Root Bound.

Francis Baker, Every Day Garden

So I like Francis Baker's work, but am particularly enamored with his Every Day Garden series. For me it is a visual representation of how I feel when I have been in one place/situation for too long, like I can only take so much in and put so much out before I need somewhere else. Traveling has always been one of my favorite things to do and it always makes me feel better about any situation I am in, like a constant reminder that escape is possible and is as easy as packing a bag and going. It's not that wherever I am going is particularly better, but it is always different and gives my mind a break from the place that it was in.

Looking forward to a little transplanting next week.

Bonus stuff:

This song

This photograph

Spain! Spain! Spain!

I'm trying to make it real in my head that in 6 days I am flying to Spain.

My mother and I are going to visit my sister in Granada and will be spending 10 days there. I am super excited and planning on spending a good bit of time photographing the city (oh hey, another thing for the growing list... buy film...). Here is a bit of information, unapologetically taken from Wikipedia:

"On January 2, 1492, the last Muslim sultan in Iberia, Emir Muhammad XII, known as Boabdil to the Spanish, surrendered complete control of Emirate of Granada, to Ferdinand II and Isabella I, Los Reyes Católicos ('The Catholic Monarchs'), after the last battle of the Granada War."

The Moorish influence is prevalent in the architecture of Granada, with the Alhambra being the most well-known example. It will make for an interesting change of scenery, from the rural mountains of NC, to a hill city of southern Spain. Can't wait to tell you about it!

Cedar Waxwings.

Three Cedar Waxwings
Cyanotype and Gum Bichromate Print

These three unfortunate fellows (or ladies) met their demise in the sliding glass doors of the upstairs part of the apartment I rent. Sad, but I appreciated the chance to see these birds up close. Besides the bright yellow ends of their tails, their wings have neon orange filament-like tips on them, not a color I'm used to seeing on local birds. This reminded me of part of Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver. One of the characters, Deanna Wolfe, talks about the now extinct Carolina Parakeet that inhabited the United States, including North Carolina, and how its appearance would now be considered exotic. I guess it is all a matter of the familiar and alien.

Criss cross applesauce.

I just sent in an application for an internship and am crossing all available fingers and toes.



This is one of my application images. A salt print from a waxed paper negative, scanned from a gelatin silver print. Beeswax does great things to computer printouts.

What remains of this tree stands on a bare hillside near Burnsville, NC. I'm still trying to figure out how it came to be above ground.