cherry tomato

new camera=new passion

so, my christmas gift this year was a Nikon D50. I have been wanting one for over a year now, and it was well worth the wait. I have never been much of a photographer, but like so many others, after starting this blog I became much more interested in photography. Not only do I want to have better photos for my blog, but I am excited about exploring photography from a creative perspective. I have much to learn, but I'm excited about the process. My sister gave me a Holga last year, and I've taken some photos with it that I have yet to develop, but I promise to share those with you once I get them.

Last month I ordered some prints of some of Maditi's polaroids, and I'm completely in love with them. She sent several extra polaroid prints and two of her color posters. It was a little gift to myself. Not only do I love her work, but she's also a total sweetheart. That makes me love her work even more. I can't wait to get these framed and up on the wall so I can enjoy them every day.

I also wanted to direct you to the Kim Family Auction. Nearly 50 artists have contributed to the auction organized by Lisa Congdon, Stephanie Barnes and Gerrie Congdon. All of the proceeds will go the James Kim Memorial Fund. The auction has just kicked off, and there are some wonderful pieces on the block, so head on over and make a bid on one or more of the fabulous items.

self portrait tuesday friday

I had every intention of posting these photos on tuesday and not friday, but it just didn't work out for me. at least i'm still posting the photos in the same month. a series of a day in the life of my lipstick:

I believe I've mentioned before that I am addicted to lip products. and yes, that is the only addiction from which i suffer, well unless you count caffeine. i suppose i would count caffeine since i have withdrawal headaches if i don't have my one cup a day. see with my addiction to caffeine, i can just drink that one cup and i'm all right for the rest of the day. but with lipstick, well, that requires all day maintenance. so many things interfere with the lipstick/lip balm/lip gloss on your lips that you have to keep the lip products with you at all times. i have some at home, in my car, in my handbag, at work, and often in coat pockets. i never want to be without.

enough about lip products (for now). here is a picture i took yesterday morning of  our first daffodils of the season. i love their perky proclomation of springs arrival:

(you probably don't need me to tell you this, but none of the above photos were altered in any way - scary)

self portrait tuesday - family history

I'm a bit late getting this up. I had to have my mother email some photos to me for my post today. When I first pulled them up, I couldn't quite bring myself to post them. I'm not sure why, but tears started streaming down my face when I saw these. Maybe it's because my parents look (and were) so young here. Or maybe it's because my birthday is this weekend, and seeing myself so small was a real reminder of just how old I'm getting. Or it could be because I realize where my parents were in their lives when I was born, and it really made me recognize the sacrifices they made for me. I was six months old at the time these pictures were taken. My father was in college and they were living in married-student housing . My mother dropped out of school when she had me and didn't go back to school until I was in elementary school.  My father played college football and majored in physical education. He wanted to become a football coach. He ended up becoming a helicopter pilot in the Army, and my mother became a registered nurse.

This is a picture of our dog Holly and me. I adored that dog, and I have been told my first word was her name.

Mom and me (note photo of Dad in football gear in the background)

Dad and me

self portrait tuesday - personal history

    

the first picture is of my family circa november 1980 shortly after moving to alaska. i feel pretty confident my mother will want to wring my neck for posting this picture (she's not a fan of pictures of herself), but it's the only picture i could find of the four of us.

the collage is a compilation of pictures from my senior year in high school. my mother left on the day after thanksgiving in november 1990, exactly 10 years after the first picture. i didn't know it at the time, but that ended up being one of the most pivitol moments in my life. i think everyone looks forward to their senior year in high school, and i was no different. however, i was so disappointed that my mother was not there to share in the experience. a couple of months after leaving, she informed my father she wanted a divorce. then my father went away - not physically, but emotionally. as a teenager, i had mixed feelings about this. i was of course devistated at the thought of my parents getting divorced, and it affected every day of my senior year. however, there was also a part of me that felt a little liberated. my parents had been pretty strict while i was growing up, and i suddenly had no parenting. i was able to get away with a lot more than i had previously and had so much fun. however, one of the problems was, since my parents were essentially gone, i was left with the responsiblity of taking care of my sister (see previous spt entry). looking through the pictures from my senior year, i look incredibly happy. i mean, look at that scary one of me with the giant head and double chin - i don't think it's possible to smile any bigger than that. my way of dealing with loss of my family was to throw myself into my social life, and avoid the situation as much as possible. it wasn't until i graduated and moved away that the full force of the change really hit me. i still mourn the loss of my family on a regular basis. it is as if once the unit dissolved, our relationships with one another changed forever, and things have never been the same.

self portrait tuesday - sisters

For me, this picture captures so much. This is me and my sister in, I believe, 1980, just after we return to the U.S. from living in Germany. I am the older one. We're out at my family's lake property, which, as I've mentioned before, is a very special place for me, and will be the place where I get married. I'm holding up the first fish I ever caught, and I remember feeling so proud. Looking at it now, it is a very small fish, but at the time, it seemed like an enormous accomplishment. My family has fished for trout from that lake for four generations.

I also love how my sister is looking at me. It is just so her. First of all, when she was younger, she was so full of happiness, and she always seemed to have that wonderful smile on her face. Second, she really looked up to me as her big sister, and this picture really captures that. Because she looked up to me so, I felt an obligation to protect her. For example, if we watched a show or movie that scared her, I would always try to convince her not to be scared, even though I was just as scared as she was. I felt it was my obligation as an older sister to not let her see me as scared as she was.

I am so happy to have a sister in my life. She truly was my best friend while we were growing up, even though at the time I generally thought she was a pest. At some point, she stopped looking up to me in that way, and it was very difficult for me to deal with. Now, we have a lot of similar interests, and we talk on the phone several times a week. I truly believe she knows be better than anyone else in the world, and I wouldn't want it any other way.

 

self portrait tuesday - reflective surfaces #3

self portrait tuesday - reflective surfaces #2

This was taken using a GIANT mirror i found sitting on the sidewalk and leaning against a building a few blocks away from my house. I ended up taking the mirror home with me. you never know when you'll need a giant mirror.

self portrait tuesday - reflective image

I took this picture in my bedroom mirror with christmas lights behind me. I wanted to try to capture the overall color that the colored lights leave in the room. Unfortunately, I couldn't find the proper angle to get a good shot of  both the lights and the frame of the mirror in one photo.

self portrait tuesday - creating

here is a picture of me at my sewing machine. this was my mother's sewing machine for almost twenty years before it came to me, and i have had it for nearly 10. we have both been keeping quite busy these days, and our time together is when i am happiest. i get this energy flowing through me that doesn't happen at any time other than when i am creating something. i feel so fortunate because i realize that not everyone has a creative outlet. It has always been an important part of who I am, and lately it has taken on an even more prominent role in my life. when i go back to working full time in january, it is going to be a challenge for me to make sure i keep creating, but i know it's something i have to do, and it's something worth the extra effort to make happen.