Practice makes perfect

Last week, a few of my classmates and I got together to practice. My photo classmate, Roger, and I were inspired by Eugene Richard's Dorchester Days and asked, Bram, to be our model.

Dorchester Days was in black and white but I went against the grain and decided to go with color. After a couple of hours with Bram (radio track), Roger and I took a walk around snowy Portland.

Oh Yes

For the past couple of days I've done nothing but walked. I explored Peaks Island for two days on foot with improper snow shoes (only one of the two days) and I walked to some unfamiliar areas of Portland during the snow storm. 

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Before I talk about what I found during my exploratory missions, let me be honest, our "neighborhood' assignment this week really kicked my ass. I don't know if I mentioned this the other day, but I felt like Nelson (my instructor), set the bar pretty damn high. To be even more honest with you, I didn't feel good about photography since day one of class. I felt like maybe I've been "doing it wrong." I never had any formal training, most things I know is self taught. I learn the business side from the ground up, much like the technical side of photography. I am not well versed in the who's who of photography. Basically, I felt discouraged. But I am excited to learn, eager really. I'm also excited about finding myself again as a photographer. 

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Day 1 on Peaks was pretty great. I got some help from Mira and her family (Mira is the Writing Instructor at Salt) after I met them at the ferry station. They were so kind to give me proper snow shoes and pointed me in the right direction (as far as where to find certain things on the island). I walked until I got exhausted. I was alone for the most part so my journey felt lonely. I originally wanted to walk and cover the whole island on one day but I was defeated. 

When I got back on the main land, I met one of my classmate and told her what I was doing. When she told me she thought it was pretty ambitious, I started to feel paranoid. I didn't want to be ambitious and miss the point of the assignment...but I didn't want to play it safe. So threw my plans of going back to Peaks to finish exploring out the window and began to doubt myself. 

The next day I went to my favorite coffee shop and looked around. I thought about the word neighborhood and thought that maybe I could profile the shop. I felt pretty confused so I emailed Nelson. He mentioned that a coffee shop is not quite a neighborhood and said that he was sorry I didn't like Peaks. But it wasn't that I didn't like Peaks, I was afraid to get the assignment wrong...but why? It's the first freaking assignment for goodness sakes! Like I said, I have been questioning my photography since I arrived so it was easy for me to get discouraged. So I decided to go back and revisit. This time exploring the other side of the island. To my surprise, the second day really solidified my choice of choosing the island. I took a lot of photos...A LOT. I will have to narrow it down to 20 for my critic tonight. Here are some photos that I took with my iPhone whilst exploring. 

found my motto for my time in Portland

exploring during the storm

asked a local about hidden gems, he pointed me to the fish market

found a hidden gem in a alley way

Portland is full of graffiti 

beautiful light on Peaks Island

this here is actually a frozen pond from ice skating

Peaks Island was beautiful

lunch break on the coast

a view from the shore of Peaks

swamp grases are tall!

narrow snow covered boardwalk

Battery Steel built during WWII

can you tell why I'm in love?

What I've learned in the past couple of days is to really trust my instinct. If I wanted to profile Peaks as a neighborhood, why not? Say yes. I really need to believe in myself, my abilities, and judgement as a photographer. At the same time, be open to new methods, critics, and experiences because after all, I'm here to learn.

Week 1

We've been thrown in to the water and learning how to swim for the first time. I'm pretty sure one of the track professors referenced that, but I can't remember whom. That's basically how this week has felt. We've gone over our syllabi, assignments, expectations, partners, and lectures. We've been thrown onto the street to strike up conversations with strangers and to record sounds.

I never thought the day would come for me to attend school, so walking into Salt on Monday was a pretty big deal. Shane was right, it finally hit me. It was a mixture of nerves and excitement. Sitting in the sacred photo cave gave me a sense how intense this experience is going to be. There's an importance of hard work and dedication just floating around.

What I love about Salt is that our instructors are extremely knowledgable in their field. They are all working professionals. Nelson, my photography instructor, is a talented photographer and is basically a photography genius. He's like the dictionary of photography. I'm so excited that he will be teaching us photo literacy, because I have no idea who the forefathers are. Names never stuck with me so I'm trying really hard to absorb.

After our multimedia labs today I started exploring. The sky is dumping snow on us and I'm pretty sure its been snowing for 12 straight hours. I thought it would make for some great neighborhood photographs. I struggled to find courage to photograph today. I only snapped about five frames. I'm not sure if I'm just not seeing what I'm interested in, or if Nelson's is and isn't is making me rethink photography. Not that I wasn't methodical before, but I'm just a bit more careful about what a landscape photograph looks like now.

Today was our last day of class for the week so I am taking the ferry to the islands to explore a bit more. I've got some leads on a project story, but my brain is still pulling me in five different directions. Hopefully being in open water will give me a sense of clarity.

Hello Friends!

I know it seems like I never returned from my train trip, but I am in fact alive and well. I've decided to come back to blogging for the first time in a few years. A few things have changed during my absence from Pretty Little Fings. To start, I am sad to say that I've put down the sewing needle to pursue my love of photography. This love has driven me to start a business, a photography blog, and now into school. 

Late last November, I was accepted into The Salt Institute for Documentary Studies!!  In a week, I will be heading up to Portland, Maine, to embark on the next phase of my life. Please follow me here as I keep you updated on my adventure in higher education, being out of my comfort zone, and basically scraping by. There will be lots of photos (get ready!), many tears (get ready), lots of late night ramen eating, traveling, and rants of bettering my future and fine tuning my career. 

a party for a very special baby

this evening i attended a very lovely little baby shower like non i had attended before. this one was outdoors and had assigned tables, quirky games, and even a popcorn machine!

my friends Ashley and Rocky are expecting their first child and they have chosen me as the designated photographer. i was there with them at their first sonogram when they found out that they were having a boy.



so i was even more honored to have been invited as a guest to their baby shower. the weather couldn't have been more perfect...well, it was a wee bit cold...and the lighting, ugh, the lighting, it was perfect too.







i can't wait to meet this lucky little boy. there was so much love and thought put into this little party. love you guys!

cute baby pt. 2

last fall, i was lucky enough to meet Josie and her parents. i was even more lucky to have gotten the opportunity to capture a photograph of her standing up for the first time. she recently turned one and they came back to let me photograph them for the second time. this time, i set up a cute little picnic for them in a secluded spot decked out with cupcakes and balloons.



what a fun little shoot it was. Josie is a lot more active now...but i guess it comes with being one and the whole family is a treat to photograph.

our adventure

on Saturdays, Shane and i like to go thrifting. i'd say it's one of our favorite hobbies together. his mom used to take him with her when he was little, and i'm just a hoarder. we've found so many great treasures and deals...i'll have to remember to take photos of them and share!

yesterday, we decided to pack up my whole camera collection and went on an impromptu adventure as it was his birthday. we didn't get to take any photos of my collection...but i took other photos and i wanted to share!













fun times!

thrifted finds

this weekend was full of thrifting and goodies and unnecessary money spending. i picked up a couple of great prezzies for friends and found myself two cameras to add to my collection. the best find of the weekend was the Polaroid Cool Cam for $8...and it still works!!



and on top of that, my entire outfit today was thrifted. needless to say, i feel pretty good. happy Monday everyone! off to work i go.

oh! and...



my hair is getting long. any suggestions? 

Food Friday

every once in a while, i like to take photos of what i eat. Lacey, is really good at that. but me? i'm just shy of mediocre. but when it's just too pretty to dig in without evidence, i whip my camera out. for instance, my breakfast from the other morning.



and speaking of food photography. here's a look at what i baked last night...



that, my friends, is a piece of cookies n cream Oreo fudge brownie. you can thank my roommate, Meg, for that. she was the mastermind and found the recipe from KevinandAmanda.com. (Meg has just found StumbleUpon and she's been sending me food and photography links left and right.) as soon as i saw the recipe, it was over. we hopped over to the store, grabbed the ingredients, and whipped up a batch...oh my goodness was it tasty! i'm not sure if i had undercooked it (like how i like to bake most of my brownies so it's really gooey on the insides) or if it's because of the extra fudge added into it...wait! did i tell you there was fudge AND cookies 'n cream ice cream in the batter itself?? oh yea, and we used double stuffed Oreos. it's so rich i could only handle eating half of a piece...so maybe a nice glass of cold milk would help wash it down.

thanks to Kevin and Amanda (and their cute Bostons!!!!) for this divine recipe...

Cookies ‘N Cream Oreo Fudge Brownies
1 box Brownie Mix
eggs & oil (as called for by the brownie mix)
1 heaping half cup (6 oz) Cookies & Cream ice cream
1/4 Cup hot fudge topping (chilled or room temp)
Preheat oven & spray an 8×8 baking dish generously with cooking spray. Combine brownie mix, eggs, and oil as directed on the back of the box, but do not add the water. Add ice cream and hot fudge to the brownie batter and stir to combine. Pour half of the brownie batter into the baking dish, layer with Oreos, then top with remaining batter. Bake for 40-50 minutes or as directed on the back of the box.

YUMMMMMMM...

Lovely Bride

Meghan was the New Year's Eve bride. she was wonderful and so laid back. i loved the hair piece so much!

hello, hi, how do you do?

just checking in. i want to show you that i've really just been busy. not lazy...well, ok, a bit of both.

oh wait? did i tell you i'm a barista? well, sort of. i make juices and smoothies too, the healthy kind...not Orange Julius even though they are delish! i've been working on mastering the espresso machine and today i finally made a leaf! it's not quite a 'rosetta,' but it's a leaf and it's pretty.



and i've been working on photos from a New Year's Eve wedding. did i tell you about that? no? yes? oh well, i just did.



ok. so that's it for tonight. promise to be back again soon!

xoxo

I'm four days late!!!

but...Happy New Year!!

{photograph by Rachel Lee}

 

i got to photograph a lovely wedding on New Year's Eve, but that meant no kisses. that's ok though. so what did you guys do?

first snow

today we got our first snow...que freak out...and as usual, i took a photo...i'm a nerdball.



hope you all have a great Friday. be safe out there!

Coast to Cote: week 35

last week i didn't have enough time to post our weekly Coast to Cote. it was week 35 and without further ado, here is our baby...



Pang: A great little place called the Source just recently opened up in our town. It's a place in town to recycle, buy locally made goods and organic foods. Lacey came over during her break the other day and we went over to check it out. This little honey bottle and the logo caught both of our eyes. I couldn't get over how cute it was so I ended up making the purchase. It's a local honey from the next town over. We were both wondering why the color was much lighter than the other bottle sitting next to it. I finally Google'd it this morning and found out that it must have been harvested in the Spring time when bees collect nectar from flowers. Now I know why it was also in a smaller bottle. I love how Google can help in answer my life's questions. Thanks!

Lacey: So about a month ago I started volunteering at the animal shelter in Frederick and I would send pictures of the dogs to my dad. He kept giving me a hard time - saying I shouldn't send pictures because he is weak and will want one (duh, that's why I sent them) - but I really got his attention with the two weenie dogs that came into the shelter. I sent him links from Petfinder so he could read up about the dogs and even though those two weenies got adopted before Dad could make a move, it set off a craze in him to find one and before I knew it he was sending me links of dogs from Petfinder too. This dog - who was named Miss Sugar - was one I saw when we first started browsing Petfinder but then she dissapeared. She popped up again this week and when Dad found out she would be in the area he just had to go see her. And now she is ours! She has had a sad little life but we plan to change that. Miss Sugar - now Pocahontas (keeping with the Disney princess theme - we had an Ariel and a Jasmine previously) was a puppy mill mom. Before she had even reached the age of two she had already had 4 litters of puppies (incredible because she is soooo tiny). Once she got rescued from that unhappy situation she bounced from foster to foster and then was adopted by a family who brought her back. They had a hamster in the house that ran loose and Miss Sugar liked to terrorize it. Luckily for Miss Sugar my dad is a sucker for weenie dogs and now she's ours. She's super sweet and hopefully she will warm up to us all soon. She looks a little nervy huh?

pieces of Maine

i'm finally back from a wonderful visit to Maine. i made a jar full of the good things we found along the rocky beaches of Winter Harbor.



i can't wait to see all of the photographs on the big screen (we are looking at them together tonight after work and i'm so excited). click on the photograph to see what we found! happy Monday!

Coast to Cote: week 34

Pang: I had another photo shoot with the Slough's for their fall family portraits over the weekend. The weather couldn't have been more perfect really. In between shots, Haiden stretched out his hands towards me as i snapped a quick photo. Kids are so cute!

Lacey: This past weekend I went to New York for the weekend with my old room-mate Brittney. We've done a bit of a traveling together and I feel like maybe we are getting better at balancing each other's moods and itineraries. Our activities for the weekend centered mostly around museums and food. The first day we went to the MET and checked out the Roman statues and the Egyptian exhibit. We ate at Candle 79 that night (which you must check out!) and were rewarded with amazing food, free drinks and Alicia Silverstone in the building! The second day we went to the Natural History Museum to see the butterfly exhibit (they were flying so close to my head, I was a little creeped out) and then that evening before jumping (or rather pushing and shoving our way) back onto the bus we stopped at Babycakes - an all vegan bakery around the corner from the bustop in Chinatown. Alicia Silverstone's book had tipped me off to this place as well and we were not at all dissapointed. The treats were great, Morrissey was playing and the girls were dressed as pin up 50's girls with their hair up in scarves and their lips painted red. 

Foto Fun Friday

every once in a while, you see a photo and it just strikes you to the core.this photo of the Black Keys in Lollapalooza by Mat Ellis is one of them. (here for better quality). just looking at it makes me want to be a better photographer. the lighting is just perfect...scratch that...EVERYTHING is perfect about this photo. i wonder what Matt's reaction was when he saw this. i bet it was an amazing feeling. that's the question that's been burning in my mind. what's the reactions of these great photographers when they knew they got the shot. i've never gotten a shot of this epic proportion, but i know the moment i captured exactly what i wanted, i get all giddy inside, like there's a ton of butterflies in my stomach...maybe like discovering that you love a person for the first time...i just want to throw my fists in the air and let out a little scream. yea, like that. maybe it's different for everyone.

how do you react? what inspires you to be better at what you do?

Coast to Cote: week 33

Pang: Let's get nostalgic, shall we? I went over to my grandparents the other day with my new roommates and showed them around the property. We came upon the little swing that used to be a part of the old swing set we had growing up. For some reason it stuck around and was finally bolted down onto this tree branch. Now the little ones use it...well, some of us grown up grandchildren still us it to this day. Seeing it in this light brought back memories of my cousins and I using it in our tree houses, wrapping the chain around the tree branches...makes me wish I was a kid again.

Lacey: This past weekend I had the pleasure of photographing Heather and Josh's wedding reception. My arms were aching by the end of it but I actually had a blast watching everyone dance and have a good time and eat candy and cupcakes (they had a candy table set up and a million cupcakes instead of a cake). Now I just have lots of editing in front of me.

Nostalgia

remember Vincenzo? well, he finally moved out west to Seattle to pursue his love of photography, film, music, and fashion. i must admit i'm a little jealous of his ballsy-ness. i would love to be there right now...he tried to talk me into it several times so we could be roomies...but i'm too much of a chicken.

we become photo partners over the summer and went on a couple of excursions together and while doing so, he always took clips of videos as well. here's a compilation of his summer clips.

















every time i watch this it makes me miss him more and more. follow his photographic adventures here, watch more of his videos here, and read his thoughts here!

Coast to Cote: week 32

Pang: This week has been kinda blah for me. I’ve been stressing about my move, which turned out to be fine. Subsequently, I’m now stressed out about the unpacking process. I HAVE SO MUCH STUFF. Too much stuff for just one person some might say. I havent been feeling like myself lately, but luckily, I have some great friends and family. My new roommate Meghan gave me a smiley face cookie to brighten up my day.

Lacey: I managed to swindle Ryan into going to the pumpkin patch with me this past week. He wasn't super enthused and I ended up picking his pumpkin but I'm glad we went - even if we still haven't found the time to carve them or make pumpkin seeds.