2008 is almost over...I can't really believe it. This year went by much too fast.

Anyways, I am finally back from Florida and so Happy (belated) Christmas/Holidays.
Mine was quite nice; we had fondue on Christmas Eve, which I might mention is kind of a competitive thing in my family, and then opened presents. On Christmas Day the rest of my cousins came over for dinner and we spent the night playing games while watching Christmas movies and eating Christmas tree cookies.

One of the gifts I received is a new 50mm lens for my film camera, so most of the pictures I took are on that.
But, here are some from a few weeks ago that I never posted and experimented with.




I made this black and white through a long and complicated process on CS4, which I also received for Christmas. I still have a lot to learn.

Another, experimenting with curves.

I don't like this all that much, but I kind of like how the processing turned out.

And then this one, which I spent awhile editing and I still don't really like it, as my arm looks fake.


Last, a few photographs by Kai Z Feng.










(Nicholas Hoult from Skins...he's certainly grown up since the film About a Boy.)

See you next year!

"The princess was well aware of his remorseless wickedness.
But that made it no easier to overcome the voluminous love she felt in her heart for Sir Romulus.
The princess knew instinctively that the one with red hair was not to be trusted.
As his young ward dived again and again into the depths of the lake, in search of the enchanted chalice, Sir Romulus twirled his luxuriant mustache.
Sir Romulus rode with his two companions, northwards, drawing ever closer to an effulgent sea.
So heroic in manner, he appeared so valiant in word...
And no could ever guess at the darkness lurking in the black heart of Sir Romulus Turnbull.
He was the most dangerous man in the world."


















In history we have been discussing the World Wars and every time World War II is mentioned, I can't help but think back to Atonement. Even if it isn't entirely accurate, it is has historical significance and is beautiful (I hope to read the book sometime soon).
My mind always seems to wander back to the past, leaving me with all of these questions as to how present society has become so boring, yet beyond complicated. In each historical film I watch, the dialogue is well composed and the characters sound so sincere when they speak. Evidently it has been thought out by the writers, but that is the way people used to converse with one another. And then to compare it to how we speak now...it kind of fascinates me. People actually use "lol" in a sentence when they talk and words are overused to the point where the true meaning is drowned in itself; vocabulary is so limited.
What the fuck has happened?
(This is entirely hypocritical of me, but I will have you know that I do not use words like the one mentioned above when speaking.)
Technology has outrun all of us and we simply conform. Most people would not dare to recite a complex sentence, especially when they can just use "I love.." over and over. Nobody listening would notice anything about that, which truly says something.

I don't know...I am rather sick and somewhat humiliated at the thought of our society at the moment.
I will give a million dollars to whoever invents a successful time machine?

Untitled

And there she lay,
drifting amongst the hollow depths of the sea,
thrusting her arms as a coral's tentacles sway
with every kick of her legs and whip of her dress
silencing the echoes of the water,
she floats as if gravity is nonexistent.

further beneath the surface,
submerged,
immersed,
she dances
violent, slow,
against the force of the ocean.

consciousness lost,
her body limp against the darkness,
she wanders with the currents
forever adrift.

















Zena Holloway

Photographs taken underwater have always fascinated me. I love the gorgeous flowing dresses and how everything appears so delicate. The ability to float with the support of the water to fall back against...the bubbles, the transparency, and how light travels through the water to produce something completely unpredictable.








I'm not so sure as to who this editorial is by, or where it was featured, but it is too beautiful to leave out.

Updates have been quite infrequent over the past month, but that will/should change soon.
I haven't really had much time for photography lately either, but I begin another darkroom class in January, so I will once again be able to develop, print and smell of chemicals.

Expect another post within a week or so..