I'm taking a break from writing my final paper, so this post will be kinda short, but I really wanted to get one up today.

Firstly - I got a call last Tuesday that I have been fully admitted/accepted into Columbia College Chicago! Ok, SO totally excited about that! I've decided tho, to give myself a breather and start the Spring semester.

During the 5 months that I'll have off I intend on working on myself. I'll be dedicating a lot of my time to bettering myself in many different ways. I'll reveal that "plan" later so stay tuned..

Secondly- I've spent some time shooting, finally, so I'll be out with a couple new albums of shots.

Thirdly - I've been told that, as soon as all my graduation things are in order, it is quite possible I'll be getting a nice SLR of my own for a graduation present. So, any suggestions on that topic are welcomed and eagerly awaited.

The first NEW album, "Air Show Weekend", is located on my Fotki site * here *. Please feel free to leave me comments there - I love reading what y'all have to say.

Muses : My inspiration

Last week, I was commented by an anonymous photographer asking what my muses are. I realized that I probably haven't talked too much about muses because I figured you could probably tell from looking at my pictures. But I guess maybe not. Or maybe I'm just assuming too much from my audience, so I decided to post on it.

All of my online sources (Wiki, Merriam-Webster, ect..) seem to agree that the definition of a "muse" is as Merriam-Webster puts it: a source of inspiration; especially : a guiding genius. So going off of this definition, I'm determining what they are.

One of my muses, I know definitely, would be children. Something about their innocence. I love capturing their essence; even the most monstrous devil of a child has a soft, sweet side that can only be caught candidly- when they don't realize they're being watched- a challenge I never pass up.

Two would be organic - flowers, leaves, trees, grass, light, clouds, water, the beach ect..

Three is probably my most frequent muse - Details. I absolutely LOVE details. The concept that everything we see, touch, use on a daily basis can be broken down into tiny little parts is fascinating .
A wedding dress, with draping, lace, beads, tulle....
A flower, with it's petals, stamen, pistol, stem, leaves....
I could go on forever! There are so many things to capture that a lot of people don't even pay attention to! These often end up as abstracts.

Four has to be repetition. Oh! How I LOOOOOVE repetition! I'm sure many of you know this, because I constantly point it out in comments. There is just something about it that gets me excited. Something so pleasing to my eye.

Five could be just about anything urban. I love the city and all it's wonders. Architecture is amazing. Lights! Ooh the lights! I always end up looking like a tourist, which my poor sister(who I'm usually with) hates.. Nice cars and all the people! Oh and when it rains at night, everything glitters! I love the long streets with medians filled with trees and flowers. Fire escapes and scaffolding. Tunnels and underpasses. This one is definitely never ending...

Six - pictures! I love photoblog browsing, looking at many of my lovely friends' blogs. Your work inspires, as much as it may not seem like it sometimes - it really, really does. Also, pics in magazines and scenes of movies- visual stimulation is something I look forward to everyday.

Seven, my lucky number ;) Family and friends. Amazingly enough, there are those days when I don't feel like picking up a camera and those are the days that my family and friends turn things around. I can't tell you all how much I appreciate it when I'm pushed and prodded to get out there and take pictures. "It doesn't matter with what, as long as your shooting." - something I'm often told.

I'm basically naming just about everything that comes to mind, so I think maybe that means that LIFE is my muse.

All these things inspire me - I've been writing this in amongst other things for a couple of hours now and I'm basically just jotting down everything that comes to mind. It seems like I'm just writing things I take pictures of, and I am, but at the same time these are things that when I see them, photographically I go nuts with excitement to shoot.

I'm a photogaphy junkie, seriously, I can't be without a camera or pictures.. They're in my core, a part of me, and I think my best advice to those of you, anonymous blog readers, wanting to shoot better is to shoot and often. It's SUPER important - the more you shoot the more in love with photography you'll get and the more amazing your pictures will be.

I think I'll probably go and do that now... ;)