I Will Remember You

These are my first real forays into using a zoom lens and night time photography.


I used a Nikon 55-200 mm zoom telephoto lens for these shots.


I didn't even have to edit these photos.



I think I'm really pleased with the results.


(Read: I'm in serious love!)

Let's Dance to Joy Division

I've been dancing nearly my entire life.

I did ballet and pointe for 10 years, tap and jazz for 2 years. Before college, I danced probably somewhere around 12 hours per week. My ballet mistress was once a principal dancer for the New York City Ballet. She once told me very early on that if I kept working as hard as I did, I could possibly make at least corps de ballet.

But of course, I am now an engineering graduate student. (Read: My parents said do your homework.)


In college, I got busy, and dance fell to the wayside. I took the occasional dance class here and there: a semester of East Coast swing, a semester of Latins (salsa, cha-cha, merengue, tango), a semester of lindy hop. Went to a random Sunday social swing or salsa night now and again. But beyond the spontaneous jeté across the academic quad, I didn't really dance.


When I got to graduate school, I became friends with some very outgoing salsa and swing dancers. I kept getting invited to dance functions.

I've found I miss dancing.


When I'm dancing, it's just the music, connecting my partner and me. We can get to know each other in the span of 3 minutes. We don't even have to speak.


Even though we are moving through this time and space, it's only us two, suspended in our own world.


A million things may have gone wrong with my day, week, year, but when I'm dancing...I'm content.


This indescribable happiness bubbles through me when I'm dancing.


My camera lenses may not have been fast enough (Read: Mom, Dad, I would like this, this, this, or this for Christmas! Oooo! Or maybe this!) to catch all the amazingly creative body conformations seen at Steel City Blues.

But on closer inspection, I saw I captured reflections of my own joy.

That's What Friends Are For

OH EM GEE. I CAN HAZ INTERNET??! IN BED?? (Read: I love Joe! For fixing my wireless internets!)

Although I am blogging from class. (Read: Bad TA.) Hey, I heard this lecture already last semester.

I know I've been bad about keeping my resolution for this blog, both because of the internet and too many personal things going on in my life that needed higher priority. But at least I kept one of my other New Year's resolutions: Visit more friends!

Best hostess EVER

I very badly needed a change in scenery, so I took the opportunity to visit Chicago for a much-needed vacation to see my friend Jen from college!

Of course I took my camera with me. What kind of question is that?

We visited all sorts of places, from the Art Institute to the zoo to the conservatory (along with plenty of shopping (Read: omg too much!) and night life in between). I've got plenty of pictures of things like cute animals and pretty flowers and fantastic, confusing art. But I found the pictures I liked the most? The intimate moments unknowingly captured.

Wuv, tru wuv, will fowow you foweva...
--Impressive Clergyman, from The Princess Bride

I have to say, I am most definitely my father's daughter. We both have a penchant for taking pictures of people over something like landscapes. I think, for me, I like taking pictures of people because I feel more connected, even if it is suspended in time. I can create a whole story and allow myself to dream exactly what they're feeling in the picture.

It is, of course, ten times more difficult to capture a truly candid intimate moment with your friends. It makes me wish I had a camera with a lens that views in one direction while pointing in another. Still, I managed to capture a few.

The birthday girl enjoys a bite of chocolate pie. Yummy.

Funny face.

A quiet moment at breakfast. The light is beautiful in this picture.

A (Ladies') Room with a View

I Believe

I believe when I fall in love this time it will be forever.
--"I Believe," Stevie Wonder

Maybe I believe that I'll have internet at home really soon, too. (Read: Doubtful.)

System of a Down

My internet is out of commission at home, and while I could blog from work....I shouldn't.

So here's a picture of something shiny to distract you until I get working internet again.

I'd be interested in seeing what multitude of guesses result from said shiny things.

Dodging Bullets

This post is late. Again. With good reason. I actually was intending originally to write about another topic, but I'll save that for another time.

Life threw me another curve ball this last weekend. The latest one doesn't change my circumstantial situation or how I fundamentally feel about it, although it does bruise my ego more than a little bit.

Even so, this latest pitch? I can't help but feel I've dodged a bullet. And found something much better.

I couldn't make it without y'all.