Boats and Floats (I can rhyme!)

For Thanksgiving, I headed down to San Antonio to watch the annual boat caroling/boat parade. Man, I seriously love the riverwalk. I seriously did not love the fact that the city was charging just to go down to it for the parade. We seriously have to pay to watch a parade in a public space that's already banking from heavily sponsored floats (I saw Santa pop up out of the ceiling of the Raddison Hotel float...)? It actually wound up being for the better, since nearly all the spectators opted to watch from the bridges above, and I wound up looking for more original things to photograph.

P.S. The thought of San Antonio always makes me laugh because I had a friend in elementary school who would never fail to yell, in all seriousness, "REMEMBER THE ALAMO!!!" as she led the charge to grab the first round of dodge balls from the center line. I had some seriously awesome childhood friends.

Belly Flop Fun!

Ok, so I laughed really hard the first time I saw this. And even harder the second time. And by the 5th time (yes, I was on a laughing roll, I suppose) I had one of my ever-so-effervescent epiphanies. I seriously feel like this cat right now. Well, pause while he's in mid air. I haven't hit the floor yet... but my point being that I've worked up a lot of nerve and I'm going for it (finishing school, getting my foot on the first step of the career ladder [note within a note: I hate the "career ladder" analogy, but this whole post is my own analogy for something... I can only have so many analogy-epiphanies a day, so give me a break] etc.) and I know that I'm trying so hard for something that I'm pretty sure I'm not going to reach ALL my goals. But I like being ambitious. And I'm still going to find the whole experience entertaining, even when I hit the floor. Oh, and there's that giddy little adrenaline rush mid-air.



Also, I think this about the 8th time I've seen this now. And it's still funny.

Dusty wine

I toured Llano Estacado Winery not too long ago. It's the largest "premium" winery in Texas, and although I still have only a vague idea of what that actually means, I was expecting it to be much more... industrial? It was a very laid back atmosphere, and I couldn't help but appreciate this wine glass, sitting outside on some equipment, just collecting dust carried by the West Texas wind. Maybe it's because I've had to deal with one too many dust storms, but I found the reminder of the ever-present West Texas dust juxaposed to the romanticism of the distant vineyards humorous.

Seaweed: its for more than throwing!

So when I went to the beach for an (awesome!) on-the-beach wedding, what did I do? Naturally, I took more pictures, thus adding to my already long to-do list. But this is work that doesn't feel like work, so I'm cool with it.

I dare you to tell me this isn't the most attractive mound of washed up seaweed you've ever seen. What's that? You don't really notice that kind of thing when you're soaking up the sun on a clear, summer day with nothing but endless water and sand sprinkled with scantily clad eye candy? How awkward of me.

I usually make it a point to avoid shots of tree branches. Its usually just really amateur-looking, but in my defense, this was really more of a shot of the sky (and proof that I was an HOUR early for a 7:30 A.M. final last fall). The leaves were slightly damp and picking up some of the orange from the sky. Any whooo, I just ran across it and thought I would post something pretty, just because.

Unicorn: The Other White Meat

I wish this had happened while I was taking my mass communications law class. I'm sure my professor, an ex DA with a great sense of humor, could have used this as an example multiple times.

It's tough to pick out my favorite quote from this article, but I'm going to have to go with "an excellent source of sparkles."

Check out the story, which I found on the Lubbock Avalanche Journal's site, by clicking here.

Also, I googled "fat unicorn" for images a few days ago (don't ask) and it's amazing how many relevant image results I found. Try it if you wish.

...Did that building just move?

Have I ever mentioned that I LOVE awesome guerilla marketing? Samsung got it right with this one! Imagine walking down the street and seeing this. (If the video seems a bit slow at first, just wait until about half a minute into it, it gets way better from there.)

Tiffany's Senior Portraits

Just a few of many senior portrait shots I took for my friend Tiffany. She graduates in August... congrats, Tiff!

Wandering mind: keep off grass!

This has by far been the most absurdly busy semester I've ever had. I worked myself to the point that, as what I believe is a Texan saying puts it, "Every time I stand up my mind sits down." The obvious solution to this was to stay standing up so my mind could sit down. So I went for a walk to to take some photos of this beautiful spring day. My mind did roam around a bit after I had walked around for a while... (see last photo).

Lone Safety Cone implores you to stay away from this wide, rolling field! (I suppose " Please Keep Off Grass" wasn't urgent enough?)

No Dead Pigeons, No Problem

I don’t know what it is, but I seem to have an uncanny ability to gain access to the bell tower, the only limited-access area on campus, through amicable meetings with strangers. Technically, the underground steam tunnels that run from one side of campus to the other are restriced-access too, but I have no desire to walk from one side of campus to the other in a steam tunnel. I prefer the view from above, which is why I’m so psyched that I somehow managed my way up into the bell tower again, thanks to the graciousness of several High Riders, a the female answer to the guy’s spirit group which let me into the tower the first time, the Saddle Tramps.

So here’s how my climbing up the bell tower came about:

I’m on campus over the weekend scouting locations for some senior portraits I’m taking this weekend (future blog post? Heck yes...) when I hear a girl from behind say something about “calling the po-po.” Now, imagine yourself in my situation: enjoying the first clear day of spring in over a week, minding your own business, camera up to your face when you suddenly hear mention of the cops being on their way. This is when you 1) awkwardly hesitate to remove the camera hiding your face and 2) quickly survey the situation to decide if you should listen to your wholesome, tiny portrait photographer sitting on one shoulder or the tiny, slightly deviant photojournalist on your other shoulder. After surveying the situation and finding no sign of excitement, my deviant shoulder buddy was sorely disappointed but consoled when the High Rider who had called the “po-po” invited me to join them. Deviant shoulder buddy then got her hopes up again, but they were quickly let down again when one of the High Riders explained the police have to open the restricted-access bell tower in order for them to ring the victory bells.

Meanwhile, tiny portrait photographer jumped for joy at the unexpected and innocent turn of events. As for myself, I’ve never felt so lucky to have a spur-of-the moment trip up 170 stairs to a confined space surrounded by dead pigeons. (This has happened twice, mind you). The view was great, and in the face of defeat my deviant side did not pursue photos of the dead pigeons (you’re welcome).

So, here they are: photos from the best view on the Texas Tech University campus, taken as the victory bells rang.

I froze, and it was worth it!

It's official: the hardest thing about being a photographer is picking a favorite from a really, really big set of photographs. Especially when you're trying to be objective but all you can think about is how much energy went into taking the endless pile of photos in front of you and yet... I somehow remember taking each and every one. Can someone please explain why I can't remember what acronyms greater than three letters stand for and yet I can recall what I was thinking when I took each and everyone of my vacation photos? And when I headed up to Rocky Mountain National Park for spring break, you bet I took a ridiculous number of photos! But here it is. My favorite. Of ALL the breathtaking scenery... I chose.... a night shot. Not what I would have initially guessed, but I love this picture because, well... exactly because it's not what I had in mind when I set out to take photos of the rockies. The best kind of shot is the one you're not expecting.

I promise there are plenty more beautiful Colorado pictures to come. And just so I can end this post in a way that makes me sound awesome, this is a bulb exposure taken in 20 degree weather at 2 A.M. Boo-yah!

Begging for lame pun: Ponies for Nay-bors

Ah, the low intelligence-level humor that is the pun...heh... heh.... nay-bors.... Sorry. But I do think it's pretty sweet that I live a block away from a miniature pony farm... I mean, how many people can claim that? A perk of West Texas living. Downside: it explains the smell on windy mornings. In these little guys' defense, they were relatively odorless, but luckily cute photographs make it easy to forget olfactory associations anyways.

I should note that isn't a warning sign (BEWARE OF PONY) haha. It actually says "Welcome to pet the horses: Do not enter" (which I didn't, tempting as it was). His nose is exaggerated juuust enough because of my wide-angle lens.

I included this one because it reminds of going to petting zoos when I was little. One huge, wet nose shoved into my face. I made sure his eyes were nice and sharp and his nose was out of focus.

Sweet and mellow.

So true...

Living in a smaller city, I’ve seen and heard some really, really awful, low-budget commercials. Few small advertisers seem to catch on to the idea that if your budget is low you should either A) create a really, really simple to execute idea with a kick butt concept or B) find a way to embrace your low budget and small town/city persona with a kick butt concept. Most local ads here opt for one of these two options minus the “kick butt concept” clause. BUT I was listening to the radio the other day and heard a catchy jingle, sung with a serious tone by several men and women who were just barely out of key. “Troy’s Ski Appareeeel…. Cuz you can’t skiiii naaakeed!” I think this fits the latter option perfectly. Troy’s is a local shop with little competition around here and knew touting their apparel brands and specs of their gear wouldn’t do much good. After all, how many West Texans would intently listen to a ski apparel commercial? But, we do go skiing every now and then. Great ads usually have a truth behind them, and I dare you to disprove Troy’s reasoning. So touché Troy’s Ski Apparel, touché.

An absurdity a day keeps excessive saneness away

Well, I’m finally back in Lubbock after a nice Christmas break. I no longer have a laptop, so for the most part I could only access the internet with my iPhone. While I was away, little things kept making me think, “I should put this on my blog…” But, out with the old and in with the new, right? So I started pondering around New Year’s Eve what ridiculous resolution I would declare to the entire blogosphere… exercise more? Nah, I’m good enough about at least trying to do that year-round already. Cook more? Meh, that’s kind of a resolution loop-hole. I like cooking, and it’s not much of a problem seeing as how I’m too broke to eat out often anyways. Give up coffee? I wanted a resolution, not martyrdom. So, I decided maintaining my current level of work ethic and sanity was enough…

But then I started packing for my return. This is where you think my resolution is organization, or donating back-of-the-closet clothing. Nope. For some reason, my epiphany was this: I should use bendy straws at home. The cool, neon kind. Not the kind with stripes you find at restaurants. So, I blurted out to my boyfriend, “I’m going to buy bendy straws when I get back! That’s my resolution!” to which he politely laughed a bit and gave me a strange look I should be accustomed to receiving by now. Then he joke that he hoped I could follow through on such a commitment. Well that must have been the appeal of it. Because I was totally consumed with excitement for five whole minutes at the prospect of using neon bendy straws and the absurdity of making it a goal to do so for an entire calendar year. After my dramatic excitement, I finished off my packing by promptly tucking the idea away in the back of my mind, where it was nice and cozy resting there with my other absurdities.

Jump four days and there we were, back in Lubbock after a nine-hour drive from Houston, unpacking stuff from the car. Again, it hits me, and I make another mental note, removing “bendy staw=resolution” from whatever lobe stores absurdities and into my short-term memory (the frontal lobe, perhaps?). Then we finished unpacking, and by the time I was done, my mental note of “must buy bendy straws to complete New Year resolution” had already expired.

But this bendy straw thing just wasn’t going to disappear that easily. That must be obvious to you by now since you’re reading the fourth paragraph dedicated to them. When I was grocery shopping the next day I had one last thing I had forgotten to grab the first time I went to the very back of the store. As I turned my cart (with one stubborn wheel) into the canned vegetable aisle while wishing I had remembered to grab green beans the FIRST time I was in the back of the store, something in my peripheral vision grabbed my attention. Yes- you guessed it- something neon. AND bendy! And the LAST PACK! They were right at my eye-level, hanging from one of those white, plastic point-of-purchase displays you normally see packs of sunflower seeds hanging on at gas stations. I audibly gasped, and before that pack of bendy straws was in full sight I had grabbed them and threw down in my cart with conviction. I then grabbed my green beans and walked away from the other people in the aisle while trying to look sane. The canned vegetable aisle has never been so much fun. I knew I had a reason for my sudden likeness of bendy straws, and now I know why…

The conclusion I have come to is this: Bendy straws were fate’s apparatus to remind me to enjoy the little things when I get bogged down by the “big picture” and to find the silly in the serious, if, for nothing else, my own personal entertainment. (And if you got to the end of this post, then hopefully yours, too.) So there’s my sub-consciously founded but very appropriate resolution: With my last semesters of college, I will tackle things one at a time, even if they seem to fly at me all at once. I’ll drink out of a bendy straw rather than chug. And most importantly, I’ll make my bendy straws neon, because they’re the most fun. Happy New Year!