Something New: Felicita’s Beach Shoot

There comes a time in an artist’s life where they enter a sort of metamorphosis, if you will. Just as great musicians alter their sound or a painter embraces a new technique over time, photographers often experiment with new locations, new models, new equipment, and new styles. In nearly six years as a practicing photographer, I have come a long way. Though many things have stayed the same (like my equipment and my love of portraits), lots has changed. The quality of my images, the number of images I take and have to weed through, my intentions…and that’s exactly what my most recent photo shoot showcases. But it wasn’t an easy photo session, and I want to provide some insight as to the what, how, and why behind this slight “MPS makeover.” Take a look:

That Hawaiian Life

Oh my goodness. Am I actually blogging right now? Well, hello there. Long time no see. We can attribute nearly all of my lack of dedication to blogging and picture taking to quarter-life crises and the start of yet another school year. Mostly the latter at the moment. But I figured that, since I had the time this morning, I would post just a few pictures from the start of the school year as a reminder that my passion has not been forsaken and that I miss being behind a camera (any camera) greatly.

Summer Photo Shoot Promo (Sneak Peek)

Good evening! At least I hope it’s a good evening for you. I am sitting here on my couch with a fractured foot (yeah, I managed to break my left foot almost a whole year after breaking the right one; I am on a roll…and I should really go to the doctor to see how bad the damage is) and covered in bug bites, but it’s worth it because of what I have to show for my efforts. Well, let me clarify – the broken foot was a thing before I even got back to Nashville but it’s being made worse by the fact that I constantly stand for 9 hours a day, 5 days a week. But the bug bites are the result of making the poor decision to wear a tank top, shorts, and flips flops during a photo session with my friend Lauren earlier this week. And it’s that very photo shoot that I came here to give you a little sneak peek of:

Messing Around

What do you do on an evening when you’re not feeling well (both physically and emotionally)? Lounge in bed and scheme, of course! I’ve not quite been myself the past few days, feeling great on Saturday but succumbing, today, to an overall sense of fatigue, sore feet/joints, and general ickiness (among other feelings of light sadness and residual anger). I resigned to doing nothing more than lying in bed to ease the discomfort of a worn out body and the unpleasant happenings of girlhood. And then I remembered the new pair of mint sunglasses I purchased on Saturday during my afternoon shopping trip with my friend Lauren:

Summer Photography Season

Well, hello there. Long time no write. I didn’t intend to be away for so long, but the ending of the school year was crazy and getting ready to return to the mainland was crazier. Speaking of which, I am posting this from the fabulous city of Nashville! That’s right; I am home! Well, for the summer that is. And I’m staying busy working nine hours a day as a camp counselor. My life is always moving, but that doesn’t mean that I haven’t been thinking about my love of photography. In fact, I’ve got some updates to share with you all:

Kaleidoscope

Happy Saturday. It’s early. I’m here at rehearsal listening to the cast as they review these songs/attempt to stay on beat. But while I wait for some excitement to happen (and by “excitement,” I really mean…actually, I don’t know what I mean), I made an artistic discovery. Not that it’s anything absolutely life changing (or new to life in general), but I thought it was fun. The idea of making new art from other art is something I enjoy. For instance, last summer I took a photo I had taken, mounted it on some nice mat board, and cut it into four squares to make paneled wall art. Genius, right? This time around, I did something different. I have this thing about over-editing photos sometimes just to see what will happen. So please turn your attention to the three original photos below:

Midweek Photo (Vol. 2)

Good evening. If I could find the spare time to breathe and post a Monochrome Monday, I totally would. But rehearsals run my life these days, and I get in after 11 pm every night and after sending emails and getting work done, I shower and go straight to bed. And then I wake up, go to class, and repeat the cycle all over again. Sounds thrilling, right? The life of a theatre kid. But today was a little different. I don’t have class on Wednesdays, and usually I spend that time doing homework in my room or running errands around campus. But today I decided to take myself (and subsequent responsibilities) to the beach.

Thursday Sun

I know, I know. I’m slacking on the whole photo posting thing. I have been in the midst of some dark times whilst figuring out life. But one of the great things about living in a place like Hawai’i is that even when life seems stressful and overwhelming, you can walk outside and see the following:

Hawaiian Nights

Good evening (or morning for the other side of the country). Here I am living my life, a nocturnal life that sees to it that I am up late doing work related to any and everything (sending rehearsal reports and working on projects). The sad part is that the one assignment I have due this day of Fri was completed and printed yesterday so I should be able to go to bed, right? Wrong! The work of a theatre kid is never done and the struggle is real. But I figured that nightlife can’t be all bad, so I thought I’d share this really grainy photo I took of part of the Honolulu skyline as I walked to rehearsal earlier tonight:

Monochrome Monday #72 (200th Blog Post!)

Well, I’ll be. Would you take a look at that? How fitting that my 200th blog post would fall on a Monday. And we all know what that means. Monochrome Monday! And I am pleased to announce that I have new material to show for it. And because it’s my 200th post (I somehow had enough words with which to bore [I mean, “entertain”] you all for that many posts), why not throw in some color photos, too, for good measure? I say let’s go for it: