MEF Photography Blog! bio picture
  • Hello, friend! :D

    Welcome, welcome! That's me over there. < -- I'm Molly, a San Francisco Bay Area-based photographer. I adore weddings, families and portraits, but my cat, food and house get a lot of my attention, too! I'm married to my very best friend, and we sing to each other a lot. I'm a mid-century modern home dweller. I'm always working, working, working to be better at life (a never-ending battle!). I get a kick out of simplicity, tea, bright colors, ice cream, cooking, sarcasm and books -- among other things. I love me some good, authentic, giggly love. And I love making people feel lovely in the midst of their good, authentic, giggly love. And if that's your thing, too, I'd love nothing more than to give you some good, authentic, giggly love photos. :)

                   

Micah | Newborn Photographer | Roseville, CA

If you can believe it, this was one of the very first sessions I ever shot, what now seems like decades ago (though not quite!).  My friends had just had a baby, and I basically muscled my way into his nursery to sate my desire to photograph a newborn.  And I was lucky for it.

It’s amazing how much I still love these images even all this time later — not to mention how much Micah has changed!  The first few weeks of a new baby’s life are so precious, and so fleeting.  Everyone will tell you how quickly they change; in the minutes, hours and days after birth, they begin to unfold — both physically, and in their tiny personalities.  I am always so honored to spend a warm morning documenting this sweet and gentle stage, because it’s over before you know it, and it’s a joy to look back at.

On the other hand, my editing style at the time was not something I enjoyed seeing again.  In fact I don’t even want to make you suffer them — talk about high contrast!  Yikes.  But I think it’s important to be able to admit to falling short, and to embrace personal and professional growth, so I decided these photos deserved an update more befitting of their softness and of my current style (and, let’s face it, increased vision and photoshop competence!).  I like the result so much that I thought I would post the new and improved versions.  I’m sure Mom Hillary + Dad Travis will get a kick out of seeing them again, too — y’know, since Micah is about to go away to college (or at least it seems like it!). :)




Maybe, just maybe, my most favorite newborn shot ever. :)






Always on the hunt for new babies to photograph! ;)

March 2011 Goals

Feb '11 Goals

Welcome to some of my Instagram February!  My favorite part?  Those homemade pickles, bottom left.  Yum!

I had a rough goal month (meaning I didn’t push myself to do as much as I should have), so let’s rally for March.  Should be fun. ;)

March Goals (February holdovers in italics):

  • Attend my first local photographers’ meeting– I’m nervous about this! I’ve never been a good mingler
  • Start and finish the planning / execution for a styled shoot to happen in the beginning of April — The idea for this was my baby, but I’m collaborating with some really awesome people
  • Repaint our coffee table and hang a shelf
  • Taxes!  Boo!
  • Do something touristy and fun in San Francisco with Glen
  • Blog one back session per week — I’m a terrible blogger
  • Plant my herb garden
  • End o’ the year accounting — Appointment with my bookkeeper was rescheduled to this week
  • Shoot a little film this month — My film camera accidentally got packed!  The battery is also dead, apparently
  • Take new photos of Glen and myself

Completed February Goals:

  • Write my one line a day — Totally doable.  Loved challenging myself to boil everything down into one line, too.
  • Finish unpacking all remaining boxes
  • Make bagels from scratch (inspired by Kathryn)
  • Find a solution for our bed (which is currently and unaccetably a mattress on the floor, and I am neither a college student nor a teenage boy — no offense to either)

February 2011 Goals

One Line A Day Journal | Feb '11 Goals

I’ve never been good at journaling.  Personal writing is a roadblock for me — always has been.  I’m too critical, too embarrassed to lay bare whole scenes of my life on paper.  Maybe it’s my tendency toward melodramatics, or my over-expectation of my own literary abilities, but I rarely feel that what I write is good enough or accurate enough.  Whenever I string together more than a couple of meaningful sentences, my immediate reaction is to crumple the paper and tuck it away in the safety of a garbage pail.

But so many memories are wasted by this fear, lost to this fear that does little but preserve some of my own machismo (femismo?).  And I’m kind of tired of that.  But does that fatigue translate into a sudden ability to sit at a pad of paper and write out my deepest thoughts?  Heck no!  I’ve been working on this for 45 minutes!  However it did get me thinking about goals, and more importantly about knowing and recognizing my own limitations and finding ways to work with them instead of setting myself up for failure.  Dreaming big is one thing (and a very good thing), but thinking I can run a marathon and actually running it are not one in the same.

I’m at the bottom of the canyon, my ultimate goal is at the top.  Oh, and there’s no trail.  Oh, and I can’t climb rocks. So break it down.  Build a ladder to climb the cliff.

My first ladder?  That book up there (which is available at one of the deadliest of stores: Paper Source – One Line A Day Journal).  I’m starting small with one line a day.  I can do one line.

What’s your ladder?

February Goals (December holdovers in italics):

  • Write my one line a day
  • Do something touristy and fun in San Francisco with Glen
  • Blog one back session per week
  • Finish unpacking all remaining boxes (or, find a better place to hide them ;)
  • Make bagels from scratch (inspired by Kathryn)
  • Plant my herb garden
  • Find a solution for our bed (which is currently and unaccetably a mattress on the floor, and I am neither a college student nor a teenage boy — no offense to either)
  • End o’ the year accounting — Appointment with my bookkeeper is next week!
  • Shoot a little film this month — My film camera accidentally got packed!  The battery is also dead, apparently.
  • Update my winter wardrobe — At this point, more than anything else this means, “convince myself to spend some money on new clothes.”  Also, it’s at least 60º here every day. “Winter” is a misnomer.  Not that I’m complaining. :)
  • Take new photos of Glen and myself

Completed December Goals:

  • Finish Christmas shopping within the first week
  • Institute a new email organization system (well, it’s more just an improvement on the current setup)
  • Cook Glen Brussels Sprouts (He asked for them!  I think I’ll try this recipe.)
  • Speaking of cooking… start to eat down all the food in our cupboards (to avoid trashing or moving it) — Get ready for some weird dinners!
  • Sell some stuff and throw some junk away so we don’t have to move it!
  • MOVE
  • Set up our new banking when we get to California
  • Throw our “Bon Voyage Connecticut” party
  • Celebrate Hanukkah with lovely friends before we leave
  • Celebrate Christmas with my family once we arrive (this is Glen’s first not-with-his-family Christmas, so it must be great!)
  • Organize my paperwork (ugh) — Can you tell I’m STILL avoiding this one?

Recipe: Gingered Kale + Tofu

My Internet is back!  To celebrate, let’s share a recipe. :)

I am temporarily taking a medication that has a lot of really awful potential side effects, including but not limited to: psychosis, suicidal thoughts, increased brain pressure, liver and kidney failure, bone and muscle damage, hearing and night vision loss — the list goes on.  Thankfully, I have suffered none of these (obviously in some cases, I hope!).  However the one side effect that I am actually having the pleasure of experiencing is increased lipid levels.  I have high cholesterol.  Like, scary high.  Like, higher than any other member of my family.

I’m informed that the problem should rectify itself after I stop taking these pills in about a month.  But my doc suggested I modify my diet for the next six months or so to help the process along.  Her suggestions?  Reduced animal fats and carbs, which is basically how I eat anyway — except for y’know, the ice cream.  So with few exceptions, I’m a low-fat vegetarian now, which is fine.  The no carb thing?  I find that much more difficult and am sort of ignoring that suggestion.  What can I say… I like muesli.

Anyway, this recipe was a success on the road to no animal fats, so I thought I’d share it.  It has great flavor and baking / broiling the tofu gives good texture.  Plus, it has caused me to fall head over heels in love with kale.  I’d never eaten it before; who knew?  Glen is perhaps less in love, but he’ll come around. :)

Vegetairan Recipe: Gingery Kale and Tofu

Gingered Kale + Tofu

As a side note, next time I make this I might saute some diced red bell pepper in the pan before adding the kale, as I think it would add a little sweetness and nice pops of color, too.  Try it!

Serves 4

1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup dry sherry or broth
1/4 cup rice vinegar or white vinegar
3 tbsp brown sugar
2 cakes firm tofu, cut into 1-inch squares
2 tbsp peanut oil
6-12 cups kale, de-stemmed and coarsely chopped (this is a huge range; I think I used 2 bunches)
3 tbsp ginger root, peeled and minced
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
pinch red pepper flakes

Bring soy sauce, sherry, rice vinegar and sugar to a boil in a medium saucepan.  Simmer 1 minute and remove from heat.

Place tofu squares in a single layer in an ovenproof pan.  Pour marinade over tofu and set aside for 10 minutes (or more; I think I left mine for an hour or so), turning squares occasionally.  Drain, reserving remaining marinade, then sprinkle tofu with peanut oil.  Broil for 4 minutes, then turn squares over.  Continue broiling until tofu is golden brown, another 3-4 minutes.  Alternatively, bake in a 425º oven for 30 minutes, then rotate the sheet if necessary, and bake for 15 minutes more, or until golden.

Meanwhile, heat 2 tbsp oil in a large frypan over high heat and saute kale and ginger until kale wilts, stirring constantly.  Add lime juice, cilantro and red pepper and remove from heat.

When tofu is browned, gently toss with cooked kale and as much reserved marinade as desired.  Serve over hot rice.

Relocation: Complete… Sort of.

Hello, everybody and welcome to 2011! I hope you all had a lovely Christmas and are so far passing a wonderful new year!

I had an outstandanding holiday, though my introduction to the new year was, shall we say, mellow. Alright, I was asleep. Hey, I’d moved the day before! I was ready for bed by about 8 p.m. ;)

But this post isn’t about my Christmas. No, this is just a quick get-to-know-you post, because I’m typing it on my phone (and I don’t know about you, but I don’t love typing long musings on a teeny keyboard — who does?). My phone, you say? Yeah, I’ll get to that.

Glen and I have successfully relocated to the Bay Area! Yes! Overall, the transition has been pretty painless, which is a welcome surprise — who expects to say that about a cross-country move, right? Currently, we’re living in a gorgeous temporary place south of San Francisco while we find a more permanent living arrangement. We’ve narrowed down the city neighborhoods in which we’d like to reside — there are three or four in particular that we love. Over the next few weeks, while Glen’s settling in to his new job, it is my responsibility to locate our new home. I’m a bit daunted, but I’m at least equally motivated, becaaaaause…

We have no Internet.

I’ll give that a minute to sink in and thank you for your pity.

Our circumstances are such that signing up for Internet service isn’t possible, nor is it advisable to lock ourselves into a contract with a cell phone company for one of those portable connection doohickeys. We briefly hitched a ride on a local open network until whoever was on the other end of it hijacked 100% of our cell phone data plans in two days. I STILL don’t know how that’s possible, but I’ll be loath to “borrow” unsecured Internet from strangers in the future! Basically, there are no good options for us in the short term, except to find some new digs. My first goal for the year. :)

So, at least for now, I’ll be working completely via iPhone. Please forgive me if it takes some extra time to return emails — these little keys sure are bedeviling!

Happy January!