I see your true colors. and that's why I love you.

I love tons of contrast and bright colors all over the place, but there are times that monochromatic pics end up looking so much more rad.  Since my favorite subject is people (specifically the short and adorable ones) opportunities to snag these shots are few and far between…  I’ve noticed that within my collection the vast majority are red/orange and blue/green- cozy and warm versus nice and cool.   Aaaahhhhh.

Artists can color the sky red because they know it's blue. 

Those of us who aren't artists must color things the way they really are or people might think we're stupid.

Jules Feiffer

Blue is the male principle, stern and spiritual. Yellow the female principle, gentle, cheerful and sensual. Red is matter, brutal and heavy and always the colour which must be fought and vanquished by the other two.

Franz Marc

BLUE/GREY.  so peaceful.  I'd be pretty stoked to be here right now.

RED/ORANGE.  firey warm-ish-ness?  Don't know.  All I remember is getting eaten alive by mosquitos when I was taking this pick.  Damn Wisconsin summers.

SUPER BLUE.  crazy thing is that this was a film pick from Lake Tekapo in NZ, and it was this electric blue without any tweaking on the puter.

WHITE/GREY.  frickin' freezing, Mr. Bigglewsorth.

YELLOW.  makes me feel all warm and safe.  and I really wish I could remember exactly where I was when I took this...  All I know is that it's another film pic, and I was so proud to get it kinda/sorta clear without a tripod.  And my best guess is that this is in Christchurch Cathedral. 

ORANGE/BROWN.  taken from a train on my way back to Chi-town from Sconnie.  It felt warm and homey to me.

BLUE/GREY.  still more freeeeezingness.  the Canadian side of Niagara Falls in February.  brr.

FIRE! FIRE!  you can't go wrong with bonfires.

BROWN/SUPERADORABLE.  ooohhhh Kipa.  So cuddly and cute.

BLACK.  I snagged this at the night market in Zanzibar.  No power on the island meant a night market run by generators.

BLUE/GREEN/PARADISE.  This pic is what got me thinking about the one-color theme idea... It was so blue on Zanzibar that every picture ended up this pretty without trying.

BROWN/JUNGLECAT.  ok, Serengetti cat, I guess.  I wish I was half as badass as this guy.

BLUE/MOREBLUE.  Nmemba Atoll...  it costs dolla dolla bills y'all to even touch the island.

SUPERWHITE.  I just got a kick out of what the flash did to this poor thumbnail sized froggy. 

BLUE/GREY.  barida sana!  brr.

GREEN.  lush rainforest... that I only got to enjoy for a very short time.   but justsopretty.

Lose or Win, You'll Never Be Here Again

Immortalizing those moments and chunks of time that sort of define your life isn’t really something you can practice, and also isn't  something I can formulate a lot of opinions about.  What I can do is go through the albums on my computer and choose the ones that make me feel like a punch to the heart because the nostalgia is so damn strong.  Then I guess it’s up to the viewer to decide if it’s actually a good picture or my inability to dissociate from being involved in each of these pictures.  Have at ‘em.

Memory is a way of holding onto the things you love, the things you are, the things you never want to lose.   (The Wonder Years)

Travel friends while we played cards and drank in Australia.  I love candid pics while traveling, since most of the time spent touring with friends isn't spent standing in groups smiling in one directions.
These nights playing cards and drinking, to be followed by days relaxing on the beach were spectacular, if you were wondering.

It helps to be willing to be an ass that insists on really silly poses...  This would be the UWL ski team at a tourny in Michigan.  Funz.

Documenting shenanigans.  It's always a great idea to take pictures at every opportunity and be super annoying, because you'll end up with gems like this.

More candid fun.  My team at a sand soccer tourny in NY.  More funz.  But googly moogly we were terrible.

One of my favorite memories from our trip to NYC...  not out enjoying the beautiful city, but cooking spaghetti at our hostel.  Lovely food, lovely peeps.

Cute kids just take care of the pictures on their own.  Cousins adorable kiddos + ice cream in Florida.

Yay skiing.  I wish I were in Minocqua.  right.  meow.

I also enjoy documenting memories that don't make a lot of sense... like the scene of the crime from a brother not seeing a neon orange fence.

Again, it's so great to be shameless is making people pose...  it's like the Baby-Sitters Club!  Woo!  or...  a group of super amazing volunteers in Tanzania.

I posted a different version of this pic earlier with the sunset on Zanzibar, but I really like this one for several reasons, well, one main reason really.  I'm in it.  Stunning.
Actually, I love being able to tell who is who, and seeing how close we were.  This was my birthday weekend, and is another one of those pics that comes with complete with a bag full of nostalgia. 

From our Kili climb.   I love this pic because scenery wise it's not bad, but I can see my climbing buddies, and I get a sense of what it really felt like to be there.

And when all else fails, what is a better representation of months spent in Scotland than a group of us wearing flags and posing with Henry, the greatest Scottish cook ever?

Minus the Ho Ho.

Holiday images have the power to bring back memories of smells, sounds, and fantastical traditions.  Images in your head may be of little dudes tearing open gifts with huge smiles, playing as a family in the snow, candy canes, visiting Santa, and those fun shenanigans.  However, I gotz none of that, suckas.  That’s the fun of holidays in your 20s…  Lost somewhere between being an adorable little girl (I TOTALLY was) and a momz, my pictures don’t quite jive with the traditional visions of holidays.  Oh, and cookies!  I need to make some cookies. Sorry, getting of track.  Anyways, I tossed in some from Thanksgiving and new years to pep up the fun and roll with the holiday theme. But you’ll notice one theme in all the pictures: whenvever possible, turn the GD flash off.  Holidays provide awesome lighting, from pumpkins at Halloween, candles at T-day, and tons of crazy awesome lights at Christmas.  And for the most part, flashes just ruin everything and wash out the color.  So that’s all the advice I’ve got.  That, and if you don’t have a cute family, just borrow someone else’s for the sake of the pictures.

It came without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags. And he puzzled and puzzled 'till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before. What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store? What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more? - Dr. Seuss

Candids are always my faves....  pretty much no matter the season, pics are always better when you catch people by surprise.

Always snag a shot of the food.  The most important part of any get together.  Yum, appetizers..

Or pictures of everyone else doing all the work are pretty cool.  Reminders of how awesomely lazy I am.

purdy lights.

Ok, the occasional random posed shot is pretty great at the holidays when you're making new friends.

The non-classic candid shots are also ones I dig, especially with no flash since the light feels so much warmer.  Like lounging at home with the dogs on a lazy Christmas Eve.

Yeah, I torture my dog just a bit for a cute picture.
worth it.

I habitually take pics of my beverages- and champagne on New Years is the bestest.

Is there anything better than being the DD on New Years?  Yes, and that would be not having to be DD.  BUT, if you turn out to be the responsible sibling, make sure to document everyone else's shenanigans.

frequently.

baby, you are beautiful from your crown to your cuticles.

A client I was working with took this picture of me as I was
attempting to get my camera back from him after he stole it
from my bag.  It cracked me up when I saw it later.

A picture tells someone that who they are and what they are doing is so important that you want to remember it forever.  Portraits and whatnot of people in action are a pretty powerful thing.  And I mean more than just one of those pictures where you stand next to them and smile blankly at the camera, because in all honestly I’ve never understood why someone wants 20 pictures of themselves standing and posing next to one other person…  and making a goofy-ass face doesn’t help it become less pointless.  It’s true that the self-and-buddy pictures are something I’m guilty of as well, but I make it a point to snag some shots of people occasionally doing something besides standing there and smiling uncomfortably.  This collection falls into the category of all of my posts so far, in the fact that it really doesn’t make all that much sense- but these are some fantastic moments and some beautiful people that rocked the lens. 

There are mystically in our faces certain characters which carry in them 

the motto of our souls

A portrait of pure RAWK.

You're totally welcome, Amanda.

I just feel like this is straight out of a wine tour brochure.  Yum...  wine.

ha ha, my sister locked herself in my car.

My attempts at being an actual portrait photographer... although my only model so far has been my brother...  and I think the only person with the picture up is my Gram.

Stunning.

This pic has been on here before, but I think the pigeon/lighting shenanigans makes it fantastical.

It's like Rexi's senior portrait.  And believe me, you're lucky there aren't more pictures of this dino on here.

A free Swahili lesson on the beach.  I enjoy how this was a portrait of how friendly the Bagamoyo locals were.

My Gram is a stunnah.

This may have already been blogged about...  but I still dig it.  So you get to times two.

Don't know if a passed out drunkie pic counts as a portrait...  but I think it's a pretty fitting representation of Steve.