This Red Bat is always ready to pitch in with the cameras for the Homeless Services Center. I had the opportunity to shoot portraits for them about a year ago, and it was wonderful to have the chance to help out with their biggest annual event: the Soupline Supper and Benefit Auction, a fabulously tasty fundraiser, held in April (yeah, I know, that was a long time ago!) at the Cocoanut Grove. This year, the event raised over $60,000, money that will go towards providing meals, transitional and emergency services, and new programs for the homeless. The Homeless Services Center also introduced their new Executive Director, Monica Martinez, who has lots of energy and great ideas.

At the Soupline Supper, guests carrying plastic trays collected little cups of soup from a line of community leaders dispensing yumminess of all kinds from giant pots. There were also bread, salad, and desserts, plus a silent auction and a raffle. The room was packed, and I saw people I know from various aspects of Santa Cruz life, including my grandparents and our neighbors and some former UCSC colleagues.

Shooting this event was really fun, though I did wonder why so many people gave me funny looks once the desserts started coming out. Turned out I’d gotten chocolate sauce all over my face and neck when I’d sampled a cookie while taking pictures in the kitchen. People thought I had been injured somehow; chocolate looks a lot like dried blood. I am laughing about this now but at the time it was quite embarrassing to discover that I’d spent over an hour walking around looking like I’d fallen down the front stairs.

I share this with you to let you know that it’s not a good idea to eat while you’re holding a camera. Ever since that day, when I am offered food while shooting, I put the camera down before I start eating. But if you are a photographer who is trying to produce looks of confusion and curiosity in your subjects, smearing reddish-brown stuff all over your person before you shoot is a reliable method.

Despite my discomfiture, I got a lot of photos I was very happy with. Here are just a few of them. There are lots more, and you can see them by visiting redbatprints.com, our gallery site.

Congratulations to the Homeless Services Center and the amazing Stacey Plant for organizing an extraordinarily successful and delicious fundraiser!

Back in January, Crystal Birns asked the Red Bats to photograph her artwork before she sold it at a show at Vino Cruz- a show called Painting the Bees. When I saw her paintings, I had to add another adjective to the list of words I’d use to describe Crystal: beautiful, intelligent, charming, witty, and talented. (Oh, and don’t forget married.)

Crystal coordinates arts programs for the City of Santa Cruz. When I visited her office once, she had a flock of cast-iron penguin sculptures hanging around waiting to be assigned to their places on Pacific Avenue. I truly appreciate Crystal’s labors when I wander around town with my little nephew, who loves those penguins and talks about them regularly. Art like this has stimulated his three-year-old imagination and started some priceless conversations between us. Plenty of adults appreciate seeing art in their town, but it’s the kids who benefit from it the most. Public art changes their perception of reality, enhances their creativity, gives them a way to integrate their imaginations with the real world at a crucial point in their development.

One recently completed project that Crystal worked on is the giant mosaic mural you may have seen while driving down Soquel Avenue. The Red Bats will be shooting portraits of the artists at a reception to celebrate this project on October 2, and I’ll be sure to post some photos of that event on this blog. Click here to read a Sentinel article about the project. To see a flier for this event, click here.

But enough about other artists. I started this post to talk about Crystal. I love her paintings, and I’m excited about what she will create in the future. Here are a few of my favorites. I think there’s a website underway but until then, if you want to talk to Crystal about her artwork, you can email her: cbirns [at] gmail.com. Enjoy!