Duckies for Easter!

These are my duckies, Henry and Lila! They are the most adorable things ever! For the past three years I have been trying to get baby duckies and now my wish has come true! Kinda made this decision on a whim one day when I was with my friend. I decided it was the perfect time to go get my duckies since it was two days before Easter. So off we went to the tractor supply store to by my lil' cuties! They're getting bigger way faster than I expected. I'm pretty attached right now, so it is going to be sad when I have to give them away to my friends farm. Right now they're learning to swim in a babypool in my backyard. They love the water. It's hilarious to see them try to dive underneath. I'm trying to get them to eat strawberries and some other things but so far they aren't going for it. They are my two most favorite things in the world right now and I never want to let them go!

Olivia Bee Photography

http://www.oliviabee.com/

Olivia Bee is and extremely, talented , sixteen year old photographer. Her pictures are amazing and so unique. I'm pretty sure she uses film for most of her photos. Every picture of hers I scroll through captivate me. Olivia's photographs grab your attention and almost take you to another place in time. I think that's why I'm so fond of her style, not to mention the girl is only sixteen and taking very professional photos. Check out her website!

Spring

One of my most favorite things about spring is the cherry trees. I love how the colors and how they line streets and driveways.

Mackenzie Jane

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This little, angel is my cousin Mackenzie Jane. She had just woken up from a nap and had crazy hair, so I quickly grabbed my camera and came out with this shot. Don't let the picture fool you she may look extremely mellow, but she is wild!

James 1:27

Took this picture from the bus my senior class basically lived on for a week in Costa Rica. About 70 of us boarded a plane to spend a long week in Costa Rica to volunteer churches, orphanges, and other places. The quality isn't too great but theres so many different types of shades, lines, and reflections going on, it makes it different. Our bus was stopped at a light in the middle of San Jose. These two little faces popped in the window and started to wave at us. I feel like this picture represents the majority of our trip. The children we spent time with, and grew to love over the week, had such a huge impact on each of our lives. I think each of us all had a child thats still imprinted in our hearts.

Fair

After this past year I'm gonna have to say I can never go to the fair again! It's way too crowded and dirty for me and not worth the 45minute waits in line for a 1minute ride. Not to mention I came very close to get myself beat up by a group of angry girls. With that being said there are so many different things to shoot. With all the people, colors, lights and activity, fairs are great places to get some unique shots and try out some new techniques, but it definetly presented it's challenges. The crowds made it pretty hard to get the shots I wanted without someone stepping in the way. The fact that it was night presented it's own set of difficulties with having to change the shutter speed and a few other things to capture the lights and colors. Here's one of my favorite shots from the night. I like how the sky slowly melts into different colors, the black outlines and how the colors of the rides pop out at you.

Abandoned Holiday

We went on a trip to Myrtle with some family this past June. It's always nice to be with family, but at the time I had a lot on my mind and just needed to get away from the crammed hotel room and all the people. So i took my backpack and headed down the beach for a walk. The farther down the beach I walked the fewer hotels and people I saw. Eventually all the crowds and hotels became smaller and faded into the haze. I was left alone with a group of seagulls and this amazing hotel right in front of me. There was not a sign of anyone in sight. I feel like in most cases the whole seen would feel ominous or a little eerie, but it was perfect and just what I needed. I walked around for a bit took a few shots, and then laid out my towel and relaxed. So heres a few of the shots I came out with from my little adventure.

Alis Volat Propriis

Alis Volat propriis

I had on my bucket list that I wanted to watch planes take off and land during sunset. Ever since I was little I have been fascinated with planes. The lights, colors and sounds captivated me. The fact that you are up in the air, moving through clouds, passing over oceans and land, amazed me. Unlike some people who are afraid of flying and become nervous wrecks, it calmed me. I loved the window seats. I liked to look down and think about all the places that we passed over and if I would ever visit them. It got me thinking that in the scheme of things we are so small. There are so many places in the world that we have never been, never will see, and things we will never get to experience. I wanted to see it all. I think my love of flying and knowing I was passing over adventures below me sparked my love for traveling. Even to this day as we fly over different cities and countries I plan out where I will visit next and what I will do there. 

The pictures posted were taken at the RDU observation deck, around 6:30pm. I couldn’t be happier with the way they turned out. The name of the album is Alis Volat Propriis which in latin means, She Flies On Her Own Wings.

Charleston

There is something about Charleston that always keeps me coming back to visit. Maybe it’s the vibrantly colored houses lined up in rows, adorned with popping, pink and white cherry trees, or maybe it’s the feeling of southern comfort, as you set foot in every door. Year after year my parents have taken me to the same city in South Carolina, and year after year I fall more in love with it. This past spring break I had the opportunity to share my love for this city with two of my closest friends. It is, in my opinion, the perfect “southern city”. Unlike the cities up north, Charleston isn’t overcrowded or polluted. It’s extremely clean, and still has the hustle and bustle that makes it so lively. The people are beautiful! I have to be honest and say I’m not a huge fan of frat and sorority style clothing, but the people here dress clean and they dress sharp. Walking down King St. you can spot young women in their wide-brimmed sun hats, sunglasses and bright sun dresses shopping for weekend attire. Maybe one of the reasons I like Charleston so much is that the guys know how to dress! From their breezy button-ups or polo shirts to their pastel shorts complete with some nice shoes, the guys in this city are just attractive. You really feel like you are in the heart of the south. Everyone here is friendly and welcoming. A lot of the restaurants have great comfort food and seafood being on the coast. This time we got to experience the nightlife. At night King Street is basically shut down and all the bars open. College students (CofC is located basically right in the middle of the city) barhopping, cover the street. It was one of the best night- life’s I have ever experienced.

            Charleston is sparked my love for photography. When I was about 14 we took our trip down and I started to look at things as if they were pictures. Everywhere I looked I saw a photograph. Things such as the way the sun hit a palm branch, shadows across the colorful houses or a boy selling flowers on the curb. Each little detail and angle caught my eye. There was so much inspiration in just one place I was motivated and eager to take my camera out and capture everything I saw that was beautiful to me. This time we were only in the city for two days so that didn’t allot much time for taking pictures, but I chose a few of the ones I thought represented Charleston the best and posted them! 

Pint Sized Barbie Dolls: Children's Beauty Pageants

This past Saturday after taking most of the day to clean out my whole closet I found myself crashed on my couch watching TLC’s show Toddlers and Tiaras. I was drawn in quickly as a sassy four-year-old with bleached blonde hair and blue eyes barely made it up the stairs to a stage the height of herself. Minutes before, the little girl was screaming and crying, throwing a temper tantrum backstage as her mother attempted to apply a second coat of lipstick on her daughter while the grandma tried to hand the pint sized Barbie doll another dose of sugar (a pixie stick) to keep her energy up.  To the judges, the girl was a complete package, personality and experience along with a spray on tan, fake hair, manicured nails, mascara and eyeliner, exuberant amounts of foundation, blush, eye shadow and the latest shade of lipstick.  She began her dance routine for the talent portion of the contest, prancing around the stage in a tight, skimpy, zebra patterned outfit that showed off her belly.  She shimmied and shook her behind provocatively to the music while her mother stood in the audience performing the exact moves as daughter. I watched the show till the end. I guess I couldn’t full wrap my mind around the fact that these little girls were dressed, looked and performed very similar to adult woman in the entertainment business. It was interesting to me to say the least.

Many people are shocked as they watch shows like Toddlers and Tiaras. They believe that nothing good or positive can come from scantily clothed girls prancing around a stage performing provocative routines for the world to see. One of the biggest arguments is that Children’s Beauty Pageants sexualize the girls and give them a false idea on body image. William Pinsof, a clinical psychologist and president of the Family Institute at Northwestern University in Chicago performed studies on the emphases of appearance and sexualization of young girls. When a little girl is told she needs to look and act a certain and specific way to the point of imitating a Barbie doll, Pinsof states,

 “In girls particularly, this can unleash a whole complex of destructive self-experiences that can lead to eating disorders and all kinds of body distortions in terms of body images.”

With this being said pageant moms and those involved in the pageant industry don’t believe that Pinsof’s study relates to children’s pageants. Many pageant moms would argue that pageants are the equivalent to sports. They say pageants teach their daughters life skills such as being confident, working hard and public speaking.  Many compare the competitions to “playing dress up” and would argue that in no way are these competitions sexualizing the girls. Annette Hill, a prominent Child Beauty Pageant director speaks up on the issue,

“The Child Beauty Pageant industry is not in any way sexualizing Child Beauty Pageants. I feel that the media, Hollywood and society has made it that way.  If you are looking at a child in a sexual way you are a very sick individual because we are not. We look at it as form of competition.”

There are two sides to every story and belief. In this case, both sides bring up valid points. I guess the question to be asked is have these competitions taken it too far? Is it all fun and games or have pageants crossed the line in turning little girls into pint sized barbies?

Personality Profile (Parker Stewart: Behind The Camera)

Imagine pausing your life for a whole year, putting school, your job, meetings and responsibilities on hold and packing your bags. Now imagine setting sail in your families boat into an adventure of a lifetime. This is exactly what Parker Cullom Stewart did. Parker, a self taught photographer from Greensboro, N.C,  set sail from Grenada in 2008 to embark on a journey that would not only make a lasting impact on his photography, but on him as a person. When asked about his trip Parker’s first words were,

            “It’s an experience I’ll never forget and it changed my life forever. I learned more from traveling from island to island on our boat, Panache, than I ever could have in a classroom.”

            After such an amazing year, there was no doubt in Parker’s mind that he wanted to be an editorial travel photographer.  Parker revealed how his experiences influenced his career. He stated,

            “My time in the Caribbean really made me realize that I could turn photography from a hobby into a career. I think every artists get to a certain point where they know that they are going to commit to their talent and build their life around it.”

He has a way of capturing simple things that go unnoticed to the common eye, things such as sunlight passing through a window of an old shanty, or a freshly formed footprint in the St. Lucian sand. He sees beauty in everything and captures that beauty that is often overlooked in his photographs.

            From a young age, Parker was drawn to art and the creative aspect of things. With his mom being an artist there was always something lying around the house that ignited a spark of creativity. Even the walls of his house were covered in art. At 13, he asked for his first camera (a Panasonic Lumix) and began snapping pictures of things that he believed to be “beautiful.” That very summer, he and his family took a trip to Italy, where he really began to use his camera. He returned from the trip with a collection of pictures to be proud of and even more inspiration than ever before. Years later at nineteen, Parker now has six more cameras, three of which he uses on a daily basis that range from DSLR Canons to film Nikons.

            Looking at Parker’s pictures, you can tell he is driven. His unique style brings something new with every picture he takes. It’s amazing to see how his photography has evolved since he began. Parker has won several awards, and his photographs have been displayed in coffee shops, SCAD art shows, and even sold at auctions. At only 19, Parker has staked his claim in the photography world with a prize winning picture that now hangs on a wall in the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington D.C.  If his photography achievements aren’t impressive enough, he plays bass guitar in a band called Deep Search. Parker described his band,

“We’ve got a very low-fi, underwater, indie sound. It’s so fun getting into playing music again.  I’ve missed it. Besides photography and surfing, music is my next passion. We’re starting to get shows line up with other local bands in Savannah and hope to start playing shows in Charleston and Wilmington eventually.”

Parker is currently a student at the Savannah College of Art and Design in Georgia and couldn’t be happier. As a declared Photography major he works countless hours on projects, but he loves every minute of it.  When asked about his favorite words of wisdom, Parker stated,

“Compared to my friends at home I made a radical decision going into a creative career like photography versus studying something like business at state school. Before coming to SCAD I was given both praise and criticism for making the decision I did. People were proud of me for doing something different and going for what I love but also there were downers who would say “how are you going to make a living?” I never took the criticism the heart. It just pushed me to prove people wrong. I’ve been told to “do what I love” and “Never give up.” That’s what I’m doing, and that’s what I live by everyday.”

There’s so much more to Parker than just a boy with a camera in his hand. When you look beyond the camera, behind it, you find a very special, driven and talented person that has an amazingly bright future ahead of him. His incredible photographs speak loudly on who he is as person. Photography is his passion, and nothing can steer him away from it. 

Check out Parker’s Blog here : http://parkstewphoto.blogspot.com/ 

These Boots

There is some sort of bond a girl has with her shoes, that honestly no man will ever understand. These are my first pair of boots, and my most favorite pair of shoes by far. I wear them with every outfit they will go with. I got them about four years ago, so I am due for a new pair, but I can't imagine ever letting these go.