Pauma Valley

Driving to the second field trip proved to be as troublesome as the first. Not only did we get lost, yet again, but we had to stop and ask for directions. There's a whole new level of getting lost with a perfectly functioning TomTom in your possession, but in our defense we didn't use the thing until it was already too late—and even then, we had some difficulties with the address. Winding up the path on a mountain didn’t seem fitting when we were going to a farm, so we turned back around… and that’s when we saw it.

Outside, a couple of our fellow classmates seemed as confused as we were. A quick “Is this the right place?” was answered by mirrored shrugs and incomprehensible grunts. As a group, we wandered into the premises until we stumbled on a lecture that was seemingly waiting for us. With perfectly empty seats at the front, Cameron and I settled down for the lecture. After reading the articles assigned, I was surprised to hear that organic food was the most rapidly growing segment of American food industry. I had never really paused to think about it, but the lecture enlightened me even further. Before the flood of information came, I’d never stopped to think about what I put in my body, or the process behind it—nor did I ever ponder the hardships of farming. Movies always make it look so easy: feed the animals, water the plants, harvest and you’re done. Boy was I wrong.
After the lecture, we drifted away from the screen and presentation area to explore the actual farm. Now I hadn’t arrived at the farm hungry, but I left that lecture with the impending feeling that my insides would devour themselves if I didn’t immediately offer it another sacrifice. Thankfully, our guide was kind enough to lead the group to edibles, where everyone pretty much attacked what they could. With a mob around the fresh food, I wandered off towards the fences and tools off to the corners of the farm.



The stretch of land large, at least to a city girl like me, and we wandered fairly far into the farm—well, I did. I followed a stretch of fence that I found to be beautiful, regardless of the worn feel of the wood. Blocking off an opening behind me was a brilliantly yellow strip of caution tape, which was a great contrast to the wood and pavement behind it. Beyond the thin blockade, cars whizzed by with curious passengers that couldn’t help but gawk at the group of students scourging the farm behind me.


The further away I stayed from the group, the more my hunger died, which I was horribly grateful for, but even so by the end of the day I was still craving for food. Cameron and I both wanted a quick fix, just some fast food to quench our hungers, so we hit the road in search of a good stop..
... but before we left, he absolutely insisted on lingering behind while our classmates sank into their cars and gradually slipped away to take the perfect picture. We stood in the looming cold of night while he angled his camera, adjusted his tripod and went through a quirky interaction with his tool of the trade. I won't go into detail, but it got creepy after a while.

Edward Burtynsky

Artist Edward Burtynsky - Photography

Photographing landscape has always seemed... difficult, to me. I've always thought it hard to capture the detail in such a large amount of space but still keep a focal point. The more I think about it, the more impossible it seems, but somehow Burtynsky manages to take snapshots of time from the landscapes he visits that are both beautiful and interesting. While watching the TV, I never grew bored of looking at the same picture for several minutes as he spoke about his process and goals. The images were downright breathtaking; my favorite was the photograph angled down a mine where every ridge was visible to the eye.
I also admire that he opened up his own printing shop that's opened to the public, through which he can offer his services and aid to others while developing desired images for himself.

Playing with onOne

Food Choices

I had a banana for breakfast... and that's about it. My schedule didn't give much leeway to enjoy any real sustenance! As for the banana, it was bought at Costco and probably grown in a grove somewhere far away. I grabbed it because it was a convenient thing to eat on my way out of the house; other than that, a banana doesn't hold any sort of importance to me. I wasn't 'driven' to eat it, I just grabbed what was available.
The fact that I don't eat the proper three meals a day will probably come back to bite me in the ass one day. I try to eat as healthy as possible, but the occasional junk food proves to be much more alluring than a fruit or designated meal. Oh well.

Tree of Life - First and Second out-of-class Fieldtrip

Getting up at seven o'clock in the morning has never been more excruciating then after a full night of video games and mindless chatter with friends. I was in a complete daze when I got up to get ready, and I managed to forget not only my cell phone but my camera--which required two trips back to the house before I got far.

Cameron and I carpooled up to the Tree of Life Nursery; I'm glad he drove because I had no idea where it was. We used a TomTom to guide us--it probably wasn't an actual Tom Tom now that I think about it, but I'm so accustomed to calling Navigation systems TomToms that it's hard to think of them as anything else--and it led us up the correct path without ever talking, which was disappointing in its own juvenile way. I was obscurely tired, even after a Red Bull, a good thing for Cameron because I never got the chance to fiddle with, and probably break, the gadgets in his new car.


We initially missed the entrance to the Nursery, it was my fault because I had the TomTom in my possession, but I made it sound like the driver's fault when I told him to make a U-turn. It was an illegal one, mind you, but we won't go into that. When we pulled into the parking lot we made the mistake of assuming we were early because not many other cars were in the immediate area. We wandered mindlessly into an area neither one of us found familiar, and while Cameron tried to charm some information out of a woman that worked there I studied the few flower pots that riddled the ground. We were definitely in the right area.


After briefly bumping into our professor, we ventured further into a path that led to a tree getting assaulted by a mob of hungry hummingbirds. It took me a moment to adjust my eyes to their movement as they darted back and forth in their attack, but Nikki and Andy seemed to have no trouble following them with their cameras. Speaking of which, I was never able to check out a proper camera from school so I ended up bringing my own digital one. I felt absolutely ridiculous standing next to the three of them with their fancy cameras, like I was the only girl at school without the new barbie doll-- or the only boy without the new Nintendo DS game. The latter was probably closer; I hate barbie dolls.

I followed them when they abandoned the attacked tree for a larger one off to the left, but I broke off from the pack soon after to follow the trail further North. I didn't see anyone in the area I ventured into, but signs warned me of unsteady cliffs and rattlesnakes as I slid in further.

I found a small grove to the right with a fallen pipe subtly pointing the way in; there, an old rusty gate along with the help of barbed wire cut off a section away from the rest of the trail. I figured the gate was to keep people out, but it hung ajar so I dared to pass its invisible blockade. More grass greeted me on the other side, along with trees and bushes that rattled with wildlife.

As I tried to capture the beauty of the nature around me with my camera, a persistent shuffle in the bushes followed me. I spun around several times to catch the culprit in the act, but every time I was too late. It continued to rattle against the branches and fallen leaves, only quieting when I turned in its direction, and although I was always poised with my camera in hand I never did find out the identity of my stalker. I did get some good pictures, though.

I went further down the path until it cut off at one of the cliffs that I had been warned about earlier, and even though there was an amazing tree with branches stretching down the short fall I didn't approach the edge any further. Instead I turned to go back with worry that I might have missed the lecture by the famous basket-weaver Abe Sanchez.

Thankfully, I hadn't. I joined my classmates inside a hut to listen to Mr. Sanchez as he went into detail about basket-weaving, its history, purpose, and importance. I was a bit disappointed that he never demonstrated the art of basket-weaving in front of us, but it was still very interesting to hear about the different plants used to make the baskets so sturdy and beautiful at the same time. After the lecture we dispersed one by one, retreating back to our cars. I had had my own little adventure and I left satisfied with the evidence of my journey inside my little camera.

Mark Dion

Mark Dion - Tree Garden

Five years on a single project sounds like a lot to me, but after watching the process of his actions I understand that any less and his project might have not worked out. Moving the tree in exactly the correct position and bringing out the bright green through so much effort is truly remarkable. He definitely succeeded in emphasizing nature as a process, a long and grueling process, that takes not only time but effort to blossom. The concept of a living artwork is difficult for me to connect with, as my work revolves more around drawing directly onto the computer or a piece of paper, but I can see the appeal behind his work. Consequently, his work of art changes over time, a 'process' as he put it, so it really does change-- which is what he seemed to want when it came to this particular piece, because he mentioned wanting his audience to have a different experience every time they walked in through the doors. I assume that is exactly what happens!

A Lake of Pure Sunshine

Scott Calhoun - "A Lake of Pure Sunshine"

Scott Calhoun's blog was surprisingly fun to read; his writing was personal, direct, yet held the specific imagery needed to paint a picture in my head. It did not feel like I was reading about his adventures, but instead I was listening to him as he told me about his experiences. Most of the time, I had no idea what he was talking about when he went into detail about the poppies, but I could still see them. His storytelling was enough to draw me in, even though initially I had no interest in poppy flowers or the location for the best pictures of them. The humor was definitely a plus, it drew me in and compelled me to continue reading.

The pictures he took did a great job of aiding his narrative, as well. He chose just the right image to help bring his words to life, while at the same time bringing the picture to life by his words. It was an interesting experience to read his writing!