A Word+Photo Challenge.

I seem to have hit a sudden blogging binge.  It has been months since I have blogged regularly and boom, in the middle of February, I'm blogging with gusto again.  And here's why.

About two months ago, I was not taking pictures at all.  Technically I was doing the occasional shoot, and while that's fun, I was not casually shooting everyday objects.  And I realized I missed looking for something pretty or inspiring in the mundane.  I began to brainstorm.  For a month I attempted all sorts of methods that might motivate me, but it really was no use.  Until I had an 'aha' moment after some web surfing.

You see, I love the thesaurus.  Some people are addicted to Pinterest, but I am obsessed with typing in ridiculously long words and clicking through to other words (at least it's educational).  And so, I decided to take my two loves and combine them.

Thesaurus + Photography = epic photo challenge.

I decided to make a list of words and each day, I select one in the morning.  I think about it, mull over the definition and think about photos I could take, mentally arranging things or ideas.  But I don't shoot right away.  And I think this is crucial to my personal photo challenge.  If I shoot right away, I find that I miss out on other opportunities or I misinterpret the word I've selected.  I'm simply taking a photo just to take a photo.  So, I keep thinking.  And thinking. And thinking.  Then when I feel ready, I snap.  Do I always get the right shot?  No.  Sometimes I have redos, but I try not to think about those or do them frequently.  I think this is also equally important in my photo challenge as I tend to be extremely picky about my photography (it's not artistic enough, the lighting seems weird, etc).  Telling myself I have three shots encourages me to focus.

This process has allowed this extremely impatient person to stop and think about a potential photo.  But it has also given me a great appreciation for photography and I have been able to develop new strategies in how I run my photoshoots.  Plus, simply taking photographs reminds me how much I need photography.  Without a creative outlet, I go crazy.  And a crazy Kristin is not always a good thing and I'm excited to share more photos!

Happy Saturday!

it's still winter?!

"Sunshine is delicious, rain is refreshing, wind braces us up, snow is exhilarating; there is really no such thing as bad weather, only different kinds of good weather."

{trees.}

"Every crag and gnarled tree and lonely valley has its own strange and graceful legend attached to it."

painting.

winter portraits.

 

it seems winter has decided to finally visit Michigan (at least temporarily)!

zelim dupla kafa!

It has been one of those days.

You know the kind where you only got three hours of sleep and have a million things to do?

Yeah.

It's on days like these I wish I had some super strong coffee.  The kind of coffee you can find in Bosnia, puddled in miniature espresso cups.  And so, I stare at this picture and dream about drinking bosanski kafe at Tito's in Sarajevo.

the big picture?

sarajevo, bosnia-herzegovina

i recently found an application that allows you to convert photos into tilt-shift images. i think it's a pretty neat application, but it reminded me of my current state in life.  only a small, little slit of my life is in focus right now.  i know i'm in school, that i have assignments to finish and a graduation in thirteen weeks. and that's about it.  my future is one big blur. i can see outlines of what's in store, but i have no concrete ideas.  (but i suppose that's what i get for electing a gap year between my undergraduate and a possible master's program.) ayn rand once said, "People create their own questions because they are afraid to look straight. All you have to do is look straight and see the road, and when you see it, don't sit looking at it - walk."

i may not be able to see exactly what surrounds me, but at least i can see the road.  and so, i'm (attempting) to embrace this new journey.

It's January!

And I'm in my last semester of undergraduate!
And I will be turning twenty-three in exactly one month.
And today, I completed my very first watercolor painting ever!  I love photography and admiring art (especially paintings), but I never envisioned myself as the painter; I have taken kreative to a whole new level!

2011: Photo of the year.

At the end of each year, I like to go through all of my pictures and select one that represents the entire year.  It's awfully hard (given the sheer number of photos I take), but it's a good exercise.  Looking back at photographs is like opening an old journal.  And so, I present to you, the following photo:

zagreb, croatia

To me, this photo represents a place that has affected where I'm headed in life, but also a place that altered my perception of people.    

People.  I didn't time this shot, nor do I know the lady looking back at me.  But trams in Eastern Europe taught me a lot about people and what they are going through. I loved the trams, despite their stench and the gypsies, because it allowed me to get a brief glimpse of the people who make Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia.  You can read a million books on a particular people, but until you see their faces, you do not really understand them, because a simple look can tell a story.  Trams (or any mode of transportation such as a train, subway, etc) are brief and temporary.  People get on and then get off before you have a chance to blink. 2011 was all about making the most of friendships.  It was about reconnecting with old friends, as well as making some new ones.  I have come to realize that life isn't all about work or blazing a trail that will radically change the world.  Rather, it's a balance.

2012 is shaping up to be a very different year.  I'm looking forward to all the places I'll go, the photos I'll capture and the people I'll meet.  (And hopefully, I'll get better at blogging about if all!)

of transitions.

Last night, I had a dream that my Fulbright Grant was approved and I was hours away from boarding a plane to Bosnia.  I was teary as I hugged family and friends, nervous about the life that awaited me.  I woke up with a start, disappointed only to realize that I was still stuck in this snowy state.  But it got me thinking.

There are some major changes coming my way.  A possible trans-Atlantic move or a relocation to New York or DC looms on the horizon.  Add a graduation to the pile, and my life is full of transitions.

But I have this fear.  Until today, I thought it was a fear of actually going away from home for longer than two months. However, seeing the world and living elsewhere has always been a life-long dream; I am not afraid to see and experience things.

This afternoon, in the hallway, I saw a professor I've worked with in the past. We chatted for a few minutes and before he left, he asked when I was graduating.  I replied, but It was his response that really got me and revealed the root of my fear.  "Wow," he said, "be sure to stay in touch."  And that's when it me.  I'm leaving my professors, these classrooms and the books.  In a way, it seems that my identity as a student was leaving me as well.  But is that really true?

Being a student is my identity, it's who I am.  Writing research papers, conducting statistical analysis, critiquing papers and debating with my colleagues is what I do best.  It's an identity I have developed over the last four years and one that I am reluctant to give up.  But I'm realizing that my identity as a student really won't change on April 29, 2012.  The classrooms will.  I won't have the same professors.  My classmates won't consist of the same individuals.  But the learning never stops.  The books I have read and the relationships I have established thus far only enable me to be a better student in the future.

So I say, bring it on.  There's nothing bittersweet about graduating, only the happy thoughts of a limitless classroom at my doorstep.


(Oh, and I can't wait to reread this someday, when I'm forty and grading a stack of papers. I only hope I'll have the same optimism and enthusiasm for life.)