? I’ve weighed more than I’ve wanted to for years, and I’ve felt like dieting was nearly impossible, and that I was lacking in will power. And the only real problem was a little drug I put in my body daily that messed up my whole system? A little drug called Diet Coke? That sounds impossible and improbable and there must be more to it – right? But there isn’t. The only real change I made was giving up Diet Coke, everything else stemmed from that one little decision and occurred naturally without much effort from me.

I also know that the rate of loss may slow down, and that’s fine – truly! I feel confident now that when it does start to slow, I will be able to look at my portion sizes and scale down a little. Adjust! That confidence comes from over a year of seeing progress – slow progress – but still progress, and rethinking how much is the right amount to eat. It sounds overly simple, and why couldn’t I do it before, if that’s all there is to it? But I have to say, the edge that Diet Coke gave me, as wonderful as it felt at the time, also make me want to overeat and clearly I wasn’t able to win that battle. It wasn’t a fierce battle – I never fought that hard. Diet Coke for me, caused a perception that I needed slightly more food that I really did – and even just a tiny bit extra over time can add up to lots of extra pounds. I’ve read about people who binge or who eat massive amounts of food – that was never me. I never ate to squash down my feelings either. I just let that Diet Coke edge cause me to consume slightly too many calories every single day, for years on end. So yeah, now that I’ve removed that edge, I do feel confident that my body is on it’s way to reverting back to it’s natural pre-Diet Coke state. And what is that state? I’m hoping naturally thin!

I really do believe that our bodies want to be healthy and balanced, and that if we treat our bodies right, and give them what they need they will balance out on their own naturally. It’s not natural to be overweight – it’s an imbalance – but for years I didn’t know why I was so imbalanced – and now I do.

At the rate I’m going it could take me years to get down to a naturally healthy weight – but that’s fine, I’m in no hurry. I have absolutely no desire to diet – in fact I plan to never diet again – and that feels so good to say! I do plan to continue to make adjustments in my eating habits – I expect my portion sizes to continue to evolve as my body gets thinner. But I don’t want to be the girl who won’t eat cake because she’s on a diet – I want to be the girl who is happy with a few bits of cake, and loves it, and never feels deprived. In other words I want to be normal, and thin, naturally.

And I will never cut out a food entirely – not even Diet Coke! There will always be a place for it in my life – in moderation – like maybe once a month? That seems to be working for me now – and I like the way things are going at this point!

Biggest Dreams and Worst Nightmares

Cheryl Spelts — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 01:05:00 +0000

I think it’s interesting how often love and fear collide. And I guess it makes sense, since if nothing is at stake, then what would there be to fear? And truly, what is the absence of love? It’s fear. And if love and fear are connected, then obviously so are our biggest dreams and worst nightmares. Unfortunately dreams and nightmares go hand in hand, far too often.

When I was younger my biggest dream was to be on the silver screen – in a movie. I also wanted to do TV, but movies were the pinnacle for me – the biggest dream I had! But then I discovered photography, and my passions turned toward art, and my dreams evolved – and it happened long before I even got close to seeing myself on a movie screen. I got on TV in a couple of VERY minor ways – once as an extra in a crowd scene in 1989 on Simon and Simon, a cop show on CBS set in San Diego. And then in 1992 I was on the local San Diego NBC News on election day – dressed in royal blue, making phone calls for my candidate of choice, I got the full treatment with the microphone cord under my shirt, and I was instructed when to start and what to do – it was more “making” news than anything else, but I thought it was great!

But I never made it to the big screen, until this year. It started with an interview for a local cable program called Life in California. I had shot a photo documentary of the Fallbrook Film Festival, and this TV show was doing a segment on the festival, and somehow it ended up that they wanted to interview me. Cool! So I show up for the interview dressed in my most flattering best, with my hair as fabulous as is possible, and I tried hard to forget how I looked, and focus on what I had to say. I mean who cares what I look like? It’s my images that count – right? Not my looks. But for anyone who has ever been an actress, that’s hard. It’s hard for anyone, but for an actress, even harder. And just because I’m now an ex-actress, doesn’t mean that the old fears don’t still exist. And when I saw where they wanted to do the interview, I cringed inside, but didn’t let it show. What could I do? They planned to have the camera placed below me and the interviewer, pointing up, which is the best way to make me look fatter. Oh, and I was to be in profile, which is the second best way to make me look fatter. And to top it off, we were to be seated – which is of course, the third quickest way to make me look fatter. It was my nightmare scenario. Truly! But I had two things going for me. One, deep inside of me, the actress part of me who had the big dreams still exists, and two, I have great passion for the subject matter – my art – so I just plunged right in and did it. And it was fun!

The interview ended up lasting close to thirty minutes – it was really in-depth, and it’s fun to talk about art, especially your own art. I did panic a little the next day, and called the producer to make sure I’d done okay – that I wasn’t too gushy, or too dorky, or too over-the-top enthusiastic. He told me I’d been “great” but that didn’t reassure me much, since I’m sure they tell every trainwreck/hot mess/loser who appears on every reality show just how “great” they were – good TV doesn’t always mean yes, you came across as classy, talented and hot. Sometimes it means you were a total mess, but hey, it was entertaining!

But even with all the worry about how I looked and how I sounded and how I came across, I was still actually looking forward to seeing it on TV someday. On TV.

Then I found out they were going to have a premiere of that particular episode at the local movie theater. And that’s when the fear really stuck me down. Appearing on a little TV screen was one thing, on the big silver screen was just another thing all together. The idea of me, looking ugly and fat, on a HUGE screen? It terrified me. At that point I didn’t even care what I said. I could have been spouting off pure nonsense and I would not have cared. All I could focus on was ugly, fat, and thirty feet high on a movie screen.

I came so close to not going. I wouldn’t let my family go, and none of them could understand why? Who could understand? But it was my worst nightmare – I just knew it!

But…. somewhere deep inside, I was still aware that it was also one of my biggest dreams about to come true. And if I missed it, I might be missing the only time I would ever see myself on a movie screen. Did I really want to miss that? Yeah, it might be awful, but still, it was a dream come true…

So on the big day I went with my mother, who would not be dissuaded, and the theater was much bigger and much fuller than I would have liked. We took seats near the front – I figured that if this was IT for me, the big dream come true, then I wanted to be really close and get the full experience. Even if it killed me! But surprisingly it didn’t kill me. They showed lots of my images from the Film Festival, I sounded fairly smart and what I said made sense, and while I did look fat, it was okay. I started to breathe again, and to actually enjoy it. The segment on me went on much longer than I expected, and my mom kept squeezing my arm, she was so happy. Experiencing that with my mother was very very cool, and it made me sad that I’d denied the rest of my family. What was I thinking? It was a fun and cool thing, and they only wanted to share that with me. I kept the little ticket stub from that day as a memento, and I came away feeling really glad that I’d made myself go, and made myself face that huge horrible nightmare, because honestly it wasn’t so bad, and seeing myself on a movie screen, talking about art? That really was a dream come true!

My mom called me last night – she’d been flipping through the channels on TV and came across the episode with my interview, except that it was different than the version we’d seen in the movie theater. This version featured some of my images of rock stars and musicians and models, instead of just images from the film festival. And she said they showed different parts of the interview, and matched what I said up to particular images. We saw the premiere back in October, so I’m surprised her memory of it was that detailed – for me it went by in a big blur of stress and love and fear and happiness – I don’t remember the specifics of what I said! But she’s my mom, and she did!

It’s blows me away to think about how close I came to giving up something that had been one of my biggest dreams, just because it collided with what could be my worst nightmare. And I certainly haven’t kicked that particular nightmare – I’m still fearful of looking ugly and fat and all the rest. I fear that on a daily basis! But I don’t want that fear, or any other fear to stand in between me and my dreams – even an old dream that I’d nearly forgotten. It may have been an old dream, but seeing it come true was pretty sweet…

My current favorite iPhone Apps

Cheryl Spelts — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 13:28:00 +0000

I finally found an iPhone To-Do List App that I may like for more than five minutes…

It’s called Done, and it’s very very simple, which is exactly what I wanted. Just a simple little To-Do List that’s easy to check off, and has categories of tasks. I didn’t want to assign contexts, or due dates, or anything else complicated – and I really didn’t want to have to pay a monthly fee to use it. And this is important, I wanted it to be elegant in how it worked, and look like a native iPhone App – so many of the new Apps look like the interface was designed in the dark, by a first-grader. No thanks! I wanted a simple elegant interface that fits in with everything else on my iPhone. And I think I found it! It would have been nice if it was able to sync with my MAC, and the developers claim that’s a future feature, but in the meantime it’s not a deal breaker for me.

Oh, and it’s only $.99 in the iTunes App Store. You really can’t beat that!

And while we’re talking Apps, my current favorite is Shazam. If you hear a song and want to know who the artist is, just launch Shazam, hit the Tag Now button, and and Shazam will “listen” and then deliver up not only the name of the song and artist, but also links to purchase it on iTunes, and maybe even a link to the video on YouTube. Very, very cool and you can download it for free!

My other favorite App is only of interest to photographers. It’s called PhotoCalc and I love it for the Sunrise and Sunset times! But it also has a really handy Depth of Field calculator. I can input f/1.2 with a 50mm lens, with the subject 3 feet away, and find out that my total depth of field is exactly 0.1 feet – in other words, just a little over one inch. My focus better be spot on, if I’m shooting under those conditions, and knowing exactly how narrow the depth of field, instead of just guessing, can be really helpful. I’ll admit it, most of the time I just go on instinct – I mean I know 1.2 is extremely shallow, and that in a close up portrait if the eyes are in focus, the nose will be out of focus – that’s a given. And I know that if I want the nose and lips in focus, I should back away from the subject just a little, or else go to 1.8 or 2.0. I know all that. But sometimes it’s cool to know exactly how many inches, or feet, you have. There’s also a Flash Exposure calculator and a reference section with info on the Zone System, the Sunny 16 Rule, and film types – very old school, and I like that! PhotoCalc is $2.99 and totally worth it for the Sunrise and Sunset times alone – if knowing when the light is best is as big a deal to you, as it is to me…

Grandma Rose and Great-Grandma Rie

Cheryl Spelts — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 04:38:22 +0000

I shot my Great-Grandma Rie’s Christmas card today! Her name is Marie McBurney and she’s 91. She lives in a resort retirement home called Camelot, in Hemet, so we shot her portrait on her little patio – and my favorite shot of the day, was this one, when my Grandma, Virgina Rose joined her.

America’s Sweetheart of Song

Cheryl Spelts — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 15:20:00 +0000

Back in the late 1920′s and early 1930′s my grandfather’s cousin was the top female singer in the United States. Her name was Ruth Etting and she started in a little club in Chicago, then starred on Broadway in the Ziegfeld Follies, and ended up in Hollywood. Early on she was known as the Sweetheart of Chicago, and then the Sweetheart of Columbia Records, and finally America’s Sweetheart of Song. She had over 60 hit recordings including multiple number ones. She was inducted into the GRAMMY Hall Of Fame, with “Love Me Or Leave Me”, which she introduced in the 1928, and for “Ten Cents A Dance”, from 1930.

Her star on Hollywood Boulevard is located at the intersection where Whitley Avenue crosses the Boulevard, right in front of a check cashing place. Classy!

So why have you never heard of her? Well she made one big mistake in her life – she married a guy in Chicago with ties to the mob – small time for sure, but still, not the best move on her part. And by 1937 she divorced him and then fell in love with her piano player. But her ex-husband was incensed by the new relationship, and shot the new boyfriend. The boyfriend survived and later became her husband, and the ex-husband went to jail, but Ruth’s career did not survive the scandal. She did a few minor projects after that, but the heyday of her career was effectively over. Hollywood came calling again in 1955, with an offer to make a movie about her life. Love Me or Leave Me starred Doris Day and James Cagney, and was nominated for six Academy Awards and won the Award for Best Story. Most people who have heard of her today, only know what the saw in the movie – they know Doris Day as Ruth, not the real Ruth Etting.

Why am I posting this today? Well two reasons! One, I’ve been combing through my archive for 2008 and trying to post anything that I hadn’t yet – and I shot this image back in May, so it was time! And two, because last night I republished RuthEtting.com, the site I maintain in her memory. I switched servers recently, and so the site was down temporarily, but it’s up now, so it seemed like a good time to plug it here!

Her style of singing today seems sentimental and syrupy and dated – it’s definitely an acquired taste! But she really was one of the premier singers of her generation and a true legend.

Nathan

Cheryl Spelts — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 16:16:00 +0000

Even with chapped lips my nephew Nathan is a knock-out! And he’s a killer at Monopoly. He wins… every… single… time…

Sunburned

Cheryl Spelts — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 03:57:00 +0000

One of my favorite sensations… Being slightly sunburned – just arms, upper back and shoulders, and maybe a little on the cheeks – and then that same night, letting a chilly summer evening breeze blow across my hot skin, and give me shivers. It’s bliss.

I also love laying in the sun, at the beach, on a towel on the sand, and letting the sun bake down. Not for long, but for a few brief minutes, how much damage can you do?

I actually love the way my pale skin looks – I’m one of those rare people too pale to match most makeup brands, but I tan easily. But tanning makes me look older, so I avoid it… Pale is good, right? But this weekend, while moving, I ended up spending a lot of time in the sun, and came away slightly pink everywhere that wasn’t covered up – even the back of my neck got some sun – since I had my hair up.

As I was driving the moving truck back last night, traveling down Highway 101, right along the beach, and letting the cool night air give me chills, I just felt so fortunate and lucky and eager! And I was singing with the radio the whole way down. I only sing when I’m happy. It’s impossible not to sing, when I feel that way, it just comes out – at full volume! And when I’m not happy? Well I don’t sing. So I always sort of know, that if I’m in the middle of a change – big change, little change, any kind of change at all – and if I find myself singing, it’s an excellent sign!

I’m actually enjoying the night breeze again tonight – with my laptop out on the deck – perfect summer night! I’d never intentionally get sunburned – I’m too aware of how damaging it is – but it was accidental this time, and I see nothing wrong with thoroughly enjoying every sensation I can!