baby w: no. 1

Taking a break from Würzburg to share a photo of baby W, who turns three weeks old today! I've spent some time with W and her big brother S and my friends M and T over the past few weeks, and I managed to take some baby pictures during one of the visits. (Normally I'm too busy holding her or making food!) Perhaps I'll share a few more, but this shot will suffice as introducing her. Expect to see more of W over the next few months (and years)!

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iTunes: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling

uovo al piatto con pomodoro

Taking a momentary break from Amsterdam... but not to worry, I shall return tomorrow. (Or rather it will return to me. I will spend tomorrow trying to brave the newly-frozen "lakes" that are now covering the city after a day of freezing rain.)

Besides international travel, the other thing that I have not been able to keep my camera away for is cooking. I adore cooking. I adore food. I adore taking pictures of food I've cooked. So I may occasionally intersperse some mouth-watering shots. And recipes?

Why not.

Who says a (lapsing) photography blog can't also include photos of food, and directions for how to make said food?

So, I introduce you to:

Uovo al piatto con pomodori
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Serving Size: 3

Ingredients:

4 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, small, finely chopped
1 lb tomatoes, peeled, seeded, chopped
2 tbsp basil, chopped
6 eggs
salt
pepper

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees F.

2. Heat oil in shallow, ovenproof dish. Add onion, cook to golden. Add tomatoes, cook 5-10 minutes or until very soft. Stir in basil.

3. Break eggs one at a time into layer on top of tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper.

4. Dot with butter if desired. Sprinkle with cheese.

5. Bake 7-10 minutes or until whites are set and yolks are still soft. (Cheese will not be browned.)

6. Garnish with basil.

Notes:
Works great in individual ramekins, but adjust amount as necessary.

roses are red...

Roses on Valentine's Day are nice, aren't they?  It's a toss up whether I like the roses, the chocolate, or the champagne best.  It was a pleasant treat to have all three this year, thanks to a great group of guys who got together and made a lovely dinner for the ladies!
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My iTunes: You Belong to Me by Carla Bruni

special delivery

3 months and 7 days since my last post.  Clearly, I have been shamefully lax in my posting.  Sadly to say, I have also been shamefully lax in my shooting.  What can I say -- the life of a graduate student is busier than I expected.  I'm hoping to do more shooting this term now that I have my feet under me.

The start of a new term inevitably means purchasing books.  In the past two weeks, I think I have come close to literally purchasing my weight in books.  I love it.  This special delivery, however, practically screamed to be photographed, so I grabbed my trusty Nikon off the shelf and had some fun before opening it.  I wish all my mail looked as great as this package:

In the end, it was graduate school that kept me from my camera and graduate school that compelled me to get it out again.  Ironic?

But speaking of graduate school, I have to go read that book that I opened yesterday...

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iTunes: Figli del mesto cor by Handel, performed by Jochen Kowalski

my new shootsac

Had to take a quick detour from senior photos to share some shots of my lovely new shootsac! Check them out here, and make sure to stop by their designer's wonderful blog-site!

Is it strange that I feel more like a "real photographer" when I include more than one photo in a post? :)
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My iTunes: Beethoven 9

bright summer days

I meant to get some fun firework pictures for the 4th of July, but alas my view was blocked by trees and power lines rather unexpectedly. But it was a great 4th nonetheless! I went to the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra's special 4th of July performance, where they played at an outdoor theatre and the end of the concert was accompanied by fireworks. It was basically the perfect way to celebrate -- picnic in the park with friends, the orchestra playing the 1812 Overture and some patriotic pieces arranged by Charles Ives (whose Alma Mater is where I will be attending graduate school, incidentally) in the background, and closing with fireworks and accompanying music.

Being a musician, I was naturally most excited about the music, so it was really fun to be there with my friends Julie and Chris, both of whom are tuba players and fellow music-junkies. I guess we don't look like the kind of people who love classical music though, because an older gentleman who was one of the event volunteers jokingly said to us as we boarded the bus to the park, "And I'm sure you're all going for the music and not the fireworks." Little did he know how right he actually was :)

I did snap a few shots of the crowd -- 7000 people! But I haven't loaded them onto my mac yet, so I'll have to wait to show them for another day. I thought this shot was sufficiently summer-y, though. I love how forsythia is so bright and cheery!
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My iTunes: Early in the Mornin' by David Baker

photoshoot: the station: take 4

One good shot of syrup deserves another I suppose. I am officially done with my undergraduate course work. I actually skipped my last class on Friday to spend time with a three-year old. It was a day well spent. I finished my last paper yesterday, and all I have left is polishing off my senior seminar paper and taking two exams. Since I'll be away the week after finals, I'm trying to work a bunch of extra hours this week. Then a few days after graduation, my summer class starts. Just for fun, I'm taking an acting class -- I'm very excited. Other than an acting class, I'll be taking voice and piano lessons. And hopefully watching my favorite three-year-old a lot. And working.

photoshoot: the station: take 3

No one has correctly guessed what the last picture was, but it was from the same shoot as this shot -- at work. Since I'm leaving for work in about 40 minutes, I thought I'd continue in that vein and post another shot from there. Yesterday's shot was a close-up of the coffee collars (or sleeves) that we put the disposable cups in when serving things to-go. We keep them about 12 inches from where these bottles of syrup are. Now that I know how to make all sorts of "fancy" drinks, I tend to describe very specific creations when I order elsewhere, like "skinny vanilla-almond soy chai, dirty, no foam, no whip" or "skinny raspberry tiramisu mocha, half-caff, extra whip." I wonder what I'll make myself tonight...
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My iTunes: God Bless the Child by Billie Holiday

photoshoot: the station: take 2

Can you tell what this is?

Now back to editing my MIDI project...
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My iTunes: Non so piu, cosa son cosa faccio from Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro

photoshoot: the station

I switched to edit my other photoshoot from this weekend. Work was really slow on Saturday, and since I had my camera, I had a mini-session. I'm really happy with how a lot of the shots turned out. The shoots on Saturday were very different -- the morning shoot was filled with lots of little girls, which means lots of pink and lots of action, while the afternoon shoot was mostly still life and macro shots.

Today was a non-stop day for me. Lots of "graduation-y" things, including an honors convocation and induction ceremony. Can you say l-o-n-g and b-o-r-i-n-g? I didn't realize how long it would be, and in retrospect I felt bad for picking my voice teacher as my faculty member to be in attendance. I should have picked someone I didn't like and made them waste an afternoon... She was very gracious about it, though. It meant a lot that she was so willing to be there for me, especially with her busy schedule -- if there is anyone who is busier than I am, and who works harder, it's her. How ironic that of all the voice teachers in all the world, I'd have her!

So, after the graduation-y events and tonight's opera performance (which went very well -- I quite enjoyed performing the Handel and the Mozart), I treated myself to an evening of watching Alias, without working on papers, but couldn't justify only watching, so I multi-tasked with editing. Now that it's nearly 1:00 a.m. and I still have paper-tweaking to do, I realize that I probably should have just kept my nose to the grindstone. No rest for the weary...
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My iTunes: Nur Stille, Stille, Stille! - Die Strahlen Der Sonne Vertreiben Die Nacht from Mozart's Die Zauberflöte

flowers

'Tis the season for me getting flowers! I've gotten an unusual number of flowers lately, so I've had fun taking pictures of a few of them when I think of it. These were leftover from a party my parents had, and since they left town the day after the party, I brought these back with me to enjoy them. I love the velvety look of them.

Coming down the home-stretch -- I have 2.5 weeks left of classes. I should be good and go work on homework, but I might catch up on House instead...
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My iTunes: Wehe! Weh! Schwester, ach Schwester! from Wagner's Die Walküre

my baby

I love my macbook. I have no idea how I survived for so long without it, especially given the state of my old computers... I was showing my friend, Anna, how to work my macro lens and snapped this shot.

I'm currently taking a history of jazz class and my current project involves listening to vocalese pieces (a.k.a. pieces based on instrumental improvisations with texts inserted over lead instrumental sections). Given my affinity to opera, it's no surprise that I was drawn to this type of jazz subconsciously, because one source I was reading described a set of recordings as a "crazy jazz opera." Here is a link to a recording on YouTube of a piece that I enjoyed watching -- isn't Annie Ross's vocal range and flexibility astonishing?
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My iTunes: Everyday I Have the Blues by Lambert, Hendricks, and Ross

yellow rose

One of the roses from one of the beautiful bouquets I received after my concert on Saturday. It went fantastically. I almost wish it weren't over. Now all that's left is a massive paper. Joy.

Work at 5:00 a.m. tomorrow. It think it's perfectly horrible.
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My iTunes: In Quali Eccessi, O Numi from Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro

new england visit: take 2.

Well, it seems as if my failure to post regularly has certainly cut down on the number of regular blog readers I have.  (Although I know a few of you know where I was visiting last week and aren't spoiling the surprise and "guessing" where!)

But here is a second installment.  The campus was really gorgeous -- I wish I had more time to walk around and take pictures, but I was in and out of meetings and classes during my visit, plus I was fighting off a sinus infection so I wanted to stay out of the cold as much as possible.

Another hint as to where I was: the abbreviation for the state in which the graduate school is located can be found in each of the pictures I'm posting.

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My iTunes: Sepia Panorama by Duke Ellington

developing an addiction?

Quick post tonight, because I still need to knock a few things off my to-do list before tomorrow. I've come to have a new appreciation for caffeinated drinks lately. I'm hoping that the appreciation doesn't turn into an addiction... The good news is perhaps it's helping me post more blogs, at least right now...

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My iTunes: Quelqu’un M’a Dit by Carla Bruni

'tis the season

My iTunes: Quelque part on m'attend by Chiara Mastroianni & Benjamin Boilay

'Tis the season, and I spent a good part of last week baking, a luxury that I don't have as often as I'd like. Silly me, I forgot to take pictures, but I wanted to share a dessert-related shot anyway.

I know I said I was hoping to post some wedding pictures, and I promise I will, but I'm having a bit of computer difficulty (surprise, surprise). Because I don't trust my computer as far as I can throw it -- it has a history of crashing and taking with it everything on my harddrive -- I bought a new external harddrive on Black Friday and started moving all my files onto it. Wouldn't you know it, my computer decided to once again antagonize me and vindictively deleted all my music. "Aha!" I thought, "I thought you might pull a fast one on me, so I made BACK UP discs!" But, alas, I was thwarted again. The computer had made the discs unreadable. I have one more thing up my sleeve, a secret weapon I call a harddrive image, which I make as yet another form of backup each time I visit my parents. We will do battle again with that this weekend, and I hope to come out victorious. If not, I don't even want to think about the hundreds of dollars spent on iTunes music that went to the digital form of Davey Jones' Locker. Perhaps I shall make an effigy of my computer in retaliation...

pour house collection

I thought I would break with tradition and include a whole slew of pictures in a single post, especially since posting daily seems to be a difficult task these days. I was up FAR too late last night editing these, but I kept saying to myself, "I'm almost done, I'm almost done. I'll go to bed when I finish." 2:36 finally rolled around and I made the executive decision to be done. Thank goodness I don't have work today until 12:30. From now on, no matter how awake I feel at 11:00, I shouldn't let myself get sucked into editing pictures, because I know I'll be up too late for my own good.

Today is our dark day, and Norma opens tomorrow night. Now that we're to the actual shows and not rehearsals, I can enjoy it a bit more, for reasons that I won't say here for professional discretion (though I have had a few good venting sessions with friends). The singers are wonderful, and I look forward to hearing them on opening night.

In other news, I finished the final draft of my massive paper. At this point, it's being proof-read by about eight different people and when I get their comments back, I'll just fix it up a bit before handing it in on the 24th. I also just finished the replacement Latin paper, for those of you who are regular readers, which means I am done with Latin classes for life (hallelujah!).

But now, I need to run errands. If I don't, I'll have nothing to eat for the next week. Hopefully I'll have something to post soon (and time to post)!

flower in the abstract

Flower in the Abstract
October 2008

My iTunes: Tel jour, telle nuit: I. Bonne journée by Dalton Baldwin & Nicolai Gedda

This is a shot I grabbed while on one of my photoshoots this past weekend. And believe it or not, there's been no editing done to it. It's probably one of the 5 or so pictures I've ever posted without editing.

This weekend is the closing weekend for Aida. I'll miss hearing the amazing singers, but won't miss all the time spent taking off the body paint!

I have a new thing added to my to-do list: find a floor length black dress to wear for my choir solos. We had auditions yesterday afternoon for choir solos, and I was given three different parts. It should be fun!

fall leaves

Fall Leaves
October 2008

My iTunes: Chevaux de Bois by Dawn Upshaw

I had the rest of the first engagement shoot yesterday afternoon. I haven't had a chance to edit any pictures yet, except for this one which I snapped while I was waiting since I got there a few minutes early. I really liked it, so I had to open it up in Photoshop.

While I was on my photoshoot, I ran into another photographer and we chatted for a bit. As she walked away, I saw that she had a ShootSac bag with the cover that I want! I wish I could have told her how much I liked it, but she was too far away by the time I realized. But thanks to my amazing research skills, I found her website online -- stop by if you have time, I really love her work! My next photography purchase will be a ShootSac bag -- they look so amazing! Check them out here, and be sure to visit Jessica Claire's blog-site, which is one of my favorite things to look at online (she's such an inspiration)!

Busy day today -- theory class, aural musicianship, lyric and diction (my favorite!), then a coaching session for some French songs I'm working on, then another performance this evening. I think I should get to bed soon, then...

the candle

The Candle
September 2008

My iTunes: Tu Es Ma Came by Carla Bruni

I feel proud of everything I accomplished today. I started with a to-do list that literally reached from my elbow down the length of my arm. Now the list fits within the length of my hand. Hopefully I'll finish the rest of it tomorrow.

Here's some of what I did today:

Bought the rest of the frames for the photographs I'll be displaying and selling at the local coffee shop; mailed off a list of my expenditures to be reimbursed for my most recent trip to Philadelphia; mailed a package; set up three more students; set up a time for a photoshoot; wrote a paper; set up my senior recital; picked up four books at the library; ordered refills for my allergy medicines; replaced my broken sunglasses; bought a few dress shirts since none of the ones I wore before back surgery fit anymore; got my hair trimmed; took three girls out for coffee; wrote out the IPA for my new German songs; read four articles for a reading assignment; made and ate dinner.

And now I'm going to order the prints for the coffee shop -- I'll have them as my post for tomorrow!