.lighted.heart.

jab and i constructed this heart the other night. he is so patient with me and my little obsessive hobbies. it was the first night in a long while that we had the chance to spend quality time together. i woke up the next morning with a lighter heart.

Happy Love Thursday!

.sisterhood.of.cousins.

(*photo originally from Angry Asian Creations's Phamily Weekend)

when i read Shutter Sister's lastest post on sisterhood, it made me think about my definition of Sisters. it's been all convoluted and grey lately. my first sister wasn't born until i was 11. before then, my sisters were my cousins buu and kim. and even after 3 sisters on one side and another on the other side, buu and kim are still there.

.bristle.

it's my hair brush. way up close.

.shadow.reflection.

it's a been a rough few days, actually, it's been a pretty trying month for me. i used to identify myself in a number of ways but always, always, i saw myself as a Sister. i'm going to take a breather from that role for a minute.

this picture was taken at the inner harbor and it's this week's contribution to my self-portrait project.

.boats.on.the.water.

rather grainy and dull day. but i liked the clouds.

.fountain.at.harbor.east.

.inner.harbor.loveliness.

.in.my.shoes.

.thursday.love.

over at Shutter Sisters it's Love Thursday. i wish i had something profound to say, like today's writer but alas, nothing. however, anyone who knows me, knows that i love socks. the colorful, patterned variety. knee highs, ankle low, bunched, thin, thick, stockings... whatever. i've just always hearted socks.

happy Love Thursday!

.morning.commute.

the sky was dreary on the way to work today. i did not use flash.

.not.really.a.self-portrait.

i took quite a few pictures last night of myself. i felt. odd. and the whole concept made me think: am i posing? or am i learning about how to use the timer thing and how to guess on angles and where to put the camera down etc? of all the pictures that i did end up taking, i liked the ones where my head was chopped out.

.photo.challenges.

so in order for me to improve my skills, i have to practice. it's kinda like with my crochet projects or cooking endeavors, i gotta keep at it. so i've been trolling the internet for some simple, basic picture taking challenges to partake in. i thought of doing 100 Strangers but i am not comfortable taking pictures of people and i definitely do no feel comfortable about walking up to a stranger and introducing myself.

i have been trying to take a picture a day and posting about it. i've been playing around with alphabet photography but with random household stuff. i think i'll look on flikr and see if there are any beginner groups to join in. i did see one group that was doing self-portraits daily, which is a bit much for me. since i am getting around the whole brace face mentality and re-learning how to smile, maybe i'll try to do this, but weekly instead.

.outside.fire.escape.

i tooled around yesterday on my fire escape, just playing with different depth and focal points.

i think in the last few days of taking pictures, i'm learning a lot more about my digital buddy. it has its limitations on night shots and detailed close ups. i want to learn how to use it to its advantages. it'll be awhile before i can afford to get a dslr so i'll have to make use of the camera i have now, plus, i found another old jab castoff in the closet the other day that i can fiddle around with too. why shell out good dough (when i really need a new oven) when i have two perfectly good working cameras already? i may have to hijack jab's current one too since i'm the picture taking whore in the relationship. :)

.sweaty.eggs.at.the.farmer's.market

kelcy and i hit the farmer's market sunday morning. kelcy is an early riser and with her visiting, i couldn't very well sleep in. i figured she'd enjoy the farmer's market. the heat wave was unrelenting but the shadow cast by the Jones Falls expressway did keep the sun out some. while standing in line to the omelette station, i noticed the carton of eggs basically perspiring like everybody there. it seemed that nothing was spared from the heat. the flash was turned off.

.another.night.shot.

last night was spent in federal hill. on our way home, there was a small river spewing on the street. it was a leaking hose that sprayed up into the air. for such a hot night, it was a cool spray. i played around for awhile with the camera, with flash, without, close up (as i could dare without getting drenched)and far away.

this pic was without flash.

if it weren't for it being in Baltimore, i half expected to see kids playing in the street, splashing around.

.fire.escape.in.the.night.

the night time is just not a good time for me to use my camera. too dark. but last night, while walking along an alley, i noticed that it was brightly lit and so i decided to take a shot of a fire escape above me. it did not turn out. the flash didn't go off, i guess it was sufficiently lit, and it came out blurry.

.who.i.am.

edit: January 2009

at least 1 shot between the hours of 7am - 10am. that's all. and as little edit as possible.

i'm just someone who likes to play around on my camera, figuring out the different buttons and trying to snap a pretty picture. i don't know the first thing about composition, lens, different brands and quite frankly, all the information out there is overwhelming and gives me a headache. i've learned a lot about photography from foodgawker, tastespotting, use real butter, and sunday night dinner. as you can see, they're all about food. that's how it all started. technically, it started when my awesome, doting and very patient boyfriend bought me a digital camera for my 30th but when i realized there was a blog world of masterful chefs and photographers out there, i had to be a part of it... even if it was just as a role of a newbie/wannabe/what are you doing with a camera-er?

i read up on their techniques, and then i play. a lot. i do my post editing on picnik. recently, i read David Lebowitz's post on how he goes about taking pix of his fabulous food creations. it was very insightful, and also listed a few other food bloggers with exceptional photography skills. i think this new hobby will be something i'm constantly learning about, and i hope to learn to take pictures of things other than food. perhaps merging on over to people/potraits. who knows what will tickle my fancy? this blog will hopefully chronicle what i see and how i choose to show my perspective.