Our Summer Temp, in photos

Some of you may remember my rhyming summer temp. I was fortunate enough to convince her to pose for a couple photos on her last day here. These photos are just a snapshot of the fun personality with whom I got to spend my summer.

Note on the photos: I'm currently going through an over-exposure phase. In the below shots, I had my ISO at 1600 and my exposure compensation at +0.7. I just really like the grittiness, the drama.

Day 30: Mama Gray!

Meet Mama Gray! I have mentioned her before here, but at the risk of sounding repetitious, I'll tell who she is ONE MORE TIME. She was my college academic adviser, my Professor of Everything, (including sewing, a career I have long since retired despite the fact that I currently have a handful of unfinished projects pinned up, all hopeful and eager and never-to-be-touched-again), my pastor's wife, my Renaissance woman, and the wonderful person who is going to make me pillows as soon as I mail her the scraps of Marimekko material I bought at Crate and Barrel Outlet for $0.25 EACH. That's right. I scored on ALL FRONTS. I recently saw Mama Gray in Southern California, where she and Mensa Papa were residing for the month of December to help him recover from a surgery at USC. They were dwelling in the 'upper cottage' of Glendale's city planner. That's right. I HAVE BEEN IN THE UPPER COTTAGE AND THE BIG HOUSE OF GLENDALE'S CITY PLANNER. Try not to be jealous of my mad connections. I mean, if I had played my cards right, I could of talked sewage systems ALL DAY. Instead I just drank their coffee and ate their biscuits. Which is something ELSE I'm good at. Eventually they told me they wouldn't adopt me and kicked me out. But I don't think they meant it.

And this finishes up my photo project! 30 Portraits in 30 Days, it's been real.

Day 28: Take Two

Based on the request of my model, Day 28's Portrait has been changed. I would typically vow never to speak to her again given the request, but...well...I'm vain as heck myself and totally understand completely unjustified picture hatred. I mean, look at ME, beautiful as get-out in real life. But put me in a photograph and WHO IS THAT? Is THAT what I look like? Burn it. Now.

Please go here for a model revisited.

Day 29: Mindy

Meet Mindy, of the Bryant Family Resort. Mindy was probably my most bashful PoD yet, which led to a series of REALLY SWEET photos, making her look about ten times as submissive as she actually is. In reality, I have DOZENS of photos of her with Annelies from a couple of years ago, both of them doing wild and crazy and hilarious stuff in the gardens of a Dry Creek Valley winery, including riding a bronze bull (and showing it who was boss). I want to take her picture again, but with a 'Mindy Gone Wild' theme, so that I can then showcase her two different sides next to one another. All I need to get is an Annelies, a few glasses of wine, and a giant bull statue...should be easy enough...

Day 28 and a Half: Kevin

Meet Kevin. Another fabulous coworker, he became jealous the day he heard giggling from the conference room during Cynthia's shoot. "What day am I?" he queried. "Day THIRTY ONE?" That's how he referred to himself, all day long: "Day 31." "I might as well be Day TWO BILLION, SHARONA. But that's fine. Totally fine. I mean, I didn't want to crawl like a tiger on the conference room table or anything. Nope. I see where I stand. Just dayyyyyy 31." By noon I decided to call him on his faux-desire to model for me: "You're not Day 31, Kevin! You're Day 28 and a HALF. Meet me in the conference room. Five minutes." And ten side-splitting minutes later, my bluff was called--he was totally great. I fold.

Day 28: Cynthia

Meet Cynthia, otherwise known as 'Cyn-city,' 'Ab-cynth,' and 'that hot chick who works over my cubicle wall.' This girl has subs begging for the chance to bid, and I'm not talkin' about projects. OH! It has just occurred to me that I should probably say something about her that doesn't involve her looks. Like...she used to be vegetarian. And everything she does is organic. You can tell when she's around because the scent of her 100% natural lavender hand cream wafts over the walls. I think about stealing it when she's gone because I love it so much. Cynthia is a fan of world music and goes to Reggae on the River every year. She's also a sure bet for breakfast burrito runs and she can do an impersonation of her son's squeaky pre-pubescent voice that will make you cry laughing. "Mom!" she'll whine in his voice, "That's not FUNNY!" Oh, man, Obatola. It IS.

Day 27: Korean (Grand)Mama

Meet Korean Gramma Rachel, not to be confused with Roommate Rachel or Friend Rachel. This is the only Rachel I know that makes me amazing Korean dinners in exchange for helping her daughter with classwork. This arrangement has been happily in place for the past four years, and now we are progressing to the point where she wants to teach me how to make some of her treasures. I am very excited about this. My mother was never one to teach me to cook given that she only made two things herself, so this is a first for me. I can't help but laugh that the first 'family' recipe I'm learning isn't for chocolate chip cookies or lasagna, but for kimchee and bulgoki. What a strange, strange dowry I bring. Mama Rachel also doubles as my local grandmother inasmuch as she inquires frequently as to the status of my future husband. She asked me last Wednesday how old I was, and when I told her I was 26, she gasped in horror: "Oh, I will pray harder for him!" Yes, my friends. Apparently my biological clock is ticking. Maybe that's also why she wants to teach me to cook: to catch me a man.

Day 23: Back-Tracking

Remember how nervous I was about posting the portrait of the little boy I met at the Farmer's Market, worried that his father might be super protective when it came to putting pictures of his progeny on the internet? Well, he didn't say no. Nor did he necessarily say yes. More like, he didn't care either WAY, and baby, indifference is good enough for me. Meet J. The cutest 2 and a half year old EVER until May of 2009, when Aiden catches up.

Believe it or not, I don't think he knows he's got perfect bowling form. Once we can get him to stop rolling honey bears down the lane, there is BANK to be had. Oh, and when I told him I LOVED honey ("I'm a honey girl!"), he paused for a moment and then replied, "I'm a honey boy!" Baby, you have NO idea.

I'm going to sell this picture to Vans and make some mad money. It would be a PERFECT ad. Just don't tell J's dad or he might want a cut of the profits.

Day 26: Young

This is Young, father of incubating twins Timothy and Cameron, who are currently tap-dancing on the bladder of one of my favorite people. Young's a punk, in that preachy, smart-*ss, Korean banker way. One of his favorite games is to pretend to be his wife on gmail chat and give me bad love advice. I can always tell when it's him, though, because Sara's aheckuva lot more subtle than he'll ever be. He also likes to play matchmaker, always asking me 'sly' questions like "Soooooo, if you could have ANYbody come over as your date to our Christmas dinner, who would you pick? X or Y?" Usually I tell him 'both' just to see what he can pull off. The tricky thing with Young, though? He's crafty enough to pull off ANYTHING.

Day 25: Caroll's Niece on Christmas Eve

I know you won't be able to believe it, but on top of being the MOST BEAUTIFUL LITTLE GIRL IN ALL THE LAND, she's FRENCH. So take this precious face, and make her speak in French to me all night long. And then watch me try to steal her. This is Amelie, older sister of Olivier (who everyone calls Lulu, who I SERIOUSLY wanted to make The Most Mournful PoD but unfortunately had no such category to fulfill). And if you ask her how old she is, you MAY get 8 fingers held up. Just watch. It's gonna kill you.

Day 24: the Landlord

Meet Timothy. My roommate and I love him because he is the most proper man you've ever met. Timid and old-fashioned, he answers his phone by giving his full name: "This is Timothy X." "Yes, HI, Timothy X. We're having a problem with our ceiling? Namely, it's falling down." "Oh, dear! I will have a painter come and take a look at that right away." "The painter?" "Yes, he'll paint right OVER it, good as new." I caught him this day vacuuming and performing last-minute touches on the newly rented apartment across the hall. It's apparently going to a charming couple that we're really going to like, from out of town. I can't wait to call on them for tea armed with a tray of freshly-baked pastries, just to see how they react: "Welcome to San Francisco! Would you care for a crumpet? How about a scone? Devonshire cream for the missus? Oh, no worries, Cook baked these up."

Day 23: Perhaps to Remain Unpublished

Saturday was my first 'attack a stranger' day of my Portrait of the Day series. So far I've been lucky enough to nail a friend or sister-of-a-friend or brother-of-a-friend or that-guy-who-let's-me-rent-movies. Until Saturday, when--for the first time--I approached a perfect stranger and asked to photograph their child. He was, hands-down, the most beautiful little 2 and a half year old a girl wielding a camera could ever hope to meet. His family was a great sport as I monopolized a solid fifteen minutes of their day, chatting up their little tike as I took the photos. He was ridiculously expressive for his age, and is already using the world 'similar.' That just slays me. He actually said, when passing a McDonald's, that it was 'similar to Old McDonald.' That sort of synaptic connection, combined with the verbiage to express it...and in someone so YOUNG! Man, it still blows my mind.

I wide-angled most of the shoot, leading to this kick *ss perspective of a tiny little person looking larger than life. I just emailed the web album to his father and asked for permission to post his son here--fingers crossed he says yes, because it'd kill me if you couldn't see this kid.

Day 22: Brown's Brother

After Brown told me there was a younger man-version of herself, I couldn't RESIST making him the next day's PoD. Luckily he now lives below Hedder, so getting the opportunity while at her place for dinner on Friday night was pretty easy. Shane is officially out here for college from a Place Farther South in California, and posed for half of the photographs pretending to pull something from his butt. He and Jess also did a comedic, photographic duet sequence involving a thumb-war battle in which J is slaughtered, then cries, then drinks, and then is happy again. The result can best be described as a photographic comic strip, which is an idea that is currently launching a thousand ships.

Day 21: Brown

Meet Hedder's girlfriend, Jess-Brown. We were all meeting for a happy hour drink when she shows up on her bicycle wearing a mark jacobs scarf, looking for all the world like a model who lost her lincoln towncar and was forced to rob a messenger for his transport. She was also a NATURAL in front of the camera. She is one of the PoDs I would LOVE to photograph again. She can do amazing things with nothing but a whale-watching brochure, a 'closed' sign, a bullet hole, and a wall. I've officially decided that if I ever need an outrageous photograph with an outrageous facial expression--for a card, a graphic design project, a poster, etc.,--I'm definitely calling her. Give her the location, the vision, and she'll OWN it.

Day 20: Wenders the Panda-Girl

Okay, so last blog posting of the night, I freaking PROMISE. 'Sides, I ought to go to bed ANYway, as I'm going to be running on FUMES tomorrow, AND it's Shower Day which means No More Excuses, Rona, Get Out of Bed NOW, you are absolutely disGUSting, you've pushed hygiene beyond all reasonable LIMit and you have to WORK with OTHER PEOPLE. (Which is a battle I have at least twice a week, so why BOTHER after a certain point??) ANYWAY. Moving on. Looking at me being all egocentric as usual. Let's get down to business.

BACK TO WENDY. Wendy was a really fun photo shoot despite her (super-endearing) super-shyness. I have found with other super-shy subjects that I have to provide direction: "Give me 'Contemplative'! Give me 'Tiger'! Now give me 'I want to take my clothes off and lick a peach'!" Most of my friends can work with this direction except for Wendy, who translated everything as "Give me 'Chipmunk with a Mouth Full of Acorns'!" And this is why I adore her. She ALSO said, "You're going to post a photo of me giggling, aren't you?" Like she KNOWS ME. But okay. She does. So I had to shake it up. Here's Wendy. With a mouth full of acorns.

Day 19: Sara My Favorite Professional Chef

Sko is preggo AND the best pastry chef in SF. She'll hate me for saying that but I'm going to anyway. She's about to pop with twins that I SUSPECT she may be naming after me (Rona 1 and Rona 2 is the best way to do it, I think), but she's disguising the surprise by calling them Timothy and Cameron for now. I keep her around because of one, her sarcasm ("Riiiiiiiiiight, Sharona. Rona 1 and Rona 2 it is. GREAT idea."), and two, the plethora of cooks at her fingertips. Need a dozen of the best cupcakes in the city? Call Ko, she'll get her minions right on it and you'll be smothered in icing and granache in NO time.

Day 18: Lala My Favorite UC Davis Sorority Girl

Lala. My temp, my thorn, and the reason my stomach hurts from laughing at the end of every workday. She's impossible to supervise, sassy as heck, and ridiculously proficient at any work I give her. She sings along to her ipod while filing, pours five buckets of flavored creamer into her coffee, makes me weigh myself with her every morning on the scale in the women's room ("Take off your SHOES, Ro-Ra! It's a whole POUND!"), and describes everything as 'hella gay.' Today she asked me, in the throes of despair, what one does when they don't have evening plans: "I never spend time with just me. What should I do? I have hours until bed!" You would've thought she was being drawn and quartered, so great was her angst. "Rent a chick flick and draw a bubble bath! Make yourself a nice dinner and relax with a good book!" I suggested, trying to generate some enthusiasm at what could develop into joyous, newfound independence. Instead, she just stared at me with utter distaste, as though I were speaking a foreign language: "Book?"

Man, I wish I could bottle her up and keep her.

Day 17: Stacey!

Take a good look, folks, as you will see this face again. I will be re-shooting Stacey soon--baby willing--since I lost the photo card with her pictures the very day I took them. Luckily I took a couple using the card still in my camera (which is what you see here), but it's just not the same. Somewhere out there is a VERY lucky individual who is probably in love with Stacey right now as a result of looking a hundred headshots. In fact, they're probably printing all of them out and making a huge mosaic and lighting candles at her photo-feet while chanting and rocking. Just like I do.

Day 16: Natalie

Meet Natalie. In case you didn't figure it out from the previous post, this is Deee's youngest sis and SF's most exciting new resident. She is also the BEST PERSON TO HAVE AT A BACHELORETTE PARTY, as she will be the ONLY one not puking on a sidewalk in North Beach AND she'll wake up at six the next morning to clean the wreckage of your apartment, leaving it in better condition than the day you moved in. She's nicer than Jesus like that. And also SO camera-shy, which made the shoot really very precious. And also like I was chasing her to catch her. I definitely violated her with the lens. Next time I'm going to get her loaded and make her lick a peach. She was resistant this time, for some strange reason. But I mean, come ON, what ELSE does one do at the farmer's market?

Day 16: a Sneak Peek

You get ONE CHANCE to guess who her sister is. I'd also like to point out that if *I* tried to leap like that, I'd totally bite it.