Hello, Mr. Snail.

Who says you’re not perfect
Who says you’re not worth it
Who says you’re the only one that’s hurting.

Trust me
That’s the price of beauty.

Who says you’re not pretty
Who says you’re not beautiful
Who says

It’s such a funny thing
How nothing’s funny when it’s you
You tell ‘em what you mean
But they keep whiting out the truth
It’s like a work of art
That never gets to see the light
Keep you beneath the stars
Won’t let you touch the sky

I’m no beauty queen
I’m just beautiful me

Who Says - Selena Gomez



This guy.... pretty much sweeps my heart away.
Even after 7 years of knowing him.
Thank you Paul, for making me such a wonderfully lucky Wife.

Down On Me???

I actually love this picture of me and my dad. Especially since it was caught with my little puppy in there with me :) He has always been the person I looked up to most and found myself wanting to be like as I grew up. He's the one totally responsible for making me as adventurous as I am because he has always treated me the same way ever since I can remember. He wasn't the dad that talked to me like I was a cute little puppy. He talked to me like an adult even when I was 5. He took me everywhere he went. Shared everything in his life with me (everything...). And taught me all that he knows. And he still does! I was his Jedi apprentice if you will. Now that I'm older, it's hard for us to sit and actually have conversations that last hours on end... but today was a rare opportunity and even though it wasn't anything particularly deep, it was just what I needed.

In other news.....

..Atlas Shrugged is in the process of changing my life right now. Every page I read the deeper I sink for this book like it's pulling me into this train of thought that's making my brain tick louder than it has in a long time, if not more than ever before. If you are someone that is looking for answers to life, you feel different, full of questions with no answers that anyone can tell you, this my friends could be exactly what you're looking for. It's actually a fictional story but the way Ayn Rand has written the beauty, it's captivating in so many ways.

..I watched the movie Black Swan tonight with my family. What I pulled from it was the girl in the movie was skizofrinic and ended up trying to become her character so deeply, she lost herself entirely and it ended up destroying her. The lesson to take from it is basically keep control of your mind! So many people let emotions run wild and dictate everything they ever do. This is what causes so many issues in your life. I think the key to life for everyone is finding that balance between controlling, and letting loose. Know where your boundaries are so you don't go insane! And do something that ultimately destroys you entirely.

..Looks like May is coming around so quickly! I have an engagement photoshoot booked for the end of May and I may also be doing a portrait session too with one of the models I shot with last year, Ms. Shantell.

..I took some pictures in the garden at my grandma's house today. Some of them turned out pretty well! :)




The blog post title came from this song. Normally I hate ghetto music. Especially dirty music. But for some reason, this song makes an exception. And I'm not gonna lie, it makes me want to dance....

Well I better get some sleep because I'm waking up early to jump on the GOW3 beta that starts in just 4 hours! :)

-Brooke-

Shoot the Hills 2011

I just got back from a weekend long trip to Hocking Hills, Ohio. It was the 4th time I've been to the region and it seems each time I go back there I fall in love with it a little deeper and discover new things to photograph. My reason for going this year was for the Shoot the Hills photography competition, which was a contest that ran for 24 hours and photographers from all over were able to participate, compete, and hopefully gain recognition for the photos they took in a days time. To say the least, competition was TOUGH this year! I was one of the youngest DSLR participants and went up against photographers that have been doing this stuff the entire time I've been alive.... and then some. I didn't win anything this year. Except for deeper knowledge and a huge drive to better myself when it comes to nature photography - all types.

And also, I built a mini shopping list of things that I neeeeeeeed:

*An umbrella (I actually don't own one at all! I like the rain and never saw a purpose for it... until now. Would have saved me from cradeling my camera like a baby underneath my coat while I got soaked from the pouring rain trying to get last shots before the contest ended)
*Rain boots!
*Bigger memory card
*new laptop


So - Let's dive into the trip a little more. I was the captain steering the ship with the mindset of a passenger simply wanting to enjoy a short boat ride to sea kinda thing. It felt as though we crash landed a few times but got back up and steered right into the storm. The flooded tents, pouring rain, just above freezing temperatures, technical difficulties with equipment, almost running out of gas on the side of the road (thank you random gas station!!!)..... it was a mixed range of emotions all weekend long for me. Frustrating, exciting, adventurous, overwhelming, stressful, releiving, and heart-warming all at the same time. I'm still not sure if I can call the trip a complete success for me because I walked away from the contest feeling like a complete failure due to simple mistakes that could have been corrected if I just slowed down. Oh well though. There is always next year!

So I'm going to upload the pictures I took in the 24 hour period based off the times of these photos around they were taken. Thought of no way easier than just breaking it down all in one blog by time :)

SKADOOSH


....

12:00pm

1:00pm

2:00pm

3:00pm

4:00pm

5:00pm

6:00pm

8:00pm

While I was trying to upload the photos from the day to edit and such, that's when it started POURING rain! Even our tents all got flooded :( So there was nothing taken until morning. Which was still raining -_-

8:00am
9:00am

10:00am

11:00am


12:00pm

It was a nice change of pace this year to start off with a trip doing something I've done a few times before but with new people this year. These people have become really good friends of mine in the past year :) I'm happy to know them. So, even though I didn't walk away with epic awesomeness, the trip I have to say was still very memorable and totally worth it.

-Brooke

Dream

I was a little girl
alone in my little world
who dreamed of a little home for me.
I played pretend between the trees,
and fed my houseguests bark and leaves,
and laughed in my pretty bed of green.

I had a dream
That I could fly from the highest swing.
I had a dream.

[Priscilla Ahn - Dream]

I posted this as my latest 365 picture [#220] and wrote a detailed story in the caption about this above photo for those that are interested : ) I have to admit, this is one that I'm most proud of to date. At least in the nightly, long exposures category. This is the first one that has ever turned out half way decent (thank you Yoda for your wonderful teachings on patience..)

Well, this weekend is something I've been looking forward to for a couple months now. Shoot the Hills is this weekend which is a photography contest in the southeastern area of Ohio called Hocking Hills. One of the most beautiful places you could set your feet on in the world, in my opinion. It'll be me, the hubby, and a few friends that are all going together on a mini adventure that will hopefully be unforgettable in all good ways : ) To say the least, it will be the first time I've been camping in over a year which pains my heart to admit.

To add to the awesome funness of this 24 hour running contest is the fact that [my friend Dom] is going to be participating in his own project starting at exactly the same time as me. But get this... he lives thousands of miles away in Germany so when I start the competition at noon my time, he's going to take pictures at 6pm his time! I'm so excited to see how our pictures will compare with a 6 hour time difference, vastly different countries/areas we're in, and weathers we are experiencing. I'm sure we'll both be posting on our blogs. (Dom I'm super stoked for this just to even see a couple of these how they turn out :)!!!)

I would love to make a new CD before the trip. Still have ALL packing to do tomorrow morning, work, and then we leave early Friday morning!

So it's time to say Good Night

Brooke
z-z-z-z-z-z

I just came to say Hello.

So it's been a while since my last blog post... I think it's time I did another one.

I've been spending a lot of time lately looking up things that inspire me to no end. Ways I want to make my living space feel more homey, different, and more of my own style. I've always been interested in interior design and things like this completely rock my world:





^I would have so much fun in a space like this!!! it would feel like a grown up's dreamy tree house filled with lots of random stuff and bright, bold colors





There are a few things I've actually collected for myself in the past couple weeks. I did get the chance to take a few pictures of them :)







And one more thing before I head out here.... this song has been my weekly favorite!


But I guess that is all for now :) Time to start heading to work.

Who am I?

Someone asked me this question expecting more than just a simple one ended sentence to sum up the details about me. Thinking about it, I've never just sat down and thought about it either. I know on a deeper subconscious the things that make me who I am but what are you, truly?

Think about it.



I could go into the obvious things. My name is Brooke and I'm female. I have long, brownish hair and tend to be quite tall for a girl. But the thing is, I don't see any of my physical features or objects I interact with to be who I am. Bodies are simply things our souls live in because it's our soul that is the entity of your being. So, explain my soul? I am merely a single, self-driven, goal-oriented individual that lacks a certain sense of fear the rest of the world seems to run by. Although, I do still become fearful over minor things like squishing a bug on the sidewalk (I sometimes take extreme measures to avoid the conflict) and also I am fearful of awkward situations and can't deal with them well except to try and make light of them all the time. Plus my face still turns as red as apples when I feel embarrassed and shy and I'm self conscious about it. I'm a very spiritual person. One that needs a lot of alone time to recharge my soul through creative expression. I also seem to run on opposites with many things about myself. For example... I sometimes like to be the center of attention when other times I am the quiet observer in the corner. My mind is constantly churning with new waves of energy but my biggest downfall is I sometimes get caught on other peoples waves and lose track of my own. I become worried of how others see me and that I may be judged before I have a chance to speak. I love to laugh and make others laugh (it's life's best medicine). I often feel the need to repress my feelings as to not hurt others. I feel most alive when I'm doing physical activity and living with the spirit of adventurism. Hiking, biking, canoeing, swimming, traveling, photographing, climbing trees, walking through open fields... just being outside. I'm a natural born dreamer with a big imagination and still a big kid at heart. I've made the conscious decision that I will never fully grow UP but rather grow and add to the things I've loved my entire life. The only time I can ever be mean to someone is if they hurt someone I know, betray me, or purposely make me mad. My natural behavior is extremely compassionate. I care deeply for people in my life to an extent that they may never know. I set myself high goals to reach, even if I may never see the summit. I still prefer to wear boots over high heels. I think more logically than emotionally. I often feel super awkward when someone compliments me. I see myself as a shining star in the night sky (in the least conceided way possible) that can help others guide their way through life with hope and happiness. I feel like I was put on this earth to make changes even on the smallest levels and so my main motivation is to never give up on all of these ups and downs about me to help this world be just a little bit more of a better place.



So, I challenge anyone to try and undergo this conversation with yourself. Who are you? What are you? Think past your physical appearances and realize what you feel inside.

meet my family

Bokeh effect + IKEA Lights + restless energy = Photoshoot of random items

Especially when you have a lovely new lens to play with. It's called a Helios lens. It's a Russian lens that has an extraordinary bokeh effect and the ability to capture light much like I usually see in my dreams. It sends shivers down my spine and makes my face hurt from smiling so much. That's when you know you did something right.

So, finally having the right adapter for it, I mounted it to my Canon 50D and took pictures of the lovely members of my family.





Meet Vincent.





Almost every photo you ever see of mine between 2009 and now has been taken with this lens. 1000's of pictures this lens has allowed me to take. We are best buddies. That's why he's named after my favorite painter, Vincent van Gogh.


Then we have Galileo.

He's pretty special because he allows me to stare endlessly into the moon and study its craters, nicks, and imperfections pretty close. I think of him as my telescope because I don't actually have one. And the name should be obvious.... Galileo is dubbed as the main founder of the telescope since he made such amazing improvements on society's earliest models. Besides, that guy was just a pure GENIUS. And that's what this lens is. I feel like Galileo must have been tortured being born in the time he was......

Then we have my speedlight. We kind of have a love/hate relationship. Hence the fact I haven't come up with a name for him yet and we've known each other for 2 years now. Maybe I should just call him a vampire from now on because he only works when he wants to as he's scared of certain places and drains batteries like the plague. But then I think of Twilight. And I hate Twilight. Fine - speedlight you're a zombie. Because I say so.



And then we have Holga. No creative name comingupage here (yeah... it's a real word... look it up *stares awkwardly*). I always thought the name sounded cool as it is. What photographer doesn't have one of these? Almost all the ones I know have one of these in their possession. I've had it for almost 2 years and still haven't even used the first roll of film....





Now we're just plummeting into randomness.








Good Night World

-Brooke-