Walking in da Woo

I enjoy going on photo walks around Worcester every once in a while. There are so many quirky, ironic photos to be made on the streets. There is also A LOT of trash, but sometimes I think it looks beautiful the way it has fallen/ been blown over by the wind. Worcester is rundown, beat up and by no means a "model" city (whatever that may mean). But I've fallen for it. Because I know that beneath the overgrowth and dust, there is a vibrant, diverse, and lovely experience waiting to happen. And sometimes I find a hint of it on the streets.

It ain't fake- it's f'real.

The impossiblilites/ possibilities/ questions abound.

The irony of geography. Also, if you have a problem and it's a pregnancy, please do not go here. Not legit.

This looked like it belonged here. But then again, if it was there, it does belong.

Restlessness

“Wandering re-establishes the original harmony which once existed between man and the universe" 

- Anatole France

"For my part I do not travel to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel's sake. The great affair is to move."- Robert Louis Stevenson

“The act of vagabonding is not an isolated trend so much as it is a spectral connection between people long separated by place and time, but somehow speaking the same language.”

- Rolf Potts

“To my mind, the greatest reward and luxury of travel is to be able to experience everyday things as if for the first time, to be in a position in which almost nothing is so familiar it is taken for granted.” 

-Bill Bryson

“Adventure is a path. Real adventure – self-determined, self-motivated, often risky – forces you to have firsthand encounters with the world. The world the way it is, not the way you imagine it. Your body will collide with the earth and you will bear witness. In this way you will be compelled to grapple with the limitless kindness and bottomless cruelty of humankind – and perhaps realize that you yourself are capable of both. This will change you. Nothing will ever again be black-and-white.”

-Mark Jenkins

Farm People

. . . my kind of people :).


                                                    Bunching Herbs

                                                            Amanda

                                                . . . being a goof

                                             Bettny

Nuestro Huerto

                                                                    The Towers

                                                                                                                                                                         Leaf Share

                                                                   Morning Glory

Music Inspiration

A few songs and music videos have been inspiring me lately . . . this one, Lovely Bloodflow by Baths, has me thinking about death, life, rebirth and my relationship and ideas about these elements.

 

I have an idea for a shoot to base off of this (and some experiences I have been a part of as of late) and hopefully I can start learning some bad ass lighting skills in the process. I guess we'll see where it takes me and I'll post the resulting photos within the next few weeks.

Honesty

I'm trying to be honest with myself. I'm allowing myself to feel what I feel when I feel it. Everyday I go through what seems like a million different emotions- extreme happiness, gratitude, silliness, insecurity, calm, stress, restlessness . . . Sometimes I feel so empty and separate I don't think it's possible to feel anything. Some times I feel so connected to everything around me, I don't understand separation.
 

This is a transition period for me. I have been living in limbo for far too long and I've finally made some hard decisions. But I think they are all for the best. I want to photograph my emotions and states- I want to be able to share them, connect them, and ultimately acknowledge them so I can evaluate, reflect, and move forward.

The other day I was feeling overwhelmed, lonely, and heartbroken. I was so overwrought, but I pulled out my camera and documented the process. The other photos were raw, but this one I was drawn to because it was at the end of my grieving and I continued to feel this way for the next few days- fragile, melancholy, and like the ghosts of tears were hanging precariously onto the edge of my eyelids.

Thinking about Emotion

I've been thinking about doing self-portraits of emotions. I made some photos this morning . . . and here are some things I have been looking at: 

Kylie Woon

Kalie Garrett

Jen Davis

Jereon Oosterhof

Nicko Darwis

Ideas: play with photo shop, multiple faces . . . smoke . . . light play . . . scenery . . . black and white . . . but also color . . . eyes, wrinkles . . . close ups . . . distance

Bubbles

                                                                   Bubbles I

                                                                 Bubbles II

                                                                Bubbles III

I think we can learn a lot from bubbles.

Paintings by Nature

                                                                                                                                                                  Rock Art I

                                                                    Rock Art II

                                                                   Rock Art III

Human Landscape

                                                                                                                                                                           Urban Ecology I

                                                                                                                                                                       Urban Ecology II