Jes Lee

Where do I start?

Looking back, I’m not sure how to even begin to describe this week. Hard doesn’t seem to even begin to describe it. Yet, I managed to survive.

There are many things on my mind this morning, but none of it is cooperating and forming words. Perhaps I just need more coffee.

Tuesday morning this was posted. A friend to many and a member of our instant film group on twitter died this month. She had been fighting breast cancer for a long time. I chatted with her here and there on twitter – she was so sweet and always had something kind to say. There were times when we wouldn’t hear from her for awhile and it was usually because the chemo was tough and she wasn’t feeling well. It had been quite awhile since we had heard from her. I tried a few times to find out more, but never did. I’ll certainly miss her and her avatar appearing in my twitter timeline with new photos and anecdotes.

It has made me think a lot this week about the relationships we have. The internet has added so much to that. I have friends all over the world now, and many that I feel just as close to as some of the people I know in real life. It is amazing, and very cool, and at the same time a bit sad. When things like this happen, you don’t always have a real world connection to find out any more about what is happening, or where they have gone. That topic has been covered many times in William Gibson cyber punk novels, and I don’t think at the time I really understood the depth of it. I do now. I don’t think these relationships are bad, quite the opposite actually. It is just different.

On a different end of the thought spectrum, I was thinking a lot last night about applications and deadlines, and this application came up. You apply to have a photo show in a shipping container. The show lasts a few days. This is another point where a tiny part of my brain screams at me that here is another part of a William Gibson novel that I am living in (yes this happens frequently)…though I don’t think any of his characters went to or had art shows in shipping containers, but it would fit with the plot in a few books. I wonder where they set up this village of art-in-a-giant-box, and why don’t more artist’s do it? Are there often that many shipping containers that aren’t being used to…ship things? What would it take to set up an exhibition of these?

Big thoughts for a sunny day.

Time for me to go work.

Family photos

Last month I did family photos for one of many favorite families! (Yes, I call all of the families I have a chance to photograph my favorites, but I mean it!!)

Jon and Emilie Rexeisen welcomed Luke in to their family this spring. We had a fun photo session to celebrate Luke’s 3 month birthday and to take a new family photo (with a few photos of his smiley sister Anna thrown in as well). Their family room turns into a photo studio quite nicely!

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Unexpected

I didn’t expect to end up with a new iPhone today. (Thank you AppleCare!)

I didn’t expect to fall in love with kayaking this summer.

I didn’t expect to keep up with my journal project (I have quite well! . . . just not with the scanning portion).

I didn’t expect to be so fascinated with NASA and space this month (RIP Neil Armstrong…I’m still curious about those Hasselblads that are up on the moon…maybe you could check now…)

I didn’t expect a lot of things this summer, but I think it was much better that way. When you don’t expect things, you can’t be disappointed when they don’t happen.

I’m looking forward to what is coming next…with no expectations!

Reflecting

Yes, this blog has been a bit quiet this week. For a couple of good reasons though!

1. I have been very busy working on artwork.

2. I spent Monday doing two very important senior photo sessions (with my cousin and her best friend)

3. …

3 maybe isn’t a good reason, but it is a reason. I’ve been a bit more introspective the last few days. Not in a bad way, just in a trying to figure out a bit more about why I am doing all that I’m doing and how I’m going to manage doing all that I need to do either way…

These things come up sometimes.

I found a new app called Day One last week. It is a journaling app, and will sync between your iPhone and computer, will let you post photos and will even log the time and weather and location for when you are journaling. I’ve been using that a bit more and I like it. Sometimes you just need a quieter place than the internet.

Saturday, Mr FN and I went on a walk through a park we hadn’t been to before. It took us between the Mississippi River and 94. We walked about 4 miles total in warm, sunny, summer weather. That can help anyone straighten out their thoughts. Of course, I took a few cameras with and took a few photos as well ;)

And these are a few of the reasons I do what I do. I can’t imagine doing anything else.

I will be posting more next week. For now, I have a weekend of work with a bit of fun ahead of me. Cheers!

 

Roid Week day 1 posts

This week is ‘Roid Week! The one week of the year where all of us instant photo geeks post our best and our favorite instant photos on Flickr. There is a lot of excitement, a lot of ‘favoriting’ and commenting on photos, and many many tweets about the subject on Twitter. Each participant is allowed to post two instant photos each day. Here are my two photos I posted yesterday, day #1.

Windchimes

from my favorite part of the Walker Art Center sculpture garden.

Birds nest

Both were taken on The Impossible Project‘s Px70 Cool film using a Polaroid Sx-70 camera.

Work in progress #3

I received a text message early this morning from my grandpa, asking if I wanted to go out and learn to kayak today. It has been a long time since I have been out on Long Lake. I had a wonderful time, despite how much my muscles are complaining now. The feeling of floating on the water in the middle of the lake is still on my mind though, and I thought maybe it was time to post this work in progress.

water-rising

Water rising

Compilation of 4 images – two taken with a Hasselblad 501c/m (one color and one black and white) and two taken with a Polaroid Sx-70 using Impossible Project Cool color film.

Work in progress, August 2012

Still geeking out on space stuff…

I have still been geeking out over NASA Mars updates and many other things space related. Especially today…

While at work, my dad showed me this video of the Earth Illuminated as seen from a satellite.

And then ICP posted this: today in 1969, the issue of LIFE magazine was devoted to the photos taking during the moon landing.

Now, I am going to go geek out a little bit more and read the Doctor Who novel I am currently reading, and dream about nebulas and distant moons.