Day 90

     Ash's kinda cute.

Day 89

Day 88

Just go for it already!

Day 87

Day 86

Day by day, nothing seems to change, but pretty soon...everything's different.

Day 85

     I totally feel like one of those National Geographic photographers, and I LOVE it!

Day 84

      Strange weather today. Snowy, rainy, slushy, cloudy, snowy, sleety, rainy, sunny.

Day 83

     Very dramatic day. I was doing fine, writing a paper, when I heard the news. My home town was in the wrath of a wildfire. 8,500 people had been evacuated, and the fire was quickly spreading. My neighborhood and another large one were evacuated and seemingly in the path of burning. And I was frightened. Deep down I knew it would be ok, that I could just trust the Lord and whatever happened would be ultimately be for the best, that it was unlikely that my house wouldn't be there tomorrow. But it was just the selfish me that feared for the landscape I called home, my churches, schools, and friends' houses. And of course pets. All papers forgotten, brow furrowed, anxiety-eating and online news channel streaming. Constant text updates and phone calls, just to soak up all I could learn. And I watched as the fire surprisingly quickly climbed over gullies, swallowing up fields and chomped up the towering Ponderosa Pine Trees I had grown up with. I watched as it jumped from 50, 100, 1000 to over 1600 acres consumed. And I watched as it burned within feet of homes, and as the wind suddenly changed directions, burning back on itself and back out to open area. Evacuations for my town were lifted, and the thousands returned home. No structures damaged, and now as far as I know, it's 70% contained. Truly a miracle. Prayers are answered. And I breathe a Sigh of Sweet Relief.

Day 82

     Ho, Hum, Beautiful Day. And that is definitely not reflected in my photo.  Not one of my favorites, I did not put enough effort into it to like the end product.

Day 81

     A true sign of spring: small children playing with bubbles in the grass. I was a little hesitant to take pictures of the adorable child, as I did not have permission from the overly pregnant mother, but the bubbles stayed in the grass long after he left, and I had plenty of fun taking pictures of them. Darned camera could not focus on the bubbles itself, but I enjoy manual focus so much more. Luckily, the bubbles were patient and held still until I was done taking pictures.
     And by the way, zero color adjustment on this one. All I changed was the levels to make the bubble "pop".

Day 80

Spring? Are you really here yet? Every time I think you are, you fool me.

Day 79

     I got a comment saying my self-portraits were too "angsty." Haha. So I'll try my hand at one where I'm smiling for once.

Day 78

    

Day 77

Day 76

     Amazing amazing amazing day.
     Today I got to assist a shoot with Ryan Muirhead! One of my favorite photographers! (Check out some of his work here.) What an awesome guy and what an awesome opportunity! I didn't have a whole lot of things to do, as the shoot was a little slow, but I was perfectly happy to sit and watch and listen. Even though it was not much action, it was so much fun! I couldn't sleep last night because of it, and I am still giddy with excitement! I just so greatly admire his shooting style and developed (pun unintended) knowledge of photography and light and how the camera works. He is such a fun and happy guy, so easy to talk to, and incredibly fun to be around.
     At the end, my head was pounding from all the stimulation and my cheeks hurt from all the smiling and laughing! I had to walk home, but it was good to get outside.
     The south of town is so much more pleasing than the north, so I enjoyed my walk. And for some reason, I have recently become obsessed with broken-down houses and windows.

Day 75

     Meh. Dorm life. It's  where you learn to love vending machines.
     Today I was really focusing on depth of field with patterns. And snacking from the vending machine.

Day 74

     Another day that feels like spring! And it feels so good!
     And I just love black and white photography.

Day 73

Potty Humor.

Day 72

     Walked outside today, and found a group of friends. Boom, a photoshoot was born. And wow, it is a lot harder to go into one of those if you have no concept ideas beforehand. Still, for improvising, there are a couple shots that I think turned out moderately well.

Day 71

     The original plan was to go ice fishing this morning. Something I've never done, and another thing to add to my list of cool things that I've done. But there weren't enough crazy people around that were willing to leave at 3:30 in the morning to go have some fun. So it got cancelled.
     Though I hate complaining, I was doing just that to dear Lynn. And she saved me from my now ridiculously boring Saturday I had planned. She invited me to go snowmobiling. No, I had never done it. Yes, it was cool. No, I had nothing better to do. So I forsook catching up on any work for a long ride up the canyon.
     It was amazing. AMAZING. I had so much fun, rocketing at 60 miles an hour down some of the most beautiful forests that I have ever seen. Definitely something I want to do again. And with my family. The earth is beautiful in its slumber.

Day 70

     Went to a goat farm today. Drew blood, de-liced and labeled 207 goats. A lot of work, and got dirt (and a little blood) all over me. But it was a blast. Goats are so fun. I also played with goats that were only a day old.
     I love the little run-down farms. I used to think they were ugly, but now I realize that they are so much cuter than the nice up kept ones. There is just so much more to look at. Brownie points to whoever can name everything in this picture. So many beautiful little farm buildings here.

Day 69

     Ahhh, Spring. You are finally here. And though you're welcome, you make me kind of homesick. Got to fifty degrees today. And I wore my celebratory Spring outfit, with skirt and sandals. People looked at me like I was crazy and was going to freeze, but I feel spring, and nothing's going to stop me.

Day 68

     So many people get squeamish when I try to take a picture of their faces. Understandable. What about their hands? Do the express anything?

Day 67

     A friend pointed out to me today that I really like half-face portraits. I guess that's true. I did not realize it before. But I guess that's because so much of the emotion we feel comes out through our eyes. What could Lynn be feeling now?

Day 66

Peace.

Day 65

     Feeling a little whacky today? What does that mean? Time for a silly self portrait.

Day 64

     Awesome awesome day. A professor here is doing some research on bear reproduction habits. Today they were going to check out one of the bears. And I was invited! Had to get up way early, and was a super long drive, but worth it. Made a wrong turn, ended up in another state, mistook a plane for a bird, but really really fun. Muddy, snowy slopes and cars getting stuck, momma bear waking up early, but so incredible. I did not get pictures of the bears, because of the limits of time and space, but to see them and be there was so worth it. Saw some beautiful things on the way there and back, and shared plenty of laughs.

Day 63

     Trees, trees, trees. I just love trees. And spruces and pines remind me of home. I feel spring coming.

Day 62

Day 61

     Geez, who ever thought a year could be so long?! Only a couple months in, but feels like I've been working on this forever! And, I need to be better at posting the picture every day.
     Today I just walked. I didn't really focus on photography, but I had a nice time just walking around town, just me and my baby.

Day 60

     Another cute couple! These are two gorgeous kids, and so much fun to talk to. I realized today, that each time I shoot, it's a completely different experience! Everyone that I've taken pictures of has been so helpful and fun and cooperative, but the same ideas work very differently for each person. I am learning...slowly...