Well, if you've been following any of my social media pages, you've seen that I've mentioned a photo contest by the name of Hearst 8x10. Ok, so I thought I would share with you guys the story behind each one. I haven't bothered to name them, but the descriptions of each will suffice to give them meaning beyond each one.
Ever since long afternoons with Sesame Street's Bernie and Ert (forgive my spelling) I've had an affinity for pigeons that has continued strong since then, even until the time this photo was taken last September.
As some of you may know, I took the semester off due to a series of coincidences including the opportunity of a lifetime to travel to Panama and meet the family my mother had told me so many stories about and to run for Miss Maryland and try my hand at a few modeling gigs. Go figure.
Honestly I hadn't been out of the country in quite some time my passport needed renewing. The lack of some necessary documents made it somewhat of a challenge to obtain our passports at first, but mother dropped me off downtown to pick them up. If you've been in D.C, for any length of time you know that finding parking is something of a pain. As she was finishing up errands, I decided to grab a bite to eat at the Corner Bakery downtown. Ok, no I didn't eat, but I fascinated myself pigeons instead. Here's my perception of how they see the world.
Nooni.
We're in Panama, on the streets in old downtown. The streets are narrow and gritty and since it always rains every afternoon at about 3, there's a perpetual puddle in every gutter. The cobblestone streets were riddled with black mold and grime, yet the air is dank with the smell of industrialism and sweltering hot tropical climates. It would have been impractical to take a car downtown. In these parts, the best method of survival in these parts is blending in. So imagine if we hadn't been on foot, we wouldn't have gotten this shot.
"OOH FRUIT!" I said, even though there were at least five fruit stands on every corner.
"Wow, what is that?" Mother asked, "It looks like cactus!"
"It's Nooni" my Tia said. Tia means aunt in Spanish. "It cures everything like cancer, bloodpressure, hipotention". It could be the accent, but the way my aunt blends words together, like Hyper-tension and high blood pressure, is unique to all the English-speaking Panamanians that I came in touch with. Which clarified what mother called some things when she occasionally blends Spanish with English. As a matter of fact, on our way back, from what seemed like my new home I didn't want to leave, the airport staff of obviously Hispanic heritage had an ambiguous spanglish slang that not even my mother who is bilingual could decipher.
But I digress. So there it is. Most things that are good for you taste disgusting. Nooni is no exception. Snap!
Ok, so we've taken a walk down the historic waterfront, after having taken a tour of the president's palace. on my way to the shuttle that would cart us over to Old Panama, I stopped to observe the old architecture. After coming to some understanding of what I observed, I looked down, sensing a pair of eyes searching me over as a prospective companion or source of food.
"Oooohhh! A KITTY!!! Mommy look, a KITTY! He's SO CUTE! Look at his little, little, little paws! I'm sorry mijo, [Spanish for: my loved one, my dear] I have no food to give you!" Forgetting my companion momentarily, I walked a few blocks and then turned down another.
"I think he wants to go home with you, look at him!" Mom smiled broadly. When I most needed it, there were no street vendors from which I could buy food for my new best friend, my little mascota.
We looked into each others eyes. I blinked and squeezed my eyes shut for a bit and then reopened them. He mimicked me and began to purr deeply. Mom was nearby, thus her toes were photographed in the top left hand corner of the photo.
"You're TOO CUTE! I have to take your picture! I wish I could take you home with me!"
Mom's response: "Aaaww! But he probably has diseases! Poor thing." I think my little mascota is just really fit, not sickly. Milo, my cat, the resident garbage disposal, nap expert and laptop warmer was a fatty compared to this guy. This dude could give him a run for his money.
SNAP!
Lovely, isn't it? Yes. And I promise no photoshopping was involved. Ok, freshman year of college, fall and as we all know, I'd adopted my own style and this day was a pair of white jazz shoes (quite comfortable I must add) and pinstripe pants. It was mid afternoon and I remember having just finished all of my classes, the sunlight was streaming into my room in just the right way. I look down, and put my feet together. I love pictures with an implied vanishing point. Clean lines? I'm no art critic, but the angular nature of what I saw appealed to me enough to take a picture.
SNAP!
Ok, so here are 2 of my favorite things, my face and Dahlias (yes, you read right, my face). I had just visited the farmer's market that morning and by the time I returned around noonish, my roomate had just emerged from her nocturnal heap to go eat. Therefore I had the room to myself. Excellent. The light does something just right about mid-fall at that time of day. I opened the shade to reveal my room to the sun's majestic glow that cast shadows in just the most excellent way. Thus was born a series of at least 30 pictures with me and the said dahlias and my face in various stances. Yes, I finally figured out where all my time goes: taking and editing pictures, and now blogging, lucky for you : )
SNAP!
Well, I do hope you've enjoyed reading/looking as much as I have had taking the photos and writing about them! Keep posted about the results August 2nd! : )
Much love,
<3 SF
