Point and Shoot

I've never been so upset to be without the D300. 

I'm in the Holy Land and have been borrowing my sister's point and shoot. 

We went on a walk that included stopping at an above ground cemetery.

Cedar Street

An old photo from September. I was biking home from a shoot and felt the need to photograph a sunset, artificial lights, smoke stacks and a car driving by.

Lions & Tamers

I had housemates pose before a vaudeville/burlesque/circus themed party so I could practice shooting portraits. Fumbled for a bit with the lighting and background. In the end, I found my rather makeshift attempt at a portrait studio rather amusing.

Simon

Virginia

Ian

Jon

Old News

On election day I feature hunted and spent some time at Precinct 9, located at Bailey Community Center.  I liked the way 

Sarah Taylor, 10, carried herself as she watched and then waited as her father, Brian Taylor cast his ballot.

Dedicated to Nick

I shot a video of actors in a haunted house for my living city. The whole process was rather tricky. Shooting video/stills in a dark hallways with a strobe light and constant screams got to me after awhile. The first photo ran in the paper and the other two are just off moments of "J Bone" waiting to scare visitors of Phantasmagoria.




Mason High School senior Jared Bone watches as Okemos High School student Amelia Rogocka, 15, held by Holt High School student Austin Homant, 16, walks through the Phantasmagoria Terror Dome Saturday evening at FunTyme Adventure Park in Okemos.

Chinatown

Quite the weekend.  Went to Chicago with Jason and his housemates.  Stayed in the ever so lovely condo on the 51st before shooting the football game in Evanston.  I probably ate a disgusting amount of authentic Chinese food too.  And was almost part of the Taiwan Independence Day Parade in Chinatown.  I would have ridden on a float with Jason's parents and thrown candy out like royalty to people below.  However, made the responsible choice, and opted to not be late to the game.  I took this photo from atop the float before leaving.

a parody

 "It makes a silent statement," Lansing resident Joe Droste explained about his hat.  "I don't like to preach on it unless someone really wants to talk."

Two DNC Extras

lines & modes of transportation

an almost

I was allowed to take photos backstage at the Wharton Center during the College of Music Collage Concert.  The whole atmosphere was like a dream.  Musicians in fancy clothes bustled in and out between acts.  The room was dimly lit and I was in the midst of impromptu practices/personal concerts as I photographed.  I really liked this student's bow tie and the way he held his cello.

feeling left brained lately

beautiful textured oma

grandmother, cute kid and apple

I shot the Out of Darkness Community Walk to promote suicide prevention and awareness. Found a rather adorable moment despite the nature of the walk.  Jennifer Whipple kisses her grandson, Evan Knechtgs, 2, goodbye after the walk held Sunday morning at Potter Park Zoo in Lansing.  

Oh Boy

The convention is over.  It was one of the most stressful, exciting, exhausting experiences of my life. Quite the learning experience.

Goodness what dramatic statements...

I'm sure I will update with DNC photos/stories in the future.  Until then, here is a completely random photo I found when I was going through everything I shot this past week.  It's a really big spider on its web between Denver street lamps.

Arrival

After two long days, we are here.  Tired, stressed, and with feelings of altitude sickness I am ever so glad to be out of the car.

Journalism Junior Jacob Carpenter rests  on "Big Red" after arriving at Renaissance Suites and unloading the car Sunday afternoon in Broomfield, Colorado.

(Have no fear Robert, we did not leave any of this gear unattended and I have been taking plenty of photos for the banquet)

Winos

Went to two very unique weddings this past weekend. The first was a traditional Hasidic Jewish wedding. My sister knew the bride from Israel. Men and women sat on separate sides during the ceremony and the dance floor was divided similarly. I was instructed not to "touch men," a simple handshake or bumping into someone of the opposite sex would be considered rude. Photographing the event was tricky too. I was constantly aware of myself as a female and cautious not to draw any attention to myself as a photographer. The second wedding was more personable. One of my house mates, Jake got certified online to marry his high school friends. Friends from Bower attended the reception which included mostly raw/vegan food and an untraditional ceremony. We hung out at the lake all day and then camped at the couple's new home.

Photo shoot ADD

Three things that distract while on assignments

Reflections

Shooting silhouettes with pretty sky

Children

Car Wash

A photo from my feature on Monday at Bailey Community Center.

I shot through a car window and got the reflection of Bailey on the windshield and window.

For the love of bikes

In honor of my new bike and the return of the Raleigh to an incoming Cole 

Another Old Birthday

It was Sam's 20th Birthday a couple weeks ago.  We made Mexican food for the occasion.  Also watched Princess Bride, danced, sang, and were very merry.  So pretty much, the usual summer festivities.

I have the coolest friends...

Dairy Adventure

Took photos at the Great Dairy Adventure which as advertised included "free fun for kids all ages."

It was overwhelming - so many people and activities.  I decided to take photos of people just hanging out with their cows away from the large swarms of kids.  This photo didn't make it into the paper but I really liked it the girl's expression.

Animal science senior Ashley Messing holds one of her jersey cows Wednesday afternoon at the Great Dairy Adventure held at the MSU Pavilion.

Parking Lot Party

It was Fancy Pant's birthday. Bower brought the dining room table out to parking lot last Saturday for the occasion. Music, food and sparklers were present. 

wink

"I want to go run and put a nose on it!" - Angeli

Thursday

I spent most of yesterday at a farm/Bower's garden, biking and dancing.

A Newsweek/New York Times freelancer visited Bower Co-op to document alternative college living.  Georgia and I were feeling a bit awkward.  We couldn't get in any of the photos and didn't want to get in his way.  But, we also wanted to watch him/talk with him.

To ease the awkward we busted out the Nikons

It's almost startling to see photos were someone is looking directly at my camera.  It's my job to have people completely ignore me.  It's nice once and awhile with friends to not have to fade into the background as a photog.

Cole made a mysterious concoction out of dead burned bugs/leaves/water.  He then splashed it over plants to try and keep the pests out of our garden.

Nora and Cole discuss when they have time to complete their compost homework.

busy summer biz

Went on a bike ride with Georgia from Dexter Michigan to Ann Arbor. She had a bike accident and we ended up in the emergency room. She was nice enough to allow me to document the whole experience though.

Went to Board of Water & Light. It was the first time the building had been open to the public since 9/11. I was so excited to see inside that I kinda just ignored the people and got into the architecture.


Ross came to visit Sam for about a week. It was cool to see part of the Ruiz family dynamic for awhile.

lotsa lookin

Went to Chicago with members of the photo family...

left & leaving

Will be staying in E.L. for yet another semester. Am supposed to be packing up my room right now.  Am moving to a new co-op tomorrow.

I feel like I'm being left by so many of my friends.  All I want to do is go with them.  I've always had this itch to leave.  To wander around and explore new places.  I've never really understood the motivation behind this desire.  I just want to go...

I have a lot to accomplish/learn this semester so I must hold off.

I'm excited to go through photos of the past few days/Chicago tomorrow.  Will probably update with those soon too.