Loves The Lens.

lewd antics.

2010-04-07T18:44:00.000-07:00

hope for the homeless.

2010-03-07T17:43:00.000-08:00

(click on photos to enlarge.)

tyrone.

roosevelt.

david aka lucky.

blue.

well...

2010-03-02T17:39:00.000-08:00

for a moment i forgot what this blog was about. from this moment forward, just photos.

and slap me if i'm not posting at least once a week. that means i'm not snapping away which means i'm not inspired which means i'm working too hard at school or at urban which ultimately means i fail at life.

...and if you see me on the streets without my camera bag, slap me even harder.

The Life of a Butterfly.

2010-02-07T17:15:00.000-08:00

On October 6, 1932, an unusually remarkable egg hatched and out came an equally extraordinary caterpillar.

Like a caterpillar during its growth stage, she grew into a strong, self-assertive, tough, determined woman.

As her final days began to approach, we saw her being wrapped into a cocoon. This is where the real transformation stage was set in motion. In this cocoon, after a life of hard work, she finally began to rest.

On January 26, 2010, she made a full transition and now, she has become a beautiful butterfly. She flutters her brightly colored wings, and as butterflies land on flowers to pollinate, she will forever fly over us (the flowers), pollinating us with her spirit and love.

I love you "Grandmommie". We'll miss you.

-Erin

snow escapades!!!

2010-01-31T17:22:00.000-08:00

scanned goodness.

2010-01-26T14:00:00.000-08:00

here's a preview of what i'm working on in my digital photography class... (click to enlarge)

all of these images were scanned... not taken with an actual digital camera. amazing, right?

well... maybe not as amazing as the pictures you're about to see. the following photographs were taken by using a scanner as a camera (yes, like the very scanner you have at home!).

...oh, and NO photoshop was used!

by: golem bewski (to see more go to www.golembewski.awardspace.com)

...and this one is comprised of about 12 scanned images combining to create one photograph. (if you look closely, you can see the border of each scan. (click to enlarge)

by: lieve prins (for more visit www.lieveprins.com)

and this photograph shows how it all takes place....

...just something i learned at school that's pretty fascinating. hope you enjoy the work of these photographers as much as i do!!!

to learn more about scanner photography, visit these sites:

http://golembewski.awardspace.com/index.html

http://lieveprins.com

DIY chanel is in, my friend.

2010-01-17T20:13:00.001-08:00

don't have the bucks to buy a $5849 Chanel tee? make one! (or buy one from me for cheap!). don't fret. Do-It-Yourself Chanel is in, my friend. =)

first days of 2010. last days of lala land.

2010-01-12T20:05:00.000-08:00

2010 ftw.

2010-01-10T01:18:00.000-08:00

i'm happy. i'm COMPLETELY content with my life right now.

i've had my share ("share" might be an understatement) of struggles in 2009, but i can honestly say that it was a positive turning point for me. i may not have seen it while i was enduring the stress, heartbreak, anxiety, etc. but now, it's pretty clear to me - everything happened for a reason. life's tornadoes have taken me into their turbulent winds, shaken me up, turned me upside down and tossed me all over the place, but i've landed and now i'm standing firmly on my two feet. each of these rocky experiences provided meaningful lessons and only made me stronger.

the car and apartment issues (see "older entries" to catch up) showed me that no matter how hard we may try to keep it together, random catastrophes happen and the world won't stop spinning just so we can gather our bearings. bad things will NOT happen when it's convenient for you. things can't always go your way. stuff happens. life gets sour, but life must go on. sure, in dealing with these issues i was stressed beyond belief, but professors didn't care, i still had to meet deadlines, get to class and keep my grades up.

the relationship problems helped me to understand that i needed to fully focus on improving ME before giving my all to friends/boyfriends/etc. i also learned how to deal with people around me changing (as well as the changes happening within myself). some friends are there for life. but sometimes friends simply grow up and grow out of each other and it's okay. people change and that's apart of life. and in terms of my love life, let's just say i've matured, moved on and i'm surprisingly a lot happier without the hassle of relationship commitments. i'm 21. i'm young. so it's only right that i enjoy my freedom and refrain from tying myself down. husband? psshh... kids? psshh... i'll save that for my 30s. right now, it's all about having fun, being happy and working towards achieving my life's goals.

and for the record, all of 2009 wasn't necessarily crappy . i actually experienced a few of my greatest accomplishments in the same year:
i made my debut as a production assistant and intern at Ruckus film.
i challenged myself by enrolling in my first set of hands-on film classes. at first, i was a little intimidated because the other students had experience and i didn't, but i learned quickly and did pretty well.
i got my first photo published in L. Anne Belcher's book, Fly Girl! A Journey from Darkness to Daybreak.
urban outfitters published one of my photos on their website in the employee holiday wishlists spread.
and lastly, but CERTAINLY not least, two of my photos were published in EBONY magazine! a NATIONALLY read magazine. that's pretty huge, right? wait. but that's not all. it was ALSO published in the Michael Jackson collectible issue (August 2009). YEAH, i'm pretty much a big deal. lol... jk. i'm JUST getting started. you haven't seen ANYTHING yet!
...and hey! i even danced on stage and mingled backstage with N.E.R.D.

2009 was certainly a GREAT year.
despite the minor setbacks, things are going quite smoothly.

in a few hours, i'll be departing from LA to finish my last semester of undergrad at both FISK University AND Watkins College of Art, Design and Film in Nashville.
in less than four months, i'll be a proud carrier of a BS degree in Business Administration with a minor certificate in Film Production.
after that, i have plans to gain experience in the film industry by working and/or completing internships.
after that, traveling around the world & building my film and photography portfolios.
after that, grad school. NYU. 2 degrees: MFA and MBA (pow! pow!)
and after that, i'll be so close to completing my life's goal of developing and owning a successful production company... ANOMALOUS SIGHTINGS. (by 2020, i'm trying to be on Disney's level. lol... but SERIOUSLY!)
all of this in five years or less.

in 2009, i found myself. through the aforementioned obstacles and triumps, i've discovered what exactly i want out of life, how to focus on becoming the best erin i can be, how to live life to the fullest - with no regrets, how to live freely, love unconditionally, forgive but never forget, learn from my mistakes so i will not repeat them, and achieve greatness...

i'm taking what i've learned over into the new year.
i'm welcoming 2010 with open arms.

excited about my future. =)

cudiiiiiiiiiiii x ye. =)

2009-12-23T13:15:00.000-08:00

when no one else does...

2009-12-12T15:53:00.000-08:00

cudi gets me.
ALWAYS.

(and throwing in this mgmt vid for the heck of it. i think it's equally as awesome.)

fisk homecoming coronation ball 09.

2009-11-21T10:31:00.001-08:00

i fell. the end. enjoy the photos! (the rest are on facebook).

2 lanyards: $4.99. 2 made-at-kinkos-by-erin lamenated passes: $5.30. Getting into a jay-z concert without tickets: priceless! :)

2009-11-14T16:39:00.000-08:00

okay. i think we've reached the maximum level for concert shenanigans. i'm retiring now. there's nothing that can surpass getting into a JAY-Z concert with passes made at kinko's on Window's Paint application.

the last hoorah. i swear!
enjoy the pics! (click to enlarge)

2009-11-08T15:41:00.001-08:00

nowhere.

2009-11-07T08:19:00.000-08:00

hallowWALLOW09.

2009-11-01T12:23:00.000-08:00

i walked into a room today.

2009-10-28T21:37:00.000-07:00

i walked into a room today,

and the first words directed towards me were:

"YOU'RE ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL!!!!"

he yelled these words at a volume of 100. at the top of his lungs.... and then proceeded to introduce himself to me.

THAT moment... by far... was the GREATEST moment i've experienced in a while. i'm still grinning from ear to ear. =)

the moral of this story is...
make someone's day.
randomly tell someone... (and yell at the top of your lungs... it'll intensify the moment x 100)... that they're beautiful. or handsome. say something nice. make a stranger feel good.
... it'll make you feel good in return!

p.s. good news! one of my pictures will be up on UrbanOutfitters.com mid-november. EXCITING!!! =)

homecoming at howard.

2009-10-26T12:38:00.000-07:00

this weekend was a complete blast.
thursday afternoon:
flew into D.C.
almost immediately went from the airplane runway to howard's homecoming fashion show.
celebrated irvin's friend, brittney's birthday.

friday:
woke up at the crack of dawn to greet jade. she flew in from LA.
took a short nap.
went to yardfest! (fabolous, the clipse, and others performed)
went to dinner to celebrate britt's b-day (again).
randomly retrieved a (real) fake ID for the night's festivities. (long story)
stopped at a liquor store. (another long story. i'll give you the condensed version)
somehow left my brand SPANKING new iPhone there.
panicked. panicked some more.
had jade & irvin call my phone.
some strange scary goon-man picked it up and offered me $100 to get it back.
only had $60.
irvin had a light bulb moment - we called the police, they met up with me.
and VOILA! successfully retrieved my phone... for FREE!
rode in a police car for the very first (and only) time (in the front seat of course).
and finally... we were on our way to drake's birthday bash! (it was a BLAST!!!)

saturday:
homecoming parade.
chilled with the clipse.
football game. (have i mentioned how much i LOVE watching football players in their spandex pants? mmm... nicely sculpted bodies. absolutely LOVELY.)
lots & lots of rain.
step show.
more clubbing (this time with fabolous)... and we got a table! whoop! whoop!

sunday:
a sad, sad departure. =(

this was DEFINITELY the best weekend i've had in a while.
took a few snapshots... enjoy!
(wish i could've gotten more club photos... but who wants to shake their rump with a camera that weighs a TON strapped around their neck? no bueno.)

we were once a fairytale.

2009-10-19T09:03:00.001-07:00

i'm alive.

2009-10-18T22:35:00.000-07:00

besides the fact that i'm shaking like a stripper because my apartment is 30 degrees below 0, i'm feeling GREAT.

today i...
went to work. bleh.
bought these awesome house shoes. (i NEED to go see "where the wild things are" TOMORROW!)

finally got to spend time with my first & only love.... art.

had a lovely ichat convo with cliffy.... and did the macarena in the midst of it. =) (he didn't let me record it. POO!)
(he also got me SUPER PUMPED about my trip to DC for howard's homecoming.)

to be continued....
i just got EXTREMElY tired/lazy. i'll finish tomorrow.... goodnight.

feelin' good, feelin' great. feelin' great, feelin' good. how are you?

2009-10-12T22:39:00.000-07:00

today was DEFINITELY one of the best days i've had in a while.

no. nothing too special happened. (except for a certain individual saying the following to me: "oooh erin, you look so tantalizing!"... yeah. that KIND OF made my day. that's something i've NEVER heard before.)

anyway... the sun was shining. class was cool. finally got caught up on MOST of my work - if not all. i've been booking several photo shoots. preparing for producing/directing my first music video. i'm learning more about the world. i'm reinventing myself. i'm digging deeper into religion - i'm on a one year (entire) bible-reading plan. life is good. i can TRULY say that i'm finally happy again.

sure, ONE thing caught me off guard. and i admit, i was angry at first and i had my moment... but i REFUSE to let this one factor DRAG me back into the dark world of depression. gloom is NOT a good look for me... so i'm getting back into the swing of positivity, i'll keep pushing toward my life goals and put it all into God's hands. =)

p.s. below is a random video of aki & i being weirdos. dancing like no one's watching (accompanied by gut busting laughter) solves ALL problems (well... after prayer of course). enjoy!

dead.

2009-10-07T09:56:00.001-07:00

okay. i'll admit it. i'm frontin'.

2009-10-03T11:22:00.000-07:00

it still hurts... A LOT.

maybe october's for healing.
maybe by november i'll be in better shape... hopefully.

i feel like crap.
why does my WHOLE life have to crash down at once?
why can't i just get hit with ONE wave at a time?
and WHY must it all happen during one of the most essential times of my life?
SENIOR YEAR.
lord, have mercy.

let it out, E.

2009-10-01T09:12:00.000-07:00

when i typed that last post, my life was already hectic. but little did i know, my situation would worsen.

shambles. chaos. disorder. havoc. these are words that describe my life since i arrived at LAX to depart for Nashville. i haven't had one day... or even ONE MINUTE of normalcy since August 22, 2009.

where to start? i guess i'll work my way backwards.

September 29, 2009 - October 1, 2009
i'm driving on the freeway at about 12PM when i get the call:
"hello?"
"hello. may i please speak with Erin?"
"this is she."
"you have to move out."

i had just left ballet class and i was overwhelmed with homework, so already i had been physically and mentally exhausted. but this call just threw me over the edge. as the conversation went on, i found out that we had a severe mold problem in our apartment and my roommates and i were to remove ALL items immediately. in other words, this woman called to tell me we were homeless. terrified, overwhelmed, and hopeless, i rushed home. I couldn't begin to pack up three years of items, I couldn't begin to worry about the loads of homework i had to complete, i could no longer stress out about my relationship (or lack of) with gary. All i could do was cry and sit with a blank stare and a blank mind. the water seemed too deep. this, on top of several other unmentionable issues, made me want to just drown completely.

A few hours later, we still hadn't begun packing, we were informed that we would be staying in a hotel and MAYBE we'd be able to move into an apartment within the complex... MAYBE everything could be fixed... but no one was sure. Things were still bad, but this was better than being unsure about where we'd lay our heads for the night. Fast forward to tuesday - after 6 days of hotel madness (... yes, our hotel stay was anything BUT easy - thank you to certain inconsiderate, childish individuals, school, and many more variables) we were able to move back into our apartment. everything had been renovated and we no longer had to worry about finding another place to stay (thank God)... But I was still shaken and overwhelmed - i had class and one of the most important interviews of my life in under two hours... but i had yet to prepare due to these extreme circumstances... (keep in mind EVERYTHING i've ever owned is in unlabeled garbage bags). needless to say, i did the best that i could during the interview, although my mind was obviously preoccupied with other thoughts and i was nervous, so i stumbled a little bit.

As I type this, my belongings are still in bags, but I do plan to get to them as soon as i'm done. today's looking like a brighter day. for a month now, this cloud of depression has been looming over me - everywhere i went, there was rain - but today, I don't feel that cloud anymore. a new beginning. sunshine. that's what i'm looking forward to today, Thursday, October 1, 2009.

August 23, 2009 - September 21, 2009.
Saga of the never-ending car troubles, accidents, etc.: almost $3,000 worth of work was done. that's that. not really much need for explanation. all you should know is that it prohibited me from being fully productive and it created NUMEROUS hardships.

August 22, 2009.
i'll never forget his eyes, for they were filled with hollowness and hopelessness. his hug was so cold. for the first time, i saw completely through him - and to my amazement, there was no trace of the heart that was once there. i felt so used. verbally, he's made it very clear that it wouldn't work. but his body language is what confused and swindled me. his words did not match his actions, but being that i was naive, vulnerable and completely lost in love, i only listened to his body, not his mind. i was taken advantage of. he used me to get what he wanted, and left me with absolutely nothing... well, by nothing of course, i mean pain, sorrow and frustration. not even a call. not even a note. not even the smallest gesture to let me know that he cared just a little. i struggled with other situations, that i'm positive he heard about through the grapevine, still no sign of concern. no support.

i've had my bouts of anger. i've exploded several times... up until yesterday. but it stops here.

i will not be bitter and say that i've wasted 4 years of my life giving my absolute all to him, because i know God simply would not waste time - for my life is far too valuable to both Him and i. this experience was just one of His many lessons for me. and for this lesson, i thank Him.

and so this was the beginning of my troubles.

but this post will be the end.

through all of this, my mother & father kept repeating three things to console me and they've truly helped me stay afloat. 1) take everything one step/one second at a time and 2) there's a beginning and end to EVERY crisis: in the beginning the conditions seem unbearable, but you must wait it out and endure the pain and eventually, it will all end and 3) God puts us through situations like this to strengthen us and our faith.

i say all of this to say that...
i'm leaving everything that happened in August and September in the past.
i'm looking forward to an extremely bright future.
i'm finally making time for my passion (photography).
head up and all smiles. =)

aahhh. it felt good to finally put all of my troubles in a box and send them off. doubt anyone made it this far, but if you have, thanks for listening to my rants and raves. good day.

--E.

hiatus.

2009-09-22T21:22:00.000-07:00

just give me 4 days.
i have a LOT of business to handle.
school. work. career. grad school. entry exams. exit exams. community service. other.
kind of overwhelmed, but there's nothing i can't handle with God's help.
i'll be back to blow your mind with spectacular visuals soon.
i promise.
peace.

--Erin.

p.s. i've been thinking about cutting my hair... here's a picture of me (sort of) faking it. what do you think? yay or nay?

12th & porter.

2009-09-20T01:51:00.000-07:00

our weekend ritual.
this place has AWESOME vibes.
no matter what kind of mood i'm in, 12th & porter ALWAYS knows how to make me smile. =)
great music. cool people. wild dancing.
until we meet again next weekend...

this is what i do EVERY morning.

2009-09-19T18:50:00.000-07:00

and somehow, when i skip this lovely ritual, my days are not as bright. =)

eternal sunshine of the spotless mind.

2009-09-19T10:07:00.000-07:00

2009-09-19T09:58:00.000-07:00

I'm all about progress in every aspect of my life. If you can't meet me where I'm at, then you need to stay where you are.

--Jasmin Martini.

this is brilliant.

2009-09-18T13:32:00.000-07:00

awesome shots. great editing. and it's hilarious.

(via vashtie)

if things go as planned, this will be the best birthday EVER.

2009-09-14T13:57:00.000-07:00

playing catch up.

2009-09-12T20:34:00.000-07:00

view old posts HERE.