it's like crack

good light to me is like crack to an addict. i see it, i am physically steered away from whatever i'm doing to either stare at it peacefully, or photograph it obsessively.
this is what happened on friday when i was on a shoot for the met at an art show.
i had to make a conscious effort to drag myself away from this scene to get actual photos of the show...

no kidding

Chess player on the 16th Street Mall.

I can still remember that numb feeling I had for an eternity as the boat took its second bounce off the water and my body fell slowly to the side, a limp doll now. The world moved in slow motion as I found my lungs again and gasped for air, aware that something was terribly wrong. That was one of the longest moments of my life; the time I fractured my spine in Florida in seventh grade. It was the briefest of moments before the pain seized my body- it was that timeless millisecond where everything moved so slowly and the world seemed to be almost frozen completely. Almost, but for the graceful spray that came off the bow and caressed my face.
Was it that very moment that screwed me for the rest of my life? Is it because of that freakish accident that I now have to undergo physical therapy daily? That I now joke that I am 20 going on 70? No effing kidding.
It’s not something I can’t deal with for now, but what about in 10 years? If today I paused at least once to ride out a wave of lightning pain that streaked down my leg, then what will I be doing in 10 years? Probably using a walker. Ha. No effing kidding.

When I was younger, I used to see myself as older than I really was. When I was a pre-teen by definition, I was really part-way through my high school years, and by the time I was getting my license, I was coasting through my mid thirties, and now… Now I’m old, dears, I’m old with out the age.
My birthday is in June-I’ll finally be turning 21.
Hopefully my knees will hold out until then.

Snow Day!

Blizzard hits Denver.
While most sane people ran for cover and warmth, a select few crazy people put on their boots and hats and ran outside with their cameras. I am proud to say that I am one of those crazy people.

Annnd, you get captions today.


A robin takes a moment to gather body warmth on a snowy branch of a budding bush during Denver's biggest snow storm of the year on Thursday, March 26.

Christina DeValencia takes shelter under her umbrella from the intense spring snowstorm that hit Denver on Thursday while she waits for the lightrail to take her home.

Downtown Denver Business Improvement District worker James Biggs fights to keep up with the falling snow on the 16th street mall in Denver.

Snow blanketed Denver on Thursday, March 26, causing delays and cancellations around the state. Forecasters say the storm could drop as many as 19 inches on the metro area by the end of the day on Friday.

Sam Moore and Justin Mullaney try to keep warm while waiting for the lightrail during a spring snowstorm that hit Denver Thursday.

The snowstorm that ravaged Denver didn't stop these two members of the Rocky Mountain Classic NCFCA Speech & Debate from competing at Metro State College of Denver.

A big blue bear watches enviously as people take refuge in the Colorado Convention Center during a spring snowstorm that hit the state on Thursday.

Billy Miller lays down salt at a low income housing unit outside of downtown Denver on Thursday, March 26. Miller says that his job is to shovel snow for people who don't have the ability or the time to do it themselves.

Snow blanketed Denver on Thursday, March 26, causing delays and cancellations around the state. Forecasters say the storm could drop as many as 19 inches on the metro area by the end of the day on Friday.
Sam Moore marvels at spring snowflakes as they blanketed Denver on Thursday, March 26, while waiting for the lightrail to take him home from work.

A worker from the Downtown Denver Business Improvement District struggles to keep up with falling snow, Thursday, March 26, on the 16th Street Mall in Denver. The spring storm caused over 300 flight cancellations at Denver International Airport, schools across the state closed and the National Weather Service issued a blizzard warning for the Denver metro area and surrounding eastern plains through Friday morning.

rodeo queen

yeah i stole that phrase right from Judy. i like it.
i'm following a high school rodeo gal for my semester project. i thought i'd post a photo from it every now and then.
here's one of the first ones i took:

The Lady Nuggets

This week, starting on Wednesday, March 18 going through Sunday, March 22 are the National Wheelchair Basketball Association (NWBA) championships. They are being held in Lakewood, CO at the Gold Crown Field House. My friend Molly is on the "Lady Nuggets" of Denver, a community team (as opposed to a collegiate team). She invited me to attend her games and I asked if I could photograph her team for the day. I went to two games and it was a blast. The Nuggets went 1-3 yesterday, but considering how new their team is, they are quite talented. I had a great time watching and photographing this event. The team was founded by Jen "Chewie" Chew (11) and Christina Ripp (12). Both ladies played college ball together at U of I. Ripp is also a two-time Paralympic gold medalist.
Here are a few photos:

St. Baldrick's

Today I went to an event put on by St. Baldrick's. People shave their heads to raise money for childhood cancer. I talked to one of the organizers and she said so far (before the count after today) they've raised over 25,000 dollars and they're shooting for 100,000. There were over 200 shavees there. Also, throughout the event, children are brought in and honored that are either survivors or current patients.
Pretty cool.
Here are a few photos:

5-year-old Justin Miller hugs his dad, Jeff Miller, during St. Baldrick's head-shaving fundraiser for childhood cancer held at Fado Irish Pub in downtown Denver on Friday, March 13. Justin was first diagnosed with neuroblastoma in Sept. 2006 and recently relapsed in May of 2008.

brick blasting

i passed by this street scene where these guys were blasting the bricks on new apt. buildings with water near sunset. i couldn't resist it, and this is what i got:

war photographer

we watched that movie today in my intro to photo j class. it's about james nachtwey, an amazing war photographer. it really inspired and awed me... just to see how he handled these situations; getting fired at, tear-gassed, attacked, watching people die in front of him, to see that he was there but he came out with these amazing images on top of it. it reminded me about how much i want to travel and go. i still feel as though i've got a bit more "training" to do, then i'll take flight.
compared to seasoned photojournalists, i haven't seen much. but i saw my first real poverty when i was 17 and i went to haiti. again, in cambodia, i saw some amazingly awful living situations.
i try not to post too much old stuff, but this is a photo i ran across a few weeks ago that i took in asia. it was the only photo i took at a small landmine "museum" outside of siem reap. it's more like a shack with piles of old mines and shells everywhere. it's run by victims that the owner took in after they were shunned from their families because they were unable to work with their disfigurements.
this is by no means a great photo, but it's the only one that i shot, and it's got more personal value to it than aesthetic... i took it almost 3 years ago when i was even greener than i am now.

the painter.

i needed a subject for my environmental portrait and Katie Hoffman was gracious enough to let me into her studio and photograph her. here are some photos of the beautiful lady with her gorgeous work:

the lightrail

so i take the lightrail to and from school most days, and i see and meet some pretty interesting people.
it seems i might have a kind-of body of work from this commute after a while.
here are a few:

the homeland.

Texas. nowhere like it.
we went out for a weekend of fun and celebration for my grandpa's 80th. we visited Graham, TX on saturday which is a town founded by one of our very own.
here are just a few of my favorites. pardon me, it seems i'm going through an intense black and white stage.

"old age is not for sissies"