3191... a year in mornings

Being able to accurately capture the emotion of a moment in a picture has always been a struggle for me. I have been blessed with opportunities to visit places, see things, and meet wonderful people that I want to remember. I snap a picture but then when I go back home and look at it, it fails to represent what the moment meant to me. In an effort to learn how to capture emotions in photography, I enrolled in a photojournalism class this semester.

Thanks to Alejandra I found out about 3191, a visual blog that has quickly become one of my biggest inspirations and learning resources. A class project has given me the opportunity to get to know the women behind the photographs: Stephanie Barnes and Maria Vettesse. Stephanie and Mav met through the online arts community. 3191 is the distance between them. Steph lives in Portland, OR and Mav lives in Portland, ME. The name of the cities they are from is not the only coincidence between these two women. A quick look through their blog and you will find that every picture has some connection. The image below, taken on Dec. 7, 2006 unbeknown to each other, is described by the artists as the "random happening " that sparkled their project.

Left: Mav ~ Right: Step

Each morning from Monday to Friday, Steph and Mav take a picture without discussing the concepts. Then they post the results next to each other. I invite you to browse their blog. The similarities will amaze you. Each day there's something that connects each picture: the angle of the portrait, the composition, the colors, the lines, shapes, subjects... but it does not end there.

I contacted the artists by e-mail separately with the same set of questions. Check out their responses for more striking coincidences. Enjoy.

ME: Do you have any formal training in the art and science of photography? How long you have been working with photography?

MAV: I have a degree in fine art with a concentration on graphic design. in school i took one year of photography but it was all b/w and mostly i shoot in color these days. i miss the dark room to be sure! so i think i have been working in photography for about 8 years. i have done most of my professional work in graphic design and photo styling.
STEP: I have no formal training in photography. I've been taking pictures most of my adult life, but began becoming more serious about it 2-3 years ago when I got a digital SLR.

ME: What first inspired your interest in photography? What continues to inspire you?
MAV: i love an image that has been stopped in time. film in general has always inspired me and since i can't see myself making films this may perhaps be the closest thing. as for being inspired ... i am very inspired by the handmade, by baking in the kitchen, by the simple and the modest. i am inspired by everyday living and the things that most people do not notice. i am also inspired by the other artists i have
met online like stephanie barnes.
STEPH: Being able to capture the little bits of my daily life, the prosaic, everyday things, really...finding the beauty in those things. I am inspired by my family, nature, quiet, empty spaces, the everyday things I mentioned, and, of course, by other photographers like Mav.

ME: Do you rely on lighting (natural, or artificial), or do you rely on dark-room/computer manipulation?What do you think about the computer as a creative tool?
MAV: I use natural light almost entirely. with digital shooting i do some lightening in photoshop and occasionally i will make the colors richer or the saturation a bit more. with film i don't do anything. i don't like the idea of changing an image that has been taken with film... that doesn't seem right to me. with digital it seems to make sense that it can be altered ... it is, in fact, digital; it was created by a computer essentially.

STEPH: I rely on natural light. I don't even have PhotoShop, but I do occasionally balance my photos with a free graphic editing tool. I think it's just part of digital photography.

ME: Which one element/item of photography would you say is the most important to you?
MAV: the action which happens before the shot is taken ... life. i like to shoot fluidly and set nothing up at all ... i like that in my life i pull a beautiful linen out and use it and that is why it will be there in a shot. i like every day action ... that is mainly all my photography is about.
STEPH: Light.

ME: What are your favorite subjects to photograph?

MAV: food & sweets. i also really like to shoot out in the world looking up & looking down. i might not be doing anything groundbreaking but i am documenting real life all around me. real life is my favorite subject.
STEPH: Everyday things around my home.

ME: How do you decide on locations and subjects?
MAV: i don't think about it. i carry a small film camera with me at all times. for 3191 it is restricted because we shoot in the morning so i just shoot wherever i am in the morning.
STEPH: When I take my photos for 3191, it is usually just something that struck me as interesting over the course of a morning...the way the light is falling, a certain juxtaposition of objects, a mood.

ME: In general, during a session, how many pics would you say you take to find "the right one"?How do you know that a photo is really good?
MAV: for 3191 i like to take 2-4 shots and then bring them into my computer so i can see them in larger size. when i shoot digital i shoot tons of shots and i try to barely look at them on the screen as i take them. with film i shoot single images and just see what happens. i know a photograph is really good when it makes my heart skip a beat or swell. it has life. it has something that i can see and it doesn't matter if anyone else sees it. it is life.
STEPH: For 3191, I take 2-4. It's usually the first one or the last one that's the best, why is that? I'll usually pick the photo based on clarity of the image.

ME: What artists and photographers are you influenced by, and whom do you enjoy?
MAV: here is a small list right now ... Maude Arsenault, Elisabeth Dunker, Camilla Engman, Gracia Haby + Louise Jennison, Christopher Ryan, Ditte Isager, Chie Nakagawa, Lena Corwin, Ivana Helsinki, Roland Bello, Caitlin Mociun, Akira Minagawa, Ben Loiz, Karen Gelardi, Karin Eriksson.
STEPH: Oh, I'm really the most influenced by my friends on Flickr, I think.

ME: What do you enjoy the most about the 3191 visual blog?
MAV: what i love most is that it is a collaboration. i really dislike working alone on things ... i am much happier when my work is up next to someone else's or joined together to make something even better than one person could make. i love that stephanie and i share the same visual vocabulary and a love for simple, domestic ... life.
STEPH: The discipline of taking a photo every day has really helped me grow as a photographer, to notice and attempt to capture things that I would normally just pass by. I love seeing the connections between Mav's work and mine...how we play off of each other.

ME: What's coming up next for you? Exhibits? Shows? Photo shoots?
MAV: well i can't say right now what is coming up next. stephanie and i have lots of ideas and lots of things on the table for discussion. i know iwill continue to shoot photographs ... that is really the only thing i know in this moment ... as for the rest, get back to me in early 2008.
STEPH: I think Mav and I will definitely continue to work together. If there wasn't 3191 miles between us, we'd like to work as photo stylists together! We would like to exhibit some of the 3191 photos at some point...we'll see what happens!!

In the New

Today I found Jen Mac's blog In the New. Her mission: every day for a year, starting on her 29th birthday, she will do something she has never done before. I thought it was cool so to celebrate I decided to share with you something I did earlier and had never done before! Today I uploaded videos to youtube for the first time! This weekend I went to Walmart and bought my cat Coqui a toy. He loves it! I've never seen him go so crazy. After playing with it for like 5 minutes he started panting. I guess he's not in great shape. So I took some videos of him and posted them. :)

Getting Defensive, Part 2

During the spring of 2003 I volunteered with my freshman floor to participate in Relay for Life. That morning I went to the business school lounge to study for a chemistry test that was scheduled for later that week. I sat in the room, alone most of the time, while groups of student came in out out to meet for their classes. As I sat there looking down at my books, I felt a person come in. I actually smelled a person come in. My sense of smelt is my strongest sense. I remember people more for their smell than for their name, or their face for that matter. This person had very strong smell of men's cologne. But not the nice kind. The cheap bad kind. And this guy had practically taken a bath in it. I thought this was weird so I looked up. He was a black, tall male with short hair, wearing white shorts, a bright orange shirt, white socks, white sneakers, and a backpack. He sat on the table across from me. From the corner of my eye I saw he had a calculator and a cell phone. No notebooks. I thought it was weird but continued on with my studies. I hear he starts pressing buttons on his calculator. I'm wondering what he's calculating without a pen or a pencil and paper to write stuff down. But I continue on with my studying. Suddenly I hear that his breathing is getting heavier and he starts panting. I start to look up. The guy was masturbating. I quickly look back down and stare and my book. It felt like years passed while I stared at my book trying to decide a course of action. Suddenly he gets up and leave. I take my first breath in what felt like forever. I figured it was over. But no. He comes back. I took this as my signal to pack my bags and leave. As I'm leaving the building towards the student center, I frenetically called my mom who frenetically asked me to hung up and call the police. So I did. I described what happened and gave them a physical description of the guy. Continued my way to the student center and decided to hide in the girls bathroom. I called a friend to come get me. I didn't want to be alone. But my phone had no signal in the bathroom. So I walked towards the cafeteria. The guy was sitting there now. I quickly turned around, my friend was still on the phone and I hung up. Called the police to tell them the guys new location. As I left the student center a crew of police officers ran towards me into the building. I ended up back in the business school where I called my friend again to take me back to my room. Once the guy was caught I had to go back to the station and identify the subject, from every darn angle. That was weird. They had the guy handcuffed, standing by a police car. I was sitting in a van with tinted windows a few feet away. I was scared to look up and face this guy again. They assured me that with my description they were sure they had the right guy. They just needed me to look up for one second. Later that semester I got a called to testify in court. Thankfully I didn't have to do it. A written account of the incident that I gave to the police that day was enough. There was another girl on campus that had been a victim of this guy before but they were not able to get him.

I think back to this moment now, almost 5 years later. If I had not noticed his smell and felt something was weird about it, I would had never looked up to notice what this guy was wearing, what he looked like. And even after the incident, in my ignorance, I didn't call the police right away. I wasn't sure what was the right thing. I still don't know if I was followed to the student center or if it was all a coincidence. I like to think it was just a coincidence. I wish i had trusted my first impression. I thought he was weird and I stayed there. And the guy took advantage of this opportunity.

Basically that's the main focus of the RAD self-defense program. Take away that opportunity. Move away if you don't feel safe. If you feel something is weird. Trust your senses. They are probably right. Be confident. Look at people in the eye when you walk past them. You'll remember them later if you have to. Look around you. Pay attention to your surroundings.

On Saturday they thought us some 'moves'. Basic punches in case you are attacked. There's the straight punch, to the face. The palm to brake the nose or dislocate jaw. The spear to the eyes or throat. and the extended knuckles to hit the throat. These moves target some of the more sensitives areas in the body. Also, if you hit the radial nerve, that runs from your thumb to your elbow it hurts a lot. So if someone is holding you and you have one free hand, hit that area as hard as you can. And finish the punch like you are breaking the arm. Don't let the impact kill your momentum. Of course the groin area is also very sensitive and the top of your foot. So, as much as you want to target this areas on your aggressor you also want to protect them. So as much as you can, stand with your side facing the aggressor, not your stomach.... I hope that make sense.

So, thats my personalized recap of Saturday's lesson :)

Fall Lineup

What do you do when you are a doctor with 2 children, married a second time to a lawyer with two children of her own, and you start having trouble holding your family together? That's easy... pack your bags and move to South Africa, with your first wife's father. That's the basic premise for the new CW show Life is Wild. Its comical. I really wanted it to be good, but the show lost me within 30 minutes of the pilot. Here are these characters that we just met, and instead of spending some time introducing them, they throw them into the African jungle where they are almost eaten by lions about 5 times in the first episode.

So, what shows I'm into this fall? Heroes had a real good first season, so I'm sticking to it for the second. After the third episode, I still expect some more. Ryan and I have this theory that suddenly they will reveal that Lost's Dahrma initiative is the same as Heroe's company. So Sylar is really in the island now.

Tuesday's I watch Biggest Loser. My other guilty pleasures? Beauty and the Geek and America's Next Top Model. And Ugly Betty on on Thursdays.

And after every episode... ew.com makes my life complete. And that's my fall linup.

Getting Defensive.

I work at CID which has direct access to the pedestrian bridge across US Hwy 40 (I-64), south of MedSchool. To avoid parking fees, everyday I park in the residential area across the bridge and walk to my building. I've always been paranoid about walking across the bridge, specially during the winter months when the sun goes down earlier. Two consecutive incidents during the month of September make me more worried about my daily routine. So, I signed up to this RAD Women's Self-Defense class. I wasn't really sure about how much this class would help, but after my first session I feel a lot more confident. Not necessarily about my ability to defense myself if I'm attack, but in my ability to prevent an actual attack. We did a lot of theory stuff on our first day. I think I'm pretty aware of my surroundings most of the time and I have pretty good 'street smarts', but I don't necessarily know the resources available for me. So here I've included the best tips I got at my first session:

1. Program 911 on #5 on your cellphone. #5 is the only number on your keypad with a little dot on it so you can find it easily.

2. Yeah, police officers get free donuts and coffee at your local gas station. Well, by doing this gas stations and convenience stores also reduce their risk of getting robed. And if you find yourself on the road late at night and need some gas, get a repair, or have an accident stop by a Quick Trip. Most stores are also police substations, so they have a little room in the back were police officers can file reports. The chances are a policeman will be there.

3. Screaming 'NO' feels good. Try it. And if you can look someone in they eye while you are it, it feels even better. Or do it in front of a mirror. But do it from your gut. I found it very empowering. In this course I'm taking they teach us that outsiders are more likely to respond to a call of "NO" instead of "Help".

One in three women will be raped or sexually assaulted. The chance that one of us or one of our friends is at risk is pretty high. Three elements need to combine for an attack: a victim, an offender, and an opportunity. If we take away the opportunity, crime cannot happen. So inform yourself about ways to prevent an assault. I'll keep you updated with whatever I find interesting at my class.

Below are the two robbery alerts at the pedestrian bridge across highway 40 as posted by the medical school:

1.
On 09/05/2007 Protective Services was advised that a medical student was robbed at approximately 6:30 pm on 09/04/2007. The incident occurred just a few feet off the south end of the pedestrian (foot) bridge that spans U S Hwy 40 (I-64), south of the Medical School campus. The assailant grabbed the victim from behind, placing her in a choke hold. He then placed a hard object to her back and demanded money. The victim was able to give the suspect the cash from her backpack, then escape. The victim was able to see the assailant long enough to offer this description: An approximately 16- to 17-year-old, African-American male, wearing a white tanktop shirt and black or dark blue shorts. The victim was not injured. St. Louis City Police were notified of the incident.

2.
On 09/28/2007 Protective Services was advised that a School of Medicine employee was the victim of an armed robbery at approximately 8:12 PM that evening. The incident occurred just a few feet south of the pedestrian bridge that spans U S Hwy 40, south of the Medical School campus. The assailant walked up behind the victim and placed a hard object into his back. The victim identified the object as a black .45 caliber semi-automatic pistol. The assailant demanded money and requested the victim not turn around. The victim immediately ran from the scene, toward the campus. The assailant was described by the victim as a dark skinned African-American male, approximately 16 years of age, 5' 06" to 5' 07" in height and weighing approximately 125 pounds. He was wearing a large white T-shirt and dark jeans. The victim was not injured. St. Louis City Police were notified of the incident.

Lonely

"When I travel to the States I feel as Latina as Chita Rivera. But in Latin America, I feel more American than John Wayne. To be Puerto Rican is to be a hybrid. Our two halves are inseparable; we cannot give up either without feeling maimed."
-Rosario Ferré

I've never been able to describe my feelings as well as Rosario Ferré does in the above quote. Of course, Rosario is one of the most important contemporary Puerto Rican writers, poets, and essayists. There's no measure between her and me. Been a 'hybrid' sets you apart, you belong everywhere but nowhere... I can relate to Superman and Pacheco. I crave a hamburger and fries as much as I crave tostones & lechon (fried plantains & pork). But I feel ignorant in conversations where popular American slang is used and I often need an explanation for certain words before I can laugh after a joke is made. It takes a lot of patience from my side, and from those around me to stay on the "loop" of things. Lately the circumstances around me make me more aware of this and I feel more like an outsider. And it is hard to admit you are lonely when you have a great job with a stable income, a comfortable routine, awesome friends, a crazy cat, and the most wonderful man in the world next to you every day. But I miss my family... a lot. I feel like the distance between us has made us different. I'm not really part of their lives and they are not part of mine. I've developed new perspectives and stronger morals that each day part further away from what I stood for and believed 5 years ago, as that innocent girl from a middle class catholic school in Puerto Rico that wanted to be a doctor. I'm jealous that my friends get to share birthdays and holidays and anniversaries with their families. And even though I've been part of that sometimes, I want to have my own family... I want to have lunch dates with my dad. I want to go shopping with my mom. I want to have a drink with my brother.

I know I've chosen this life. Here. In the mainland. I know that back in Puerto Rico my personal goals wouldn't be satisfied. I am happy to here. But it is hard to be this far away. To miss out the good stuff. And the sad stuff. I miss that warmth that only your parents home can offer. I'm longing for that.