Yosemite

through the car window

taken by Michael; edited by me

 

taken by Lauren or Steven

I won't go into telling my story again -- trekking up the tallest waterfall in North America while being at my heaviest weight -- but looking at these pictures made me realize how lucky I am. Lucky to have a friend like Lauren. Lucky to be alive and to see places like this. Lucky to meet new people. Lucky to not have my slow ass left behind on top of the mountain. Lucky to have the ability to move around and lose weight or gain weight -- whatever I want.

Working and studying for the GREs have left my photography endeavors to the wayside, but I did go out with Julio the other day to assist with his street photography project. It was inspiring stuff, especially to see his raw pictures without the flash or the reflector or any accessory. Lighting is #1, composition #2. I've had it backwards all this time. If I'm making my subject face direct sunlight and risking major shadows and lighting issues just to get the badass background behind her, I haven't learned my lesson. The end.

Speaking of which, I still can't figure out my "style" for photos, which is why all of my photos are edited differently. It seems like the low-saturation look is popular for most photographers, but I seem to like color/high contrast too much to make that happen.