Another post from deCordova. Here are some photos from an exhibit entitled Armour Boys.

_"Laura Ford’s Armour Boys consists of five child-sized suits of crushed armor that are scattered on the forest floor. Each maintains slightly unique characteristics, such as a plume or a spur, and all possess distorted, almost mangled poses, complete with helmets that hide the figures’ faces. The sculptures are cast in bronze with a dark patina. The physical heaviness of the bronze knights, which appear to be sunken into the earth, also suggests their emotional weight."

_"By creating an installation in which viewers may enter and wander around this mysterious, anachronistic, battleground, Ford transforms innocent observers into salient components of the work and makes them part of her investigation into the physical and emotional violation of children. Ultimately, Armour Boys is a dark social commentary about the burden of war upon both individuals and collective society."

Post one (of, I assume to be, many) from deCordova. This amazing sculpture park and museum is located outside of Boston and lends itself fantastically to adventure days.

The weekend felt like post-thaw spring in the midwest: everything is muddy, slightly frozen, and very, very, very brown. And, while the trees were bare and backdrop muted, somehow that added to the drama of the art. (Or something like that).

_Today's adventure day brought me back to my roots, and I spent a good part of the day wandering down memory lane at the ol' alma mater. The town of Northampton has remained important to me in the, er, few years since I graduated. I try to get back for the best sesame tofu in the state, my go-to candy store, and a chance to recharge the batteries every six months or so. Which is why I was both taken aback and completely unsurprised to find my most recent visit bring on a flood of emotions.

One of the things I keep hearing at NESOP is that I let the "committee" in my head get in the way of good, spontaneous pictures. I tried to put the committee to rest this afternoon, and instead of taking time to set up each shot, examine angles, think about shutter speed and the f. stop, and THEN tell the story- I decided to just let the camera ask the questions and provide the answers.

(Although- since I was taking pictures of buildings and pretty winter skies, and considering that I am (in the scheme of things) pretty small- most of these pictures are set up in very similar ways. In other words, I spent a lot of time kneeling on the ground, angling the camera up, and moving around like a crab as I tried to capture the whole scene.)

I'll leave it up to you to decide what these pictures tell-- although, I will just say it up front: my college campus is prettier than yours.

Don't worry; actual photos from adventure day are coming soon!

A bit delayed, but some fantastic photos my niece making friends with a great puppy.

I was recently asked about taking some professional head shots. And, while I've taken portraits before, head shots are not something I've done a lot of playing around with. Well, in writing courses, they teach you to write what you know. So I thought... why not break out the ol' remote control and figure out some settings for head shots.

The results are nothing short of hilarious. They are so bad that it would be a shame to keep them to myself. So, I present to you: my failed modelling career.

No wait, I think the goal was angsty in this one.
Or looking deeply at the camera. That might be it.
Also known as the "what? nah, man, this is just how I look when I hang out" picture.

I spent the afternoon attending (and photographing) a workshop on laying teffillin held by Keshet. Keshet, an LGBTQ Jewish group, created a safe space for the group to learn about the practice, discuss texts on gender, and to take part in the ritual. More pictures will be up on Jewish Boston later this week- in the mean time, enjoy this preview!

This weeks homework assignment was to set my camera's focus at 4 feet and go at it. I'm not 100% sure if I went at this the correct way- but it did force me to think about my angles, distances and frame in a new way. And, I did find some photos from a day at the MFA that I found pretty interesting.

One other thing to note: if you bring your own soundtrack on your iPod to the museum- be careful about your inspiration and your shuffle. When "Fat Bottom Girls" by Queen came on, I spent a good 3:52 giggling and taking pictures of the fat bottom's of statues.

I photographed a pretty awesome event tonight. How awesome? THIS AWESOME.

Get it? Cause I was all "how awesome?" and it looks like she's gesturing to a large amount of awesome!

Alright, fair enough. No more puns and/or attempts at humor.

The event really was pretty great-- a packed house of young adults learning how to bake Challah at the Chai Center. I pulled out about 30 fantastic images from tonight, and managed to mess up the watermark and editing process on most of them. (Note to self: do not edit photos and catch up on your DVR). But, don't despair-- the full set will be up for Jewish Boston before you can make any "challah back" type of pun!