Chronicles of an Aspiring Photographer

Shrinky Dink Roll of Film!

2011-11-22T19:14:00.000-08:00

Take a look at the miniature roll of film I made!!! It is crafted out of ceramic and acrylic paint.

Alright, so I made the big one, you got me!

............................

Here is an extra just to make up for that trick.

I took this photo while on riding along a lovely bike path in Sebastopol. Please enjoy this small window of the fall season in Sebastopol.

The House Where Mary Lives

2011-11-18T12:20:00.000-08:00

That's right, I have moved yet again! I am digging my new digs too! Since some of you, whom I dearly love, are not coming anytime soon I thought this would be a perfect thing to blog about! And, of course, I will do my best to keep it fresh, and entertaining for my regular readers that have already paid me the fine honor of a visit. :)

The first photo for your eyes to see is this of my ceramics in the "cottage" which was actually built as an artists studio, which, I do use it as such occasionally.

I was quite impressed by the capability of my 6 pixel point and shoot, this has caused me to rethink digital yet again.

Readers! What are you doing in the bathroom?

An interesting item in the house of a woman who volunteers at the animal shelter. I suppose that it is imperative that we have items such as these out of the hands of someone who may actually use this, after all it is "scientifically compounded."

I have improved upon my cooking skills, I am now able to cook rice in a pot on the stove!!!!
~what you see here is the penne pasta and onions and marinara I had for dinner.~

Creepy lady looking in at you from the other side of the mirror!

My workstation in the kitchen.

Painting project, I worked for hours on Wednesday to finish paining a ceramic film canister that I made. Here you can see that I am painting a likeness of Shadow, a cat that lives here.

Shadow doesn't like the house so she live in this shed.

One of the hens, surprisingly hens will eat there own eggs if they are cracked, it is so strange how much they enjoy it.

The level of intensity in her eyes is disconcerting.

One happy hen.

Rodney relaxing on his favorite leather coach, he will not accept anything short of decadence.

I just like this one. ;)

Part of the yard.

I really love this swing.

The top window is part of my bedroom.

The inside of the same window, the light is to showcase the special piece of sculpture that I made.

Thanks for reading! I hope that those of you whom I wish to visit me will be able to in the near future, but for now I hope that you enjoyed your little virtual tour.

October Rain

2011-10-03T14:32:00.000-07:00

Today, October third, two-thousand and eleven is a monday. Today also marks the first real October rain of the year, at least for me. What a delight it is.
This morning marks my first morning in my new (old, 1913) place of living. My Sebastopol home is very condusive to the artists spirit, after enjoying a quiet morning with Rodney King, Tom, and Bunnie (the three dogs that I live with) I got ready to head out to SRJC. I dressed myself in a big fluffy multi-colored wool sweater made by my Grandma for my dad. I took into my hands the great responsibility for wearing this sculptural masterpiece crafted from mere balls of yarn, and two needles.
This sweater, which will now be referred to as Gloria, for such a stupendous sweater deserves a name, is not only a marvel of the humans ability to evolve a method for weaving animal fibers into wearable clothing but is also more effective than a raincoat for keeping me warm. When wrapped up in Gloria my core was very cozy as I ventured out to starbucks (my apologies to all of my beloved hipster friends who will only drink coffee from shops that have the name of an animal within the title)
All I can say that being drenched by the sky, and rude drivers, on my walk back only enhanced my experience. Sure, I could have done without street water on me, but walking in the October rain was one of the big highlights of my year. As Gloria made sure that I was feeling good, I enjoyed the simple pleasure of enjoying my day. I find that being a student often gets people confused, you start thinking that you can enjoy yourself after you are finished getting your education. I find that this is untrue, it is your time to live right now! You are never again in your life going to experience the first rain of October 2011, so why don't you go outside and take a stroll?

"So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God." - 1 Corinthians 10:31

BTW- I have a shop on Etsy nowadays. :)
http://www.etsy.com/shop/vintagephotographr?ref=si_shop

A Bit on Beauty

2011-08-15T18:14:00.000-07:00

Solomon, Michelangelo, King Henry the 8th, (sorry that I don't know how to type Roman numerals) William Shakespeare, Beethoven, Mary Cassatt, Julia Morgan, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Fred Astaire, Andy Warhol, Diane Arbus, Me.

What is the common strand that ties these names together? This strand is an imaginary cord of leather tying these scrolls of life bound.
A theme repeated. Repeated is the drive created through inspiration from and for beauty.

My definition of beauty tells of something about anything that strikes true and pure inspiration.

Beauty can be many things. A photograph. A song. A cat coming to snuggle on your lap. That old camera that was given to you. When the problem in math class finally clicks. The film Midnight in Paris. A warm hug. A kind word from a stranger. Laughter. Rhapsody in Blue. Frank O'Hara's Having a Coke with You. A friendship that is forever, and true. A life story that brings tears to your eyes. Worshiping the creator.

These are some of the things which I find beautiful. The other persons previously mentioned, have some similarities and differences to me.

Solomon found beauty in building a house for God. He also found beauty in loving his wife, which could be considered odd because of his obscene amount of concubines.
Michelangelo, was payed, and forced to have time, beauty from fresco and Libyan Sibyl combined. The Pope pleased, cheeks turned red.
King Henry the 8th, killed his wife dead, married another beautiful woman instead. Because when a daughter, not son was produced, this chauvinist went to the next to seduce.
Shakespeare's words, poetry to play form, beauty runs throughout, even when in scorn.
Classical music was his game, Ludwig Van Beethoven his strong German name. Beauty to my ears and yours, he heard this music in his heart where he would create the scores.
Mary Cassatt saw the beauty between mother, and child, painting this domestic scene, pieces that leave me beguiled.
Julia Morgan knew her stuff, created the beauty of Hearst Ranch. A woman architect? She was tough!
Written words of novels, the American dream exposed. Still poetry is found in the telling. Fitzgerald knew how to make beauty happen.
Dancing on the walls and ceiling, Fred Astaire captured beauty while dancing with feeling.
Despite the awful wigs, Andy Warhol knew how to create beauty through repetition. Repetitive as smoking a pack of cig-arettes.
Dianne Arbus saw the outcasts society as beautiful, in photographing them in medium format she was quite dutiful.

I hope to bring you beauty through my work, if you find this statement untrue and prideful, please don't label me a jerk!

Addicted to Dance

2011-08-14T01:53:00.000-07:00

Recently I have been indulging myself by going to the local dance hall for some good ol' fashioned jitterbug. Something that if you have never done, I highly recommend it! Here are some of my top reasons as to why you should try social swing dance:

1) Jazz trumps most other genres of music.

2) Swing dancing is about the feeling, not having all of the best moves. (though in a lead, this does help)

3) I end up meeting really cool people there, I have met two new girlfriends dancing.

4) Dancing is one of the most fun ways to get some great cardio.

5) The kind of people that hang around dance halls for the most part, are not afraid of vintage style along with many of them are artsy, a definite plus in my book.

6) Swing can bring a lot of excitement to your life.

Provided that you enter the dance floor with an attitude to have fun, make new friends, laugh at yourself, and smile a lot, you will have a fabulous time!

Introducing the Kindle Patch!

2011-08-11T13:45:00.000-07:00

Do you own, or have you ever wished to own a kindle?
To tell you the truth, I don't want one. I much prefer having a collection of books on a shelf where I can look at them, feel them, and lend them out at will. My books do not run on batteries, they run only on the ability to read and the willingness to expand ones imagination.

The only time I have ever wanted a kindle is when I thought of an invention. The kindle patch. Does it count as wanting a kindle if the item I desire does not exist?

My idea is to make a kindle that is just a square sticker that can go inside of a pair of dark sunglasses.

How many times have you been engrossed in a novel, and then you have to drive to work or school and you must leave it? I know that for me when I am in these circumstances I wish that I could read while driving. With the kindle patch, you can! No one will ever know that you are because they will be cleverly disguised behind your own personal dark shades.

Are you a lifeguard who is terribly bored with your work? Can it be a drag to watch children dive into the water over and over again. Are you sick and tired of your boss telling you that you have to stay awake while sitting on the lifeguard chair?! Not to fear, the kindle patch is here! With the kindle patch lifeguards will no longer sleep on the job, no, they will be too busy trying to decipher if Bella will choose Jacob or Edward. Who could ever fall asleep under such tension? Best of all, your boss will never even know.

Bored in class? Pretend that you are blind and utilize your kindle patch!

Do you have an overly chatty friend that is always bugging you to go on walks with him/her so they can talk your ear off about their disappointments in love? The kindle patch is a great fix for this situation. Just nod and mmmhhmmm, while you are are actually considering if Elizabeth secretly loves Mr. Darcy.

The kindle patch is a simple device, just plug into the usb port in your computer and download one novel at a time! Stick it into your favorite pair of sunglasses, wink once to turn a page and twice to go back a page. Move your eyeball to scroll up or down. With the new audio feature you can purchase the headphone plug attachment, with this you can start of where you left off, but have it read to you, designed especially for those of you who are to timid to drive and read.

The Adventures of the Headless Me Whilst Camping

2011-08-09T00:03:00.000-07:00

Here, on this blog lies a whimsical tale of missing faces and found waterfalls.

Here I am! Or, at least most of me, when shoting with the Diana F+, one is expected to expect the unexpected. Did you intend that I had intentions of telling you my intent of using the camera with unintentional consequences? Apparently, I had lost my face, but not to worry, who needs a face while sporting a Yashica TL Electro? A lover a camera's would never even know the difference.

Approaching the waterfall, there were many lovely trees.

"Ain't she a beut?!" Robbed of my brain, I resorted to poor english.

Closer, the water is camera ready. "Work it girl!"

Even without a head I was still able to manage the scurry over to the dark side of the falls.

The water runs over the side as smooth as frosting on a cake.

Is that a single or a double rainbow?

Without a face I couldn't find much use for my sunglasses, thus I set them on a rock.

Beethoven's Rage Over a Lost Penny seemed appropriate for this moment.

Miraculously, my head was returned to me. I leap for joy.

Something that may look cute, can often have an evil streak. Don't believe me? Try and consult with the dead chipmunk.

In the end the trip was finished off with a magnificent lunch at Floyd's Frosty. No heads rolled, except for mine, just for a short while, and chippy the chipmunk. All together, a fun time.

The Littlest Nano ipod~ Based Upon A True Story

2011-08-07T23:18:00.000-07:00

Once upon a time there was a small device known as an ipod nano. Sometime approximately an indefinite amount of undetermined, unspoken moments directly, but not punctually, after, there was a mystical, shiny pink square shaped ipod, with a precious little touchscreen, and a clip on the back especially for the tacking on of this small gem. End Sentence.
One gorgeous, sunny, glorious day a girl named Mary decided to go into an artificially bright, ugly light lit store known as Target. Here it was on that fateful day, that the young maiden Mary chose to buy the littlest nano ipod. (The smallest one from apple yet!)
Mary and the littlest ipod had many a grand adventure together. They shared the same taste in music, together they would listen to their eclectic taste on many a road trip. The littlest ipod would gladly store music ranging from Ethan Keller, to Jimmy Needham, to an array of random artists, all the way to there beloved Nat King Cole.
The littlest ipod and Mary became such close friends that they would always be in within a short distance from each other. The littlest ipod came in handy at work as well, proudly supplying tunes for the lifeguards and the children in the pool to listen to.

Yes, this was a relationship built to last, or was it?

One day Mary probably doing something in her head, for she was prone to entertain herself with her imagination, must have forgot all about the littlest ipod. For, that day, she cannot remember which, she realized that it was missing! She looked around for it, but alas! to no prevail.
Mary, aware that others may perceive her way of keeping her room and car as being a slob, knew that the device would turn up in due time. She had been in this situation before, things seemed to do that to her, run away for a few days or so and then come back, pretending that they were under the Ace of Cakes t-shirt on the floor the whole time. The question is, where did these items go on these mini vacations? Did her treasured Pilot pen go to a writers convention? Maybe her toothbrush went to go file a formal complaint to Mary's dentist.

After a while of being seperated from the littlest nano ipod Mary learned to extend her time of deep thinking, and rediscovered the joys of radio.

Some time had passed, by now Mary knew that her ipod was either hiding in her room, or stolen. She did wish for the former to be true. She was wrong on both thoughts.

One fine summers eve in August, Mary and a few of her guy co-workers wished to view the film Mulan, the boys' idea of course. She had never noticed before how much disney pumped their actors with steroids to enhance there muscle volume. Those poor men, that were playing the Huns, she was sure it was Disney pressuring them to be overly buff, such a vile display of the lack of concern for human health, and the problem with the American image standard. After this a couple of the guys were apparently influenced by the film enough to where she was able to convince them to have a push up contest. The winner and loser of this shall remain anonymous. She proceded to discover a coat getting caught within the lazyboyesque chair in which she was sitting. "Who's coat is this?" She asked. Before anyone else could answer she answered herself, "Oh! It's mine." After some laughter, "I bet my ipod is in this pocket." She then screamed as if she was in a rock band. There it was! The littlest nano ipod!!!! It had been returned to her, all along in her coat pocket in her coat, on the floor, safe and sound in Macintosh, the boys house.

Hippie Car

2011-08-02T23:21:00.000-07:00

Dear Readers,
I must comfess something to you. I know this may come as a shock, but I, Mary, drive a hippe mobile! A person may never know, because to the naked, untrained eye it appears to be a normal girl vehicle.

The thought process of someone examining my vehicle may go something like this:

First Glance: "What a cute blue VW Beetle, I have always secretly wanted one. And look at that fabulous fin! So shiny too!"

Second Glance: "Hmm I feel like this poor girl has seen some better days, that is some big dent. The wheels look semi-hideous without the VW circle in the middle."

Third Glance: "I wonder who owns this thing, it is filthy! Ever think of washing your car or getting new tires, eh?!"

Fourth Glance: "WOW! I don't know which is worse, the inside or outside? Why on earth would someone want to keep all of that junk in a car? Oh wait... maybe I shouldn't judge, she may be homeless."

Fifth Glance: "I think I can slip $20 in through the window, poor thing!"

Me Partying with one of my best friends, my car!!!
If I could tag little blue in this, I would.

If only it worked that way. *sigh* I would love to be the recepient of free money! Just a joke.

I have a different way of viewing my horseless carriage than most people. I am sure that most are familiar with the idea of being "married to your car." I myself violently reject this idea, I for one want to marry a man, not a man made metal machine. No, I think of my horseless carriage as more of a best friend. I spend more time with my car than I do with any of my other friends, and like a friend you need to take car of the other individuals needs or you will loose them. My girl, Little Blue, has been very true. I have been neglecting the poor thing for some time, she was in desperate need of new tires. Now that she is equipped, our friendship has been stregthened because there is trust. We have the mutual understanding that she will transport me from point A to point B without getting a flat due to the rubber running through, and in return she knows that when push comes to shove I will sometimes pull through. I am vowing to be a better friend though, and hopefully this will bring upon forgiveness in the end, I am still experiencing other issues due, in part, to my neglect.

My vehicle contains the equivelent of a tornadoes debree. I believe that you should always be prepared for a variety of situations, and climates. The contents of my car heavily reflect this belief. There are always several outfit changes, shoes, and some jewelry, and most of the time makeup in case I decide to spend the night somewhere, go out dancing, or swimming.
Than I have at least two camera's with me, my Diana F+, and my Yashica TL Electro.
I always have at least one pillow, and in the colder seasons a small blanket.
There are also little odds and ends that find there way around such as my rainbow kite(you never know when you will stumble upon a good windy day), nailpolish, and of course last but not least, my books and notebooks. I carry half of the time in my car half in a house, my poetry notebook, and whatever novel I am reading, currently The Age of Innocense.
I am hoping to up the anny on my automobile, I invision an organized array of clothes in the trunk, with a better garbage system. Oh, and maybe it wouldn't hurt to vacuum and clean the thing. :0

When I was out swing dancing with a friend last week, she needed some sock because her feet were tired. She said to someone, something along the lines of, "If we had taken Mary's hippie car we would have had them by now."

Fowl Society

2011-07-31T23:20:00.000-07:00

I have not yet seen the Alfred Hitchcock film The Birds, and I think that I will keep it that way for a long while....

Dear Readers,
I know that this is mainly my Mother, and Catherine and Chuck Thode, but I still would like to call you Readers. I have been presented with the unique opportunity to be a female farmer.

Yes, I know what you are thinking, shy, timid Mary taking on the perils of farm life. Well, you see, the truth is, for anyone that has known me for a long while will have seen me grow up, and something that would have scared me three quarters of the way to death will now only scare me one-tenth to death, a very managable level I must say. Having pushed myself out of my shell, yes the egg has been cracked. No pun intended here. I have taken on a full fledged farm. Around two hundred birds, turkey and chickens, to be exact. Let us not forget the cats, fish, small horse and sheep, they are part of my life right now as well.

As I sit and write this, I am thinking to myself whether or not a female farmer can aquire some sort of pet name, "farmess" perhaps? Maybe "farmett" would be a cute title.

In my hours of feeding and egg collecting I have observed a number of things, which have become profound(ish) revealations to me.

1) Silky Roosters are insanely vicious. (Ok, so this may be a bit of an exageration, but they are very territorial)

2) Male Silkies, though small, frighten me.

3) Turkeys are not bright in the slightest.

4) Bubba the male is so interesting looking that he could belong in a zoo somewhere where Turkeys aren't such a huge item on the menu.

5) Humans are like Chickens.* (Don't worry, I will expound upon this thought)

6) I can only touch a dead chicken if it's feathers are plucked, it has been refrigerated at some point, and it is lacking a head.

7) They say that the Cuddle Fish is at least as intelligeant as a bird, I thought that this was a bigger deal before I spent time with chickens and turkeys.

8) The wispy grey feathered one in the back seems to know something important and it gives me the creeps.

9) Turkey seem to be a dostle creature.

10) I have come to deeply grasp the full meaning and implacations of the insult "bird brain."

*When I walk about doing all of my feeding rounds, I noticed something interesting: birds that were in seperated enclosures but were right next to each other had equally seperate societies. For instance, the chickens in one bin may be duking it out while the guys and gals right next to them were just chilling.
I feel that peope tend to be the same way, we often only observe what is going on with our friends and family that are either in close contact with us or are around all of the time. Like the birds, us humans can be consumed in our own mini-societies, while maybe the guy in the next cage over is dead, or in the case of the human someone who you don't know very well is in need. Working with the chickens is teaching me to evaluate my own life, and to make sure that I am not just showing the same common courtesy as an animal. Humans posses the God given intelligence to pay attention to others outside of our cliques.

I am hoping to take some interesting shots of the animals, so hopefully at some point not too far off I can get those posted for ya'll!

..... So you can see that at this time it would be very wrong for me to watch The Birds.

Shadows, Jane Eyre, and Marc Chagall

2010-11-22T10:15:00.000-08:00

This photo reminded me of the novel Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. It makes me think of the mansion where she worked, lived, and met her true love. This mansion was very creepy on the moors of England, with an insane woman living upstairs. Below I have a few quotes from the book.

"While I paced softly on, the last sound I expected to hear in so still a region, a laugh, struck my ears. It was a curious laugh - distinct, formal, mirthless. I stopped"

"Women are supposed to be very calm generally: but women feel just as men feel; they need exercise for their faculties, and a field for their efforts as much as their brothers do; they suffer from too rigid a restraint, too absolute a stagnation, precisely as men would suffer; and it is narrow-minded in their more privileged fellow-creatures to say that they ought to confine themselves to making puddings and knitting stockings, to playing on the piano and embroidering bags"

"In the deep shade, at the farther end of the room, a figure ran backwards and forwards. What it was, whether beast or human being, one could not, at first sight tell: it groveled, seemingly on all fours: it snatched and growled like some strange wild animal: but it was covered with clothing and a quantity of dark, grizzled hair wild as a mane, hid its head and face"

Some afterthoughts.

Last night I was looking up paintings by one of my very favorite artists, Marc Chagall. I found this one called White Crucifixion. I think that is absolutely stunning. I love how there is chaos all around and then there is a beam of light that highlights Jesus on the cross. It is so full of meaning, and beauty.

Here is a close up.

Fresh From the Dark Room

2010-11-20T10:36:00.000-08:00

Here are two photos that are for my current assignment in my Photography class. The assignment was to put a chair somewhere, and then to photograph it at different times of day, and different angles and depth of field all the time keeping the chair in the same location. These are the two I picked from my roll, I like almost all of my exposures so it may have been the most difficult part of the assignment for me.

My cat Sloan loves to be in the back yard, he made a happy little model for me.

This one I find a bit lonely, and depressing.

More from my Diana F+!

2010-11-19T10:52:00.000-08:00

Please keep in mind that the photos here are meant to be unpredictable, light leaked, not the best focus, etc.

This is a picture I took of my Argus Antistigmat, or Argus A. I bought this camera at a quaint little antique store in Fawnskin, CA. Fawnskin is right by Big Bear Lake. I was so excited to find a camera that is old, and uses 35mm film. It wasn't until later that I realized this little beauty has no shutter. I think that if I put black electrical tape over the lens that I could do a pin hole-esque type exposure. It is really a sweet little camera, it was produced in the 1930's, has a body made of Bakelite, and the lens unit is able to extend.

This is a photo of my Kodak Instamatic, it is a very cute thing, but I don't know that I will ever use it. It takes a funky film that is smaller than 35mm. This one I purchased at a garage sale.

This is a shot I took while doing some street photography. The little girl was so adorable, and I thought it was a loving moment with her and her mom. I remember being little, and how Mom was like a security blanket, there is a very special bond between mother and daughter which is so precious.

I think that I may have taken this one by mistake, I really love it.

A picture I took in an antique store, they have a great collection of vintage cameras.

I was trying to achieve the effect of the cook looking like a ghost. I think the tripod or camera moved ever so slightly causing the whole thing to look doubled.

Anther photo of my Kodak Instamatic.

Love this one! Dias De La Muerta!

Cash Tails

2010-11-17T11:46:00.000-08:00

This really doesn't go with the story, but it is my latest.

Spent to much money today. Please tell me, what is one to do when the money tell me to spend it? When the cash expresses that it's fondest desire is to support the faded economy. All the little Georges, Franklins, and Lincolns want to do is be put back into the system.

Franklin wrote to me just last week from Wall St to tell me his elation that he was presented with the opportunity to "stick it to the man!"

George phoned this morning with tears of joy in his little green eyes, heard through his wee voice sharing his glorious tale. He was a small beauty shop in Kansas' first dollar. George, being born in 1929 is enjoying a beautiful retirement in a comfy black rectangular frame.

My good friend Lincoln, who was with me for a few months back in '01 is benefiting from a fulfilling career as a child's allowance money.

So, you see all of this currency I spent have gone unto rewarding lives of there own. What kind of person would I be if i had deprived them of these joys? My heart weeps for the millions of dollars that are thrown into savings accounts, trust funds, and bonds every day! Tell me, what did the dollar ever do to you? Why this? Why monetary prison.

More of my work

2010-11-15T12:29:00.000-08:00

This is a pin hole picture that I took and my computer decided to crop it, it was bigger but I like what the computer did with it.
It is part of my series titled "Adventures of the clogs." Which stars my beloved lucky brand clogs. I will eventually post the series as its own post. Hopefully with small poems under each picture.

This is an example of a panning shot which was part of an assignment for my class, it still needs some refinement, but I like it enough.

This is a contact or proof sheet. This is what I use to see which of my exposures I would like to make into a full sized print.

ramblings

2010-10-25T23:12:00.000-07:00

Currently, I am listening to Micheal Buble, I am remembering when I truly fell in love with the idea of romance. I think it was a deadly combination of working at a restaurant, where I was constantly miraged with the sight of attractive couples having enchanting dates at a comfy table that I was obliged to arrange for them, and I was on one of my Buble' kicks. The song "Wonderful Tonight" was an anthem played over, and over in my car. This song was written by Eric Clapton, I listened to the Buble' version. Somewhere around a year later when I was watching a documentary about The Beatles I discovered that Georges wife, whom he loved, left him, and was wed to Eric Clapton. Anyways, how does this relate? Well, I will tell you that it is said that Wonderful Tonight was written for Georges ex wife. The song that brought me to a deepened love of romance, was actually related to a tragedy! Poor George...

Butterflies

2010-10-18T12:54:00.000-07:00

Summer breeze wisps over my skin. The sweet smell of lush pine. Small smudges of purple, orange, yellow, and blue play along my path. I am on a hike, alone, in the wilderness, experiencing a unique sense of bliss.
As I trek along this ethereal trail I ponder art experiments, ways to conduct them and other pleasant things. God has provided us with the best art, and therefore the best inspiration.
"He leads me beside quiet waters..."
As I walk I discover that I missed a turn on the trail. So I turn back and take the route down to the most tranquil stream I have experienced. I cross over the water by way of stones, then I experience something unique: whilst I am approaching many yellow and coco colored butterflies begin to rise up from the earth. I walk through them, surely this must be the type of quiet waters spoken of in Psalm 23.
"you prepare a table before me..."
Coincidently my destination for that day was table rock.
"In my fathers house there are many rooms... I am going there to prepare a place for you."
Just as he prepares a table for us, he also prepares space in heaven. If the beauties of the hike were so great, imagine how much better heaven will be.
"You know the way to the place where I am going."
We must follow Christ on the trek of life, through life's fields of poppies, mountains, cliffs, and quiet waters.

Stream of Consciousness

2010-10-13T21:03:00.000-07:00

Lately i have been doing exercises in stream of consciousness. Here is one I prepared for you. In most of my stream of consciousness exercises I am honest with what pops into my head, and I would be embarrassed to show you some of them. It is a good exercise, and would recommend it. I have learned about myself, and have become aware of some thought processes that I need to change.

Chained to a tree, she longs to see her grace reflected in her cool wake.

Stream of consciousness exercise. Related to the book Ulysess. I can’t wait to read. Hope other book club members will not object. Maybe read on my own? Grecian cover? Ernest Hemingway. The sun also rises. Yellow and orange. Matador. Quick precise phrases. Brett. Evil. Mananizer. Jake, loves brett, cool guy, people pleaser, misused. Robert cohn, kinda a moron. Liked him at first proving himself to be a wuss. Micheal weirdo, puts up with too much from Brett. Characters shallow. Taken in by beauty of Brett. Do not see the caddiness to her.....dogs, puppys, cats. Sloan. Felix. Sloan. Black fur. Soft. Snugglebug. Lomo lc-a love. Want it. black metal body. Fabulous pictures. Grainy high color saturation. Beautiful picture of attractive male in back of a truck . it appears to be Africa or spain. Matador, bull fights. Horns. boxing. Blood spilling steers being injured . inhumane. Sad. Swords in side. Jesus. Nails in hands. Hanging on cross. Wounds on sides. Emancipated me from punishment of sin. Heaven. Glory.

new obsession

2010-10-10T00:24:00.000-07:00

Vintage Love

Well, I have become obsessed over getting another camera for my collection. I thought that my Diana was all I would need of the big name lomography cameras, but I was wrong. While spending some serious time looking through many pictures on lomography.com I have been struck on numerous occasions of the sheer magic, and mood that is captured by a little camera known as the Lomo LC-A. There is a certain grainy quality that I just can't resist. Readers, i am afraid that I am going to end up blowing more money on another toy! This is the sort of fear that I fancy. Yes, I still love my Diana, and would never replace her. The Lomo LC-A, of course would not be a replacement to my beloved blue camera but a brother to her.

Readers, as far as my photo class is going, I am slightly behind on the current project. Part of this I attribute to the large distraction of lomography. I find it more difficult to try, and take a whole role of a subject assigned. Analog photography offers endless possibilities, that is why I am so drawn to it. Taking a roll of shadow pictures is not as easy as it would seem, I guess it is a good exercise to try and stretch my abilities to make the images worth looking at.

So, if anyone wants to give me a very early Christmas present, I would like the Lomo LC-A please!

Class

2010-10-06T09:17:00.000-07:00

I am just going to throw in some pictures that I took a while back.

Here is a paper that I wrote for my ASL class about photography class, I am kinda proud of it.

Again, loving the contrast here

Photography Class

On Thursday September thirtieth I attended Santa Rosa Junior Colleges elementary photography class, in which I am enrolled in, from twelve pm to three pm. I would have been at the deaf celebration in Sacramento if it weren’t for this conflict in schedule. At class the teacher, R. Breth, showed us students six different images that are almost identical. This was an example of a success for the project that we have been assigned, taking an abstract image, that we have taken ourselves, and developed, then printing it six different times using filters zero, one, two, three, four, five, and six. After about forty-five minutes of lecture, it was time for lab work. Unfortunately, I lost my negative that I was using for the project, and a print. After much thorough searching, I was able to find the print, and a few other important things that I thought were long gone. The precious negative, sadly, was lost to me. Without the negative I was forced to begin the project once more. I found my second choice negative, which was one of the two that Mrs. Breth had told me it was okay by her to use. Then without much shock, but enough agitation I discovered that all of the enlargers were in use, after I was suffered to wait longer than I would have deemed enjoyable. When an enlarger was ready for me to use, I commenced get my negative centered, and focusing. After this, I made a few test strips, to decide which exposure would be best. After determining the exposure time, I easily made for prints using filters zero through four. I developed these four, and was quite pleased with the outcome. There before me sat four perfect prints with variations in contrast with beautiful print density.

Abstract

2010-10-03T23:02:00.000-07:00

Recently in Photography class our assignment was too take abstract photos, and to print a serious of them using filters 0-5. Being the scatter-brain that I am, naturally I lost my negative that I was using for this project so I after searching oh so many a nook and cranny in the photo lab, I decided to regroup. I began the project again, the first photo in this series is my first choice, and the second is one I had to settle for. I am disappointed to be wasting this much paper, I will have to be replacing mine soon. I am glad for the next project in which we are assigned to take pictures of shadows, and if it rains... reflections! Anyways, I am hoping to get some creativity on! Thanks for reading, and thanks for the comments, they are appreciated much!!!

Diana F+

2010-09-23T21:03:00.000-07:00

Well there here!!! Photos from my beloved Diana F+!
This roll was my first and I am still getting used to how completely manual this camera is so many of the images didn't turn out the way I planned. Needless to say I am very happy with my good results! There were definitely some fortunate accidents.

Bottled Elegance

This exposure lasted 6 minutes! I removed the lens from my Diana in order to use the pin hole setting.

Neglected Fountain

I am pleased with the Dianas beautiful color spectrum.

Enchanted Doorknob

Repunzel's Tower

Self Portrait

Sweet Success

2010-09-07T19:25:00.000-07:00

Self Portrait Through a Pin Hole

Today I accomplished the surprisingly challenging task of making a decent pin hole exposure on my very own homemade pin hole camera! Here it is, a picture of me in my back yard.

2010-09-06T00:12:00.000-07:00

Time Travel
Taken with Ansco Shur Flash on 120 film

Little did I know it when I woke up this morning. Nor when I ate breakfast and drank coffee. Not even when I was sitting in church did I know it. But today, my friend, marks a milestone in my life. Today is the day that I purchased my very own brand new Diana F+ Qing Hua.

This whole ordeal began to rear its head lasts week. Yes, I have been craving a lomography camera for a while. Yes, ever since I allowed myself to explore lomography.com this want intensified greatly. I used to believe that the Holga 135bc was for me, with its marvelous vignetting, vivid colors both on the camera itself and on film, and lest we not forget its marvelous reputation. In my mind owning a Holga instantly brings you a type of intelligence, and respect. Once I began a true investigation of this matter giving all cameras equal opportunity I discovered that the DianaF+ is the queen, no let us say empress of lomography cameras. Naturally I HAD to have one.

So today a wind of determination was thrust upon me, and I discovered that in Berkeley Ca. there is a photoshop with an extensive supply. In my car I went, almost mad with the prospect of having this new toy within my hands, and at my house within this day.

I drove somewhere around two hours, of course I stopped for lunch at Guini's Deli. Toscano salami, smoked swiss cheese, lettuce, tomato, sprouts, mayo, mustard, and "Guini Juice" all snuggly within a sour dough roll, transported into my mouth. Where upon meeting my tongue everyone had a lovely chat with my taste buds. Well after about ten delicious minutes, I headed back to my car, where I overhead my taste buds having a nice long tete-a-tete with some Halvah. Behavior to be expected by those scurvy brats.

On the road I went, on my noble quest. I made a wrong turn and almost had to pay a toll to go over a bridge that I didn't want to be on. So typical. Luckily I avoided the bridge and eventually found a photographers version of The Cave of Wonders. Looking Glass Photographic Arts, within these walls lyes a myriad of not so typical cameras that are simply mouth watering. I took a quick browse before I commenced to ask about my new prized possession. I knew not whether I was sure to purchase the El Toro model, online it looked pretty spiffy, but there was the competition of the Qing Hua model. I made sure to take a good look at both. The Qing Hua took my heart. It is absolutely exquisite. The top and the flash, have a design that you would find on English China in a beautiful cobalt blue. This camera can do anything. Pin hole, instant, regular, regular with sprockets, colorflash, normal flash, you name it. No it doesn't produce crisp life-like photos using 7000 pixels. Yes, it is unpredictable. Absolutely, it is amazing!

Struggle

2010-09-03T18:17:00.000-07:00

Here is something I wrote this July when I ways working at Camp Round Meadow.

Man Vs. Nature
Taken with my Yashica TL Electro on highway 38

Wind hurling in and out of my lungs.
Sweat pouring out of my cells.
I can feel my heart beat as if it was pounding an ancient African rhythm.
Legs moving up and down, back and forth, propelling the feet which are attached to them merely by the means of some tired ankles.
Soles pounding the dust.
Eyes see a haze of brown, and green.
I can feel the thin air leaving me less than satisfied.
Gasping for breath, and energy, I press on.
Relief! I steady strong flow of endorphins rushes into my veins, supplying all of my inner being.
Friendly smiles from passer-byes bring me encouragement.
Up the mountain I tread.
Suddenly, like a beacon of light in a thrashing storm I see a small meadow of sorts, filled with purple, yellow and orange.
I have reached the worlds most beautiful flower bed.
The refreshing calm that these flowers bring me is unique to this day. It may never have the same effect for me.
"Do not worry about tomorrow."
Live everyday for itself, and enjoy all of the beautiful things God has created.