Saturday, July 30, 2011
Mine!
Well, I've added a few more serious photos lately, but it is time to just have some fun. Reclamation of Youth Day (Bellingham Herald, KOMO) was a few weeks ago and the day was filled with just too much fun, including the best game of flies up you'll ever see. More to come from this great day!
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Un Año Despues
I can't believe that it has been a year since I returned from Peru. That is a statement that I can hardly believe myself. Has it really been that long? Has it gone that fast? Has it really passed by? Have i lived in 2 homes, been jobless, volunteered for months, found a job, been on a few retreat, bought a camera, made friends, written thousands of emails, posted thousands of pictures? Has that really happened?
It is a little strange to be writing another 'one year later' post. I remember the sentiment I held while writing my lament of a year after CASP. In that post, I missed the community, the people, the heat, the fact that I was a college student being challenged to look at the world through a lens that I didn't know existed. It was an exhilarating experience. Then to look back on that a year later in the blandness of Spokane while working, just didn't cut it.
But Peru was different. Rather than being a life shattering, path changing, I'm never going to be the same type of person ever, it was a time to solidify who I was. It was a period that took so many lessons from that CASP trip and gleaned the ones that really mattered out and helped me to become who I was supposed to be. It showed me how to really be the ideals I held and how to be with the people with whom I held them. I really practiced inter-cultural relations and experienced life abroad without the safety net of other upper middle white college students standing at my side. I grew to thrive in a family that I hold nearly as deep as the one that I'm related to by blood. I grew to find another land that I really knew the history, geography, language and even pop culture of. There were days when I felt separate. There were days when I felt like I was in the middle of things, but more Peru taught me to be at home. It taught me to walk down the streets with a smile on my face and constantly looking for the good and the unique in the mundane. That may have just been a bit of naiveté or even the photographer's eye, but it became part of who I was.
So now a year separated from that experience, I still love the moments of walking down my street and seeing the beauty in the normalcy. I am enthralled by the wrinkles on a bus driver's face in the window. Happy when I hear a song that just doesn't fit the vehicle it is being pumped from. I'm happy to smile at children and to soak in that sea breeze.
This isn't to say that this year has been all roses. I spent some dark days on unemployment. Some lonely nights reading. I've even passed a few days that made me question why I'm answering technical questions about computer games from middle aged women. But, when it comes down to it, Peru solidified who I am outside my comfort zone to the point that I re-entered that area and being in Seattle kicked me around in that zone until I really made it my own.
So, I cannot proceed without thanking those who brought me through the Peruvian and Seattle experiences. Thanks to the friends of old who have stuck by me and the new ones who have built up around. Thanks to The family who has supported me in who I am. Thanks to that wonderful girl I get to date who makes me smile and thanks to a city that I'm happy to call my own.
So, you may be wondering, why this photo? What does a woman holding out a hat have to do with a year in Seattle? For me, it's all about pride in who you are. That is actually the name of the photo, 'Orgullo' or pride in Spanish. This woman, Vincinte de la Cruz, is a member of the Huayanay Artisan Community in Huayanay, Huancavelica, Peru and this photo is especially special to me because her pride in her work on this alpaca hat just shines through her squinted eyes. Each line on her face speaks volumes of the trials she has endured and the years at 13,000 ft above sea level that she has lived. But through that, she is who she is and she was so happy to share it with me. This is how I feel a year later. I don't have the wrinkles to prove it and maybe I dont have an alpaca hat, but I'm a more sure of who I am and I'm proud of that.
It is a little strange to be writing another 'one year later' post. I remember the sentiment I held while writing my lament of a year after CASP. In that post, I missed the community, the people, the heat, the fact that I was a college student being challenged to look at the world through a lens that I didn't know existed. It was an exhilarating experience. Then to look back on that a year later in the blandness of Spokane while working, just didn't cut it.
But Peru was different. Rather than being a life shattering, path changing, I'm never going to be the same type of person ever, it was a time to solidify who I was. It was a period that took so many lessons from that CASP trip and gleaned the ones that really mattered out and helped me to become who I was supposed to be. It showed me how to really be the ideals I held and how to be with the people with whom I held them. I really practiced inter-cultural relations and experienced life abroad without the safety net of other upper middle white college students standing at my side. I grew to thrive in a family that I hold nearly as deep as the one that I'm related to by blood. I grew to find another land that I really knew the history, geography, language and even pop culture of. There were days when I felt separate. There were days when I felt like I was in the middle of things, but more Peru taught me to be at home. It taught me to walk down the streets with a smile on my face and constantly looking for the good and the unique in the mundane. That may have just been a bit of naiveté or even the photographer's eye, but it became part of who I was.
So now a year separated from that experience, I still love the moments of walking down my street and seeing the beauty in the normalcy. I am enthralled by the wrinkles on a bus driver's face in the window. Happy when I hear a song that just doesn't fit the vehicle it is being pumped from. I'm happy to smile at children and to soak in that sea breeze.
This isn't to say that this year has been all roses. I spent some dark days on unemployment. Some lonely nights reading. I've even passed a few days that made me question why I'm answering technical questions about computer games from middle aged women. But, when it comes down to it, Peru solidified who I am outside my comfort zone to the point that I re-entered that area and being in Seattle kicked me around in that zone until I really made it my own.
So, I cannot proceed without thanking those who brought me through the Peruvian and Seattle experiences. Thanks to the friends of old who have stuck by me and the new ones who have built up around. Thanks to The family who has supported me in who I am. Thanks to that wonderful girl I get to date who makes me smile and thanks to a city that I'm happy to call my own.
So, you may be wondering, why this photo? What does a woman holding out a hat have to do with a year in Seattle? For me, it's all about pride in who you are. That is actually the name of the photo, 'Orgullo' or pride in Spanish. This woman, Vincinte de la Cruz, is a member of the Huayanay Artisan Community in Huayanay, Huancavelica, Peru and this photo is especially special to me because her pride in her work on this alpaca hat just shines through her squinted eyes. Each line on her face speaks volumes of the trials she has endured and the years at 13,000 ft above sea level that she has lived. But through that, she is who she is and she was so happy to share it with me. This is how I feel a year later. I don't have the wrinkles to prove it and maybe I dont have an alpaca hat, but I'm a more sure of who I am and I'm proud of that.
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Block Party
Back in June, 4th Ave in Ballard had it's first block party. Good times were had by all!
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
The David Wax Museum
Thanks to The David Wax Museum for a wonderful house show last night. I really loved every minute of it and hope you can get the vibe that they filled my living room with. Definitely a band worth checking out!
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Marcus and Stacie
This is the first wedding video that I've ever done. It was a lot of fun to shoot and then a long process to edit. This trailer was a much easier and smaller undertaking. If you ever want to see the full version, I have that too, but this hits on all the interesting parts. More than anything, it's just fun to help out some great friends as they will have a great life!
Monday, July 11, 2011
Sunset Bokeh
I love sunsets and the way that it really brings out colors, both bright and dark. It is just the time of day when magic happens.
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Under Natural Lights
I loved the Kingdome. This ugly structure that filled the Seattle skyline for years was where my love for baseball was born. This is where I saw the first game with both Griffeys play, where I saw Alex Rodriguez' first RBI, where I saw Randy Johnson dominate with a mustache that still gives me the chills and really where I became a good friend with my dad for taking me to so many games. But, now after something like 12 years in the Safeco Field, is just as true as ever, baseball is meant to be played under the sun.
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
The feet of Summer
Summer is for sandals, shorts, and even some sunburns. Today, July 5th, is the traditional beginning of Summer her in Seattle. It's time for all those complaints of rain and darkness to come out. For us to step out of boots and dress shoes and replace them with sandals or just bare feet. It's time to let your toes dig themselves into a beach or some green grass. To stand by a BBQ and to really be with the people that we care about. It's the time where nothing should be kept up inside and we get out. We rock these sandals that protect just what we need, let us be comfortable in who we are and not hide much. Let that be your mantra for this summer, let's live lives like feet in sandals.
Monday, July 4, 2011
Erika
I tried to find a photo that really exemplified the 4th of July for me, but ended up with just a great photo of a great person. I love the colors, her smile and that I get to take lots of pictures of her.
Don't worry because I'm looking forward to taking some firework photos tonight. You'll see those soon.
Don't worry because I'm looking forward to taking some firework photos tonight. You'll see those soon.
Saturday, July 2, 2011
Gifts
During the Krista Foundation for Global Citizenship's Annual Conference, this little lady stole all our hearts. On the last day, she gave me a picture that she had 'drawn' and I had to thank her with a photo. I later found out that this drawing had actually been drawn for her by another Krista Colleague. So, I guess she was just practicing paying it forward?
It is moments like this when I love taking photos. You can't script this. You can't plan it. You just have to have your camera around your neck and use it. The camera didn't take away from the moment, but I said I couldn't accept it unless I could always remember who sent it and I hope it rewarded us both.
It is moments like this when I love taking photos. You can't script this. You can't plan it. You just have to have your camera around your neck and use it. The camera didn't take away from the moment, but I said I couldn't accept it unless I could always remember who sent it and I hope it rewarded us both.
Friday, July 1, 2011
Chasing the night
During my 3 days at Camp Spalding during the Krista Foundation for Global Citizenship conference (check out the Keynote by Ron Ruthruff, I really wanted to get away one night and get some night shots. The first night of the weekend was really cloudy (see Clearwater Lodge photo) and the second night I was just exhausted. So, I had to go the last night and it was totally worth it. The sky was just lit up with stars. The Milky way was visible and I'm just thrilled to get to take these photos that are simply impossible to take when you live in Seattle. I love the rotation of this shot as well, it's just such a cool world we live in!
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