Downtown Warehouse Party

I am acquaintances with a handsome and talented gentleman named Jared Tate who lives in a studio in the Fashion District in Downtown LA and had a chance to go to a party in his decked out loft. All the usual suspects are here: Thalia, Jonnah and Chris Boss along with April O'Neil. I used the party as an opportunity to play "Unofficial Party Photographer" but mostly I ended up just snapping some interesting photos of my friends and the crowd.

Clearly I'm an amateur, but I love that my learning curve still allows me to take photos that offer unusual results that I still enjoy and am proud to share.

At the party's peak, local comedy band The Weekend Pilots performed a set of their songs.

People laughed, people danced, people got comfortable and got cozy, at which point the evening more or less dissolved into me taking candid portraits of my friends around the loft.

If you like my photos, please share my blog with your friends! Also, keep an eye on the These Things First Tumblr account for outtakes, photos of myself and my life (mostly the food I eat and my dog) and other photos that you might not see on this blog!

Around the House, January 2013

I was lucky enough that my boyfriend got me a Canon EOS Rebel T3 for Christmas, and it seems like the first chapter to something bigger and better (and more fulfilling) for me, so I've been doing my best to practice and learn how to use it well. On its own, it has a tendency to take crisp, clean, beautiful photos, but with a lesson or two and learning how all the settings work, I am hoping to become more in control of the final product.

January is generally a quiet month for me, and because my income fluctuates seasonally, I don't usually have as many resources available to be able to travel or do anything really extravagant this time of year, so instead I've been trying to use the camera around the house. My boyfriend has really taken to it, as well-- it can be assumed that any pictures of me were taken by him.

Greg plays guitar and bass in our living room at least once a week, and seeing him get in the zone gave me a great opportunity to practice shooting in low light.

The light in our kitchen is very yellow-- I'm not sure how I'm ever going to be able to get nice food shots at night, but regardless of the lighting, I got a great portrait of Greg one evening while dinner was cooking.

Here I am painting my nails, as I usually do every other night (although most people probably don't put any on RIGHT before they leave for a night out!). Polish is SEPHORA + PANTONE UNIVERSE Violet Quartz.

We are on our way to The Edison in Downtown LA for a friend's 21st birthday!

The most challenging part of taking photographs, so far, seems to be getting myself into the habit of taking my camera with me when I go places that would make for interesting pictures. I'm hoping to be better about it!

Keep up with me around the web, if you'd like! I'm on Instagram at somelissasaid, on Twitter at @somelissasaid and on tumblr at hindsightt.tumblr.com. Feel free to tag me on any of these services as well, or with the hashtags #somelissasaid or #thesethingsfirst.

The Standard Hotel Downtown, January 2013

On January 21, 2013, a group of my friends and I gathered up our summer gear and celebrated a little bit of July at Christmas down at The Standard Hotel in Downtown Los Angeles. I think people get the idea that Californians (and Angelenos in particular) take our non-stop summer weather for granted, but we like to take advantage as best as we can. The Standard Hotel rooftop pool is open to the public and is free every day (except Saturdays, where you can expect a $20 cover charge), so we got there early and sipped up overpriced cocktails with reckless abandon. This is how we celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day in Los Angeles — ideally, from within the midst of the beautiful Downtown LA skyline.







swimsuit is JOYRICH x Keith Haring.










Visit Thalia and Jonnah at Infinite Pi (∞ Π) and visit Chris Boss at clitmonsterbbygrl. All photos taken by melissac. (except the one of myself, which is by Jonnah!)