A Night Out

Some typical street scenes from Little Italy.  Mulberry Street is hopping on weekend evenings- especially in summer.  I know that Ive talked about it before, but I can't really emphasize enough how much I am charmed by that area.  The first photograph is a young couple buying gelato.  The girl's outfit is so perfect!  I like it in general, but for a date night in Little Italy... that girl's got style.  The second photograph is of one of the many restaurant hosts who yell to the passersby, trying to get them to come into the restaurant.

Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Tools of the Trade

 

Paintbrushes, ceramics, beautifully coloured walls and window frames... this is all par for the course at the home of Stefanie DiStefano.  She's a friend of David, Danny's dad.  We went to a brunch party at her house while we were in Austin. 

I had been introduced to some of her artwork almost nine monthes earlier, when I was shown a stunning mural in the outdoor seating of a Torchy's Tacos in South Austin.  I was impressed with the incredible attention to detail- and the fact that the Torchy's mascot was the same as the one from my middle school.  

Anyways, her house was fabulous.  It was one of the most artistic places I have ever visited.  The floors, walls, counters, windows, they are all at least partially covered in her mosaics.  Fun paintings hang from the walls.  Beaded curtains.  Cacti.  Massive amounts of porch space.  It was, as I said before, fabulous.  

And Stephanie is a lovely person!  I figured she had to be pretty cool if she was allowing a stranger to tail along to her brunch, and she proved me right.  Despite the fact that I got attacked by a cactus in the front yard (meh) it was a great day.  Expect a few more posts showing her house and work.  

Here's her website: http://www.flamingoranch.com

Austin, Texas, USA

Photographer Feature: Lauryn McCarter

Lauryn McCarter is half Irish and half Hungarian, and feels that this fact has disproportionately affected her life.  Jersey-born and raised in Virginia, Lauryn is an NYU Directing major but spends her summers working as a farmhand. She is spending this semester studying in Prague, traveling through Europe, and refilling her creative gas tank. 

More of her work, including photos and short stories, can be found at www.halftrue.tumblr.com. Lauryn shoots with a Canon Rebel XS named Amelia. Her favorite thing in the world is animals.

 Bric a Brac Shop, Staré m ěsto, Prague

Lonely Wicker Unicorn, a courtyard somewhere in Staré město, Prague

Florist's window, Prague

African wild dogs, Zoo Praha, Troja, Prague

Fisherman's Bastion, Buda, Budapest

Prague, Czech Republic
and
Budapest, Hungary

Swinging Around

Teddy bear princess doll, on the swing in my parents' backyard!

West Grove, Pennsylvania, USA

Like Stat

Have I ever mentioned that my little sister is gorgeous??

This is her.  Studying for AP Statistics.  She's a senior in high school now, which is just crazy to me.  Just about as crazy as the fact that I'm done college.  Sheesh time flies.  Anyway, here she is, studying away, looking stunning on my family's lovely porch overgrown with pink roses. Amazing.

West Grove, Pennsylvania, USA

Model: Julianna Buck

Gone to Seed

  

 

A study of some lettuce that had gone to seed.  I didn't actually know what this was at first- I thought it was some kind of delicate wildflower.  But, nope!  It was lettuce that had not been picked in a few weeks, and had grown and was planning for the next generation.  The mouse doll was my little addition to the scene.

West Grove, Pennsylvania, USA

Flutter By Again

Another shot of that same beautiful, black butterfly.  Took my breath away.

Sorry, once again, for the lack of posts recently.  I work fourteen hour days, and I just haven't had time to deal with my blog lately.  I shall try to be better about it.

West Grove, Pennsylvania, USA

Flutter By

This was taken in my parents' backyard.  They have zinnias all over the place in the fall... all of the flower beds that have been full of other plants get simply taken over.  Orange, purple, pink and yellow dominate the yard, rather than the expected green.  And what comes along with them?  Butterflies.  Dozens of them!  Simple moth-like ones all the way to elegant blue and yellow ones.  Stand in that yard for five minutes, and I guarantee that you will see six or seven different types of butterflies. It's absolutely magical.

West Grove, Pennsylvania, USA

Johnny Jump Up

Jump it! (Louder)

West Grove, Pennsylvania, USA

Tiger Lily

Lillies are my favourite kind of flower.  I spied this one in a garden next to my voice teacher's house and had to photograph it.  I didn't notice until I downloaded it onto my computer, that a small ant is crawling out of the flower!

Astoria, Queens, New York City, New York, USA

Roll the Dice

On our last night in Austin, a bunch of us got together and played a late night game of Illuminati in the gazebo by the pool.  Danny and I had gone for a late night swim in the pool a few nights before, but were rudely interrupted by the sounds of a pack of coyotes killing a deer about twenty feet away, in the woods.  When that happened, we prompty ran away.  Coyotes don't generally attack people, especially in groups... but I am pretty little, and it was much safer to just leave.  This night, we had six people, and lots of lights on, so we weren't particularly concerned.  That's Danny, with the dive and the instructions, in the very dim light of a single 60w lamp.

Austin, Texas, USA

Baby Branch

A small branch with fresh, green leaves on a tree in Danny's dad's neighborhood.  

New beginnings, happy days.

Austin, Texas, USA

Photographer Feature: Erica Norman

I am Erica Norman, and I have lived lots of places and gone to many different parts of the US and have even traveled to Europe multiple times. Regardless of that, the best place I have ever lived or been to is the Delaware/Pennsylvania area. It is filled with hills and forgotten buildings and a wide variety of things to look at. It's no wonder that I've taken up photography recently.

This collection of photos depicts Hagley Museum and Library's grounds during the summer of 2010. Hagley was a gunpowder mill founded by E.I. DuPont over 200 years ago, and today is one of the gorgeous parks around Wilmington, Delaware. It is worth taking a stroll around during any time of the year, but beware the geese in the spring; they will attack you.

Powder House 1: 

This may or may not be a powder house, I can't remember. What I do remember is that it is, in fact, a very old building. Old buildings are fascinating and photo-worthy, especially if they have fines climbing up them, as this one does. I do not have a clue of what kind of vine this is.

Vine:

This is a close-up of one of the vines that is on the picture of the powder house. I decided I wanted to take a picture of it because of its tiny little delicate flowers and shapely leaves.  I still have no idea what the vine is called.

Portal:

This is a picture of a storehouse, I believe. I took a picture of this because it looked as if it was a portal to another world. Doorways and arches are wonderful subjects for pictures and imaginations to focus on.

Green:

The sun was coming through the canopy of leaves above in such a vibrant way that I was almost forced to take a picture, because my conscience told me I would regret it if I didn't.

Two Paths:

This is a picture of the beginning of the main path/road of the Hagley grounds. The viewpoint is a little skewed, but I think that was because I was on a hill. I am on the less traveled path that goes up the hill and into a more woodsy part of the grounds.

You can find more of my art here: http://glassflower7.deviantart.com/
My blog is here: http://elvenrantpage.blogspot.com/

Wilmington, Delaware, USA

Howl it Away

While I was in Austin, I got to go to Barton Springs on a full moon.  It was the most hippie-ish thing that I have ever done- and I lived in the East Village for a little over two years, so that's saying something.  Whether the East Village is still hippie or totally hipster is something else I could say, but I'll save that for another time.  Anywho, this full moon thing was so.  cool.  There was a drum circle, a cold natural spring turned into a swimming pool, diving, howling at the moon, and toplessness.  Apparently it's legal to be topless in Austin.  Nifty.  (No worries.  No entire boobs will be shown on this page.)

The above photograph shows David Garrison and Denise Caveness. 

And here's more of Alex Stevens, Daniel Garrison, and Samantha Leigh.

WELCOME TO THE GUN SHOW.

Austin, Texas, USA

As the Seasons Change

Here's my personal modeling contribution to the photographs taken in that little clearing in Austin that cloudy August day.  

My feet.

I don't normally take pictures of my feet... that's a total lie.  I take photographs of my own feet all of the time.  I take pictures of myself in mirrors by holding out the camera too.  But, usually, these pictures suck and are nowhere near being considered to be put on this blog.  Yeah.  Bad.  And oddly egotistical.  

Yet, here I go posting some pics of my own feet.  

It's because it's themed, kiddos...

(And by that I mean I felt like posting some self-portraits)

Summer

Fall

The second photograph was taken at Barton Springs.  More on that to come :)

Austin, Texas, USA

The Fight

Boom... Headshot!!

 

Here are some fun shots from the fighting I mentioned in the last post.  My boyfriend, Daniel Garrison, and his friend, Alex Stevens love to spar with one another when they hang out.  The results are pretty fun.

  

Austin, Texas, USA

Daydreamer

This is Sam, a friend of Danny's who I met the first time I went to Austin.   She's a pretty girl with a bit of edge, and she's really photogenic.  We were watching our boyfriends fight- both of them do martial arts.  They live in Austin, and Danny and I live in New York, so he and Alex (Sam's boyfriend) don't see one another very often.  Every time they do get to hang out, basically every time Danny goes back to Austin, they spar with one another, and teach each other moves that they have acquired or perfected since the last time they got together. 

 

The sky was getting cloudy, hinting that it was going to rain, and we all kept looking up, trying to catch the first glimpse of a rain drop.  These are some candids I took of Sam looking at the sky, but she definitely looks like she's daydreaming.

Austin, Texas, USA