Fly Away Home

A bird mobile...a Christmas gift for a loved one :) I'm quite pleased with the way it turned out.





The poetry of earth is never dead:
When all the birds are faint with the hot sun,
And hide in cooling trees, a voice will run
From hedge to hedge about the new-mown mead;

-John Keats

Dust of Snow

The way a crow
Shook down on me
The dust of snow
From a hemlock tree

Has given my heart
A change of mood
And saved some part
Of a day I had rued.

-Robert Frost




It's like Milo knows this is where he belongs. He is hyper all day, begging to go play in the snow....lucky for him, I too adore walking, wandering, and playing in the dusty white powder that quiets the world.

As They Wait - A Photo Essay

In Rabat, Morocco, there is a public hospital that was created by the Association des Amis de l’Hopital des Enfants de Rabat. This association was created by a group of Moroccan women to raise funds in order to provide moral and financial support to sick children and their families. In the asthma ward of this hospital, the halls are crowded with wandering children and concerned mothers. Here the children and the mothers stay, often three families to a room, and receive treatment in the hopes of improving enough to leave.
These beautiful children, ranging from age 1 to 17, are happy, open, and loving. Despite their life behind the walls of a hospital, they seem cheerful, and treat each other as their brothers and sisters. However, because of the lack of facilities for such a large number patients, the children smell of salty sweat and dirt and many wear the same clothes day after day. These are mostly families of humble means, which is why they are at this hospital rather than a private institution. Still, the children carry on, frowning only when they are sore from various treatments or have difficulty breathing and have to watch as the other children play.

Mothers often came in to play with their children or converse with other mothers, but the children’s time spent in the play center was meant to be a break for the mothers.




Zubir entered the play center every day with dried tears and a frown on his face. He always seemed to be upset by his morning doctor visits. But, it did not take long for that devious smile to spread across his face as he began to look for trouble.





Fatiha loved being in front of the camera, constantly posing, staring right into the lens.

Inshallah

As I have been searching for photos to put together for a grad school application, I found this film shot of the Medina.

Spread the Cheer

Gingerbread & peanut butter cookies for the Virginia Film Office. A Christmas thank you for giving me the wonderful opportunities that they did during my internship. Plus, the only bit of Christmas I've been able to partake in thus far (other than the cutting down of the Christmas tree of course) :( I hope by this weekend, I'll be able to join in on all the Christmas cheer!

Family Ties

When I took photographs for my best friend's family just over a month ago, I also took some candids. This is one of my favorites of Jessie & her little cousin Jarrod. He is quite possibly the most adorable thing I've ever seen. She's been there throughout his 4 (I think) years of life and thinks of him as a little brother.

Aren't they beautiful together :)

So this is Christmas...

...And what have you done
Another year over
And a new one just begun
Ans so this is Christmas
I hope you have fun
The near and the dear one
The old and the young...

My favorite Christmas song. We went out to Powhatan today to cut down a Christmas tree...one of my favorite parts of the holiday season. I will never NOT have a live tree, they're just too pretty and smell too good.

Why is this my favorite time of year?

The warm, cheerful atmosphere; the cold weather; it's a time for baking; hot chocolate; big scarves and funny hats; fireplaces are lit; the beautiful decorations...I mean I COULD go on forever.

I snapped some pictures of the Christmas tree farm:



And of the Papa cutting down that tree....while we stood & watched :)

The Wandering Kind

A couple pictures from Sinkland Farms in October. I can't believe Fall is almost ending. This place embodies everything "Autumn". One of my favorite places near Blacksburg.

Clutter

This is the current state of my mind. Cluttered with far too many thoughts, making it impossible to think straight. And forget about focusing on a single task. Oh, the anxiety of applications.

The clutter in the photo, however is far more beautiful than my mind's disheveled mess. A shop in the Medina in Rabat. Again, I always goes back to the places I love, particularly when I find myself a bit down.

Invite the Unexpected

This constant running dialogue that occurs in my mind about grad school and my uncharted future could be quite a downer. However, I had one of those moments, just a minute ago, where you realize how AWESOME life is. How incredible is it that we have no idea where we will be 10 years from now? It's freaking TERRIFYING! But, also reminds you how important it is to live in the moment.

Can you imagine just how dull life would be if you knew everything that is to happen and when to expect it? I mean sure, there's a general time line for all of us: grade school, college, job, marriage, kids, etc. But the details in between are what make things interesting. Sometimes painful, sometimes utterly confusing, but ALWAYS interesting.

So, I will RELISH in my moments of slight panic at the unknown. I say, "I am not even close to being ready. Bring it on."

It's no People Magazine...

But who wants to be in People Magazine? Check out the Virginia Living Magazine blog post about the Virginia Film Festival...here you will see some of my photos from the event! An online published photographer for a day of free fun? I'll take it! Thanks again to the magnificent Christine Stoddard, who in fact wrote the article and invited me to accompany her on the excursion.

http://www.virginialiving.com/blogs/virginia-living-blog/virginia-film-festival-in-review/

I Get a Kick Outta You...

What a good little side-kick :) He's been such a patient pup as I sit at my computer working away on my grad school apps. While taking him on walks are welcome breaks, it's nice to have him come over and doze next to me while I work.

Lesson learned: Dogs are awesome.

"I Am"

I was lucky enough to crash the Virginia Film Festival yesterday in Charlottesville with a fellow Virginia Film Office intern. She just happens to also have an internship with Virginia Living magazine (she's superwoman) and let me come along as her photographer. I was so thankful for this invitation and it turned out that it meant more to me than I expected.

First we saw Beauty & the Beast, my all-time favorite Disney movie, and afterward Paige O'Hara, the voice of Belle, came and talked after the viewing. It was really neat to hear her talk about how she contributed to one of my favorite films. And, fun little fact, I learned that the voice of the Beast, Robby Benson, also directed one of my favorite TV shows, FRIENDS.


After capitalizing on the free lunch we went to see a second film, a documentary called "I Am". The director, Tom Shadyac is most known for his comedy features, "Ace Ventura", "Evan Almighty", and "Nutty Professor". A few years ago, he received a concussion from a bicycle accident that caused a seemingly lasting depression and loss of will to live. After trying everything, he gave up, and with time, for no reason at all, the symptoms began to disappear. This event changed the way he looked at life. He set out to make a doc attempting to answer two questions: "What is wrong with this world?" and "How can we fix it?". I can't even begin to explain this film in any detail that would even remotely reveal how powerful it was. He used interviews by well-known writers, leaders, and scientists as well as scientific evidence to prove that the "human connection" exists and that this is our most powerful tool to end poverty, world hunger, and violence. The energy we send out by doing a good deed spreads to those around us and it has been scientifically tested that this energy effects our hearts and our brains. The basic idea was that the world is run too much by the idea of "me" and "wealth". He encouraged us not to feel that by helping a single homeless person that we pass on the street makes no difference in the world. This energy spreads, he says.

After the film, he did a Q & A with the awestruck and inspired audience. He is an incredible individual and he quite literally changed my life. This documentary changed my life. And I encourage everyone to see it. It's power is immeasurable. It will be released in theaters in select cities in February and then released to DVD. I assure you, it will be worth your money to purchase it if you're not in a city where it hits theaters. Let it change your life. This is a guy who used his gift to empower and enlighten us through his journey and investigations. The website iamthedoc.com does not currently have any trailers up, but keep checking and you can still check out the other stuff on the film.


Below I posted a short video of him talking to the audience after the film.

The River

I visited my best friend in Maryland this weekend and was able to catch up with her very large family. They threw a double birthday party with an Asian-themed menu (they're all about the food!) and had me take family portraits for them down on their little beach on the Potomac.

They've always welcomed me into their home and I was glad to return the favor by taking some photos for them.

PA = Panicked & Awkward

So, today was my first job as a PA (production assistant) on set of a movie, titled "Nutcracker", and while I wasn't quite "panicked and awkward", I was pretty darn close. Maybe it's just the nature of the industry, but they literally threw me right into it today, despite my inexperience. I was handed this walkie-talkie type contraption and they started using all their "movie-lingo" on me. Seeing as I felt like I was intruding on some super-secret club I quite literally wanted to throw the "walkie" in their face and run for the hills.

I assure you, I did not. Instead, I stood behind cameras as an on-set PA, looking wide-eyed and lost I'm sure, but soaking in everything. I also managed to lose an actor and then announced to everyone via "walkie" that I had done so, rather than switch to their super-secret channel so only the correct ears would hear of my debacle. On the bright side, rather than getting scolded for doing so, I was simply told what to do next time, and then informed that everyone enjoyed a big laugh. What can you do...it wouldn't be a good first day for me if I didn't manage to make a fool of myself in some form.

I laughed it off and, in the end had a good day. At the very least, I did something new today.

Life Uninhibited

"The one thing of value is the active soul, free, sovereign, unencumbered. This every man is entitled to, this everyone holds within him, but in almost all men, it is obstructed and as yet unborn."

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

Opportunities Galore...

Too many opportunities. At one time. I mean really who's to complain. And who knows if any of them will turn into realities. But, still I can't help but wonder about the timing.

God, Country, King

The Moroccan motto spelt in stone on a hillside on the drive from Rabat to Merzouga. "God, Country, King"

Pretty Things

Over the past few weeks I have acquired some cool little pieces of art. The 43rd Street Festival was 2 weekends ago in Richmond where I found this artist who makes shrines. I loved all of her stuff and decided to invest in one of her smaller pieces.



Today I traveled to my hometown, Waynesboro,VA, to attend the Fall Foliage Festival...something I attended every year as a little girl. I bought a little unique vase with two separate spouts for flowers. I'm already in love :)



And the last image is just a photo I snapped out of my skylight because the sun was setting and the light was just right...couldn't resist.

A Safari is...

Dan Eldon was a photojournalist who traveled Africa making friends and helping those he came across on his travels. In the biographical novel I'm reading about him there were several excerpts that caught my eye. The first I wanted to share seems to splendidly represent his carefree, daring attitude:

"From there, he headed straight to Soweto, the notorious black township outside Johannesburg. It was already dark, and he needed an inexpensive, safe place to sleep...He phoned his grandmother to ask,"What family do we have in South Africa?" She replied, "Sorry Dan. Our people didn't get that far...where will you stay?" He told her not to worry and then, seeing no other immediate options, went to the local jail where the amused police were willing to provide him with a cell for the night."

He was only 18 years old. These next quotes discuss "safaris" and how this term describes the way Dan treated every day of his short life.

"A safari is about more than the sum of a trip...It is about the power of departure, that feeling of cutting oneself off from the day-to-day routine and entering new time zones, different landscapes, other people's lives-all of which at the moment of departure, are totally unknown and unexpected. Safari is also about living in the moment and the way that travel forces you into the present, be it through extreme pleasure or hardship."

"Why plan too extensively when the plan is bound to change? There's always a turn in the road that you can't quite see around, and waiting on the other side could be a sweeping, magnificent vista or, just as easily, a spilled box of nails poised to poke a hole in your tire."

"Safari is about constant play, constant curiosity, constant resourcefulness. It's a perspective on life, a life lived in eternal exploration."



Above is one of Dan's beautiful journal pages....learn more about him or see more of his work at: www.daneldon.org

Good Deeds

Here's to a friend of mine leaving for Kenya in a few days to work for the Peace Corp. She, Alli, will be using her sign language skills to spread AIDS awareness to adults and children who are, unfortunately, deaf. I made her a journal to take with her and urged her to write, write, write.

"The Journey is the Destination" is a little inspiration from a Kenyan inhabitant turned photojournalist & world traveler who died doing what he loved while helping others. I am currently reading a book about him, "The Art of Life" by Jennifer New.

Best of luck Alli! Have a wonderful and inspirational experience and know each day that you're making a world of a difference in these people's lives.

The Valley

I visited Blacksburg this weekend and the Shenandoah Valley was absolutely showing off as I drove home. Breathing in the mountain air and seeing the slightest signs of Fall reminded me why it is my ABSOLUTE FAVORITE season. There's just something about that Autumn glow.



And the Blue Ridge mountains have something to say for themselves as well, regardless of the season.

I Am Kayak, Hear Me Roar...

Props to those who get the reference :)

Really, I'm just excited to finally have my website finished...more or less (some more images should be added) but I finally purchased a domain name AND, more importantly, figured out how to make it work. Not being particularly "tech-savvy", I am quite proud of this achievement. Enough with the babbling and here it is...drum roll please....

www.hannateacheyphoto.com

Now, the trick is to get people to look at it.....

These Vagabond Shoes Are Longing to Stray.

Two weeks ago, Lawrence & I went up to the ever-exciting city of New York to see a U.S. Open men's Quarterfinal match and do some sight-seeing. The U.S. Open was a phenomenal experience and I got to root on my favorite player, Nadal, as he took on Verdasco. Well, we all know the end result was his accomplishment of a career grand-slam....I'm so proud.

Hear are some highlight images from the trip.




We wandered through Central Park, and just look at the clouds showing off that day!


I witnessed Greenwich Village for the first time, and I instantly fell in love...


These signs were everywhere, particularly around the World Trade Center area. Some of them were rather nasty. This was a milder one, if you can make it out.

An Old Romance

A little project I've been working on periodically. Not sure about the color choices but this was really just a book to play with. Next....I want to try a book with matchbox drawers!