Aug 1, 2014 |
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While I can appreciate the skill involved in making a 40-year-old woman look like she’s not a second over 18, I really hate the impossible standards that images set for women of all ages.
That being said, you should know I’m a total hypocrite. I spend hours making my images flawless in Photoshop. Every speck of dust; deleted. Every sign of decay; rejuvenated. Any element that offends my eye; eliminated.
At least I can’t offend a flower by fixing its flaws. =/
What do you think about excessive retouching on women?
What are these numbered posts all about? Read the introduction to my Photo & 100 Words project and find out!
Jun 13, 2014
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Creeping up behind my neighbor’s Fiat, I was balancing between stalker and antisocial weirdo. The car wasn’t there at 6:00 am, when I was examining the bushes for close up photo ops as Gracie sniffed out the perfect poop spot.
When I returned it was noon and, on the other side of the car, my neighbors were having a tag sale – which explained (without alleviating my frustration) why the damn thing was parked right in front of the pretty flowers.
Weekend traffic and the tag sale led to a high frequency of slow, gawking drivers. One guy stopped next to me and called out the window, “Why are you crying?” I think he was a little embarrassed when I turned around with a big, fake smile and a camera in my hand.
I wonder how many other passers-by assumed I was a weirdo crying in the bushes.
What are these numbered posts all about? Read the introduction to my Photo & 100 Words project and find out!
Jun 6, 2014
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This is the last photo I’m going to share from my 6-week trip to Guatemala. It’s sad – like I’m leaving all over again.
A flower bud bursting into life in a sea of rotting petals. That’s what this trip was to me, a breath of fresh air (if you don’t count the chicken bus exhaust I probably inhaled haha) in a life of boring monotony.
Coming home to obligations after having so much freedom was painful the way I hear withdrawal is. No more waking up to infinite possibilities. Back to spending the best hours of the day running out all of my energy until I’m a sleepy pile of mush.
Sorry to get all dark and dreary on you, but it’s how I felt. I’m ok now, but I’m still not accepting my life for what it is. Now I’m working even harder to get back to that place… permanently. I crave freedom and there’s no 12-steppin’ program that’ll get rid of my addiction.
P.S. You may think I’m being over dramatic… but I call that having passion. What are you passionate about? Leave a comment and let me know below.
What are these numbered posts all about? Read the introduction to my Photo & 100 Words project and find out!
May 30, 2014
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Enveloped in a sleeping bag I could easily imagine I was floating on a cloud. Then I would move, or breathe, or sigh, and the springs would shriek in my ear – dragging me back to reality. I was just in the backyard, on the trampoline, contemplating the unknown in the dark, inky sky.
Stars have always intrigued me, since the first wishes the nursery rhymes coaxed out of me, through the nights of UFO seeking, to the day I discovered that the light from most stars has traveled billions of years to reach our eyes. The night sky is, in fact, a window to billions of years in the past and that realization still amazes me.
So, naturally, when I find a star in a flower just opening up to the world it’s something I just have to grab and keep forever.
What are these numbered posts all about? Read the introduction to my Photo & 100 Words project and find out!
May 23, 2014
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I imagine walking into this photo would be like entering the set of Alice and Wonderland as tiny Alice. The underside of these teeny, tiny flowers seem so foreign – it’s not a view you come across without looking for it.
Typically, we tower over flowers and look down on them like some kind of superior being, but it’s so much more exciting to become a bug for a minute. Isn’t it?
Sometimes I feel small when I discover something so beautiful. If the flower doesn’t do it for you just look at the stars one night and you’ll totally get how I feel.
What are these numbered posts all about? Read the introduction to my Photo & 100 Words project and find out!
May 9, 2014 |
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I felt like Snow White. Every. single. day. was so open to possibilities during my escape to Antigua.
Well… it was like being Snow White if the forest was replaced with a beautiful city with cobblestone streets and volcanoes in the distance. I walked to the market, got lost in its endless pathways, and emerged with a bundle of fresh flowers and fruits.
It wasn’t until I wandered home that I realized this little stowaway had come with me. He lived on, and ate, all my flowers but it was nice to have him around.
P.S. I sat down to write this post and went crazy. I was WAY over the 100 mark, and I realized this, but I just couldn’t stop writing. When I finally checked the word count I was at 500 and I hadn’t even mentioned the photo yet! So the result got its own blog post and you can read it here if you want to. Here’s a teaser:
“I can’t mow the lawn,” screamed 16-year-old me, “do you know how many bugs I will kill?!”
I was serious, I mean, it wasn’t just an attempt to avoid a new chore, I really never killed bugs. That is… until this week… Read the rest of my story
May 2, 2014
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Two weeks ago I showed you a before and after of my calla lily photo. Today I want to show you the simple lighting change I made that took my photo from blah to wow.
First, though, I want to let you in on a little secret: Contrary to what my website might lead you to believe, most of my photography hours are not spent on pets or flowers or abstract art. Most weekdays I’m holed up in a dark room taking pictures of boring things you use everyday like cell phones, and tablets, and coffee makers.
Why have I never told you this? Well the shortest answer is because it’s boooorrrrrriiiing. I spend all day making sure that everyday products look like everyday products.
Don’t get me wrong, I owe so much of my knowledge to my boring job, but even the freshest piece of bread eventually goes stale…
It’s so hard to stray from my methodic approach to showing things the way they are supposed to be shown (clean, neat, and on white). This is most likely the reason that everything I light starts off the same… one light on the left and another on the right.
Then, it’s time to play! Who wants to see what everyone else sees anyway?
I popped a light right into the back of the leaf and the crazy glow tickled my retinas. This is my setup below and a glimpse of my modest home away from home in Guatemala.
Apr 25, 2014
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Photographing a flower is a process for me, it’s not an event. Think of this lily as a jungle and my camera and I are explorers… of course there’s nothing dangerous about the jungle on my set but there are endless things to discover.
A movement of my light can cause drama, a shift of angle can reveal a new detail, and then there are all those amazing things I can do with the camera to change the look and feel of my flower.
Sometimes I discover that my flower doesn’t have to be a flower at all… it can be a peacock if I want it to be! Do you see it?
What are these numbered posts all about? Read the introduction to my Photo & 100 Words project and find out!
Apr 18, 2014 |
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Ever ride a yo-yo? I feel like I do-every time I set out to create.
Feeling inspired is pure euphoria and I often spend weeks, days, and even months, daydreaming about my next photo.
By the time I break out my camera though, I’m falling down again. I take a photo, it sucks, I change some things, and repeat. Sometimes I’m on to something right away, but other times I just can’t get there and I start to feel like a tails up penny on the floor… there’s no picking me up.
My first attempt at this photo (after 3 hours and 100 shots) was a total failure. I took a break. I slept on it. Then I tackled it again. What’s my point? If I had given up I wouldn’t have gotten this. Now I look at it and the euphoria returns.
P.S. Thanks to Melissa Dinwiddie for making me realize I’m not alone in this vicious cycle of artistry! Check out her blog post on the creative process. This is also what inspired me to do what I’m about to do next… oh no…
P.P.S. I’m going to share… gulp… an ugly outtake. Quick scroll down and look at it before I change my mind!
What are these numbered posts all about? Read the introduction to my Photo & 100 Words project and find out!
This is my lump of clay before I molded it with light.
See another photo from this series & a sneak peak of my setup!
Apr 4, 2014
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Flowers, glass, and water. There seems to be endless possibilities when it comes to these three elements.
A few minutes ago I was twirling my pen in my hand, staring at this photo, and wondering what to write. It was a sudden realization that these subjects are repeating elements in my work.
There’s this periwinkle photo, and this underwater close up of a flower petal, and one more I call “Loves Me, Loves Me Not”. (There are even more, but I’ll stop here)
Perhaps I should spend some time seeing what else I can come up with. What do you think?
What are these numbered posts all about? Read the introduction to my Photo & 100 Words project and find out!
