heidi, tyra, gisele - and me. NOT!

hey, it's my 800th post! whee! okay, i'm calm.

my dear friend winnie, who's quite the fabulous photographer, put out a call via twitter and facebook late last week, looking for someone to be her model for photography class on saturday. i'd just checked with the hub to see what was up for the weekend, and upon learning that he was planning on heading up to big bear to see g-wan and help her get ready for the winter, i shot winnie an e-mail to see if she still needed help.

i knew i was in for a super fun saturday when she replied that the position was still open. yay for me! and even better, the class was going on a field trip to the getty center for the day. i'd only been there once before, probably a good five years ago, so i was excited. plus, we had plans to meet up with lilcee later that afternoon for something amazingly spectacular, but that's post #801. heh.

despite the fact that it was a saturday, i still hit some traffic on the freeway on my way to the west side. bleh. and yet, i managed to arrive at the getty on time - we decided to meet an hour before class started so we could grab lunch and chat a bit.

amongst all the beauty that surrounded me, i was, as always, thinking of my tummy first.

winnie and i managed to find each other, and after hello hugs we made our way down to the cafe, where we found no shortage of choices for our meal. there were stations that offered just about everything you could possibly want, like deli sandwiches, pasta, mexican, salads, and the grill. we ended up going with the latter - a cheeseburger for me, portobello mushroom sandwich and sweet potato fries for winnie. i'm so not creative, but it sounded good.

as soon as we were finished, it was time for winnie to meet up with her class. we found them down below, near the entrance to the gardens.

the instructor spent a few minutes discussing the light that shone through the top of this fountain, while i listened halfheartedly and looked around.

some of the other students in the class had some serious equipment. this isn't even as out there as a few of the other cameras and paparazzi-type lenses i saw, but it's the only one i could get a shot of.

there was also some very interesting and amusing peoplewatching to be done. i was so thrown off by the sight of this chick sauntering across the dirt, clad in high heels, a clubbin' dress, and a parasol (broken, too, as pointed out later by winnie) that i almost missed taking a picture of her. heh.

we were released to walk through the rest of the garden area and shoot in various settings for lighting.

it was hot. like, it was at least high-80s. i was hoping for a breeze of some sort, but it wasn't happening. the makeup i'd so carefully applied that morning, including actual foundation (for the first time in, like, ages), was melting off as i went into sweaty monkey mode. ugh. winnie put her hair up into a ponytail and we decided to make our way into the building for some air conditioning and shade.

i'm really stupid when it comes to art. i simply don't have the appreciation for it that so many others do. i just find a lot of it really comical. i guess that's what happens when you don't go to college, eh?

i'm such an asshole. i was totally taking pictures as i peoplewatched, but i tried to be super stealth about it. as we gathered to take an architectural tour with the rest of the class, i was completely distracted by this guy's shirt.

we trudged along with the rest of the group as the guide droned on about the designer of the getty, his vision, what inspired him, the mea.....zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. well, at least i might have fallen asleep if it weren't so freaking hot.

remember the fountain at the beginning of the class? this is the top, where the sun shines through the hole in the top.

i was already melting from the direct sunlight, but i felt even warmer looking at this lady, dressed in black from head to toe. yikes.

the usual self-portrait, with the typically goofy ass look on my face.

winnie said this chick in her class is an actress who says she has a regular role on a soap. she couldn't remember which one, but i checked her out and didn't recognize her. i was pretty entertained by her open-toed booties, though. seeing a pair in person only confirms to me that those are some of the dumbest footwear on the planet.

i never would've thought of it, but the getty is a magnet for wannabe models - we saw girls like this everywhere we went, posing for anyone with a camera. this particular one worked it like a pro, and then we overheard her squeal "oh mah gah, this is so fun! i've never done this before!" [eyeroll]

more super silly footwear. winnie and i couldn't get over these - they were like those awful toe socks, only with a rubber sole. good lawd.

after i saw the family room, an area designed to teach little ones about art and offer some hands-on exhibits, i decided that the wan family would need to take a trip out to the getty sometime soon. plus, there are huge lawn areas that are perfect for laying out a blanket and enjoying a picnic together. admission is free, aside from parking, and it would make for a really nice outing.

winnie had pointed out this chick to me in the cafe earlier, and she cracked up when i remarked "oh, wow! i guess i didn't see her because she's camouflaged." i'm such a dork, but i make me laugh.

look! there she is again!

looking across the hills, i recognized this gorgeous private school campus from one of the many drives the hub and i have taken through the area. but i couldn't for the life of me remember what school it was. winnie thought it was loyola high, but it doesn't look like it. either way, it's awesome.

i loved the contrast of the clear sky against the bright stone that comprises the exterior of the buildings. so pretty!

winnie posed for me as she helped me learn a bit more about the settings on my camera and how they affect the shots i take. i still suck, but at least i'm a little more informed. heh.

later, she struck a pose, ANTM-style, as we giggled at the models again. and again.

i don't remember whose idea it was to ask the instructor to take a picture of us, but i'm glad we did. i did the actual asking, after winnie muttered "yeah, we know you get paid tons of money to teach this class, but could you take a picture of me and my friend?" ha! but he was more than willing to do it. "i'm an actual photographer, you know." really? i'd never have guessed.

the last part of class took us through the current photography exhibit.

more proof of my assholishness: i approached that chick with those toe sock shoe thingies and asked her with a perfectly straight face where she bought them. she obviously gets asked a lot, because she lit up and had a detailed answer that she reeled off excitedly. like, she was really into these shoes. yup.

outside, i asked winnie to take a picture of me with my camera, but we learned that "all look same" does NOT apply to cameras. the differences between her canon and my nikon were made obvious as she found that changing the settings wasn't as easy or user-friendly as she was used to. oh, well. as she flipped through the shots she'd taken of me, i commented that my smile is pretty consistent in pictures. she laughed as she confirmed that there were probably 100+ identical photos of me, only with different backgrounds. heh. i guess that smile that i practiced in front of the mirror all through high school is pretty permanent.

and, more proof of my 10-year-old sense of humor - i totally giggled at this sculpture. and promptly took a picture with my phone and sent it over to the teen. oy vey.

class dismissed! we headed back to the tram to get back to the parking structure and make our way to culver city for the next stop on our girly saturday itinerary.

i was happy to see that traffic on the dreaded 405 freeway didn't look too bad.

ah, but i was so wrong. it took a solid half-hour to get where we were going - only 8 miles away. gah! but we finally arrived...and here's a sneak peek at what's coming in tomorrow's post.

can you tell what it is, around the corner and peeking above that bush? super duper fun post ahead! just wait. oh, just you wait!