she fights for her life

so i have absolutely not been able to delete myself from music and photography tonight. ive been experimenting with photoshop while listening to beautiful music :)

Her Morning Elegance

Click HERE
Color or Black and White? what do you think?

Please watch this- it is amazing. Made up of all photographs, this stop frame masterpiece is quite enjoyable to watch! :)
Then after watching it, dirpy.com the song because isnt it beautiful?

Happy Birthdayyy Timmmyyy

**not my images- taken from www.weheartit.com

Happy birthday to my dear friend gracey (timothy) although we share a congruent fear of aging, im still so excited to wish her a happy one! grace and i met in 2005 and became instant best friends essentially hip and hip. besides having different classes in our daily routine, we shared many other things such as getting coffee in le morning which switched from sugar free vanilla non fat lattes to americanos to all different sorts of coffees. we sat on a rock wall between classes as we watched people walk by (of course with no judgment whatsoever, well maybe on Halloween when capes and witches were involved) anyway- we'd reunite at either the gymbo to flip through US magazine on a treadmill or crunches on the mats or at the H where we'd sip tea an soup, amongst other things (or even smearing peanut butter on gardettos if were talking freshman year). we spent weekends drinking mccormy, eating at Austins, shopping at cira, rofling in the H, dreaming of dp dough or bcb and attending football games. i could probably talk forever about the amazing times that timmy and i had but this blog would go on forever. so i want to wish my bestey gracey a happy HAPPY birthday and want her to know how much i cherish her as a friend. growing older and moving farther apart of course things change but i am so lucky to still have grace in my life and feel comforted knowing i can always lean on her.
These pictures are some I found that reminded me of the free spirited, fun natured friendship that we have :)

WACOM tablet

SO my brother jamie had an extra tablet lying around because the one he has now is SICKKKK- so I am using it for now and i am falling deeply in love with it. Using a laptops mousepad or even a mouse can prove to be the most difficult utensil when trying to trace around certain objects in pictures or getting down tot he nitty gritty details of a photograph. A tablet has a pen-like utensil and a pad that you draw on so it makes it much easier to have control over what you are tracing around. i love it, i love it a lot! It is going to help me out a lot in the future! :)

JUICEEEEEEE

we heart it knows whats up with their whole album of juice-related photographs. this is one of my faovritas! :)

Photography

We all die.
My goal isn't to live forever, my goal is to create something that will.

intimacy of blogs

I am realizing more and more how amazing blogs really are. although perhaps every intimate thought that streams through my brain won't make the blog post cut, it is still a place i feel welcomed and comfortable to share my thoughts/feelings/passions/plans/loves/fears/etc. It's a place that although I have much to do on a daily basis I desire to write a blog post, if not for anyone but myself. It feels good to get it all down like a journal entry- god knows I have started 9 different journals in the past year, none to last more than 10 pages. I love being able to refer back to my old journals and read what was going through my secretive mind at the time, but its super personal and the thought of someone other than me reading it is a trip. Above and beyond my own blog, i love following others for many reasons, the main one being able to keep track of your friends lives when maybe you cant talk all of the time. also because of some of the beautiful insight you come across. I do enjoy reading blogs of the people that I know and love but of course random peoples blogs can be interesting as well. I love how blogs aren't intimidating either- journals can be with their fancy hard back covers and pretty pages- they certainly can be a bit of a fright thinking everything has to be perfect and put together and make sense. my blog has and probably never will be cohesive- starting as a fashion blog (what??) turning into a photography blog- all of the while with my thoughts that prove moreso my day to day life than anything. I want my blog to encapsulate me- i don't want to just discuss photography, i want to get it all out there for anyone and everyone to see, even if that means i am the only one that reads this. i have no idea who reads my blog so i feel no pressure to make my posts anything special.

dirty couch run

Thanks to ricky for being such a trooper to lay, sit and run across a filthy old, desheveled couch on the side of the street in newmarket.

I had my first photo critique today for B/W photography II. it did not go too well. I enjoy criticism with my work but sometimes it is tough to take when you spend so much time creating something that you believe in and stand behind. It was just one image in particular out of the four that got the wrath. It was a sequence photo- contrasting the tree and the fence and the differences that each portray. here they are. take a look.




I tried to be creative, think outside of the box and create not only a photograph with a message of sorts but also an imagine that was technically sound. The technically sound part was the issue with the image. cant win over everyone of course but when it comes from your teacher, of course you trust it more.

pumpkin patch

I need to get my annual pumpkin so that I can comb its hair.
i love all things autumn- weather, pumpkins, hay, corn stalks, fairs, haunted houses, crisp air, leaves changing.

my beautious familia

i have a beautiful family that i cherish and love. essentially, that is all that truly matters to me.

when you think that maybe there is nobody else to trust/believe, family is there. my family is amazing. they are beautiful human beings with the kindest souls and most welcoming personalities. i love my family more that I can actually describe in words. i suppose (some) friends come and go, but family is there to stay.

you win some. you lose some.

-not taken by me, nor made up by me- but for sure fitting.

losing a friend is somewhat similar to them dying. It sounds dramatic- this I know. of course its not nearly as serious, but the after effects are similar in that, well- you never ever or talk to them again. I find myself often reflecting back, often thinking of the fun times that we had. often find myself on their facebook wishing I could comment on their wall but finding it all too inappropriate (oh technology these days...facebook) I am out of sorts wondering how you can go from talking on the phone 3 hours a day to the point where our parents questioned why our phone bills were at such extremes to a nonexistent, awkward, deleting you out of phone, relationship. its beyond what my mind can comprehend. i think that i am a smart person, but this, i simply can not figure out. Its tragic, unfortunate and simply life altering. I don't know what to do from here- i am in an uncomfortable middle situation. do i act as if i still know this person- do i refer to her in conversations- or do i act as if this great friend of mine never existed- do i delete memories out of my memory brain box to never be recovered? someone please help me how to act. i love my friend and cherish her deeply, but if she doesn't feel the same back, i have no ammo now do i? never thought i would lose such a close friend, never thought i would lose someone i love so much. Of course I will always love my lost friend because i still cherish her more than most, but if she doesnt cherish and love me then i have to give it up.
well. if anyone figures out how to rescue, what was, a beautiful friendship- give me some advice. life doesnt seem happy, normal, or right without the people you love and care for in it. regardless of hurt feelings, harsh words- friends are friends, friends are family. well, maybe not to some people.

School = Death

I need to schedule time to breathe these days! I have three books that I want to read and have started two of them but have not been able to keep going because schoolwork is ruling my life at the moment. On top of schoolwork I am trying to nail down my plans with moving to aspen in the winter. I had to watch GLEE tonight so I took a little break to watch that and post up on here. Not much time to write, just time to post a few photographs.

Chopra Strikes Back

SO I've come to somewhat of an understanding of what i like in the composition of a photograph and that is texture. I've noticed that my style has a large emphasis on different textures and how they can play into one another. I think it can be difficult entering into a creative field where there are so many options and so many roads you can take. photography, i mean, geez you can be a wedding photographer, a landscape photographer, only take pictures of birds, only take pictures of water, black and white, architecture- there are SO many facets of photography that it is hard not to get overwhelmed and lost in it all, somewhere in the middle without any style at all. so basically i am trying to create my own personal style and try to have a main theme in my photos. i'm still working out the kinks, naturally, as i only decided that i wanted to give up apparel design and pursue photography umm (looks at watch) 10 hours ago- no, last year but still....in the grand scheme of life, equals about 10 hours ago. I'm so ecstatic about photography. i love looking at it, i love taking my own, i love editing photos, i love sharing photos, i love getting advice, i enjoy trying new things, i like setting up scenes, i like end products, i love unexpected shots, i overall cannot get enough of photography. I have yet to find a downside to my newfound passion. but maybe i never will, and maybe that's how i know i have truly found what i am meant to do. depak chopra would be proud of me, finding my purpose and all. of course i think as humans we have many purposes but i remember reading chopras book at the time that i still thought i wanted to be a designer and it didn't make sense to me. I thought- i'm, fulfilling my life's purpose becoming a designer? it didn't seem fitting, it didn't seem right- how was i going to make any impact on anyone or anything feeling as lost as I did in that field. But now as I reflect back I realize how much sense it makes and I appreciate his revelation. I am going to reread that book in the next few days, HOWEVER, i just got the book Born to Run and i am going to spend a few nights invested in that. off to read, toodles.

Straight up, Photoshop DORK

I spent a good 8ish hours working in photoshop yesterday. I first tried learning to slice, then getting more than one image on one canvas, then trying to tilt photos and fill in the background and lastly to create a water reflection. I was imagining the water reflection to be a little bit different but with more practice I think that I can make it more realistic. anyway- school sucks, well beside my photography classes of course- i love those and those only. actually i am also enjoying my holocaust history class. Back to the drawing board, just thought i'd check in hurrrrrr.
again, thanks to everyone for all of the love and support with my photos- appreciate you ALLLLLL. ) <3 <3

Life was good last weekend

into it

***BRETT DENNEN***

*my dirty, hippie, festival feet that stained many white hotel amenities (towels, soaps, baths, floors)

*me and briezzzzze*

*bunch of girlies*

:)

sister love <3

Life is Good festival was amazing. Saturday was a great lineup-ziggy marley and grace potter stole the show however. I was lucky enough to enjoy a small, private, acoustic grace potter concert before she played on stage and i feel even more deeply in love with her than i already was, if thats even humanely possible! Sunday, brett dennen stole my heart for it never will return. I've always been a big brett fan and i've youtubed the hell out of him for the very plain simple fact of watching his sexual little dance steps- seeing him in person was a whole new realm of love. Brett dennen, with his extremely goofy long, red hair- dorky thick framed glasses and tight velour zip up completely won me over with his humorous moves and voice. point is, i spent a great weekend with great friends- kimberly, brie, leah, kelsey and katy! :) pictures above are some glimpses at our wonderful, music filled festival weekend.

RIP

It's extremely surreal when someone leaves our world, especially when it's someone that you know. It can be easy to hear about other peoples tragic stories and think-I'll never know anybody that that will happen to-but unfortunately, more times than you expect, you end up knowing people involved in these heartwrenching situations. I just found out today that we lost someone from our hometown of durham, Dan Zocchi and feel heartbroken and upset. His poor family must be in an unfathomable amount of pain and I just hope that they have plenty of support surrounding them to make it through this difficult time. You'll always be remembered as the easy going, fun, good natured person that you were! rest in peace buddy

Life is Good

LIFE IS GOOD festival starts tomorrow @ 11 am and i could not be MORE excited. Donnavon, grace potter, trombone shorty, ziggy marley,ben harper, i mean cahhh-moo-onnn, could it get ANY radder??? doubtful- i suppose add in atmosphere and my life has been made, but as is, its amazing and i'm super siked about the lineup. I need to get some serious sleep at this point as i've just spent my night talking to a stranger on the phone that i feel like is my best friend now. love and miss everyone- piece