i'm a 1.8 kind of girl.

for these photographs...i used only the modeling light on my new alien bee and a silver reflector (on most) and my 85mm 1.8 with the stunning mark deuce.

mmm...i like taking photos.
all the humans pictured below are pretty great. some are my room-mates, some are my closest friends, and some business associates. it just so happens that they are all pretty good looking.













this past week i went fishing! it was so great. i caught a fish (named steve) and i realized that...i love being outdoors. so heck yes for that. i am a cowboy loving trail blazer and that's how it is going to be.

and since my life is so grand and adventurous, i am going to pen a memoir at some point. everything now is just record keeping/note taking.
here is a clip from an e-mail sent to a friend, explaining my memoir plan and providing some examples for material:

"
i went fishing for the first time today and caught a fish! unfortunately, it died before we could unhook it and throw it back in. i feel pretty terrible, like a murderer. a little fish murderer.

and this will get a short paragraph- i stop at a gas station with august (my pup) in my backseat with the windows down. i run in for a drink. come out and there is a crowd of three super rough looking bikers in black leather, metal studs, and wrinkly skin gathered around my car. and they are baby talking to august! like, their voices googly.
"aren't you just the prettiest pup i've ever seen? yes, you know it! you are such a good dog, so pretty..."
holy smokes, my teeth about fell out of my head because i was grinning so hard.

i caught a snake in the woods yesterday.
not memoir material, but still very cool.
"

his response to me was:
"
Reny,

I would read that book. Although I think you should include the snake catching sequence. Those little details are what build and contribute to the texture of life. Also the idea of catching a snake has so many metaphorical relationships that you can't not include it. It could be one of your epiphany scenes. You stand in the woods holding a snake looking into it's eyes and pondering life's choices. That's lyrical man!!
"

i'm figuring that i should wait another 15-20 years to maximize the experiences told in this memoir. and i'm using all real names in it too, so....think about that.



get outside today. show the cold your body heat and get off the trail. jump a fence. catch a snake.


something like this.

butterfly wings and nostril flares.

so you have your different types of lighting...long/short loop, split, rembrandt, and then there is my favourite: butterfly. it's hard to get a perfect butterfly (what with the model moving-even the slightest bit and it's off centre), and usually ends up being a not-too-terrible blend of a butterfly and short loop.

there's something so...romantic and sexy about butterfly lighting. and it's so flattering! and serious.
it adds a solemn tone.
and it it what i have been feeling as of late.






with these 4 shots (of my incredibly handsome room-mate julian)...well...
i don't want to give anything away...but i have some schemes. everything in my brain is entirely illustrated. in real-time.
and i have shoot ideas.
and cigi has been in town and we just had a brainstorming tornado session for out future PSPP projects and they are HUGE! and insane! and you can all (all over the US) be a part of them.
...more news to come on that.



to conclude...i can't tell which is heavier: my mind or my eyelids.

but i have a funny story to end with:
coffee date. last night. when i arrived, they had already ordered their drink and were sipping it while sitting at the table. i ordered my hot apple cider and join them at the table. some time elapsed, and they confessed:
"i made sure to come early tonight because i don't like coffee and didn't want you to see me order a hot chocolate."
so funny to me! the word "cute" is for puppy dogs, but it was cute.

good-night, all over the world.

...working!

some things about today:

1- my hair is super long in the back. really, not attractive at all. but i'm growing it out for the winter!
2- des and i got pedicures today. my feet are soft like a chubby toddler.
3- i am editing PSPP photos for the Flock. (they won't be up until Cigi revels them in a grand revelation kind of way).
4- cusp. i am on the cusp. i can't stay still! i have to move!
5- isn't this man pictured here super handsome?
6- from now until 730am, i will be awake and conscious. (no rest for the wicked!)
7- i am in such need for a killer website that it is shameful. but it is in the works! rome wasn't built overnight, eh?
8- i have received two insane mix cd's for this month. my ears are grinning.
9- people post waaaaay too personal of information on the internet in public forums. it's nasty and you should know better.

Lacuna Coil: Knoxville, TN.

Last night I trekked up to Knoxville, TN to the Valarium to see my old buddy Ryan.
Ryan &I went to HS together in Germany, and I was able to stay with him out in Spokane, WA this summer. He's drum teching for a band called Lacuna Coil (pictured below) and they pretty rocking.

Photographing this show made me remember why I loved shooting shows so much...capturing light as they move and change colour...ughhh!! Yes please!




































Check out Lacuna Coil if you get the chance. Big sweethearts straight from Italy.

let's talk about life. right now.

i, sara renee murray, am a late bloomer. every day i shed my skin and get a littler taller. a little bigger. and i begin to think a little deeper.

douglas coupland wrote "life after God." i read it.
the book ends with this:

"
now- here is my secret:
i tell it to you with an openness of heart that i doubt i shall ever achieve again, so i pray that you are in a quiet room as you hear these words. my secret is that i need God-- that i am sick and can no longer make it alone. i need God to help me give, because i no longer seem to be capable of giving; to help me be kind, as i no longer seem capable of kindness; to help me love, as i seem beyond being able to love.
"

this book, which i recommend to anyone, is about our generation being the first generation raised without religion. and we have to reach the point where we recognize that we need God. i am recognizing that.

there are no big things in life. only little things that accumulate.
and i am so grateful for these little things. every time i recognize some evident truth in my life, i am floored. and amused. usually amused, then floored.

when i see a lady in the car next to me plucking her chin hairs, i am thankful that her windows aren't tinted and that she's not ashamed.
when a boy dressed in a onesie tells me i'm perfect- i am amused and grateful.
when i wake up and my living room is completely flooded with airy, liquid gold and i swim through it- i am floored.




(and so)
here is to: growing up and shedding skin.
running for the thrill of it!
being aware and grateful.

Halloween 2009.

Halloween 2009.
was filled with Block Party, live snakes, fried oreos, people watching to the max, cowboy boots, flannel, moustaches, light sabers, and a few photos.

Pretty much the best Halloween I have ever experienced.
FACT!













May the force be with you.