romantic {8/16/13}
Kelley Clink
I took a break from the August Break yesterday. To atone, I have combined yesterday's and today's prompts into one hell of a stock photo. Book, meet Floral:
(extra) soft animal
paradox {8/14/13}
Kelley Clink
There is something about the movement of leaves in wind that, paradoxically, puts me in mind of stillness. I think it is the hidden strength of the tree's roots, the deep connection with the earth that allows the branches to bend. Or maybe it's just that on a quiet summer day, when nothing else is moving, you hear the whisper like rushing water.
home {8/13/13}
Kelley Clink
People often ask me where I'm from (usually when I've just said something with a particularly nasal twang). I'm never quite sure how to answer them. I was born in Detroit and lived in the metropolitan area until I was 15. Then I moved to Alabama, where I finished high school and went to college. But I've lived in Chicago for 13 years--the longest amount of time I've ever spent in one place. And while I do my share of complaining (traffic, weather, crowds, weather, litter, weather, crime, weather), this place is special. There is an energy here, an openness of heart. There is grit and beauty. There are dear friends in these frozen winds. This city is home.
a walk {8/12/13}
Kelley Clink
flower power {8/11/13}
Kelley Clink
red {8/10/13}
Kelley Clink
Bet you guys are getting sick of my mug...
creamsicle {8/9/13}
Kelley Clink
turn around {8/8/13}
Kelley Clink
Up until now I haven't really been following the August Break prompts. But today's challenge was a selfie, aka a self-portrait, and I couldn't resist.
I used to be one of those people who hated having her picture taken. Well, technically I still am, but the section on self-portraiture in Susannah Conway's This I Know laid it out in a way that finally made sense: when someone else takes a picture of you, you have no control. On the other hand, when you take a picture of yourself...you see where I'm going with this. After reading that I started shooting selfies like they were going out of style--and it was bliss. I could delete (or hide or throw away) all the bad ones. I could tweak and reposition until I got everything exactly the way I wanted it. And holy shit, I finally started looking sort of okay in photographs. No more deer in headlights, no more chipmunk cheeks, no more double chins. Well, at least none that anyone else would see. It felt good. I even felt, for the first time in my life, sort of beautiful.