If you've read my bio, followed my old old (old) blog, or read anything I've ever posted on Facebook &or Twitter, then you'll no doubt know one thing about me... I am a huge LOST nerd.
Theorizing, podcasts, comic-con youtube videos, fan made youtube videos, screaming at the TV, tweeting throughout the episode, crying, laughing, making an event out of LOST night every week... It's a big deal in my house.
This is a tribute to this show that I has been a constant ;) in my life for the past few years.
Sunday night I have to say goodbye forever to this dear show. All good things must come to an end... and as hard as it is, I know Damon & Carlton won't let us down. I hope my dear John Locke will have a happy ending, and that we will get to see the adorable Daniel Faraday again... preferably with Charlotte. I hope that Claire & Charlie will reunite, Hurley will make out with Libby, and that the concert they will all reunite at again is pure bliss.
Phil and I went on our honeymoon in 2007 to Oahu specifically to visit the spots where the show was filmed and I'm incredibly grateful that were were able to do so. We visited new Otherton, saw the cockpit, counted to 5 in Kate's tree, walked the dock where Locke blew up the sub/Ben arrived at the island, sat outside Anthony Cooper's house, sank at the beach where the plane crashed, hiked to the little private beach near our hotel they used for many scenes, and that beautiful valley where the majority of the show was filmed... we took in that view.
It's the best show ever... (in my opinion) and will be impossible to ever top.
This year is going to be the year of travel and I'm both super amped and tired just thinking about it. Phil and I were in NYC this past weekend for a shoot and a mini-vacay celebrating Phil's end of semester.
I love big cities, I love the people watching, the overstimulation, the options, the hustle, the colors, the food + drink, the feeling of life in the air... and NYC puts all other cities to shame in those departments. We would both consider moving there someday if given the means... we shall see. The first few shots are of our badass room at the Ace Hotel, the whole room hotel could have been a set in a Wes Anderson flick... the attention to detail & aesthetics had me swooning, knees buckling. We'll be enjoying this trip for the next few days as all the packages that we had shipped home to us arrive.
I don't like to carry my camera around all that much when travelling, though I should get better at it. I like to just live outside of the lens, and be a part of life, instead of separating myself... I hope that makes sense. My dear husband also flexed his photo muscles during this trip, about 1/2 of these are his... maybe he can officially be my employee ;) Thanks babe :)
1 comments so far
Jonathan Gagle says:
SMEG...Red Dwarf reference? Can't wait to see the results of your shoot!
Have I mentioned lately that I love photographing people?!? At the start of the majority of my shoots, one of the halves of the couples says something to the affect of: "I don't like getting my photograph taken" OR "I'm really quite un-photogenic". While some photographers may cringe hearing those words at the start of a shoot... I welcome it. It's a total challenge! That person might as well be saying: "I triple dawg dare you to photograph me and make me look good!" Oh no you didn't!!! I love challenges, in the heroic words of John Locke "Don't tell me what I can't do!!!"... My goal with every portrait session, is to make my clients look more beautiful than they thought they were. To bring out the absolute best from inside of them, as a couple, and as individuals.
So that brings me to my eye fetish... Too racy of a title for a blog post? I love eyes, I love that eyes can tell a story all on their own. While in college, a photography professor once made the point of saying something to the effect of: if the eyes aren't in focus and properly exposed in a portrait, then get rid of it. That was one of the few "rules" of photography that hangs on to my editing eye. If the eyes of a person aren't sparkling, telling a story, then it doesn't do it for me, peace out!
Just a few frames of lovely, story-telling eyes... hopefully giving you the eye fetish, as well.
2 comments so far
I've always loved film.
During my college years, I worked at a one hour lab & benefited from our generous employee discount, i.e. free film processing and 10 cent 4x6 prints (glossy with white borders, please!). Those were the days... Burning off rolls and rolls of film, totally taking it for granted. I was a total film snob, I used to think, I'm NEVER "going digital"... I was smitten with my film.
Then I graduated... quit working at the photo lab.
My MIL bought me a gorgeous Canon 5D (not bad for my 1st digi SLR!), I started shooting weddings and my lovely Canon 7ne, which I was so amped to get 2 years earlier, started collecting dust. Typical, right... traded it in for the younger, hotter version ;) Oh sure, occasionally, I would use my Lomo LCA or Holga, which produces yummy contrasty-saturated photos on big ole negatives, but that was few and far between. It wasn't nearly as convenient to shoot film anymore nor was it nearly free.
This winter I decided to break out those neglected film cameras and give them a good ole roll in the hay ;) Went on a few photo adventures finding oddities in the boonies of Michigan and Ohio. Annnnd what an experience that was! Purely aesthetics no people, no expression. Stories of a different kind.
I love shooting people, I love documenting love & laughter, those indefinable moments that go by in a 1 hundredth of a second.... BUT it is incredibly relaxing to look down in the Rollei that my great-grandpa shot portraits with in the 20s & 30s, take my time to frame up a rusty green chair sat on the back of a broken down porch up near North Baltimore, Michigan... wondering what happened to this dilapidated house? The people that used to live here, why'd they just leave it. The stories it could tell. I hit the shutter and slowly wind the film through. Every once in awhile catching myself looking at the back of this antique camera to see how my image turned out (duh!!!). The anticipation of not knowing what your image looks like until you get it back from the lab, holding the negative up to the window, hoping they're dense enough to actually make an image.
There is an excitement that film holds, no instant gratification that we're all so used to. Film makes you work for it, forces you to just chill out. If you don't know what the hell you're doing with the exposure, there's little chance you'll be able to save it. It's too late once your negs are made.
I'll be sharing those random oddities every once in awhile here for you to share in my adventures... Come up with your own stories for these pictures.
6 comments so far
joshua says:
love it! you're so going to have to teach me the ways of film some day =)
Carli Felix says:
LOVE the 2nd one!!!!
abby troxell says:
Are these all Rollei or Rollei and Holga?
mary says:
All Rollei!! Love that camera!
Jen Cummins says:
You are so talented!
Christina says:
I miss our fabulous discount. I hardly print anymore #1 it's not as cheap #2 to get cheap you don't get the hand checked pictures where someone is kind enough to print your pics and thing hmm...this is a bit too dark. Oh and btw just read the book Ruined and the 2nd pic of the pillar and swing totally reminds me of the book....Ghost story set in New Orleans.
I have never had any desire whatsoever to go to Las Vegas. Gambling, no thanks. Gaudy shows, ehhh. The food and partying... ummm, well maybe, a little bit. (AIRHORNS!!) This year I went to WPPI in Vegas not exactly sure what to expect from the experience as a whole. The last time I went to a convention of this type I did not have my own business, so while a lot of the speakers were interesting to hear, I couldn't exactly implement any of that knowledge into my own business.
This year... whoa, talk about business changing. Life changing.
Jesh de Rox's talk was inspiring, moving, self reflecting, it was the first class I attended. It really set the tone for the entire trip for me... thinking about the powerful energy in that room, is bringing me to tears while typing this. I sometimes say to myself or others, dude, it's wedding photography... it's not that serious, chill out. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love what I do, it has given me confidence, opportunities that I've that nothing else in my life has offered. Ever. My photography is helping me become the woman that I've always wanted to be. Until listening to Jesh on Monday, I never thought that it, photography, could make that same weighty impact on my clients lives. It's going to take some hard-work and time, but I am determined to bring what I learned from him to as many couples as I can. If you were in that class... you know what I'm sayin'.
I kept referencing back to his photo love philosophy when deciding which other speakers to hear, which may have both hindered and aided my sponge of a brain. Justin and Mary's class was another one that shook me up and I am beyond stoked, totally overwhelmed to put what I learned from them into motion.
So Vegas... OK, perhaps I will visit you again. If I can experience this every year by putting up with your smoky Casinos and overpriced margaritas ($14 @ the Wynn... really?!?!) then I'm down. It's a deal.
Once I can extract everything I've gained from this trip out of my stuffed brain, I'm going to rock my couples worlds... here's to 2010!
My monster of a camera stayed home. She needs to chill out before wedding season. Instead, i had my iPhone and shot one roll of T-Max which will be developed in the next couple of weeks. My random iPhone photos can be found here: http://marywyar.posterous.com Also, to make this trip even that much more enjoyable, I had two rad roomies and fellow Toledo photogs Carli and Joshua. Special thanks to you two for being patient with me when I was a pain in the arse trying to find a not so, ummmm, working girl, outfit to walk down the strip in :) AND these fabulous shots Joshua took of me... Yeah I have red hair AND bangs.
ummm...how awesome that you guys saw everything LOST on your honeymoon. fabulous pics...it must have been so surreal to see it all in person! thanks for sharing :)
Mary - I want to see more - where do I see more :)
I too will miss LOST. I will also enjoy having my sanity back!
soooo awesome!!! what a beautiful place! i love lost too and cried numerous times during the last episode:( i bet it was weird and cool to see the places our favorite cast had some memorable moments at.