In other news, I have a strong urge to rewatch Titanic. I blame the stupid trivia question printed on my morning’s oatmeal packet,”Who sang the Titanic theme?” Really, oatmeal! Challenge me! Then again….THEN AGAIN….Melodrama just might be the ticket to winning District Karaoke. Imagine Titanic complete with the dialogue. (Ironically, of course! Right, Ariel?) “I will never let go, Jack. I’ll never let go.” So, I shall leave you with the video. Not the official one, but the fan video. Those are the best. This one was chosen in particular for two reasons. 1.) The dialogue. 2.) That perfect halo light surrounding Jack and Rose. In 1997, someone spent a lot of time and earnest effort Photoshopping this poster. I applaud vanity projects of all kinds. Golf clap, user elh1992. Gold friggin’ star, dude. If you have  extra time on your hands today, might I suggest watching the Celine Dion video. Remember Lifetime: TV for Women paid homage to its green screen sunset in the awesomely bad biopic, William & Kate.

Oh hey there!

This is Shelby and Jess’ wedding I second shot for Debi Parker Photography. I spent entirely too much time trying to make a Steel Magnolias joke, which I am either not funny enough to write or it’s just not funny…full stop. Shelby and Jess happen to be hilarious. And fans of karaoke. Making them AWESOME in my book. Shelby serenaded his new wife with a rousing rendition of Baby Got Back. Afterwards, he was promptly recruited for my District Karaoke league. It’s a shame his schedule wouldn’t allow participating.

Speaking of music, yeah…let’s talk Lana Del Rey. If you follow my Facebook fan page you’ll know that I totally talked her up. I love her songs…all 3 of them…and I’m kinda obsessed with her Valley of the Dolls hair. So, you can imagine how my jaw dropped when she bombed on SNL. While I don’t pretend that had roles been reversed, I would’ve performed in front of America any better, but it brings to mind the idea of ceasing opportunities. That’s what photography is all about. A moment happens, after years of training, spending thousands on camera equipment, putting oneself in awkward networking meet ups, where everyone seems intimidatingly polished, experienced and talented. The moment happens when you tune out the self-critic and press the shutter. It’s about being vulnerable, showing your work, knowing that everyone has an opinion and shares, through social media, what they wouldn’t say to your face. It’s about treating yourself  gently, because others won’t. It’s about doing all these things…repeatedly. Practicing is the only way to mastery. Poor Lana had a very public and awkward practice. She failed to make the most of her opportunity. I added to the cacophony of criticism from the safe distance of my computer. I’ve had time to pause, collect my thoughts and reconnect to my ethos, to never be the bitchy girl. The world doesn’t need my strongly help opinion on topics which do not matter. So, Lana, I offer you my heart felt apology. Aside from your model looks, statuesque height and recording contract, we’re exactly the same. Well, except I sing on pitch. Sorry. Sorry, that was bitchy again. Our works are both evaluated in a public way, the stress of which can make one pathological. Mind you, your public is a lot bigger. Best of luck.

Some friends encouraged me to sign up for the inaugural District Karaoke. So, I did. I didn’t research it or over think it. I just drafted an impassioned email seeking team mates. Here was my appeal:

Dear everyone I know:

One of my life’s goals* is to win a karaoke competition. Thanks to Katrina, I now have my chance with District Karaoke.  Obviously, I need a team. I’m looking for previously undiscovered talents, connections with others who might be interested and a future audience. Effective team members will contribute a wide breadth of pop music ranging from Yacht Rock to Brit Pop and Classic Country or a specialty niche, like Tanya’s Beastie Boys, and a gregarious stage presence. The only team member exempt from the “stage presence” requirement is me, and that’s because when I close my eyes and gently touch the air with my palm reminiscent of early 90′s Mariah Carey…. I’m FEELING that shit.

Also, if you serenaded Baby Got Back to your wife at your wedding, you’re on my short list. If you wear really, really tight jeans while singing Led Zeppelin, you’re also on my short list.

This is an opportunity. It’s your opportunity at greatness and you’ve only got one chance. Don’t miss your chance to blow. This opportunity comes once in a February. Plus, there’s beer and tee shirts. Be a joiner. Be a performer. Be a STAR!!!

Puppies & Unicorns 4-ever,
Brandy

*other life’s goals:

• own a wig wardrobe based on the characters from Valley of the Dolls.
• have my closet fashioned into a Gap saving time in the morning
  
• only ever be seen in Barbara Walters’ lighting
  
• receive a definite answer to the question “which is cuter:  puppies or Ryan Gosling”

That mass email resulted in a team of exactly….me, myself and I. Oh sure, 12 cheerleaders, but I’m in this alone. Only after signing up as a free agent did I learn of “taping” and “interviews” for DC50/TheCW. I might throw up. Stay tuned for much hilarity is sure to ensue.

This is Talia, the brand new daughter of very good friends, Jen & Marc. Talia was an unexpected 2011 tax deduction, as she surprised Mommy & Daddy with an early arrival ahead of her January 4th due date. Talia let me take a few photos of her for her birth announcement. So, I thought I’d share some from our morning together.

Yes, I included some crying shots. Is that bad? I know Jen isn’t using them for the birth announcement, but I still think they’re funny / cute because it’s real. Like…babies CRY. A lot! You see photos of babies (and this is not a critique, just an observation) and they’re all serene in their little buckets and pails. PUH-LEASE says bucket baby. She’s all “don’t take my clothes off. It’s cold.” Right? I’d be cold, too, even after the heating pad trick.  Anyway, I don’t think I ever blogged my personal snapshots from Jen’s baby shower. Now would probably be a good time to do that!

So, there you have it. Ms. Talia’s life has been pretty extensively documented thus far. She’s a sweet thing who promises to bring her parents and loved ones much happiness. I wish them all the very best!

This week, I’m dog sitting my Golden Retriever buddy, Roscoe (P. Coltrane), which means Roscoe’s mommy left me her car. You know what that means? I’m taking the opportunity to work outside my home office and away from the coffee shop / library options in walking distance. I drove for a change of scenery. I plan to camp out at this corner booth until the good people at Panera kick me out. I’m engaged in a little professional development. Namely, teaching myself SEO and blogging / marketing  best practices. When I checked the professional photographer career box, I had no idea that most of my time would be spent at a computer. Most people don’t realize that. I get “You’re a photographer?!!! That must be fun!” a lot at cocktail parties. That’s a common perception.

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It is fun. I mean…not Terry Richardson* fun. Ew! I do have a flexible schedule, work with awesome people, and get to be fluent in cool photography slang. Only a small amount of my time is spent photographing. A lot of time is spent sitting at a computer administrating a business i.e. just like you. I enjoy editing photos, the creative aspect can be quite meditative, but that’s only a small bit. No one tells you in school that you’d better become an expert in 10 other not-at-all related business sub-topics.

*I would reference Terry Richardson, but Panera deems him NSFW! Yeah. So, now you get “not Terry Richardson fun”

While I bore myself to death with SEO tutorials, trying to fix all the stupidly ineffective and possibly counter-productive things I’ve done to my blog over the last 2 years, I’ll leave you with pretty things to look at. This is a treasury list curated by Alice of Blue Lobster Prints.  She is a gifted and imaginative illustrator with a panache for animals. Her Etsy storefront features whimsical cards for all occasions. I’m lucky to be included on her personal mailing list. In fact, her hand-drawn, screen-printed Valentine’s card from a few years back is now framed and hangs in my living room. I cherish it. Alice and I met when we both worked at Paper Source. She’s in my top 5 list of funniest girlfriends. We have a healthy pen-pal debate over who’s hotter, Ewan McGregor or Micheal Fassbender. For my part, I’m all about Ewan, always have been. Until a recent viewing of Jane Eyre, Fassy looked like the kind of guy who wouldn’t bother to learn your name or (gasp!) spoon. I must concede. If I squint, I can see it. Warning to those who go see Shame, it might dampen established quivers. I’m just saying. It’s not called Shame for nothing. We also have a deep mutual admiration of Cee Lo. More than anything I wanted to be cast on The Voice to convince Cee Le to go live in Alice’s shirt pocket. She’s also a soon-to-be bride. Eeeek! I MIGHT be more excited than her.

‘Somewhere Beyond the Sea’ by BlueLobsterPrints

Modern Fiber Art Soft Sculpt… cornflowerblue… $100.00	Blue Coral – Large Watercolo… RiverLuna $40.00	2 Jointed Flitch in Sustaina… grayworksdesig… $250.00	Print from my Illustration 5… calamaristudio $10.00
Offering No. 23 – Handstitch… odelae $65.00	Sandpiper and Coral Button S… leeandlatimer $5.50	Lighthouse Rustic Nautical d… Raceytay $25.00	Recycled Chenille Sea Urchin… ParkerBrownTex… $60.00
Australian Pelican totem ani… HandyMaiden $32.00	Demeter Pearl Earrings ShopClementine $15.00	Flight 8×12 Fine Art Print ModernToile $20.00	The Maiden theaterclouds $18.00
Green Sea Urchin Shell fogandswell $38.00	Natural Driftwood Slab Air P… OceanSwept $26.00	Leafy Sea Dragon – archival … amberalexander $20.00	wooden humpback whale waldor… outsideeverywh… $10.00

Lovely Kat here modeled for me today. I wanted to share this abstracted image.

I don’t know why I’m posting at midnight on a Friday except that I sat down at my computer to buy some new music and I was like “I’m just going to do this one thing.” One “quick” thing is slippery slope, right?  Incidentally, I finally downloaded Robyn’s “Call Your Girlfriend” because despite ranking it as one of my favorite dance songs of the year, I hadn’t gotten around to buying it. The music blog’s obligatory best of 2011 lists reminded me of this oversight. So, shall we have a Friday Night Dance Party? Or a pretend one. I have neighbors and a sub-woofer. Check out this video, it appears to be captured in one take. I adore Robyn. You know who else loves Robyn? Jen & Marc and though it’s too early to tell, I’ll bet through transference their new baby daughter, Talia, likes Robyn too. I get to photograph baby Talia on Sunday. I’m very excited!

Last week, I photographed Anna for a developing project of knit patterns…more on that later.  Photographing the model of a sweater is different than taking someone’s portrait. It’s a fine line between the two goals. As Anna is the young daughter of friends, I tried to capture a few portraits along the way. Anna has an enigmatic face revealing almost no self-consciousness, a trait I hope she never loses. She’s a natural beauty, caught here in her coltish years.  I thank you, Anna, for bearing the cold weather like a pro. You’re a total sweetheart. And a big, big thanks to Anna’s parents for graciously permitting Anna to model.

As this is likely to be my last post before Christmas, I wanted to share this year’s card.  I’m curious what everyone is asking Santa for. For my part, I’m asking for the Scissor Sisters, Goldfrapp and Franz Ferdinand to record new music, because everything else I want (read: camera stuff & Anthropologie furniture) is like…$2,000 and up. Gift giving encourages bad habits in us. Charly has the habit of telling me of all the really awesome things he almost did for me. He’s actually used the words “I almost stopped and bought you flowers today!” More than once. He doesn’t realize that intention doesn’t count when it comes to flowers. He also lists all the birthday and holiday gifts that were in the running…that is, until he learned how surprisingly expensive they were. This year was no different. My sweet, if not naive, husband went into a gallery to buy a piece of art I always stop to admire. I’m not sure how much he expected to pay, but he was surprised when the painting was $7,500. Charly assumes everything is either $30, $100 or $1000, and since we don’t do super extravagant gifts, I can only guess he thought an oil painting in a King Street art gallery was $100.  He would lose soooo bad on The Price is Right.

My bad holiday habit is making him to buy his own present. Mind you, I provide direction. This year it was concert tickets to the Black Keys / Arctic Monkeys show this spring in DC. After I failed to secure pre-sale tickets, I pawned responsibility on him when general seats went on sale. I figured it was better to share the blame if we failed a second time at getting tickets. Alas, tickets were procured. We’re going to the show. Woo hoo. Of course, one might consider it a bad holiday habit to selfishly gift others that which benefits yourself.

And finally, just in case you’ve procrastinated on your holiday shopping, here’s the latest Etsy treasury list I found my print listed in. Yay! I love these things. Those alphabet flash cards, so cute, right?

5×7 French Alphabet Flash Ca… bibitty $58.00	Do you know your alphabet. F… MademoiselleCh… $24.95	vintage french flag artyfactz $45.00	Vintage French enamel street… lapomme $139.00
1940′s Bisque Doll in Bo… iloveluci $65.00	laduree box 10×10 large size… lesleysico $28.00	old large rusty French keys Histoires $20.00	Vintage French tin metal bo… CabArtVintage $20.00
1900 original Vintage panora… RueDesLouves $12.00	Postcard from France purse RosiesArmoire $26.00	Parisienne Carousel 8×10 Fin… ModernToile $20.00	French Glass Little Bottle.S… mikimartinez $45.00
Vintage Extra Large Industri… ChaseVintage $45.00	Vintage Map of Paris France … PastOnPaper $15.00	Luck number 182. Vintage hou… MademoiselleCh… $64.95	A gorgeous old vintage Frenc… FrenchlyMoment… $14.00

My Etsy storefront has been really successful this Holiday season. I think it can be difficult for people to imagine what art will look like in their home, so both The Future Mrs. Darcy and Little Bird Creative suggested I take photos of my prints as I display them in my home. So, here you go! Sun Urn and Tea Cup simply matted and displayed on a shelf.

I’m off to shoot a little fashion session. Peace out.

Wanna see what I did today? Well, when all the gifts were wrapped I found I wasn’t ready to stop, so I wrapped some books in jackets. Then I went all Instragram crazy and had to document my craft skillz.

This is my tree. I can’t bring myself to hang more than 3 ornaments on it. It’s too pretty for accessories.

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