I came across this quote in Bobby Earle’s blog post titled “Originality is Overrated (for Photographers).” In it, he writes about the importance of sincerity in art and I couldn’t agree more. I know for a fact that I do my best work without the added pressure of doing it for any other reason than just to make a photograph that is meaningful or taken candidly in a quiet moment. Check it out for some reassurance.
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This is year three in the Bunny Ear series that I make with my husband’s family. Each time is a great time and I am always grateful for their willingness to participate :) You can view last year’s images here. And two years before that here (skipped 2008 because I was out of town).
P.S. We missed everyone who celebrated with us last year and wasn’t able to make it today (hi, Beth!)
Updated the Polaroid section with a photo mosaic. After making a few of these, I remember going through a phase of not being able to work touch screens—they just wouldn’t read my finger prints or pressure or warmth or whatever it is they are supposed to read. So if you try this at home, remember to wear gloves.
Also, remember my love for typewriters? Enter exibit B as proof of my obsession. This one got me first place in an art show a few years ago. More mosaics to be added soon.+
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Alrighty, folks. It’s finally that time that I was telling you about many moons ago. And by “that time” I am of course referring to you updating your bookmarks and/or RSS feeds to my new URL: http://huongfralin.com and http://huongfralin.com/blog.
No more hyphen, no more single lady, all new married name, all new design. It’s mostly just a make-over to my old site which had not been updated for centuries so I’m just pretty proud of finally taking the time to take care of it. And special thanks to my husband who built it for me and made sure it worked. I got the fun job—designing the layout, picking the fonts, uploading images, while he had to worry about heights and widths, codes and links, etc. And this is only round one of the launch…there are still a few things to be added such as icons to find me elsewhere as well as an updated bio picture, but I have one in it’s place for now and those of you who read my blog already know where to find me elsewhere via the links to the right. And I am not necessarily sure the edits I’ve made for the site are final but I’m too excited to just let it sit there and not tell anyone about it while I keep changing my mind about things. So yeah, it’s nothing fancy, but then again, neither am I.
My categories are people, places, and things (the definition of a noun) as an ode to my alter ego, the journalist, and I should mention that I totally don’t even like pink in real life but for some reason I’m drawn to use it on my sites for that punch of color. Maybe because some people can’t figure out if Huong is a man or a woman’s name and I think the pink might help them. You’d be surprised at how much junk mail comes to our apartment addressed to Mr. Huong. So let me know what you think and if you encounter any problems. My site hasn’t been completely moved to the new url yet so you can’t use the back and forth buttons in your browser without it doing something you don’t want it to do, but that’ll be remedied.
And of course because a post without a photo is a boring post, here I am in the reflection of my travel box…it has old stickers all over it and I don’t even remember where it came from but I just know that I love it. I taped a polaroid of Jeff to the mirror in college because I once saw Liv Tyler do that to the inside of her travel case in That Thing You Do (I totally own it on VHS). Love that movie. It made me want to be a drummer.
*I can’t ever decide whether I like diptychs to touch or not…I usually put the space in between just because it looks consistent with the space between each row of images but if you have any thoughts on this minor detail (I make a big deal out of what most would call minor details) I’d love to hear them.*
1. I will learn how to use my camera.
2. I will not use the Auto setting on my camera.
3. I will not use on-camera flash.
4. I WILL NOT BE HINDERED BY THE GEAR I DO NOT HAVE.
5. I will shoot in RAW.
6. I will learn how to process my shots.
7. I will share my photos with others on the web.
8. I will accept critiques of my work.
9. I will set goals and be proactive about my photography career.
10. I will connect with other photographers.
You can read up on these resolutions in detail in this article by Lisa Bettany. I have never been to her site before reading this post but will most certainly take the time to look through and see what other delicious tid bits I’ve been missing. Resolution #4 is one that I personally struggle with. Maybe it’s because I had the liberty of playing with so much expensive equipment in my heydays that I think I need more than what I have to be successful, but so many amazing photographs have been made with just a hole in a box so I think I should be able to do just fine with my Nikon even though everyone talks crap about it compared to Canon. I’m one of them. But who cares what kind of gear you use. What’s important is what comes out of it.
Here’s to getting out of my own way!
Sidenote: One of my pet peeves is when someone says they “edit their photos,” when they really mean “process their photos.” Editing is the act of selecting the images you want to work with from your days’ shoot…”Editing down to 20 images and then processing them in photoshop.” I guess it doesn’t matter if it’s someone who’s not in the photo business but just thought I’d throw the correct industry terminology out there.
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“The irony of commitment is that it’s deeply liberating — in work, in play, in love. The act frees you from the tyranny of your internal critic, from the fear that likes to dress itself up and parade around as rational hesitation. To commit is to remove your head as the barrier to your life.”
__Anne Morriss, The Way I See It #76
I’ve mentioned her before in previous posts, but one of my very good friends who goes by the shop name of KnitKnit on Etsy was interviewed for an AOL Personal Finance Video which you can read about on Walletpop.com. Lots of crafty people have been using Esty to sell their hand-made goods, and I’ve been considering using it to sell prints as lots of others have done. If you’re on Etsy, this article is definitely worth checking out. There was another article on the NYT site not too long ago about how much work it takes to turn your hobby into a full-time job and they give you the inside scoop on one of Etsy’s top sellers, Yokoo Gibran. Also a very interesting read, and liberating to know that you really can do what you love and make a living off of it. Not without some sweat and tears though.
I know it’s too late to shop for Christmas—although I hear the mall is crawling with last-minute shoppers—there’s always Valentines day and birthdays to get something fun and fluffy from KnitKnit’s shop! Gauranteed to warm a girls’ heart.
This one is my favorite from her shop:
Drops Lariat by KnitKnit
Our very talented crocheting friend, Lisa, made little doll versions of us out of yarn and we absolutely love them! She makes and sells custom and ready-made dolls and I’m going to have the chance to help out with the photography portion of her online shop as she creates more holiday items in the coming weeks. They make great gifts for all occasions (hint hint) and I invite you to take a look at a few a lot of the fun dolls she’s made so far: http://lfdollies.shutterfly.com/ When I get the chance, I’m totally going to try to make a stop motion movie with ours.
Disclaimer about our portraits that Lisa referenced for our dolls: I didn’t like the ones we sent her so we re-took the photos this evening (wearing the same outfits of course). That’s why Jeff has a beard and his doll doesn’t. It’s no-shave-November. And the last image is just a blooper that I happen to absolutely love. *Click to view larger*
ROMA, Italia
Welp, we’re back. And we had an amazing time, which leaves us dogg tired. So tired that I don’t even feel motivated to go through and process my photos. And I always want to go through and process my photos. Above are a few of my favorites so far. More from a photojournalistic point of view rather than tourist but that’s probably why I love them. Jeff has been good about getting into his photos right away and has already started posting a few each night on flickr. Feel free to check them out!
Right now I’m torn about how to change my name. I mean, I’ve been Huong Nguyen for 27 years so Huong Anything Else just sounds off key. But I definitely want to take Jeff’s last name…according to facebook I already have, but do I hyphenate, not hyphenate, drop Nguyen completely, make it my middle name, drop my middle name…so many options.
We still can’t really settle in and relax yet. The apartment seriously needs some order brought to it and we have a few minor details to work on for our second reception next weekend. Yes, we’re having another reception. The party’s totally not over yet. My parents are throwing a soiree with 150 of their closest friends in Lancaster, PA and I get to throw on a traditional vietnamese wedding outfit. Eight course meal, here we come!
And of course, more photos to come.
Hi! My name's Huong (pronounced "Hung") and I'm a photographer, writer, wife, and paranoid germaphobe who lives in Roanoke, VA. Traveling, good reads, and witty people with lovely brains are a few of my favoite things, but photography and writing are what this web log is about.
