Holy crap, it’s been a while!
I’ll start this post by updating you on my 365s since last time I posted …

365 Self Portraits.
Day sixteen.
October 06, 2009.
See that in the background? Yep, that’s snow.
Merissa and I went on a photo excursion to Manning Park to take photographs with autumn colours, but instead ended up finding snow. Autumn colours will have to be another day.
We climbed mountains, took too many photos (with five different cameras), put our backs out of alignment by carrying around so much freakin’ weight (WHY did we need five cameras?!), had a snowball fight, and made it back to Hope with only 3.5 litres of gas to spare. Oops.
I took this photo with my Speedlite at partial power. I love learning with this flash!

365 Self Portraits.
Day seventeen.
October 07, 2009.
At this time of year, I feel like I have to take advantage of every last little patch of sunlight that hits my body.
I saw this stream of morning light coming through my one small window in my bedroom (it’s a basement suite) and I dove for my camera and laid on the floor where the light hit. It was actually quite pleasant – morning light is so lovely. Generally speaking I don’t go out of my way to enjoy mornings. When I get up early, it’s because I have to – work, school, appointment, etc. I never wake up early just for the sake of enjoying what the morning has to offer. I also give myself approximately ten minutes in the early morning to get ready, and then hurry out the door.
It’s a shame, because whenever I do wake up early for a specific reason, I end up enjoying it greatly once I’m out of my sleeping stupor. Especially autumn and winter mornings where I live; the fog, the frost, the crisp mountains. This year I’m going to make a point of waking up early just for the sake of seeing it and photographing it.

365 Self Portraits.
Day eighteen.
October 08, 2009.
Today’s portrait pretty much sums up how I feel about life lately.
This has been the best summer and autumn of my life. It hasn’t been perfect, but I have felt so calm and content in my own skin, more so than ever before. I have photographed everything, met new people, experienced so many adventures, fell even deeper in love … my eyes and my heart are wider than ever before.
To quote my favourite Silversun Pickups song -
“Pull out the fear of silence
Put out the need for guidance
Put out your own devices
And don’t be afraid of the cold
Afraid of the cold
Afraid of the time
You’ve got no where to go but here.”

365 Self Portraits.
Day nineteen.
October 09, 2009.
One of my cooler self portraits from my 365 project so far, I think. I achieved this by setting up my camera and wide angle lens (Canon 50D and Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6) on a tripod on the beach with the sunset behind me. I had my camera on Manual mode, f/8.0, 800 ISO, 1/160 sec (and the self timer, of course). I set my Speedlite to fire at partial power, two stops below the default setting. I pointed it to the left of where the lens was facing, towards me, and at a 45 degree angle, reflected off the catchlight panel (the little white card that pulls out from above the head of the flash).
This is something I’ve just started learning how to do!
I couldn’t decide between the two images, so I layered them in Photoshop, brought down the opacity of the image on the right, and used selective motion blur to smooth out the lines.
This was taken at Mud Bay in Delta, BC. I wasn’t really inspired to take my portrait today. I took photos all day with Merissa on Thursday, and then (after four hours of sleep due to a stomach ache) went to class Friday morning to shoot for four more hours. After class was lunch (thank goodness) and then to a home in Richmond for, yet again, more shooting (for a landscaping company). By the time these activities were over I just wanted to go home, get into sweats and watch Veronica Mars. Thankfully Merissa convinced me to come with her to Mud Bay for our portraits and I got this result!

365 Self Portraits.
Day twenty.
October 10, 2009.
Off to see Gogol Bordello – a Ukrainian gypsy punk band!

365 Self Portraits.
Day twenty one.
October 11, 2009.
We couldn’t seem to get a nice photo of both of us, but we know we can always fall back on “grotesque”.

365 Self Portraits.
Day twenty two.
October 12, 2009.
This is what day one of swine flu looks like, folks.

365 Self Portraits.
Day twenty three.
October 13, 2009.
So this is what I’ve been doing the past three days. It is the most frustrating thing for me, not having the energy to get out of bed (or even stand up) for more than a few moments at a time, …when I have SO much on my to-do list. Taking my daily portrait has been the most challenging part of my day. It requires far more energy than I am willing or able to put out.

365 Self Portraits.
Day twenty four.
October 14, 2009.
You know your boyfriend loves you when:
He poses for your 365 with you, wearing his glasses because his contacts are out, at 11:58pm, when you realize you haven’t yet taken your daily portrait, you’re in your pajamas, you’re not wearing any makeup, and you’re supposed to be watching a movie together.

365 Self Portraits.
Day twenty five.
October 15, 2009.
My portrait is somewhat creative today! It must mean I’m feeling better. Also, I’m sitting up at my desktop computer, rather than in bed with the laptop because I couldn’t be upright without getting dizzy. It’s an improvement!
Due to this crazy swine flu business, I’m missing my photography class tomorrow. I’m pretty bummed about it.
My kitty has been on cloud nine while I’ve been sick. She’s a big fan of the hours I’ve spent in bed cuddling her and warming her with the hot air vent on the laptop.
My brain is in a codeine and Nyquil fog. I could barely write this in a coherent manner. Is it even coherent?

365 Self Portraits.
Day twenty six.
October 16, 2009.
Today I thought I felt well enough to join the boys for our original Friday night plan, before I got sick – watching the Canucks game at a sports bar in Richmond and spending the night at Andy’s house. Then I had a crazy dizzy spell while getting ready, followed closely by a rush of fever. Needless to say, I decided I’m not totally well enough for social events yet. One more day to recover, at the very least. Okay, maybe a few more.
Today I missed my photography class. It was depressing. Thankfully I was able to speak to the teacher and she knows I have the flu, and gave me an alternate way to hand in my assignments, as well as directions for where to meet next week (another field trip!).
So, this is me, plugging away on the assignments that I wasn’t able to complete this week thanks to being ill, and watching Veronica Mars, the tv show that has kept me sane during my week of La Flu De Swine. That’s probably nowhere near grammatically correct, so don’t quote me.
I even brushed my hair for this photo!

365 Self Portraits.
Day twenty seven.
October 17, 2009.
This is me, a photo of me taken just under a year ago, and an awkward reflection of my camera.
I recently developed a disposable camera that I’d been using for a full year. I didn’t plan it that way or anything, that’s just how it happened. It was full of the most random photos. On that roll was a few shots from this day, when I visited the beach by Greg’s old house (when he lived with his parents) during a snowstorm. I crossed off one of my life’s to-dos that day – being on the beach in the snow, of course!
I’m slowly recovering from that evil flu. It’s taking a while. I’ve developed a really raunchy cough. I have so much to do next week, it’s almost terrifying! So I’m crossing my fingers that I’m feeling better by Monday.
Also, can I just say, even if you aren’t a fan of the whole Twilight thing, you have to give the New Moon soundtrack a listen. It is stunning. Seriously!

365 Self Portraits.
Day twenty eight.
October 18, 2009.
I’ve been fooling around with new ways to border and crop my photos. I love my sister Lindsay’s squared off corners, so I borrowed the idea.
<a href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/leightsy”>www.flickr.com/photos/leightsy</a>
Still not 100% healthy. Getting there though. Definitely improving, other than the raunchy cough I developed yesterday, but it’s slowly improving as well.
Today I slept until 3:30pm. I was conked right out. This flu has taken literally all of my energy away. While I was sleeping, my mom sold Sugar’s rainsheet that no longer fits her, for $30. I offered to give it to her because she’d done repairs on the rainsheet for me, but she declined. My mom is too nice to me.
Greg and I decided to go to Starbucks for lattes after dinner, my treat, and while we were driving down a back street in his truck on our way there, we saw a car pulled over with a flat tire. Greg has a hydraulic jack and all the necessary tools for tire changing, so we pulled over and he put on the lady’s spare tire for her. While making small talk, he told her that I was sick and we were on our way to Starbucks for something warm to drink, and she gave Greg a twenty dollar bill and told us to enjoy our lattes. So, we got two Venti-sized Caramel Macchiatos, a box of Dad’s Goody Ring cookies and came home to watch “Into the Wild”. We both cried (shh, don’t tell Greg I told you).

365 Self Portraits.
Day twenty nine.
October 19, 2009.
Today I figured out how I’m dressing up for Halloween.
Usually I have this figured out at least a month or two in advance. This year, with everything else going on in my life, I hadn’t given it much thought until last week. My mom dug out some Halloween decorations and I pulled out the native costume my mom had made for my sister when she was 14 or 15, over ten years ago now. I wore it a few years around the age of 12/13, and won a costume contest in it in 2004 when I wore it on horseback with my pony Sugar painted up like a war horse.
The best part of this costume is EASILY the headdress. My mom has so much talent with costumes! I’m going to modify the rest of it a little for this year. Instead of wearing the fringe pants, I’m going to pair the tunic with tights, boots, and a loin cloth. I’m going to go for the scary war paint look on my face, too. Excitement!
I achieved today’s portrait with my camera on a tripod (Canon 50D), my wide angle lens (Sigma 10-20mm), my flash stopped down to -3 (Speedlite 580EX II), and a strong white lamp behind me to backlight the feathers.

365 Self Portraits.
Day thirty.
October 20, 2009.
Oh hi, paradise!
Also – oh hi, day thirty! Tomorrow, the 21st, will be exactly one month of this 365 project.
This is me this afternoon with my beautiful Sugarbear and Greg, hanging out in the field behind the barn. Look Merissa, there were birch trees here the whole time and I didn’t even clue in until today!
I got the most done today that I have in over a week because of the flu. It felt nice to be so active and accomplish a lot. I’m SO GLAD to be feeling healthy again, I can’t even begin to tell you!
I have a very exciting job interview tomorrow. Cross your fingers for me!

365 Self Portraits.
Day thirty one.
October 21, 2009.
Today I had a job interview that went super well.
I also went shopping at Army and Navy. I’ve wanted one of these hats forever.
Dinner and watching the hockey game with friends followed. Excellent day!

365 Self Portraits.
Day thirty two.
October 22, 2009.
Self portrait late in the evening, after a very wet but enjoyable visit to the Ghost Train in Stanley Park with Greg, Andy, and Kim, followed by dinner at White Spot.
I saw Lindsay’s beau Robert’s name on the artist credits wall.
These are the earrings that I wore. They’re epic and I drag them out every Halloween. In fact, I have a disturbing amount of Halloween-themed accessories.

365 Self Portraits.
Day thirty three.
October 23, 2009.
Oh boy. What a crazy couple of days.
Wednesday I was out from noon to midnight, Thursday was spent running errands all day (including TWO HOURS at the bank) followed by the Ghost Train, I got to bed at 2:30am, and woke at 7:30am this morning to get ready for class. Left the house at 8am, got downtown to the Library at 10:00am, and we spent the next four hours taking turns shooting a bride and groom (models) as lead photographer, assistant photographer, and third stringer. I was really stressed out and unsure about it, being that it was an awful weather day, I’d never been to the place where we were shooting (besides pass by on the street), I missed last week’s class due to the flu, and of course there’s always pressure when you have to "perform" as a photographer – plus it’s the only time in our course that we hire models to work with.
On the bright side, the models were incredible, the weather worked to our advantage, I didn’t have to shoot first like last time (I was outspoken about that haha), I spent a lot of time chatting with another girl in the class (she assisted me, I assisted her) and I feel like I’m making friends there, AND I’m very, very happy with my photos. Critical, as always, but happy.
So today I got home from school at 2pm, did a 200 question online quiz for that job interview I had on Wednesday, went to the auto broker with Greg to put the Ranger in my name and insure it, came home, got changed, put on makeup, and left to see Collective Soul downtown with Ben, Alex, Jessica, and Karl. Now it’s 2:40am and guess what – not sleeping yet!
I am so, so looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow.
Life is busy, but … busy is good.
I guess (if you know me) you’re wondering why Greg’s Ranger is now in my name. Well, I’m selling my Accent to Greg’s mom – and buying the Ranger from Greg with the money from that sale. The Ranger is in my name now, and I’ve insured it, so it won’t be sitting in Ben’s driveway anymore not being used. Greg has his Chevy, so he doesn’t need the Ranger anymore, and now Greg’s mom will have the perfect car for her needs, I’ll have a rad little truck that’s great in the snow, handy to have, and super reliable – everyone wins!

365 Self Portraits.
Day thirty four.
October 24, 2009.
This morning I finally got to sleep in. Thank the lord.
In the early afternoon I went to Surrey to look at a car with my parents and Greg, for my mom. It didn’t pan out, but it was a good time anyway, and once we got home we spent a couple of hours outside putting up Halloween decorations. Decorating for Halloween is a HUGE tradition in my family, and since my dad has the first Halloween off in years, I’m trying to get him back into the swing of things.
Greg and I finished off the day over caesars and the UFC fight at our favourite local pub. <3
I’m going to start borrowing Merissa’s “Daily Recommendations” idea to accompany my 365 portraits.
Today’s recommendation:
“Run” by Air. Listen to it here -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZT9t6oMBhI

365 Self Portraits.
Day thirty five.
October 25, 2009.
So sleepy today. Got up early, cleaned out and vacuumed the Accent (my car) because Greg’s parents came out today to buy it off of me (this is how I paid Greg for the Ranger I bought off of him). Went with Greg to Surrey, helped KC move a pink couch from Merissa’s house to an apartment at SFU. After Greg’s parents left later in the afternoon, I worked on my Idea Book for school, watched a couple of episodes of Veronica Mars (what else is new), and promptly fell asleep at 6:30, until 9:45pm.
I woke up about two minutes before I took this portrait. The leaf is one I found in my backyard today, it blew in from the neighbour’s yard. It’s approximately the size of my upper body.
Daily Recommendation:
Veronica Mars. One of the best TV shows I’ve ever watched. Funny, suspenseful, great acting, and Kristen Bell is adorable.

365 Self Portraits.
Day thirty six.
October 26, 2009.
This is me and Greg at Ghost Ridge, a haunted house they do every year in my community in a big ol’ barn on the fairgrounds, with proceeds to charity. It is SO GOOD, seriously – last year I thought it was even better than Fright Nights at Playland in Vancouver, which is the biggest Halloween-themed event in the city (and charges five times the price for admission).
I haven’t been to Fright Nights yet this year – that’s tomorrow night – but I hear they’ve hired a new guy and his team to make it the scariest in the country. I’m stoked to see how it compares to last year’s Fright Nights, and to Ghost Ridge! I love me some good gory Halloween scares.
Daily Recommendation:
Ghost Ridge, of course!
www.ghostridge.org
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Whew, that took longer than expected. My 365 has basically become my blog … I don’t really feel much need to update this anymore, except for the occasional rant or to post my 365s.
You can follow my 365s on Facebook or at my Flickr account – http://www.flickr.com/photos/kaitikins




































































































































