Sunset

Had I ever truly seen a sunset before today?

I have never done this before... but today I dedicate this series to my LoveLee... you know who you are.

It's not the destination....

It's the journey, right?

Today, I got in my car and drove... where was I going? No place in particular. In fact, the only thing I knew was I was going west. I thought about going all the way to Niagara Falls, and I would have, but I stopped and drove up this little country road and found a lighthouse and pier. I didn't think I was going to stay there for hours on end just enjoying the view and the warm air and the heavy breeze... but I did.

Needless to say, I took a lot of pictures while I was there.

And this one right here might be one of my favorites... but I think I am going to dig through them all and go all Monet on your asses...

Monet painted Rouen Cathedral over and over again because It was never the same twice. It was always different because of the changing light. Time of day, the weather, Monet's own emotions, all the little things that change over the day.

In the three hours I was sitting there at the pier, waiting for and watching the stunning sunset.... the every changing sky made me think of Monet...

I hope to bring you all a little series from today... Keep an eye out. *wink*

The View

The View

As part of a project for "The Ideas Factory" I created this little piece. The concept was 'through the window' I went through several different images and pieces... and then one afternoon I was looking out the window at the sunset and it was simply too lovely to not capture.

When I did start playing with it in photoshop, the only thing I tweaked was everything *smirk* but the sky... I shifted the whole image to Black and white but left the sky alone as it was shot.

I fell off the face of the Earth

Or at least it seems so... where the H - E - double hockey-sticks have I been???

Well, many places actually... mostly looking for work here in my home town... which is scarce. I was hoping to stay in the photography field, but that is looking like a bust. *headdesk* I hate to do it... but I think I may have to go back to the world of banking... not my dream job, but something I am good at.

ANYWAY! What else have I been up to? Went on a few road trips... of course I brought the Camera and have many lovely photos I am now playing with.

I am still working on scanning in and improving the photographs from my September 11th project. I have about 6 more images nearly ready to post... I just keep tweaking them, OCD much?

Oh, and my writing... ok, yeah I have not been doing as much of that as I would like to admit, BUT, I did start using twitter as a medium to really flex my muscles in the writing arena... the world of Role Play is fascinating, but more than that, it forces me to think fast about my characters next move or remark... and I am really enjoying it.

Enough about me... I need to post something already... ok ok ok...

Empire State of Mind

'America Under Attack' is the first image in this series...

'September 11th'

I shot this series, literally, of the screen of my television as it was happening. The idea was to capture the moment as most of us actually experienced it... through the TV. Mine was an older TV set... curved front, classic 'tv border'... you can even see the "grain" of the picture produced by the cathode-ray tube... I think that may actually be my favorite part of how the image is created.

Empire State of Mind

So I am watching the History Channel, (I know, I'm such a geek) and they are airing a special about the events surrounding September 11 and the World Trade Center. As close to a real-time video record as possible, using media coverage but mostly footage from camcorders. It is incredibly powerfully done.

Before I go on, I think you need to know a little bit about me I think. I was born and raised in Upstate New York. But, that does not mean that I am removed from what happened in NYC. Both my parents are from New York City and we spent 4-6 weeks of every year visiting our family and friends. It has always been in my blood. A place I call Home.

There are few things in this world that can make me cry. I consider myself to be tough as nails... well, let's be honest, I'm a bitch. But, watching the event unfold on that day, made me sob. I think I ended up living in a daze for the next year. That was my senior year in college, and frankly, I dropped the ball... but that's another story.

That morning, when I woke up and saw the news, I put a tape in my VCR and hit the record button. On 2 VHS tapes I have 12 hours of news footage... every year, I make sure I have the 11th off and I sit down and watch some (or all) of those two tapes.

And I cry.

Maybe it's a strange tradition, but I find it to be very cleansing.

I am ever the artist, never does a day go by that I am not 'in' my art. As I watched that day, I got an idea... I loaded my Nikon with Black&White film and photographed my TV... and the series I will be posting over the next couple of weeks is the result of the idea. I found it surprisingly powerful, for me at least.