Thursday, December 25, 2008

Merry Christmas!

This Christmas Eve,  we had a traditional evening with lots of family and fish. 
I tried to get a photo of my grandmother, but she's too swift for me... :-)

Leo Michael, Mona, Paula, and Steph hanging out on the fireplace.

The party went on, but Lola didn't care, she wanted to go to bed. 

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

No Limits

This is a rough edit of a project that I've been working on about Greg Callen. It's still a work in progress, but I wanted to see what I had to put together. It was fun editing it all and nice to see what I still need to capture. It's pretty unpolished, but enjoy!! Any suggestions would be awesome.





I do know that the title will change... all i keep thinking about is that techno song from the early 90's. "No no, no no no no, no no no no, no no There's no limit!!" I'm about the no no it right to the curb! I've been singing for the majority of my editing experience! :-) Now.. I hope it's stuck in all of those who are reading this post's head too. *insert evil laugh here*

Monday, December 22, 2008

A great way to tell a story

I just love this. It's nothing too new and I saw it a bit back, but I keep going to back to it. It's great

Check out "Photograph of Jesus" by Laurie Hill on vimeo HERE

Friday, December 19, 2008

Something from the summer

Here is a piece I did on Highland Forest Park during my internship at the Post Standard over the summer.


December 18, 2008

I think i might have gotten a little tiny bit lucky on this one....

I was driving home, saw the sun set, lifted up my camera, shot one frame and put the camera down, and didn't think about it again until today. lol. kewl.

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

December 17, 2008

Late night dining, late night eyes.

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

70-200mm

Just thought I'd test out my 70-200 mm lens that I just had tuned up.... Thank goodness it works fine! Because me and Nikon would have to go at it if the focus was still soft. It's fun to go out and shoot your backyard and see what you come back with.




Holy creepy batman... and that's all I have to say about that!

Monday, December 15, 2008

Fowler High School Exhibit

Tonight was our exhibit of the work of our Fowler High School students. It was a great turnout, and some of the students even read their poems.


Ashley showing off her photography and writing.


Taneshia and her son Sammy.

Sunday, December 14, 2008

President Bush and his cat like reflexes

 Check it out HERE on the BBC.

Hondo Mesa Records

Here I am at Hondo Mesa Records while working on portraits for Stephen Masiclat and Dennis Kinsey.  The first image, I'm standing with Joanne and Stephen. The second, I'm standing with Mike. The studio is super cool, and the musicians are amazing!!! I seriously wanted to just hang out, be a studio groupie, and stair at all of the guitars and amps... but there was work to be done!... which is even more rewarding. 
Thanks for the images Dennis!


Prints for sale!!

Interested in some of my work? Well, buy a print!! 
Please visit my photoshelter site HERE

Thanks!

More photos please!

So i did something this morning that I've been meaning to do for several months now. I went through my nonexistent story images and I'm going to add a few more photographs. Here are the ones I toned. I'm going to edit it tighter, but these are my selects. To see the rest of story visit my site HERE

Let me know what you think! Opinions are greatly appreciated here!











Friday, December 12, 2008

What was I thinking!

So, while watching the final critiques for this years graduate multimedia class, I started thinking about my first multimedia experiences. This was my final project last year.. and BOY is it BAD!!! bad bad bad. We had these old canon cameras and no Final Cut at all. Half the cameras were broke, there weren't enough to go around, and imovie blows and it would like to quit very unexpectedly. Not that the equipment was any excuse for what a bad feature story this is. I uploaded my interview wrong and the guy's head is completely stretched. There are so many things wrong with this video. Come to think of it, my class kind of missed out on all of the really important and nifty things the new graduate students have learned. I'm a little jealous! 
:-) That doesn't mean I haven't learned them on my own though!!! mwhahaha.

Everyone in the new class has their own very important strengths and they all have really grown throughout the semester. They all are starting to get their own voices too. I really want to congratulate them on their excellent work. And if any of you are checking out my blog, don't laugh at this video too hard! 


The End has Come

So the end of the semester has finally come and here are some photographs from the last days... for this semester... in Syracuse NY.

Sneaking a quick picture while helping Joe Blum with his rap video for multimedia.

Jessica and Allison singing Karaoke at Singers. I think they were a little disturbed by the all too flirty dude that decided to sing with them.... Maybe because the only lyrics to the New Kids on the Block song we knew were " oh oh oh oh oh" . 


My friends chilling after their final critique of the fall semester.


So far, I have not had one good semester in the year and half I have been living in Syracuse. If it wasn't one thing, it was the next. And none of it even had to do with school! I love school and photography. We all have personal stresses and realities of life to deal with, I'm not special. SO....I'm not going to get my hopes up about the spring, I'm just going to start the count down until it's all over starting... now! :-) 

Friday, December 5, 2008

Awethumb!!!

So... on our last day of class, Professor Glass introduced us to Awethumb! hahahahaha. I can't even explain it but check out the link HERE...
And.. oh yes.. it's for real. :-P

Web Journalism

Here are two of my projects from Web Journalism with Prof Jon Glass and Prof Steve Davis this past semester. They were created with my two group member Chelsea and John. We had a lot of fun working on these. Enjoy!




Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Heat Stroke Matron of Honor

MOM! Remember this!? Haha. Why am I the only person on earth that still likes this photo? *Sigh* There are some things you just have to let go of...

Where have all the internships gone?


I know it's a strange time of year to be looking for internships... but.... this nppa listing just keeps getting smaller and smaller and smaller. A sign of the times! 

Monday, December 1, 2008

Stephanie Sinclair




Just surfing the net and I came across this. Stephanie Sinclair is one of my biggest inspirations, so hearing her speak about her work and what she does is great.
Click HERE to watch.

Friday, November 28, 2008

My Thanksgiving 2008

Another year is coming to a close, and another Turkey Day has just passed us. This year, I got to spend it with my mom, dad, brother, sister, her boyfriend, and my niece. My mom, the best cook in the whole world, cooked the most amazing meal (aside from my stuffing). Overall, the day was really nice and relaxing. Good memories, good food, and great times. That's all we need. 

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

My First Website

These are screen grabs of my first photography website ever.  I used to think it was awesome! 
:-)



Sunday, November 23, 2008

Ahh those were the days

I can honestly say that I miss the days of peasant skirts, patch works, jams bands and festivals. lol. Yes that's right... I used to spend my summers in grassy fields dancing like i was in a trance listening to some of the finest musicians around. I don't miss it that much to ever spend my days doing that again though! haha!
I met these two lovely ladies tonight while covering the Tea Leaf Green concert and just had to take their picture.

These guys were pretty awesome. I might have to download a couple tunes. It was so much fun being there and just watching everyone enjoy the music immensely. No one was standing still. Everyone was dancing or just bopping around. It had to be nice for them to just forget about their daily lives for a while.

Getting Back to What Actually Matters...

...Family
So on Saturday I randomly called my sister Amy to see how she was. Two hours later, I ended up in Watertown bar hopping with her and David. It was great to see her, and to catch up on things, and to just let loose, and get over things. It was quite the night!!


I had the pleasure of experiencing Watertown in a dance club for a few hours that night too! hehehe

When Something Tragic has an Effect.

It's amazing how much a tragic event can hit a chord inside of you and you really don't know how to react. We are given this amazing gift of creating a life made from our own bodies, but it's sometimes overlooked how a cherished innocent soul can be so easily taken away.

According to the news, a baby was brutally beaten to death over a potty training accident by the 15 year old boyfriend of the mother. The mother, who is 18, is pregnant with another child. It is said, that the baby was often left alone all day so the two could attend high school. They both are being charged for various crimes because of this.

I know the mother. Her name is Cherron, and she appeared to be a decent kid. With one of my classes, I help teach a photography at a local high school. She was one of our students. She always photographed her daughter and enjoyed writing in her journal.

It breaks my heart and I can't really understand any of this. I'm angry. The baby was unrecognizable and died alone. I'm confused and saddened. And i think I feel horrible for Cherron.

Tonight, I went to vigil that was held outside of the home where Imani Jennings was murdered. Here is a short piece I just created:










You can read the full article on syracuse.com HERE

A Reply to Bird

My thoughts continued...

Sure, a child could have happy mistakes too. I look at the comment "its so easy a 9 year old can do it" a lot less literally than most people have (or more literally... I haven't decided exactly how i've taken it yet, read on). Yes, I will not deny this job is a difficult one. It's hard on the mind. It can be critical and take a lot of self motivation. But the equipment at the tips of our fingers is made so accessible. It's not easy to be successful at. It's not easy to make a career out of. It's not easy to be good at it. But simply, it's easy to do. It's easy to get sucked in if people are willing to play around. It's easy to get obsessed about if you really love it. Like writing. You're a writer (I certainly am not). All you need is a pencil and paper... literally (haha). That seems pretty easy. Not that, simply having those to items makes you a good writer. But having a computer doesn't either.  Also, it's not like having all of the best equipment makes you a good photographer.... that's not what I mean by the "easy" statement and I'll never believe that. 

What I took from the comment, which was geared toward journalists was, you can do it if you really want to. It's all here waiting for you. Direct your papers toward online, invest in some video cameras, tell more personal stories that the local community can relate to, make you websites more interactive, make it an experience. 

There are so many hand held this and thats. Technology is so awesome, and kids these days are born into this computer world, that Yes, literally, I believe a 9 year old and operate a camera. Easily. Not that he would instantly be good because he or she knows how to use a piece of equipment.

I stick to what I said. If you really want to do something, you can. It might take longer than some people and everything might not come swiftly or easily, but you can do it. You can be the person you want to be. Where there's a will there's a way.  I'm not cocky, I don't think because I own a camera and know how to use it that means I'm a photographer. It's like owning a paint brush and calling yourself a painter. I'm a photographer because this is my life and my passion. I can't do anything else. I just can't see it. i want to help people and document history. I still have a lot to learn and get through technically and personally. And, my road has been a lot longer and harder than some. But you just keep doing it, if that's what you want to do. 

Like someone once told me when I said I was sad.... Just be happy. I was so insulted... How could I just be happy? You don't understand me. You don't get it! I can't simply be happy! ...It took a long time to realize that you just have to put your mind to it and you can do it... Even if you have a serious imbalance and need medical assistance. If you want to do it you will. You can be happy, just find your happiness, in anything, and the other happinesses will follow. It might take a while. But, if you want to do something, whether it's being happy, going for a walk, being a writer, or a painter, or a body builder, you'll find a way to do it. This is all said without the expectation of receiving the satisfaction of public success and wealth and what not. What's more important is if you're satisfied with yourself, and worry about the rest later. If you want to be happy, be happy. For you and no one else. If you want to be a writer be a writer, because it's what you love and can't help but do... whether you're 9 or 90. Hopefully, you can make a career out of it... that's always a plus. However, if it doesn't work out that way, you still have it. It's yours and no one else's. Your own that passion. You own that happiness. 

I was chatting to someone yesterday, and we were talking about "late bloomers". I think it's okay to be 19, 25, 30, whatever age and still not completely know what you're passion is. It takes some longer than others, but they'll find it. It might not be an "easy" road either. I just know that I don't want to give up on anything and regret it later in life. I've heard so many people talk about what they really wanted to do and always wonder what their life would be like if they followed a dream or passion (and these dreams and passion can change, hell, i went from a dancer, to a musician, to fine art, to journalism, to married, to divorced, all in my super short 23 years of life, and it still might change!). I don't ever want to regret anything, whether it's life or love or career. I want to find all of my passions. And people need to realize, too, that it's never to late to turn around.


I recently learned that, I am the number one most self defeating person. I tend to control my fate with worry and negativity. So it takes me longer to get anywhere, because i put myself down before I even get there. I lose races because I don't run. I don't accomplish things because I think they're going to suck without even trying. We all need to control our thoughts and negative actions. We spend so much time brewing on unfulfilled expectations that we don't look at the greatness in front of us. Expectations are good, I'm not saying they're not. But you can't kill yourself over them and give up. Expectations of yourself and others change all the time too!

Eh. I'll stop blabbing, I'm probably getting myself in more trouble

Just be happy! Just be in love! Let go and do it... Don't give up... That's not something easy. But anyone can do it. 
Not saying that if I really really want to marry Robert Pattison, that I'm going to. lol. It doesn't work that way for everything. :-) But who knows! I can dream! hahahaha

Saturday, November 22, 2008

The past few days

So this week has been rather interesting. Good, bad and ugly. I'm just taking everything day by day because that's all there is to do. Hopefully, it will all get better... but it's really not even bad!
Just keep shooting... that's all I can do.

My dear friend Sara and her husband Joe hanging out at a crazy art show.

dinner at cosmos. I wish i was a freebird..... At this very moment, I'm like a caged bird with clipped wings!

Aunt Pennie and Uncle Donny's kitty cat. She has such a personality, and she looks like my old cat Smokey.

Sara and I did go see Twilight last night. AMAZING! all the giggling girls (including me)were an absolute riot!

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Advice for young photographers

Magnum photographers were asked what there advice was for young photographers. This is great. And very inspirational.

Larry Towell said: "Be yourself. Look outside of yourself."

Eli Reed said: "Stop talking theory when a camera is in their your and do not over-think the image. Lose the ego and let the photograph find you...."

David Hurn said: "Don't become a photographer unless its what you "have" to do. It can't be the easy option. if you become a photographer you will do a lot of walking so buy good shoes."

Check out the rest on Magnum's site here .

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Twilight Parody

Awesome Twilight parody! lol 

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