i titled it: blog me please, i'm pretty.

isn't it nice?
it happened when i stuck my camera out the window while driving.

I'll let you into my chaotic, semi-funny, semi-annoying file naming system.
Well, it's not a system. It's an explosion.
File Naming Explosion.

This photo is literally called "blog me please, i'm pretty".

Other names of things:
- poleroids on a string
- i dont know
- today
- freedom letter
- everything
- so, the trip
- a
- the wedding?
- adorable houses
- good one of weeds
- i love it

Goal: name things so that I know what they actually ARE.
although, on the other hand, i kind of like that my desktop talks to me. "I love it!" "I don't know" "Something really fun".

So, be free in your file naming
until you dont know where anything is.

A stopframe animation I made

Experience what it was really like to see them dance!

[here's the link to the full-size, extravagant version: click click click]

Katie and Ryan's Engagement Love

They are just so much fun.

What I loved about Katie and Ryan was their amazing ability to be absolutely hilarious, and absolutely hot within a matter of seconds.

Ha, they had this special dance.

And this special bucket.

Ahhhhh! See what I mean?

they found their own secret gardenand some scuba divers!now, BE the vine.oh, did I tell you? they are actually from the 1960's.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

okay guys, kiss!

Ryan and Katie-- thanks for keeping me so entertained today :)
You guys are such a blast!

- Shannon

Mattson Creative

This summer I've been doing some work for Ty Mattson, the designer who created the Vanilla Coke logo! One of my jobs was to photograph some of the work he's done for his new website.

Well, his new site (click! go!) just launched this week!! Check it out! The photos I took are under Our Work>>>WestAmerica. I also put a few examples right below.

Rock on, rocket.

Here's some fun wrapping paper he did!

sf: more of the story

I thought I'd share some more photos from my trip to San Francisco with Denise and Nate!

the bart station had this lovely mural

ahh! what a fabulous bench!okay, how incredible is this house.
i feel like i want to own it.
the tree looks permanently wind-blown. hathe ever-so-lovely and free denise
wow. i really really like her friendship.
i think we have more adventures in the works. yess.a bicycle, to inspire me to buy one.
maybe i could treat it like a child
and take a lot of pictures of it.this fun friends picture turned into a Nathan modeling picture.
lets all laugh a lottttttttahhhhhhh!! BEST FACES EVER!

so, i hope you-- dear reader-- are having a wonderful life
thanks for stopping in-- in the midst of your day
-- shan

San Francisco (are you tired of polaroids? I'm not)

a series on line.
all sorts of it.

a series on light
all taken at different places
the first one happened when my polaroid camera dropped by accident.
i thought it had broken, but instead, this beauty came out.
it was a really happy part of the day

a little behind the scenes sneak peek

me+nate--------------on the subway
me+denise:::::with windblown hair

we got in n out, had the man take our photo, and then we took one of him too--because he was so sweet.

{we saw a shooting star}
*******************
we wanted to remember the moment
but the flash on the pola kind of flashed out our faces
the fabulous denise took these! aren't they rad?l: us with nate's lovely mom and sister! they journeyed with us!
r: the farmer's market: fresh honey, fresh fruit, fresh everythingoooo, one of my favorites. twigs AND sunflare. love.

now, everybody.
this next little combo has a special place in my heart. i think i'm literally getting a tear in my eye right now. some of you may think i over-exaggerate, and that I'm not really tearing up, but you have to understand-- i get really excited about certain things (ie: everything), and this is one of those amazing, amazing, amazing things.

i saw the ikea catalog sitting on a table in my house, and LOOK WHAT IT SAYS! AND THEN LOOK AT THE TOP OF MY BLOG! WE MATCH! mmm- a celebration of life, everyday... that's what I'm all about, that's what I see, that's what I record, that's what I explore. and it's so wonderful because i found it in everyday life too. just, walking around my house. AND THEN I GOT TO CELEBRATE!! (plus it matches the photo of myself. oh... my... lanta.)

I could not be more excited about any post I have ever done.
I absolutely loved every single stage of the process in getting to these final images:
- being in San Francisco
- experiencing things, and taking polaroids of them, as part of the experience
- loving the moments more than the pictures
- but still loving the pictures
- thinking today at work: maybe i could tape them to things.
- because, i love love love green masking tape, its my favorite.
- coming home, searching through my mountain of mess to find the tape
- going outside, searching through the photos to find combos i liked
- enduring my mom making fun of me for taping them to her screen door
- stopping halfway through. dinner.
- returning from dinner, only to find the sun had gone down.
- enjoying the challenge of taking photos outside in the dark.
- doing a few little photoshoppy things to make them lovely
- anddd, post.

love, shannon

Self Portrait (freeasabird)

denise took this of me while we waited for nathan in the gas station parking lot on the trip to san francisco.

I'm free (as a bird)
its such a lovely feeling.

Word Wars: A documentary on Scrabble players

G.I. Joel is the Scrabble Champion of North America!
the GI represents his Gastro Intestinal problems. He has acid-reflux issues. (sweet thing.)

I watched Word Wars while I edited photos tonight, and WOW. These guys are hardcore.

The highlight of the film was the behind-the-scenes section that talked about why Joel and his dad wear suspenders, and how it is "not a fashion statement, but purely out of physical necessity". He has to wear loose pants because of his acid-reflux situation. Again, sweet thing.

This other guy goes on for 5 minutes about his BEST PLAY EVER. I pulled out an A and a T, the exact letters I needed, and then I paired them with a z-o-o-t-i... I layed them down... and that's where I lost him, but BOY did he ever have a good play.

A high percentage of the Scrabblers on the documentary don't have a job, and depend on contest-winnings in order to make a living. One guy enjoys being homeless, and likes to meditate in the park that he lives in when he's not studying for the next tournament.

And ohhh-the-studying they do! They thrive on anagrams, they study while they drive, they have very little social life (apart from the conventions) and they memorize the dictionary. Just the words, not the definitions. Apparently if they memorized the definitions "they'd go crazy".

Yeah, they'd better not memorize those definitions. We wouldn't want a bunch of crazy professional Scrabble players. Nooo no no.

I was inspired to rent this film because I love love love Spellbound and Wordplay. Spellbound is about spelling-bee kids and Wordplay is about crossword puzzlers. Brilliant films, to say the least.

Quir-ky and empowering. If they can be passionate and successful with Scrabble and Crossword puzzles... for crying out loud-- I should hope I can be passionate about people and art and life and breathing, you know?

Long Beach Polaroids with Ruthi Auda

I am now in love with Long Beach. Every cute eclectic city I explore just warms my heart!!

look at all these boots we found.

i wished this pair of yellow pumps fit me, i would have rocked out in them, but- they were too small. they were a nine and a half, and I'm a ten. it was kind of depressing.

this one goes in a yellow series with the ones above and below

a celebration of the best color that ever lived.

Here's Ruthi digging through a 10 foot high, 20 foot wide pile of clothes. She's a great graphic designer-- check out her website!! {ruthiauda.com} [i cant link for some reason. its broken.]

And here she is again, this time with the shadow of a parking meter

One piece of Polaroid brilliance I learned from her, you can take photos without the flash! There is second button I never knew about! This is my first one without flash. YESSSS. My life is now a hundred times better. That flash was a hindrance to the vis-ion.


btw: I'm going to Sannnn Francisco tomorrow!

btw: I love pola-art

Ben and Lisa's Wedding

An amazing fact about this church:
It was used in the movie Father of the Bride!!
How cool that Lisa & Ben were married here!

The girls did it right-- they played Catchphrase before the wedding. I'm totally stealing that idea!

I love that elaborate things aren't always necessary.sweet GrandmaNate took this. Isn't it fabulous?

The Men.
They studied before the reception :)

the girls glowed, all day.
it was so much fun to watch
Christina was in charge of filming the wedding
I absolutely love her choices of color!

I'm super hipohh so fun !!!!!This is my all time favorite from the day.
#1 they are SO happy
#2, they are looking at a polroid!
#3... the light! it's cooperating so well.

Here they are

Hurray!!

Have a blast in Ha-wai-i, Ben and Lisa!

- Shannon