extreme cropping

i used to think that if you cropped and edited an image "too much," it was considered "cheating." that was when i used to be rigid and naive. (hahah) i was pretty hard core about my mental model. sometimes i would take a picture over 50xs before i got it literally EXACTLY the way i wanted it to, straight-out-of-the-camera (SOOTC). call me obsessive. (okay, please don't). but i realized something while editing a couple of the images from the Homeward collection.

it's this: sometimes, the art is in finding what is captivating amid the muddle.

let me demonstrate. there's a piece titled "Bold." it's striking and i love it. but i didn't at first. i saw the SOOTC picture and thought, "there's something here, but i'm just not sure what it is." i would go back to it and look around and try cropping it in different ways. it made me a bit frustrated, but mostly, it kept piquing my curiosity. until finally...i saw it. there it was!


and this is what came originated from.

landscape to a portrait? man...that is some major "cheating!" but...remarkable no? (no, not in reference to the piece). it's remarkable how sometimes an image or song or person can beckon you to search deeper into the muddle and it's there, that you're able to find beauty.

so you know how i said

that i wanted to have a photography show in 2009? (or, is that a dialogue that i had in my head?)

well, guess what!!?!

i'm going to have a photography exhibit/show/whatever-you-want-to-call-it starting april 1, 2009 at Los Altos Library for the entire month!

thanks to my friend matt who asked me if i wanted to share the space with him, i get to cross out one of my 2009 goals. (which...by the way is still taking shape and still needs to be posted).

the thing is...it's in less than a month, and i have never done anything like this before! so my learning curve is at a very steep incline (kind of like the hills i'll have to run at the big sur marathon, which is at the end of april!)

a few things are going through my head:

• it's amazing how when we we're clear about our desires, it's easier to achieve them.
  
• theme...getting close to nailing something down.
  
• which images?!
• where am i going to get the right matte/frames?
• need to get a website ready (b/c it looks like this right now).
  
• get biz cards printed
• HAVE FUN and LEARN!

i'll keep you posted!

o james

be moved.
it's beautiful.


"i have been a witness, and these pictures are my testimony. the events i have recorded should not be forgotten and must not be repeated." - j.n.

in 2007, james nachtwey won the ted award...and this is what he did with $100k.
what would you do?

manifest this!

i feel like this guy - ready to do the chops!
(taken at the Bleecker St. stop in ny)

































the caribbean workshop was all about learning.
the nyc workshop empowered me.

the amount of information i took in at my first scott robert workshop was tremendous. some things were entirely new, and some things i had already been intuiting got verbally articulated. without a doubt, i learned more than i could've expected.

in ny, my vibe was different than what i felt at my first photog workshop ever. the difference was mostly that i was in work mode in ny - meaning, there were things that needed to get done that i felt hugely responsible for b/c i was helping organize the day-to-day of the workshop.

at one point, i remember thinking, "i don't even know if i'll get any good shots this week" b/c resources felt tight - a lot of photographers, limited equipment (for me), and not enough models! okay, that was totally in my head because there were plenty of models and people like scott, harvey, gayle, cindy and kai kai were generous with their equipment. (plus, i think it was when we were in the salon that i felt like things were tight...b/c it was a TIGHT space with way too many people in that downstairs area. but somehow, it all worked out).

back to this "empowered" feeling: i haven't posted my absolute favorite picture(s) from the ny workshop -- b/c i'm kinda saving it for an online portfolio that's in the works - but, this unposted picture sort of shocked me. i remember seeing the tree and then seeing christine on the tree with her dress flowing exactly the way it photographed. the empowerment came from being able to execute 99% of the vision. i didn't quite "nail the shot" b/c i was off on one technical aspect, but otherwise...it was almost there! (it is so satisfying to execute vision!)

all in all - (b/c it's 4:30am and i feel like i might start rambling) - nyc solidified a few things:
[1] my visionary spirit flows into all aspects of who i am, not just in thoughts, ideas, and/or philosophies, but also into the creative realm of photography and art direction.
[2] i love photography and am utterly grateful to have it be a part of my life and creative outflow
[3] i still have some insecurities that need to be addressed. (i.e. not feeling good enough)
[4] i need to get some more equipment - i feel stifled with what i currently own. (someone want to fund the liz-really-wants-a-5D-and-24-105lens campaign?)

yes, scott's workshop was life-changing. and on this trip, it came in small yet extremely empowering ways.

hi-YA YA YA! take that!

scott robert workshop-NYC

We went to DUMBO the second day of the workshop and it was there that I realized how voracious my appetite is for unique imagery.  I was inspired... and my mind wouldn't stop spinning with ideas.  I couldn't turn it off. 

Christine, featured in these pictures, just graduated from Parsons. In every picture of her, she exudes an elegance that made it easy for me to capture beautiful imagery of her. I had a blast shooting her b/c she was so easy to work with. Thanks Christine! 

I have to also give mad props to Kai Kai and Harvey for posing in the below shot and for helping me execute my visions. They were quick to help with lending me their ST-E2, holding up the off-camera flash, posing, and being good company. Very talented guys...and I found out one of them lives 5 minutes away from me!