i have no idea what time it is ever. my body is so confused. i never really feel tired but then i lie down and sleep for absurd amounts of time. 12 hours+. jetlag is a beast.
and its wild how i went from baking heat to the chilly summer winds in less than 48 hours.
i'm in seattle with my two buds, jessa and abby. yes, abby. we all look like sisters, people always ask if we're related and then flip out when they find out there's two abbys.
"how do you tell each other apart?!"
"do you go by different names?"
"are you abby 1 and abby 2?"
"don't you get confused?"
silly, silly.
anyhow, seattle is one of my favorite cities and is always a nice escape from hard and fast journalism to art and expression. i planned on shooting a lot here, but after shooting 5000+ pictures in thailand, i'm a bit shutter weary. hey man, its vacation.
as such, i've decided that on future vacations, i'm limiting myself to ONE camera and ONE lens (maybe one teeny tiny extra lens for EMERGENCIES) and that it must be film. i love film. i miss film. and we just moved to a sweet new house in which i have a darkroom that hasn't been utilized yet. what i really need to do is get a good camera phone and use that for back up. haha. what a joke. but really.
so starting with the next vacation, it will be a toss up between:
polaroid
hogla
nikon 35mm
all three hold special places in my heart.
as does seattle. i'm scheming about how i can live here one day, even if for a short time.
such a good summer this has been.
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
last hours
i leave for the airport in 6 hours. time has flown. days fade into one another, yet are distinctive in the colors and faces and experiences that fill them. i was in such turmoil about coming on this trip and now today, my last here, i'm so glad i did and so thankful for the opportunity.
the sun rose on my back as i faced the andaman on the rocks for the last time. i love the sea here, but north carolina's shores and mountains will always be dearest to me. there's a deeper affection for them.
kate and zach have been taking pictures too, so here's some with me in them, to prove i was here.
the secret to happiness is to hold monkeys.
i'm so jane goodall. forget journalism... i think this career path looks good.
one of our sea kayaking guides, old as the sea.
these feet have seen quite a lot of miles on this trip. they look pretty beat up close.
i can't believe i'm here/i can't believe i'm leaving. this is pat's oldest daughter, mariko with me. she's cool. we were both homeschooled. yay homeschooling.
a note about homeschooling: why does everyone think homeschool kids turn out like freaks? there are so many normal ones. people [ahem, kate, zach, jessie, lindsay, etc etc haha] act surprised when they learn i was homeschooled and then immediately say, "but you're so... normal!"
surprise!
the sun rose on my back as i faced the andaman on the rocks for the last time. i love the sea here, but north carolina's shores and mountains will always be dearest to me. there's a deeper affection for them.
kate and zach have been taking pictures too, so here's some with me in them, to prove i was here.
the secret to happiness is to hold monkeys.
i'm so jane goodall. forget journalism... i think this career path looks good.
one of our sea kayaking guides, old as the sea.
these feet have seen quite a lot of miles on this trip. they look pretty beat up close.
i can't believe i'm here/i can't believe i'm leaving. this is pat's oldest daughter, mariko with me. she's cool. we were both homeschooled. yay homeschooling.
a note about homeschooling: why does everyone think homeschool kids turn out like freaks? there are so many normal ones. people [ahem, kate, zach, jessie, lindsay, etc etc haha] act surprised when they learn i was homeschooled and then immediately say, "but you're so... normal!"
surprise!
i can't escape the monkeys...
today was good.
really good.
i held a monkey.
after all this time seeing them from afar and thinking they were funny and sort of wanting to touch them but sort of being afraid of getting rabies or my camera stolen, i got to hold the sweetest little baby monkeys with diapers today.
other things i did today:
-visited the venice of thailand... an island community built entirely on stilts
-went sea kayaking
-did spelunking (really i just wanted to say spelunking...i don't think it was legit, though it was inside a cave)
-climbed a mountain
-got wet and dirty and loved it
no pictures yet, but coming soon. i had to clear up some space on my very full hard drive by moving my whole project onto an external device and deleting it from my laptop. scary. but no worries, all is safe.
tonight is my last night here! unbelievable. kate and zach and i watched temple of doom the other night... or tried to. we only made it about 15 mintues. editing is rough.
but my story is DONE and the site will be finished tonight. as i type, the room around me is buzzing with the labors of brilliant people creating a beautiful project. i'm proud to be part of it.
our team, before we started scattering. one of the coaches left a few days ago, i leave tomorrow, everyone else leaves the day after. its been a great month. so glad i came.
really good.
i held a monkey.
after all this time seeing them from afar and thinking they were funny and sort of wanting to touch them but sort of being afraid of getting rabies or my camera stolen, i got to hold the sweetest little baby monkeys with diapers today.
other things i did today:
-visited the venice of thailand... an island community built entirely on stilts
-went sea kayaking
-did spelunking (really i just wanted to say spelunking...i don't think it was legit, though it was inside a cave)
-climbed a mountain
-got wet and dirty and loved it
no pictures yet, but coming soon. i had to clear up some space on my very full hard drive by moving my whole project onto an external device and deleting it from my laptop. scary. but no worries, all is safe.
tonight is my last night here! unbelievable. kate and zach and i watched temple of doom the other night... or tried to. we only made it about 15 mintues. editing is rough.
but my story is DONE and the site will be finished tonight. as i type, the room around me is buzzing with the labors of brilliant people creating a beautiful project. i'm proud to be part of it.
our team, before we started scattering. one of the coaches left a few days ago, i leave tomorrow, everyone else leaves the day after. its been a great month. so glad i came.
Friday, July 11, 2008
andaman rising
our site (which will be done in one week) is andamanrising.org. if you go there now, nothing will happen, but behind the scenes, our incredible design team is laying out and building the best project site i've ever seen. i'm so excited.
in other news, we eat these every day. i still don't really know the name in english, but in thai they are called ngok. try to say that five times fast. i'll miss it when we leave, although i've heard you can get them at asian markets for $10 an ounce. i'll get my fill here.
me laughing at zach after he lost his shirt and had to eat at a restaurant without it. they don't have the same "no shoes, no shirt, no service" policy usa beaches do. we like to call him the naked castaway. documentary coming soon.
Sunday, July 6, 2008
tsunami drill!
i don't really have pictures from the tsunami drill because its a side story on our website. BUT i do have related, unuseable pictures from the time OF the tsunami drill (also i figured there was enough of babies and monkeys)...
kate and me dueling hahaha
kate and chris.... killing time on the beach before the sirens went off.
num and gap, two of our translators
thomas totally getting rejected by a baby
since i posted pictures of translators and coaches, let me take a moment to sing their praises.
the translators have been so so patient, and so helpful the whole time. they are here every day we need them, sometimes arriving at 5am. num and gap and one other all play guitar in local bars as a second job (they also translate and act as tour guides, but since this is low season for tourism, they have to have other sources of income) and so sometimes they will stay up until 2 or 3 in the morning and then have to come here early and help us. they're all really smiley and nice, especially num, although he gave me an earful about each country represented by tourists who visit here and the US didn't get a very good review. he said germans are shy, americans are loud, and koreans are rude. hm.
the coaches have been phenomenal. i feel like i've grown so much from getting input from pat, chris, thomas, dea, pailin, and mike. they are all really talented and gifted in their various fields and working with and under them has been very stretching. in a good way. i'm actually split between chris and pat, so i get two opinions, which i'm thankful for, although sometimes they contradict each other in which case i feel like i get more power. ha.
maybe.
we've spent two sundays here so far and they've been (to my delight and amazement) so relaxing. i didn't think this trip would ever be relaxing, but a few of us have been having church on the rocks during sunset which is hugely refreshing. then we swim!
i expected to leave thailand totally spent and needing refreshment in seattle (where i'm going directly after this trip for a week) with abby and jessa. however, the time i've spent here has been some of the greatest days i've had in a long time. i'll be sad to go.
kate and me dueling hahaha
kate and chris.... killing time on the beach before the sirens went off.
num and gap, two of our translators
thomas totally getting rejected by a baby
since i posted pictures of translators and coaches, let me take a moment to sing their praises.
the translators have been so so patient, and so helpful the whole time. they are here every day we need them, sometimes arriving at 5am. num and gap and one other all play guitar in local bars as a second job (they also translate and act as tour guides, but since this is low season for tourism, they have to have other sources of income) and so sometimes they will stay up until 2 or 3 in the morning and then have to come here early and help us. they're all really smiley and nice, especially num, although he gave me an earful about each country represented by tourists who visit here and the US didn't get a very good review. he said germans are shy, americans are loud, and koreans are rude. hm.
the coaches have been phenomenal. i feel like i've grown so much from getting input from pat, chris, thomas, dea, pailin, and mike. they are all really talented and gifted in their various fields and working with and under them has been very stretching. in a good way. i'm actually split between chris and pat, so i get two opinions, which i'm thankful for, although sometimes they contradict each other in which case i feel like i get more power. ha.
maybe.
we've spent two sundays here so far and they've been (to my delight and amazement) so relaxing. i didn't think this trip would ever be relaxing, but a few of us have been having church on the rocks during sunset which is hugely refreshing. then we swim!
i expected to leave thailand totally spent and needing refreshment in seattle (where i'm going directly after this trip for a week) with abby and jessa. however, the time i've spent here has been some of the greatest days i've had in a long time. i'll be sad to go.
Saturday, July 5, 2008
swimming in a sea of gold
so now that i've finished gathering content (i think) my new home for the next 10 days will be the treehouse (aka the newsroom where we edit). there's no ac, but we keep all the windows and doors open to let the breeze from the sea in. come to think of it, there really isn't much of a breeze because the resort we're staying in is built around the jungle on the side of a hill. its pretty awesome, but the trees block the breeze unless you go right down to the beach.
i really don't have any pictures to show because i've taken a break from shooting since finishing my story. i'll resume again soon, because i need to remember the faces of everyone on our team before we all go our separate ways in a week and a half.
sad! we're over halfway done... its been awesome. the story i have is completely not what i was expecting and i feel like the least likely person to get that story, but its the greatest one i've ever worked on and i'm really excited about pulling all the pieces together and getting online. my coach and i made a trailer last night that was really just to update the rest of the team, but its hilarious and if i get approval to use the music i want, maybe i can have a preview on here.
editing is such a long, arduous process. i'm not AS excited about working on a computer as i am about going to the beach and swimming at sunset (which i did last night with charissa... unbelievable, it was like swimming in gold), but it must be done and it is quite entertaining. i'm glad i got a fun story, otherwise i might be bored out of my mind listening to and watching the same footage over and over and over again.
currently i'm trying to come up with a catchy title, pull good quotes from the interviews, write intro text and decide what my cover image will be. they seem like small decisions, but when you consider that your audience may only scan the homepage for 7 seconds and you only have that long to pull them into your story, the decisions become a little more important.
yesterday i took my laundry to a little old lady down the street and paid 50 baht a kilo to get it washed (and apparantly lightly starched, including underwear). i had 3 kilos, so it will cost me about $5 to get all my nasty clothes washed. you can't help sweating all the time, so its an essential expense.
speaking of expenses, thailand has cost me far far less than i thought i would be paying. i withdrew around $80 two weeks ago and i still haven't spent it all quite yet.
other great things about this place:
-fruit shakes
-dinner for $2
-babies
-monkeys
-everyone is friendly
-motorbikes (which i'm not supposed to be riding...)
-giant snails
-fruit i've never seen
-vines for swinging and climbing
-the andaman sea at sunset
-so much green
-boats
-being surrounded by friends for a whole month in a beautiful place
tomorrow there's a tsunami drill in town, which everyone who can will cover. today is the deadline for content collection, so everybody should be able to come out. should be interesting.
i really don't have any pictures to show because i've taken a break from shooting since finishing my story. i'll resume again soon, because i need to remember the faces of everyone on our team before we all go our separate ways in a week and a half.
sad! we're over halfway done... its been awesome. the story i have is completely not what i was expecting and i feel like the least likely person to get that story, but its the greatest one i've ever worked on and i'm really excited about pulling all the pieces together and getting online. my coach and i made a trailer last night that was really just to update the rest of the team, but its hilarious and if i get approval to use the music i want, maybe i can have a preview on here.
editing is such a long, arduous process. i'm not AS excited about working on a computer as i am about going to the beach and swimming at sunset (which i did last night with charissa... unbelievable, it was like swimming in gold), but it must be done and it is quite entertaining. i'm glad i got a fun story, otherwise i might be bored out of my mind listening to and watching the same footage over and over and over again.
currently i'm trying to come up with a catchy title, pull good quotes from the interviews, write intro text and decide what my cover image will be. they seem like small decisions, but when you consider that your audience may only scan the homepage for 7 seconds and you only have that long to pull them into your story, the decisions become a little more important.
yesterday i took my laundry to a little old lady down the street and paid 50 baht a kilo to get it washed (and apparantly lightly starched, including underwear). i had 3 kilos, so it will cost me about $5 to get all my nasty clothes washed. you can't help sweating all the time, so its an essential expense.
speaking of expenses, thailand has cost me far far less than i thought i would be paying. i withdrew around $80 two weeks ago and i still haven't spent it all quite yet.
other great things about this place:
-fruit shakes
-dinner for $2
-babies
-monkeys
-everyone is friendly
-motorbikes (which i'm not supposed to be riding...)
-giant snails
-fruit i've never seen
-vines for swinging and climbing
-the andaman sea at sunset
-so much green
-boats
-being surrounded by friends for a whole month in a beautiful place
tomorrow there's a tsunami drill in town, which everyone who can will cover. today is the deadline for content collection, so everybody should be able to come out. should be interesting.
Friday, July 4, 2008
monkey on a moto
bet you've never seen this before:
sometimes as a photographer, something that you are unprepared for happens so quickly that you simply don't have time to capture it. being a good photographer is being ever prepared AND super fast. i wish i had a better picture of this moment, because i just don't think i will see a monkey riding a motorbike ever again. i zoomed in pretty far on this one.
this, however, is a rather sad sight. across the street from my homestay family's house is a monkey who is too old to work, so they keep him chained to this little treehouse. whenever i'm on the phone i walk over and look at him while i talk and try to fill my eyes with sympathy, because he just looks so sad. you can't really see his chain here, but its around his neck. last night he gave me a chin up, like guys would do when they see their buddy walking down the street. and then i swear he smiled at me.
as of today, i think i'm finished gathering content for my story. its the best one i've ever done. i may need a few more images, but the editing process begins in earnest today.
two more weeks to go in thailand, so much as happened and i've seen so many things and i feel so full that i could burst. i've written pages and pages of things that will never be published, but exist just to help me process. this country is a place so alive, but so strange.
i'm so glad i came here.
sometimes as a photographer, something that you are unprepared for happens so quickly that you simply don't have time to capture it. being a good photographer is being ever prepared AND super fast. i wish i had a better picture of this moment, because i just don't think i will see a monkey riding a motorbike ever again. i zoomed in pretty far on this one.
this, however, is a rather sad sight. across the street from my homestay family's house is a monkey who is too old to work, so they keep him chained to this little treehouse. whenever i'm on the phone i walk over and look at him while i talk and try to fill my eyes with sympathy, because he just looks so sad. you can't really see his chain here, but its around his neck. last night he gave me a chin up, like guys would do when they see their buddy walking down the street. and then i swear he smiled at me.
as of today, i think i'm finished gathering content for my story. its the best one i've ever done. i may need a few more images, but the editing process begins in earnest today.
two more weeks to go in thailand, so much as happened and i've seen so many things and i feel so full that i could burst. i've written pages and pages of things that will never be published, but exist just to help me process. this country is a place so alive, but so strange.
i'm so glad i came here.
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