Friday, February 25, 2011

Cartier-Bresson I Am Not

I'm at a bit of a loss for intelligent content today, so instead we will have to make do with a photo essay. Let us begin with the creature that battles daily for control of my lap. This is Simon, feline extraordinaire. Pay no notice to the stinkeye he is giving us; he really is an excellent cat.


But what is that behind Simon? Looks like someone's been wasting time being productive by sorting and stacking the critiqued chapters of her WIP.


Too disturbing? Let's switch gears to something less stressful. How about a nice kalanchoe? This beauty was withering growing in my tiny garden, until I decided that it was taking up valuable tomato real estate. Now it's thriving in a nice pot.


Would you believe that I did my Masters thesis in photojournalism? Probably not. But I did; my subject was a traveling carnival. Here are some of the photos I took:


I followed the same carnival company around the SF Bay Area for a season. The pictures were all pretty tame, because the really gritty stuff that happens on a carnival crew: a) was off-limits for me to photograph, according to the carnival owners, and b) is scary. I do believe that it is important to document the destructive effects of meth abuse, but I am not the man for that job.

Whoa, Rachel, we're veering off on a tangent here. Let's get back on theme:


Mmm, my daily latte in my favorite mug. A kitchen is not complete without at least a couple of roosters, don't you think? No, just me? Well, I am from the Midwest. 


And here is a flower that just bloomed in my garden. Can you tell me what it is? Seriously, I have no idea what it is. 

Thanks for humoring me, now get back to work.

16 comments:

  1. That is so frickin' cool about your masters thesis. I'm a j-school dropout. Here ye!

    Had to come by when I saw that you were Liz's CP. Nice to meet you! I'm also an Angeleno, though originally a NYEr!

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  2. Hey Sophia, great to meet you! Nice to see another Angeleno blogger! :) I came *thisclose* to dropping out of j-school myself, but I never would have heard the end of it from my husband. Was definitely not the field for me.

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  3. Your bit about traveling carnivals reminded me that I'm very interested in learning more about that topic. Since reading Sara Gruen's "Water for Elephants", I've wanted to learn more about that migratory (and evidently drug-addled) world.

    I spent most of my reading life obsessed with fiction and it's only in recent years that I've discovered the great joys of historical texts and biographies. I now tend to use subjects that come up in works of fiction as research points to fulfill my odd curiosity.

    Thanks for reminding me of a subject that had slipped my mind (I went off on a JFK assassination tangent instead ;-)).

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  4. KLo- Wasn't that a great book? I can't wait to see how the movie is. Most of the carnival workers I met were very nice and curious about my photography (except for the ones who were the most wasted away, understandably). They did kind of seem like a band of lost souls though, especially when they told me stories about their previous lives.

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  5. Way interesting! And your cat looks like my cat, Luda. Why do cats always want to sit RIGHT ON THE COMPUTER?

    The pictures look AWESOME! I bet you've got some stories there!

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  6. Fascinating! Especially the meth puffing carnie part.

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  7. I agree with you about the roosters! The chapters were a little scary (I should be doing the same thing), but the latte soothed me. No idea on the flower, but it looks pretty :)

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  8. Enjoyed the photo essay, especially the collection of pics from the traveling carnival! Cool!

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  9. Loved this!! Complete with the cat I couldn't have been more impressed!! Happy Weekend!

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  10. Virtual critique chapters are less intimidating.

    Isn't that flower a crocus?

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  11. Aha, I think you're right, Theresa. Good job! I don't remember planting those...

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  12. Those look like cat "lovey" eyes to me.

    My parents live near Gibsontown, FL, which is the wintering location of a thriving community of carnival folk. It's a really cool place. You see some amazing people at the grocery store.

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  13. When I read your carnival comments, the first thing that came to mind was Water for Elephants, which brings home what can be scary about a carnival behind the scenes.

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  14. I love that swing photograph from a carnival. That was one of the best rides I've ever been on and you captured if perfectly. Any chance you can blow it up so I can use it for a writing prompt? You could do it on your blog, and I can just have the kids visit the blog. If you can't, then that's cool!

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  15. Sure thing! I'm planning to post more about the carnival tomorrow, so I'll include a full-sized copy of that shot.

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  16. Oh, this was fun! What a great essay. I procrastinate by sorting similar piles, including piles of research books. And I've got two cats on my computer... No green thumb or photographic abilities though. You've got some great shots!

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