Am I ?

self-portrait.

My first night in Palm Springs, CA. Around 2am.



It's not made of much, then again, neither am I. Neither are you.

I mean, if you think about it, we are primarily made up of empty space. Nothingness.

And really, that's not so bad. Actually it's not anything.

Nothing can't be bad. Nothing can't be good.

It just is.

And I am.



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I have a short passage I want to share with you.

It is from the book, "The Prophet" by Kahlil Gibran.
I highly recommend it.


"And a man said, Speak to us of Self-Knowledge.
And he answered, saying:
Your hearts know in silence the secrets of the days and the nights.
But your ears thirst for the sound of your heart's knowledge.
You would know in words that which you have always known in thought.
You would touch with your fingers the naked body of your dreams.

And it is well you should.
The hidden well-spring of your soul must needs rise and run murmuring to the sea;
And the treasure of your infinite depths would be revealed to your eyes.
But let there be no scales to weigh your unknown treasure;
And seek not the depths of your knowledge with staff or sounding line.
For self is a sea boundless and measureless."

bored and proud

I made this a while ago... I'm not sure if I've posted it before, and I'm too lazy to go through the archives and check.

Anyway, I'm really happy with this, and I think this represents some of my strongest work. I'm happy about the music that goes with it too (pretty awesome for stock music).

Full screen view is recommended (just click once on the slideshow).

Hope you enjoy!


http://www.kizoa.com/slideshow/d560425k6464429o1/brooke-lynne


I'll disable it after a week or so (or until my next post, whichever is sooner) so you dont have to listen to the music over and over and over when you visit the blog.

Rise

In reality, I had been falling for a long time. But I finally hit the bottom, and after I came to, I started to brush myself off and get back on my feet.


My body was disoriented, but my mind was startlingly serene. Without knowing so, I brushed off my restraints and scars, started to climb out of my hole, and then I discovered I could fly.










Paradoxically, it feels like I fell from the ground to the endless sky.







________________

Fall off

.











I feel like I'm on the edge, just waiting to fall off.




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Antelope Canyon

edit: here are the remaining two.








Portra 800


My Lubitel was NOT happy after this shoot.

glory shots

Self-portrait with: (from Left to Right)

Meghan Claire, Zinn Star, Jock Sturges, Nettie Harris, yours truly.

It is taken with a crappy camera with a crappy lens, and is slightly over exposed. I didn't expect exquisite results, but it's quality is adequate enough for me to not be a distraction to the lovely memories that are associated with the capture.
That's all I was hoping for this photograph.


Here's the setup shot (photograph by Mark Haskins):




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And then, the lovely madness that ensued afterwards.




:)

Palm Springs Photo Festival

Um, WOW!

Can I do this every year? Pleeeease?


In complete seriousness, I don't think I've ever had as much enrichment and just plain fun in those four days than in any consecutive 4 days in my life.

Jock Sturges is a master photographer for a reason. Not just because of the quality of his photographs, although if that was the only thing he had going for him as a photographer it would be enough, obviously. He utterly respects and treats his models exquisitely. He is a remarkable instructor, and goes way above and beyond the call of duty. He is extremely approachable, has a razorsharp wit, and is pretty much a genius. You'd be hard pressed to find any photographer who fits that description.

The workshop was wonderful. All the students were very respectful, and most of them had serious talent and potential. The locations that we shot were pretty interesting as well. I can't wait to see some of the results!

And the models, oh my word. Nettie, Zinn, Meghan, and Gavyn were off the charts! Seriously. All of them, and I mean, all of them were utterly wonderful, talented, gorgeous, and just plain fun people to be around. Jock said that this was the best group of workshop models he has ever worked with. And from the reports we got from the assistants and students, Jock had been raving about us even when we weren't around, so I don't think he was just saying that to boost our egos.

I also met a lot of other wonderful people, one of the highlights being Zoe Wiseman. What a fiesty bundle of awesome, that woman is! We didn't get to shoot, but we will one of these days, dammit! But I have her to thank for this incredible opportunity. Without her, I would have been spending the week back in Minnesota! So thank you, thank you, a million thank you's, Zoe!



So, to sum up: It was fucking amazing.


Any questions?





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Matt Blum.