Thank God It's Friday

You know those days where everything just seems to fall into place? When the sun rises into a beautiful morning and the birds sing their cheerful songs as the crisp air dances in the fresh autumn leaves. Yeah, I love those mornings too. Especially when it means the weekend is coming.

Wake up. Yawn. Look over my shoulder. Smile fondly. Caress his cheek. Heart pounds. Kiss his forehead. Get up & take a shower. Brush teeth, fix hair, get dressed. Breakfast. Write a note. Place it beside his pillow. Treck to school.

This, in simple terms was my morning. Although it did also include a gorgeous sunrise, crisp autumn air, amazing fall leaves rustling and country music. I do love waking up next to my love. Partially because I actually got some sleep the night before and because I can't get enough of him. He makes me feel whole and bubbly, makes me want to dance in the rain in my best dress. ( Wich btw I did do on his prom night when the weather was less then agreeable.)

There are very few people who are able to define me the way I want to be defined. Ask some of my best friends, they have a pretty good idea. But ask him, and I am sure he could go on for days explaining the intricacies of my odd personality. He has seen me at my best and at my worst and somehow still decides to be with me. IT has been almost two years and I still can't get enough.

All in all, our story is pretty different from other couples. We met strangely, we fell fast. I will spare you the details but this is what I learnt. You can go looking for love. The more you look the more it'll run from you. You have relax, concentrate on other things. Get distracted and everything will just fall into place. That's true for a lot of things. Just relax, let things happen and it'll all be okay. Stop worrying. Be happy.

I will leave you off with a couple of links to some songs that make me really happy no matter where I am and what mood I am in.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7Gf2SOmz5Q
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TtQ7TXvZOPI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KqgHosrqJ8o

The Power of Photography

Paul Fusco documented the atrocities that came from the nuclear disaster Chernobyl. He shows the children, parents and the community that was destroyed by this disaster. Tugging at the heart and invoking painful emotions, the images he took are heart-breaking. These children can't speak, can't move. They are subject to fits, they are deformed and their minds are destroyed. They don't recognize their own parents. These are the images of a destroyed life. Decades after the explosion, the consequences continue to effect he people of Belarus. The video was captivating. The images burn my heart. The stories will imprint on my soul. 

http://inmotion.magnumphotos.com/essay/chernobyl

Darcy Padilla followed the life of an 18 year old, HIV positive mother. For 18 years, she followed her story, capturing heart-wrenching images of her struggle through life. Sexually abused and discarded, thrown through a window by her own step-father at the age of 14, Julie is a fighter. She fled from home, escaping the woes of her broken home. Getting into drug abuse and contracting HIV, she now has five children and struggles through  life. Darcy is trying to inspire awareness of the lives of people who have AIDS. Using the images form Julie’s story, she paints an unimaginable sad picture of those who live on the fringes of welfare to support family.  Her mission is sad, her words about the abused woman are captivating. She was able to bring me to tears in a 4 minute video using only the simplest of words and many painful images. Darcy is an inspiration to me. Her images captivate and bring forth need for change, for help. I strongly believe in her cause. This story captured my heart and my soul and will remain burned into my memory.

http://www.darcypadilla.com/

The power of images goes beyond words. It goes beyond media. These images are unforgettable. The stories are deeply imprinted in every photograph. Photography is Powerful. 

Gorgeous Girls

So many of us doubt. We worry. We fuss. What we seem to forget to do is BELIEVE. As women, the barbie girl image has been burned through our minds since we were young children, and for many of us, it becomes hard to believe that we are beautiful. No matter how many times our friends, boyfriends, husbands and family have told us otherwise, our mind is programmed to favor negative information. As soon as one person has said "did you put on weight?" or a saleswoman give you ones of those looks, you know the one; it says "Yeah, good luck getting into those shirts/dresses/pants.", we seem to remember and believe those hurtful passes. I admit, I am just as offended as the rest of you when these things happen, and I doubt myself every day, my boyfriend can vouch for that. The one thing I am here to tell you is that you are beautiful. You are strong. You are powerful. You are a woman and no one should take that from you. Strut down that street. Flash that dazzling smile. Knock 'em dead. Let's keep our head, heels and standards high! Each and every one of you has a unique factor that shines through. Forget the makeup, leave your hair alone and be confident. They'll fall at your feet, no matter who you are. Confidence is sexy. It doesn't take big breasts, small waists and luscious hips. Confidence takes pride. Harness it, use it.

As many of you already know, I did a photo session with one of my very good friends last month. She is gorgeous, fun loving, sweet, humble, stubborn, and has some of the most amazing eyes (aside from my boyfriends', sorry Nat) that I have every seen. As an all around amazing woman, she walks with her head high and her spirits flying. Always trying to hold in barely-contained laughter, she can make others feel happy with one smile. I love spending time with her and I hope you will enjoy these images as much as I enjoyed taking them, although that is doubtful; we had a blast.

The Girl with the Green Eyes

For those who are interested, here is the article : http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2002/04/afghan-girl/index-text/1

One thing I will always remember from my parents' home is the bookcase. In the elaborate mahogany wood is stored countless National Geographic magazines. You see, my father had found refuge in the pages of the countless worlds captivated by various photographers.

I must have been about six years old when he showed me the one photograph that spurred me to pursue a career in photography to this day: "Afghan Girl" or "the Girl with the Green eyes". At the time, I didn't know why this picture made me cry. I remember just staring into those burning eyes and thinking "She's so pretty, why does she look so sad?" I couldn't help it, I took the issue into my room and stared at her photo for hours. 

This photograph made an impact on me like no other. Years later, I found out that NG had actually found her again. I dug up the article and became immersed in her tragic story. The once beautiful teenager who moved me had changed into a woman with heartache and destructions so clearly written on her features. I did a project solely on her story. It moved me to tears in the classroom as my teacher and other students got emotional. I swore to myself that I would impact someone else with my own images just the way this one had captured the world. 

Despite this, for a very long time, I was resolved to become a vet. This pleased my parents, my family. However, I did not have the grades to even consider applying for that program and once I actually had to apply to College and University, I got seriously conflicted. It had been recently brought to my attention that I could pursue a career in photography. My passion, my dream. It was impossible, I hadn't even though about it beforehand. I also loved writing and english literature, and of course on the side, I still drew, painted and sketched. Now though, I was debating. Graphic design, journalism or photography? The one thing I knew I never wanted to be was a sell out. I never wanted to make my choices based on other people and what they tell me. I wanted to follow my heart. 

I went for a long walk down a path in the forest that I knew by heart. I held that little piece of wilderness close to me and I took in the fresh air, the gorgeous scenery and thought long and hard. - That's one thing about me that I've found very useful. Being outside calms me, eases frayed nerves and helps me think. - That walk changed my life for ever. Although, it is probably not why you think. I did not have some kind of epiphany, I didn't see the light at the end of the tunnel, I didn't suddenly come up with my purpose in life and no apparition appeared before me.  What happened was my boyfriend. I was talking to him during my walk. Very patiently, he listened and crooned over my problems. He convinced me to follow my heart and not look back. He drilled me with compliments on past work and wouldn't let me say otherwise. He made me believe in myself. Yes, again he has made one of the biggest impacts in my life.  He was the one who convinced me to follow my dreams. He is the reason I am now in the Photography  program at Algonquin College, chasing my heart's desires. Despite what my family has told me, I am here. 

I walked into that foliage with a very heavy heart and walked out with a large smile on my face and a resolve to believe in myself. I adore photography and thanks to a very special person in my life, I get to do it for a living. 

I just wanted to say thank you. Nick, you've changed my life and I will forever be in dept to you for that. I love you. 

Dreamers

So, I've written a lot about my pastimes and my dreams. However, what I really want to talk about is my passion. The photography industry very cut throat, you must have amazing creative skill or get your name out there on a world-wide scale. Me? I want to take a different approach to it all.

I want to show you how beautiful this world really is through the people that live around you. I want to photograph your best friend from the second grade and make her beauty shine through. I want to shoot with your husbands brother, make his brilliant eyes pop. I want to show you how amazing it is to have a newborn baby in your arms. To me, photography isn't just my passion or my dream. It is my  gateway to wonderful beauty, and I want to share it with you.

I have said this over and over, yet so many people fail to understand the concept: Photography is my art, a camera; my tool and beauty is my subject. What most don't seem to realize is that beauty reigns everywhere.  It's in your neighbor's gorgeous eyes and your child's messy hands. This is what I want to do. I want to frame that charm and capture the world with it. I might be young, stuck in the middle of suburbia and struggle every day for artistic inspiration, but I DREAM BIG, and I want YOU to join me.

Photography

The beauty that resides in my front yard garden.

 The sound of a shutter echoes in my mind. A moment in time, forever captured. It is the essence of a photograph that captures people. It becomes so much more then the image and it's composition; it goes beyond the limits of a picture, beyond what you can see inside the frame. The laughter, the despair, the pure happiness, the heartbreak.

 A photographer can capture and embody each of these emotions like a reflection in a mirror. It is not as simple as picking up a camera and snapping a Kodak moment. The hardest thing a photographer has to do is make people see what they see. As artists, we see the world differently, we see beauty where there is nothing but destruction. Many of us say they are one in the same. We see the little details, the cracks in the sidewalk that make the biggest difference that most don't even seem to register.The world is full of hidden beauty and it is our job to show you how to find it.

 My world is forever roaming new ideas, captures that frame the beauty that is around me. Photography is not a hobby and it won't even be a career for me. If I could do it for free and get by, I would, because it is a passion. It drives me. It makes me want to travel the world, go to every little place and discover new things. All I need is a camera on my back, my heart on my sleeve and my love by my side.

That is what photography means to me.

Life is art, live yours in COLOR

Taken from a large plane, over the polar circle

There are only so many changes you get to reinvent yourself. To start over and be able to be who you really want to be. These moments, however are the true testament to who you are. They are few and far between and must be maneuvered with great caution. Tomorrow is one of those days.
Graduation. Garden party. Prom. After party. These words hold great promise for so many young adults for the next weeks. We have finished the first step of our lives. Tomorrow, I will complete the last pieces of my childhood. MY life will begin, it's potential only beginning to show through bursting seams of contained dreams. The moment will set me free into a larger cage of restraints. But I will move on. I will follow my dreams, for I am young and have nothing to lose.
To all of my friends, I bid my thanks. Those I have lost and those I have gained over the years have made for an interesting ride. There is no way I would be here, making it through highschool and chasing my dreams, without them. Shall I mention a few of my closest ones? Although I have drifted apart from a few, Stephanie, Rebecca, Renee, I will not forget them or their loyalty. Then there are my current friends, Justine, Natasha, Anik and not to mention my boyfriend, Nick. These people have supported me through every trial and tribulations imaginable. They've put up with blood sweat and tears. I owe them so much more then I could ever give.
All in all, excitement reigns in the air. The world's horizon rises and dips in front of me, all I have to do is dive in.