Canvassing Style

A canvasser is one of those people with a clipboard and a cause, asking people, begging people, to sign (and sometimes donate money to) something. They are the people who you probably avoid constantly. You do a little dance around them, cross the street when you see them coming, tell them you are in a hurry, even when you aren't.

Today was the first day of my canvassing job.

This is something I never, ever thought I would do. Actually, I specifically and vividly remember telling my boyfriend this a year ago when he came to pick me up one day from school. I had just talked to a canvasser for 30 minutes, and though I enjoyed talking to him, I pitied him as well. I didn't want to be that person who got into people's space, getting rejected constantly. The person everyone tries to avoid.

Then you need money and you get a little more enthusiastic about that canvassing job.
The irony...

So please, next time you see a canvasser, even if you avoid them, try to have more compassion for them. They are probably working for a good cause, and though some of them can be a little dry, most of them have good intentions. Hell, maybe even sign their papers. You'll make their lives easier, and you'll help make change.

Makeup in the car:

Some scenery from the day (iPhone):

Being legit (also what's going on with my left eye?):

Extra Reading:

Verve Photo: Created by photographer Geoffrey Hiller, Verve Photo is a place that informs readers about the powerful documentary photographers of today. Along with concise blog posts about a specific photograph/photographer, Verve Photo also provides many other links to photo resources. Hiller is an editorial photographer who has shot all over the world for magazines such as National Geographic, Newsweek, Mother Jones, and the New York Times Magazine. He has a lot of work, so if you have some time on your hands, go peruse his website!

And of course, thanks for reading, guys! 

Why Giving is Great

I took the past year off of school in order to reevaluate, reapply to college, and work. Every year of grade school, middle school, and high school, I spent my days caring more about my education than my social life, being more of a perfectionist and a mini-adult than a kid. Every year except my senior year of high school. This is why, after I had a year of college under my belt, I wanted to reapply to other schools (read: art school) to see if I could get more scholarship money. If you have not graduated high school, I would highly suggest making your senior year a year that you apply yourself (even if you didn't during every other year). The reason I suggest this is because reapplying to college is no fun no fun no fun (assuming college is your route). Trust me, the second time you apply is worse than the first time, and you have to do more work, and less is offered to you. That is why I have chosen to go back to the college I went to originally, which is Portland State University. I had this big fat dream of going to art school and another fat dream of having no student loan debt. Well, my friends, life doesn't work that way here in the USA. 

That is why I needed Julia. Julia is the college guidance counselor at Northwest Academy, where I went to high school, and she is the greatest. She has a dry sense of humor that I thoroughly enjoy, she is honest and blunt, and she does not over-guide (read: she does not tell you what to do even if you want her to). This year, my philosophies about college and student loans changed by the hour, and Julia was always there to keep me grounded. I am truly grateful for someone who is willing to sacrifice so much for her students and former students. 

This morning I was really excited because I got to give back to Julia. I headed over to good old Fred Meyer, picked out a bouquet of sunflowers and took them to Julia's office. She seemed to think I had been the one that had done something great for her, when really all I was trying to say was thank you for all she has done for me. 

I've never been able to beat the feeling of seeing someone react to a gift, note, or compliment. Seeing their joy brings me immense happiness. Giving brings me just as much, if not more, than receiving does. 

Here is my version of Julia's gift:

 And here's Julia's version:

Happy day. Happiness.

Extra Reading:

Sean McCabe: If you'd like to see some more amazing lettering, go check out McCabe's website! He has been in the design industry for over ten years (but is still super young), and now he is dedicating himself to teaching! He hosts online classes, and if you are interested in doing lettering, you should buy one of his video tutorials.

Vivian Maier: Maier was a nanny who also made street and self-portrait photography in her spare time. She was extremely private about her work, and after she died, thousands of her negatives were discovered at a thrift auction house in Chicago. Ironically, Maier is quite well known now, her photographs widely sought out by photographers and art appreciators alike. 

I've Walked the Walk 1,000 Times

When I went to Portland State University last year, I often walked home from school. In order to get home, I had to walk up a big hill, and my backpack was always filled up completely (because really, I'm still an awkward middle schooler at heart and I am clueless on how to pack). So, I walked up this hill (and down it) several times per week, and though I already had a lot of things in my backpack, I'd always take my camera. Each time, I'd take photographs on that walk, and each day I'd notice a lot of the same things, but I'd also notice many different things. Or I'd notice the same things in a different way.

This morning I had to walk home from my boyfriend's apartment, which is located just blocks away from PSU. Again, I had a giant backpack, but instead of being filled with books and a packed lunch, this backpack had a dress, dirty clothes, makeup, my computer, and a camera in it (I carried the other camera in my hands). As I walked that same walk that I did so many times last year, I again noticed a lot of the same things and many different things, too. I also noticed the same things in a different way. Again. 

Before I got to my hill, when I was still on PSU grounds, I heard someone behind me call my name. I turned around, and it was my friend, Justin, sitting in the smoking shack, a place where people can smoke cigarettes in peace and communion. Though I don't smoke, I went to talk to Justin. He was alone at first, but after that, many people began to trickle in, and I stayed and talked and listened to them for over an hour. It was an unexpected and enjoyable experience, and I got to witness a guy smoke nearly a pack of cigarettes in one sitting, which I am speechless about! 

Extra Reading: Today I am not going to suggest photographers, but rather people who do cool lettering.

Nick Sherman: Sherman's Flickr account is filled with fonts and lettering. I was originally drawn by this poster. 

The Most Badass Grocery List You've Ever Seen: Self-explanatory. Art. If we all made grocery lists like this, we'd spend more time making the list than shopping for groceries!

The Moments of a Day

Each day gives you little moments of beauty that you couldn't have foreseen: light shines in a particular way and brightens a room, a clear glass casts a sparkling shadow, florescent lights mix with clouds on a window pane, and grass pokes aggressively out of metal on the sidewalk. I photograph for this very reason, to capture the unique or mundane beauties that take place around me everyday. There have been times when I wished I could've seen the future. However, it is truly a blessing that we can't because everyday we are given the opportunity to be pleasantly surprised by something beautiful we stumble across.

Extra Reading:

Anna Jaye: Jaye, who shoots primarily weddings and engagements, is also a Portland, Oregonian! Wedding photographers often get a bad rap, but their jobs are very important; they capture a day devoted to the bonding between two people. I don't know about you, but every time I look at wedding photography, I get a little bit happier. I also like Jaye's work because she has a documentary, rather than an overly posed, style of photographing. Go check out her work and give some wedding photographers some love! 

Days of Parties

Parties are interesting things to me; I love to plan them and execute them, but on the day of the party, the before and after always seem to turn out to be slow and mundane. Happy Cinco de Mayo, everyone! The morning was filled with organizing things, showering, and buying groceries to make a delicious meal. The steps it takes to fulfill the execution of a party are almost mechanical sometimes: eat minimal breakfast, clean living space, clean yourself, make food, prepare for guests, and then... the mood suddenly changes. Chattering, gossiping, joking, eating, laughing. Making a mess of the space you cleaned an hour beforehand. The high of having people around lasts for an hour or two, and then some begin to leave. You end up chatting with one person who lingers, the party dies. Some walking around the city. Then home and comatose from eating and having a lot of people around in a small space. Sitting, sleeping. The day afterward. 

 Minimal breakfast in the sheets:

Brown bananas to throw away (should have been done long ago):

Afterward, comatose in our phallic "sombreros:"

Extra Reading:

Ben Zank: Zank, who is only 23 (!!) hails from New York and is a surrealist, self-portrait photographer. Go check out his cool shots, and always support young photographers!!

A Portrait of Someone I Love

As some of you know, I still live at home, which means I hang out with my mom and my stepdad, Kirk, almost everyday. Kirk and my mom have been together for almost nine years, and throughout those years, Kirk hasn't failed me once. When I was in seventh grade, he funded, and help my best friend and I make a plexiglass guitar (that also had a pan flute on top). When I've watched too many scary television shows or movies, and haven't been able to fall asleep, Kirk has always been willing to talk me to sleep (even if it was four in the morning). Throughout high school, Kirk drove me to school almost everyday, even though many of my friends had to walk or take the bus. During my junior year of high school, when I went on a road trip with my best friend and got my jeep stuck in the sand, I called Kirk; he didn't freak out, even though he wanted to, and he told me what to do to get the jeep unstuck. Recently, when I was wondering what to say to a guy, Kirk talked me through it (and then we laughed together when he wrote an awkward text in my phone and accidentally sent it). My point is, no matter what I need, and no matter how difficult I am being, Kirk is there for me, and loves me through it.

This is Kirk in all his glory:

This is the "I just said something funny and I'm going to pretend like I don't know I'm funny" face:

Being a great model:

Stressful day:

Scaring my grandma:

Extra Reading:

Brett Walker: I like Walker's work because he has a sense of humor and a lot of his photographs are a little strange. His site is fun and playful, and it's definitely worth looking at. Also check out his Instagram, YouTube channel, and Tumblr. 

Filthy Feet

Usually I wear slippers around the house, but today I neglected them to be nude in my bare feet. The reason I wear house slippers most of the time is because I know my feet will get filthy otherwise, and I only like my feet to be dirty when I'm adventuring in the great outdoors (or at outdoor school, in a yurt, a lodge, a tent... you get the idea). On the rare instances that I do let go of my slippers for the day, my feet turn black as tar. They got especially dirty today. I made many trips from the linoleum in the kitchen to the dirty concrete in the garage, preparing paper mâché hats that I am making for Cinco de Mayo (woohoo, so excited!!!). The best part about having dirty feet is washing them at the end of the day, until they're squeaky clean, and then immersing them in warmth, under a thick blanket. Ahhh.

Before I washed, though, I took a few still lives:

Extra Reading:

Shlomi Nissim: Fascinated by the horrors of war and violence in today's culture, Nissim makes art that in contrast, suggests purity, and that alludes to ancient culture. Nissim also takes cues from cinema and painting, and his photographs have classical subject matter and a modern aesthetic. The colors and expression in Nissim's photographs are absolutely beautiful and incredible. Go poke around on his site!