Hey all! Its good to be back...I am sorry, but this is a random array of photos taken over the past 2 months. It has been a crazy two months thats for sure. I commend Sam for committing to a project, and just seeing where it might go. I cannot wait to see where it does go, and hopefully we can discuss it more fully when she comes back to SNC. Monica and Shane, thank you so much for keeping this up. Even though I haven't made any posts, I have been reading up almost everyday. I really appreciate it. Well here goes, with my new baby (a small-soon to be massive Bernese Mountain Dog-and a large part of not writing new posts-trying to make sure she doesn't eat everything in site) at my feet.

The top picture is for my new job as a portrait photographer. I assist in weddings and senior pictures, and I have my own niche, with my maternal personality, of shooting expectant mothers and then their baby portraits. This is unedited, but a first attempt.

The second is my exploration into light and color, our first intermediate assignment. Jacki has really opened my eyes to color and light. We will drive places and she will always point out the most gorgeous/hidden/vibrant light and color situations. Its really been awesome to see more of that with her help. This is after a gorgeous rain storm hit and the sun was setting through the rain clouds. I wish I could have captured that beauty even more so.

The next one is random...It is again, my way of playing through things. I love having that mediator between me and my camera. It challenges me to see beyond the obvious. It might be a crutch too. I am still trying to figure that out. Maybe you guys can help me out...You know me pretty well-to say the least.

The last two are my adventure. These are my shower pictures of this year. I am SO drawn to these. I am not sure why, but wow, they make my heart skip a beat like the picture of my friend Andrea in the pool with her face right up against the light. There is something so eery about these and yet so elegant. I know I am getting ahead of myself-but that is somewhere where I am going to focus...is using different light for portraiture. I am intrigued. I have been shooting EVERYTHING I see, but so far this is what I truly SEE so far. We'll see what that even means...

Ok, so I just have one more thing to say...I have been thinking a lot recently, because of selling art, about a conversation that I had with Shane and a couple of guys after the sad going away party. I was talking to Cameron about what success really means in my mind. I had just sold my first print to Prof. Johnson, and I was overwhelmed. I explained to him the day that I sold that picture, I realized that my idea of success never meant what I would be able to sell, or what people might give me for my art. (I honestly believed I would never sell a piece.) I realized that I had encountered my success already...I had overcome tragedy and used it. Cameron kept on saying to Shane and I, "you have no idea what I have been through." He is right...we don't know. All I could say to him though was, " You are one of the lucky ones. One of the lucky artists, or writers, who gets to use that to be inspired. I feel bad (in a far off way) for those who don't have something to grasp to help them create or to motivate them."

I believe that to fullest now. However, I didn't a year ago. I believed my life sucked and that was that. Nothing else mattered. However, everyone is going to face tragedy/sickness/sadness/trials, and it is your choice on how you are going to use them. You can let them swallow you up and bring you down everyday...or you can grasp them and use them to feel success. It doesn't matter if that is monetary gain, or if its just a sense of personal success. You can feel so helpless, but yet in a second, a minute, a hour, a month or years...That can turn, and you can see a picture you have taken on a wall, or a piece of paper you have just written the begining of a novel or a short story on-and feel this warmth inside, and a sense of pride for an accomplishment you just realized you did. That is what I feel like success is... The monetary gain is just a bonus. It's to instill in us that others believe and see that passion. They might not realize the effort and tears and stress, but they see YOU. That is all that matters, isn't it? Isn't that success?

Thanks everyone! Keep it up. I will try to post more often, and not so long.