Mardi Gras: Love

Sometimes you just need a photo to bring a smile to your face. Well, for me, this photo does just that.

You sure do have to love children. If you were to stick a camera (be it a funky camera: Super Sampler) in an adult's face, the result would be entirely different. I don't think the smile would be as wide, the emotion would be so raw, and the effect would be as genuine.

We were at an outdoor festival last summer when this photo was taken. I wish I could say that I remember how this kid reacted, but I have a funny feeling that I was not around when PM shot this photo. Instead, I like to imagine how not only did this kid serve as the perfect model, but how he also afterwards asked various questions about the strange looking, plastic camera.

Kids are curious, and more often than not very honest.

As the old saying goes: Only children and old folks can speak their minds and get away with it.

Hope this photo brings a smile to your face. What helps bring a smile to your face? Please share!

Oh, and Happy Fat Tuesday.

~am

something *sweet

I thought it was time to post something *sweet to this blog again.

We seem to have more recently posted around the theme of horses (exhibit A, exhibit B, exhibit C, and *gasp*, exhibit D). Which photo is your favorite? I am partial to B, but that's no suprise - doubles are my thing.

Anyways, I have declared a change of pace. No more horses.

My inspiration came today as I woke up to a beautiful sunny, yet still chilly day. My mind drifted to sunshine and spring. And to celebrate - it was a day for baking. I suppose the hearts and love designs slightly nod to Valentine's Day. :)

Baking, for me, truly is therapeutic. I enjoy being able to invent as I go along with a recipe. I very rarely follow a recipe. Instead it's just a suggested route to an end. Obviously the baking soda, baking powder and other standards don't change -- but the add-ins do. I am not afraid to try new things while baking. Sometimes my changes fail, but for the most part the end result is edible bliss.

Yes, I have a sweet tooth.

Here's to warm cookies, hot chocolate and an afternoon of warmth. And, naturally -the recipe:

Orange You Glad Sugar Cookies:
+ 1 c softened butter
+ 1.5 c sugar
+ 2 eggs
+ 1 t cream of tartar
+ 1 t baking soda
+ 1 t orange extract
+ 1/4 t salt
+ 2.75 c flour
+ zest of 1 orange
+ small splash of oj

Heat oven to 375F. Bake for 9 -12 mins. ENJOY! :)

Vagabundo

I have often wondered what it would be like to live out of a suitcase. If I had to downsize what could I leave behind? What would I have to have with me.

Naturally, I never thought about the suitcase being a horse & buggie.

I remember being at the stop light (in the car) and watching this man travel in the other direction. At first I could not believe my eyes. This is certainly not a sight that one would expect in the 21st century, but then again there is a culture of wanderers in Europe (aka Gypsies).

There wasn't much time to react, and I really wish we would have had more time to master this shot.

This photo helps to remind me on just how lucky so many of us are without even knowing it. We are fortune enough to have a roof over our head and an excess of "things." We don't have to travel from place to place to make ends meet.

Dream of Horses

If I had to dedicate myself to a creative form, it would without a doubt be double exposures.

I love how no two are the same. You can take the most photographed landmark in a city and make it different by overlaying another image on top of it. Double exposures are original, and very infrequently turn out just how you had in mind when you took both photos.

This particular double exposure did not just happen. I had been waiting in the plaza by the cathedral (yes, still in Spain!) for some time. I kept watching the horses and carriages come and go, come and go. It was a constant movement.

The horses were able to rest between rides, but a humid summer afternoon heat certainly is not the best condition for a restful rest. I started to wonder: Do these horses know how much better their life could be? Are they treated well, feed well, kept well? How do they endure day after day with the same routes, same tourists, same heat?

I took this particular photo thinking about how the horse and the wheel of the carriage essentially have the same job. Without one another the job could not be complete. If one is broken the workload becomes harder. Is this fair and right when one component is living and one isn't?

I think that photography should be more than just a click of a button. It should be beautiful at times, ugly during others. But, for me, more importantly - I think it needs to bring new meaning and thoughts to things we see in our daily lives.

Photography should make you think beyond the image.

Holga is back

We have about 10 Holga rolls from Spain to scan and more important, some time to do it, so expect some blurry pictures from the old world coming soon :)

New Heights

Liberated.
Time for a new beginning.
Sky is the limit.
New heights, ahoy!

I am feeling good today. I think that I am finally on track for letting creativity take me under its wing. And, it is a good feeling.

Done a lot of soul searching and will continue to do so. As that happens, our blog may morph.


Theme song of the Day: Pork and Beans, Weezer
Imma do the things that i wanna do
I ain't got a thing to prove to you
I'll eat my candy with the pork and beans
Excuse my manners if i make a scene
I ain't gonna wear the clothes that you like
I'm fine and dandy with the me inside
One look in the mirror and i'm tickled pink
I don't give a hoot about what you think

Through the eyes of a horse

Photo by AMB
Carriage horse right outside of the Catedral in Sevilla, Spain