Silly Little Thing Called Love

There are a few things in life that I love...two of them are photography and me. So, when I can take pictures of myself, I'm a happy gal. This self portrait was done really late one night when I was bored. I put my lamp on my printer and faced it toward my face, trying to make shadows like I learned in class...not so much.
I like the paper, though. And you can kind of tell I'm smiling a little :)

Patterned

Check out this beautiful building in Washington, DC. Again, I'm not sure which building this is (I promise I'll get better at looking at what I'm shooting) but I think it's crazy amazing. First, there's the color of the brick. I love the white brick. I don't see it too often. Then, there's the amazing detail all over the place. The outside of the building is simple until you get to this arch. I love the people at the top "guarding" the doorway. I love, love, love the way the ceiling archs in and the fact there's detail on the top. This building is awesome...I want something similar in my own house!

Shot digitally.

Who Is That?

How cool is this guy? I have no idea who this face belongs to but I think he's really neat. This guy belongs over the doorway to the picture I blogged before this one (you can see him if you look closely at the last picture). My favorite detail about him is that his beard goes onto the top of the arch and doesn't a)hang down or b)cut off. Next time I'm in DC, I'm stopping in and asking for details about this building!

The Same But Different

Washington, DC. I love this city. I was so lucky to grow up outside of it; I know some of the hidden treasures of the city. I took this picture last spring when Shannon and Clint went home and into the city with me. This was a part of the city I was less familar with but easily one of my new favorite spots. Look at this building!! I'm so glad we got off at the wrong Metro stop! My favorite part of this picture is probably the windows at the top. I like how they're the same going down the building but different compared to anything else around it.

Shot digitally.

Water or Ice

This is another one of those "I need to use up film" pictures. Isn't it odd how those pictures end up being my favorite?
This picture was taken one random snow day UVa Wise had. I looked out my window to see how much we had and I couldn't really see. It was a little bit annoying and I laid back in my bed. When I did, I saw it from this angle and I fell in love with the window. *I think it was probably the way the sun was hitting it* I grabbed my camera and boom, this was captured. On the inside, I thought it was ice. It was really water on the outside of the window.
I love the contrast. I love the sharpness of the water drops. I love the lighting. I love everything about this picture.

Shot with film, developed by hand.

Dizzy

Why would I ever like this picture? I can name three reasons:
1)It's me. No, I'm not listening to Vouge and dancing. I'm taking a picture of my shadow.
2)I'm in grass. Everyone who looks at this picture thinks I'm in gravel. This is my backyard at home.
3)I took this picture while spinning my camera. This is why the grass looks so odd. This is why this picture's called Dizzy.

Shot with film, developed by hand.

Accident

UVa Wise usually does a fairly good job keeping up with the landscaping of the campus *more so now since graduation will be held on McCraray Lawn*. This picture was taken the beginning part of the fall semester. There was a beautiful potted plant at the bottom stairs of my best friend's residence hall. While waiting for him one day, I pulled out my camera and shot this picture. I'm pretty sure I was just wasting film at this point because this isn't artistic, original, or even crafty. This looks like a point and shoot, boom, let's go to the dark room and develop some film. Turned out pretty good for not trying. What I love about this picture is the viewer can see the other flowers in the background but they're out of focus. One would expect them to be the same but this one stands out, almost as an individual. An accident turned into a success...I like it.

Shot with film, developed by hand.

Trapped

I hate spiders. I think they're nasty critters. I'm the girl that can see a spider across the room and scream...let it come within 3 feet of me and I freeze. Friday, my RA, Robert, hosted an end of the year cook out outside of Martha Randolph. I went with Sarah and Ida and we were laying in the grass. I got up to go shower for Spring Formal and there was a spider...ON ME! I don't think I've ever shook that hard to get something smaller than my fingernail off of me. Yuck.

But I get away from the point of this picture. This picture was taken, again, at Lake Brittle. While sitting on the dock, taking the picture from my first post, (can you tell this place gives me a lot of inspiration?!) I looked to my left and saw this amazing web. It's design was flawless. I'm sad I didn't move around to get a better angle of it now. Between the web *luckily, the designer herself was nowhere to be seen* and the bars on the ramp, I felt trapped. Peaking through the bars is beautiful water and an amazing view of the wooded area surrounding the lake and I can't get past the spider web. Symbolic for times in my life? Yes. Perhaps that's why it's so near and dear to my heart.

Shot with film, developed by hand.

A Narrow Fellow in the Grass

My favorite poet, Emily Dickinson, wrote a poem called A Narrow Fellow in the Grass:
A narrow fellow in the grass

Occasionally rides;

You may have met him,--did you not,

His notice sudden is.

The grass divides as with a comb,

A spotted shaft is seen;

And then it closes at your feet

And opens further on.

He likes a boggy acre,

A floor too cool for corn.

Yet when a child, and barefoot,

I more than once, at morn,

Have passed, I thought, a whip-lash

Unbraiding in the sun,--

When, stooping to secure it,

It wrinkled, and was gone.

Several of nature's people

I know, and they know me;

I feel for them a cordiality;

But never met this fellow,

Attended or alone,

Without a tighter breathing,

And zero at the bone.

I took this picture in a meadow by Lake Brittle, where my first blog entry's photo was taken. The grass looked exceptionally inviting that day and I laid on my stomach and shot a few pictures on the level of the grass. It's an unusal view, but one that I've grown to love. I love the details and the contrast of each blade. It's love.

Shot with film, developed by hand.

Upside

I'm big on texture, as you might gather with the next few posts. This was taken outside of Asbury at UVa Wise. What I like about this picture is the blurred corner at the bottom. That isn't the first place your eye is drawn when you typically look at a photograph but that's where mine always goes. As you move up, the lines guide you. The texture is rough and my mind always imagines running my fingers across the brick. I love how the lines fade towards the top, as if you don't really know what's up there. My favorite.

Shot with film, developed by hand.

For Erica

There is one reason I took this picture-my sister, Erica. My sister is such a hippy, I adore her and her efforts to try and save the Earth and polar bears. I was driving down past Norton when I came across this sign. I got out of my car and shot it just for her. I always see bumper stickers on Facebook like this but not really in real life, especially in Wise County. This picture is for you, Spooky-shine on.

Shot with film, developed by hand.

Burst of Sun

This is an odd picture for me to like. First off, it's so ridiculously dark, you can't see a thing. But that's what I like about it. I love the outline of the tree at the top, balanced with the sun. My favorite part of the sun is that you can see the rays. I shot it on a slow shutter speed and I think that made the difference. I also think the line of cloud is really interesting...I'm not sure why yet.

Shot with film, developed by hand.

New Friend

How cute is this guy? This is a baby horse I shot at the Foster's farm right down the street from me. This little guy was so much fun to shoot. He would run around, trying to play with his mother, and then turn and look to see if I was still there. More than once, he got too close and licked my camera.

My favorite part of this picture is the contrast of his face and the washed out background. I'm not sure how I did that but I love it!

Shot with film, developed by hand.

My Escape

This picture was taken at a lake not far from my house. I shot here because I wanted to capture the side of the lake people don't often see. Sitting down in the middle of the walkway to the dock, I captured the wood and the water. I love the ripples in the water. I love how the dock is reflected in the water. Mostly, I love that it's in black and white.

Shot in film, developed by hand.