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:: A SodaSnap Postcard For You!

Brooke Fitts — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 02:03:16 +0000

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Brooke Fitts — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 20:39:47 +0000

takin' a road trip.

Brooke Fitts — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 17:04:45 +0000

i'm packing the car. i've got a cooler, some books, a ton of photo gear, a fully loaded ipod, my maps all synced up with my phone, a journal, and some wine. i'm gonna swing by the french bistro by my place and pick up an orangina and a pork rillettes baguette sandwich for the road. i'm heading to the mountains, to the coast, to a lake, to sunshine, and record breaking hot weather... i saw a picture in my head a couple of years ago in the olympic national forest, and i'm gonna go back and take it. i've got my tripod, my wide angle, my tilt-shift, batteries, off camera lighting, and backup cameras... i may even throw my mamiya in for good measure. all I'm missing is a dog to keep me company... have a great weekend. get outside. stay away from a computer. from your phone. from your email. take some photos. call someone you love. take some time to read that book you've been wanting to get your head into. more next week, Brooke

a thought on bravery... and on facebook.

Brooke Fitts — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 16:39:53 +0000

something that i've been contemplating off and on in the past few weeks is the status update part of facebook. first and foremost, i personally have only updated probably three times since my relationship with FB began. but as a writer of the update, whomever that may be, i've been trying to figure out what causes people to write what they write. do we all have this secret need or want to tell the world around us what we're up to or thinking or feeling or being excited about? do we do it for the comments shot back at us? and the updates have provided us with the tool for just that? as with anyone on facebook, the variety of posts is long and wide. people seem to like especially commenting on where one is traveling to (this seems especially true to those who rarely post... since it's something relatively new or exciting to communicate to people.... or how one is feeling... from being tired, to excited, to missing someone, to happy, to stressed out. this is the fairly common post. i know several people that post about working out or training for a marathon or triathalon... and that's all they post about. (is this for encouragement? or desiring validation comments? or just plain old accountability?) one or two of my """"friends"""" post only about their babies, or kids... even to the extent of naps taken, for how long, what's in the diaper, or new foods eaten. (don't get me started on how i feel about those posts!) in short, there's a million different kinds of posts, and i'm sure a million different reasons for them. but here's what i've been thinking about. what if someone posted a little more vulnerably? those things we all feel, but so rarely talk about... what if someone posted that "jane is: feeling really particularly fat today." or "is feeling like a failure". or "doesn't know how to muster the strength to walk thru this particular season?"... i know why no one writes those updates. i certainly wouldn't. but my challenge is (particularly to myself) to be more honest with those around me with what's really going on. yesterday i was at the restaurant i work in, and someone i work with but don't know very well... asked very casually if everything was ok, because i didn't seem like my normal self. for an instantaneous moment, i envisioned looking at him and saying "you know what? i'm walking thru an incredibly difficult time right now so no... as a matter of fact, i'm really not feeling very ok, and work is just about the last place i feel like being right now, so no, everything is NOT alright." and stomping off. in that flash and with that vision, i felt equal parts relief for not saying "i'm fine", and secret delight at the look i knew a response like that would cause to fall upon his face, the shock of what his inquiry would have produced. but i balked. i responded by saying that i was feeling tired, and just not too enthused to be working. i'm not regretting my particular response per se... i'm just curious about the effect of trying to be a little more honest, or vulnerable or open would be. once one could come to terms with the gaping wounds that might be letting some light in... i can only imagine the freedom that would come with just being able to say... "i feel really lonely right now." or "i feel terrified about this decision i'm facing" or "i am recognizing patterns in my life, that i'm having a terribly difficult time coming to terms with...". ouch, right? fear, pride, loss, exhaustion, terror... these aren't foreign, and we are comfortable enough with them within our own skin. but to speak it out. to tell someone. to say "I am THIS..." and "I am feeling THIS way..." and "I desperately want THIS"... that's bravery. that's what i want.

yes!

Brooke Fitts — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 16:29:28 +0000

i thank god for this most amazing day: for leaping greenly spirits of tress and a blue true dream of sky; for everything which is natural which is infinite which is yes. - ee cummings

px3...

Brooke Fitts — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 18:39:36 +0000

I got an honorable mention in The "Prix de la Photographie, Paris" (Px3) strives to promote the appreciation of photography, to discover emerging talent, and introduce photographers from around the world to the artistic community of Paris. Yaye!

inspirational read...

Brooke Fitts — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 17:24:18 +0000

Haruki Murakami is one of my favorite authors. I've read just about everything he's written, my favorite being this: He recently came out with a new book that I just think is the most fantastic read. "What I talk about when I talk about running". He talks about the change and effect that the sport has had on his life. About how the drive to focus and remain committed not only helped him run marathons, but the impact it had on him as a writer... How much better of a writer, running made him. Here's a quick excerpt... "I’m struck by how, except when you’re young, you really need to prioritize in life, figuring out in what order you should divide up your time and energy. If you don’t get that sort of system set by a certain age, you’ll lack focus and your life will be out of balance. I placed the highest priority on the sort of life that lets me focus on writing…" This is something I seem to continually struggle with. Finding the balance. Balancing and prioritizing life and work. Because they're so symbiotic. I've got to live to find inspiration for my art... but if I'm "living" too much, I'm not working hard enough and that effects my productivity as an artist. I found his story fascinating in that it took something outside of writing in and of itself, to make him a better writer. It gives him routine, instills discipline, and regulates his life. He commits himself to extreme physical activity in order to pursue pure intellectual activity. This resonated in me, as I have found myself searching for ways in which to enrich my life with a little more discipline, better time management and productivity. I just turned 29, which really means I just completed my 29th year and entered my 30th. I can feel a clock ticking, but it's not like a time bomb. More like a an oven timer. It's getting close indicate that what's been prepared is nearly ready to be unveiled and consumed by the general public... Dinner's gonna be on the table soon, but it sure isn't a baby that's in the oven. smile. xo, Brooke

okokok, one more pic

Brooke Fitts — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 23:32:58 +0000

i'm doing some major spring cleaning in my computer today. sorting, organizing, throwing out, renaming, reclaiming disc space... this picture pretty much sums up why my 35mm 1.4 lens is my FAVORITE. so crisp and and sharp, but somehow buttery too... with beautiful bokeh! (for those non photographers of you...) Bokeh (derived from Japanese, a noun boke 暈け, meaning "blur" or "haze") is a photographic term referring to the appearance of point of light sources in an out-of-focus area of an image produced by a camera lens using a shallow depth of field.[1] Different lens bokeh produces different aesthetic qualities in out-of-focus backgrounds, which are often used to reduce distractions and emphasize the primary subject.

Just ask...

Brooke Fitts — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 20:30:59 +0000

I've been experiencing a eureka realization lately. It's another simple concept. Just ask; nicely. It's harmless to do, and never hurts... and what you can get in return can be huge. Here's a couple cases in point... A few months ago I miscalculated my bank account and had 5 overdraft fees. (ouch! at $35 a pop, you can only imagine the sting.) So I marched my little self right on down to the bank. Apologized for the lack of responsibility on my end, smiled sweetly, and asked it they could give a girl a break. They kindly took of 3 of the charges and made me one happy lady. A few months ago I took my fun phone (as in "i") on my trip with me to Brazil. I didn't check it too much and didn't make any calls with it... just email and the bane of my existence facebook. I knew I'd incur some extra charges, but officially dropped my jaw to the floor when I got served a bill for $560! I called AT&T, again apologized for my lack of information on the costs of global roaming, and asked if there was anything on earth they could do to alleviate my extraordinarily large bill. They subtracted $400 from it for me. I freelance for a national wedding photography company. I recently got assigned to a wedding that will take 2 1/2 hours to get to one way. Travel pay and accomodations weren't included in my assigned pay with said company. I wrote them, explained the distance of travel and length of hours spent shooting the wedding plus drive time, and asked for a hotel at their expense. Done and paid for from their pockets. Now, I'm not encouraging you to work the system everytime or become an official leech of good customer service. I work in a restaurant a couple nights a week. And there's nothing more irritating to me (ensuing rant: beware) than when someone complains about a dish. But doesn't want it replaced or remade. Eats it all, and is upset when charged. I've worked in retail when people make returns on items clearly very used. I've bartended and had people not want to pay for drinks that weren't full enough or strong enough. Don't be that person. All I'm soapboxing about is how far being nice and asking nicely can get you. Stay sweet, take responsibility, be patient, and kindly ask if there's anything that can be done. I'm far more likely to not charge someone for their meal or drinks, if they remain kind about it. If they get upset or take it out on me, my care for them and their pocketbook goes down the drain. I'm leaving town tomorrow for a little birthday excursion. So I'm going to try and stay away from computers for the next three days. But when I return some of those website changes I keep talking about will finally show up.... as well as one or two new/different websites. Keep posted! xo, brookelyn oh, and here's one last pic from hawaii and her majestic banyan trees!

it is better to die for justice, than to live in injustice...

Brooke Fitts — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 18:27:37 +0000

i've been spending the entire morning listening to NPR and trying to get a little educated and caught up on what's happening in Iran. it's horrifying. something circulating around the web is a very graphic video posted on YouTube reportedly showing Iranian men trying to help a wounded woman named "Neda" after she was shot in the chest during a protest in Tehran on June 20, 2009. She died only moments later. Neda Soltani has become an iconic figure among supporters of the opposition. It is said, in Persian, her name, Neda, means ‘the voice.’ almost overnight, her death has become the voice of a revolution. if you've got the balls, i would suggest looking it up and watching it. it's an eye opening jolt out of our comfortable lives. it's a graphic insight into a situation happening right now just across the ocean. i think it's good for us to not be too sheltered from these things. it's the beauty of the internet, the wonder of information. take a little bit of time today to learn about what's happening. we need to know. and need to feel. and desperately need to understand.