Wanderlust Finds Rest

I wrote my last post with so much excitement and anticipation and then just let it drop. I'm truly sorry. Those emotions and more were true, and they continued to play through me over the next week as I got to open up a padded manila envelope full of film and applicable notes and then load each roll into my camera, shoot over it, and send it to the photo center while anxiously drumming my fingertips against the closest surface.



I received one roll that had been shot on in Hawaii, New Zealand, and Seattle. The other three were single-exposed rolls that I turned into interplays between me and each individual person. (I almost used the word "conversation" here, but "interplay" seems to work a lot better. If this process were to be simulated into a conversation it would be unpredictable and inconsiderate as voices continually overlapped each other. I'm glad these photos didn't take on such an abrasive attitude.)

Here are a couple results between my dad in Hawaii, my friends in New Zealand, my aunt in Seattle, and me in Texas:







These are between Hawaii and Texas:





New Zealand and Texas:



Seattle and Texas:







There are many more results on Flickr, if you are interested.

Fighting homesickness

This picture has nothing to do with this project, but it does have to do with Seattle and that is where my growing parcel has landed.

My aunt called to let me know she'd received the rolls of film (I've lost track of how many!) on Friday evening, and I told her to shoot away as soon as she has a chance. They won't be making their way up to Bellingham for time's sake, but that's okay. This project is not all about me and my life timeline. Having said that, Seattle nevertheless has a sweet place in my heart. I lived in Lynnwood before New Zealand and moved to Bellingham afterward, but now that I'm in Texas, I find myself explaining that I'm from "Seattle area" to make things easier.

The next post you read will hopefully be an exhibit of the developed prints!

Thank you so much for your help, Aunt Kris.

[The above photograph was taken at a favorite little spot in Ballard that I frequented as much as possible last summer. It's called Cupcake Royale and that particular day, as the sun was shining in the shop's windows, I was sharing a vanilla cupcake with lavender frosting with my friend while sipping a strong, smooth americano. Yes, it's true, coffee budgets are mandatory in the Northwest.]

The Next Chapter

I'm starting to feel like a "real" photographer. I packed up a suitcase and laptop case on Friday afternoon to head out of town for my spring break and walked out the door with a camera slung over each shoulder and another one in my purse. I was even contemplating bringing my new Polaroid along but figured three cameras might just be enough.

So, leaving behind my little identity crisis with being loaned a digital SLR and struggling to operate the basics, my desire to broaden and challenge myself in the realm of photography is only growing. I could get used to this life.

In the meantime, we have a pair of film rolls that still need an ending to their story.

One chapter closer to the back cover, a third roll joined the duo this past week and was shipped from a New Plymouth, NZ, post shop on Tuesday the 11th (as kindly and precisely reported by Helen).

Thank you P & H!

Now it's on to Seattle, Washington, where my aunt Kris and her 35mm Pentax analog camera are waiting. Oh, how I wish I was getting to hand deliver this package from place to place!

Thanks, again, to all of you who are participating in this journey and to those who are caring to follow along.

My Cohorts

Let's make some introductions, shall we?

There are specific reasons why I have selected the people and places I have.

Grant in Hawaii. Grant is better known to me as "Dad," and his recent return to the Big Island of Hawaii proved quite convenient for me. I was born in Kona and like to think that my early exposure to the sun (spending most days in just a diaper and baby-size rhinestone earrings) conditioned my skin to tan easily and burn rarely.

Peter and Helen in New Zealand. Peter and I spent part of our childhood years together in Auckland, New Zealand, and since then he has met a lovely girl named Helen and gotten married. My family moved away from New Zealand when I was eight years old, and though I lost my tinge of a Kiwi accent, my love of vegemite, pavlova, and New Year's Eve in midsummer has not waivered.

Kris in Washington. Kris is my aunt, and she lives in Seattle. She's going to take a trip up to Bellingham (a two hour drive north) to take these pictures, and I'm glad to include her in this wandering film saga. Apart from being family, we share a sweet bond over coffee, baking, photography, and our Norwegian blood.

About Bellingham: It was my next home after Hawaii and New Zealand (with Wisconsin and Lynnwood, Washington, briefly squeezed in there too). After four years had come and gone in Bellingham, I remember wondering if we were going to pick up and move again because I didn't know what it looked like to stay in one spot for an extended amount of time. Now I'm very grateful for the ten years spent there. They spoiled me, really, being cozily tucked between the Cascade Mountains and Puget Sound and within reach of good espresso.

So, these are the people I'll be talking about and uttering endless thank you's to throughout this blog.

Thank you!