Ch- Ch- Changes

Everything always seems to happen in the blink of an eye. Time passes by so quickly and it's easy to miss the special moments in all the fog and haze of daily life-- but we're here and we're all just doing the best we can to take this great big life one day at a time!

News is good, honestly. I've moved out into my own place at the border of Hollywood, Los Feliz and Silverlake and I'm striking out on my own. I've loved and loved and loved, but some things just aren't meant to be-- there's timing involved, and intent, but mostly a lot of emotions that can get really complicated. It suffices to say Nova and I are learning to live in a new part of town.

Immediately after moving, my computer's motherboard decided to take a nosedive and I also lost a prime location in which to take product shots for Dewclaw Vintage. Between that and packing (and unpacking), I've lost a little impetus to use my camera, although on my switched-up commute I see plenty of things on my new route that I'd love to shoot-- so it's just a matter of getting back into the swing of things.

I have goals-- I'm finally on my own in the Big City like I always dreamed I would be, so now I'm motivated and feel charged to pursue my career, whatever that really means.

This blog is called "These Things First" after the Nick Drake song "One of These Things First" -- I always have focused on living life to its fullest potential... I never wanted to have to ask myself if I missed an opportunity because I wasn't letting myself be "this thing first" -- so here I am, plain as day, take me as I am. I'm living my life as I want, rolling with the punches and being grateful for every opportunity that is presented to me. Hope you will stick around for the journey, because it is going to be full of life and very powerful.

Everything I Need, I've Got

I'm not the best blogger, clearly. It's been a month since my last post and meanwhile my photos are piling up into an unmanageable pile of multiple posts, so instead of trying to play catch-up, I'm just going to cherry pick the best photos from my stash and share them with you with a little background. As I combed through my photos, it was easy to find myself honing in on portraits of everything around me that makes life worth living-- the people, places and puppies!

Want to start with my perfect, pretty puppy basking in the afternoon sun. She's the light of my life!

Thalia and I recently spent a morning enjoying The Highland Cafe down the street from my home. The rejuvenation of York Blvd in Highland Park has been so nice to watch happen, now if you drive through this stretch on a Saturday or Sunday morning, you'll see so many people walking (who says nobody walks in LA?!) and enjoying the local businesses and the revitalization of the neighborhood.

A Highland Park staircase and a hillside in Griffith Park, the kind of outdoor scenery I'd like more opportunities to shoot. I have found that my passion is in portraits but sometimes you just see something so beautiful that you have to at least try to capture it!

Spent a night camping in Ojai in February and got this awesome shot of Greg under his big straw cowboy hat.

One of my best friends, Chelsie, also likes to take photos. I won't fault her for using a Nikon, even though I shoot with a Canon! She's always got a smile on and I appreciate her insight and mindfulness. She is an excellent mediator and always tries to get everyone's perspective before she chooses her path.

Another trip to Montana, a few more beautiful photos. That beautiful moon was hanging low over the Craters of the Moon National Park outside of Arco, Idaho.

A shot of myself, either before or after I went skinny dipping in a river in the Tahoe National Forest. It was hard to stop smiling-- I love being out in nature, especially in a judgement-free zone where it's ok to be truly human.

My friend Chris and I got all done up to go see Bjork at the Hollywood Palladium in June. The crowd behind us didn't really appreciate Chris' height or his horns, but after the show ended, he was showered with compliments! Bjork is one of the first independent artists I ever listened to, so it was a dream come true to see her perform live. She sang so perfectly that I almost didn't believe it wasn't dubbed!

Hopefully it'll be sooner and not later before I post again, but if not, enjoy the photos and feel free to share 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.