Rain

In September, as my black and white photo class was ending it rained a few days. I realized how beautiful the rain really is and how great it would be to capture it on film in black and white. I have been waiting (rather impatiently, to be honest) for the winter rain to hit Portland and this month it really has hit full force. Part of this project is to capture the actual physical phenomenon of rain but I also want to capture some of the moods that rain and winter in Portland brings about. I want to do some portrait work for this eventually, but the opportunity hasn't arisen. I want these to all be photos from my everyday life, things that I am actually experiencing and seeing. All the water I have to endure as well as the cozy interiors I retreat to when it's too wet to be outside. 

These are shots from the first roll of film I've shot for this. I really wanted to develop and print the film myself but I don't have access to a darkroom right now and honestly, I don't have time. Eventually though I do plan on printing my favorites of the series myself. 

On a more practical note, this project has made me hate the rain a little less. But I'm still more excited about snow... which may be coming to Portland soon (and if it does it totally counts as being part of Portland in the winter, right?). 

Let me know what you think of this project. There are more photos from this roll on my flickr.

This is a sneak peak of a project I've been working on lately. I'll show you more soon.

A River Runs Through It

Growing up I remember that there was a book of my dad's on fly-fishing. It was always out somewhere. I don't ever remember my dad going fly-fishing growing up but I know he had all the equipment for it, a fairly nice pole, flys that my aunt (his sister) had made him, and even the hat. When I was in high school I learned to fly-fish in one of my classes, I even caught a fish. It was a rewarding and new experience and I wish that I had had the opportunity to do it at some time earlier in my life. I just watched A River Runs Through It for the first time, and I am surprised that I had not seen it before. I'm sure it's a movie my dad likes, so much of it reminds me of him and also of what I want my life to be like eventually. I'm not the kind of person who loves living in a city. I like it, it's fun and there are some things that are great about it, but really I want to live in the woods one day. Just be out there away from people with the trees and a river and some mountains and live. Just enjoy the parts of the world where I feel most at home. I think that's something that my dad and I have in common, although we've never really spoken about it, I think he prefers to be outside, away from people. As I've gotten older I've come to realize that I'm a lot more like him than I ever thought, but there are some things about him that I will never be like. When it comes to fly fishing though I want to do more of it, I want to be out in the woods more, I don't want to spend all my time in the city.

Autumn

I don't like when it gets dark at 6 at night. But I do like that it's cold outside and that trees are losing all their leaves and it feels appropriate to drink tea. 

I haven't really liked most of my pictures lately. I snapped this one today on my way home.

November

I'm really missing being out of the city. I'm also missing pine trees, mountains, and aspen leaves, but those aren't all that easily remedied. I do like living in the city but I just feel so at home when I'm out in the woods. I think I'll try to at least make it to Forest Park this week (not that that is really the woods, but I live fairly close to it and it might make me feel a little better, plus I have to observe animals for one of my classes) as well as doing some other things that have been on my to-do list for a while (like buying some tea and getting supplies to make this tote). Lately I've been trying to get some things taken care of so I can actually do what I hope I'll be able to do next year as well as cooking some pretty delicious food. Also, did you notice that for the first time in a long time this post is less than a week after my last one? Not only that but it isn't at an ungodly hour of the night. I'm working getting myself to have a more regular sleep schedule. Hopefully I'll get out and about and take some new photos soon. October was a stressful month for me, but November is looking like it's going to be better already. I'm glad the weather's gotten cold, I can actually wear the things I want to without being over-dressed (and therefore, ridiculous).

Music

I've been looking through my music collection a lot lately and although it is pretty sparse I feel like it's mad up of a lot of really good music. I guess you could say it's a quality over quantity type of collection... anyway, I decided I would share 10 albums that I just never seem to get tired of, ones that I can listen to over and over again, many of which I've had for years and are still counted as being favorites despite getting newer music. They aren't in any particular order...

1. Rock N Roll by Ryan Adams
Just what it sounds like. Straight up classic-style rock n roll. I tend to listen to this if I need to get motivated to do something or I'm cleaning. 

2. Funeral by Arcade Fire
I bought this album when it first came out having never heard the band, it was simply that Amazon had suggested I might like it. And I do, it's a hard one to live up to and I have to say I just don't think that Arcade Fire has been able to. Their last two albums have been pretty big disappointments to me, possibly only because I am comparing them to this one.

3. August and Everything After by Counting Crows
If you really need me to say anything about this you haven't heard it. It somehow embodies every emotion possible in a mere 50 minutes, or at least that's what it is to me. 

4. Illuminare by Umbrellas
I don't know what it is about this album, but it is just so amazing to me. I think it's something similar to the last one, it goes through so many different emotions in such a short time and so well it just ends up being amazing. Somehow this band has stayed pretty low on the radar, as far as I know, and that just seems like a huge shame. 

5. Origin of Symmetry by Muse
This is an amazing show of what this band can do. I almost ended up putting more than one Muse album on this list but then realized that this is the one that I really tend to come back to time and time again. The piano on this is unbelievable.

6. Boxer by The National
When I first heard The National, my immediate reaction was that I didn't like them. Slowly they grew on me, the one thing that I think deterred me at first was Matt Berninger's voice. It gives the songs an incredibly unique quality, not that they need it, they shine already and I constantly find myself finding new lyrics to relate to.

7. Building Nothing Out of Something by Modest Mouse
Ok, I'll admit it, I'm one of those people that had no idea Modest Mouse existed until Good News For People Who Love Bad News came out. I can firmly say, years later though, that after getting my hands on their older stuff, well their most recent work is dull in comparison. The lyrics and the music in this album are just right for me, especially when the weather in Portland is at it's dreariest.

8. Final Straw by Snow Patrol
Strangely, I bought this album at the same time as Arcade Fire's Funeral. For me it's perfect if I want something a little on the sappy side. And despite what someone once told me about Snow Patrol's music writing abilities being non-existent, I actually enjoy the simplicity in combination with the lyrics, it just works for my ears.

9. Elephant Shell by Tokyo Police Club
This album is pretty short, but what it lacks in length it makes up for in fun music with great lyrics (I especially appreciate that they have a song in which the name of a hominin appears... but that's me being nerdy and I still loved it before I realized that's what they're saying).

10. Something About Airplanes by Death Cab For Cutie
Soooo the same someone that criticized Snow Patrol once told me that 'everyone' knows this is Death Cab's worst album... yeah, they're kind of a music snob. Something about this album lets me listen to it on repeat for hours, so it can't be that bad, right? There some quality to it that just really appeals to me. 




And that's it. To finish this off I made a playlist that you can listen to here with one song from each album, I hope you enjoy!