hey Dj!

Friday night I went to a Dj live event dance party at Pearl Street in Northampton to photograph the event. Now, dance parties aren't really my thing... parties in general aren't really my thing. But I went and it ended up being an awesome, awesome night.

The Dj's were super cool. They do live media (screen show of neat images/designs) while they dj. Then, early in the night I met a super cool guy and got to hang out with him later. Since I'm not really a night person (I get up too early to stay up late) it was unexpected and awesome. I made a new friend, got a new mix cd, and photographed cool dj's.

The following afternoon I took portraits of Andy the Dj.








I started shooting the show with bounce flash, but later switched to the Canon 135mm f2 lens and shot wide open with available light and liked it way better.
Canon 5d, 135mm, ISO3200
1/15, f2.0





Andy Kyte.
Canon 5d. 50mm, ISO 100
1/250. f1.8








This was an awesome weekend.
I thrive in warmth. Cold cripples and I am thankful for warm weather.

Lovey Lovey Engaged.

While in Tennessee, I had the pleasure! of photographing two lovely engaged couples.
I really like photographing couples. It's what is real.
Both of these couples were AWESOME to work with. Super fun.


This is Sara & Geoffery, photographed at the Filauer House in Cleveland, TN.













And next are Ashley and Nick.









This last photo makes me think "our love is big".
...I can NEVER remember: does the period go inside, or outside of the parentheses?

Tylere (pronounced tie-lure)

This is my room-mate Tylere.
We met the day we moved in together and I love him.
He makes music called the Get Down Device (named by yours truly) and you can listen to it here.


Canon 5d, 50mm, ISO 125
1/90, f2.5
windowlight



ISO 125, 1/60, f2.5
windowlight



One time I filled like, fifteen or seventeen, orange ballons with water (they were not water ballons and they were huge) and put them under his covers. I did this because I am hilarious.

catchlights. mmmm.

Mmmm...catchlights.
The windows at the 164 reflect the most perfect catchlights.
Especially with reflective eyewear.


Willy boy:


With catchlights, I like them to be big enough that they're roughly the same size of my fingertip.

Let's talk about the teachers at my school for a minute: they are awesome and hilarious.
And they help me chose gear.
Speaking of gear: I just ordered two one-terabyte harddrives.

This will be my new workflow:

Shoot to CF card.
Download the card to the TWO harddrives connected to my MacBookPro.
Burn an archive dvd.
Import into Adobe Lightroom and flag the keeper shots.
Delete the obvious bad shots off both harddrives.
Export the keeper shots to the Lightroom catalog as DNGs.
Rank the best of the best DNGs.
Do basic edits of the DNGs in Lightroom and then do the super tweaks in Photoshop CS3or4.
Burn archive DVD of the final TIFFs.

Good thing I really like being organized.

I don't think people realize how expensive things are when you're a photographer. By photographer, I mean: have paying clients.
Computers, archiving, monitors, calibration, editing & cataloging software, camera, lenses, flash, lights, props, CF cards, tripod, etc. This stuff adds up! Example: my tripod cost me three hundred dollars. It's an awesome tripod. And plus, it doubles as a weapon.



Brandon:

Canon 5D, ISO200, 50mm
1/1000, f2.0, Speedlite (dialed down three stops)

This was a fun shoot (Brandon). If you're familiar with the television show Psych: Brandon is exactly like Sean. Exactly. Look alikes and they behave the same way. It's awesome!
Hopefully I'll be shooting Brandon more in the future.

bon iver and high passing.

Jill.
Canon 5d, 50mm, ISO 50
1/10, f2.5
Window light at the 164 and a silver reflector.

I woke up today with bare legs, and the heat on. It was the most content wake up I have had in a while I created a new alarm that had a new ringer, and it was soothing and acoustic and I laid in bed and listened to whatever is in my ceiling (mouse? mice?) and was happy.

The first house I rented had a racoon in the walls/ceiling/floor/chimney. It was wild. That's another story for another time, but: sometimes it would wake me up in the early morning and I would lie in bed during dawn, hands folded behind my head and just grinning because a racoon was rambling around under the floorboards below my bed. And that is awesome.


Will.
Canon 5D, 50mm, ISO50
1/2, f5.6
One white umbrella
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Today has been a day for listening to bon iver and using high pass in photoshop (moderately and tastefully).
Yesterday my friend told me: everything in moderation. even moderation.

Shop-a-holic

This photograph is so annoying.
I love it, but I hate that glare.
Sure, go ahead and tell me that I should remove it in Photoshop.
And I'll tell you to: 1) get off my back and 2) no.

A good photographer would have gone back at a time when the sun wasn't in that position, and I will do that next time.

But to whoever put the shopping cart in the water at the Old Woolen Mill (Cleveland, TN): thank you. I 'm sure it's not good for the environment...and for that you should be punished.

Carly.

This is Carly, shot in the vast living room of the 164.
I am posting this wide shot to show that...finding a composition within a space this large (and nasty looking) can be sort of overwhelming. There's a ton you can do in this living room. But this is my favourite shot (the last shot on here) and it's in a 1-2 foot space.

Carly is gorgeous and one of the nicest girls around.
I had the honour of photographing her wedding in WA and...it blew my mind. Talk about crying at a wedding...








This last shot was:
Canon 5D, ISO 200, 1/90th, F4.5, 50mm lens.
I used a ProPhoto umbrella.



I dig this photo because of the repeating square shapes and lines...the table, the floor tiles, the couch cushion, the pillow.

Work hard. Be yourself.

Spring Break 2009.

Well, before I talk about spring break, I would like everyone to go listen to Jeff Buckley's song "Be Your Husband" on the album "Live at Sin-e". I have it on repeat. Soulful and romantic.

Now, not many people would choose to spend their 2009 spring break in Cleveland, TN.
Clearly, I did.

I drank about seventeen gallons of sweet tea (that could actually be true), woke up early, hung out with the train, photographed non-stop, ate Bojangles four times, was hugged a lot (that was maybe my favourite part), climbed into the warehouse next door to shoot in at 3am, went to a hardcore show that I actually enjoyed, etc. etc. I almost wish I hadn't shot so much and just lazed around more, but I reckon there will be time for that after I move back in July.

The following are just snapshots, more will be posted soon.



Jules, the manny head, and SR.




the Hat club. SR, Ourtna, & Lyton. They are incredible humans.




It is from this window that I can see the train. My friend, the train.





This was taken through Tylere's window on the way to the show in Chattanooga.




(L to R) Will, Jill, Tylere, Jelly Lelly, Sam, SR)




This is hilarious. Ok:
This is Jelly Lelly and Jelly Lelly has a really difficult time waking up. We were all supposed to go get breakfast, so I was climbing on JellyLelly and poking him, trying to wake him up. Nothing. He didn't care. After several more minutes of my persisting, he simply said "Jelly Lazy" and passed back out.
New nickname? yes.

I really like the South.

Newport, RI



Scranton, PA.
The house my mom grew up in (and that I have spent much of my childhood in)




Scranton, PA



I am jumping out of my skin about going back to visit Tennessee. Talk about magic...I have had the most magical experiences there.
Maybe because I spent my time moving all over the world (military father), Cleveland is special to me because it is the longest I have ever lived anywhere. Whatever the case...Cleveland and I are connected.

I miss living downtown. I miss the train sticking its mouth inside my always-open windows and blaring at me to wake up and play. I miss the suns fingers tousling my hair in the early morning, urging me to come out. I miss Black Tony throwing rocks at my window so that I'd hang out of the window and talk to him. I miss sitting around with my room-mates drinking beer and talking about Jesus, girls, boys, and all the gritty things in life. I miss being woken up by music and the band downstairs tracking drums.




The following photographs were made with love and sunshine and my friends who I am quite thrilled to be seeing.


In this photo they took off their hats to show that they had much more hair than I did.




my room-mates at the 164.




Jules was shaving his head. It was awesome.





Favourite ex-boyfriend.





We took this photo outside our apartment, and then I put my camera in its bag, got into my car and moved to MA.


Saturday night: I have a date with Tennessee.

Faith & President Jefferson.

This weekend I had the incredible opportunity to hang out in Newport, RI.

Let's see, I rode a horse bareback, caught and lovingly pet a chicken, ate it's eggs, ate breakfast on top of roof of an abandoned gunnery that was on the beach (while basking in the sun with no jacket). Sometimes I think I must be an elf or something, just because there is so much magic around me.

Faith Dugan (www.faithdugan.com, www.duganphotography.com) is a Hallmark Alumni and now a prospering wedding/portrait photographer on the island. (And we went to high school together back in the day.) She was awesome enough to model for me with her hilarious boyfriend Jefferson.

I really, really, really like awesome couples. I've been ridiculously lucky with the couples I've photographed- they rule.









Newport, RI is a pearl.

If cameras were not invented, would I invent them?

i remember waking up at the one six four, opening my eyes to the sunshine and the boy lying next to me and knowing why cameras were invented.  

"this is why photography exists!" i thought.

for this beauty and this light that loosely wraps itself around people and trails us all.

 

light envelopes us.

we are all surrounded by light and colour.

all this is instinctual and i understand.

 

the light swarms and overtakes and we are oh so gently surrounded and swallowed.

we exist in this light.

Chicken catching, petting, etc.

Magic unexpectedly spins itself around me.

Yesterday I rode bareback on a horse. 

I caught chickens, held them, and pet them.  They were much softer than one would expect.  And they made gentle noises, which I found very soothing and pleasant.  Then I ate their eggs (which are real. not grocery store eggs.)

I took photographs in back alleys. I met great new people. I people watched at a bar (which was not encouraging). 

All in all, it was a spectacular day.

Then, this morning...

I ate a wonderful breakfast of granola, fruit, and yogurt at the beach on top of an abandoned gunnery.  Wicked.  It was warm and the wind was lazily playing with my hair. 

I love Rhode Island.

Cobra.

Fun fact: my hair is totally in a ponytail in these shots. Long!


This hat was purchased in Germany, and then found by me in my Papa's basement a few months ago.



Shot with my lovely Canon 5d
50MM 1.2 lens
at 1/45th of a second, ISO 50, and f1.8

I used a trigger release because people make me uncomfortable and I prefer to shoot myself.
(if Taylor Pool would come back to America, it would be different)

I've been musing over the concept of photography...splitting the hairs of time and putting moments in to jars, so to speak.
I have come to the conclusion that I want to be present in every moment. Present, fully, in the 1/60th, 1/500th, 1/15th of a second that it takes to make a photograph. I will exist in the photos I make.

Making photos is something I must do.