my new friend

I have a new friend. Or, actually, not very new, because I have had it since October. My new friend is a Canon AE-1 Program, and came from my aunt and uncle - who were very sweet and sent it to me when they heard I was looking for an old film camera. Based on the warranty card, it looks like my uncle bought it in 1982 when he was around my age. Doesn't that make it all the more neat? =)

So far, I've shot one and a half rolls of film, and consider myself addicted. Already, spare film is beginning to populate the freezer and fridge. The next step down the slippery slope is creating a darkroom, though I'll have to wait until we move out of our rental house to get into that.


Photos from my first roll will be coming soon =)

missing charleston

robyn and dan: gwinnett environmental center wedding

I'm realizing that I don't like to write about my pictures. I prefer to have the photos speak for themselves, though how well that actually works is very much up to viewer discretion =) That being said, I feel like a couple things need to be mentioned before I blog this wedding.

For one thing, Robyn and Dan are absolutely amazing. Their day was so special; filled with family and friends who had gathered to show love and support for them. It was a joy and an absolute delight to be chosen to document their day, and I can safely say that it was one of the highlights of my year. Second, I could not have done this without my wonderful brother, who was my second shooter. I worked him hard ;) Third, the venue, the Gwinnett Environmental Center, was a dream to shoot in, I hope to have the opportunity to shoot there again.

holiday cheer

Just a little something to spread some holiday cheer, and get me back in the blogging habit =)

happy halloween!

I hope it is a great one =)

rediscovering me

I'm coming to a conclusion. There are three kinds of bloggers - those who blog because they love it, those who blog because they have time, and those who blog when they have time.

I am discovering that I fall into the latter category. I have a love/hate relationship with blogging... therefore it is so much easier to blog when I have nothing to do. Right now is not that time. My brain feels like it is spinning out of control, but then I have to remember that I asked for this. I wanted to be busy, I wanted to not have time to think. And I thrive off the busyness, so I am definitely not complaining. I love being busy and feeling busy. However, there are moments, like last night, when I felt incredibly overwhelmed because I have so many projects and so many things I am having to coordinate details for. In the middle of that, of coordinating orders and making plans and writing things down that I have to do today (blogging didn't make it on that list, incidentally), I was stopped in my tracks by a post on my personal facebook. It was a friend who is just starting her photography business. She had mentioned earlier in the day that she had gotten a new lens, I had replied asking what it was. When she replied back, suddenly everything zeroed in and for about half an hour, I forgot about everything else I had to do and all we did was chat back and forth about photography. What we loved, what we were learning, the appreciation of the art. When the conversation died down and I got ready to go to bed, I realized I felt invigorated again, and so very ready to tackle today. My mind was clear and focused. I had never lost the love of the art, even in the midst of my busy schedule, but I had lost my focus. I had lost the ability to stand back and say "wow, is this really my life?". So I did. I stepped back and said "Wow. I can't believe everything I hoped for last year is actually a reality this month."

It is so worth the work. But more, it is so worth the love.

a bit of perspective

I recently stumbled across this and found myself incredibly challenged. I posted a little about challenging yourself to be more, to do more, in my reaction to Steve Jobs' death. This video though, says it so much better than I ever could. If you have fifteen minutes, you need to watch this. Even if you don't, you still need to watch this. I'm currently turning a very critical eye on myself... my goodness! How very much I have, and how very tightly I hold onto it.



Who else is ready to give all you can to change the world?