Being a grown-up (And Bryce Canyon)

I think part of the reason I became an artist is I like to play. I don't want to go to work and dredge through my day. I don't find that rewarding in the least (although, I will say this is a personal opinion, and I HAVE played with the idea of other jobs). In any event, I like to create. Let's go back to September, 2012. I was getting over an illness. I was depressed. I was lonely. I was stuck. Then, I went to Bryce Canyon and Zion. This trip changed my whole life. Not only did I make friends that I will treasure forever, but it taught me about pushing yourself, even when you are out of shape (I used to run everyday, and so now when I'm physical and it's hard, sometimes I give up because it used to be easy). It taught me about how much I love raw nature, and raw conditions (who knew I liked freezing to death?). When I got home, I looked at the pictures I had taken. I was horrified. "TOURIST TRASH!!!" I proclaimed, and never looked at them again, after posting the obligatory facebook photos that my friends needed. Fast-forward to March 9, 2013. I need new images to work with, but I can't go out that day. I look in my computer... and find the Bryce and Zion pictures. Yeah, some of them are Tourist Trash. You can't get away from it. But being away from the actual thing, and comparing the Real Thing to my photography... it made a world of difference. Here are three in series; more to come.

Botes

This was starting to look like a project that a friend of mine did in college... but it's not done yet. We'll consider these boats round one.

Vegas Fountain

This is the most trippy picture I have ever taken. EVER. And I have taken some trippy pictures. Kind of an amateur crop, but I love the detail of the fountain. If I ever print it, I'm going to have a LOT of fun burning the edges for definition (no, it won't actually be fun.) Soon, I'll have some Bryce Canyon/Xion images up!

Tiny Terrariums!

I know, I know. I swore I wouldn't have long, unexplained hiatus'. Unfortunately, Lili fell very ill with GI stasis, and getting her better took the majority of my time. On the bright side, she IS in fact, all better. I have lots and lots of projects going, but terrarium-making has been something I've gotten really into recently. It started with a book:http://www.timberpress.com/books/terrarium_craft/aiello/9781604692341; which most of my ideas came from. My first projects didn't go so well:

...Not so pretty, right? I'm going to clean them out and try again. I have a feeling that I know what I did wrong. Here is my first successful terrarium:

A glass of succubus? They really are much more forgiving. In the book, it recommended that you use sand, but I rather like the look of the dirt. My second project was more fanciful; definitely the "fantasy" project. Also the most fun to photograph by far.

Finally, this was the most traditional by far, but I also like how you can see the layers of the "earth". Not pleased with the images AT ALL.

Make-shift Macro

I've been a bit short on money recently. Well, who isn't? But Lili had to go to the bunny dentist (yes, there is a bunny dentist) because her lower teeth apparently are growing at the wrong angle, and had to be filed. This is very expensive, at least according to my vet, since I am now several hundred dollars poorer. But Lili is also healthy, and that's what matters. <3 already="" and="" any="" art="" back="" been="" both="" but="" class="separator" div="" don="" done="" either="" event="" familiar="" flounder="" for="" fun.="" get="" helps="" i="" in="" iris="" me="" my="" of="" particular="" portfolio.="" re-do="" refocus.="" roots="" shooting="" sometimes="" style="clear: both; text-align: center;" subjects="" t="" terms="" this="" to="" trying="" ve="" want="" was="" what=""> These are kind of magical. The super secret faux macro lens I used (a magnifying glass) was a fun toy, difficult to control.

This image in particular I am both attracted to, and disgruntled by this image. However, I was intrigued enough to post it, despite the fact that I HATE out of focus images. I cannot help but think of sea flowers deep under the ocean, or something like that.

These pink flowers I do not know what they are called. I am much more partial to the second image than the first, which was more of an experiment.

All in all, I at least felt like I had broken out of my boring pattern a bit.

Lagomorph Love

Lili is much harder to photograph than Chloe, although she does do this kind of "oh, your camera is out? You want to take my picture? Heeeeeeere I aaaaaaam!"



Here is Lili without her "arht treatment".


Adorable. Best Lagomorph ever.

Iris, Iris, Petal

EDIT Apparently these are IRIS, not ORCHID flowers, as originally posted. I am a photographer/whatever, not a botanist. I stand corrected.

Faux Miniatures

http://tiltshiftmaker.com/photo-editing.php
Best. Toy. EVER.







For fun, some real miniatures that I've taken, just for comparison.

Same shoot at the river, although I think this shows some more of the clouds, and how amazing they were.

Santa Ana river April