Alone, But Never Lonely.

me

Things in my life seem to be changing for the better. Biggest concern as of late is peace and quiet. There has been so much ado about nothing in my life by persons in my family. A book that I read a long time ago called them "Crazy Makers". Yes I was surrounded by them. I mean my immediate family and just a bit further down the branch. It seemed to me that to remain the peacemaker would be the best option. Not the best of things to do in this situation, because in the end I wasn't cared for or even liked for my neutrality. People always make assumptions about their motivations in life. I seriously believe that besides paying my bills on time, my motivation to be a "work-a-holic" stems from me trying to avoid any and all familial conflicts etc. I am getting older and have taken drastic measures to safeguard my peaceful existence. I no longer speak to those that have emotionally attempted to blackmail  and hurt me. The people that try and bait me are gone to! My personal boundaries are very secure. The fact that I have taken on weekend work tells me that I am growing past all those crazy nights out dancing till dawn. Where I live now it is not even a possibility. My time and emotions are my own now. I guess that is what middle age has brought me to. I don't want to waste a single moment on frivolous shit. Too much to do before the lights fade to black. Please feel free to call me selfish. I will agree with you completely on that statement. Don't call me lonely though. I have spent the better part of my life alone. It seems strange to many, but I really do enjoy doing my own thing. The thought of being "owned by someone else" gives me actual hives and makes me want to move further away. My dear Mother, may she rest in peace, clung to me like super-glue. It was very suffocating at times. She never meant me harm, but that grip she had on me was very strong. I didn't come into my own until she left the world almost five years ago, Christmas eve. There is so much out there in the world that I want to accomplish, the years are passing faster than I would like. So please do me the courtesy of letting me be. I am fine, happy (now) and getting healthier. You won't find me lingering in bars  or clubs very much. I can be found very often trying to play catch up with technology, taking photographs and occasionally hanging out with my cat Lulu, who by the way is a bit of a loner to. :) 

Random Wandering Thoughts...Is Photography Dead?

Just another random break between runs where I get in the mood to blog. Lately I have become bored and frustrated with my photography work. The new technology is soo easy to learn that I feel like sometimes that taking photos with it is just like shooting fish in a barrel. It is like ok take a picture of this flower, wear this dress with this hair, blah blah blah... I really started to feel the way about it the way Andy Warhol felt about Painting in the 80s. I have tried new lenses, different glass filters and have made a few of my own. Nothing was jumping out at me until I picked up a Mamiya 945 1000s Medium format camera. Maybe the Hipsters were right. Maybe I really needed to get back to basics and let those fish swim out to sea. Technology does level the playing field. If you are a bad or inexperianced artist, get a really good camera, great software, filters etc and you to can be the next up and coming super star of photography. That is not my cup of tea. I just want to make art that is worth making and to hell with the masses. I dont make a lot of money at and really don't give a shit. I am happy when my work is appreciated, but don't base my self-esteem on it. If that were the case I would have slit my throat after the past couple years on Etsy...Have you seen my numbers lately, just plain abysmal. Back to my original rambling point: I am bored! Like I mentioned above, going back to analog has been the greatest adventure. It was meant to happen in that after I told people about my foray back into the dark ages, friends etc couldn't have been more supportive: here take this old camera stuff off my hands etc. Sadly I was also given my fellow roomate and photographer's cameras and stuff after she passed away. Rest in Peace Erika, your stuff is well loved and appreciated. So this seemed to be the sign that I am heading in the right direction for me. I still shoot digital of course, but my renewed love is getting into the nitty gritty of film at the medium format level. Also, I really want to thank this excellent guy I dated. He introduced me to medium format by letting me shoot with his Hasselblad back in school for a class project. Kenn really blew my mind with that camera and was I terribly sad when I found out years later that he sold it. So with mad determination I sent off a roll of 120 film to this lab in California. Still need to pick up supplies as I turn my bathroom into an old fashioned lab. My brain can still recall that specific photo chemistry cocktail that I loved so much! For the momemt I will send it off util it is ready. The only moderen techonlogical advance that I will be using is scanning the negatives. So stay tuned for my future posts... Cheers, Stacy

Photography Should Be Accessible To Everyone!

Projects seem slow going for me at the moment. Google Glass has been fairly unreceptive. Looking to new avenues for this project. Have found an interesting piece of software called VCamera. This app will create images based on voice commands:

How cool is that. It is not as expensive as the google glass nor as high tech, but I believe at 99 Cents for the app and a 200 dollars for the iPod or iPhone this has possibilities. So I am going to change the project and drop the glass in favor of this new voice activated technology. It does bother me that there will be some people who cannot participate because of speech, but am working on a cable release solution for that. So I will refine the initial proposal and present it to some folks and see if there is funding availavailable. Basically I am looking at getting: 10 iphones, 10 VCamera Apps, 10 stands or holders for the phones,  and atleast 5 cable realeses. I wonder if Apple would loan us the technology? Any ideas? I really want this project to go through for the people at West Kentucky Easter Seals. Photography should be for everyone, wouldn't you agree?!