Author | Lightnews

Vanessa Westerfield @paradoxstudios.bsky.social · 58m

Ferdinand is like an old, wise friend. So much character is in each oak tree, and I am so drawn to this one it's a big reason I rented this property. Sadly, Ferdinand is infested with invasive gold spotted boring beetles. The crown is thinning and I'm so afraid it will die.

Vanessa Westerfield @paradoxstudios.bsky.social · 1h

Top reason fall is my favorite season in my little corner the of the world? Fog. Every morning this week has been a magical, mystical thick fog, refreshing every leaf and every blade of grass with a crisp drink straight from the sea.
This is my massive Coast Live Oak, Ferdinand. 215 years old.

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Vanessa Westerfield @paradoxstudios.bsky.social · 1d

My boy Chimi at 3 months old. The grain on Delta 3200 is 👌
Chimi is 4 years old now. He was one of a litter of 4 that I fostered. The 2 boys stayed with us and the 2 girls were adopted by some friends.
I haven't shot Delta in a while, this is inspiring me to get some.

#believeinfilm #photography

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Vanessa Westerfield @paradoxstudios.bsky.social · 2d

My nieces at one of their birthday parties, 5 years ago. I love photographing kids before they ever get the idea of being self conscious. Shot on FP4 on a little Canon rangefinder.

#believeinfilm #photography #filmphotography #blackandwhitefilm #blackandwhite

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Vanessa Westerfield @paradoxstudios.bsky.social · 2d

Mayday, Slickers, Pandy Porn

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Reposted by Vanessa Westerfield

Robert Reich @rbreich.bsky.social · 3d

Remember: The richest 1% evade over $160 billion in taxes every year.

That amount would fund SNAP for a year with money to spare.

Ask yourself who the real freeloaders are.

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Vanessa Westerfield @paradoxstudios.bsky.social · 3d

The poor working hard while the rich pay lower taxes is a tale as old as time. SNAP was one of the few small pieces of relief they/we have had. I say we because I too, have been there. I have worked 3 jobs while my husband was ill and had to choose between rent and food far too many times.

Vanessa Westerfield @paradoxstudios.bsky.social · 3d

If you don't personally know anyone on SNAP, if you don't live in or near poor communities, if you don't look at the data, and you try to speak on this, you will come off as privileged and ignorant. It is not news that more often than not, poor people work harder than rich people.

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Vanessa Westerfield @paradoxstudios.bsky.social · 3d

We need to look at the big picture. Why is minimum wage not enough to feed a family and pay bills? Why does anyone need help with food? And should their government not support them when they are working as hard as they can and still can't make ends meet because wages stay down and prices go up?

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Vanessa Westerfield @paradoxstudios.bsky.social · 3d

Regular old adults who happen to just not make enough money to pay their rent and put food on the table. Many of them work full time or even multiple jobs. NOT freeloaders. Hard-working people who just can't make enough money because our cost of living has been going up so much faster than wages.

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Vanessa Westerfield @paradoxstudios.bsky.social · 3d

11% of payments in 2023 were "improper payments" and that can be due to a mistake made by SNAP or misuse/fraud. So a fraction of this 11% are misusing the system. Even if it were the whole 11%, that's 89% of people actually needing it. This includes children, elderly, disabled, AND

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Vanessa Westerfield @paradoxstudios.bsky.social · 3d

Let's talk about SNAP. I can't believe we are even arguing about whether our government should support those who need it most. Food security is something that should exist in any first world country. The misinformation that is being spread about people misusing the system is horrific.

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Vanessa Westerfield @paradoxstudios.bsky.social · 3d

I'm a cat sitter and this one takes power mustache of the year for me.

#catsonbluesky #cats #pets #catsofbluesky

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Vanessa Westerfield @paradoxstudios.bsky.social · 5d

The Valley Oak, welcoming me to sit on its giant, twisty branches. A keystone species, several hundred animals, plants, and fungi rely on these trees.

#naturephotography #photography #ecology

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Reposted by Vanessa Westerfield

Extinction Rebellion Global @xrglobal.bsky.social · 8d

One of the last truly wild places on Earth, sacred to the Gwich’in Nation, home to irreplaceable wildlife, wilderness and cultural values.
Now, the entire coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, 1.5 million acres, has been opened up for oil and gas leasing.
vimeo.com/247917667?fl...

Save the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

This is "Save the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge" by Alaska Conservation Foundation on Vimeo, the home for high quality videos and the people who love them.

vimeo.com

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Vanessa Westerfield @paradoxstudios.bsky.social · 11d

Coast Live Oaks are extremely special and one of my favorite trees. Over 600 documented species rely on them, though there are likely many more. They are only found in California and Baja California and only up to 60 miles from the coastline.

#ecology #nature #conservation

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Vanessa Westerfield @paradoxstudios.bsky.social · 11d

When an oak tree burns, it attempts to create new branches in any direction on any living part of the tree in a desperate attempt to recover. This Coast Live Oak was in the 2017 Tubbs fires and ultimately died. Coast Live Oaks are incredibly resilient and many of the surrounding trees did survive.

Black and white dead coast live oak with lots of tiny branches going in all directions.

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Vanessa Westerfield @paradoxstudios.bsky.social · 14d

One of my favorite photographers of all time

womensartbluesky.bsky.social @womensartbluesky.bsky.social · 14d

Dorothea Lange,
Girl with an umbrella,
Louisiana, 1937
#WomensArt

Monochrome photograph featuring a young Black women in an outside space, upper half, holding an umbrella, wearing a checked shirt and apron as well as a small round hat, she looks down to her hands

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Vanessa Westerfield @paradoxstudios.bsky.social · 16d

Beautiful turkey tails

#naturephotography #nature #macro #forest #photography

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Vanessa Westerfield @paradoxstudios.bsky.social · 17d

Or toyz in the hood take your pick

Vanessa Westerfield @paradoxstudios.bsky.social · 17d

Boyz in the food

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Vanessa Westerfield @paradoxstudios.bsky.social · 20d

It's official! I can't wait to share what I've learned and will continue to learn about our incredible natural world. I hope inspire you.

#nature #naturalist #california #wildlife #botany

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Vanessa Westerfield @paradoxstudios.bsky.social · 21d

Lil centipede guy

#forestfriday #photography #nature

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Vanessa Westerfield @paradoxstudios.bsky.social · 23d

🫶

Vanessa Westerfield @paradoxstudios.bsky.social · 24d

The world is a place of great beauty and great suffering. I think photography and other art forms are an attempt to find the meaning in the suffering, if there is any to be found. Perhaps this attempt and the art made from it is the meaning itself.

#blueskyartshow #photography #believeinfilm #film

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