Week Seventeen

 "Forever is composed of nows." -Emily Dickinson

That's some cerebrum ponderings to chew on. Makes you think.

 It didn't really look this creepy, I promise! ^^  New Hampshire is a rather joyous looking place. I just went slightly dramatic on the editing. Not really sure what this post is about...it's kind of a mish-mash of things; warmth light and eerie forest blues. Next week I'll try and do something new. :]

 These photos were taken in the lovely Granite state, of course. <3
All of the rocks are beautiful, each one is a different color. Someday I'll have shelves and shelves piled high with rocks. Right now, it's a small collection, but someday I hope to have a rainbow of colors.

[just for fun, some hair craziness. :) I think I take way too many of these kinds of shots. It's just so fun!]

Week Sixteen

"May we never forget that freedom is not free." -Vietnam memorial, Washington, D.C.

This week has been a week I won't ever forget. :) I had the incredible opportunity to be around some of the most amazing people in the world. My Grandfather's 64th Fighter Interceptor Squadron had a reunion in Virginia, and my Mom and I had the pleasure of attending with my Grandfather! It was an experience I will treasure as long as I live. My Grandfather is a WWII, Korea and Vietnam War veteran. He even celebrated his 88th birthday while we were in VA. We toured around Washington D.C., went to the Air and Space Smithsonian, and were able to see the WWII, Korean, and Vietnam memorials, as well as the Air Force monument. It's almost unreal, trying to wrap your mind around the fact that your staring at these memorials with human beings who were there. Living history right in front of you. I always tell my Mom that I love elderly people; they're like a history book that you're able to have a conversation with. It's so fascinating to me, to hear their opinions, and what it was like for them because they were there. I could barely take it all in, I was practically smiling the whole trip. I thank God for moments, days and people like this.

I have a funny story about the above photo. Knowing that I was going to be in D.C., I was super stoked thinking about what type of 52 weeks photo I could take. Our group was taking a tour into D.C. to see the WWII, WWI, Vietnam, and Korea memorials, as well as the Washington Monument and Lincoln Monument. We were running a bit late, so I hurried onto the bus with my Mom and Grandfather. I turned on my camera as everyone was getting seated, and took a quick shot. I pressed the "play" button to review the photo, and my heart dropped. The screen was staring back at me with the saddest words I wanted to read: "No card in camera." Replaying the night in my head, I remembered that I had downloaded photos onto my laptop and forgotten to remove the card and place it back in my camera. I asked our guide if I had time to run back into the hotel to retrieve it, but she said I wouldn't make it back in time. I was so bummed out and kicking myself for making such a silly mistake! But then I got to thinking...maybe it wasn't so bad after all. During the tour, I wasn't stressing over trying to get the shot, and I was able to relax and just take it all in. I was able to see everything without looking at it through the eyes of a camera. God had a different plan, and I'm glad he did. Without my camera, I was able to enjoy it more. I didn't have to worry about photographing it all, because, well, I simply couldn't. It forced me to relax and just be me. No camera. No pictures. Just me. And it was nice.

Now,  because I wasn't able to get the shot during the day, I had an idea for a night-shot. My mom and I drove back to the Lincoln memorial later that night. After driving around for awhile, we finally found a parking space, but it said parking was only available from 11:00p.m. -9:00a.m. We got there at 12:00 midnight. So we headed back to our hotel, and ended up getting lost on the way. It was fun though, we felt pretty adventurous despite our lack of a photo. :)
I was determined to get this shot. So, on our last day, we drove back again, and thankfully found a parking space this time. As I was walking to the monument I realized that I had left my tripod in our friends car the day before! I was stumped. How was I going to get my self-portrait if I didn't have a tripod? I wasn't about to set my camera on the floor with all those crowds. So, my mom and I stretched the self-portrait rules just a bit. I lined her up where I wanted the shot to be, and had her hold the camera at the right angle. I got my remote out to snap the shot, and, it DIDN'T WORK. For some reason, it just wouldn't take the picture. It was pretty hilarious at that time, everything that could have gone wrong went wrong! I was determined to get the shot, however. So, with my Mom as my human-tripod, I set the timer on 10 seconds, pressed the button down, and waited for it to beep. It took a couple tries, but we finally succeeded. It was a rather funny adventure, and definitely forced me to get extra creative this week. :)

Without my Mom, I wouldn't have been able to take the shot. I really owe this photo to her! I mean, what Mom drives to the Lincoln memorial twice? Once in the middle of the night, the other in the day, just for one photo? <3


(& props to you if you actually read all of that. :] it was quite a chunk of ramblings.)

^^ This is the Airforce Memorial.

The Iwo Jima memorial was one of my favorites. It was way bigger than I was expecting!

"The future is always decided by those who put their imagination to work, who challenge the unknown, and who are not afraid to risk failure."

 -General Bernard A. Schriever - The father of architect of Air Force Space and Ballistic Missile Programs

[I really loved D.C. It was so beautiful, clean, and the people were all so friendly.]

until next time,

xxoo

Week Fifteen

Life is in the details.

 I downloaded the trial for Photoshop to play around with. Here, I used the cloning/layering effects. :) ^^ this isn't quite what I was going for, but I enjoyed messing around with it. It's two pictures layered into one. :]

One of my favorite quotes:
"There are far, far better things ahead than any we leave behind."- C.S. Lewis
 

 Sometimes we're too busy thinking about the past, that we forget the present and therefore miss our future.
Treasure your memories, but don't live in them.

Go do something new. Today.
xo

Week Fourteen

 

"Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there, wondering, fearing, doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before." -Edgar Allan Poe

My photography class took a field trip the other day, and at the very end we came upon this abandoned, old, eerie mill. It had shoes hanging from walls, an old firetruck, broken glass windows, a fake astronaut hanging from the ceiling, an antique carousel missing its ponies, and tons of weird odd objects like wheels and machine parts. Very steam punk in certain areas. Needless to say, I couldn't resist such a unique place for taking my 52 weeks photo. :) And although it may be creepy, an Edgar Allan Poe quote seemed all too appropriate.

On a more cheerful note, Happy Easter to you! :]

 [For fun, some photos of the mill.]

Week Thirteen

Listen...

“I almost wish we were butterflies and liv'd but three summer days - three such days with you I could fill with more delight than fifty common years could ever contain.”

-John Keats