Looking for the Light...

I tagged along as Stephen took Ashlynn outside to look for some cool lighting.

Here he is taking some photos next to the garages behind Marion’s building...

...and here are the results.

Ashlynn said it was favorite shoot so far as not only could she wear her own clothes, she loved the make-up and relaxed feel of the shoot.

Test Shoot in Palo Alto...

Like in any business, networking plays a big role in modelling and led to Ashlynn’s first shoot in the US. After Ashlynn posted a photo on Instagram taken in my parent’s garden and tagged the location, she was contacted by one of her followers, an editor of an online sustainable fashion magazine, about doing a test shoot. Luckily, the timing worked out and the location was nearby at the apartment of Marion Madeleine, a Parisian make-up artist who did a wonderful job.

Photographer Stephen Sun didn’t mind me taking a few behind-the-scenes photos, although for the most part I left them alone and chatted with Marion. Here he is taking some shots in the hallway of the early 20th century building...

...and here is the result.

In the past he’s had to move Marion’s furniture to access her windows, so he was thrilled that the apartment across the hall was empty and unlocked and had lots of great natural light.

Hanging out with Darlene...

After breakfast the next day, Darlene and I went for a nice walk at a nearby park. Saw some turtles and these cool trees.

Also took a walk around the neighborhood with Darlene’s sweet grandkids and then went into downtown for a Thai lunch with Mike.

Extremely impressed with the Italian outdoor kitchen that they installed since my last visit...

 ...and their beautiful garden.

I offered to take the train back to my parent’s, but they insisted on driving me back. Luckily the timing worked out for them to join us for a Vietnamese dinner. So happy to have had the chance to spend some time together.

More Views...

After visiting the Marine Mammal Center, we headed to Sausalito to meet up with Darlene and Mike for dinner. Along the way we saw one of the hills that we had hiked up two days prior...

...and the Golden Gate Bridge yet again due to a detour because of a closed tunnel. Susan and Tenaya also joined us for a pizza dinner. Then I went home with Darlene and Mike for an overnight stay and Jimmy and Ashlynn went for a run in the city.

Their run turned into Ashlynn’s longest ever as they ran their own half marathon all across San Francisco. Clearly this photo shows that not all of where they ran was open to the public (they were in fact breaking out of an area after making a wrong turn).

Happy Seals, Happy Ashlynn...

As you can see, even when the volunteers feed the seals, they use the wooden boards to keep their distance from these social mammals. In other pools, the seals are tube fed and learn to get in and out of shallow water. In this section, the seals eat fish, but might need their throats massaged to get them to swallow.

Eventually the seals graduate to a deep pool where volunteers throw whole fish in the water. It was fascinating seeing the different stages of rehabilation.

While we all enjoyed the visit, Ashlynn was especially happy.

Lots of Cute Elephant Seals...

That day there were 82 elephant seals on-site. These babies had been separated from their mothers and were at risk of death without human intervention. The center tries to minimize the contact between humans and mammals so that the animals won’t decide that life with humans is easier and thus preferable. The seals will be reintroduced to the wild as soon as they are healthy enough.

The strange boxes on the seals’ heads will fall off after a few months and allows the volunteers to keep track easily of the seals.

Marine Mammal Center...

Ashlynn was absolutely thrilled to finally get to go to the Marine Mammal Center, a rescue and rehabilitation center for mostly seals and sea lions, as she has wanted to visit for years. There were 194 patients in total in several buildings on the day we visited.

We booked a tour of the facilities which started with an explanation of how the center rescues the seals. When the tour guide asked for two volunteers, Ashlynn and Tenaya didn’t hesitate. Here they are helping to demonstrate how rescuers use wooden boards to help scoot the wayward seals into a crate for transport to the center.