Expressive Photography

On an outing to Barnes and Noble this weekend, I decided to look for books on photography and DSLR cameras. I have so much to learn, and I am desperate to do so. If you know me, then you know I fell in love the instant I saw this…

When it comes to the technological aspects of a camera, I’m just steps above barely useless. I know a few things, but I could stand to attend a class or do some more research (and I’m heavily contemplating a book for Dummies). What I love so much about the book above (because of course I bought it) is that it discusses the real reason I got into cameras and photography in the first place: the emotion behind the pictures.

When I take a picture of something, I’m compelled because whatever I am seeing means the world to me at that exact moment. I wanted to take pictures more and more because I would continue to be blown away by the beauty I saw in the world and in the people I love (and maybe even the people and things I would see but never know or fully experience).

This book not only teaches me a few things like composition and lighting in all different aspects of photography, but that the most important thing is doing whatever you need to do so that the photo ultimately shows how you felt at that moment, to tell your story through the photo. And that’s kind of all I’ve ever wanted.

I never heard of the Shutter Sisters website until I picked up this book. I’m going to have to look into it more now…

Weekend Rundown

Oh, how I live for and love the weekend. Saturday is, without a doubt, my favorite day.

A list…

• Taco Bell and Paranormal Activity 2 with Ed.
• Chinese Buffet for dinner!
• Meeting up with my dearest friend Lauren (see here, here, and here) for green tea at Barnes and Noble, tons of chatting (and laughing/screaming/being insane), and a couple of cocktails at the casino, speaking of which…
• Cucumber Lime vodka. I had an amazing drink (and seconds) made with this stuff. I would gladly try it again.
• Sleeping in and snuggling. I treasure my weekend sleepovers at Brad’s.
• A gorgeous waterfall on a brisk (chilly), bright Sunday.
• Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate. Ooh, I’m in love.

{This is the only picture I have to show that I was with Lauren. Shot with the new lens and film from Hipstamatic. She’s so cute!!!}

My case of the grumpies isn’t too bad tonight. I just keep reminding myself that I have a 4 day week this round (Thanks to our amazing veterans!!!!). Come Saturday, I’ll be heading to New Jersey for my cousin Jayme’s wedding. We’re all so excited!!! So, plenty to look forward to. That’s me…always looking forward.

Friday Rant

Fridays are supposed to be the day to look forward to. The end of the work/school week. The beginning of a couple of days of freedom. You make plans with friends or lovers or family to spend time. You can stay up late and sleep in later.

Except for when you have to work the next day…and your brain is fried to the point of exhaustion and grumpiness. And when your coworkers are tossing around strep throat or some other infection. I hate living in dread of getting sick. And I can’t afford it so…tonight’s dinner? Chicken soup and multiple cups of green tea. And a heavy dose of mind over matter.

Luckily, my weekend will begin at 1 PM tomorrow and it should prove to be as wonderful and relaxing and fun and unpredictable as all the others. So…I’ll work for that…

In the meantime, here are some pictures from Wednesday with Brad…

{He smokes. I hate it. But this was a cool shot anyway.}

Decadence

In the midst of Halloween celebrations, Brad and I went to the Olive Garden for lunch. I know, you’re super jealous, right? But who can deny the salad and breadsticks?

  
I tried the new Four Cheese Stuffed Sacchetti with Chicken and Brad got the Steak Gorgonzola. Don’t you just feel your arteries clogging reading that? But man, were they good.

And even after second salad helpings and pretty much clearing our plates, we decided to do dessert. They have these little dessert cups, Dolcini, and we tried three of them. I didn’t think I’d be able to handle it…

I was wrong…

November

Wow. So, it’s November. Month 11. 2010 is coming to a close. Time has flown. And the crisp and comfortable weather has seemed to fly away with it. I am thankful to experience 4 seasons. To know what snow looks and tastes and feels like. But oh my goodness, do I ever hate winter. When it comes down to it, it’s my least favorite season. I’ll smile at the first snowfall, and enjoy hot cocoa and Christmas lights when the time comes. But the short, mostly gray days and brittle icy tree branches…they always leave me glum.

Ultimately, the problem is that I am always cold. And I hate being cold. I have tons of clothes in my closet, but none of them are warm enough. I need to invest in some fantastically comfy and cute sweaters…cue H&M. I’ve fallen in love with quite a few of theirs. Too bad the closest store is about 2 hours away…

Sunday/Monday Bluez

So, I can’t help it. I love the weekend, but Sunday nights can be brutal. I usually spend the second half of what’s supposed to be a peaceful, restful day anxious and nervous about the coming work week. So, I was amused today when I read a small article on the Glamour (magazine) app about this exact issue. A whopping 90% of y’all feel this way. And that makes me feel much better. And also a little sad…because…well…it sucks.

Halloween

I haven’t celebrated Halloween in years. Like…lots of years. I dressed up a couple times in college but I never took it seriously or cared. I’d throw something together last minute that was completely half-assed. But whatever. I kinda wanted to do something this year. It took a long time to settle on a costume (and now I’m dying to try/be so many things next year) and figure out what exactly we’d be doing…but it was a good weekend.

 
For starters, I read about a Zombie Walk in downtown Wilkes-Barre and got really curious. It wasn’t the biggest crowd, but I really enjoyed seeing people get in the holiday spirit (and I personally would love to do this sometime). Super cool, and way better in person.

 
I went out for a bit on Saturday, but the magic happened Sunday. As I mentioned before, my sister loves to decorate. And they went all out, like…really ALL OUT. But it was so much fun to hand out candy, drink caramel apple martinis, eat Chinese takeout, and enjoy the holiday.

I am so bummed to go back to the real world (and a 6 day work week, nonetheless). Weekend, you are so fantastic.

P.S. If you don’t know my costume, I settled on a female version of one of my favorite characters, V (from V for Vendetta).