... for Life


Every so often in life you are given opportunities that leave an imprint on you deep enough that you know you'll always hold a "visual of the experience". The past two days have been like that for me. I had the wonderful opportunity to participate in the Franklin County "Relay for Life"... an experience that I won't soon forget. Along with 20 or so of my fellow Hallmark classmates, instructors, and alumni we spent 20 plus hours photographing in incredible event! Yes, all night and into the next day. What I will take from this experience is a better understanding of what it means to live with, live through, live without and live for...


For more info on
the Franklin County event...
http://hallmark.edu/news/

For more info on
Relay For Life...
http://www.relayforlife.org/relay/

Roller or Coaster?

A day or so ago I described my life to someone as being one of the cars on the track of a roller coaster, slowly climbing the first peak. Click-Clack-Click-Clack. Ten months of work at Hallmark and I somehow wonder whether I am ready for that moment when my "car" is released at the top of the incline. Often in life people describe themselves as being "stuck in a situation". It occurred to me that can't actually be the case. Life is in a constant state of motion, we have only to choose whether to roll forward with intention or coast. Today I choose to roll... maybe even jump the tracks.


My (not so) little brother...

As my final portfolio review lingers 'til the end of next week I found a few days to escape western Mass and spend some time with my family in Illinois.  I am so excited for the chance to "hang out" with my brother and his girlfriend as it's been more than a year since I've seen them. It's not easy to get back and forth from Japan (where he's lived for about three years now). He hasn't lost his pestering younger brother ways, but when I look at him in pictures he seems far from resembling the title of "little brother".


What day is it?

So, it's really been a while.  I can't possibly sum up the last several weeks in one post, but some of the highlights include...


* 26 photo shoots
* more than one 17 hour day at school (no kidding)
* numerous hours of editing
* one failed attempt at the famous "master cleanse"
* trip to Hartford
* assisting opportunities with Justin & Mary Marantz, Jim Roselli, and Dani Fine Photography
* numerous evenings in a row with 3 hours of sleep
* two evenings since with more than 12 hours of sleep
* one trip to Boston
* six days of portfolio reviews
* one marathon of "Jon and Kate plus 8"... did you know they get $75,000 an episode?
* lots of thought as to what my future holds :)

School ramped down so quickly that we were all left with strange sleep schedules and the stress of reviews through mid-June.  All-in-all an exciting process.  Imagine your work being critiqued by three industry professionals with wonderful credentials in front of the staff and student body of Hallmark.  It's a bit like defending your thesis (with a little less talk).  I have until the 11th-12th of June before I'll be "called to the stand" so wish me luck!

BTW - I do realize it's Friday! ;)

The perfect clouds...

Things have been infinitely crazy with final portfolio coming due. We've all been madly shooting and editing (less editing in my case). The one thing that I am thankful for is that photography takes me outside on a day like this!

It was actually an assignment for me to find beautiful clouds to shoot for a background. No silver lining, but it was a beautiful day...

PS - I am more active on Twitter than here at the moment but I've linked my Twitter Status on the upper right of this page. To follow me on Twitter, see http://twitter.com/monikamichelle or see the "Links" section above.





Just a thought...

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