live as if

in the dark

I miss darkroom photography. This is the first semester I haven't been in a photo class in a long time and it's sad. Digital/photoshop stuff is awesome and everything, but I really miss things like wasting 10 sheets of paper to make one picture. Photoshop makes things too easy--the darkroom is far more frustrating. But it's also much more exciting when you get something you're actually happy with.

if my life had a soundtrack

I love when songs bring back memories. 3OH!3 is party music. "Dear Maria" by All Time Low will always take me back to the skatepark. "Happy Birthday" by You Me And Everyone We Know (no, it's not the traditional birthday song) is the last run of an awesome day snowboarding. "No Surprise," the time I should've let it go but couldn't yet. A couple country songs make me miss those long-gone summer days before everyone left.

And then there's those songs you find randomly whose lyrics perfectly describe your life at the time. "Should've Said No" is a perfect example... for while I would crank that so loud and just scream the lyrics because they were so true. Of course this only happens in the car. Seriously... I sing so loud when I'm driving!

I wish I could write songs.

you .don't. belong with me

you say that the past is the past, you need one chance.
it was a moment of weakness. and you said yes.

get some verve.

So in one of my art classes, we are doing this intense concentration thing for our final portfolio. It's 12 pieces of art with a central theme/message/medium, basically they're all related by something you're trying to say. And we're working on it for an entire semester.. so I need an idea that's gonna kick butt. Still working on that one. Here's what I'm thinking so far. Definitely gonna go with photography of some sort.

The way people are so restrained by the impact of the opinions/actions of others. Like how you hold back from doing something because you're worried that people will automatically judge you for it. And yeah, they will judge you. But why does that matter? What would the world be like if reputations and stereotypes didn't exist, if no one was ever judged for their thoughts, words, or opinions? If everyone just spoke their mind without being afraid of looking stupid or weird or anything else they could be labeled as. This is kind of cliche.. but it's something I think about a lot.

The obsession with objectivity. The fact that numbers, scores, and various measurements of success determine your worth as a person in this society. A frustration with formulaic thinking. I hate how test scores seem to define students. That's kinda the backbone for this one, and I don't really know where else I could go with it for a whole semester.

I also kind of want to do something with portraits/people, but I don't really have a solid idea for that yet. I have this feeling like this concentration thing is going to be really interesting and different, but coming up with an idea will be the hard part.

it's getting old.

I'm sure a lot of awesome things will happen between now and then. I like to live in the moment and make the most out of every day (sometimes cliches happen.) I'm not saying that I want to fast forward and miss out on everything that's going on now.

But please please PLEASE can next year hurry up and be here already.

<3

"the most powerful weapon in the world has been, and can be a photograph.
military weapons can only destroy.

cameras in the hands of photographers with hearts can capture love. hope. passion. change lives and make the world a better place.

...and it only takes 1/800th of a second.

life goes on, we photograph it.
but, it's much better with love."

-eddie adams