my sweet city

isn't she pretty? i love Boston, i've known her all my life but only just started to really love her...

some pretty big news regarding the paper crane project will be coming 'round at the end of the week...

stay tuned!

oh and i almost forgot, thank you so much for all the great tips on frames! now i have reasons to go thrifting and to IKEA!

be good.

hi.

this sign hangs outside a shop in Beacon Hill, which is one of my very favorite areas of Boston. we went walking around town on Sunday, ended up through the Common and all around the Hill.

also on Sunday we finally took down the tapestry that's been hanging in our big room for two years. the room looks so much better with four white walls and i now have the space to hang all the various artwork that's been piling up. the only glitch is that i now have to find frames for all of the pieces that have been waiting patiently to be hung. any suggestions on where to find good, cheap frames?

hope today is good to you.

the kindest kind of Mondays

hi there.

today's the final day of a long weekend here in the states, it's been warm and enjoyable.

for the first time in a long time i shot a roll of 35mm on my grandfather's old Canon ftb. i was pleasantly surprised with the results and now want to shoot more!

today i put "put it all together" up for sale in my etsy shop (click here). Kyrie had asked if i was going to make it available for purchase, which made me very happy. Kyrie if you're reading this please email me your mailing address; i'd like to send you a print in thanks.

hope Monday treats you all well.

put it all together

i've been meaning to put these three together for a while, i'm glad i finally did.

nameless

happy friday.


this pola was taken outside one of the best ice cream places in the greater Boston vicinity, White Mountain Creamery.

there were some really great crane photos added to the paper crane project's flickr group this week, here are just a few i wanted to share:

-Beana's crane photo reminded me immediately of our little bat fiasco from just about a year ago.

-this one from Vas is truly picture perfect, in the prettiest of ways.


-Tony's latest in a series of beautifully constructed crane shots


-Linda's beautiful Q holding his golden crane

hoping everyone has a good -long- weekend!

release the stars

this is a pola-diptych from sometime back in the late fall... but whenever i look at it, i think of Spring.

do you like Rufus Wainwright? i do. in fact he's one of my favorite artists. his newest album was released a week ago and is just as delightfully, flamboyantly, theatrical as his last two albums; Want One and Want Two. i like the album through and through, but at present my favorite song is "Do I Disappoint You?" which is the very first track and does a great job catching the listener's attention. two other favorites are "Tiergarten" and "Between My Legs", the latter cracks me up. i found two short, succinct, reviews one which was rather biased and one which was pretty neutral.

oh Rufus, you never disappoint me.

time, or lack thereof

this was the very first picture i ever uploaded to flickr. i like going to the very beginnings of friends' flickr streams, there are always unearthed jewels. yesterday i came across this beaut from Ali.

yesterday -also- i posted about thinking, of how i'm doing a lot of that lately.

it seems to me that i'm not the only one.

today, mav posted a lovely photo of lilacs. immediately i was brought back to Springs and Summers spent in Storrs where there was a lilac tree (or bush?) outside the window of my bedroom in my college apartment. i hope that lilacs will always remind me of that lilac tree, outside that bedroom, inside that crappy college apartment, in the NorthEast corner of Connecticut because whenever i am reminded of that scene i smile from the inside out.

have a good one!

we're all human

lately i've been doing a lot of thinking, about everything, giving a serious attempt at being more reflective and introspective. timing's everything. what i've been reading on other people's blogs lately has been helping me with the task at hand.

yesterday Jenny wrote an amazing blog entry that i highly recommend taking just a minute to read. the main gist is "stop and smell the roses... or at the very least notice them, even if they don't look like roses". that might not make sense, which is all the more reason to go read Jenny's words from yesterday. Jenny linked to an article, found in the Washington Post, that went hand in hand with her writing. i couldn't have asked for a better way to start my Monday.

also on thinking... i've been seeing links lately, in quite a few spots, to Mike Mills' humans. i first found my way there via hoping for happy accidents. at first glance, i didn't think much of it and i moved on. then last night, or was it this morning?, i caught another link to humans via BB's blog and the picture she featured from the project really caught my eye, and my attention. so finally i went over and took a look-see, i found myself wishing i had just done that the first time around. humans 03 manifesto is probably my favorite.

i'll be on my way.

hope you all have a good one.

good things

and it's Monday again.

hope the weekend was good to you all...

on Saturday, i got an awesome package from Sarah in New Zealand. she sent me her crane picture along with 2 cds full of New Zealand music and a beautiful bracelet. i tried to take a picture of it, but it was dark and i am quite stubborn about using the flash on any of my cameras.

also on Saturday, we saw an OMNI film about the Grand Canyon at the Museum of Science. seeing a film in an OMNI theater is awesome, this film was just so-so. the cinematography was just as amazing as you'd expect it to be, but the film focused a lot on the history of the Grand Canyon. it wasn't the history lesson that left something to be desired, it was the dramatizations of explorers hundreds of years ago that was kind of... well, corny.

hope the week starts off on the right foot for everyone...

stand tall

that tree's shadow stands so strong. i feel like it's holding up all of its surroundings.

it was still very cold the day i took this picture and there was something about the shadow that seemed so warm.

today is a rainy day and i'll tell you a secret; i have always loved rainy days. on a rainy day in the Springtime, all-things-green look just a tad bit greener and in the Summer i've never once minded being caught outside in a rainstorm.

the weekend's forecast is calling for more rain and that's okay with me.

i hope the weekend treats you right.

the cheese stands alone

a new day.

whenever i take a picture of something standing alone, like the tree above, or a picture that has just one main subject; i always have the tendency to title it "the cheese stands alone". i think i could make a whole collection of photos that, without any self-restraint, i could have titled "the cheese stands alone".

you know who does lone trees quite well, the lovely 10 cent... see what i mean?

two pictures taken with a Russian toy camera, that feature trees, that i fell in love with immediately are this one and this one from flickr user e p d.

also, Julie has put some new sketches of trees on her flickr stream that are pretty impressive. Julie's trees can be found here, here and here.

hope you all have a good day.

yuck.

i debated (with myself) if i should share this or not, in the end i felt strongly about sharing it...

i wasn't going to say anything until it was released, but i had been working with Derek on a piece about the paper crane project for the upcoming issue of JPG

when i had gotten an automated reply from Derek's email address at 8020 stating that he was no longer with JPG i was pretty confused...

then i read all about it.

i checked on the JPG site and downloaded their "sneak peak" for issue 10, the piece on the paper crane project is to be included in the upcoming issue.

i've been feeling torn between excitement and feeling crappy. i was trying to get a picture into JPG for ever and then i got a feature by way of the paper crane project.

but i'm not as excited anymore as i am saddened...

i was (and still am) waiting to hear back from Paul (apparently the CEO) as to if he will hold up the deal that Derek and i had made; in exchange for the piece and the photographs contributed by participants of the project, we would all get a free copy of the issue.

i want the free copy as it will feature my words and the participants that i asked to contribute their photos, they deserve a free copy as well.

but i had to delete my account, i felt like a traitor staying there waiting to find out if i could get my free goods or not... it's just a magazine, a magazine that i can buy if need be.

yuck.

express yourself

hi there.

thanks so much to everyone who popped over to my new photoblog, i'm so glad you took the time to take a peak and leave a word or two. i'm really enjoying my new little corner of the web and i'm glad that i decided to post only film pictures there, it's nice to have a little direction for a change! sometimes i may even post photos there that won't be found anywhere else, in fact i already have.

my new photoblog is hosted by expressions which is really a great place to be. if you're not familiar with expressions you should go check it out and play around a bit as you can sign up for a free 30-day trial. i finally feel like i can do a little web-stuff on my own, up until now i've relied -heavily- on some very kind (and patient!) people to answer my questions about css and html. not that i don't still have questions, i can just do a little bit more on my own now.

one of those kind, and patient, people is Lorissa. i've known Lor for a while now, she's always been willing to lend a helping hand and has been so gracious about it. Lor and her hubby, also known as Dynamic Vantage, are the geniuses behind expressions and they are also two very generous individuals.

which is a good segue into thanking them as they are sponsoring the upcoming blog for the paper crane project. i'm really, really excited to launch the blog and if all goes as planned i should be able to share it within the next two to three weeks. this is also a good time to say thank you, thank you to Jördis and Matt who volunteered their time, and talent, to designing the blog. i got my first sneak peak last night and let me tell you, it is amazing.

all for now, have a good one!

something new for eshu

a good way to start off a new week is with something new, wouldn't you agree?

i'm really excited to share with all of you my new -film only- photoblog, simply called: eshu

have a good Monday.

just one more...

i came home to two rolls of 120 in the mail, both shot with my beloved Holga.

one was the first roll i've ever shot with the 4x6 cartridge, i'm really happy with the results.

i'm also happy with the other roll, which this picture is from...

i think i've found the direction i was looking for in regards to the new site i mentioned earlier...

more to come!

have a great weekend.

sun-shiney

another Holgaroid from a week or so ago... i stopped to take a picture of the little pink flowers and when i peeled the 'roid open there were a few light leak surprises waiting for me. i kinda like them, gives the picture a sun-shiney feel.

hopefully sometime next week, when all is set to go, i'll share with you a new space on the internet where my pictures and i can be found. i need some more time to think about what i want to do with the space, it's all about my photography but i feel like it needs a focus before i share it. i hope you'll stay tuned.

this week went by pretty quickly, which is a good thing as i love my weekends so.

a few things i enjoyed this week:

• a million stories told by one beautiful photograph taken by one of the most talented ladies out there, Michelle Arcila
• Keico's pola-diptych of her sweet, sweet kitty
• Jen's wonderful shot of her new, beautiful necklace

enjoy your weekend!

sky-blue-sky

i have a bunch of Holgaroids to share, some i think are better paired (see above) some are better solo (see isolation) and some need to grow on me (stay tuned).

this particular Holgaroid pair is called sky-blue-sky which is yet another small nod to a favorite piece of music, Wilco's upcoming album "sky blue sky". the album won't be released until May 15th but i bet if you look in the right places you'll be able to find it now. Wilco has a very particular style that is all their own and even though this album is much different than their previous works, that style is still very much alive in "sky blue sky".

moving on...

the other day i received an email from a lovely lady up north named Heather who's doing something akin to the paper crane project and i wanted to share the details. Heather was perusing the net for all-things-paper-crane and hoping to find inspiration for her project paper crane when she came upon the paper crane project. the premise of project paper crane is similar to the paper crane project but not exactly the same. Heather is looking for participants as well as volunteers to fold cranes, stuff envelopes and the like. if you're interested, as i know there were quite a few people who weren't able to participate in the paper crane project, check out her site and sign up!

enjoy the day.

circles

good morning.

i like this Holgaroid for many different reasons, i hope you like it too. it's called "isolation", a small nod to John Lennon's beautiful song of the same name.

i sent out a mass email the other day to the paper crane project's participants. the email provided an update of where the project stands. additionally, i also asked for some helping hands to do a couple of things that will help to truly organize the project and provide everyone with more access than the flickr group is able to. time and time again i'm blown away with the abundant generosity of both the blogging and flickr communities. within minutes of sending out the update email, i had an inbox full of willing volunteers offering to help in any way, shape or form.

two things are now coming up the pike, a spreadsheet that will organize all of the project's data and a photoblog which will serve as an online gallery where you will be able to view the growing contributions from the project's participants. i'm really excited for both the spreadsheet and the photoblog, i feel that these two additions will make the paper crane project much more accessible to both participants and the general public.

i keep mentioning the generosity of others, most of whom are really just strangers to me, because it is at the crux of the paper crane project. kindness in humanity is what this project is all about. giving and receiving, it all comes full circle.

enjoy your day.

the way it goes

good morning.

i don't have many words to share this morning so i figured i'd just share a picture i took a little while back...

hope the weekend was good to you.

accidents happen

for me, accidents happen all the time. i happen to be a rather clumsy individual.

i took both of these holgaroids on the walk to my sister's graduation ceremony. not thinking, i just shoved them in a little bag all together and when i took them out... after i had peeled them apart, lowandbehold they were stamped from each other. the one on the right was my favorite before the little accident, but i got over it and i think -together- they look just fine.

yes, accidents are a part of my world... just this morning as i was walking into my office building, most delicious, untouched, iced coffee in my hand... i tripped... the iced coffee went everywhere, i didn't even get a sip. but i'm not bitter... just wanting the coffee that will never be.

so i've been thinking about moving stuff around in my etsy shop, giving it a makeover so-to-speak. i'm wondering if i should feature prints of Polaroids or Holgas or maybe even Holgaroids? is there anything that you'd like to see featured in my little etsy shop? i'd love any input, i know i need to spruce it up but i'm not sure in which direction i should head.

it's Friday, beautiful, beautiful Friday... i'm gearing up for a great weekend of nothing. yes, that's right... nothing to do and i couldn't be happier. the only thing that's even on my radar is the back-to-back episodes of The Mormons, presented by Frontline and American Experience, which is showing on PBS tonight at 8 (part 1) and then at 10 (part 2). other than that... maybe a trip to a thrift shop or two... and folding, of course there will be folding of the cranes!

one, two and three; three things that i enjoyed this week.

hoping everyone has a great weekend!

cranes of peace and beauty

"a crane for peace" is Dottie's contribution to the paper crane project. when i first saw it, i actually said "right on" as i was at a loss for any other words. once you put something out there as awkward as "right on" you know you can't take it back, and really i don't want to. Dottie's picture is excellent and is such a great example of the unique ways people are photographing their cranes. Dottie told me that she had been walking around with her crane feeling crummy because she hadn't yet taken a picture with it. just so happens that Dottie lives in DC and the day after our president put yet another roadblock in the path to peace, she was at the right place at the right time with her crane at her side.

right before i saw Dottie's picture yesterday, two of Izaskun's, also known as Kralefski on flickr, pictures caught my eye (and my film-loving heart). this one is just so beautiful i wanted to share it, but this one is so funny you should really follow the link to get a good chuckle.

one day closer to the weekend... it's been a very fast week!

once upon a dreary day

it's funny, once upon a dreary day is what i titled this pola-diptych and at present i can't remember why (i'm a wee bit tired this morning). today is yet another dreary day. the weather-people on tv say that the rain will stop sometime mid-day but i don't usually listen to them...

on this dreary morn' i was so happy to see blossoms by Julie and Maditi at their new, beautiful blog 2 views. Maditi takes a picture and Julie draws the subject, then they put them together in an artful diptych.

speaking of things in pairs a 2 disc album of Elliott Smith songs has leaked and it is mind-blowing good. the album is on pre-sale now and will be officially released next week. Pitchfork has released "High Times", to hear it click here. i also heard "All Cleaned Out" on one of the local college radio stations the other day while i was driving and was so taken with it i almost had to pull over just so i could focus all my attention on the song. i didn't, but i almost did.

enjoy your Wednesday, if i ever wake up i hope to enjoy mine.

the beauty of it all

do yourself a favor if you ever find yourself in western Pennsylvania and go to Fallingwater. my parents had been once before and although we were in the area for my sister's graduation, i think my dad was more excited about making another trip to Fallingwater. now, i completely understand why. as soon as we walked up to the front of the house i was smitten. firstly the house is in a beautifully calm wooded area which was gorgeous even on a grey and rainy day. i won't bore you with the educational details as Wikipedia does a much better job giving the background on Fallingwater. well... maybe just one boring detail... the Kaufmans, for whom the house was built, wanted a summer home near the waterfall on their newly purchased land. Frank Lloyd Wright took it one step further and built the house on top of the waterfall. while at Fallingwater, admittedly, i felt tinges of sadness and jealousy as one sometimes does when one is in love. sad because that beauty of a house will never be mine and jealousy because i would give anything to call it home (a pipedream, i'm well aware).

i was so taken with Fallingwater i was thinking i might write a book about it. well... maybe it will be more of a picture book. in fact, if you have something you're dying to make a book about now is the perfect time. the delightful Allison over at blurb flattered me a few weeks ago by blogging about the paper crane project. i actually hadn't known about blurb until that point, maybe you don't either? blurb is a great online, book-making service. you're able to design your own book by first choosing from several different templates. you're then able to customize your book using their downloadable software, which is both PC and Mac compliant. the results that i've seen are tempting me to make a book of anything just so i can have one to call my own. Allison surprised me again last night by sharing a promotional code that offers $8 off shipping until July 1, 2007. what's more is that Allison said i could share it with anyone i want, so i'm sharing it with you. to receive $8 off US ground shipping of a blurb order you just need to type in the promotional code: bfq207 when prompted. thanks Allison!

i hope this May 1st finds you all in good spirits.