Mind The Light

Sept. 11

2011-09-10T09:31:00.000-07:00

I lived in New York for one year 2000-2001. We lived in Brooklyn first by the Brooklyn Bridge and I took this shot one night coming home, and didn't really think about the twin towers that rose up in the distance. I was there on Sept. 11th when they disappeared for good though I never took any pictures that day. It was just too horrific.

Life Support Japan

2011-03-26T11:28:00.000-07:00

Crista Dix and Aline Smithson have done the incredible! They have galvanized the photographic community and created Life Support Japan. Prints are available for $50 each and the work is breathtaking!

All proceeds will go to support:
Direct Relief International, http://www.directrelief.org and
Habitat for Humanity Japan, http://www.habitat.org

Life Support Japan is on the Wall Space Gallery site. While you are there check out the Tom Chambers and Bill Vaccaro exhibitions too!

new collages

2011-01-14T11:51:00.000-08:00

I have always loved when people collage images and write on them and have been trying to do a few myself. Here is one of my first ones.

Post Christmas Shots

2010-12-26T15:26:00.000-08:00

These images symbolize the end of the Christmas season.

Photo Roulette

2010-12-03T11:10:00.000-08:00

So, I am going back to an old project called photo roulette. Basically, my camera assigns a 4 digit number to my images and I noticed when I looked for my images, that many old images also came up with the same number. So, I choose a number at random (using a random software program) then from the results I choose 2 images to pair together. In this last round, I have been adding text. It is the first thing that comes to my mind when I look at the photos together.

The Ragdale House Speaks

2010-11-14T13:07:00.000-08:00

The Ragdale House Speaks is finished and we had a book signing party last week at the Ragdale House. Thanks so much to everyone who came!

My photographs from the book will be up in the house through the New Year and copies of the book are available for $45 through through the Ragdale Foundation (www.Ragdale.org).

What an amazing journey it has been. I spend last Saturday hanging images all over the house and it was a glorious fall day and I kept seeing new shots as the light kept changing. The house has held my interest for over a year, as the light and feel change with each season.

Here are some images from the book:

There is a wonderful article about Susan Tillett (the author) and the project in the Lake Forest newspaper here.

Ragdale

2010-09-06T11:23:00.000-07:00

I am working on a book about the Ragdale main house and as I go through the hundreds of pictures I have shot, it is fun to reminisce and think about the life of the family who lived there and the hundreds of residents who have come through and (as I imagine it) all had magical experiences there. The first time I was accepted to Ragdale, I was so young as an artist and so nervous and insecure. I was stunned when I was accepted and so grateful, but scared. It really allowed me to open up and accept that I was an artist and this was the life I wanted to pursue.

Al Davalle

2010-08-23T21:46:00.000-07:00

(This post appeared simultaneously on Aline Smithson's blog Lenscratch)

I first came across the work of Al Davalle on the Lenswork website. His ghostly, abstract black-and white-images caught my eye because they were like nothing I had ever seen before, and when I found out that they are images of wood dust frozen by strobe lights, I was intrigued. It turns out Al has been working with wood for over 25 years and he loves wood and loves trees and so was prodded to do a photo project about this passion by his friend, the amazing photographer and teacher Jeff Curto.

Over several months, Al said he shot hundreds of images of wood - of the furniture he was making, his woodworking tools, wood varnishes, and even the trees in the woods behind his house. None of these photographs stuck with him. But one day, while sitting in his woodshop, he saw the light hitting the wood dust floating through the air and he realized how beautiful it was and thought he'd try to capture it.

The results, a project he has named "A Universe Within," are mesmerizing.

Everything Matters

2010-08-20T14:34:00.000-07:00

I was surrounded by artists asking me about the title to my show. In a way, it was an easy out, a title that would encompass all, but I was feeling especially connected to the world when I chose it and well, everything does matter (one artist told me a friend of her's had a show called "Matter Matters" which is also true).

The week leading up to the show opening was pretty blissful. I was staying at Ragdale again and two fawns (named "Rag" and "Dale") greeted me when I arrived. I took walks and saw hundreds of dragon flies, butterflies of all colors and a frog or two. The sound of the fountain lulled me to sleep and even the heat and mosquitoes couldn't dampen my spirits (and it was HOT!). I met another amazing group of residents, felt lifted by their artistic energy and their stories. Among the group was a playright and a performance artist, so the group was very lively. I even got to collaborate on a performance by Travis (see photo)

All this is to say, everything really does matter and I feel very lucky when I find the time to slow down and really look and listen.

And I got a wonderful review of my show

Recent Exhibitions

2010-08-01T16:54:00.000-07:00

My image "Sunday Morning" was chosen for the Vermont PhotoPlace Gallery exhibition "Nostalgia," juried by Larissa Leclair.

This image was chosen for the exhibition Bed Two, juried by Harvey Stein and shown at the Umbrella Arts Gallery in Manhattan.

Diptych

2010-06-24T15:28:00.000-07:00

House Gleaning

2010-06-23T15:12:00.000-07:00

I am working on a project tentatively titled "everything matters". They are mostly small, poignant, domestic shots. In working on it, I have discovered it is about growing up in a family that does not talk about anything that matters. I grew up in a staunch New England family where no one spoke about their feelings. As a result, I think it was a shock to my parents to have an artist in the family who wanted to express things. We still don't talk about anything "real" just superficial things and as a kid, I used to sneak around and look at objects in rooms in order to glean information. I think that is partly why I became a photographer.

I just looked up glean to see if I spelled it correctly and here is the definition. I think #1 and #3 apply to me:

glean
/glin/ Show Spelled[gleen] Show IPA
–verb (used with object)
1.to gather slowly and laboriously, bit by bit.
2.to gather (grain or the like) after the reapers or regular gatherers.
3.to learn, discover, or find out, usually little by little or slowly.

I love the word even more after seeing the film "The Gleaners" by Agnes Varda.

Sally Mann

2010-06-14T23:12:00.000-07:00

I remember seeing this photo at the New Orleans Museum almost 20 years ago and it is still one of my favorites. Something about the mix of innocence and play in her work draws me in.

The Ocean

2010-05-21T12:05:00.000-07:00

I live next to the Pacific ocean and it astounds me on a daily basis. I love the sound of the surf and the feel of the spray. I believe water is restorative and a walk on the beach always clears my head and makes me feel rejuvenated.

Chicago band Canasta takes off!

2010-05-17T16:57:00.000-07:00

I have been photographing the Chicago band Canasta since its infancy and they just released a new album which is getting amazing press all over the place. I took the promo photos for them a while back and its nice to see them all over. The album, called "the Fakeout, the Tease and the Breather", has been reviewed by the Onion, the Chicagoist, the Examiner and the Reader, to name a few and is getting rave reviews! Check it out (and download 3 free songs) at www.Canastamusic.com

Roulette 3586

2010-04-21T12:52:00.000-07:00

San Giovanni in Bragora

2010-03-29T21:51:00.000-07:00

My father died when I was 25 and it is safe to say my world was completely shattered and I had to regroup. The good thing was, I was so shook up, I decided I might as well do what I always had dreamed of, which was become a photographer, so I did.

When he died, people donated money to Save Venice, an organization that raised money to preserve the art in Venice. We had a funeral, but we didn't bury my father, just scattered his ashes near his childhood home and I always felt weird that he didn't have a grave stone.

Venice was my father's spiritual home and my project Lost in Venice is very much about him and my loss, grief and sense of spirituality. Somehow it took me until about 3 years ago to track down the painting that had been restored in his name and right there next to the painting is a plaque with his name on it. I was so happy because I feel like he finally had a resting place in this church.

I walked out of the church feeling great and turned to photograph the facade and there was a rainbow coming down from the sky. It was just amazing!

0813

2010-03-25T23:17:00.000-07:00

Photo Roulette 7939

2010-03-24T22:43:00.000-07:00

Photo Roulette

2010-03-23T16:51:00.000-07:00

My camera assigns all of my images a 4 digit number. However, I have had several digital cameras now, so the numbers repeat. A while back I realized it was sort of a mystical game to see what images share numbers. so now I have decided to make it a bit of a project. I put in a number every day and post two of images that come up with that number. I am calling it photo roulette.

Here is # 8118

Rejection

2010-03-13T14:26:00.000-08:00

I hate rejection. It still hurts. I still get upset, even though I have had so many wonderful exhibitions.

Sometimes things come your way that you were not even expecting. Those moments are sweeter. Sweet enough to take away the bitterness of rejection. Maybe...

Book cover

2010-02-25T13:23:00.000-08:00

I worked all day yesterday on this image (well it is actually a composite of 3 images) for a book cover for my friend Sybil's upcoming short story collection Talismans. She is a wonderful writer and the book is about growing up, longing, traveling and finding love.
Go to www.sybilbaker.com for more info.

Here is the final product, which will be available in December.

My cat sleeps 22 hours a day

2010-02-25T13:19:00.000-08:00

Those who dream by day are cognizant of many things that escape those who dream only at night." Edgar Allen Poe

Mardi Gras

2010-02-16T18:57:00.000-08:00

Mardi Gras was just a full fledged fun-filled four days. What a celebration and what a gorgeous city. We stayed in the most amazing house thanks to our friends Ben and Dina.

2010-02-08T09:18:00.000-08:00

Art Afternoon

2010-02-06T07:18:00.000-08:00

I gave up my seat for a free roundtrip ticket and had a wonderful afternoon at the Art Institute and in downtown Chicago. It was snowing and cold, but the Renzo Piano new wing was beautiful. Had a nice extra evening with old friends and tried ostrich meat for the first time. It was actually pretty good.

Flying

2010-02-05T07:02:00.000-08:00

I didn't fly for many years. I think it started in high school. Somewhere around my 16th birthday and reading The World According to Garp, I became deathly afraid a plane would crash into my house. We lived on the 4th floor and I frequently heard the planes going into Logan Airport in Boston in the middle of the night. I think it might have had something to do with the fact that I was home alone that summer and my parents were in Europe. In any case, after that, I became deathly afraid of getting on planes. So for about 10 years I just stopped flying. I took a lot of long car trips and trains (once took the train from Chicago to San Francisco - which despite taking 4 days was spectacular). Now with the miracle of xanax, I fly again a lot. I still don't love it, but it is no longer as painful. And I do always marvel when we get above the clouds, that this is a view our ancestors never saw. And I do love going places too.

Hipstamatic

2010-02-03T22:34:00.001-08:00

Another photographer showed me this ap on her phone and I love it.

2010-02-02T21:31:00.000-08:00

I just love the poem HOWL. I found it a few years ago read it for the first time. It is hard to imagine that it was written in the late 50's.

"angelheaded hipsters burning for the ancient heavenly
connection to the starry dynamo in the machinery of night,
who poverty and tatters and hollow-eyed and high sat
up smoking in the supernatural darkness of
cold-water flats floating across the tops of cities
contemplating jazz, "

I can't say why I am drawn to it, but something about the wild use of language and the raw emotion are just incredibly seductive. Also, the fact that it was written at a time when things were so much less permissive and people didn't talk about getting high and crazy gods.

Sometimes I think we are all burning for an ancient heavenly connection to the starry dynamo and sitting in the supernatural darkness of life? Well, at least I am.

Ragdale

2010-01-29T22:12:00.000-08:00

I am back at Ragdale again for one week, which already feels way too short. As I get older, I realize I am less eager to leave home, but when I travel I always want to stay longer, to really dig in and get into the rhythms of wherever I am.

But it is always so fun to be here and I am with a really lively group of residents. My own project about the Ragdale house is interesting in that I am confined to a certain space, and even when I feel I can't get another shot in a room, I try to push further and find some small thing I have overlooked. In truth, the Ragdale house is so beautiful and full of such interesting objects that it is almost hard to find a new way to approach them. My challenge is to get the emotional feel of the house too.

Flashback

2010-01-19T12:05:00.001-08:00

My parents had one of these when I was born. My brother and I often sat in the "well" behind the passenger seats.

I just took this yesterday with my iphone in the grocery store parking lot. Amazing car!

New Years Eve Madonna and Child

2010-01-11T09:54:00.000-08:00

Last week of my show

2010-01-09T10:34:00.000-08:00

It has been so amazing getting e-mails from the Loyola Museum of Art about the various places my show has cropped up - like this website, 10best in Chicago. I am # 193, but I'll take it!

2010-01-08T11:25:00.000-08:00

Tattered Tibetan peace flags. Shot with my Holga.

2010-01-08T11:23:00.000-08:00

Malibu again.

New Years resolutions

2010-01-08T11:20:00.001-08:00

One of my resolutions is to post a photo a day on my blog. Guess I better get going...

The photos won't necessarily all be new ones, as I am scanning some old film at the moment and looking at that too.

This first one was taken on the beach in Malibu with my some good friends. The people in the background are looking out at the dolphins we spotted. The woman in the foreground is carrying her 3 mos. old baby.

Happy New Year

2009-12-24T13:59:00.000-08:00

More and more goodness!

2009-12-20T15:24:00.000-08:00

So, China was a wonderful experience and I will post more pictures soon, but I flew from China to the opening of my first museum exhibition at the Loyola Unversity Museum of Art. There is a great exhibition of creches from around the world in the main area of the museum, which is well worth seeing! I had no idea they could be so interesting as art objects. Also, as a treat, the "Off The Streets Club Children's Choir" sang Christmas carols and other songs.

My show got reviewed, which was totally unexpected and so kind. You can read it here:

Anyhow, if I don't post again, have a Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah, Beautiful Kwanza or enjoyable three day weekend!

Peace,
Sarah

More China photos

2009-12-20T15:20:00.000-08:00

China

2009-12-14T14:52:00.000-08:00

I will start with China, which was an incredible experience. I don't think I had any idea what it would be like, so it was a bit like Alice going down the rabbit hole. I was up for the adventure, but also a little daunted by what I'd read beforehand about the difficulties of getting around, but it turned out to be a lot easier than I imagined.

I arrived in Shanghai (and yes, 13 hours is a long time on a plane) on Thanksgiving night and thanks to the kindness of friends of friends, I was picked up by a driver and taken to a Thanksgiving meal with about 8 mostly American ex-pats. Dinner was delicious and conversation about life in Shanghai very interesting.

Woke the next morning and took some shots of the sun rising over the sky scrapers.

Life is beautiful

2009-11-10T08:53:00.001-08:00

Life has been spinning so fast, but suddenly I have two weeks of breathing space and I am enjoying myself. Filter Photo, the portfolio review I organized in Chicago, was a success and I met so many inspiring and eager photographers and the reviewers were all spectacular. We are planning even a bigger event for next year, but thankfully have plenty of time to plan it all.

I also delivered all my prints to the Loyola University Museum of Art for the show which opens December 3rd, and I am so immensely proud and excited for that to take place.

Now, I am getting ready for China which will be an incredible adventure. I am part of the Lishui International Photography Festival along with 40 other American photographers.

I am trying to just relax and take it all in. Trying to accept that I am on the right path and that things will unfold and that life is beautiful.

Ragdale

2009-09-21T21:51:00.000-07:00

Four years ago, I applied to Ragdale, this artist and writers colony in Lake Forest, IL and by some miracle, they accepted me. I was intimidated as everyone else seemed so accomplished. Nevertheless, I had a blissful two weeks. I photographed all the time and felt what it was like to be a real artist - one who gets up and creates every day. I had my own studio and great conversations with people at dinner and went for long walks on the prairie and really got into the swing of things, into flow, as they call it, when the creativity is just moving through you. When I left, I was practically kicking and screaming, it had been such an amazing experience.

Now, here I am four years and three residencies later, a lot closer to my ideal life of being a real artist, and yet it is still magical to be here surrounded by so much creativity. I love having my own studio with a loft bedroom and endless hours to shoot and contemplate my work, and I love even the little things here - hearing the screen doors slam and seeing the chipmunks scurry under trees and the pears fall on the path when I go for walks. It really is a wonderful place and one that has become part of my life.

I will be giving a talk about my work on Friday, which scares me, but I know it will go fine and I have been asked to shoot inside the main house for a book the Director of Ragdale is writing and I feel so honored and excited. I feel like I embraced Ragdale and it embraced me back.

Finding confidence!

2009-09-02T14:48:00.000-07:00

Back in 2000, there was this amazing photo project called "Chicago in the year 2000" which hired photographers from all over the city to document the entire year. I applied to shoot alternative medicine in the city, but was so nervous and unsure on myself, I hardly took any photos and was terrified to have them seen and edited. Now, I see the photos in the archive and think they are wonderful. I wish I had had the confidence back then. It just goes to show, you do know what you are doing, even when you think you don't.

You can see more of the project at The Comer Archive, University of Illinois. This is a photo of a woman getting an acupuncture face lift!

Filter Photo 2009

2009-08-31T14:29:00.000-07:00

I am very excited to announce Filter Photo, the Midwest's first large scale photo reviews, which will be held on Saturday, October 31st, and Sunday, November 1st, from 9am to 5pm at Loyola University's Crown Center Gallery in Chicago's Rogers Park neighborhood. Filter Photo's mission is to bring together fine art and documentary photographers with the Midwest's top gallerists, educators, curators, photo editors, and photo professionals.

Please check out the website www.Filterphoto.org for more information and please pass this on to other photographers who you think might be interested in attending!

Hope to see you there!

Lishui Photo Festival

2009-08-22T12:07:00.000-07:00

I am going to China in November as part of the Lishui Photo Festival. I will be showing photos from my new series - The Water's Edge. Here is an image from that series. You can see the rest of the series on my website.

2009-08-14T13:59:00.000-07:00

We went downtown to the Art walk last night and it was so cool to see the streets teaming with people. Normally downtown LA is a little sketchy, but it was alive last night and there was art everywhere. I was waiting for Rob's comedy show to start and walking around with my camera. I haven't just done some street shooting in ages and it was really fun because the light was bouncing from all over. This guy caught me pointing my camera at him and he grabbed the girl and posed. She looks so amazingly young and vulnerable. I just love it.

Santa Monica pier at sunset

2009-08-13T15:03:00.001-07:00

Santa Monica pier at sunset, originally uploaded by mind the light.

Crawfish on a Pancake

2009-08-04T13:26:00.001-07:00

We go to Michigan every year with my husband's college friends. The house is just down the street from Lake Huron. They have an old black raft in the garage which we have been using forever. Some years ago, my husband dubbed the game of trying to shake the kidlets off the raft "Crawfish on a Pancake" I think because we had had a fabulous crawfish dinner the night before. The name stuck and here it is in print in Light Leaks magazine. Though here Stella looks more contemplative.

Unconscious Terrain

2009-07-14T17:29:00.001-07:00

Unconscious Terrain, originally uploaded by mind the light.

I have posted a new project to my website. It is called "Unconscious Terrain" and deals with the dark and mysterious crevices of our beds.

My tribute to Michael Jackson

2009-07-10T17:20:00.000-07:00

Here it is, my record player from the 70s found at a street sale in Italy. We had "ABC" by the Jackson 5 and we'd play it over and over again endlessly. I just listened to it on youtube and it is still magical!

Calming

2009-07-10T16:29:00.000-07:00

I find photography a very calming meditative activity. Sometimes if I am stressed out or on unfamiliar ground, I pick up my camera like a weapon. If I am feeling shy, I can always hide behind this shield. It makes me feel invincible - like a spy with knowledge and power.

This was taken at my Mother's house, in her bedroom.

Paris Light

2009-06-07T16:48:00.000-07:00

Rob getting ready

2009-06-02T12:00:00.001-07:00

Rob getting ready, originally uploaded by mind the light.

What is Happiness?

2009-05-28T10:45:00.000-07:00

A friend sent me this article from the NYT after we'd had a similar discussion. He meditates a lot, and we discussed if that leads to greater happiness and good in the world. He said meditation enabled him to deal with the problems and discomforts of daily life with more ease. I believe that. Now I just need to put that belief into action.

Here is the article (not sure how long it will be up so I will excerpt a bit)

Happy Like God

By Simon Critchley

What is happiness? How does one get a grip on this most elusive, intractable and perhaps unanswerable of questions?

I teach philosophy for a living, so let me begin with a philosophical answer. For the philosophers of Antiquity, notably Aristotle, it was assumed that the goal of the philosophical life — the good life, moreover — was happiness and that the latter could be defined as the bios theoretikos, the solitary life of contemplation. Today, few people would seem to subscribe to this view. Our lives are filled with the endless distractions of cell phones, car alarms, commuter woes and the traffic in Bangalore. The rhythm of modern life is punctuated by beeps, bleeps and a generalized attention deficit disorder.

But is the idea of happiness as an experience of contemplation really so ridiculous? Might there not be something in it? I am reminded of the following extraordinary passage from Rousseau’s final book and his third (count them — he still beats Obama 3-to-2) autobiography, “Reveries of a Solitary Walker”:

If there is a state where the soul can find a resting-place secure enough to establish itself and concentrate its entire being there, with no need to remember the past or reach into the future, where time is nothing to it, where the present runs on indefinitely but this duration goes unnoticed, with no sign of the passing of time, and no other feeling of deprivation or enjoyment, pleasure or pain, desire or fear than the simple feeling of existence, a feeling that fills our soul entirely, as long as this state lasts, we can call ourselves happy, not with a poor, incomplete and relative happiness such as we find in the pleasures of life, but with a sufficient, complete and perfect happiness which leaves no emptiness to be filled in the soul. (emphases mine)

This is as close to a description of happiness as I can imagine.

Paris street

2009-05-18T22:41:00.001-07:00

_MG_0006_man, originally uploaded by mind the light.

double exposed image from Michigan

2009-05-18T22:30:00.001-07:00

double exposed, originally uploaded by mind the light.

2009-05-15T13:08:00.000-07:00

One of my new Venice images which will be exhibited at Mars Gallery in Chicago in June. For more info go to my website news.

2009-05-13T22:08:00.000-07:00

I took this image of my hairdresser's scissors. I just loved the teeth on them.

rob_MG_6143

2009-05-12T16:04:00.001-07:00

rob_MG_6143, originally uploaded by mind the light.

Ireland

2009-05-09T16:54:00.000-07:00

We went to Ireland for a week in between packing and moving to California. It was so beautiful and just like what you would expect - green fields, cows and ponies, and pubs galore all painted pretty colors.

We stopped at this hippy cafe with a caravan and trampoline out back on the way to Dingle (I did bounce on their trampoline) and they told us we had to stop at Inch Beach. It was a beautiful large expanse of sand and mountains and I took this photo. (Hint: if you click on the image, you'll see a larger version of it)

Waking up in Paris

2008-09-19T14:43:00.000-07:00

I have been in Europe for 5 days now. It has been like coming home - drinking fresh coffee, walking all over, looking at so much art, watching people, watching life parade by and photographing everything and nothing at the same time. Does it matter? I always wished this could be my life somehow and then now it is, and it feels so natural, but I know it will end. Already, the mounds of cat hair under my bed and the stacks of unread mail on the kitchen table do not matter. This is life. This is living. Breathing and walking and seeing and thinking and dreaming. Do my feet need to touch the ground?

beautiful weeds

2008-05-24T14:14:00.000-07:00

I just love the moment when the dandelions cover all the grass by the lake in Chicago. They are just such pretty and simple flowers, that we forget about them. I know they are a weed, but what a beautiful weed. I got down on their level and shot the budding dandelions with this new crazy macro lens that I have. What a great view from down there!

sledding

2007-12-11T14:43:00.001-08:00

sledding, originally uploaded by mind the light.

Ahh winter. Cold but not without its simple joys, like sledding.

Old woman Venice

2007-12-03T20:46:00.001-08:00

Old woman Venice, originally uploaded by mind the light.

Just found this shot and love the light. It is November, but still gorgeous.

I know that woman has walked that same calle (street) hundreds of times.

American flag

2007-09-14T11:29:00.001-07:00

20070806_2542, originally uploaded by mind the light.

Really old and see through. Amazing old relic. Traverse City Michigan.

rob running through a sprinkler

2007-09-14T11:22:00.001-07:00

rob running through a sprinkler, originally uploaded by mind the light.

Oh no summer is over. But here are some great memories. Shot in Roger's Park this summer!

I found my blog!

2007-09-09T15:24:00.000-07:00

I thought I lost it for many months after they changed Blogger and I couldn't remember my pasword. But now she is back!

Here is how I want to spend my old age. In Venice, of course!

movies

2007-03-12T21:32:00.000-07:00

I was thinking about the wonderful movies I have seen -

The Best of Youth
Sex and Lucia
All about my Mother
Hoop Dreams
Country Boys
Elling
Together

The pigeon food seller in St. Mark's square

2007-03-03T12:02:00.000-08:00

toilet bowl - your most valued possession

2007-03-03T11:48:00.000-08:00

I was listening to the radio this morning when I heard that the latest Feng Shui idea to ensure good luck is to clean your toilet bowl with an old toothbrush. So, I decide right then and there that I need some good luck and I get a toothbrush and start scrubbing (though I soon switch to using a sponge with an abrasive side which works much better). And while I am doing this I realize that this toilet is the most valuable thing in my apartment. I watched Oprah interviewing candidates for her new leadership academy in South Africa last week and so many of them came from homes with no running water and an outhouse. So, while yesterday, I would have said my computer or my camera was my most valued possession, how many of us could go one day without a working toilet in our house? I vow to take better care of my toilet.

music from the radioblogclub.com

2007-01-20T11:56:00.000-08:00

My beating heart

2006-12-24T07:06:00.000-08:00

I read this quote and thought it was amazing!

When a writer writes, it's as if she holds the sides
of her chest apart, exposes her beating heart. And
even though everything wants to heal and close over
and protect the heart, the writer must keep it bare,
exposed. And in doing this, all of life is kept back,
all the petty demands of the day-to-day. The heart is
a river. The act of writing is moving water that holds
the banks apart, keeps the muscle of words flexing so
that the reader can be carried along by this movement.
To be given space and the chance to leave one's
earthly world. Is there any greater freedom than this?

I just substitute the word writer with photographer,
but it pertains to anything creative. The book is
about a woman in England during World War II who is
reviving a garden on an abandoned mansion.It is called
The Lost Garden by Helen Humphries. The author is also
a poet and it is just a gorgeous book.

Window in Venice

2006-12-04T07:13:00.000-08:00

Venice again

2006-12-02T20:55:00.000-08:00

I was in Venice again in November and this time the mist was spectacular. Really all consuming, the way I remembered it. And Venice is so quiet and dark at night that it really does add to the mystery of the place.

dots

2006-05-03T20:00:00.000-07:00

yesterday, as I enlarged a photo really BIG, I realized that we are all just dots of matter strung together with energy.

BUT, I keep trying to figure a way to get everything in balance. Me, the country, the planet. I can't take the inequality of it all. The people starve in Darfur while I throw away old bread and a piece of dried up cheese. How can this work out?

And the term throw away. Where is "away". I am driving myself insane, slowly with all this.

So, I did volunteer last week. Try to right the planet, one small dot at a time.

rehearsal

2006-03-13T07:48:00.000-08:00

Florida

2006-03-07T07:26:00.000-08:00

Despite my best efforts, I have become an erratic blogger. Went to Florida for a week. Sat in the sun, swam and played shuffleboard and hardly touched my computer. Here is one of my shots from the trip. Taken at the Ca' Zan at the Ringling Museum.

Venezia

2006-02-22T07:33:00.000-08:00

Red Rubber Band

2006-02-20T18:52:00.000-08:00

Rain Dance

2006-02-19T16:36:00.000-08:00

Rainy Day

2006-02-17T21:10:00.000-08:00

Artists Cafe lunchtime

2006-02-16T07:59:00.000-08:00

I ran around the Fine Arts Building yesterday and it was so much fun. Reminded me of sneaking around a big old house, like when I was a kid. Full of funny rooms and people off in the distance. The place smelled of wood polish and old radiators. This shot was taken in back of the Artists Cafe on the ground floor.

Girl with bow

2006-02-15T07:34:00.000-08:00

A single leaf

2006-02-14T21:47:00.000-08:00

I shot this over a month ago. I had an afternoon off and went out with my camera to shoot. I wandered around for an hour or so, and shot a bunch of things, and honestly thought I had not gotten any good shots, so I downloaded these photos and didn't look at them again until today, when I found a few gems, like this one. I need to trust my instincts more. Trust that I have been shooting for more than 15 years and something good is bound to happen when I try.

© 2006 Sarah Hadley

rehearsal

2006-02-13T07:20:00.000-08:00

So, I have been shooting this play being put up and the process has been very interesting. It is so much more work than I ever imagined. So much time, so much dedication. The director works 4 hours a night and on weekends to mold this script into something. It takes a lot of time and it has made me think about my own creative process. Do I work 4 hours a day on one project, do I stay the course even when my enthusiasm fails. The actors have to show up for rehearsal. When there is no one watching me, do I show up? Do I make myself go through the motions even when I don't feel like it. I know I should. I would see the results. It is just like the gym. Pump a little iron everyday and you will see results. I should pump some metaphoric iron...

Nostalgia

2006-02-12T19:23:00.000-08:00

Here is a photo from a recent trip to Venice. I know it looks like it was taken in the 19th century. That is partly Venice and partly me. I guess. It is part of a series i am working on about my childhood, which was NOT in the 19th century, obviously. But it is about memory and recovering how I felt as a kid, which was mostly sort of happy and sort of scared. I don't know. I am sorting it out. Trying to recover my memories and translate them to film. I call it nostalgia, because we are all nostalgic in a way for something. I went to Venice when i was 20 and worked as an intern at the Guggenheim Museum there. It was the greatest thing I had ever done. I fell in love with Venice. Figured out my way around and felt as if I owned it. I lived there off and on in my twenties, and everytime it was marvelous, but it can also be the most melancholic place in the world. Those were the days before the internet, so I really felt cut off from the US and on my own. The beauty of Venice is breathtaking.