January was a hell of a month.
I saw twenty-seven bands at fifteen different shows, plus two theater performances, one birthday party, and one game night. I shot 90% of that, plus post-processing time, plus my day job. I also moved (fresh off the holidays), put together my show for the Artwalk next Thursday, re-did my resume (that completely and totally rocks now), did some e-homework so Kristin could finish the website redesign (that also completely and totally rocks, even more than before), made a bunch of new friends, got featured on a few websites, volunteered at the Vera benefit, met some legitimate rock stars, and celebrated six months of living in Seattle. Plus, you know, grocery shopping, laundry, writing, and all that jazz.
I also gained ten pounds, barely slept, neglected my basic needs, and was ready to cry at the drop of a hat. Now, that's no fun. It's certainly not what I moved out here for.
But, I learned a lot: I'm capable of handling an unbelievable amount of things at once, which is rad. I suck at PhotoShop, which is fixable. I live in a postcard. I believe in Pablo Trucker. It's okay to drink a lot of coffee. I can write better than I thought I could. I shoot better when I love my subject. Quantity is admirable, but quality is what counts. I [heart] threeimaginarygirls, in a big epic way. The people here are great, both the friends and the contacts I'm making. And I don't think I'm ever going back to the East coast for anything more than a visit.
In short, living in Seattle, and finding out what I'm made of while I'm at it, is nothing short of totally fucking awesome. Even with a maniacal month at my heels, up to my armpits in photos and major decisions.
That being said, I can't keep going at this pace -- so we're shaking things up over here on the Hill. There's a few science projects brewing that involve tutorials, five year plans, taking vitamins regularly, and not saying yes to everything... it's the only way I have a shot at enduring the double life of day-job and calling, so that the tour-photographer-slash-National-Geographic-feature me that's underneath all of this has a chance of getting unearthed, and the mild-mannered admin can keep bringing home the paychecks in the meantime. I'll keep you posted (well, the posts will keep you posted, really) on the progress as we shift a few gears. You know, same furniture and all, just a different layout.
Insert Oprah article on how to love yourself at any size, in any circumstance, here.
A-hem. Enough with all the emoting. Sorry if I got any on you.
As Liz put it yesterday on Facebook: good morning, February! I've got big plans for you.
Onward and upward:
The Walkmen were absolutely ridiculous. I almost broke my face.
I would like to make it very clear that Becky Poole is a genius, and that you need to go see her show as soon as humanly possible.
Getting to see Damien Jurado at a little place like Chop Suey was bliss, and having the event be part of the John Spalding fundraiser made it even better.
Tapes 'n Tapes + Wild Light + Fences = Lots of bright lights, lots of pretty pictures.
I also got to shoot the lovely Miss Cherry Manhattan on my lunch break last week, my first crack at some straight-up modeling shots. I think I did okay for basically winging it. And, Soft Rock kicked the crap out of the Triple Door with a full-scale production -- it was way beyond anything I was expecting from these guys. Unitards, rollerskates, and a bandstand. Awesome. I did those at a super-high ISO to freeze the dance moves. Hopefully some of it worked.
Coming up this month, there's tons of good bands -- the Delta Spirit, "Awesome", Lykki Li, The Bird and The Bee, Andrew Bird, Kris Delmhorst, and Pablo Trucker's well-deserved headlining spot... AND another Salon of Shame... yay! Two of my most favorite Seattle things.
The next week and a half will be kinda quiet while I get popping on the wrap-up for next Thursday's Artwalk at the Styling Studio -- read all about it, and come by if you can. There will be cheese, and wine, and people pointing at things and saying things, you know. All the usual art stuff.
Big happy hearts and a couple of slept-in Sundays,
VIVA
I saw twenty-seven bands at fifteen different shows, plus two theater performances, one birthday party, and one game night. I shot 90% of that, plus post-processing time, plus my day job. I also moved (fresh off the holidays), put together my show for the Artwalk next Thursday, re-did my resume (that completely and totally rocks now), did some e-homework so Kristin could finish the website redesign (that also completely and totally rocks, even more than before), made a bunch of new friends, got featured on a few websites, volunteered at the Vera benefit, met some legitimate rock stars, and celebrated six months of living in Seattle. Plus, you know, grocery shopping, laundry, writing, and all that jazz.
I also gained ten pounds, barely slept, neglected my basic needs, and was ready to cry at the drop of a hat. Now, that's no fun. It's certainly not what I moved out here for.
But, I learned a lot: I'm capable of handling an unbelievable amount of things at once, which is rad. I suck at PhotoShop, which is fixable. I live in a postcard. I believe in Pablo Trucker. It's okay to drink a lot of coffee. I can write better than I thought I could. I shoot better when I love my subject. Quantity is admirable, but quality is what counts. I [heart] threeimaginarygirls, in a big epic way. The people here are great, both the friends and the contacts I'm making. And I don't think I'm ever going back to the East coast for anything more than a visit.
In short, living in Seattle, and finding out what I'm made of while I'm at it, is nothing short of totally fucking awesome. Even with a maniacal month at my heels, up to my armpits in photos and major decisions.
That being said, I can't keep going at this pace -- so we're shaking things up over here on the Hill. There's a few science projects brewing that involve tutorials, five year plans, taking vitamins regularly, and not saying yes to everything... it's the only way I have a shot at enduring the double life of day-job and calling, so that the tour-photographer-slash-National-Geographic-feature me that's underneath all of this has a chance of getting unearthed, and the mild-mannered admin can keep bringing home the paychecks in the meantime. I'll keep you posted (well, the posts will keep you posted, really) on the progress as we shift a few gears. You know, same furniture and all, just a different layout.
Insert Oprah article on how to love yourself at any size, in any circumstance, here.
A-hem. Enough with all the emoting. Sorry if I got any on you.
As Liz put it yesterday on Facebook: good morning, February! I've got big plans for you.
Onward and upward:
The Walkmen were absolutely ridiculous. I almost broke my face.
I would like to make it very clear that Becky Poole is a genius, and that you need to go see her show as soon as humanly possible. 
Getting to see Damien Jurado at a little place like Chop Suey was bliss, and having the event be part of the John Spalding fundraiser made it even better.
Tapes 'n Tapes + Wild Light + Fences = Lots of bright lights, lots of pretty pictures.I also got to shoot the lovely Miss Cherry Manhattan on my lunch break last week, my first crack at some straight-up modeling shots. I think I did okay for basically winging it. And, Soft Rock kicked the crap out of the Triple Door with a full-scale production -- it was way beyond anything I was expecting from these guys. Unitards, rollerskates, and a bandstand. Awesome. I did those at a super-high ISO to freeze the dance moves. Hopefully some of it worked.
Coming up this month, there's tons of good bands -- the Delta Spirit, "Awesome", Lykki Li, The Bird and The Bee, Andrew Bird, Kris Delmhorst, and Pablo Trucker's well-deserved headlining spot... AND another Salon of Shame... yay! Two of my most favorite Seattle things.
The next week and a half will be kinda quiet while I get popping on the wrap-up for next Thursday's Artwalk at the Styling Studio -- read all about it, and come by if you can. There will be cheese, and wine, and people pointing at things and saying things, you know. All the usual art stuff.
Big happy hearts and a couple of slept-in Sundays,
VIVA
