read more: homeless youth defining their own identity

["Fleur" photo by Natalie Brasington]

"How do you wish to be seen?

This is the question behind "The Portrait Project," an exhibition celebrating the strength and resilience of individuals and families experiencing homelessness..."At a time when NYC homelessness is at record highs, one of Art Start's missions is to start a dialogue about what it means to be seen," explained Johanna de los Santos, co-executive director for Art Start, in a statement. While the majority of visualizations depicting contemporary homelessness summon feelings of compassion, sympathy and frustration, Art Start hopes to shift the dialogue, celebrating the fortitude and enduring imagination of the pictured individuals, who refuse to let their circumstances define their identities."
- Priscilla Frank, The Huffington Post

dilapidated delights

Every since I was young, I have loved rundown buildings. I used to dream of spending a summer riding a motorcycle through the backwood highways of North Carolina and Virginia, taking photos of old barns to be published in giant tome. For the same reason, these images from Matteo Massagrande immediately spoke to me. They are (far far far more wonderful) cousins to images I have saved from site visits to old interiors projects. Something ties me to old things that have seen better days. I want to let them shine again, but not by cleaning them but by letting their stories show, just as Matteo has done.

Originally found via The Fox is Black. More on Matteo Massagrande here. 

photobooth sf

Have you noticed my new Facebook/ Twitter/ all over the Internets photo? I had it taken at Photobooth SF, an amazing photography studio and event space that specialized in analog photography. Polaroids, Dianas, Lomos, even tintype. Not only can you have your portrait taken there, they sell refurbished Polaroids so you can snap your own retro art.

You can schedule your own shoot, or attend the Pre-Valentine's Party tomorrow that benefits Creative Arts Charter School. You can even get a tintype with your sweetie for a special price. If you are in the Bay Area, you need to check this space out. And if you aren't local, the images on the website are incredible on their own.

the magic of twitter

A few weeks ago, you may have seen me post something on twitter that looked like this:

If you were confused, it was in response to this:

Which resulted in this:

Yes. Those are my fingers. No. I have not become a hand model (the current burn from the oven on my right hand should prevent that.) Instead, I have started an internship for Anne Sage, a wonderful blogger, stylist, and Executive Editor of Rue Magazine. Last Friday we had a wonderful time shooting the Valentine's Survival Guide that is featured on pages 34-36 of the just released issue of Rue Magazine. Our photographer, Molly DeCoudreaux, was a trooper, making our shoot super fun even while she felt under the weather. Check out the rest of the shoot!

stuck in cheyenne

The most memorable part of my trip west was an impromptu, forced furlough in Cheyenne, Wyoming. Well, that is not entirely accurate as the most memorable part of the trip may have been when driving I-80 in Nebraska (which takes an entire day) and our passenger mirror sheared off its base. At 70 miles an hour. This left us unable to merge or turn right without fear of crushing a car beneath us, but it was the subsequent engine trouble and inability to drive over 40 miles an hour that lead to a day in the small capitol city of Wyoming. After the stress of getting a new vehicle were over and we were guaranteed to be able to continue the next day, I was able to enjoy the town and took these photos.

Cheyenne is a small town, despite being the capitol of the state, and is proud to be the Gateway to the Frontier, which definitely comes through. The downtown area hosts a frontier museum, a local theater, some galleries, bars and a few thrift shops (those adventures here.)

a year in an image

I could have sworn I posted about this earlier, but perhaps I only meant to. Vogue covers from 2010 overlaid on each other. Interesting how Vogue in different countries styles itself. Some, like the US have a very consistent format, allowing an image to form in the center of the overlay with the text stacked neatly on the sides. Others, like Vogue Paris, seem to take more risks from cover to cover. All 14 covers together form a very clear image.

[Vogue]

See more images.

alphabet search

This project by Marc Oliviers, featured this week on Design Sponge, reminds me a of a project from a freshman design class. We had to assemble the alphabet through photographs. Some of Oliviers' images, though beautiful, would not have passed our Professor's standards. We were banned from using actual images of letters, letters that required cutting off the image or 'incomplete' letters. On the other hand, my photographs were not nearly as beautiful. Oliviers has mutliple images per letter and they are on sale individually or as a poster.