school on haunted hill

Happy Halloween!! I added the sky to up the creepiness.

leaf me alone

I shot this a month or so ago when I was anxiously awaiting fall colors. This is at Mt. Nebo which is a very cool place. I spent several hours exploring and photographing the short trail. For those that don't know the area well I'd recommend going after a heavy and extended rain. There's a few cool cascades at the top, but to see the actual Mt. Nebo Falls it will take a lot of rainwater.

legos get lomo'ed

I guess if I had any sort of style or trademark it would be these lego shots. I love how close up buildings layer together.

a fresh start

I like sunsets, but I shoot a lot of them just because I happen to be out a lot as the sun is setting. I never seem to be in a place where I know the area well, so it's always a scramble to find a good place to get some shots. I was near Lake Conway about a week ago, and I was in that situation. The sunset was epic, and I wasn't going to let not knowing where I was stop me. I was in an area where most of the land is privately owned. I couldn't think of anywhere close enough that had public access. Luckily, I found an RV Park and grabbed a few shots.

simple

This is Lower Eden Falls which is part of the Lost Valley in Northwest Arkansas. It's in the Buffalo River region, which in my opinion is the prettiest part of the state. This was taken about 30 minutes before sunset. I always have trouble getting color balance right on waterfall shots taken right after sunrise or before sunset. I finally did get this one fixed, but ended up converting it to black and white anyway.

radiation vibe

I loved this old school in Helena, Arkansas. The light in these places seems to have a life of it's own. So many details seemed so magically even after years of abandonment.

hazy politics

I really do fail at updating this thing everyday. I went shooting Monday night with Brian Cormack. It was a lot of fun and I'm thankful he asked me to go, because it's one of the few times I've been shooting in the fog. I struggled a bit with exposure because it was sort of new to me. I still had a ton of fun. I love getting to explore the city especially at night. Above is the Arkansas State Capitol. The light around the dome looked pretty cool in the fog, I thought.

it goes on and on and on and on

This shot was taken from the newly renamed Willis Tower. It will always be Sears Tower to me... Regardless of what they call it, I supposed it still does have one heck of a view. I found the view breathtaking and found it even more remarkable to think about how many people inhabit that space. Deep down I'll always be a country girl because I found the idea of that being my day-to-day life. Chicago I love you. I hope to visit you many more times, but you'll never be home.

life lines

I find stuff like this remarkable. Sometimes such mess can be beautiful, at least to me. I tend to hate powerlines when I'm shooting. I can't tell you how many shots I felt were ruined or needed editing because of lines. Yet sometimes they stand alone. I stood in the middle of a town festival shooting this. I only stood around long enough to get about three shots, because the crowd seemed to think me crazy. I guess maybe I am.

america's favorite pastime

I love film. Even if digital and film took the exact same image (and they don't), I'd still have a love for film. Every time I get a roll back it's like Christmas. I find myself holding the negatives up to the light to determine just what I got. It's exciting. Sometimes I get a little flustered when people tease me for shooting with film. I just want to scream at them, "Respect your roots!"

I'm sure I could have gotten a shot of Wrigley Field that was digital and edited the crap out of it until it looked like the above. But above is timeless. Since this is film it could have been taken at almost anytime. It means a lot more to me because of this.

zero gravity

I managed to find myself in the middle of an apple festival in a small town in Indiana while on vacation. I think the best part about getting "lost" is all the neat stuff I imagine to find. The clouds were epic this day and really made just about anything photogenic.

delta driving

These sort of shots have been coined "drive-bys." Better with a camera than other options, eh? I had never heard of such, nor did I know it was concerned an art. I have been doing shots like this since I was a kid. What else is there to do on a roadtrip!? I think it's fun and it does capture some of what a trip means to me. This was part of a day trip I took with my parents to see family. It was a great weekend.

wanted: one slinky

I seriously love abandoned buildings. They all have a mood to them. They all have a history. The best part is soaking in the mood of the place and imagining the history. This school was really amazing, and I'd love to know why it was abandoned. Anyway, I spent a few hours here exploring. I actually shot mostly manual this day and am thankful for it. I learned how to capture a mood with exposure. The shot above was intentionally underexposed. That stairwell freaked me out and I wanted to convey the feeling.

where i hang my hat and kick up my heels

I'm feeling a little cheesy today, so please excuse me. One of the things I love most about photography is that it's made me so much more thankful for everything. I've grown to love my state even more than I already did, because I realized just how diverse it really is. Within an hour drive I have delta, mountains, lakes, rivers, waterfalls, cities, farms, and even more than I'm leaving out. I've also learned a lot more about my state since I've been shooting.

I'm thankful for rain, because it makes waterfalls. I'm thankful for the clouds, because it makes nice sunsets. I'm thankful for the winter, because it brings another spring. I'm thankful for early mornings, because there's such amazing light. Yep. I'm being corny, but dang it I can't help it! Today is the first day that really feels like Fall, and I'm loving it.

you spin me right round

One thing I love about Flickr is getting to meet so many people that share something I love. One of my contacts, Evan, and I started a little project. The idea is to come up with a subject matter or technique to try. We both shoot our version of it with a Holga film camera. The catch is that I try to do a urban version in Arkansas, and he does a rural version in Georgia. The general idea is to help push each others comfort level and maybe shoot something we shouldn't have shot on our own.

I have always loved digital stitches, but I don't tend to be very tech savvy. Trust me when I say I will eventually do it, but as of yet I really just haven't tried. One day I realized I might be able to do an in-camera version of this with the Holga by not advancing the film all the way. I shared the idea with Evan who googled it and found someone that's already done it. We decided to add it to our project.

I'm actually slightly obsessed with this pano idea now. I know it isn't perfect and I know I could piece these together in photoshop, but I sort of love it. I have a few more shots I will eventually post.

city of blues

This was taken from the Willis Tower/Sears Tower in Chicago. Chicago is such an amazing city. I have had a love affair with the place for as long as I can remember. We used to take vacations there a lot when I was younger. I always loved it. Of course, I've done all the tourist things, but I hadn't do any of it since I've been into photography. I decided to go back to the Sears Tower, because it does offer some nice view of the city. I went about 30 minutes before sunset and got to enjoy a stunning sunset with a view.