yoga: my athletic calling

I have always been really, truly bad at sports...

and anything that includes hand-eye coordination.

really bad.

I always got straight-A's in school, except for a C- in PE. Every year.

I've been reluctant to even TRY things like mild jogs around the neighborhood, biking to school instead of driving, playing volleyball at the beach or dancing.

I hate the sound of all of that. Yes, I do own a really amazing vintage schwinn yellow bike, but here's the truth: I drive my car point-two-five miles to school about 95% of the time instead of biking.

deep down i'm scared of physical exercise.

It is a miracle that I'm good at yoga.

I'm a natural, actually, according to my instructor.

i've never been good at anything athletic in my life,

and finally,

HERE IT IS.

yoga!

i love it!

yes thats me: !!!! ahhh! yes!

my roommate Ro and I go to a class
together a few times per week

AND--- this is my roommate Danika...
rockin it in the middle of the Paris airport.

and then Candice and I.... loving our lives and strengthening our core.

and we do it in a 103 degree heated room.
BIKRAM!

life changing!

i love how it starts my day with quiet, and starts my day with remembering that i am human.  i love that it makes me feel clean and energized.  i love how it calms my stress.  i love drinking water after class.  all of that.

---- shannon leith, aspiring yogi

80% OFF?

My roommate Rosanna and I set out to buy a pot.

We needed to make 2 boxes of white shells and cheese and our little bitsy pot didn't fit all that pasta unless we watched it every second so that it didn't boil over, which I wasn't interested in doing.

So.  Since Marshalls was closed, we were on our way to Target.  On our way to TARGET though....I saw Kohls on my right.

Major dilemma:

... i hate Kohls, but it has good deals.

I'll admit... I've found some gems there before... but the environment of the place just doesn't make me want to stay there.  I usually avoid it unless I'm really in the mood for annoying loudspeaker announcements about how I should GET A KOHLS CARD AND SAVE TWENTY PERCENT!  or if I'm in the mood for sifting through piles and piles of ugly shirts to find the one good one for $2.  Usually: no thanks!

This particular night though, I was inspired to go to Kohls,

and GUESS WHAT!

we found a $200 pot for $40.

It's these kinds of things in my day that make me so happy.

i would like to end by thanking my parents for encouraging me to shop there throughout my life so far.  thank you, mom and dad.

i saved $160!

Shannon

the Biola RD's

the RD staff at Biola needed some new headshots, and here's a few of my favorites.  They'll probably choose different shots for the website, but these ones all touched me in one way or another. 

enjoy!

Michelle

Lauren

Patrick

Ryan

Krista

Alyssa

Greg

Kyle

Katie

Beth

Rachel

Garrett

and Dawn!

you guys are one big bunch of fun.

:)

thanks for rockin it!

////////// Shannon

4x5 explorations around La Mirada

I love putting away my digital camera and working with film.

My normal film outlet is my polaroid, as we all probably are aware of by now, but I also enjoy working with the 4x5 camera.  I did a project a few years ago that you can look at by clicking here if you'd like.  It was a project about the girls who lived on my dorm floor while I was an RA.

This time, I took a walk around La Mirada.  I set out to photograph the quirky trees and early 1960's homes... but found myself more intrigued by light and shadow than buildings and trees.  This is more of a sketch than a finished project... I'm shooting more photographs today, actually!  These ones were an exercise to get me familiar with the camera again, since I haven't used it in so long.

oh, and here's an image of what the camera looks like---

and here are my seven 4x5 shots:

i have no idea where that ghost-image in the top left corner came from! it creeps me out. HOW CAN FILM DO THAT!

I also have absolutely no recollection of being in front of the camera for this one.  my oh my.  ATTRACTIVE.

creepy cool

this is the direction i want to take the rest of the project:

TROP! i love tropicana.

enjoy today.

for real,

shannon

Garry and Eva-Karin--------- part II

We went to Chinatown twice.  The first time was at night, and the second was a fun daytime shoot.  

The vision was COLOR!

This is what we got!

fave!

another favorite.  i feel like this is a shot i've never done before.

ha, AND THIS! this day was full of experiments

and there we go! thanks for being up for a two-parter you guys!

love to you,

shannon

Timothy and Danielle! ::: LA wedding photography

Timothy and Danielle have a beautiful relationship, and created the most beautiful wedding to celebrate the start of their lives together.

To start with, Timothy, the groom, designed and sewed Danielle's dress. Yes, you read that right: he made his bride's wedding dress. I was floored when I saw it--- it is an absolutely stunning piece of art:

Here she is :) The lovely, lovely bride--

And here he is! Timothy Carroll--------

the centerpieces moved me. pomegranates? could it get any better??

their first dance also moved me. it was the most upbeat, fun first dance I've seen yet------

Danielle's grandma is Norweigian, and explained the traditional Norweigian wedding cake

Lots of Timothy and Danielle's guests were from Biola--- so I got to see friends! I love when that happens :)

anyone remember Katie's wedding from last year? She's the one on the right--- her and her husband Ryan are celebrating their one-year anniversary this month! woooo!!!!

the lovely couple (who warmed my heart by honeymooning in Vancouver, British Columbia!)

congratulations you guys. :)
love,
shannon