New Work

Lent Success

I used to sit down with some pastels, markers, spray paint, or whatever else lent it’s self to me for the moment, and express these emotions onto a sheet of paper. My life has become so electronic since I left school that I hardly make the appropriate time to sit down with my thoughts and create.

Whatever world has presented it’s self to me is not welcome right now. I’m tired, working too hard, and exhausted at the thought of it. Keeping things simple usually seems to keep people out of trouble. It’s when you start to go in a different direction or push yourself out of your comfort zone that true colors of self come out. I don’t need that mirror now; it will just stand in the way.

Keeping an eye on the prize is difficult enough without almost loosing focus on the other important things. I think about rich CEOs that loose focus with wives, children, and even parents because of their lust for success. I am no where near that level of multi-tasking, thought interrupting, type of success, but I recently had a taste of what could happen if “focus” is lost.

Miss the ones that you should, worship only those that prove themselves, and cherish the journey you are on, the moment, before you make your next step.

Think, Make, Do....MOVE!!

I really can't stand people that can't think or do ANYTHING for themselves. I'm starting a story/poem on this topic. I'm not sure when it will be finished, but it will be long.

With Without With

Tragic roses of crystallized timeline

Left me here

With

Without

With

Him.

Featured in some unpleasant pleasantries

Found us there

With

Without

With

Her.

Gathering in crowds of social persuasion

With

Without

With

Words.

Struggling to feel correct without need to impress

With

Without

With

This.

Crazy talk & Crazy walk…carried

With

Without

With

With

Without

With

On and on

With

Without

With

Cheered

I think that the bag is a good idea.

You are in self-control.

You put it over your head and take a deep breathe.

I do sympathize with you.

It’s a weighted Elephant.

While diligently producing new work, we talk.

I’m totally blocked, death of a shallow man, dismembered bartender.

Failure.

Lets have a literary chat.

Littered through our travel.

Leave it all on the nearest coffee table.

Form Letter.

You win.

Struggled.

Dreams.

Going as high as I can go, I’ve gone as far as I can go.

Waitress.

People are served.

Smug little nose.

Haunted

I can't seem to shake certain things or people I thought were gone. It's all too much sometimes. You wonder from time to time if you'll ever run into people or hear from them again, but it still hits you like a cannonball when it happens.

Recently I've heard from two old roommates, old co-workers, and through some vivid dream I've seen an old boyfriend. I'm almost 28 years old. I remember watching some of my older friends in the past go through this age and it seemed similar to what I'm going through now. 28 is a time, I imagine, that everything gets shaken up again and questioned. Hearing from these people makes me think, just a little too much.

Whatever these new contacts come to, or come to be about, they will be met with honesty, true sense, and plenty of curiosity.

...

It is what it is. I appreciate the positive and negative feedback from the last blog. The last blog was a rant. I was angry and I still am about a couple of things, but these are the thoughts,trials, and tribulations, of an artist, person, who is going through this life trying to make "it" what "it" is.

As for anyone commenting on my blog, I appreciate all of the words. It gives me the opportunity to look at things differently. I'm open to constructive criticism. Unfortunately, not everyone who has commented has justified or taken the time to explain where their comments are rooted from. Some people hide behind old, stale, song quotes, meanwhile others just leave me hanging with "mediocre".

Either way these things are a positive. Thank you for taking such an interest in a moment I thought no one would even care about or see.

Until next time.

We came to get started - at the cost of $200.00 an hour

I take after my Mother in one very distinctive way, I care too much sometimes. I give my all to people I allow into my life. In fact, the people that I bend over for are rare and sometimes it comes as a surprise to myself and the person that I'm helping out as to how far I will actually go. There are times, many times up to this point in my life when I've been walked on and looked over after I've gone the extra mile for an individual.

Recently I didn't sign a contract when signing on to work with a photo company and I got screwed over the rights to my photos and maybe even some publication of the work as well. Not only am I too old to know better, but I'm too talented to be taken advantage of. I'm nice, too nice, and only a special few have seen the result of my anger, the purest form of emotion that can come out of a person when it's held in reserve for an extremely long period of time.

So here's the update, my photo rates for jobs or gigs start at $150.00 an hour and extend to $250.00 an hour. That's still extremely cheap in most cases. Everyone needs to take into consideration that photographers, good ones, have to charge for the hours they will be editing your photos. Just because it's digital doesn't mean it's automatic. Just to point out, yes there are pre-designed shitty programs that beginners can use to edit there photos and attempt to make the look "special", however someone that has skills in the extended outlet of editing can do more to a photograph than your average "joe" and then some.

I will not be doing anything without contract. I will no longer take mercy on my friends. This will be the last year for free weddings or "favors". My camera costs more than my first car so I don't need to deal with the dirt from your shoe in my face.

I am for hire. No favors. Thanks for all the work, I'll make sure to get right on it.

Sincerely, Pissed off and Fed up photographer.

Also, if you owe me TAX papers, I COULD REALLY USE THAT INFO RIGHT ABOUT NOW.

Series

Constantly crashing into my mind, like waves, are the thoughts and lack of thought about image. Trying to portray a moment, a story, or a message in a very particular way becomes the most difficult thing at times, especially when you don't want your audience or viewer to mis-portray the media/art.

A couple of months after moving to Las Vegas, Nevada I started a series of images that I simply entitle "skirt". Each image portrays a white skirt traveling to different days, times, and places. There was no pre-meditation to this series. It all happened quite organically and quickly took on a life of it's own.

There is an urge for most people to bring up the feminist movement or vocabulary. Weather they mean to or not they throw out an easy and almost default reading into the "skirt" because I am also a female. It's not that I don't want the discussion to happen, but I'd like to be clear.

With a skirt you imply a female default, an automatic window or door into the subject of a woman and her journey. More for the journey and less for the woman in my particular tale, but most certainly I am trying to communicate a focus on the beauty this subject and object brings to the scenery in each photograph.

The end concept is to "not think", to let go, to enjoy, to remember that you need to stop and notice the things around you, because the one true thing that we have to cherish is the vision we tend to take for granted. Although I've always felt this way I find it easy now to portray this idea through the medium of photography and with the help of an old tattered skirt that has been more places than most people.

Please feel free to look at the rest of this series at www.solidashesphoto.com

Sink Hole

You are the type of guy I used to get into trouble with in Chicago. Although you are also a Hoosier, you're that guy who would sneak up out of the shadows, wink his eye, and swing me into the next song.

There's a group of singers, some Drive-by Truckers, that I know. These musicians sing and play at the beat of lonely loose and wild night. There's an excuse in every song and a proud deliverance in each conclusion of their stories. It's just another town, or another lover, but tonight we'll pretend together.

You are that guy who can just "be". We might not know each other, we might not have "known" each other, but we are positive that tonight will simply be a recipe for fun. Two busted heads, beers, and dancing feet lead us to a wonderful explosion and memory we'd never forget. Good ol' fashion fun, just what we both needed.

You are that guy. Thanks for being so kind. It might turn into something bigger and beautiful, but just in case it doesn't, we still have the night.

Thank you dear dear Midwest for you're people and the good times you've instilled in most of us, because there just isn't anything or anyone like a corn raised, simply kind, sort of person.

(this is my favorite song)