Sunday, my sister and I made it back safe and sound. I suppose I’m refreshed after being away from everything, in a completely different environment for a week and a half.

What I enjoyed most was seeing such a diverse array of people. I mean, really, I had to actually look for the white people at first, which was a very surreal experience. So many different ethnicities living side by side. Take the couple we stayed with, Maudeline and Frank. Maudeline is from Montreal, born and raised, and her parents are from Haiti. So, French is her first language. Her husband, Frank, is from Union Island, I think. (I’m like, dude, how do you grow up on a place that is only 3 miles long? I guess it’s no biggie if you have all the necessities.)

I had a great time visiting with friends. Hopefully, next summer I’ll be able to see Montreal.

Below the cut you will find a selection of photos that I consider my favorite shots/highlights from the trip.

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Back in Mobile for a week now, I’ve had time to unwind, decompress, and reflect on my experience of New York and Canada. My little sister said something that aptly describes the experience:

“I’m not taking picture because you can’t capture all this in a picture. You just have to tell people to experience it for themselves.”

That’s pretty much how I feel, too. However, I do believe that photos can move people to go and experience the place for themselves.

The first time I went to New York City, I did take mad photos because everything was new to me. This time around, I opted instead to try to form a narrative of my journey with my photos. I’m pretty happy with the result, except that I didn’t get photos of the celebrities people I saw (Nigel Barker and Talib Kweli).

Still I have some gems in the form of photos I’d like to share, and most of them have stories.

At the B&B in Middletown, NY

Middletown, NY – A squirrel in a maple tree.

Crazy gas prices on the road to Canada. What’s more—as I found out from a young man I met from Egypt—gas is about 40 cents/gallon in Cairo (and it’s getting cheaper).

Canadian Customs – I had to turn over my pepper spray, because it’s illegal to carry it in Canada. The Queen of England has it now.

My little sis actually snapped this since I was driving. The camera settings were wrong so I had to salvage it. I like the surreal quality it has.

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I didn’t plan on this weekend being very eventful, for me. However, when my sister’s friend Teresa came to visit from Tennessee, when went out to eat on Friday and took a trip to Pensacola Beach on Sunday. There were a few stressful moments, but we all ended up having lots of fun.

Teresa’s really interested in improving her photography skills, so she asked me for some tips. I realized that I knew more than I thought. We dined at Original Oyster House. The food was absolutely amazing, our waitress was awesome. We got extra food and free dessert. The place is on this miniscule strip of land in the Mobile Bay. Look at out my flickr map to see what I’m talking about.

Of course, I took lots of photos, which I posted on flickr. Check them out.

Man, I am so tired right now. I guess it’s from getting up early yesterday after a few hours of sleep and then going all day. Such is the price of fundom.

In other news, I purchased my plane ticket to New York last night. This will be my second trip there, again in May. It’s gonna be great.

Finally, some art.

I drew this for Kendall, since he’s been feeling sick these last few days. I have commissions I need to work on. But I need to draw small stuff from time to time. I’m surprised how quickly this came out. Only took me about 15-20 mintues to draw, but it’s rather small. It’s Rosario Dawson, because Ken
I can’t believe I have about 2 weeks of school left before I graduate. So surreal.

I went to the orthdontist yesterday, got my bracket fixed. Then about an hour later, while eating a double bacon cheddar melt from Wendy’s, I spit out—whadaya think?—another bracket. Actually, it was the same one I had just gotten “fixed.” So I call the orthodontist’s office, and they tell me to come back in. The receptionist sounded really shocked. Apparently it’s unusual for it to have come off again like that. So, I get it put back on, and it’s stayed so far. I wasn’t terribly upset about the situation, I was just slightly frustrated because I hadn’t eaten all day, and I had to stop to go back to the orthdontist.

The awesomely bountiful dessert table at the luncheon at my older sister’s work.

My lovely cousin, Ashley. She goes to Auburn University.

What have I been doing so far this month? Not much, actually. Things kind of build up in culmination at the Soul Powered Show, and now I’m broke, trying to focus and finishing up the last few weeks of school and doing commissions to tide me over financially until then.

As always, I’ve been taking photos. My little sister said something to me a little while ago that I found so funny. I asked me to take a picture of something, and I guess I was taking to long with it, and she said finally,

“Sharon, you don’t have to take a photograph. Just take a picture.”

Laura’s awesome like that.

Salt print in the fixer.

Tongs labeled to use for different alternative photographic processes.

The advanced darkroom.

I haven’t been able to bite my nails since I got my braces. My nails grew out, so I painted them, which I hadn’t done in a loooong time. The color is “Holly Days” a really dark green. I bought it from Bath & Body Works like 5 years ago and it’s still good.

My younger sister Nicole being glamorous.

Another late night or being bored into taking photos of myself.

Commissioned pages with which I will soon part. Done for Arson Entertainment.

Saturday – My sister’s study, waiting to be baptized.

Playing with extended shutter speeds. It’s the lights on the ceiling of the Mobile Civic Center.

We ate at a Chinese Restaurant I’d never been to. I really liked the lanterns hanging outside. I was having trouble with my AutoFocus, though, and this is one of the first shots. I liked how it came out, though.

Nicole, in the outfit she made for the Special Assembly Day.

My hair had grown out of the cut, but I can’t afford to go to the stylist. Saturday night I resolved to trim it myself. I’ve done it before but it’s been, like, years ago. I didn’t cut off as much as I wanted in the back, mainly because I couldn’t see it. I like it though. It looks really good tousled.

The aftermath.

Sorry for the lack of art. I have drawn a few things. I’ll try to have them up in the next post.