You don't have a clue what it is like to be next to you

I'm here to tell you
That it is good.
    That it is true




I really love portraiture. There's something not just gratifying but comforting about capturing a subject at their real moments whether they are posing or not.  If I can hold dear this little bit of a personality, my work becomes relational and the humanness of photography overwhelms the technical tussle between shutter speed and aperture.

Which picture would you like to see?  

A) There's a girl looking right in your eye and saying, "Hi, I'm ____, nice to meet you. I feel_____."

B) There's a girl staring past you saying, "You know, I have a lot going on inside me right now. It feels like yesterday I was a kid and now I am nearly an adult and I don't think I like it. I'm tired of responsibility and decisions. I just want recess. Or a least a nap."

The answer is hopefully B. My photographic goal is to do this. Pictures can have labels or they can have stories and questions and intrigues. Let's hear it for the intrigue!

Okaysofacebook. Facebook allows us, among about a bajillion other things, to post pictures of ourselves and others. A little peeve that really digs deep under my nailbeds is when teenage girls most pictures of themselves really hamming it up on photobooth with that 'color pencil' effect to look allkindsa sultry. Or those infamous 'myspace pics' taken from above with kissy faces and the pop of a hip. Okay, I am sure that I had some of these when I was younger but now, if there are any younger girls reading this right now--I plead with you to STOP! There's a way to be classy and fresh and fun and beautiful in your new profile pic that doesn't involve heavy lip gloss and black eye liner in a badly lit bathroom.

Need proof? I was hoping you would because it's the next images that inspired me to send out this S.O.S. To prove that you can be a teenager and take both fun and dramatic photos of yourself that won't degrade your integrity is a little lady by the name of Alison Titus. She is FIFTEEN years old and took all these and more by herself with a remote shutter on her camera. And I know, most fifteen year olds don't have cameras with interchangeable lenses and remote shutters, I know I didn't, but these things can be done with point and shoots too.

To see the article these pictures came from as well as more self-portraits from Alison, go here.
To see more of Alison's work, her flickr account can be found here.
Alison did the picture-a-day-for-a-year-challenge and has little literary bits attached to each picture that most teenage girls will find relatable.



One of Alison's fans on flickr (a free photosharing website you should all spend time on if photos interest you) made this comment that really beautifully sums up my whole point:


"A clear standout among a new generation of creative young Flickr photographers, her images are personal but not narcissistic. Allie is really something special, she records light and her life as she finds it, albeit beautifully."

Go on, be classy.

EELS- That Fresh Feeling


-this is a good song

SO...coffee or tea?

brace yourself. it's winter.

So you're a tea drinker-eh?
    The the words 'english breakfast' make your toes curl up with anticipation? Do you take it with honey or cream and sugar? Do you go ga-ga for green tea? Does chai make you chipper? Or is it those earthy herbal teas that steep in your thermos? Your cupboard is overflowing with teabags and looseleaf in crumpled brown bags and a nice new teapot is at the top of your birthday list and maybe a gift certificate to 'teavana' was in your stocking on Christmas morning. A granny sweater, some cozy chamomile steeping in an extra large mug, a plush chair and that book you haven't been able to put down can make you giddy to say the least.

  are you shaking your head right now? just not connecting with anything I said yet? well then...

    You're a coffee drinker? You take yours so black you feel your teeth under siege. Or no--you dump so much flavored creamer in the cup it tastes more like a cup of hot melted ice cream than it does coffee? A deep inhale of that fresh bag o'beans aroma makes you close your eyes and smirk.  And espresso? Don't even start. A stop at starbucks or dunkin or your favorite downtown cafe can give you the juice to get through even those days when it's sleeting and you have a cold and you forgot to put in earrings this morning and your socks are wet already and it's only 9 am. You don't just drink it for the caffeine--you drink it because it truly is the best part of waking up, even if you have coffee stains on that white t-shirt, your car's passenger seat and the side of your purse.

  are you option c--none of the above? Maybe you just like water the best. (If so, you're really missing out, I mean...live it up, water?) I must say that I am sort of all of the above. I love mint medley with a spot of sugar, black english breakfast tea with a spot of 2% and honey just as much as a strong columbian brew with some half and half and maybe a squeeze of chocolate syrup and whipped cream on top if it's been a hard day.

Whatever you favorite beverage--it's gonna be a cold winter so drink up! I love getting excited about a treat and an easy, cheap treat on those duldrummy days ahead can be a nice hot drink. Don't be afraid to have fun in your own kitchen and create tasty drinks at home! I have a hand-me-down-espresso machine/milk steamer (thanks, mom!) and the feeling of making my own frothy gingerbread chocolate chai latte at 1 in the morning at a cost of a few cents is pretty swell to this college student. Even though I wish I could be the idealized woman that drinks tea, throws pottery, quotes Jane Austen and finished every crossword puzzle she starts, I'm far from that. And of course I also romanticize of being the slender, sexy black coffee drinker who wears black silk rompers and fedoras and travels to Italy to drink espresso with her amice every summer. I am also not that person either.  I fit somewhere in the middle and that's okay. Keeps things interesting :) So sip from your mug and enjoy the enormous blessing that is the sense of taste, my friends. Happy Winter!