Jun 27, 2011 
For weeks I've been compiling tear sheets of architecture, interior design, illustration, and photography that I love for a class assignment. This image doesn't quite fit in with the rest, but the yellow wall and ceiling are delightful.
image via Svenskfast.
Jun 24, 2011 
A midmorning snack of strawberries and whipped cream is the perfect way to kickoff the weekend.
Jun 24, 2011 
Every year Chris's family spends Spring Break at his grandparents' winter home in Scottsdale, Arizona. When we were there last year I kicked myself for not taking pictures of the desert, so this year I vowed to bring my camera and capture cacti on film. Chris's grandfather, Merlin, was more than willing to oblige by planning a trip to see the desert at the end of the week. I explained that I wanted to get there before the sun came up so the light would be just right, which didn't seem to phase the rest of the group. I didn't, however, expect the inner battle that ensued when my alarm went off so early that it was still dark.
"Ugh it's too early. And even earlier in Seattle." I grumbled.
It was too bad for me that this whole desert excursion was my idea and everyone else in the house was up and ready to go. I surely couldn't be the one to back out so I threw on some clothes, poured some coffee, and tried to act more awake than I actually felt.
These kind of photography trips are like trying to get yourself into a gym - building the momentum to change into your gym clothes, put on your tennis shoes, and actually drive to the building takes the most amount of will power. Once you're through in the doors, you're happy you made it and the reluctance fades away. In the same way, once we made it up into the desert and I was snapping images of prickly pears, I forgot how early it was.
Fast forward a few months later when I finally got around to developing the prints and I'm even more thankful that we went...although we missed a turn and were lost for a while there, but that's just part of the fun isn't it?
All images taken with a Canon EOS Elan7e and scanned.
Jun 22, 2011 With the wedding only three months away, I'm finding that we're now in what I call the "execution phase." And no, I don't mean that we're all about ready to kill one another due to some imaginary tension caused by the wedding. What I mean is that it's time to start (and finish) major DIY projects. One such project is party favors but I can't give away the details. I know, I know. I'm lame for even bringing it up. If it makes you feel better, I feel a wee bit guilty about it.
I will tell you this: the project involves stories, food, and photography. Big surprise.
The image above is a small taste of what I'm working on (following this shot, I roasted the corn and beets for a goat cheese and balsamic vinaigrette salad - yum!). Because I've decided to use the Yashika for the photography, I needed to give it a test run. Shooting food with a TLR that flips the subject in the viewfinder and doesn't allow you to get really close took some getting used to.
I promise to show you other small tidbits here and there!
Jun 21, 2011 
Above: Prints I'm enjoying on the deck tonight - film and summer (and cold beer for that matter) are so refreshing.
I take my film to a small photo lab near my house and each time I'm there I'm reminded of the first photography job I had during high school as a photo assistant for a photographer named Bruce. One of my responsibilities was to print and cut all of his images by hand: I worked in a small, dark closet that housed a cumbersome photo enlarger and a stool barely big enough for me to sit on. After I adjusted color dials and rotated the negatives to get each and every print, I'd fumble with the enlarger in the dark to remove the large roll of exposed paper and place it in a light proof bag. Then, I'd walk down the hall with the bag to another room that contained a machine that developed the paper. I can't remember what this machine looked like because there were no safe lights and it too had to be operated in complete darkness. I do remember, however, that a part of the paper feeder was broken and I needed to reach my hand inside the machine and guide the paper through the developer in order for it to work properly. Once the roll of paper was developed and dried, I trimmed each print with a rotary cutter finally round off the corners with a small, specialized cutter.
I do not miss that job in the least, but I do miss the weight of crisp prints in my hand. I'd almost forgotten how nice they can look!
