What Makes Us Human - Overwhelmed

o·ver·whelm

ˌōvərˈ(h)welm/

verb

past tense: overwhelmed; past participle: overwhelmed

1. bury or drown beneath a huge mass.

   "the water flowed through to overwhelm the whole dam and the village beneath"

   synonyms:

   swamp, submerge, engulf, bury, deluge, flood, inundate "advancing sand dunes could overwhelm the village"

   • defeat completely.

     "his teams overwhelmed their opponents"

     synonyms:

     defeat (utterly/heavily), trounce, rout, beat (hollow), conquer, vanquish,be victorious over, triumph over, worst, overcome, overthrow, crush;More

   • give too much of a thing to (someone); inundate.

     "they were overwhelmed by farewell messages"

     Hello There. New Photo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I seriously forced myself to do this. LIFE HAS BEEN INSANE. I WANT to take photos but .... it's been the last on my list for some time.  I hate it.  Things have been insanely busy... or ...maybe I am distracting myself from other things in my life.  My job offered me an advancement and then they took it away (due to the law and hearing aid dispensing licensing) but DO YOUR RESEARCH FIRST! It was awful.  I knew how much I COULD be making and how I'd have my own office.... It's been bad. I think I may drown myself in other things so that I can have some sort of control where other aspects of my life are whirling out of control.... 

     Anyways- this photo is suppose to represent the feeling of being overwhelmed.  I loved the colors of our tree outside and made Brian help me with the camera AND smoke bombs on Sunday.  We both smelled so awful afterwards and I immediately remembered why I hate working with smoke bombs SO MUCH! Plus, we live on a hill and we get wind like crazy so the smoke bomb would be going in the direction we needed, then all of a sudden it would go away from the camera.  It was a challenge, I had a small tantrum and I honestly thought I wasted a bunch of time gluing leaves to my face and hiding from the neighbors as they drove by.  I did force myself to edit it and try my best and I am really happy with the outcome! I HAVE TO STOP BEING SO HARD ON MYSELF.  

     I have not done a happy "what makes us human" photo yet but I will get there when I can truly feel the emotion I'm trying to convey.  This one I really was feeling at the time.  I hope you guys enjoy.  I think some friends and I are going to do another art show in a little over a year... I hope.  I will be doing the "What Makes Us Human" theme and I hope to use some other models in them as well.  I'd love to put together a book ... hmmm - Ideas rolling.

Life can be overwhelming a lot of the time I'm learning, but you just have to slow down. Force yourself to.  Force yourself to do something you love instead of sitting on it because of "other things going on." Trust me- if you make time, slow down and keep doing the things you love- life won't seem so overwhelming ;) 

<3 

Anywho- I hope you like this. 
Here are some outtakes and behing the scenes for your viewing laughter- I mean, pleasure. 

( I actually almost used the one above as the final photo- I just really liked it)

Yeah- DON'T HOLD SMOKE BOMBS IN YOUR HANDS- NOT SMART - Yes, I'm saying it's dangerous.

Thanks for reading <3

Autumn Walk

This was seriously a spur of the moment, I NNEEEEDDD to shoot something creative photo- I really don't think I LOVE how it turned out, but I liked it. It was shot after work, in a bad mood and in a rush since I have a wedding I should be editing. I'm done with weddings. It sucks the life out of me. If I had six months to edit it- fine, but I can't do four weeks while working a full time job. I drive myself nuts. I think I'll just stick to the small stuff for now. Couples shoots, kids shoots and pet shoots. Anyways, I feel my creative juices bubbling up. Halloween is around the bend and I still don't have a costume ready- this is a BIG deal for me, I'm getting a new tattoo on the 18th from my friend that I haven't seen in way too long and am pretty excited about that, I am down officially 27lbs since I started my life change and we are looking for a house after we just got back from Aruba (I'll try to blog about Aruba at some point - next year lol)! My plate is too freaking full...I have a to do list that has been put aside for months and months and a doll I have been working on painting for almost a year now- yes, I said a doll. Everything I LOVE to do is always shoved to the side. This post will be positive- I'm going to vow that after I finish this wedding, I am making myself, FORCING myself to have "me" time for my creative juices. I'm just so full of confusion and I feel lost. I have STILL not found my place in life yet- it's frustrating. I can't wait to get a damn house. I can't wait to get organized and I can't wait to figure me out. Well my tattoo will be of the icelandic compass. It's pretty neat actually-maybe that will help me find my way!

So - back to this post about my photo- I'm starting to blog about life under my photography tab and that's not right ;) hahahaha Here is the before:

and the after:

Seriously ran outside to shoot in five minutes and was back inside- good news though- Chance took a big poop! TMI I know I know- thought it was funny though.

I hope you enjoy it! I may fiddle with it more when I have some time but I just needed to do something creative. With my buddy. My best friend

I know I have been absent- I'm going to try to change this

I hope to change a lot of things this summer...

Here are a few photos of my baby. It was a really bad month. This cheers me up. <3

Let It Snow

     This photo was kept a secret and only people who came to the gallery got the "first look."  There was a person who I was once very close with that told me this was his favorite one I have ever shot! It now has a very special meaning to me. He told me that I have to put myself out there and go for my dreams. I miss him. I'm going to try to take his advice.
So- here it is- I'm going to start from the before and work my way down to the final photo!

It started like this:

Simple and I loved the lighting and the bit of my shoulder that was out of focus...I really wanted this to be up close and detailed. The above is the complete before, unedited, SOOC photo!

It then turned to this because I wanted to try the "double exposure" technique...

I didn't love it. I liked it. It was okay? I didn't love it- couldn't go in the show....

So - I started over and got this: 

Let It Snow

     SO HAPPY WITH IT!  It's amazing how you can take the same photo and get two totally different end products out of it!
     It ended up in the show as well! My Dad and I searched for a frame in his "art room," - my old bedroom, and he found a sliver frame with a white mat!  (He has so many frames and mats he could be a Michael s Craft store! haha! What would I do without him!?) We framed it and it turned out amazing! Seeing your work in print, framed and matted is so worth it! It is worth paying the money for the prints! It's the final step to your work, or at least I feel this way!

     This one was going in the show! I finally had my 6th and final print for the gallery!
Which I will post about the gallery next!  It was perfect and I am so grateful for my parents that really knew how important it was to me and they really went above and beyond and tied all the details together that I would have missed...food, wine, coffee, frames, prints, title cards... you name it, they helped me with it. - My Mom and Dad are my heroes- they really know how to make a girl feel special! <3 I love you guys! THANK YOU!
If you live close by- the photos are there for two weeks - North Hills Art Center on Babcock Blvd!