global night commute: dallas

saturday night penn and i attended the global night commute. dallas was one of 130 cities to gather together, make art representing, among many things, how they can change the world and why we should help the children in northern uganda and write letters to the president and the senator.

everyone camped out and at 6a.m. this morning they took a group photo that will go along with the other cities and all of the art work will be in a book. the book will be available for sale and distributed to senators, the president, etc.

penn and i collaborated. he painted, i wrote. part of each piece was including a picture of yourself. text reads:

when he was born i began
teaching him how to love
and respect and protect
his fellow man.

what did your mommy teach you?

help them because you can.

penn was quite popular and made a lot of friends. this girl asked if she could borrow my son for a minute to help her paint. someone was there taking his picture and i'm curious to see where that will end up. someone also came and took his picture as he led a small group in the "chicken dance." he learned how to take a bow last night.

these three girls were the greatest people we met there. they lured penn in with markers and paper and i'm sure they had no idea what they were getting themselves into 'cause we spent our remainding hour and a half with them and at the end penn did NOT want to go.

there was kicking and screaming. these girls were deep into their long! letters to the senator but stopped everything to play with my son. i was amazed.

this was a good event. an important event. there were people and families and students and grandma's there, all together, sometimes really discussing the world, the war and our govornment and sometimes doing the chicken dance and yelling for spray glue. i don't know if it was publiscized well enough, but there will be coverage of the event. we saw some news vans and satelites there.

we are so lucky.

educate yourself about the invisible children. this film will break your heart. this is the documentary that started it all. this is what the govornment is saying. see the war affected children. exlore this site. there is a lot of media on here. the outakes are pretty funny.

we are a global community. these are not just poor little african children you'll never meet. these are poor little african children you'll never meet because they'll be dead. we are all just "one person." so let us gather all of these individuals and recognize the power we have over the world. it does all start with awareness. three 20 year old kids made this documentary!

my two favorite quotes:

"if you had known about the holocaust, wouldn't you have done something?"

"for every one of you who don't write a letter, you're part of the problem."

start a houseparty in your town.

eatin' french, doggy style

they come out in the rain. a slow moving army of all ages, sizes and colors! carrying shelter on their back so they can always be "home."

they found out today that i've armed the backyard with a puppy this year.



(i'd like to point out here that my dog has a freakishly large neck.)

i've never had escargot. but big-necked ringo has.

i love my neighbor

she rocks and she "fixed/discovered" the self-timer button on my camera.

bang bang

i have bangs! kinome is so on my top ten list of favorite people in dallas. and not because she cuts a good hair or she's my neighborhoodlum or because when she says "beans" my kid giggles, but because she just is good. inside out and all over, but especially on top. (her hair, freaks)
go get your hair did.

it's papa's fault we're rotten

once a week papa (my father) sends penn something in the mail. "A PRESENT!" penn calls it. they're all shipped in twice used cardboard boxes. which we absolutley support. but one came in a new box recently and brand new corrugation is just sexy. in the arts and crafts sort of way.

so are the grids you're left with after you've punched out all of the dora the explorer memory game cards. "EUREKA!" i told penn. "this is going to be an oven door!" to which penn replied, "eureka?"

yes, my friends, you are looking upon penn's amazing and free cardboard oven complete with memory card punch out backsplash, construction paper burners and a duct taped shelf inside.

these pictures were taken before the knobs and handles and swirly burner things were added (have yet to be added actually) because penn could not wait a minute longer. he likes it, see! actually, this is the face he makes anytime the camera comes out now.

asking him to open his eyes only results in this.

this is penn using the superpower of cuteness to persuade mommy to let him play with the camera. he's saying here, "pleeeeeaaassee?" i didn't even realize i was taking this picture so here i've got the begging plus the, "god-you're-cute-but-the-answer-is-still-no" look.

thanks for the box, papa!

in. fucking. spriring.

the beautiful people set photo's by sarah (?)

it's time to play with the camera. who's in?

listening to: the good life

carissa byers photography: bridal portrait

some people are so much fun to photograph.

as is the case with this lovely bride. she's beaming. glowing. hilarious! inside and out.

we photographed her on white and then headed out to the arboretum.

a very popular place, it seems, to wander through flowers in a wedding dress.

can't wait until the wedding!

bitch, bitch, bitch

i have a week long headache that refuses to submit to excedrin. after yesterday's sweaty yardwork (weedeating, mowing, bagging up this and that, making one small angry attempt to pull up a bit of crabgrass, leafblowing. . .), then yoga and excersising with the baby, then jogging through the "woodland trails" near our house with the dog who has only two speeds: run and stop, every single muscle in my body aches. did i really do that much yesterday? (muscles scream "yes.")

would have loved nothing more than to just read and listen to the rain all day, instead of shampooing couches because of leaky diapers or mopping floors because of spilled cans of spaghetti o's or giving the baby an afternoon bath because his feet smell that bad or changing clothes three times because first i sat in the leaky diaper mess, then i spilled the spaghetti o's on my pants, then i took the baby and the dog to a muddy muddy lake and all six of the feet had their way with my pants. would have loved nothing more than a nap, or the baby having a nap. alas. there was neither.

and the head to toe aches have made me a tad impatient because nothing compromises less or gives you less space than babies and puppies.

nonetheless, either i am really good at faking it for the sake of the greater good or the baby and pup have been outstandingly tolerant of me. i think it's both.

democratic revolution

lying close under my skin is someone who gets very excited about politics. and by excited i think i mean angry. and by angry i mean an optomistic, idealistic 27 year old woman who still thinks she can do her part to change the world.

so when i found out this afternoon that senator john edwards was speaking at a dallas young democrats rally, "the democratic revolution," at the gypsy tea room, i instantly text messaged my glorious babysitter and then called a handful of folks i thought might be interested.

it was so absolutely worth it.

mary and i were smoking by the bar and the above woman came up and said excitedly, "we can smoke in here?!" i got her an ashtray and we lit her ciggarette. next thing we knew she was on stage.

brave combo and the Booker T. Washington HSPVA Latin Ensemble Band was up for musical pleasure.

sarah jane generously scored me a free ticket.

courtesy of the gentleman displaying his foot here.

hal samples was there for me to express my gratitude that his work exists. i don't really have a favorite photographer or artist. but if i did, it'd totally be hal.

there was the always fun "camera war" where everyone whips around their shutters like loaded pistols while bystanders giggle curiously and we walk away with hilarious shots. and there was this one instance where i danced around and let hal flash away at my foolishness. (mmmmm. . .can't wait to see those. ha.)

mary and i talked all the way home about just how cool the event was. his speech was short, but i believe edwards has convinced me.

(hard to see, but the above photo was my kodak moment of the night; guy dipping girl at the end of swing dancing and kissing her.)

***just realized between sj, hal and my blog, there's full coverage of the event and it's really neat to see what three different photographers take home with them on their cameras.***

standup.org

Dear Governor,

I've recently become aware of the "Stand Up" campaign started by Bill Gates. I am excited that there are so many people who truly care and are doing something about the declining value of our public school systems. But as the parent of a toddler, I am also frightened at the educational possibilities that will be available to my son and the mindset of those making the decisions that create those possibilities.


For all children I want there to be a place available to EVERYONE, no matter the economic status, no matter the appraised "IQ," no matter the religious belief, and no matter the disability. I want teachers who love what they do and who understand that they are the most important people in our world. And I want everyone else to understand that duty, respect the importance of that occupation, and pay them accordingly. I want teachers that will truly teach and support the ideals of children and implore whatever methods work.

We are a nation made up of individuals, and if we don't treat each individual with respect than we will reap the unfortunate rewards that those people will create. Cliche' as it may be, children really are our future. And they really will be responsible for some fantastic decisions. It is our absolute obligation to prepare them for that.
But we are a society who binds it's morality and necassity in politics. So I am writing you to let you know that there is a mother of a two year old out here in Dallas, Texas who needs education to be a top priority of serious action on your agenda and not just a bullet point in a campaign brochure. If we don't invest everything we can in education now we will have to invest everything into playing catch-up later.

Sincerely,
Carissa Byers

happy birthday, paul!

we survived penn's first sleep over, in the name of paul's birthday and the expense of babysitters! it was a total blast. complete success.
things i learned:

1. these kids are completely amazing and unique
2. and creative (as if genetics were going to give them a choice in that one)
3. and although my son was such a gentleman and made me extremely proud with his natural ability to share his "singleton" house for the overall good
4. methinks the household will remain in the only-child realm for a long long, long time.

that's probably an important lesson.

i'm so jonesing for something really really fun to do so that penn can play sleepover at their house and momma can party hardy. alas. i'll probably just pick a day and get a bunch of work and reading done. a mini-vacation doesn't sound so awful.

happy birthday, p.!

lifetime channel oprah special list

i like balence, so to follow up the what i "hate" (termed loosely) post, what i love:

1. the baby. he is the ultimate creation of so many things, but the way i think and the level of dedication i have discovered to a human being is profound.

2. friends (including mom and dad). you all rawk donkey balls. i don't know what that means, exactly, but i've said it before, and if you're a friend of mine, you'll "get it." and that's cool.

3. my work. to be truly fullfilled and wake up with this amazing pupose is to know happiness. i have yet to claim a "niche" and that may be true for the rest of my existance, but i used to inwardly turn my nose up at wedding photography. now, i love it. for a minute (or 8 hours) my work is just really really important. i can photograph my weird concept stuff all day long. and people can buy it. and i might sell a bunch only see it in a yard sale or on e-bay someday. but my wedding photographs will be kept and cherished forever. the weird concept stuff is what keeps me going, though.

4. learning. i'm lucky enough to enjoy all aspects and avenues to learning. osmosis. by the book. classroom. talk and talk and listen listen listen.

5. independence. this one's huge. i've was attached to the baby for so long. then i transitioned into an attachment to work. now i'm reaching a point where there is balence between those two and i am able to add in a few new ingredients. i suddenly want to do things. go places. i want to make out like i'm in highschool again. i'm rediscovering carissa again. anything is possible. and damnit do i want anything.

6. "garden." (termed loosely.) running my hands through the lavendar and rosemary and thyme is exquisite.

7. ease. hard to explain. but all things are just easier right now. all things. not to say they are necassarily easy. just easier.

8. my dog. and shut up. he is a new experience that deserves his own category. this crazy ass puppy makes me really really happy in ways no thing/one else can/does. unconditional love, maybe? stinky dog breath? obnoxious running in circles and nipping my feet? the way he needs to relocate himself to my head to sleep early in the morning. he makes me smile every single time no matter what.

9. staying up late.
and waking up early.
(this is so carissa.)

10. italics. maybe emphasis is a broader adjective.

11. currently listening to a lot of= kings of convenience, ben folds, elliot smith, erin mckoewen, amos lee , bright eyes, and the decemberists.

12. currently reading a lot of douglas coupland.

13. the number 12.

the "i love . . ." list is harder for me. 'cause i sorta "love" everything. i love experience and i know that it all weighs in, good bad and ugly. i don't like "i love" lists because they come off sounding like a lifetime channel oprah special. aaaaannnnnddd, i suppose i don't care. you wouldn't blame a girl for being happy, would you?

shit, tornadoes, superstitions and the like of bed making

"why do i have to make the bed" is a thought that wanders at least once into every person's head. seems pointless, doesn't it? "i'm just going to crawl back in it."

i'm a bed maker. i like neat things despite the hard-core fact that i only get company directly following the hour it takes the tornado to whip through my entire house with it's glory dump of dirty dishes and fisher-price. that's probably about the time it sucks out all of my VANILLA GLADE PLUG INS so surely there is a whiff of something from somewhere that involves somebody's poop. (this would be all living creatures in the house with an emphasis on benji and with the exception of me. i've always had the luxury of truthfully telling people, "my shit don't stink." just so i publiclly jinx myself really good here.)

but, i cater to my known traits. i would never make a bed that involved tucking in sheets or pulling up multiple layers. all that diddle belongs to erica's inner gay man "charley." ('cause private jokes are funny, yo.)

we have big fluffy down comforters. all it takes is a nice fwomp! from the end of the comforter and a few tosses of the pillows towards the up end of the bed and your done.

today, as i was making penn's bed and dusting out dog, cat and baby dirt from the sheets I TOTALLY GOT IT. we make our beds to keep the dirt out. duh.

there's a miracle in there

i just finished a maternity portrait for the most beautiful mommy-to-be in all of dallas. she and her family are absolutley spectacular. i can't even explain the warmth that just radiates out of all of them, even when confronted with big bright lights and cameras. i remember being pregnant. i remember thinking, "wow, i have to do this for nine months?!" and now i look at penn and can't believe i grew him in such a short amount of time.

and i look at her and am just floored with respect. for her. for all mothers. for women. and for life in general. there's a whole person in that wonderful belly. whole and complete and happy, set with everything she'll need to understand and create a life very very soon. it's amazing, really. and wonderful. and those words truly do not encompase the idea. you'll never know until you've done it. but it doesn't mean you shouldn't try. mother's don't get enough respect for the art of being pregnant. they get told they're bitchy or hormonal or fat.

WE CAN GROW PEOPLE IN OUR BODIES! why isn't this on more of a pedastal?

i am more than eccstatic that i got to be part of the memory making. and she's probably reading this, so feel free to tell her what you think! (hi L.!)

we did a wide variety of shots and poses, showing off her beautiful belly and i'm not going to stick that up for the whole internet to see. so i'll just say wow. perfect.

we shot in erica's studio and what we got wouldn't have been possible without her. i know she never takes enough credit for the amazing things she does. she's a humble bastard. (who wears perfume!) someday i'll figure out how to express how much she has helped me and how truly truly fortunate i am to have her for my friend and neighbor. (thanks.)

but hate is such a strong word

opinions that will set everyone in a huff b'cause you do this: i hate

1. perfume. totally hate perfume. it all smells fake and strong and alcohall-y and unlike any person should smell.

people put it on strong. that spray in the air and walk through it? that's silly and still strong. that little dab behind the ears? still strong. and by strong i mean i can smell you when i stand beside you. god help me if i have to share an elevator with you. my sinus' also HATE perfume.

do you know where perfume came from? flowers and what-not back in the day before people bathed regularly or had deoderant. just take a bath, people. now, i've met three men in my 27 years who's cologne doesn't bother me. i don't think it's that i actually like the cologne. i think it's more about them being so easy to identify. smells are linked to memory. but i can only smell it when i hug them. two of those men wore the same cologne. certain herbal oils don't bother me.

2. icky smelling plug-ins. mulberry, rain, mountain mist, spring time garden, hawaiin blessing, or god. help. me. apple cinnamon. i really hate apple cinnamon. what the hell is "mountain mist?" !!! and "after the rain?" !!! who comes up with this? around here, after the rain smells like hot asphalt and dirty lake water. i do like the vanilla plug-ins. call me a hypocrite, but my bathroom smells nice, yo.

3. those purses with the giant sequins. come on. they're just ugly and i think i hate them. i can tell how much we'll hang out, if ever, if you're carrying one of those giant sequin bombs. i probably hate anything with sequins or anything remotely shiny.

4. women wearing foundation. blech. and it's not hiding any little wrinkles. rather, it's settling into them like sand in a canyon and making them so much more noticeable. without the foundation i wouldn't even be thinking about anyone's face. with the foundation i think, "wow, look at all that stuff she's trying cover up." hate it.

5. grease. my tongue curls at the site of any food that has to rest on a paper towel first. though i do love/make fried mushrooms and fried squash.

6. cheesy stuff on the web. anything animated that you're putting on a message board. any red text on a black background. any colored text period especially when accompanied by "super duper way cool-ass i'm twelve years old!" fonts. retarded backgrounds that elimate the ability to read the content. anything that comes with a pop-up.

along the same lines, I HATE E-MAIL FORWARDS!!!! if it says "fwd." i delete it immediately. i got a little strict and told some select people to take me off of their forward list a while back and boy did i ruffle their feathers. and boy did i not care. i hate e-mail forwards that much. i don't want your jokes, your funny stories, your stupid pictures of squirrils with big balls and i can't tell you enough how an e-mail forward is not going to get me any closer to god. if i am on your giant e-mail forward list TAKE ME THE HELL OFF RIGHT NOW.

i've just offended the entire internet and because i could go on. AND ON. i'll just stop here.

7. junk mail. how many trees have to die because i needed three packets of coupons i don't even open or a door knob full of flyers about lawn care? i don't want to be pre-approved for anything. i will ask if i need you're approval. i do recycle. but i fear they're just making more junk mail.

8. twelve year old girls taking way too sexy pictures of themselves to put on their myspace. ohmigod. and how do i know this, you ask? someone i don't know asked me to be their "friend" and the pics were in their profile. girls wearing next to nothing and seductively pulling even that off. captions to these phtoos read "i'm a whore" and "i want to be a "suicide girl." i checked out her "friends" and it was all the same. wonder what all this wanna-be-a-slut stuff will mean for the next generation of leaders. yeah. being a slut or even pretending to be a slut is real cool, huh.

9. you cranky people who blame everyone for your crankiness. i keep witnessing some downright icky people lately. a woman cursing the man behind me at the atm because she wanted to "cut in line." (she didn't ask, she just cursed him because he was before her and she was in a hurry.) and yesterday benji hit a golf ball over the fence and it went into the neighbor's yard. we thought it was hilarious, but her response was a curt, "that won't happen again, will it." jesus, lady.

10. cookie cutter art. i don't think i'm good enough to become a snob. nonetheless, there is way more art out there that makes me want to vomit, then makes me want to buy it.

you pissed yet?

which world

there are a myriad of what-nots 1st world countries would have you not leave home without; keys to your car, keys to your house, wallet with debit cards, credit cards, cash, drivers liscense, cell phone, planner, sunglasses and the etc.

i should move to the rural motherland where i wear my kid on my back, pick rice all day and pose in national geographic photos for photographers who can keep up with all that stuff.

*photo: light tracers, taken in meridian room, dallas 2006.

wedding before last

i've now reached the point in my wedding phototgraphy that i'm having repeat venues. by the end of the year i'll have spent quite a few hours at this little place in downtown fort worth.


it rained at this wedding too! but it was gorgeous.
i love me a funny groom.

these two are a perfect match. and so amazingly sweet.

the kicker: her family took ballroom dancing at some point, so the father/daughter dance was mesmerizing.

thank you guys for letting me photograph your wedding! it was a blast, and i'll see you again in june!

so this is what happens

you're born: naked, wet, slimy, small with wrinkles in your armpits.

toddler: cute, round, no inhibitions, perfect skin, perfect hair, and you are physical perfection, no matter what.

teenager: anything could happen.

twenty's: pretty close to sorting out the physical events of teenager-dom and deciding what/who you are and what that's supposed to look like.

middle-aged: maintain that decision.

older: you age. you change as much as you've been changing your whole life. you wrinkle. and THAT'S WHAT IS SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN.

nothing can stop it. nothing should stop it. what's on the face is time and it is purposeful and natural and intentional. ACCEPT IT for godsakes 'cause all that superficial is only making your life and those "bags" and everyone around you hang lower.

seriously, people.

damnit loreal (and the like, of course). what have you done to women? all that glossy mag airbrushing to prove how "beautiful" you can be for $29.99 is creating the exact opposite. and the really richie riches, my god! there are people out there paying lots and lots of money to have their faces CUT OPEN and HIKED UP. in the name of "pretty?" really?

i'm not anti-makeup. and i'm not sure what i am anti here, it's definetly something, but i'm ranting due to the recent and humorous pleasure of watching a bunch of ladies feel uncomfortable because they can't accept who they are and seem to think (and they've verbalized this, it's not my assumption) that PILES AND PILES of crap on their face will make them gorgeous. opposite, people. opposite!!!

where is your skin, i say? where. is. your. skin. ?. "foundation," ladies, should be left to the houses. 'cause people are beautiful. but how would anyone know? we can't see you.

proof i don't hate make-up? here's my son in my bag. what's in there really is on his face: $5 mascara and gooey lip balm. i own eye-shadow somewhere and i do enjoy covering a good zit, but he totally loves it. it's weird though, to watch his imitation of me. he knows mom goes hand in hand with chapstick. and he's got it all down.

ooohhhh, i must go get some face paint!