Brilliant Photographers and Brilliant Minds

Look what I stumbled upon this morning while looking through design dna (which I stumbled upon 2 days ago, by the way)!

3191

I'm oh SO ecstatic right now.

This is one of the most AWESOME concepts I've seen in a long time. Not only is it visualblogging.com, which is awesome in itself (considering I never knew it existed), it's 2 friends staying in touch, by picture, while 3191 miles apart.

When I saw this, I immediately thought, this is an amazing concept! I absolutely love it, and would love to do it. I immediately sent the link to my older sister, Hope, and told her about it. We're inseparable, so much so that we've been thought of as twins(separated by ten years). At present, her camera doesn't work, so she will be getting a new one, because there will be a time when she and I may not live in the same continent *tear* and this concept may help us get through that.

Thanks Stephanie and Mav, keep up the brilliance!

My Own: Sequence and Lighting together

Ok, not mouch of a sequence , but I think the only other photo sequences I have are of myself. How vain would that be, "This picture is really great because of....blah blah blah" and it's of myself? So anyway, my wonderful model(or ham as we like to call her) is my littlest sister, Joy. This was her 5th birthday in April. I thought it would be special for her to have a little birthday "photo shoot", since she loves being in front of the camera.

The above are for Sequence purposes, but the below are for Lighting (just a tad bit overcast with bursts of sun here and there). I love how green the grass turned out. I think the third one has a "golf" filter in it, not sure.

My Own: More on Sequence

These were taken in April of 2005, before I was an aspiring photographer, at a Cubs vs. Pirates game. The quality isn't the best, but I still think these are quite awesome. If the third was a bit more in focus and others a bit more centered I think it'd be the perfect trio. But again, this is before I was as into photography as I am now.

My Own: Light + Sequence

If you haven't noticed by now, in this blog, my flickr, or my fotki sites, I'm ABOUT lighting.. That is one of my most favorite things to play with on my camera. Why? I'm not sure. It's like, "flash or no flash? slow shutter speed or fast?" It's nuts! But something else I'm all about is sequence shots. It actually drives me up a tree sometimes (and I'm sure some other people too), seeing the same picture like 5-6 times, all the same thing, just moved, ever so slightly.

I haven't really shown any of that yet, but I think I'll play with that a little this week. So, here is the first of my "Light + Sequence" series. These were taken early September in Minnesota on the way back from Rochester.

Riad Enija

I realize that I have been somewhat sappy in my blogging lately, but sadly that is just who I am. A total romantic. Anyway, all that aside, I wanted to yet again be kind of sappy and share one of my favorite photos of Maroc, EVER!

I found it in a book that my sister bought about a year ago called Morocco Style, and was taken by Nicholas Bruant. A shot of one of the two the courtyard in the oh SO beautiful Riad Enija from an upper balcony, I suspect. When I saw it, something capured me and wrote a free verse "poem" to describe how much I saw in it. It's called- Wast Ad-dar- The Inner Courtyard and you can read it below. Little did I know, Riad Enija is in Marrakech......Mhmm...Funny how that works, isn't it?

*Update* Since the link I had was broken I decided to post the poem here.

I walked through a setwan into wast ad dar, an alluring tropical garden. I look around and expect to meet a handsome, dark haired, brown eyed, sun kissed beau. To my dismay no such meeting occurs. Four pathways carefully tiled, blue and white jelige, leading to a petal strewn sahr îdj. Two golden lanturns on either side illuminate the darkness cast by canopies of orange trees, which invigorate my senses. I am encased by the exotic Arabian night, I'd stay here forever. I look up at the green ceiling and wonder what intrigues me, a "city girl." Is it the lightness of the air, the happiness, the love, the embrace of the people, the life I get from the continuous kiss of welcome, or the way the light of the moon shines around the towering manara. I walk around the sahr îdj, looking at each and every detail in testir, wondering who had the patience to lay the tiles and how long it took- I'd never know. Was this what Eden looked like, felt like, it seemed so. Dark red hybiscus, towering palms, and fragrant banana trees are all a part of the allure. A place so perfect, so beautiful, yet it is aged and in it's age is it's beauty. I feel his presence behind me, he puts his arms around my waist and kisses me lightly on the neck- could this moment be anymore magnificent? Then I knew he had created this scene of beauty, each petal dropped by his hand, the lanturns lit by his request. He had picked the perfect place, time of season, hour for me to be there, moment for him to walk in. So much thought was poured into this time of embrace. He is by far the most thoughtful person I know. But why me? Why do this for my pleasure? I will find out soon enough, until then let this moment last as long as inshallah.

setwan-
entrance corridor leading to the courtyard of a house

wast ad dar-

the center courtyard of a house

sahr îdj- Fountian
jelige-

mosaic of tiles

manara-

minaret or prayer tower- where the call to prayer is given.

testir-

geometric design radiating out from a central star

inshallah-

God wills it

One of My Own: Mystic Forest

Who would think that these photos were taken from a condo window at the Chula Vista Resort in Wisconsin Dells? Not me, although I did take them.
I was absolutly adoring the view out that window. How could I not? It was so placid and picturesque, perfect for day dreaming of sitting next to the fire, cuddled up to your sweetheart, in the mountians somewhere. Not worried about anything or anyone other than the person sitting next to you. Can you tell where my head has been?

Anyway, I couldn't post just one, so hopefully you are enjoying them as much as I am.

Happy New Year!

This is my first pic of the new year..... What does this tell me about 2007? Well firstly that it will be tons of fun, and secondly that it will be shared with good friends...

Now this is my first really good picture of 2007 -

Is it not the cutest thing?!?! How sweet an romantic is that, David and Lavi slow dancing in the hot tub. It's so sweet, is it not?

My New Year's resolutions are- Firstly, to finish high school on time; Secondly, to keep my relationship with my wonderful habibi as strong as it has been for the past 5 months and make it even stronger; Third, meet his mom; Fourth, finish my 50hrs of permit time and get my license; Fifth, to live life less selfishly; and Sixth, get a job and start saving money for the life that lies ahead.

Happy New Year to everyone! I hope it is a peaceful, love-filled, unselfish, and prosperous one for us all. Cheers!