optical

optical - relating to sight, especially in relation to the physical action of light

A long while ago I dropped my favorite slr (film) camera lens. I cried. Honestly, I blubbered.

To cheer myself up, I then decided to buy a digital camera. Along the way, however, I got frustrated at the digital camera because it just flat-out wasn't my t-50. I took that loss pretty hard. So, out of frustration, I sold it. The digital camera, that is.

 
I'm not sure what I was thinking. Maybe I was trying to stick it to technology, really teach technology a lesson. Maybe I was trying to fill a void. I'm not sure.

Jump ahead a few dry, picture-less years and I find myself unwrapping a Christmas present from the bf. He got me a new slr lens. Fancier then the one I broke before. But not too fancy.

It took me a little time to warm up to this new lens. But recently, I have been back in action, shooting film again. Back doing something I nearly forgot that I love.

Upon this recent revival, I've been thinking about why I love it so and what it is I want to accomplish with it. There is a quote from Anne Leibovitz that talks about how crucial emotional content is to photography...about how photos should have a poignant impact and how they should remain in the viewer's heart.

And that, my friends, is why I love it and what I aim to do with it -- take pictures that remain in the hearts of others, regardless of the subject or the technique.

A few things have changed in the hobby of photography since I petered out last. FYI, you can no longer buy 800 ISO film over the counter and flikr now allows 1 TB (that's right terabyte) of data storage. That sure beats the measly 200 free images they used to allot. Check it.

robot voice

robot voice: visual definition below...

Nothing is more entertaining than a three year old with sticky blue popsicle lips, shouting "I am a robot" into a giant oscillating fan.

Mom and Dave came to visit this past week.  Jess and I took them, along with my nieces, to the Main Street Auction. I didn't buy anything except for a gaggle of popsicles and ice cream bars.

we had fun though!

Marine friends!

giant marshmallows

the boat had a sign on it reading "do not sit or stand," I helped them get in!

retrospective

retrospective: of or relating to retrospection, based on memory

I finally got all my film developed from Ecuador and in doing so was able to further digest my experience. At the time, Ecuador seemed mad with mayhem and yet simultaneously serene. To me, Ecuador was the smell of baking bread from city street panaderias and burning trash from the countryside, the taste of mote pite and cooked bananas, the touch of polyester and gritty dish soap, the sound of car alarms, chickens, and the whistling jingle of Tele Amazonas, the sight of purple lightening right above your head and crowed park plazas filled with Chola women wearing brightly colored skirts, old men in hats, tiny little nuns shuffling about, and even smaller children eating cones of ice cream.  I recognize now that I am indeed wholeheartedly thankful for the invaluable experiences and skills I acquired while abroad.  But as amazing as the experience was, I've since then realized that I should have listened to my mother.  She knew then and I know now that it probably wasn't the right time for me to go abroad, nor the right place.  I had an amazing experience, but could have gotten more out of it if I had waited. and by that I mean, you have to be in a certain mindset for this kind of experience and if I had it to over again I would have waited until I was in that mindset.  I mentioned this to my mom the other day and all she did was smile and say, "I could have told you this. As we drove to the airport the only thing you had to say in a groggy tone was that you didn't really want to leave." For the first time I experience real homesickness and above everything returned with a renewed respect for the U S of A and a feverish determination to be more aware and considerate of my surroundings.  Keep these words in mind as you look through my pictures... http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2039940&id=1026587862&l=0d5f8eb523

update 8/3/2010: I think I have since made amends with my host family (us having a falling out and all)...I shared the above pictures with them and got a pleasant e-mail in return.  I also realized that I've learned the hard way that you have to be careful what you blog about...for better of for worse.

va ca

“Va ca”: how my host family shortens up "vamos a comer" (or "we are going to eat" in English)

As usual the magnitude of things I have to say is uncontainable, so much that my thoughts are spilling out of my brain onto the floor. Right now, I have my hand tightly pressed over my mouth and if I were to remove it, I would barf all of these words up and they would get all over your fancy new shirt (actually I don’t know if it is a new shirt of not but nevertheless you wouldn’t want word vomit all over you, now would you) so I’m not going to do that. Instead, I have picked up a few of those words that spilled onto the floor for you to read on your own. Without further adue, here is a synopsis of all that I want so explosively to share.

My time in Ecuador has been contradictory. And by that I mean it has been swift but also exhaustive, amusing but also dreadful, tranquil but also tumultuous. I have experience a great deal of amazing and absurd things in the last four months. I would very much like to say that these experiences have all made me grow as a person, and in some sense they have, but for the most part, I’m just not quite ready to say that yet. With time and more reflection this will come. However, there have been instances where I’ve thought to myself, “this, THIS! This thing that I am doing right now is part of my college experience. Someday I will tell my grand babies that I did this, this amazingly wonderful and somewhat outlandish thing, for college credit!” And then there have been instances where all I can think is “oh fuck! what have I gotten myself into?” just pure whatever the emotion is for “oh fuck!” Above all, I have gained an immense amount of respect for the US of A. I have also learned that I need to be more attentive and considerate. This I will work on in the coming months. And I’m now fluent in Spanish! But really though I am exhausted, just holding these words in is tiring, my arm is getting numb, and for that reason I am going to find a toilet or a trashcan to throw up my thoughts into and then we are going to eat! “Va ca!” as my host family would say. p.s. I can’t wait to return to more than 5 pairs of shoes, safe pedestrian cross walks, country music radio, texting, concerts, our family dog Chicken, and food (mostly cheez-its, Tillamook yogurt, twizzlers, pop-tarts, and Caesar salads)

here are some pictures from my cell phone: