H is for Hazy

Haze for days

Hi, welcome back!

We’re almost at the end of the year, and part of me wonders where this year went. A lot of days blend together for me, the year is kind of a blur. I don’t forget what day it is, and I know that time is progressing normally, but when I look back at pictures from only a year ago, and they feel like a lifetime ago. It’s the strangest feeling, and it’s all kind of hazy.

This week’s pictures are all about the kind of hazy aesthetic, that mix of forgetfulness and lucidity. A lot of the photos are during golden hour, but that’s not exactly the point, I think that’s just the most common time of day to find this aesthetic. With that, let’s jump right in

September 2019. Viansa Winery (Sonoma, CA)

All pictures have some kind of story, but to me this picture really screams its story. This was at Lily and Kevin’s wedding last year. Maybe an hour before the wedding was supposed to start, a barn across the street from their wedding venue caught on fire, so their venue closed per protocol. Luckily the fire was put out quickly, but their venue stayed closed.

Somehow they were able to get permission to hold their ceremony at another venue down the road and up the hill (so less of a fire risk), but the process of getting to the right venue was a huge source of confusion. Some guests got texts, but I did not. I ended up pulling over to the side of the road near the original venue and chatting with other confused people in suits and dresses off the side of the road. Eventually we got the name of the new venue and caravanned over, catching the last half of the ceremony.

I could barely hear what they were saying (there was no sound system set up), everybody was just standing on the side a breezy hill. I looked to my left, and caught this picture, right at golden hour, with a beautiful sunset through the haze hills. It’s easy for me to forget about the wedding, sometimes things are all a hazy blur in my memories, but then seeing a picture like this, the whole experience is instantly clear in my mind. The aesthetics of this photo match that feeling for me too.

January 2020. Carmel Beach (Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA)

I switched jobs in January of this year and took a week between to unwind. During that week, I took a small one-night trip on my own down to Monterey and on the way back, I stopped at Carmel Beach. It was the middle of a bright day, and I loved looking over and seeing the hazy mist or fog on this beach. Sometimes I forget I took this trip, but I’m really glad I did, traveling solo can be so relaxing.

March 2020. Culver Plunge (Culver City, CA)

I went back to Culver City early in March to help with my dad with some stuff. This photo was taken March 2, that trip is the last time I got on a plane. In the mornings, I’d walk over to the Culver City Municipal Plunge, the city’s public pool, and swim. The mist rising above the pool in the sun looked amazing, so I took this photo. The light poking through looks like how it feels for me to remember that I even took this trip.

November 2020. California St. (San Francisco, CA)

I took this photo on an errand a few weeks ago, I remember crossing the street and just being wowed at the light. Since this photo was more recent, I don’t have that same mental distance from it as the others this week. I really like the haze in the background and the illuminated tree leaves in the foreground, it just has such a warm feeling, a reminder that there are breaks in what feels like months of monotony.

Thanks for reading and we’ll see you next week!

XOXO,
Margs