silly

sometimes we are silly and make little sister do funny things,

tonight nick stuffed her pj's with her blankets and made her a fat pinguin.

she would run, attempting to imitate penguins and it was hilarious.

profile view.
in action.

and these are from christmas morning, gabby got stripes the tiger and we all have our christmas pajama's on.

last christmas...

merry christmas in 53 minutes.
im going to sleep soon so santa can deliver his goodies,
but i first needed to say i finished my last undergrad fall semester.
finals were crazy but they are over.
got 5 of my 6 grades.
adv photo : a
photo history: a
20th century history: a
fundamentals of art ed: a-
digital imaging 2: a-
color photo :??travis? please be an a, best christmas present...
i am so glad that my grades were so great, i worked my tail off
and 18 credits is so many.
as well i wanted to say exactly 5 months from today i will be in
ny for my internship, coming so soon :)
i am so glad we get to end the year with such a great holiday.
can't wait for 2009, bring on the good and bad times.
and until january 7th i will be reading 'east of eden' and 'the shack'
happy christmas everyone!
xoxo
rache

spring break

i just found out that i got accepted to the avc department trip in march to new york city.

i am so excited i can't even contain myself.

i can't wait to visit...

the moma

the met

times square

juniors cheesecake

patricia mcmahon

the subway

central park

and of course....jess deal

im sure excited for all the little adventures awaiting me on that visit. the new york trip is a week long march 15th to the 21st. sure can't wait....

baby its cold outside

so busy with work/school/homework/friends/christmas shopping.
i sure love it though!
i have been taking images like a crazy lady:
i am doing a catalog for color
portfolio documenting the isolating effects of techonology
4 images for reality v illusion
2 arthistory tests
museum paper
1 art ed portfolio and test
and than its free and easy until january 7th, well i intend to do some reading at that time, reread twilight and read east of eden.
here is a little taste of my color project because i am in love with it! i am shooting a few different people, a far away shot and than a close up detail of something they are wearing, jess=ring, my mom that is shown a few posts below= boots. anyway let me know what you think.

thankful

thankful day:

i am so thankful for so many things i won't even be able to list them...

my family (dad, mom, nick, lexi, azo, and gab)
amazing friends (jessa, shanna, whitney, em)
the oppurtunity to go to school and get a bs in art
the gospel
a home to live in
a job
a car-i love her
music
the chance to go to new york next year
all the things and oppurtunities i am constantly blessed with

happy thanksgiving!! love you all, thanks for your friendship and love.

xoxo
rache

ps i don't believe in skipping thanksgiving but i can not wait for christmas, i love it!!

dear new york,

dear new york:

i am so excited to visit you next spring. i am also extremely anxious for us to really get to know each other over the next few years. i just wanted to let you know that my internship is finally falling in place. i have been accepted to work a business photo job 2 days a week at patricia mcmahon a fashion photography agency. they work with some pretty cool photog's who you should know pretty well. (www.patriciamcmahon.com harten is one of my faves)

also new york, please treat my bf jessa very well even though she is coming out before me. she really dosen't like the snow so if you could just cut back a little bit and help her find some cute sturdy boots i would appreciate it. also please help her find all the cool places to go so we can all 3 play in may.

anyway thanks for opening your arms to me so far i just wanted to let you know that for better or for worse i will definitely be seeing you on may 24th as a photo intern.

xoxo
future resident
rachel bradshaw

she doesn't like to...

model for me.

i can't figure out why.

because she is beautiful

school

i am feeling completely overwhelmed with work and school right now. especially certain aspects of school, and i actually have felt this overwhelming frustration with a prof of mine lately....only 6 more months until late night movies in central park!

option 3

don't worry...

i should be studying for my arthistory test but i am just too excited about my latest project, i can't get myself to stop playing with the images and study... i have to post this image even though it isn't finished yet! good day all around.

kellie + jp

last friday i got the oppurtunity to photograph my dear friend kellie and her husband jp's luncheon on their special day. i had a lot of fun and really enjoyed getting to share and capture this special day with them. i am so glad i got to do this. i finally started working on images tonight. here are a few of them that i really love, they are absolutely adorable together and so happy. i hope they have a life full of wonderful things, i can't wait to share the pictures with them. congrats you two love birds so cute! (when i asked if they had any specific pictures they wanted to take that they hadn't yet and cute jp said yeah can we do one where i dip her when i kiss her? it was super cute!)

xoxo

my love for the city, distance makes the heart grow fonder.

i don't really have the time right now to be writing/posting this. i have been doing so much homework lately it is almost sickening. between saturday and sunday night i wrote 10 pages of papers. so glad that is over. i have also been cranking out images. the 2 latest were for digital imaging 2, i really was pretty pleased with the way they turned out, it took quite some work. here is the city image i really love. i was talking to a guy jon at work today and we were talking about new york and he said you know you don't have to worry about driving in new york? finally someone understands how i feel! i wanted to portray my love for the city in this image, all images were taken in salt lake city.....

finally a complete image

third time is apparently the charm. i finally got my second half of the fortune cookie assignment done! i re-shot and reworked this image a million times and i am finally pleased with how it turned out. do the colors in this image look dull or bright to you on your compy? for some reason when i save my images they show up much duller and sometimes in super weird colors. i had the same image opened in viewer and photoshop and they looked completely different, so weird i am going to try and figure it out tomorrow. anyway back to more school crap. (ps if you didn't remember the fortune was be innovative and take charge of something new...)

mixed lighting

the salt lake library on thursday night. for color we had to do a mixed lighting assignment, requirements were to either get the interior lights and natural light to match or to be fairly close and work well together. i think i like the top image most, i like the way the lights look and how the sky isn't too dark yet. which image do you like?

still alive

for anybody wondering yes i am still here. work and school are starting to kick my butt and consume all my time. i am feeling a little overwhelmed, it is hard to constantly be kicking out good ideas for images, than producing them, editing them, and having conceptual meaning behind them all. i have been dong pretty good at keeping on top of things, and i am really enjoying the semester so far. saturday was a great day, its about the only day i get to squeeze some fun time in. the morning started with a shoot with jess. she was so much fun to shoot, but for some reason every time i lift the camera up to my face she starts laughing, it is pretty hilarious, i haven't actually had time to edit any images of her yet but there are some real fun ones. ( i have some cute ones of shanna too that i shot on thursday!) we also shot some of myself for a project that i am working on for my digital imaging class, i think it is going to turn out really cool. the whole montaging process takes forever and i am finding it is really hard to get what i want....but i am learning a ton, which is the reason for school, right? so we shot some of both of us and i actually really love a shot of me that we got. than jess and i ran to gap to find me a purple shirt for another project i am working on and came out with an even better deal, a super cute purple dress for only 20 bucks! and i do not wear purple so i was extremely impressed to find something i like. i went to work, and the relief society broadcast. it was great to spend some time with my mom. after that i rushed to get jess and we went to the gavin degraw concert, i only knew a few of his songs. but i had so much fun!! i seriously love gavin now. (for multiple reasons.....he was cute, a great live singer, cute pants, tight pants, and a dancer, reminded of someone else i know:) bring on another monday i better go get the rest of my crap done.

ps. you know you have to attend traffic school again too soon when you know all the stories, pictures, and video clips the officer is going to share with you.....oops.

warm and cool contrast.

in color we had to use a fortune cookie to create an ad in 2 different color theories. my fortune was "be innovative". and i drew the warm/cool color theory. i decided to take the somewhat mundane route and photograph an inspirational type photo......

it is not a finished product yet, but i thought the pen because it is so different in both what it does and its color it could come across as being innovative. i am not so sure the class agreed. i am going to try shooting with some other items on thursday but i really like the simplicity of this image. and of course always love the lensbaby!!

ps more to come about future endeavors for me and my photography career...

amelie

last night for color we watched amelie, a french movie, i was a little worried about having to read subtitles the whole time. and at first i'll admit it was hard to read and analyze the scene before it changed. i finally got used to the movie and by the end didn't even remember i was reading the words instead of hearing them. i thought the movie was great, actually probably one of my favorites now. i loved the story line but also was so intrigued by all of the sets, colors, costumes, etc. i noticed 3 extremely dominant colors, red, green, and yellow. as for an accent color i would have to guess blue or brown. i thought it was really interesting how the scenes were really colorful. generally amelie was dressed in red, i think this emulated her love for humanity and need to help those around her. i really noticed how the colors affected what i was feeling and thinking about the plot and overall story of the movie. i think this movie is fantastic and the use of color was very effective and well used. (i especially loved the gnome travelling around the country to encourage the father's travel. it was really fun, but i also think travel can have a huge impact on someone's life.)

'you gave me love, you gave me life......'

my little brother nick even noticed that i have been neglecting my blog, that is when i know it is time to scrape up a post. not only can i find nothing to post about.....i have no time to do it. school and work are keeping me crazy busy, but honestly i love it! i thought before this blog becomes pretty strictly school stuff that i would share a fun little story. be prepared tomorrow for a review on the movie amelie (ps i really loved it, we watched it for color photo and it was really good:)

back at the very end of march i met this really cool photographer evan. we ended up going to dinner on a saturday night. we were getting a long really well and decided to get a little bite of gelato, (to calm our tummies after our indian food.) if you haven't been to maestro's in provo, it is on center street, you should really go, the gelato is perfect and the interior of the place has a really great mood and is adorable. after that we were still really enjoying each others company so we went bowling, i warned him i was really good but he was great and played anyway. we played 2 games (i won both times, but he hadn't played in years) and i got a new high score in the 160's. we were having such a great time we decided to watch a movie, we ended up watching 'i am legend'. it was okay, at first i was amazed at all the scenes of new york city so dead. it was pretty amazing, overall though we decided it was a pretty lame movie. but in the end we decided it was still worth it. after a few things......... (and i am not going to lie to you, some pretty funny stuff happened) i finally headed home at 3:00 am. we had a really fun night and he taught me a lot about life and photography. we have stayed in contact off and on and i am so glad i was brave and we got to go out. thanks ev for all the fun!

emulating a master

for advanced photo studies we had to pick a photographer from history that we would like to emulate, i chose eugene atget. i have his paris book and have been completely intrigued by him. his style is so simple, he used a lot strong contrast, hard shadows, and traced the daily changes in the face of the city. i love old worn out things and thought it would be fun to go around and try to emulate his style. i focused more on his strong use of contrast and avoidance of perfection. i had to create 2 images i think the last two are strongest and those are the 2 i will use....what do you think?

here in american fork, i think this is my least favorite of the images.
this was my first attempt, and i really like this image, thanks to jess for the little hidden alleyway.

a building downtown i love to drive by anytime i am up there.

labor day downtown

labor day came and went.
jess and i spent the day doing anything and everything. we went down town and i shot some images for fun and for class. here is jess reading the city weekly.here are jess and i playing with our reflections in the window.
even though i just barely started school it was nice to have a break from school and work.

last first day

well yesterday was officially my last first day of fall semester's as an undergraduate. seems weird to think that next year at this time i won't be getting ready to attend school. that thought is extremely enticing as well as extremely overwhelming. so many decisions to make, so much to do with my life, and if i am not careful i could end up having nothing to show for it. anyway my last first days of fall semseter were pretty good, i have been a bit under the weather lately (i always love the compliment, oh you look like death, you don't look so good, always makes me feel great!)

im getting over my cold and over the initial jitters of being worried about classes and teachers, dropped the ones i didn't want :) i am braving 18 credits this semester: advanced photo studies, history of photo, fundamentals of art education, color photo, digital imaging 2, history of 20th century. its going to be a pretty demanding semester so i am glad i got my cold for the semester over with early. so excited, and get ready to see some serious images because i am prepared to work my tail off to get amazing pics!!! in honor of school i post my letter s from my italy alphabet book.....

4th of july 2009

so one of the things on my bucket list is to spend the 4th in nyc. as well a recent goal has been to live in the city for a few years after i graduate next april.

i know its a little early but guess where i will be spending the next 4th of july.............................................................................

thats right the big apple! i got accepted into an internship program and next may through july for 8 weeks i will be in nyc. i will live in the nyu dorms and have a 9-5 photo intern/job. more details to come but i am so stoked, its gonna be so tight!

and if things go as planned i will find a more permanent job and place to live while im out there interning. also as of now my friend jess deal is going to live in the city with me, pretty sure we are going to have such a blast and have the cutest apartment in the city (and just our little secret but we will also eat cheesecake with the rich cultured men across the street :)

so excited for the future but also loving my life here in utah......i have to admit im ready for the snow!

being brave/ new hair

i wasn't tired of my hair, but i was ready to try something new. i originally wanted to try something a little bit darker, my hair lady wasn't quite sure how my hair would take the color so we decided better safe than sorry, and i chopped my hair, only problem is it takes much longer to style, and once your hair has reached its curling limit, that is it no more curling! overall i have to say i like my hair, its just going to take a little bit longer to get used to that face in the mirror! and j, i wore a scarf today despite the heat :)

my new love: john mayer

on july 21st i took whitney to the john mayer/colbie caillat concert for her birthday present. it was so fun. i fell in love with john mayer and can honestly say i love his songs and him the best live. he is an amazing guitarist, singer, dresser, performer....... haha the list goes on and on. he neglected two of my favorite songs of his. 'your body is a wonderland' which i later found out he never sings at concerts anymore because it is "too" senisitive. and 'why georgia'. but he introduced me to some new favorites, such as 'neon' and 'vultures'. anyway if i ever have the chance to see him again, i think i'll drop most anything to do it! the girls behind us were so annoying, at the start of the show one said, "oh im glad john decided to dress up for the occassion" (he was wearing a white t-shirt, tight jeans, and what looked like chucks :) looked great to me!) i am just wondering what they expected him to wear, because it looks like they really dressed up too................
crazy face, guess i wanted to look like a pale white fish haha......
it was not meant to be hang loose with half a finger, i meant to do rock on, got a little confused.
and of course we ended the night right, with a churro.

the alchemist

favorite quote:

“ Because it’s not love to be static like the desert, nor is its love to roam the world like the wind. And it’s not love to see everything from a distance,...Love is the force that transforms and improves…” pg 157.

i finished the book "the alchemist". it was pretty good and a really easy read. simply put it is a book about life and learning to live. it was originally written in portugese. it is a fast and easy read i would definitely recommend it. now it is on to 'joy in the morning' by betty smith. the same author who wrote 'a tree grows in brooklyn' i love her. wish she was still around to write more great books.....

memory lane.......

1. as a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and i had together. it doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!

2. next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. it's actually pretty funny to see the responses. if you leave a memory about me, i'll assume you're playing the game and i'll come to your blog and leave one about you. if you don't want to play on your blog, or if you don't have a blog, i'll leave my memory of you in my comments.

kayelynn and jon

well last night i met kayelynn and jon at the riverbottoms and we shot some engagements. they have been officially engaged for about a week and jon is pushing to get married the 15th, of august! everything is a mad rush to get it all figured out but i think we got some really cute pictures of them so we can get the invites out asap......
this picture describes the whole night, jon would say something and crack kayelynn up. we were all 3 laughing the whole night.

congrats you guys!!

xoxox

life

sometimes we work so hard and get so far.................but even still, sometimes far isn't far enough and its easier to feel like a failure..............somehow you find it in you to get up and humbly make your way back to the sidelines because no matter how humiliated you feel, everyone in the crowd is still cheering for you.............

the end.

sometimes i just like comparing life to everything. sometimes i like trying to figure my life out, maybe i could try being a rodeo photographer............definitely something i love shooting, watching, and portraying, i need to get some cooler gear before i attempt that career.

happy 4th

the day started with a jog. i was relieved to find it overcast outside! then i got home and got ready i headed down to provo to the freedom festival with the 3 little girls. we cruised around the park, stopped to look at stuff, listened to music, gabby snuck on a few of the blow up toys and other things (by sneaking i mean when the money man wasn't looking she runned right past him and started climbing up the ladder, it was actually quite hilarious!) lexi and azure rode a clown ride which they absolutely thought was so fun, sometimes i wasn't quite sure whether azure was closing her eyes out of fun or revulsion. then we enjoyed a snowie and the az and gab got their faces painted, while lexi picked out a marshmallow shooter. it was so hot, im so glad it was overcast most the day though. as we headed home the girls were hungry so we got them some mcdonalds, we had a lot of fun, thanks girls!
then i read "the host" (which is real good!! i finished) and we had dinner, lucky for me it was not a hot dawg, i have had so many the last week i think i could spew thinking about it........... we threw pop-its, i threw one at my mom and it actually popped when it hit her it was hilarious! we did fireworks and watched some illegals until a cop came cruising through our neighborhood and confiscated the rest from our neighbors, that was pretty disappointing, we were just glad they didn't get a ticket! overall a great relaxing 4th.
gabby and i at the freedom festival. she wouldn't smile for the camera

todd was not satisfied with normal sparklers so he used a screamer as his sparkler.lexi and azure laughing on the clown ride that they loved!

me playing with a sparkler, i love playing with danger.....................
gabbys beautiful painted butterfly face, she was actually really good at holding still to get it done. as soon as the lady got done and showed gabby in the mirror a big grin spread across her face.
azures dolphin paint, she loved the sparklers too.

isnt it funny

i am always amazed that whatever i am going through or however i am feeling, i can always find a song or a quote in a book to match my feelings. i finished the book 'a tree grows in brooklyn' and i have to say it is one of my all time favorite books, it was amazing and such an eye opener i definitely recommend it to everyone!! there were seriously so many parts of the book i could relate to and a lot of times after i got done reading i was still thinking about the things i had read and it made me think a lot about life and what i want from it. i really enjoy that in a book. i just thought i would share a few fave quotes from the book, and again you all need to read it, simply amazing.

"Sometimes I think it's better to suffer bitter unhappiness and to fight and to scream out, and even to suffer that terrible pain, than just to be....safe. At least she knows she's living." (pg. 341)

"Dear God, let me be something every minute of every hour of my life. Let me be gay; let me be sad. Let me be cold; let me be well dressed. Let me be sincere-be deceiful. Let me be ragged or be a liar. Let me be honorable and let me sin. Only let me be something every blessed minute. And when I sleep, let me dream all the time so that not one little piece of living is ever lost." (421).

i want to live this way. im learning to embrace and live everyday, you never know how long you have. im ready to make everyday an experience, because even the pain as much as it hurts, someday it will heal, even if it leaves a scar, and at least i still know im alive. just like francie in the book, i want to be something every minute of my life...................

i heart n.y.c.

i bought this adorable necklace from urban outfitters. in attempt to stop myself from buying a plane ticket on my credit card and flying out there tomorrow. so until it is time to move ill just have to wear this little piece of ny