Kathimerina Fotografia: 268, 269, 270 & 271

September 25: More Reverb photo shoots. I wasn’t supposed to shoot this show initially, but the original photographer had to back out, so I stepped in. One of the great things about these Reverb shows is meeting photographers from other outlets who are likewise covering it. On this particular night, I met someone who shoots for a paper in Boulder. We chatted for a while before the show, and between acts, and it was quite inspiring to discuss technique and share ideas about our craft. This world of photography can get quite competitive in many ways, but I’ve found that more often than not, fellow photographers are really open to sharing a bit of themselves and their passion for this art with other like-minded individuals. It’s an uplifting experience.

September 26: Doesn’t he look wary? I’d like to think his pretty worldly too. Sputnik and my mom brought this guy back from Canada when they went to the great white north in August. Nothing like a sea captain to make you think about the world.

Or something.

OK, I’m just making stuff up now.

September 27: I was witness to a UFO landing late last month. Luckily I had my camera with me and could snap up this photo real quick like.

What? That’s not at all believable and you really think this is probably just a light fixture at a tavern in Denver?

Oh, well, all right then.

Still, kind of a cool color, right?

September 28: This particular K.F. post is just a sandwich made with two Reverb shoots for bread. (How’s that for an analogy?) This show – Local Natives and the Love Language – took place at the Fox theatre in Boulder. I have never shot a show with better lighting. I loved this lighting. Like really loved it. This is serious business. The whole evening was rife with opportunity to back light images (as seen here), and to get nice and close in order to capture this kind of shot.

I think it’s safe to say this was my favorite Reverb assignment to date.

Kathimerina Fotografia: 263, 264, 265, 266 & 267

September 20: The first day back in Colorado (from NYC) brought rain, and cloudy skies and this scene from the 10th floor of the building I work at. It’s just a glass table, but the light sparkled oh so prettily.

There are small things so often overlooked in life because they seem mundane and silly. I say if something catches your eye, take a moment to look closer. And maybe make a picture out of it.

September 21: I found a Big Thoughts desk! Someone threw this little treasure out a few weeks back and I rescued it on a rainy day trek back from work. (Rain has been a general theme this week…)

This fellow is imperfect, but sturdy. It needs some refinishing work and some tweaking to fix a few flaws, but otherwise, I’m pretty excited. At last, a place to sit and have big thoughts; to write and recollect; to nurture one’s creativity.

September 22: I’m trying to be a chef. When I lived at home (and therefore had access to television), I would sometimes watch the Food Network and get all inspired to concoct delicious creations. My mother was always excited to have someone willing to cook, so she agreed to pay for all ingredients and clean up afterward if any of us four was willing to play chef.

I think perhaps I didn’t appreciate these allowances enough in the moment.

Because now I have to buy my own groceries, clean my own kitchen, and have no television to be inspired by the Food Network types.

However, I must say that migas (as seen above) is still both cheap and easy to make.

And it tastes delicious!

September 23: Have you ever read Anne of Green Gables? Or seen the movies? There’s one line in which Diana (Anne’s bosom friend), states that she cannot possibly get married before acquiring 37 doilies. Because, naturally, how can one be expected to manage a proper household without at least 37 doilies. Makes sense right?

A few years ago, my family and I were watching this movie and in my oft-ridiculous ways decided that I too couldn’t imagine such a lifestyle.What sort of a wife would I be without the proper collection of doilies?

Well, as they are prone to do, my family decided they ought to humor me. So, when Sputnik and my mom went to Prince Edward Island a few weeks ago and visited Anne’s beloved countryside, they brought me back these two doilies.

Only 35 more to go…

September 24: The Reverb photo taking continues. This is Matt + Kim. They were energetic. The theatre was packed. I nearly got run over by bouncing, jiving audience members.

Business as usual.

Kathimerina Fotografia: 258, 259, 260, 261 & 262

Hold on to your hats, ladies & gents. I finally went through the myriad of photo files stored away on my computer, organized them (and more importantly, myself), and am now ready to flood this little blog with quite a back log of the K.F. images I’ve been sitting on for the latter half of September. We are getting back on track! It’s October, and I have been remiss in my daily updates here.

All right, ready. Set. Go!

September 15: I left for NYC on this day. I have to admit, however, that this particular image was taken in the early hours of Sept. 16 as the baggage folk were loading stuff up for my flight out of Atlanta (yay for layovers!).

When you get to the airport at 10 p.m. for a 1 a.m. flight and don’t arrive at your final destination until 9:45 a.m. in a city two time zones over from the one you’re used to, your internal clock starts to believe that there really are more than 24 hours in a day. So it seemed fitting that I just pretend September 15 and September 16 merged into one big day for the sake of this photo. We’ll call it, September Fifteen-point-47/J day.

Yep, that makes sense.

September 16: I did however, after two flights and an hour layover in Atlanta, eventually, make it to this location, a train platform. This was the train that would safely deliver me to Penn Station, in Manhattan. From there, my travels would continue along a few more trains and subways, cars, through a tornado, and to my final destination of the day.

Mood at the moment I snapped this photo: sleepy, with a touch of exhilaration and in great need of more coffee.

September 17: It was here, to this little warehouse turned art gallery, turned performance space in Brooklyn, NY, that I was ultimately heading. My friends were putting on a musical that they had created from scratch. Well, mostly from scratch. The premise of their musical was based on the fairy tale, Hansel and Gretel. But what they created from that was something all together new and inspiring, and all their own.

The space itself, 17 Frost, is a character all its own. I mean, check out that paint job.

September 18: The cast warms up before the third running of the musical. I love me a little behind-the-scenes action. Carly (gray tank top, back to us in this image), asked me to take some photos of the musical that night. She and her husband were the co-creators of this musical; he wrote the script and directed it, she wrote the music and acted in it.

It’s collaborations like this that really make you want to find such a team to work with yourself. I was inspired and touched by the entire experience.

September 19: And to close of this New York edition of the K.F. campaign, a classic sort of icon. The first time I saw the Empire State Building, I was floored by its grandiosity and sheer size. Now, every time I visit New York, I make a point of getting a glimpse of it. It’s my favorite building in the city.

It forces you to realize that we are capable of so much.

Kathimerina Fotografia: 256 & 257

September 13: Creating. Playing. Community. All of these words describe this scene here. While at a coffee shop on the 13th, I watched this group gather, put together those geometric shapes, laugh, enjoy each others’ company, and then when they were all finished a few hours later, dismantle the whole thing.

I forget sometimes to just play. I get caught up in future ambitions, in being overwhelmed with work and the “adult” part of life (paying rent, bills, the ins and outs of health insurance and finding a good dentist), and forget that while life is – and at times needs to be – serious business, it also needs to be fun. You need to leave work and the work brain behind and just play. Tune into the creative side of your brain and allow yourself to create something just for fun.

September 14: She’s growing! I haven’t killed her yet. Molly lives!

That’s all.

Kathimerina Fotografia: 254 & 255

September 11: Way back on the 11th, Squish made her debut as a member of her school’s pom squad. She does it all now, ladies and gents: twirls, spins, dances around and generally increases the level of school spirit at school events in need of school spirit. (This post brought to you by the word, “school.”)

Unfortunately, I was sitting very far away from the field where said spirit-lifting was taking place, and didn’t have the massive lens at my disposal. So instead of shooting good candids of Squish in action, I took pictures of the crowd.

Two particularly engaging and adorable kids were these two. Clearly not very entertained by the sporting event or the spirited dancing, they concocted a game of sliding up and down the handrails that lined the bleacher stairs. Well, just sliding down the handrails that is. They unfortunately were not Mary Poppins and therefore couldn’t slide up the rail.

That would’ve made for some awesome photos.

September 12: This is the capitol building of my beloved Colorado, all done up cell phone camera style, with sweet setting sun back lighting and eye-popping streetlights that make for some admittedly distracting elements.

Trying to think of other compelling things to say about this subject. Yet coming up with nothing.

So, how about them Rockies?

Please don’t hate me

I haven’t forgotten you! I’ve simply moved my efforts.

Nor have I forgotten about the K.F. project, though my lack of updates in that field might suggest otherwise.

So, this is my brief but impassioned plea to you all to (1) visit Anya Elise Photography for more recent, overarching updates and blog posts (I’ve already written up a couple from my New York excursion); and (2) believe me when I say I’ll start putting K.F. photos up here starting tomorrow. I think from here on out I’ll try to do general posts on the new blog site, but continue to update the K.F. campaign through here. Sound good? Questions, comments, thoughts, concerns?

As always you guys are delightful. Thanks for supporting me and sticking with me as I transition to a new site and start the next chapter of life!

-a.e.

Waiting, waiting, waiting.

Hello friends. I’m sitting in the airport waiting to fly back to Denver from my New York excursion. I’m sorry I abandoned you since Wednesday. I had hoped to have internet at my friends’ house, who were oh so kind to take me in for the past few nights.

However, the day I arrived – Thursday – a tornado hit Brooklyn. Yes, you read that right. What’s more, three years ago the same thing happened to me. Apparently I attract tornadoes. To Brooklyn.

Poor Brooklyn.

In any case, because of this storm, which left a great deal of destruction just blocks away from my friends’ house, their internet was down and I was unable to check my e-mail, update this blog, and generally do the internet thing.

However, tomorrow it’s back to the regular tasks of life, so I’ll make sure to throw some K.F. pictures up, as well as some of my New York ones.

You guys are lovely as always. How have you been the past few days? I’ve missed you. Really.

Love ya’ more than coffee wagons,

-a.e.

This photo really has nothing to do with anything. I just found it on my hard drive from this past April. And it made sense to me.

New York bound.

Hello all. You guys are great. Just wanted you to remember that.

I am leaving in 6 hours for New York. By the time you all are waking up back in this time zone, I will have landed in that time zone.

Dear friends of mine are premiering an original musical that they have written (both the script and music), cast, produced and directed. It has been a long time coming, and at last, opening weekend has arrived. I’m so excited and proud of them.

I’ll only be gone a few days, but I’ll do my best to keep you updated on here.

Where have I been the past few weeks?

Here:

Wyoming!

And here:

And at work of course. And also getting ready for this trip to New York. And editing a lot of photos. It’s been exciting and busy and, well…life.

My new photography specific site is up and running. I’m still messing around with the main page (what you see above), and a few odds and ends here and there, so don’t be surprised if the appearance changes a bit over the coming weeks. But for now, check it out. I’m putting blog posts up little by little, and adding more photos along the way.

I’d appreciate the feedback! http://www.anyaelisephotography.com

I do plan on keeping up the K.F. project on this site however, so don’t think that I’m abandoning this effort on Adventures just yet. I shall remain vigilant (though my efforts as of late may make you think otherwise…).

The next post I put here should be coming to you from New York. So stay tuned!

Love ya’ more than coffee…and that’s saying something.

-a.e.

Kathimerina Fotografia: 252 & 253

September 9: I have been described as a voracious reader. Which is true. But even more so, I am a sporadic reader. I get involved in  a book, learn about another one or am recommended another volume, pick up a copy, start it, remember another novel that I started and enjoyed, continue reading that one, stumble across three other stories, get involved with them…it’s basically a disaster.

Here for example are just a few that I’m working through right now, little by little. My brain frequently gets a little fritzed trying to juggle all the different story lines. But on the flip side, I like to think it keeps me sharp. A multi-tasking mind is a quick mind.

Um…OK, that’s probably not true, but I’m sticking to it.

September 10: Sputnik, Mom and I had a girls’ date night Friday. It involved gobs of permanent, acrylic paint and alcohol. Good combo, don’t you think?

It was a lovely sort of evening. For nearly three hours we sipped wine, painted, laughed, talked, I tried to refrain from dipping my fingers into the thick puddles of paint and wiping it all about my canvas, you know, the usual antics.

We were led along by a woman who showed us in simple steps how to create this poppy painting, but we were encouraged to come up with any sort of color palette our hearts desired. Sputnik’s was very Pacific Northwest, mine was very…sporadic, Mom’s was bright and cheery.

I enjoyed creating art in a different form than usual. I love photography, but it is nice to try your hand at a new creative outlet now and then. Forces you to engage that artistic part of your brain from a different angle.

Try it sometime.

Kathimerina Fotografia: 250 & 251

September 7: I like vintage things. They have a sort of aura about them, worldly, like they’ve been through a time we aren’t aware of or don’t remember.

The problem is, this vintage thing is the fire extinguisher that came with my apartment.

I should probably look into that.

September 8: I just wanted to take a moment for a time out. Life is running along quickly, and days are passing at a dizzying rate. It’s at times like this, when we feel left behind and as if we’re barely grasping at moments, that it is important to allow ourselves a time out.

So, take a breath, sit down for a silent instant, and relax.