About Me
To make a long story short, I was born October 4th, 1984 and recently graduated from Humboldt State University (Go Jacks!) with a degree in Studio Art. I now spend my time roaming around the Pacific Northwest with my husband, Chris and our cat, Felix.
I love video games, pianos, Doritos, bargain hunting, blind contours, picking flowers and cooking tasty food. I also really like cacti, though I think my cat would try to eat it if I had one in the house.
About this Blog
Although I occasionally make posts about other things, this is mainly my photo-biography. I like to document everything, from the adventures I go on to seemingly mundane details. I hope you enjoy my life as much as I do!
Also, please take a moment to check out some of the links in the sidebar. A lot of my inspiration to keep blogging comes from those folks!
FAQ
Can I use your photos for something?
Absolutely! I have no problem with fellow bloggers using my pictures in a post, so long as I’m credited/linked back to. However, I don’t allow my photos to be used for commercial purposes without explicit permission (i.e., email me so we can work a deal out. You can’t steal my work to hawk your warez, sorry).
What kind of camera do you use?
Although I upgraded to a D300 in the winter of 2010, the early years of this blog were shot with a Nikon D50. Lenses I currently use are the Nikkor 50mm f/1.8, Sigma 30mm f/1.4 and a Nikkor 85mm f/1.8.
When I shoot film I use a Pentax K-1000, Pentax 135mm f/3.5 and Vivitar 24mm f/2.8, a Rolleiflex 2.8C and a Holga 120s.
I like the way your photos look. Do you have any tips?
Take pictures every day, and lots of them. I try (key word) to only shoot in natural light to avoid unfavorable color casts, and rarely take photos in bright sunlight. I also tend to shoot at a lower aperture as I’m hopelessly addicted to bokeh.
I also sell my Photoshop actions, which I use a lot when processing my photos.
What do you edit your photos with?
I shoot mostly in JPEG and sometimes in RAW and edit the files with ACR in Photoshop CS4. Typically I make adjustments to my white balance, exposure and curves, being careful not to blow my highlights. It’s important to play in Photoshop too, which is how I did most of my learning. Don’t be afraid to ruin a picture; if things get out of hand, trash it and start over.
Bokeh what?
While I’ve never felt comfortable saying this word out loud, “bokeh” is the term used to describe the part of a photograph that’s out of focus. This can be a soft blur, or the little round circles you often see in night time cityscapes.
I’m getting a dSLR for my birthday/Christmas/just because. What do you recommend?
There are a lot of options out there and admittedly, I know nothing about Canon. Assuming you have a modest budget and plan to use your camera for casual use, I’d recommend the Nikon D90. I was able to test drive one over the summer and was really impressed. They shoot HD video, have internal autofocus motors and go for $900. You could get a “better” camera, but my motto is to save your money and buy a really good lens with the extra cash. A good camera body can only take you so far.
I want to make a website for my art, but don’t know how. Can you help me?
I’m no expert at the internets, but I have gotten by okay. If you’re building a portfolio for the first time and have a question, I’d love to try and help you out!
However, I can’t build your site for you, unless you want to hire me. Feel free to email me in regards to either one!
What are your tattoos of?
Both of my tattoos are from the video game Final Fantasy. On my left shoulder (the cat-bat looking thing) is Mog, a moogle from FFVI, and on my right shoulder (the Gumby-pickle-dude) is a Cactuar.
I’m thinking about school in California. Would you recommend Humboldt State?
I absolutely loved my experiences at Humboldt and would recommend it in a heartbeat to anyone thinking of transferring as an art student. However, it’s important to keep in mind that HSU is an extremely small and isolated school that is very foggy and rainy almost year-round.
Because of this you may want to consider going to a larger school in a different part of California if you’re concerned about facilities, getting depressed in the winter or being bombarded with radically liberal tree huggin’ hippies. For me, the intimately small class sizes and cold weather were what drew me there. I just learned how to ignore the hippies over time.
While I can’t recommend them personally, I have heard good things about CCA in Oakland, Academy of Art in San Francisco and Otis College of Art & Design in Los Angeles. I also lived in Davis for 2 1/2 years while my mother pursued her B.A. in Fine Art at UCDavis and almost went there when I graduated high school (I didn’t go due to financial reasons).
You went to Thailand/Laos for 2 months. Was it scary/expensive/did you get sick?
While I certainly wouldn’t roam around Southeast Asia on my own at night, I can’t recall a single moment during our trip where I felt threatened or in danger. Thailand relies so much on tourism that you’ll rarely have an unpleasant experience that can’t be chalked up to simple miscommunication. That said, you should always take precautions when traveling to foreign countries so as to not be taken advantage of. For me, this meant putting my important possessions (camera, passport, external hard drive) in one small bag that I could take with me everywhere and never let out of my sight.
The most expensive part of the trip was the plane ticket. It cost roughly $1,000, RT. While there, we slept in guesthouses, traveled by bus, train, boat and plane and made a side trip to Laos to renew our visa. Including our tickets there, we spent roughly $3,500 on our 2-month trip. It was worth every penny.
When visiting a country that is so drastically different than your own, it’s nearly impossible to not get sick in some form or another. Both my husband and I got sick about 1 1/2 weeks into our trip and spent a couple of days sleeping it off, presumably from some bad food we ate. Moral of the story? Don’t go to Thailand and eat Mexican food.
If you’re planning a trip to Thailand and would like some recommendations on cheap places to stay/eat or fun cities to visit (Chiang Mai! Chiang Mai!), feel free to email me! I’d love to help you plan your trip to this amazing country.
