Last weekend, I got to participate in the 2nd annual Worldwide Photowalk! That’s right, photographers all over the world convened on June 18 and walked, talked, laughed and photographed (Ha! Rhymed!). We got to shoot in Atlantic Station, which is a big deal because they NEVER allow cameras there (well…I guess if you live there, you’re allowed). Here are some of my favorite shots from that night:

While I was hanging out and shooting with a friend of mine, I made another two friends! Bella, an aspiring model and her photographer, David Sincere.

I think Bella will do just fine in modeling, she’s very pretty and was fierce in front of the camera.

I think these look like chess pieces!

Later that night, we set up our tripods and did a few long exposures. Both of these are quick edits, as I have a grillion dust spots on my sensor. No really, like a grillion

I had a really good time and want to thank SCAD’s own Judith Pishnery for being an excellent organizer

***

Oh yeah! Forgot to add! Duh! I recently launched my art website, and you can check it out here! Don’t laugh at my middle name, it’s my Mami’s first name (and my first is her middle name, creative, I know!). More about that in a day or so

Okay…for anyone that says that studying art in graduate school is an easy out, do this for me: a) calmly grab them by the ears, b) shake their head furiously, and then c) shout “NAW AW!”

This has been SUCH a challenging seme-er, quarter, for me! For one, yes, our school is based on a quarter system, so a lot of material/information is packed into a little bit of time. I have spent countless hours in the darkroom, 8 days a week in the library reading, and then I try to imagine a 9th day to sleep. But you know what? No complaints (at least not on this blog, land of the happy happiness . I like what I’m learning and am looking forward to learn more. I have a much deeper appreciation for everything that I might have admired in art, and I’m enjoying the journey.

Admittedly though, with my busy schedule, is the suckification of my blog updates. Yes, during that 9th day, when I’m catching up on some major ZZZs, I can’t squeeze in blogging. I will definitely try harder this quarter to keep updates though!

So I’m in the urreah (for you DC-radius folk, you know what I’m talkin about!) for a week, and I can’t not update my blog without a few shots of my most favorite little person in the whole wide world; my nephew!

He was, as you can imagine, overjoyed to see me!

We shared a meal of spaghetti and caught up on life:

And then once we finished our meal, he threw his fork at me. Because you know, in Toddler Speak, that means ‘NEVER LEAVE ME AGAIN. I MISS YOU AND YOUR CAMERA.’

(Did you guys know I’m a polyglot? I speak English, Spanish, and Toddler)

I’m here until Sunday, so there will definitely be updates, hopefully some posts about museum visits (I MISS THE HIRSHHORN! I’d curl up next to Ron Mueck’s Big Man if I wasn’t so creeped out by it), some R&R (’cause class starts at 8 on Monday! Auuugh!), some planning for my personal website (coming soon, really really soon!) and hopefully a sneak peek from an awesome wedding coming up on Saturday!

Hey everyone!

I hope you all have a safe and happy New Year!

2008 was awesome and I’m looking forward to what 2009 will bring! My family is safe and in good health, school starts on Monday, and I’m learning my way around Atlanta slowly, thanks to my trusty GPS. I really consider myself soooo blessed to have a husband who picked up his whole life to move down here so I could fulfill my dreams of getting my MFA in photography. Love you!

I promised myself I wasn’t going to make resolutions for next year, because I always always break them, but tomorrow I’m going to start the new year off right by going for a jog (okay…speedwalk LOL) with some of my ATL transplant friends. I’ve committed too many tamale and chocolate sins this past week…way too many. Although we’re going to finish New Year’s Day off with a yummy potluck dinner at a friend’s house, I’m determined to try to live a bit healthier this year. We only have one life, and one body, so we have to take care of it!

I also want to jump up and down in this post and announce my website REVAMP! Cory and I have been working super duper hard these past few months on the site and I hope everyone loves it as much as we do!

I figured I’d close out the last blog post of 2008 with a photo from my Random Folder, I think it’s a constant reminder to keep climbing, no matter what obstacles block your way.

(BTW this was taken, if I recall, at the National Gallery of Art in DC. The name of the piece is Ladder for Booker T. Washington by Martin Puryear. Thanks to Andrea (click click click! her art is AMAZING) for refreshing my memory!)

Again, Happy New Year to everyone

I’m going to have to bribe him with promises of cookies and stuff to not do anything cute while we’re in Atlanta. I might have to have him sign a contract of perpetual Toddler-ism inked in mashed potatoes.

Oh…I realized his favorite song in the world…has lyrics. I realized this at least 10 times. Over and over again. Hot dog.

And I also realized my father randomly yelling out ‘TOODLES’ in falsetto isn’t so random. See for yourself.

I’m cleaning up a very much cluttered folder on my hard drive and chuckled when I came across this:

Coming soon: Ida-Laurinda and John’s wedding!

We came down to Charlotte this weekend to hang out with my parents and sister, and on a whim decided to hit the beach, and with a bit of Google magic set the GPS for Kure Beach, NC. Sort of awesome, because I haven’t been to the beach in a few years, and because Cory’s never been fishing before, and since my dad can sit at a pier for DAYS, I figured I’d torture give him the opportunity to spend some quality time w/Pops-in-Law

I didn’t snap that many photos primarily because I was terrified of sand getting into my camera, and also because I spent the majority of time getting sunburned in the water and/or reading a seedy novel on the sand (I finished Oscar Wao on the way down to Charlotte, don’t judge me!) up until we left, but heeeereee goes

So my dad went away for like 10 minutes, and in that span, Cory caught his first fish!

I think they were set up on the wrong side of the pier or something, because after that catch, nothing else was biting, except for the little boy who caught an angelfish and the dude next to him who caught like five fish, and a skate (which kinda freaked me out because I saw the catch while I was in the water, and it was less than 25 feet away. Plus I watched Jaws the day before, and while I know it’s just a movie, it gave me the heebiejeebies.)

***

So…I’ve always wondered what the inside of a lens looks like.

I found out yesterday My Nifty Fifty, Aloicious Leicester, my walk-around lens, decided the world was too much for him and fell apart. I guess this means I’m going to have to replace him with Alocious Leicester II, the 1.4 very soon. It was a good run, chap. Rest in Pieces.

So I’m back! I survived ALMA awards, didn’t take thaaaat many pics (mon dieu, how did that happen?), chatted my head off with one of the Getty guys who covered the event, wore a dress the night of, lasted 2.5 hours in my heels (I got a pedi to feel pretty, but part of my oh-so-fabulous heel rubbed up against my toes and irritated it to the point where I was limping, which is never a good look, so I donned ballet flats for the rest of the night), got my makeup done @ MAC-though I’m not sure if I’m ready to post the pic of the makeup; I’m not used to seeing myself with more than lipgloss on …

and…hmm…what else? I was around sooooo many celebrities, which was surreal, but I think I managed to make my squeals internal (especially when I was 2 feet away from Shakira, got smiled at by Lisa Lisa and Mario, stood next to Paula Abdul and didn’t realize it was her because homegirl is TINY–as is most of Hollywood)…I had my bracelet admired by comic Alex Reymundo, totally gushed about how awesome his sister, Margo is (she was the singer @ Conference whose name I could not recall!)…and overall felt an overwhelming sense of pride about the ALMAs, and being a teeny tiny part of it all.

As I said before, I did get a *couple* pics, but not that many, and most are behind the scenes, and reveal the winners, and I don’t want y’all knowing who won what until SEPTEMBER 12, the air date

ohhh ohhh ohh, and if you look reallllllllly closely the night of the awards, you might see a few pics integrated in the show taken by yoursssss truly

So..then I got back, and went to hang out with my mom and pops and NEPHEW! He’s getting soooooo biiiiiiig!

Of course, when I walked in the door, he was soooo happy to see me, he chucked a toy at me, as if to say ‘WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN WOMAN!?! I MISSED YOU!’ and laughed maniacally as I ducked.

Then he grabbed my car keys and pondered on if he should make a trip *now* to Babys-R-Us and pick up a few toys and his girlfriend, or wait until after he was fed… 

Instead he opted for strained peaches mmmmmm and decided to put off the road trip until later, until Mom and Dad got home. Besides, the Navigator is much more roomy

After a filling meal (aka running away from my mom as she chased him around the living room with a spoon and jar), he decided to show off his new toys, and the best way to do this is by throwing them ALL over the living room. Baby Feng Shui!

But wait, he didn’t want to miss Casos de La Vida Real, his favorite show (my mom has him HOOKED), so he dragged his toys over to catch the rest of it.

 During commercial breaks, he played Chase with Gramps.

 …but was dismayed that the Chase didn’t continue into the TV area of the room.

Dejected, he took a seat in one of his most comfortable pieces of furniture and watched the rest of the show with Abuela.

While shooting two weddings this weekend for Julie, I came to the conclusion that I’m one of those people. The ones who cry at weddings. I mean, I don’t do it all day, but there is something about seeing Mom put the finishing touches on her daughter’s dress, and then looking around the church and seeing the bride’s childhood friends tear up during the ceremony, and ohhhh how can I forget, the father-daughter dance? I tend to think about how the parents first held their daugther/son when they were babies, and how they grow up soooo fast and them boom, they’re getting married!

Color me ferklempt. The good thing is, my nerd-glasses hide the fact that I’m bleary-eyed

I also think it’s my nephew’s fault, bringing about this whole new feeling of they-grow-up-so-fast-ness. I’m putting together an album of his life from when I first put him in front of my camera until now and as I go through all the photos I’ve shot in a short year, I get this horribly overwhelming feeling knowing that he’s never going to be that tiny again. He’s practically talking now and doing all sorts of I’m-getting-bigger-baby-ness stuff now and I’m all OH BUT OH YOU WERE SO LEETLE! I used to hold you and now you’re like, running away from me now

(Naturally, when I was a teenager, and my mom tried to convey this emotion to me, I was like ‘Psht yeahhhh mami, cayoudropmeoff at the mall now?! My friends are waiiitiiiinnnng!’ *pops gum*, but now that I’m older, I really can understand that feeling.)

So to my clients, present and future, be forewarned, I’m probably going to tear up, but I do keep a small pack of Kleenex in my camera bag for situations like these and I promise, I photograph through tears

One of my favorite shots from this past weekend! I spotted theeeee LAST strawberry sitting on a bed of lettuce before I was done for the night, and made a beeline with the rings, three toothpicks and a champagne glass

* * *

So, that Kleenex box shot is from today! I just took it a minute ago I’m back in Cali for the taping of the ALMA Awards! No, I won’t be shooting it but I’ll be working closely with the photography team and YES, I’m totally bringing a camera along to get some snapshots. Oh and the highlight is that I’ll be trying to survive in a DRESS! (For those of you who don’t know me…I LIVE in pants. This is a big feat that I’m going to pull off this weekend!)

Pray for me, y’all.

And tune in September 12 to see the awards!

The view from my hotel window:

And from the plane on the way here:

Of course, to be continued!

P.S. I’m only sharing this because it’s absolutely necessary to be able to laugh at yourself. About an hour ago, I was bringing my room service tray out and locked myself out of my room. I didn’t have shoes on, just socks. I really thought about the embarassment that would ensue if I padded into the lobby and ‘splained myself, but thankfully, I was able to get someone up here to let me back in. Awkward moments define my life.

Okay so I totally ran away from my other post about Conference, and since it’s wayyyyy down there and you have to scroll and it’s a big effort and stuff, I decided to post the outtakes here. You know…the stuff that I randomly shot, forgot all about, and then was backing up and was like OH SHOT I FORGOT ABOUT THIS!

I also have been absent from my blog b/c I’ve been busy busy busy editing all the photos from Conference (I know I took probably close to 3,000 photos) and a few other projects but now I’m BACK

Okay…

So the last night of conference, there was a gala, and a dinner, and I was exhausted but I was all * GULPS RED BULL * I’M READY! and because I’m persistent, managed to make it through the night in these!

Well…did I say through the night? My Red Bull high faded not too long after we had sat down and eaten at the Gala and I almost thought about tearing these bad boys off and running back barefoot across the street to the hotel. I trusted my better judgment though (my colleague saying DON’T DO IT), whimpered back to my room, and about an hour later, I was knocked out. When I shoot, fatigue doesn’t usually register until I put my camera down, and because I wasn’t set to shoot the Gala that night, my body was like SLEEP RIGHT NOW. Which I did.

The next morning, a colleague and I went to this supercool spot called Mary Jane’s Coffeeshop, located right around the corner from the hotel, and had a delicious ‘itis-inducing breakfast that made me fall asleep on the plane with my mouth open and drool (which of course, I didn’t realize until I woke up and was like ‘Ew.’)

Of course, because I was ravenous, I didn’t take a picture of the food but I did snap some photos of the decor! It was total retro diner, and visually enthralling:

After we stuffed ourselves silly, we wandered for a bit around the downtown vicinity.

Am I the only person who has never seen this? I love these little guys! Doesn’t the look on its face look like I’m chasing it?

We went back to the hotel to get our bags and I had some time to stuff everything possible in my suitcase and sit on it so I could zip it pack and rest for a bit. This phone was in the lobby on my floor. No, it didn’t work. Yes, I tried it. No, nobody was in the lobby when I did it. I think.

This flower only cost me $23. I got a salad and some fruit

Telephone, it’s Old Dirty….

Guess guess guess what this is?

So…I was so tired, I fell asleep sitting up? Who does that? Oh, me. Once I woke up I realized it was time to go, and I was gathering some odds and ends and noticed my original flower had begun to shed its petals Maybe it was sad that I was leaving? Maybe.

I dragged my bags to the front door, and embarked on my journey back to the D of C, sad because my mission to make it to the beach while I was there was thwarted by some long days documenting something that I was very very very part to be a tiny part of.

Wait a minute, I forgot something

(Shout out to Security Guard #4 in the Green Room who made this photo possible!)

The Omni is awesome, btw, if you’re ever visiting San Diego and have the ends to drop on a room. I definitely hope to return, and GO TO THE BEACH I AM ON A MISSION!

Oh, and it was my first time in California, and I’m a wimp, because that 3 hour time difference put a HURTIN on me. I’m better now. Finally.

OH, and I got a formal introduction to the magic that is Pinkberry! WOW. Why doesn’t it come to D.C.?

Thankfully one of my buddies was on a quest, and discovered Mr. Yogato will suffice. Shout out to Stacy, Fro-Yo Guru of the District

Thomas Sayers Ellis is a ridiculously talented poet, photographer, go-go expert, and a mentor to my work as a photographer and poet (yes yes y’all, I write…but that’s a whole ‘nother blog entry)…

Anywho, he’s offering a real deal to folks in the D.C./Metro area, and I would LOVE to hear that some of my loyal blog readers submitted to be part of this workshop. Read on:

Line March: Verse-ing and Reverse-ing Natural Talk Into Prosody

A tough, nuts-and-bolts poetry workshop designed to tell you the truth about your work and what it takes to get it on its feet and into the publishing arena. The instructor will look at your writing, suggest literary (reading) kinship, make the necessary adjustments (on the page and in your creative process) so that you understand the distinctions between prosody and prose behavior as well as how to make nuance (not just text) from the simultaneous effects of music and meaning. We will discuss what makes a poem “literary” and practice wrapping our opinions in ideas that are in conversation with issues of art and life, and ideas from other genres and mediums. The workshop atmosphere will be judicious yet courageous, and the instructor will take into consideration each poet’s individual interests, strengths and weaknesses. Weekly (Monday) meeting dates beginning July 26 thru the end of August, 7-9 pm.

Washington, D.C. area meeting place to be announced upon acceptance. Send three poems to tsellis@gmail.com no later than July 25. Enrollment Limited to 10.

 Class fee: $160.

Thomas Sayers Ellis is the author of The Maverick Room and a contributing editor to Poets & Writers, the poetry editor of The Root and a contributing writer to Waxpoetics. His poems have appeared in Grand Street, The Best American Poetry 1997 and 2001, Poetry, Tin House and The Nation. He teaches writing at Sarah Lawrence College and in the Lesely University low-residency MFA program.

* * *

Oh, but what would a pho-log be without photographs? We recently shot for Rare Essence, the Wickedest Go-Go Band Alive in DC (blog post on that coming sooooon, I think), and here’s a few shots of TSE that I captured during the process:

(As I said, SPACE IS LIMITED, so definitely get in contact with him ASAP)