Snippets

Still really loving self-portraits and photography in general. I'm taking my 4th class with Vivienne starting at the beginning of December. Come December 31st, I will have taken photos every month this year. I really, really love that I've been documenting my life this way. I'm going to work hard in 2012 to keep doing it. It's really cool to have a body of work like this.

When I shot this photo, it was not like this, (my husband was entirely in the frame) but I like to crop images in interesting ways. Often, I find the magic comes by focusing on one small aspect, rather than the entire original photo. Sometimes paring it down tells the story better. I really liked how cropping it like this tells the story from Indy's perspective.

And here's my beautiful boy having a dip in the Pacific Ocean in November. A friend asked me if I worried he'd get too cold swimming in the ocean at this time of year. Labrador Retrievers have short, dense coats that are naturally water repellent, so they don't get cold being in the water in winter. They were bread to be gun dogs, meaning their main purpose was to retrieve wild game (ducks, geese, etc.) from the water. They have webbed toes and an otter-like tail, making them excellent swimmers.

When Indy's in the water in the colder months of the year, we make sure his dips are shorter because he loves the water so much it would be very easy for him to over do it. He's never happier than when he's in an ocean, lake or river. That's his bliss. He swims almost every weekend, year-round.

Switching gears, here's some things of note:

The fabulous Seth Apter's upcoming book , The Pulse of Mixed Media: Secrets and Passions of 100 Artists Revealed is now available for pre-order on Amazon. Go check it out!

Helga posted my house talisman on her blog yesterday.

Vancouverite Zaac Pick who is one of my fav artists is on the verge of releasing his second album, Whitewater any day now. He just put out this wonderful video of the title track.