looking forward

This is my last post of 2013. That is weird to think. This year just flew by, but it was a great year. I'm not going to do a whole recap. You can check out my instagram for that recap, but that's it. I'm excited to start a new year, a new 365 project. I've been looking into possibly acquiring a Nikon D7100. I'd love one. We'll see. Maybe that will be a goal of mine for 2014. Today, I acquired a photo printer. It's so pretty and works wonderfully. I've already printed a few photographs so get ready for some prints that I've promised to a few folks.
I enjoyed a fun day with my mom and Matt. We went shopping for a few items and I ended up buying the printer. My mom says I'm like a kid with a new toy. I've been wanting a good printer for a while! Just for photos! All mine! Hooray! Merry Christmas to me! I hope everyone has a safe, yet fun New Years Eve. I don't do anything except go to the movies. Finally seeing The Hobbit!

inspiration: amanda jasnowski

^Photo credit: Amanda Jasnowski^

I don't recall how I came across Amanda Jasnowski, but boy, am I glad I did! Amanda is a barely twenty one year old phenom taking a leap into the photography world. Not only is her photography amazing, but she also curates a pretty wicked blog. Her official tumblr can be found here. This past summer, Amanda and her boyfriend, Jimmy Marble, traveled to Europe for Native Shoes. The trip is documented here. Amanda's Instagram is really spectacular as well. It seems that no matter the camera, Amanda can create amazing images with her amazing eye. In the spirit of mashing Amanda's aesthetic with my own images, I created a couple of diptychs. I look forward to more experiments in the future!

oh, i've been here the whole time

I have been more focused on my 365 project than usual. I suppose that is a good thing. I have been trying to work outside of my rut and experiment with photo manipulation a little bit more. I am also working on my shoots still from Stephanie, as well as my brother's event. On top of all of that, I'm also adjusting to my new position in the cafe at work, which has been pretty fun. I have worked with Mary twice this week. That was a blast. I'm learning some new and old things. It's all coming back to me, slowly, but surely. I am three books away from finishing my 35 books in 2013. I cut out five from my goal of 40 last year, but who knows? since I have surpassed my lesser goal this year, maybe I can beat last years. Who knows? Maybe I'll be too busy, as usual to bypass my goal for last year. Holidays are coming up quickly and I just can't believe how quickly this year has flown by. Where did the time go?

life through my phone

This is my week in photographs that I took from my phone. You can always follow me on instagram. My user name is lightread. This week has been filled with baking (I'm back in my groove), good lighting, good coffee, good company, and still receiving birthday presents! It's pretty great. Here's a glimpse from my phone photos:

Stay tuned tomorrow for a recipe on oreo brownies. They are really simple to make and smell amazing as I wait for them to cool. I'm trying to shoot more with my DSLR rather than just my phone, but sometimes, the phone can really come in handy.

cubanoche

I should've posted this a couple of weeks ago when I gave my brother his copy of the pictures, but it only occurred to me today that I never posted photos from this event! My brother has gotten into dancing salsa and bachata competitively in our area (and even when we were in California, actually!). He's also gotten into DJing salsa and bachata so I was there for CubaNoche: Feast Til Dusk, Dance Til Dawn. What a successful event! When I arrived around 10pm, the music was blaring and tables were just being cleared. They also weren't kidding that the more you dance, the more tables they would clear! It was really cool and I'm grateful that he gave me the opportunity to record this for him. I had fun and I think everyone there can attest to what an amazing vibe there was. I'll stop babbling about things and just show you!

See? Laughter and smiles all around! That's my brother in the last picture and his dance partner is Tamra. She's an awesome lady.

creature fear

When I was five years old, I was bit by a family friend's golden retriever. I wasn't doing anything to provoke the dog-- it just happened so quick. He had my arm in his mouth and then it was over. From then on, I was completely terrified of dogs. I could hardly even handle a Jack Russell Terrier. I was that bad. Then as I got older, like my pre-teen years, my friends had dogs. They would keep their dogs at bay for me, which I appreciated, but I'm sure it got annoying for them, as well as their dogs. Fast forward to 18 year old me and Alex's German Shepard, Zelda. For some reason, Zelda loved me and would try to follow me around so I had to get over my fear of her. For a German Shepard, she was actually small so she was a good dog to get used to. My cousin also got a Weimaraner puppy so I've been able to watch him grow up. My friend, Laura, got Sicily, a fatty pit bull. As I got older and got to know these dogs, I got over the fear that used to grip me when they jumped because they were so excited. This past October, I watched my cousin's Weimaraner and he's like a horse. Today, I dropped by a friend's house to have him look at my car and his dogs immediately jumped on me. He asked,"You're not afraid of dogs, are you?" "Nope. Not anymore."

homemade pizza

I love cooking at my place. While we originally did not have a lot of counter space, we now have an island and our table to use for countertops. I have never made pizza with the dough from scratch. I was rather intimidated, yet very excited. You should've seen when the dough rose properly. It was very cool! The recipe still needs some tweaking, but I'm going to say that this was a successful foray into homemade pizza. Maybe we'll use asiago instead of provolone next time.

Look at that dough!

wordless wednesday

explanation tomorrow.

an old friend

Trying to find index cards in Jessica's desk, I came across an old friend: my very first Nikon, a Nikon Coolpix 4600. I loved this camera. It's so crazy how I used to carry this tiny thing with me all the time. I shot with it from 2005-2007, when I got my first Nikon DSLR. I sold it to Jess and have since only had DSLRs. It was fun to play around with it today. I'm so surprised it still works! I don't know why I thought it wouldn't, but it just seems insane that this camera has been in use for six years and it still works. Nikon sure makes a durable camera, too. I'd have it in a little purse, throwing that purse around and whatnot. I thought I would have a little fun and take a few photos with it today. The light was pretty with the dark clouds in the background today. Apparently, there was a waterspout off of Lake Michigan. Insane! I asked my mom why she didn't call me to turn on the news. She never gave me a real reason why. I missed the waterspout!

working hard

Well, I finally figured out how to edit videos. I have insane amounts of respect for the people I know who a) are film studies majors and b)create not-so-amateur videos like I did. Well, I'm still really proud of what I made. After the video, there is a survey of sorts (ahhh, I feel so middle school) that I took from the delightful blog of Annie. (I just realized I know a lot of awesome Ann's/Annie's, no joke)

White Blank Page from Elis on Vimeo The song is Mumford & Sons White Blank Page.

Age: 22
Bed size: Full. I think my room is too small for a Queen.
Chore you hate: Anything bathroom related. I guess the tub isn't too bad...
Dogs: Alex's German Shepard loves me. Her name is Zelda and she just loves having her belly rubbed. I also hang out a lot with Laura's Pit Bull, Sicily (or Piggy, as we affectionately call her) and my cousin's Weimaraner, Apollo. They're all technically still babies.
Essential start of your day: Shower. Showering is a must.
Favorite color: Robin's Egg Blue
Gold or silver: silver or white gold (agreed!)
Height: 5'4"
Instruments I play (or have played): violin, flute. I still remember violin. Give me a week with the flute and I could figure it out again (since I learned it initially in a week). I'm more of a whistler, anyways. Seriously, I could give Andrew Bird a run for his money.
Job title: Photographer, Student, Head Cashier, part-time Barista
Kids: No, I don't want Brian to recoil from my brood so I'll hold off for a looooong time.
Live: MKE, WI
Mom's name: Madre! jk Nereyda
Nickname: Ellie, Felis, Felisitaciones, Pinguino
Overnight hospital stays: A couple of times when I was 9. Always for my asthma.
Pet peeve: I have a ton! But I'll limit them to intolerance, rude people, and when tv/movie writers totally botch coffee terms. "I want a double cappuccino, no foam." Uhm...you just want a little bit of steamed milk with your espresso? "I want a white mocha, no chocolate." Uhm, what? That last one, I actually had someone order that from me and I died. I tried to explain it to her, but she really wasn't getting it.
Quote from a movie: "Ethel: Are you in any pain?
Richie: Not really.
Chas: Why'd you try to kill yourself?
Ethel: Don't press him right now.
Richie: I wrote a suicide note.
Chas: You did?
Richie: Yeah. Right after I regained consciousness.
Chas: Can we read it?
Richie: No.
Chas: Can you paraphrase it for us?
Richie: I don't think so.
Chas: Is it dark?
Richie:Of course it's dark. It's a suicide note." --The Royal Tenenbaums
Right or left handed: AMBIDEXTROUS! mostly righty, though.
Siblings: I have two older brothers. I'm the youngest and a girl. I got picked on a LOT.
Time you wake up: 6:20am, unless I'm closing on a sunday, then it's 9-ish
Underwear: under where? hahaha
Vegetables you dislike: Asparagus, cabbage, green beans, any kind of bean, celery...I realize I dislike a lot of vegetables.
What makes you run late: My hair! Or true crime television. I'll leave slightly late and then there are car explosions and semis that have to back up and traffic from nowhere...yeah. shit goes bad when I'm running late.
X-rays you've had done: My knees, fa sho. Also, chest xrays.
Yummy food you make: Give me a recipe and I can do it! Except if it has phyllo dough. That scares me. I make delicious apple cheesecake bars, chocolate toffee cookies, white chocolate amaretto cheesecake, cheesy potatoes....I just love food.
Zoo animal: My nickname Pinguino was given to me by my grandpa and I've loved penguins ever since.