Art and Wine

Taste outstanding wines from Longboard Vineyards on January 14 & 15 from 11-4

during Wine Road's Winter Wineland event and visit with me... 

I will have framed and unframed prints for sale along with other goodies all featuring the beauty that is the west county.. wine and horses, with a little something extra too.

The best part, a portion of proceeds will benefit THREE outstanding non-profits. I'll be announcing the charities and hightlighting each one in the weeks preceding the show.

for now... I wish you all a happy and bright holiday season...

cheers,

joy

Longboard Vineyards

Quickly, bring me a beaker of wine, so that I may wet my mind and say something clever.  ~Aristophanes


Wine, music, merriment and a few photos... from Longboard Vineyards Big Kahuna event in Healdsburg, Ca. An amazing evening of perfect wine, fabulous food, and wonderful people... here are, but a few, of my favorites from the event.


cheers,
joy

Owner and Winegrower Oded Shakked and the lovely Mellisa Dillon

glorious grapes and amazing views

The Roaring Twenties

Photographing parties is one of my most favorite things to do.. add to that a 1920’s theme, a vineyard, and bocce ball... well that is just pure bliss!

Tiana’s birthday was a magical event and I am honored to have been asked to photograph for her special day.

The afternoon started with a picnic and champagne tasting at Iron Horse Vineyards and the evening ended with cocktails and bocce ball at the Underwood in Graton.
Here are a few, select photos from my time with Tiana and her loving and fabulous friends and family.

Cheers to Tiana and her magical birthday experience!

xo
joy

West County Herb Company

While strolling thru my favorite weekly farmers market in the beautiful west county, I took a turn and wandered into the West County Herb Company!

A beautiful apothecary full of delicious smells and friendly smiles. They offer handcrafted wares including; herbal medicines, body care, aromatherapy products, soaps, and candles. Fantastic products made by the talented herbalists and craftspeople of  Northern California. It is a gem! I highly recommend visiting when you find yourself lost in Occidental. Which is also highly recommended, getting lost in Occidental that is!

cheers,
joy

You can find West County Herb Company at 3641 Main Street, Occidental, CA
and on the web at www.westcountyherb.com

a grand passion

"Riding a horse is not a gentle hobby, to be picked up and laid down like a game of Solitaire. It is a grand passion"

~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

You can visit Ernie, pictured above, and the 12 other beautiful horses of Icssoma Farm.
For more information visit the Well Trained Horses website and Icssoma Farm blog.

For more photography visit joyhamel.com

cheers!
joy

Ocean Spires & the words of Chase Jarvis

ocean spire joy hamel 2011

I just read the inspirational words of Chase Jarvis (his recent blog post is FANTASTIC, go read it now) Its time to leave the status quo behind!

"This is not a fluff piece. This is truth: there are a bazillion photographers in the safe little ‘status quo’ bubble that will keep the status quo quietly marching along. So many that, in fact, it will be just fine without you.

Which is precisely why you should leave it behind."

~The Status Quo Will Do Just Fine Without You by Chase Jarvis

following that gypsy spirit again...

I decided almost exactly one year ago, that I was going to change my life. I quit my well paying, some what stable (and utterly hopeless) job, left the house I had lived in for 5 years and still owned, to follow my gypsy spirit to where it needed to be... Northern California.

YES! I am completely crazy!

I left a job, during one of the worst job markets I’ve seen in my adult life
and
left a house for sale in one of the worst housing markets I’ve seen in my adult life.
I did it all to find epic bliss and finally start living life on my own terms.

The decision to leave the midwest had been lingering in my soul for years... I left California in 1999 and I’ve been trying to get back ever since. The timing was never right... there was the house, the job, the family.. blah blah blah...

So here I go, journeying into the woods, getting lost, and finding my own way out (again!). The last year has been emotional. I've felt the worst depression of my life and found pure happiness. Maybe there will be a book, a few short essays, or just a visual discovery of my journey from one extreme to another... my life.. a work in progress

Time to be myself, bye bye status quo!! It’s not you, it’s me. I have been trying to live unconventionally in a conventional world for years. Watch me fall down and get back up. I will share every part of the journey with you as I build myself and my business (both I have been working on for years). It seems that a shift in geographical location is just what my spirit had in mind.

My first challenge. Acknowledging my own worth.

I hope you will feel inspired to share your stories of transformation with me, bits and pieces via comments, or privately via email. Know this, you are not alone and with transformation comes renewed life.

Cheers! To the journey!
joy