music to my eyes.

well, there is no surprise here that i am a big ol fan of le music. not that i know a thing about it,  or have the ability to carry a tune, or play an instrument for that matter. but for those who actually posses the ability to do so, a grand stand of kudos to you. i bow to you. i salute you. so as i am trying to work out through the kinks of my photographic abilities, i decided to take a great opportunity and photograph some friends while they were at work. i am by no means a music photographer, it's so much harder than it looks, but i am gonna practice practice practice until i feel comfortable about it. and portland, oh my, could there be a better place to learn? and at least i get to learn in the comfort of my own devices, no horrendous josephina here to smack my hand because of improper technique. sheesh, that flashback just made me realize why the piano never took for me. what an asshole that woman was. oh well, i digress. no josephina here. and hopefully those whom i will be able to learn from, will do so with a delicate touch. as always, all constructive criticism is welcome and appreciated. this is a forum for me to grow people, and i can't learn if no one tells me different.  and i can hardly believe that i am just that awesome. :)

xoxo.

excitment.

well kids. i did it. i packed up my life and moved to oregon. and so far my friends, it has been an exciting adventure to the say the least. it's funny the first question anyone asks here is, what brings you to portland. lets face it, you kinda have to move here for a purpose as the weather lacks a bit in the open arm friendly inviting kind of way. but here's the deal, i don't really have a purpose. i came here to fine tone my passions. to follow them. live them wildly. to explore. to get excited. 

it has taken me a week and i am happy to say i have finally began taking photos. and more importantly, mistakes or not, i am finally getting excited about what i am taking. it's what i needed to jump back on track and get with the program for what i am doing here. so next time someone asks, instead of saying life, i wanna proudly say, i am chasing my passion. that's why i am here. that's what i am doing. and gosh darn it. i am excited about it.

i took this from the car while road tripping up here. it wasn't where my intention laid but for some inexplicable reason, i love it.

some more car driving photo taking gone right.

a washington state river.

 

more river runs through it action. i wanted my friends to come out in the photo and just not be the focal point. i love how it turned out.

the following two flowers were taken with two seperate 

cameras. i wasn't sure why the background kept overexposing but i totally dug it. and on the second one, i wanted the follow through of the red in the background to be there.... both were taken intentionally, i just can't decide which i like better. maybe i don't have to pick favorites...

what's exciting about this one above is that i feel like it looks photoshopped where really it was just the way i shot it.

xoxo.

buggin' out and then some.

stress is really not even a word that qualifies what it feels like to move states with in two weeks, have no income, and have no place to call home. so buggin out qualifies beautifully for right now. anywho, i am short on words but here are a couple of bug pics i've captured this week and the last one is an orchid that i seem to think looks like a penguin. or mole. or something.

xoxo.

diving into boudoir from all sorts of angles.

i had the amazing opportunity to work with a terrific model and dive into the world of boudoir photography the other day. it was really funny because it was something i had never done before, nor had she, and we were both a little nervous to begin with. ( i would probably recommend a glass of wine for both the model and the photographer to start in the future! :) ) it was also interesting trying to figure out what type of angle i wanted to take. she had asked me to take these for her because she appreciated my "eye" and i wanted to be sure to not disapoint. the thing with boudoir is, there is such a fine line between tasteful and tasteless, tacky and classy, porno and art. as i snapped away i just wasn't achieving what i wanted. and then finally, it clicked. i was looking at this all wrong. she wanted my eye and i wasn't using it. i was too busy trying to "get pictures" as a whole that i stopped being true to my artistic self and stopped looking for what i do best, seeing the picture within the picture, working out the lines. and when that mental click finally occurred, everything after that was just gold. she and i couldn't help but loosen up and smile. i personally think that i was able to achieve tasteful, classy, artistic shots, what do you think?

so the following sequence of photos just shows how a little shift in position can change a photo dramatically. this is why i have such a hard time self editing, i like each one for a completely different reason. 

oh, and as usual, no photoshop involved. just a yellow filter and a beautiful canvas. 

xoxo.

temporary hiatus.

sometimes life just starts to happen and i forget to pull out my camera. truth be told, i actually love it when this happens. it means that i am busy living life and not just standing on the outskirts observing and capturing. but at the same time, it makes me feel like i am not using my creativity. and that is a le boo kind of moment. when cleaning out my camera last night i ran across this picture. its so simple and it was taken while waiting for some mexican food in a drive thru. at the time i was just struck by the simplicity and beauty of the juxtaposition of the flowers and the wall. it still has that same effect on me.

xoxo.

fighting gray with color.

in perfect clockwork, may arrives, the gray comes in tow. it's a san diego phenomenon known as may gray, which is followed by june gloom. two months out of the year in which mother nature threatens the onset of weather. of course it doesn't come, but the threat constantly looms. everyone keeps telling me, "you know, this is what portland is like, always", as if that would deter me. i get it. the pacific northwest is gloomy. it's overcast and gray. but the thing is, it doesn't make me sad. it doesn't bum me out. i love it. i love what it does to the colors that surround. it makes everything pop! so, in preparation for what i  have been threatened to be a life time of gray, i have decided that the best way to combat that is to fill my life with color. so on today, when it's all gray out and the beers of last night have me a little less than motivated today, i want to share some more flowers. pretty, sunny flowers.

 

everyone's life paths take them along different roads...

it's up to you if you just walk along the outskirts, 

or if you stop and surround yourself with it's beauty.

the choice is yours.

xoxo.

changing the ways of the flower.

no surprise here but i have been working on perspective lately and how you can drastically change an image just based on the angle you photograph it and how up close and personal you get to it. below you are going to find three different flowers (the two roses are different) and three different ways to photograph them that makes each one unique, so i hope. with the roses i was trying to figure out a way to maintain its softness. i wish i was able to do that and still keep detail. that's my next learning project i suppose. anywho, the very last photo is my very very favorite. love the detail that i was able to capture in the pollen and the definition of the petals. i wanted it to be rougher than the roses as the flower itself had a spiky feel to it......

xoxo.