Livin' the Dream

gettin even more excited about shooting sports. the post season is here and the kids are kick'n in with the intensity. now i can shoot not only action but reaction too. bread AND butter!
more to come

yeah kid, welcome to my world.
so i'm gettin into Flash again to build my website, its been a year and i'm a little rusty while trying to use more sophisticated programming than i've ever done before. i can program in Flash pretty good but its just not my bag, but once i'm through with this site i can walk away from it for a good while. i'm learning and using xml this time, it'll be a lot easier to update and next time it won't take me a year to get around to it.

found this goin through old photos, man i miss this hound. i mean come on... look at him

(i would like this picture, if the yellows didn't look so mucky)
spent my last two days off doin a whole lot of nothin'. i'm trying to get myself motivated to build a new website in flash while intermittently goin through the stuff i've shot over the past year and re-editing my portfolio. i may post some old stuff over the next week that isn't gonna make the cut. i'll let ya'll know when my portfolio is live

(from an assignment on a day in the life of John McCain)

so yesterday was the first of many day in the lifes assignments. its really cool because of the great access but also very frustrating because the memebers of their campaign can make things difficult. i undestaqnd that they want to present a certain "image" but the whole point of the story is a behind the scenes and informal look at each candidate. McCain was very patient and kind, just wished he was more expressive (less stiff). don't know that i could have expected it though seeing as everything he's been through, have you read his bio? holy crap! (pardon my language) I like the picture of the three old politicians talking to three trendy girls, makes me smile. it's actually McCain's daughter and her friends, when there was a break I hung out with them for awhile. It was a very long day, about 15 hour day, but aside from a bout of food poisoning (don't ask) all went well

been kinda hard lately and as usual, i've been thinkin too much. i'm lonlier here than i've ever been which is confusing because i've never been happier with the work i'm producing daily or had such an amazing employer. not to mention how fantasticly beautiful it is here! recently found out that i didn't get the job in Roanoke. its too bad cause i really felt like it was the perfect place for me. back to the drawing board and the uncertainty with which direction i may be heading next. i'm comforted though in the security that i have the best friends EVER and do feel extremely blessed in all these opportunities. guess i just need to keep reminding myself that "when nothing is sure...anything is possible"

miss you guys!

thought i lost this take from when i visited acadia natl park in maine one weekend

i cant force myself to take pictures without people in them.
since the leaves have turned, dan sends me out often with an intention to shoot some foliage pictures. its incredibly beautiful here but i'm not ansel adams and for some reason i find it incredibly difficult to compose without any human element. it obviously occurs to me that surmounting this hurdle may help in strengthening my compositions. i've recently bought some chrome to shoot, trying to teach myself to slow down and see color more. man i love film!

from a visit to Jasper this summer
its not really my style but something about this struck me

these are the guys i lived with at colonial court at WKU
lately i've been kinda depressed, it gets lonely moving around so much. and not knowing where i'm going next while realizing that i won't have my friends to come home to after this doesn't help much.

i came all the way from indy for this? hell yeah! admittedly, i was not thrilled about this assignment, i had my fill or motorsports this summer. but once in pit row i changed my mind (also after a good bit of harrasment from Weber), i worked through it and found my stride. i think this was the first time i really slowed down and began making compositions that were not only graphic but layered! of course it helped that i had great access to the garage and pits, plus bright colors and sexy light equals happy to be here. also realizing how lucky i was to be there helped, i hate that sometimes i take this stuff for granted. this sure as hell beats inspecting car parts and cooking sausage gravy at Bob Evans.
I.E. quit ur bitch'n, ur livin' the dream

so you don't want me to shoot nascar tommorow? what? instead i should shoots a soldiers return? God bless you sir! this makes me happy! driving up to the airfield i could feel it in the air, so much emotion.. it was intense. i'd like to think i'm not a very emotional girl (comparatively speaking) * but i have to admit that they joy of this scene brought a tear to my eye, what can i say? emotion this intense must be trasferrable. While it was a incredibly difficult assgnment, it was one of my all time favorites!
It was difficult because I needed to find soldiers specificly from Concord (about 1 out of 20 were) and all of the most memorable moments happen inside of the first 5 minutes. In the end i followed my heart and shot the moment
* Lori (one of the staffers here) has a theory that while I'm tough on the outside, I'm all squishy inside

(from a story about an old fashioned cider house)
it really is strange that the leaves haven't turned yet. everyone is remarking that this is the first time they have seen such a long indian summer. i'm not complaining! some fall colors are exist but the temperature is consistently 60-70 degrees. this is perfect for me, and the light...o the light here is beautiful. excuse my photo geekiness but this means alot to a photographer. i could def settle down in new england, obviously because of the monitor but even without that... i'd have to witness a winter to be sure. though its a completely diff landscape it beauty is comprable to colorado. every day when i'm driving to assignments i remark to myself how blessed i am for this opportunity, concord is all its cracked up to be!

he's got little chance of ever making it past the primary. got some really abstract ideas abot the issues, i don't think he'll get too far to be honest. i was talking with a reporter about how i just don't understand why he's bothering to compete, all that money he's spending on campaigning without a chance in hell of being elected. i have to admit, i kinda admire the effort. he has loads of supporters but they could never contribute enough to his campaign to compete with candidates with corporate backers. however, i'm glad he's out there. that's a major problem in our democracy... two party system. now i'm not gonna pretend like i know my ass from my elbow in the game of politics and its impact on our democracy, but im learning.

well.... except for golf


one thing about newspapers in the fall is you shoot loads of sports. the only sports i dont really care to shoot are golf and baseball (sorry ed). its funny because baseball is my favorite sport to play, but its a slow sport to shoot. the action happens in sporadic spasms by which point i have usually lost attention and miss the picture. i love to shoot soccer, football and basketball. its all right there, non- stop action. does that mean i'm lazy?

my composition has improved loads. i've always been "all heart, little composition" (which i must say i prefer to Carl's being "all composition, no heart") jeff and tim are constantly assuring me that my composition is fine, and my storytelling ability is strong, "which is all that matters" (jeff) i need more than that, i need strong compositions with storytelling moments!
when i was in colorado i taugh myself how to shoot with clean backgrounds, unfortunately while graphic is clean, clean isn't necessarily graphic. lately though i've been able to find more of a balance between the two. i love this place
ps i wish blogger had a spell check, i feel like an ass

(from an assignment on the rights of nursing home residents to smoke)
can i tell u something? i started smoking again. i know, i know, what can i say... i'm weak! and apparently jeff was right AGAIN, i owe u a drink buddy. so i had quit for 1.2.3.4 months and now back to square one. sorry to dissapoint u folks.

every person wants to join the circus at some point in their childhood. well, its never too late!
tis primary season here in New Hampshire and over the next four months it'll have to become my schtick. so far i have covered Fred Thompson, Ron Paul and a conference with John McCain.
during my Thompson assignment, we all followed him through Manchester to "meet the people" it was Sunday and the patriots were playing. he was sure to not interupt the game and only came through during half time so as to prevent heckling. all the other candidates seem pretty articulate ,but fred did not seem prepared. one guy that shook his hand asked him what he would do about climate change. he paused a moment and confidently responded, "well... i think we should change it"
bravo fred, bravo

(shot in Indy for a home tours assignment)

lately i’ve been feeling a little confused about what’s next.
i’ve lived in so many diff places, and truly appreciate the experiences…but it can get lonely. i miss my friends, my family but most of all i miss my dog. not a whole lot to come home to these days. kinda makes me wanna settle somewhere.

although i truly love living in various geographys, i’d also love a bookshelf.
and let me tell ya pack’n boxes of books from place to place for 3-4 month intervals…is silly