Experimenting with new techniques

While I was watching a portion of the opening ceremonies of the Olympics, I was reminded of national pride, and how no matter where we may live, everyone loves fireworks. Over the 4th of July my friends and I drove up to Vancouver Washington to see the fireworks in the park. Going there was a last minute decision, getting there was a rerouted traffic adventure (thank goodness for GPS systems), and after parking and walking through hundreds of people, finding a non-tree blocking spot in the grass was total chaos. Then we sat in the lawn, shared an elephant ear (fried dough with cinnamon and sugar sprinkled on top), and waited for the sun to set as the local bands played on a flag decorated stage. 

As the sun inched closer to the horizon, out came the flashing lights and toys. I couldn't resist. Not only did I end up decorating my friends in glow sticks, but I subjected them to public embarrassment as we took pictures in front of thousands of people. Perhaps my friends weren't totally embarrassed, but we certainly had an audience. 
                                   
What was supposed to be some "mean wings" for my tough guy friend, turned into not so mean wings that look more like elephant ears (the animal, not our dessert). The green stripe in the background was created by a wandering child (whose toy I want). 


Once it was finally dark, they started the fireworks, and everyone around us became lost in the trance of the pretty lights. The band on the stage played the songs we are all familiar with, and the fireworks exploded in a rhythm to match. Perhaps it's this trance that compels me to take pictures of fireworks every time I see them. And I don't know what it is, but a TV just doesn't show fireworks the way you see them in photos or in life. 

You know it's a good show when they start out with more than one firework at a time.

                                      

I love the star bursts at the center.

I had never taken pictures like this before. I used a long exposure which captured the trails of the lights, and had to guess when a good time to close the shutter would be.

I was generally satisfied with what I got.

Short exposure.

oooo!

I really like the way the light moved in this picture. The "stringy-ness" makes it not look like a firework.

My favorite kind of firework. The gold glittery kind. I usually had to watch these instead of take pictures of them.

Reminds me of Indian Paintbrush flowers. LOVE!

Ahhh...

Starburst with purple centers. So cool.

At every end of a fireworks show, there is always the "Grand Finale". I didn't take pictures of it because I have to watch it, and cameras are distracting. But it was good. I don't know if you can really call it the end though. On our walk back to the car, people were setting fireworks off in their neighborhoods. Even the really big ones! So while we sat in the parked car for an hour as we waited for traffic to clear, we got a second show. A big thanks to the people who can spend money on entertainment for all of us.

New Places = New Ideas

At the beginning of this month I got to go to various parts of Oregon with a couple of friends. Looking down from my middle seat in the airplane window (next to "Mr. Talky Talky") I could see it was going to be one of the most luscious places I have visited in a long time. Dressed in my airport attire (flip flops and all), our first stop was at the Wahkeena Falls trail in Portland ( at least it wasn't a long hike {wink*}), AND! I remembered to bring my camera! (So excited!!). 

 

Of course being in Oregon, we had a cloudy day which made some of my pictures a little dim on the first day. After looking through the pic's on my little camera screen, I had a light bulb! Word of the week "Photoshop". 

Heart*

Our next stop was at the Multnomah Falls. A quick walk through the parking lot and your there! If only it could always be so easy. My favorite part... the bridge. It reminds me of something you would see in the Lord of the Rings. This inspired me to make the pictures look more rich and vibrant in color. To make them look like something you would imagine for a fairy tale type landscape. Though you should know, I really don't think the camera gave justice to what was really there.

Funny thing about day one. I used my phone camera instead of my DSLR.

Blank Papers

It's summer time, and the heat is on! The pools are open, the trees are green, my brother is now happily married and I earned my first tan (and sunburned shoulders). Good thing my friends like to take vacations as much as I do. But my trips this summer are spread apart by weeks, and since I chose to take this summer off of work and school, I find myself with more free time than I really wanted. Don't get me wrong, staying up late and sleeping in is great; but, my days seem to drag on as I stare at my two dogs whose attention spans are apparently longer than mine.
So what kind of work should I do to prevent this boredom I've been experiencing from becoming a permeant fixture in my head? Well, they always say practice makes perfect; and apparently it takes 5,000 hours of practice before an individual is truly good at something. This statistic blows! Don't they know that I don't have that many hours for everything I want to do? In the mean time, as I have had no idea as to which talent I should focus my hours to, I do know that inspiration isn't going to come from that special place without a little investigating. And all investigators carry a camera.
My friend came up to visit this last week from Arizona, and she has become one of my more active outdoor friends. I think she has been camping or hiking nearly every weekend this year (because she is crazy!). (*Side note: I visited her in May of this year, and I think the spiders who made all the webs in her home have been there more than she has.) Anyways! She wanted to experience the Utah outdoors, and of course that means I get to hike the 7 hour uphill climb up the Timponogos Mountain. In case you didn't know, I didn't lead the active lifestyle this year; which made bringing my camera even more convenient (for me). What else worked in my favor? My friend isn't as used to being at this high of an elevation. We made it a little more than halfway up the mountain in about 4 hours, as we took several picture taking moments. Then, of course, as we headed back down the mountain I had to stop and re-take some pictures because the light had changed. I'm lucky she is super patient.

I haven't used the pictures I took to create something new, but I did get some ideas about what I could do with pictures. Its all about experimentation now; maybe I will make something I like.

Never Fall Behind

       I am not a perfectionist.

          That was easy to say, probably because, its not always completely true. It is true when it comes to cleaning my room or washing the windows, and it is especially true when it comes to maintaining my car. But when it comes to something that I make for myself, I have a tendency to not be able to let certain things slide. It's what I have been trying to work on these past few months. Trying to find where I can let something slip by, try to skip the hours of wasted time from over analyzing. 

          I had several projects recently that I spent more time on then necessary. As a result, I missed out on other opportunities. Thats not to say I didn't get a good response on the projects. They were actually nearly perfect, and I really didn't mind working on them. However, I haven't been able to do so many of the other things that I like to do. Like go to the gym, or take my poor dogs to the park with the waterfall (they love that place!), and I am so behind on my movies!

          Other than having no life, a new problem was created. Im out of the cultural ring of things. What is the new slang? the new best jokes? do people still think "epic" is cool? what are they wearing? will I say something inappropriate if someone died and I don't know? GUESS WHAT!! If you don't know this stuff, its really hard to come up with a good concept that others will relate to. Granted, Facebook and Yahoo! does provide a certain amount of information, but its not the same when your with people and living it. And it really blows when you present something and are seeing empty eyes look back at you.

          So what have I been doing? Not less work. Oftentimes, I felt like I was procrastinating and being unproductive. In reality, I was letting my brain catch up with the ideas that were buried inside, and finding ways for those ideas to come to life. By giving my mind the time to do its job of figuring out how to create these projects freely, I didn't have to constantly fix the petty things that would have no effect on the final outcome. I was able to focus on the things that I thought were important and therefore come up with something better then was even expected.

          Among everything my brother got engaged; so I decided to take this opportunity and make him and his fiancé my newest project, and take their engagement photos. Originally I organized them into a slideshow to play at the reception, but I can't put it into this post due to copyright laws ( I used Louie Armstrong's What a Wonderful World if you want to imagine it). I didn't photoshop any of the pictures, but I did use Lightroom to create some of the effects. The umbrellas were all hung into the trees, and were my way of making the images into something more than the average engagement pictures.

                                      

                                                        

                                         

                                 

                      

    

                                             

         

Putting in the time.

          No one ever says "I wish this was over" to something they like. UNLESS! of course, it's something where the end is the best part. In which case, time seems to slow down creating the nearly unbearable torture that makes most of us say "I'll take a break and get to back to it later". So many projects get left behind. Its kind of sad; and it sounds like the pivotal moment in a movie where the subjects potential is lost and forgotten; until many years later when its rediscovered layered in dust. Its only purpose now to remind someone of the dream it once was, before it's discarded in the trash.

          Patience is a virtue so many can only wish to afford, and so many others just don't take the time to harness. Are we truly born with talents? Or, are some of us just more willing to work for what we really want. Perhaps, it is more that certain people are born with a desire.

          Some people say dreaming is a waste of time. That we should focus on our current needs, and then plan for those needs we KNOW will rise up in the future. Food, money, things that come with money; obviously. Does that really have to be all that there is? Don't those people think that sometimes the work and effort we put into our lives should be about our lives?

          It's true. Not everyone's dreams come true. Not everyone will be the most famous or the most talented. But that doesn't mean that someone didn't gain so much more while on their journey. Life throws up road blocks. It's hit or miss. None of us has a map that shows where to avoid the damn orange drums as we go from highway to highway. We just have to keep our head up and our eyes open to the road ahead and hope for the best. Even if that means we occasionally walk there instead of drive.

          But seriously, the hardest part these days is keeping a head up (literally). Everyone has a smartphone. This revolutionary gadget that gives us access to anything we might need on a daily or random basis. Yet, most everyone is so enthralled with the toy that they never see whats going on around them. Why experience the world first hand when you can get a mimicked version on a tiny screen? Why introduce yourself to the person in front of you when you have a picture of someone else, especially when that someone is a person you may never physically meet?

          Yes, of course I have a smartphone. Yes, of course I understand how mush easier some things are now. Thank you to the inventors for that! But you should have put a warning label on it. "Not meant for people who want to have a life, instead a looking like they have a life". I keep mine in my bag most of the day, and people get mad that I didn't respond to "that thing" they said on Facebook within the 30 seconds that they posted it. Seriously? Some of my classmates (many of whom keep their eyes glued to a screen) seem to suffer from a lack of inspiration, or they only find it after copying an answer they found on google. Lame...! We are headed for a serious lack of invention in the future. Where will our dreamers be then?
          Instead of only worrying about our needs, we should worry about our dreams. Our needs will most likely never change, but our dreams can change or disappear altogether. So, Screw the other people. Take the time to make it to the end of over.

          Over the summer, our nectarine tree broke in half due to the weight. Shown above is the culprit, and I liked it so much I decided to recreate it with digital painting in Adobe Illustrator.

          I suffered muscle pain in my hand for a week after all the mouse clicking. But it was totally worth it! (Of course now I have invested in a pen tablet.) It took me forever to complete, and had I known this before, I would have picked a different picture. I guess its all part of being an amateur.

Trust

There are points in everyone's life where you have to do what someone else tells you, regardless of what  it may be. At times like this. it would probably be easier if you told people you were held at gun point when it happened. At least then they would maybe understand how something you obviously were against can't be held against you. Because lets face it, in the end, the ' Big Idea Guy' is the one who really screwed up. They are the one who didn't want to do it your way, or admit they were (DUN DUN DUN) wrong.


But really, who doesn't like to be right? I know I always am! (duh.) Granted I will always remember that one time.... That time where I stood there knowing I was wrong and couldn't even lie my way out of it. (It sucked, and it haunts me often.)


Lying counts! As long as the rest of them believe you, or are on your side of the argument. Yes I lie. Not as often as you might think though, and its usually all in good fun... usually. I am always willing to consider someone's opinion though. I like to think my mind is opening up more.


Im willing to try things your way, except for those times when I don't want to. Sometimes your way   just   freaks   me   out. I realize its good to try new things, but what if you are verging on the course of insanity? And then, you don't give me a choice! Do you know the effect your having on my nerves? Sure, you can make it look good, but what if mine looks, you know, like, someone else did it?


I decided it doesn't matter anymore. They invented photoshop for a reason! And after playing with it for a while I decided the original was better. Go figure.

This is the one I painted! 

Psych. 

It's just the photo I referenced.

My sister the model. Isn't she great!

Watercolor.

First portrait ever!! Now I just need to get more of a variation of colors.

Catching Thin Air

          This week I feel like my mind has taken the wheel and left me in the backseat of it all. Thoughts and ideas are just coming out of nowhere and in the most unusual places. Some people call it "inspiration". I call it "an obvious moment of inconvenience". Seriously, why does the idea for something with potential greatness happen in the shower? Or driving on the freeway? Or in a darkroom where you have no control over the lighting? Its a cruel trick. Its like your is mind saying "haha... I have something for you and your not ready for it, and oh yeah! I'm taking it away in 5 minutes." The WORST is when its lurking in your mind at 2AM when your expected to wake up early. You tear yourself apart trying to decide, "Do I take care of it now, get lost in the moment and ruin tomorrow? Or! Write a quick note to HOPEFULLY remind myself when I get around to it (and then never get around to it)?" Its a nightmare... and your really living it. 
          Lately it seems there has been a lot to read about when it comes to memory loss; along with those 'Magical Super Smart Pills' that will increase your brain functioning. I guess I would consider using these, putting aside the side effects seen in movies. Then again, where is the fun in that? Don't get me wrong, I LOVE being right, but sometimes, its worth it to be wrong, to not have all the answers. Plus, can you genuinely feel appreciative for a job well done when you use the support of a pill that just lets you otherwise be lazy? Lets face it, our minds need a daily 'work out' to keep up with the ideas that want to pour out of them. I like group interaction, it gives me energy. Making all the decisions on my own gets boring, and seriously irritating when I'm looking for opinions. 
          Nobody likes the exact same thing. Just because I know its awesome, doesn't mean my neighbor will like it. Which is why inspiration is so important! I want to discover how to create something that my neighbor will like, something their relative will like, and something that the obscure relation to that relative will like.  
          Inspiration is truly necessary, and I just have to find a way to capture it long enough to understand and know it. If the Karate Kid can catch a fly in chopsticks, then I can catch an idea (somehow).