express yourself [I heart faces]

I am totally double-dipping again this week. The theme over at is anything but a face, while the theme for project 52 is express yourself.

This is who I am. I am the girl who loves to watch her purple cotton candy hair blow in the breeze + take photos + listen to mix cds + LOVE.
[I am not the girl who can't explore because of her heart problem. I don't want that to define me.]

life is a beach

I don't write about my heart problem often. It's bothersome and keeps me from getting photos, so occasionally I'll say "sorry for the lack of photos; my heart isn't cooperating" but leave it at that. Hopefully after surgery on Friday, I won't need to mention it again. But I really want to complain about it tonight. I went to the beach with Doug, Seth, and Lexa but I couldn't swim or climb rocks or even frolic in the waves with them because of my stupid heart. I couldn't even hold my camera with the telephoto lens for more than 2 minutes at a time without pain. (Compare to the last time I took photos of Seth and Lexa.) This is what I managed to do today (well, yesterday according to the computer but I haven't slept yet so it's still today to me). Hopefully this week will be the last time I have to have this talk with you. In the mean time, I am happy to report that today was mostly fun.


















This is what I live for.




I made the colors really bright/cheerful/pop-y on purpose. I needed it. I also am linking them from Facebook because I am tired and hoping to go to sleep eventually. soon.

Mai-Kai

In honor of my dad's 50th birthday, we went out to Mai-Kai, an amazing Polynesian-themed restaurant. I have wanted to visit forever and I finally got to. The dancers held me in thrall and I must have taken 150 photos of them. These are my absolute favorites.





I am so thankful that my camera can handle high ISO because the flame dance was amazing (and for the performers' safety, flash was outlawed).






I'm sorry that this post is so light on words but I don't really know what to say other than that this is an experience that you need to have for yourself.

[PS: This last shot ended up being my project 52 entry for the week.]

couch with a view

Back in September, the boys and I found a couch on the side of the road. From the moment she was in my possession, I knew I wanted to use Princess Buttercup as a photo shoot prop. (Yes, I named my couch. It is a buttery yellow Italian leather and I feel like it deserves some respect.) Over the weekend, Dave and I took it with us to MacArthur Beach State Park and offered free photos to anyone who wanted to pose for us. The response was surprisingly positive. Everyone we asked was more than willing to let us take a few photos. (If we took your picture and you're reading this, email us and we'll send you files you can print.)







I am looking forward to being able to take my couch to a more easily accessible beach next time.

for once, my heart is in it

I know this post counts as double-dipping but I had an idea and I executed it. And now I am tired. This week's theme over at is red, in support of Go Red For Women (women's heart health). It's also "open your heart" week for Project 52.


My immediate thought, based on both themes, was a (broken) heart. After all, my actual heart is broken/in need of repair. I didn't really want to go into it on the blog but the only way this photo makes sense is with some disclosure. My heart has an electrical issue which will be 'corrected' over spring break. I actually knit the heart I am clutching for my 'heart electrician' as a thank you for finally diagnosing me. I am nervous over the idea of having to be hospitalized, which is breaking my heart further.
I feel like I spent the past few months standing alone in a cold, sterile atmosphere, waiting for an answer and trying to hold my heart together. I feel like a shadow of who I usually am, especially when I want so desperately to be shooting nonstop. This is me opening my heart and being honest about why I haven't been posting much as of late.
[For the record, this isn't heart disease and being more "heart healthy" would not have prevented it. But I still encourage everyone, regardless of gender, to look into the tips on Go Red For Women's site.]

be mine, Valentine

In the past, I have written really in-depth posts about my mister and how I feel about him. Last Valentine's day, I wrote about how I had always wished for a love like his. For our one year anniversary, I told the story of our relationship and was mushy enough to make myself cry. I feel like I should have another monumental post covering everything from our anniversary to now. But while I have been falling more and more in love with him every day, we haven't exactly done much worth blogging. Our parents finally met over the holidays but other than that, nothing major has happened. Well, at least nothing other than a physically broken heart, but that's not relevant to this story.
Rather than try to scrape together some new content to share, we're going to reprise our traditional dinner and stargazing. Because really, we love each other every day and I'm sure regular readers are more than aware of this.

setting goals [52:6]

I almost forgot to do my project 52 entry for the week so it's only appropriate that this is what I chose.

This is from a guide on how to set attainable goals. I'm participating in project 52 mostly to be able to say that I stuck it out. It's a reasonable goal: one photo a week for a year. It fits all the criteria.
Now, if only I could get my entries in before the last minute...

heart [I heart faces]

This week's theme over at is hearts. That is perfect, since I spent Thursday and Friday working on a Valentine's Day card for my roommate, Rachael.


Consider this a teaser of what the final card looks like. This was taken while she was drawing the chalk art for the final card.

a post long overdue

Dear home,
In the past week, I've had quite a bit of adventure. I've just been a little slow to blog it. While I have an answer to my heart problem, I have not yet been 'fixed' so I am still in pain. My priority is shooting, not blogging.

For class, I had to do a series of 'non-representational' shots. And along the way, I saw some really awesome things (most of which did not qualify for the assignment).





Part of my journeying involved taking Doug with me to the downtown area. We found the coolest wall ever. I must come back and shoot here again.

We also danced on the roof of a parking garage.

On our way home, I saw this scene. I stealthily set up the shot and snapped away before he could see me. The light was just perfect--the way it diffused through the plastic and wrapped around every surface... this was a street photographer's dream.



A few days later, Dave and I went to the beach to play mad scientist. I already showed a sneak peek of it for my project 52 because I could not wait to share it.




All of the shots were lit from below by a flashlight buried in the sand. He filled the glassware with water and dropped in some dry ice. The bubbles came from adding dish soap, as did a lovely blue color.
We also lit some isopropyl alcohol on fire as a reprise of our original mad scientist adventure.



My life feels simultaneously like it is speeding by and dragging on at the same time. I'm waiting to be scheduled for a medical procedure to fix my heart and just watching things as they come. A train speeds by, slowing down to block the road as it stops for reasons we'll never know. We inch past a church as slow as possible and the stained glass still blurs in the late night dark.


Life is strange sometimes but it is also beautiful. I may be behind on blogging, but I'm certainly not behind on shooting and appreciating. I just need to be better so I can get back to sharing what I love with you.