Blogging From Bolivia: A Photography Blog

Dear Readers

noreply@blogger.com (Laura) — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 18:13:00 +0000

Dear Readers,

I'm a bit of a perfectionist. Okay, a lot of a perfectionist. It's hard for me to admit failure or give up at things. I have a tendency to take on too much and then convince myself that I cannot walk away from any of it. That the world will stop spinning if I do. Which is why I'm suddenly finding myself far too overwhelmed with what I need to get done each day.

As I've become increasingly tired and burdened down, I've known that something (or many things!) has to give. I sat down to prioritize and schedule and I'm sorry to say that my beloved blog just didn't make the cut.

I won't be shutting this blog down - no way! But I'm not going to commit to posting regularly, either. There will be no more Macro Friday posts. After nearly 100 weeks of loving this blog hop, I'm sad to see it go. But it's just something that has to be done. Thank you to all the faithful posters that came back week after week. It's been great!

For the next several months I'm going to focus as much as possible on wedding planning. To enjoy the details and completely immerse myself in this season of life that I will only experience once. I'm even going to take joy in the stressful parts: The worries about how to safely get my wedding dress from Minnesota to Bolivia, because afterall, a wedding dress is EXCITING! The endless paperwork needed for Mauricio's U.S. Visa application, because it will be so worth it in the end and serves as a reminder that we're making a real, big commitment to each other. And the late nights spent budgeting, because we're learning something that will last a lifetime.

I'm looking at my other priorities as well and sifting through what stays and what goes. It's hard to determine what to sacrifice, but I know that everything has a time and place. So I'm figuring out what has a time and place right now, for the next few months, and likely until the end of 2012.

Over the next few months I won't completely disappear. You will see me around this blog as often as I feel inspired. When I have photos that I can't wait to share or an experience I'm dying to write down this blog isn't a burden. It's when I'm overwhelmed with other things and posting out of obligation, not inspiration, that it becomes something it shouldn't be. I'm certain that those of you that choose to stick around or check in occasionally will be seeing lots of wedding planning photography in the coming months. :)

Thanks for reading,
Laura

Macro Friday: Week 91

noreply@blogger.com (Laura) — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 12:59:00 +0000

Happy Friday and welcome back to Macro! Again, I am SO sorry about missing last week! See my post from Monday for my explanation :)

This week I have another wedding invitation photo to share.

I'm trying to figure out how much wedding stuff I'm supposed to share before the wedding. Thoughts? I've been creating a post about my invitations in my mind, but I'm not sure if that's something I should put up yet. Either way, I suppose I need to finish the invitations first! :)

Have a great weekend, all!

EDITED TO ADD: Evidently our Linky subscription has ended. I'm going to look for a free alternative for next week. In the meantime, you could share your macro photo links in the comments section for this week. Sorry!

Macro Friday: Week 90 SO SORRY!

noreply@blogger.com (Laura) — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 18:33:00 +0000

I am SO sorry that I missed Macro Friday last week!! I have been travelling and am just now on my way back to Bolivia! I lost track of time and days and made a huge mistake. Again, I am SO sorry!

I'll wait until Friday to put up a linky, but I thought I'd go ahead and share a quick macro photo of what was keeping me so busy!

Wedding planning! That's a huge stack of in-process wedding invitations. Lots to do! :)

Hope everyone has a great week and I PROMISE to see you on Friday!

Macro Friday: Week 89

noreply@blogger.com (Laura) — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 13:00:00 +0000

Happy Friday and welcome back to Macro!

Mauricio's Birthday was this week, so I thought a balloon would be an appropriate Macro Friday photo :)

Have a great weekend, all!

Macro Friday: Week 88

noreply@blogger.com (Laura) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 12:18:00 +0000

Happy Friday and welcome back to Macro! I'm sorry to say I won't be participating with a photo this week, but I wanted to put the Linky up anyway. It's been a busy week and I'm getting ready to travel tonight.

Have a great weekend, all! :)

Macro Friday: Week 87

noreply@blogger.com (Laura) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 13:30:00 +0000

Hi all! Welcome back to Macro Friday! I hope everyone has had a great week.

I have a sweet photo this week. :)

It's honeycomb! The other day Mauricio and I noticed someone selling fresh honey in the market and he bought a jar of honeycomb to eat. I've never tried it, but according to him it's delicious! I'd be afraid to take a bite and find a bee inside. :)

Have a great weekend!

A Day at the Park

noreply@blogger.com (Laura) — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 20:56:00 +0000

Disclaimer: These photos are quite a few months old now, but I never got around to posting them.

I enjoyed looking back at them today and thought I'd share! :)

Nothing like a grown man playing in the sprinkler with the boys! :)

This last photo is of my two closest friends in Bolivia - a treasure of a photo for me.

Macro Friday: Week 86

noreply@blogger.com (Laura) — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 16:00:00 +0000

Hi all! Welcome back to Macro Friday! I hope everyone has had a great week.

I have another bug photo this week.

This time I found it on the towel I had left outside to dry! Good thing I'm not too grossed out by bugs! :)

Have a great weekend!

Macro Friday: Week 85

noreply@blogger.com (Laura) — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 12:25:00 +0000

Hi all! Welcome back to Macro Friday! I hope everyone's 2012 is off to a great start!

I found this bug on my sheets yesterday! Kind of icky to have in bed, but a good photography subject! :)

Have a great weekend, all!

Macro Friday: Week 84

noreply@blogger.com (Laura) — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 11:00:00 +0000

Hi all! Welcome back to Macro Friday!

As much as I love Bolivian food, there are certain foods from the States that I do miss! I was absolutely delighted to find one such food in the market a few days ago....

...cherries!!!!

Bolivia has lots of citrus and yummy fruits, but berries aren't too common here. Blueberries, raspberries, cherries, etc. are hard to find. These were super expensive so I just bought a tiny bag, but I've been enjoying savoring them the past few days.

Happy New Year!!

Macro Friday: Week 83

noreply@blogger.com (Laura) — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 16:04:00 +0000

Hi all! Sorry this is going up so late! This morning when I turned on my computer I realized it was scheduled for a disk check which ended up taking over two hours! So I'm behind on everything today.

Because I'm so behind, I'm just going to get straight to the point and throw up the Linky! Have a great Christmas, everyone! :)

Macro Friday: Week 82

noreply@blogger.com (Laura) — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 13:56:00 +0000

Hello all and welcome back to Macro Friday!

Here in Bolivia it's actually summer, not winter, and we're in the rainy seasons. So that's mean no white Christmas, but rather a humid, damp Holiday Season.

It makes for some 'different' holiday photos, like raindrops on Christmas lights! :)

Your turn! Have a great weekend all!

Macro Friday: Week 81

noreply@blogger.com (Laura) — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 13:04:00 +0000

Welcome back to Macro Friday! I'm excited to share a photo I'm actually pleased with today! I woke up to rain this morning and opened my door to extra lush, green leaves covered in raindrops. I grabbed my camera and must have taken photos for 30 minutes! It felt good after being busy and forced to neglect my camera for so long.

Have a great weekend, all!

Macro Friday: Week 80

noreply@blogger.com (Laura) — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 13:00:00 +0000

Happy Friday! And welcome back to Macro Friday! I hope everyone has had a great week. Thanks for all of your comments on last week's Macro Friday post! :)

I have another sparkly photo today.

A beautiful new pair of earrings!

Looking forward to your photos! :)

Macro Friday: Week 79

noreply@blogger.com (Laura) — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 12:30:00 +0000

Good morning! Welcome back to Macro Friday and Happy Thanksgiving! As promised last week, I have some news this week. But rather than tell you, I'll show you!

...I'm engaged!!!! Mauricio proposed a little over a week ago on my Birthday and it was absolutely perfect! We're so excited to start our life together!

Have a great weekend, all! :)

Macro Friday: Week 78

noreply@blogger.com (Laura) — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 13:37:00 +0000

Good morning! I'm rather ashamed to admit that I don't have a brand new photo AGAIN this week! But I'm recycling an old one! I don't think I ever actually posted the photo from the Macro Photo button, so that's what I'm sharing today.

I promise to have a photo next week! In fact, I already have a photo, but am just waiting a week to share. Next week will be a special edition with some exciting news :)

Have a great weekend! :)

Macro Friday: Week 77

noreply@blogger.com (Laura) — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 14:53:00 +0000

Hi all, welcome back to Macro Friday! I'm sorry to say that I didn't have time to take a macro photo this week, so I won't be participating today. I'm still putting up the linky for all of you though!

Have a great weekend! :)

Macro Friday: Week 76

noreply@blogger.com (Laura) — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 13:00:00 +0000

Welcome back to Macro Friday! I hope everyone had a great week and is looking forward to the weekend!

A few days ago Mauricio plucked a pretty blossom from a flowering tree for me to put in a vase on my kitchen table. It wasn't until we begin walking home that I noticed it had a bug on it. I almost brushed it off before realizing there was something else...

...little bug eggs! I'm not sure if this is cool or gross! For now, I put the bug on a flowering plant I have on my balcony. I noticed when I got up this morning the bug was gone but the eggs were still there. By lunch time, the bug was back, perched atop the eggs.

Hope you all have a great weekend! :)

Macro Friday: Week 75

noreply@blogger.com (Laura) — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 13:00:00 +0000

Welcome back to Macro Friday! I, for one, am thrilled the weekend is here! I'm travelling to another city in Bolivia for a relaxing weekend of no work, cooking, or cleaning!

My macro shot this week is of the sprinkles on the cupcakes I made for my godson's Birthday! :)

Your turn! Have a great weekend!

Birthday!

noreply@blogger.com (Laura) — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 14:54:00 +0000

Monday was my godson's 8th Birthday!

So we took him cupcakes after lunch and managed to snap a quick photo before he had to leave for school.

Happy Birthday, Andresito!

Come back tomorrow to see the macro cupcake photo (of course!) :)

Macro Friday: Week 74

noreply@blogger.com (Laura) — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 13:00:00 +0000

Welcome back to Macro Friday! I hope everyone has had a great week!

My photo this week:

I love when I can squeeze some great bokeh out of my point-and-shoot!! :D

Your turn! Have a great weekend!

Wordless Wednesday

noreply@blogger.com (Laura) — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 14:00:00 +0000

Caiman Alligators

noreply@blogger.com (Laura) — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 14:00:00 +0000

This is a bit of a random post, but I thought it might interest some of you.

A few weeks ago we went to the huge fair that happens every September in Santa Cruz. I didn't take many photos because it was night time and I was too busy enjoying myself, but I did take one of the caiman alligators:

Kind of freaky, huh!

These alligators are common in the wild in Bolivia and are usually MUCH larger when you come across them in their natural habitat!

Macro Friday: Week 73

noreply@blogger.com (Laura) — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 14:30:00 +0000

There are several good things about being a {wannabe, amateur} photographer. Like the joy of capturing beauty permanently. Or the delight of saving precious memories for other people. Or the challenge of expressing yourself through your lens.

Or the fact that spiders in the shower don't freak you out because, hey, it's a photo op! :)

After noticing this spider on the little window in my shower, I proceeded to rinse off very slowly so it wouldn't scurry away. Then threw on a towel and rushed off to get my camera!

Have a great, spider-free weekend, all!

Urban Flowers

noreply@blogger.com (Laura) — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 14:00:00 +0000

I couldn't help but notice these vibrant yellow flowers against an unlikely backdrop and it made me kind of happy.

It's one of the things I like about Santa Cruz, Bolivia. Despite being a huge, urban, and admittedly not-very-clean-or-attractive city, it has plenty of flowers and plants to brighten up an otherwise dull backdrop.

This bit of yellow definitely brightened my day! :)