A Photographer

  Hilarious story!  I was working on my self portrait Thursday pic while my husband was getting ready to go Christmas shopping with me.... working... working... working... nothing special but I was excited to do a little something.... then he comes in and I tell him what I'm doing and he looks at me like I'm a little crazy.... ??? ....

   "Um... it's Sunday" he says.

   "Uhhhh?  Oh... Geez!"

   My little balloon of Thursday happiness pops with a silent phhhhhhhht....

   Well,  I was so excited and I thought it was so funny how off I was that I just had to go ahead and post this for ya'lls amusement.

Best wishes,

Karen

Who do you want to be caught under the mistletoe with this holiday season?
Submitted by An Ebony Epicurean.  

Ohhh this one's easy!!!!!!  My ever-lovin husband!!!!!  We've been married 3 1/2 months and only spent 1 week together!!!  He's been in Iraq but is in route to SA right now!!!

Funny thing though.... I'm jumpin at the bit to see him and I accidentally misunderstood him yesterday when he said he would be in SA "tomorrow".  Well his "tomorrow" was actually my "two days from then".  So I went to the airport today and needless to say I was freakin out when he didn't get off the plane!  But he just left Ireland so it wont be long :)  Time zones are confusing!!!!!!

These are pics that He took of himself at Ft Hood but I edited them... regardless they still go along with my theme of photographing all my QotD's..... which I have been missing more regularly than not... oh well... they are fun.

If you could easily choose to live in another country without all the red tape and legal stuff, which one would you select and why? 
Submitted by Matthew 25.

No red tape!!!!  Tallil Airbase in Iraq for sure!!!!  At least when my husband goes back after Christmas.... and only as long as he's there.... duh!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If I could live anywhere ENJOYABLE I would go for Italy!  Although it's a close tie with London

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And finally if I could live anywhere for the purpose of adventure and documentry my first stop would be China hands down!!!

 

 

With school over I can concentrate on fun projects!!  Projects I get to choose instead of being assigned to me.

I've been in contact with a man who goes with a group of doctors to Guatemala and performs eye surgery.  Originally I was just hoping for them to allow me to tag along to document... I was never dreaming he would give me so many contacts for so many different projects!

Guatemala is still on but he told me about the large international refugee community here in San Antonio.  I am excited to make that my #1 project right now.  I think it's an issue that few realize is happening.  We watch the news and feel sorry for the people suffering but don't realize that some are coming right here and living among us and they need our help.

His wife works with several families.. all from different parts of the globe.  I will keep a journal of the my research and interviews and if it goes the way I hope, I'll have enough information to create a separate blog page on the lives of these families.

Imagine, having your whole life ripped away from you, moved from camp to camp and then coming to America with no knowledge of the English language, and having little or no education.  I'm sure there is so much the community could do for them if they only knew their story.

We as American's take our opportunities for granted.  I don't think it's because we don't care, but more so because we have no way of imagining it. 

I hope to document the individual stories of survivors and refugees to put a face on the suffering around the world.

I also talked to a girl today who is involved with doing just those kinds of stories on the citizens and refugees living in Chad.  It's a fascinating project!  They leave on Saturday for another trip to the camps in Chad

Check out the website.... www.greatestgood.net

 

What's your favorite thing to drink when it's cold outside?

  What a fun project!  I wonder if I could photograph my answer for every 'Question of the Day' question? 

Here's Day #1.

My favorite cold weather drink is Green Tea!!!  It has a caffeine high that's much more gentle than coffee.  Plus, it zones in the energy for better concentration!

My first post to Self Portrait Thursday :)

It also goes along with today's QotD:  What's your favorite cold weather drink :)

Mine is green tea!!

 

  I really didn't realize how many chimicals are put down my drain until it clogged up.  Now I see each one at least a whole minute before it has a chance to drain... soaps and toothpaste mostly,,, but it really is quite a lot!  So before I put 'One chemical to rule them all' down the drain... (Senior Draino will divide and conqure!)... I made this my first mini-project.

  You can see me in one of the shots.  Yes, I'm in a towel (what a way to make a first impression) but hey... I was getting ready for bed. :)  You can also see my Canon PowerShot SD1000.  Of all the bulky expensive cameras and lenses I have this is my favorite for everyday-shots... just a nice point and shoot is all you need to make time stand still... Small enough to carry around anywhere with enough pix and options to be quite functional.  I certainly like it better than my old digital Rebel!  What I'm really looking forward to is a Holga!!!  I think my mom is getting me one for Christmas... X cross my fingers!  As you can tell by my editing I really like vignettes and contrast!

Happy Holidays!

PS

Yesterday was my last exam for the semester and last night was the best sleep I've had all semester!  Pheww.. this was a hard one :)

 

 

 

 

These are my cats.  Chula and Mao Chow.......................--------->

They are very mischievous and love playing in and around the toilet.. In fact they refuse to drink out of a normal water bowl, so when I get home I usually notice how low the water is from all they've splashed out and drank...

1st lesson learned! :)

  -be kind to your past work

The more I look back and look over my work the more I feel that I have accomplished something.  I'm too far along to be b**ching at myself.  I have accomplished something!  The most important thing to do is stand firm next to your creations and stop self-hating.  With that said I think I will post some more of my past stuff, contrary to my last post :)  But not tonight... it's beddy-bye-time :)

Peace! lol :)

Tomorrow's to-do list

1. get out camera

2. shoot with camera

3. love my camera

Assignment~ My apartment complex with Bronica (add~ buy film ~ to todo list)

A tasting of my previous work.  I don't want to back track too much but it's my starting point.  I wouldn't say they're bad but I need to expand.  I find myself shooting the same way all the time.  I think that's why I feel so burnt out.  I want to shake things up a bit and go places and shoot things I've never seen before

and in ways that I've never done.  For starters I need to organize my

equipment and negatives.  I have

binders full of negatives... I can say that I was a good girl and alway's sleeved my negs... they are my babys... the way some people feel about cats or dogs... my negatives are precious to me.  They are not pieces of film.  They are slices of time... and in some cases manipulated and contorted peices of time.

And here I am.  Taking a directional step into an indirectional world.

  I love photography.  I don't always carry that notion in the front of my brain but when I remember it on occasion I am sad that I have not been more proactive in developing my style and technique.  So here I am. Ready to make a commitment to my art.  Any and all feed back is gladly taken... and don't worry I can handle constructive criticism. 

  It seems even though most photographers would like to get good feed back and not just 'Ohhh cool' or 'Good job' it is rarely given.  I don't go around telling people what I don't like about their art so I understand.  So maybe something more reasonable to ask visitors to do is throw ideas for projects at me.  Challenge me.  Give me a topic or technique (as long as it's not tooooo expensive) and push me in a new direction.  But again don't be afraid to say what you think

Peace to all!  And I hope the holiday season is getting of to a wonderful start for everyone.

Stop in and say hi once in a while :)

Karen