birthday party hijinks

Alex's 11th birthday is this coming Tuesday; because her birthday falls midweek, we decided to let her celebrate her birthday with a few good friends this weekend.  Marcus and I took the girls to a nice restaurant for dinner (where they got to sit at a table by themselves), and then we went to a little cupcake place for them to sing "Happy Birthday" before returning to our house for a sleepover.

Because I'm a pretty cool parent, I even remembered to bring birthday candles and a lighter with me for the singing festivities.

Because I'm not that cool of a parent, I bought those annoying trick candles that spontaneously reignite ... over, and over, and over again.

this was a good week

This was a stellar week, my friends.  Here's why:

•  After a drizzly, cold start to the week, the sun came out gloriously.  I had coffee with a smart, funny lovely new friend, who allowed me to take her portrait.  And we have a relatively quiet, yet celebratory weekend planned.  Booyah.

•  While I'm not generally as taken with Benedict Cumberbatch as many are (I enjoy him in Sherlock, but I'm more of a Martin Freeman fan), I have to admit I sort of fell in love with him in this behind-the-scenes video of his Vanity Fair magazine photo shoot.  There's nothing more fun than a photography subject who's game to do anything.

•  9 reasons to bring back cocktail parties.  They make some very compelling arguments.  I may have to host one.  With fondue!

•  17 renowned African-American photographers.  While I was familiar with the work of a few, there were many I'd never heard of.  I can't wait to learn more about there work.

•  There are apparently only 2 kinds of people in this world.  I sort of zigzag through the list, but I have an emphatic opinion about each one.

•  When I was about 12 years old, I went through a huge origami stage.  But I never made anything as epic as these.  Awesome.

•  Some AMAZING news:  you know that wonderful design collaboration that I did with VIDA?  Well, it was so well received (for which I'm HUGELY grateful to you all), they've invited me to do something even bigger.  I'll tell you all more about it soon, but for now, here's a sneak peak -- available for preorder!  Go get you some.  (Related:  hooray for spring!)

•  Finally, for the song of the day:  this video for the song Even After All, by Finley Quaye.  Marcus first introduced me to this artist (and this song) when we just started dating, so I have a lot of nostalgic feelings for it.  But this is the first time I've seen the official video.

Click here or on the image below to watch.

Have a great weekend, friends.

you can open the door ... but you can close it, too

Earlier this week, I was trading emails with my sister, and she mentioned that she gave up Facebook for Lent.  "I had to," she said.  "I think it makes me depressed."

Man, I know exactly what she means.  I don't know what it is about Facebook, but often it feels like the medium emboldens folks to say things to each other that they might not actually say in person.

Isn't it strange?  All of this social media, ostensibly designed to help us connect, also has the power to drive us apart.

I've mentioned this before, but I am vicious when it comes to limiting what I read online, restricting what I read on social media sites to primarily funny, positive, uplifting or informative.   I'm a firm believer that "I am what I ingest," and that includes what I read and watch.  It's important for my own health. 

That said, as I look around, I feel at some point like it became inappropriate to turn it off: that for some weird reason, because of some misguided definition of "freedom of speech" maybe, we feel like we're required to read the vitriol or anger that shows up on our social media streams.  I think this is highly unfortunate.  So I was really happy when my sister told me that she was taking care of herself for the next month or so.

And so I thought I'd just remind you that like your front door, you have the power to open your social media sites up and let people in, but also, you can close them to keep yourself safe.  (And by the way, pro tip:  for those people whose Facebook updates always harsh your mellow, you can "unfollow" them without "unfriending" them -- just go to their profile page, and click the button on the bottom right of their background photo that says "following."  Their updates will no longer show up in your stream unless they tag you directly, and they won't know that you've unfollowed them.  It might seem harsh, but honestly?  I don't think it is.  In fact, it might be the best thing you can do for your in-real-life friendship.)

Take care of yourselves, friends.

Song:  Could you be loved by Bob Marley and the Wailers

drive

Life is a journey of shadows and lights.

~  unknown

Song: Drive by Bobby McFerrin

welcoming light

Back in the 90s, my parents lived in Stavanger, Norway for a couple of years.  They loved every minute of their time there:  my mother became close to fluent in Norwegian, my dad took up skiing -- not bad for two folks from the Caribbean.  And whenever they returned stateside, they always were full of stories of their Norwegian adventures.

Once, my mother told me something that has stuck with me:  she mentioned that in Norway, it was traditional to light a candle whenever someone came to visit.  She said it was generally done without fanfare:  you welcome your guests, and as you take their coats and get them beverages, you also make sure to light a candle, as well.

Now, I have no idea if this is true of all of Norway or simply the Norwegians who my parents knew (any Norwegian friends, can you let me know?), but I love this idea, and when I remember to, I try to do it myself.  It sort of reminds me of that Hindu greeting namaste, which is loosely defined as "the light within me honours the light within you."  Still, the candle-lighting feels like a more subtle expression of the same sentiment, even while it's more visible, at the same time.

Song:  Meikyu kumikyoku by Candle (featuring Meiso)

random thoughts: drawing with light

It suddenly dawned on me this weekend that the etymology of the word photography is "drawing with light."  

(I know. I'm slow.)

Anyway, as you know, I'm fond of saying "look for the light" when shooting, because the primary thing you want to do when you're photographing anything or anybody is to make the light a subject of your shot.  If your light's right, everything else more easily falls into place.  Sort of like this article says:

'One of the few things that separates a really good photographer from a run-of-the-mill, average one, is how he or she uses light,' says Brinkerkoff.  'I teach my students that there are five essential characteristics of light that convey emotion:  type, contrast, color, direction, and intensity of the light ... light is a transformative property; a tool for the photographer.  It can draw attention and completely change the emotional ties with which we view the same content.'

Also?   Light is everything, friends.  It is energy.  It is colour.  There's even evidence that we might emit light. (At the very least, we're made of stars.)

This is why I'm so fascinated with "drawing with light."  And it's certainly why I'm fond of telling everyone to look for it.

Song:  We are all made of stars by Moby

persistence

A mean little cold front is expected in Houston today.

This is not stopping spring from doing its damnedest to make an appearance.

friday night lights

Last night, Marcus and I dropped Alex off on a camping trip, and then suddenly realized that we were child-free on a Friday night.  So we decided to stop off at a local bar and make like we had a social life again.

After a couple of French 75s (me) and whiskeys (Marcus), we noticed (a) that the bar had a fire pit, ostensibly to take the chill off after coming in from the frigid Houston winter night (it was 65°F outside), and (b)  Marcus and I, at 45 and 47 respectively, were among the youngest in the bar (when I mentioned this on Facebook, a friend helpfully asked, "where are you, a cruise ship?").  It was sort of surreal.

Still a great, fun night.  A great fun night that had us both home by 10:30.  (Apparently, we are unable to even fake as rollicking a social life as we imagine.)

this was a good week

As is often the case, this was a good week, friends.  Here's why:

•  This week was a little nuts -- tons of meetings, deadlines, and even a funeral.  But even with all of that, I was very careful to carve some quiet times to myself, usually with a mug of tea in a sunset-y spot.  And that's a good thing.

•  This dude made a clarinet out of a carrot -- and then played it.  If this video alone doesn't convince you this was a good week, well, I don't know what.

•  Love these sweet images and interview of this photographers photo-a-day project.

•  Old-school hot cocoa, the way we used to make it when we were kids.  Get you some.

•  I mean, not to take anything away from Michelangelo's proficiency with marble, but could he have been as impressive as this woman is with chickenwire?  Because wow.

•  Ultra-long exposure photographs, taken by moonlight.  They're so beautifully peaceful.

•  And finally, the song of the day, Unconditional rebel by Siska -- or specifically, its official music video.  This video is 3-1/2 minutes long, but it only took 5 seconds to shoot:  it was taken from a car window going about 30 miles an hour, and then slowed way down.  The result is weird, but awesome.

Click here or the image below to enjoy.

Have a wonderful weekend, friends.

light always trumps darkness

"Light always trumps darkness.  It always has, and it always will.  Therefore ... if you believe that your world is darkening ... if you believe that the culture of your nation is growing dimmer by the year ... don't blame it on the dark!  Darkness is only doing what darkness does.

If darkness is winning the battles, my friend, it is because light is not doing its job.  You are light.  So wake up.  Wake up."

~  Andy Andrews

Song:  Waking light by Beck