The Accidental Photographer

I'M BACK, BITCHES!!!!

2011-10-05T12:32:00.000-07:00

Sweet Mila Rose

2010-02-05T16:13:00.000-08:00

I haven't had the opportunity to shoot too many babies.

This little love muffin is an extraordinary beauty.

Brand new daughter to my good friends Elizabeth and Jeremy.

These were taken when little Mila was about 3 weeks old.

Pat and i stopped by with a bottle of wine and a basket of goodies for mom and dad (NEW PARENTS DESERVE WINE!!!) and i grabbed a few shots.

i was supposed to take maternity shots of Liz but this little turkey was born early!! She's quite wiley. Don't let the sweet face fool you! HA!

i am pleased!

congrats Liz and Jer!

Playing dress up....

2010-01-07T15:08:00.001-08:00

i told you she liked to play dress up. if it hadn't been for her desire to be a Bollywood actress from the 40's one day....or a 30's pin-up the next, i might never have continued to take pictures.

granted....these were taken with a point-and-shoot Canon Something-or-Other with it set on Sepia. (again, my Everybody Looks Better in Sepia Phase). They were taken about 3 1/2 almost 4 years ago.

They've recently been rejuvenated. Translation: They've recently received an ENORMOUS spanking from Photoshop. Some are grainy, out of focus little things. but i love them.

Who knew a Jewish girl from Ohio would make SUCH a gorgeous Hindi Queen???

giggle.

San Francisco

2009-11-18T15:12:00.000-08:00

i can now add san francisco to the very VERY short list of places in the US i would live in a heartbeat. it's like the west coast's answer to n.y.c...love love LOVE it.

we stayed in the Haight with Rosa and Andrew. i took so many awesome photos one day only to realize many hours later that i hadn't put the memory card in the camera....so no photos of the Haight. boo.

these are the only remnants of that trip....i'm not too sad about it. :-)

Roadside Yoga and Other Delights

2009-10-05T14:21:00.001-07:00

why, hello Palouse....it's been a while.

what a trip it was! i now have my own "Murtaugh" list. if you don't understand the reference, you clearly don't watch HIMYM. let's just say, it is unfortunate that "Ordering a bagel after 2:00 am" is now on the list of things I'm "too old to do"....but then, nothing good happens after 2:00 am....

this is Kim.

she has her eye on the prize.

the challenge is great, but her will is greater.....she will summon all of the Ellen McIlvane energy that exists in the world and she will.....

....do yoga on a roadside post somewhere between Colfax, WA and Othello, WA.....

because she CAN.

and that rules.

The Magical Wishing Forest

2009-10-05T13:33:00.000-07:00

DISCLAIMER: i'm not sure why these first couple of images uploaded a little blurry...it's weird.

oh well.
The Magical Wishing Forest.

The name says it all really.

it is the first place i have been truly inspired by in a very long time.

The first day we went there i wished for cloudless skies the next day because i wanted to bring my camera back the next day and my vision DID NOT include clouds.

my wish was granted.

it's amazing how these lush, green ferns and other plant life

turn to dense, scrubby thistles.

and the fiery shadows of those drawn to this place burn brightly......

even Darwin loved it here. she had a blast rolling around in the grass just as much as we did. she didn't even mind the fact that this place also serves as a pet cemetery....

well...maybe she was a little unnerved.

i can't wait to go back.

just a little verdant playground in the middle of where the Palouse meets the barren desert of the Snake River Valley.....

a miracle, really.

An Homage to Heidi.

2009-09-09T13:44:00.001-07:00

This is my friend Heidi.

She is a very special lady.

very strong.

very brave.

very capable.

is heidi.

today i wasn't feeling very

strong.

or brave.

or capable.

and then i saw this little reminder in Heidi.

just because your eyes are looking down doesn't mean you aren't

strong.

brave.

or capable.

in fact, it probably means quite the opposite of aren't.

Thanks gal.

In the studio with the LB...

2009-08-07T14:41:00.000-07:00

Booyah.

Tentative CD Release:

Friday, September 18

Tractor Tavern

Seattle

It's the day before my birfday peoples.

Plus i might be a' sangin'.

xxoo

Goin' to the Chapel...PART ONE OF MANY... :-P

2009-08-06T12:24:00.000-07:00

The altar.... so beautiful. Rosa, the bride, and her step-mom, Barb, made the backdrop in IDAHO and transported it to seattle for the wedding. i had the lovely pleasure of being in idaho the morning they finished it, and helped them tack it to the CEILING to dry....trust me, hilarity ensued...and then we jumped in the lake!

The Bride and Her Entourage Room was upstairs from the main hall and had handy dandy windows from which to spy on those below.....tee hee.

i really loved the all-in-one factor of this space.

it's a "church"!

it's a reception hall!

it's a church!

it's a reception hall!

perfect.

A different view of the hall.

Remember that, "Spying on folks down below" thing?

Here are some Super Sly Operatives right now....

These flowers were amazing.

Paper.

Yes, that's right.

Made by the bride's Best-Good-Pal Lex in New Mexico and then Shipped to Seattle. When people say, "This wedding really came together in the end" they have no idea. This wedding was put together in at least 4 states that i can think of....literally.

That's awesome.

By the way....Lex is an artist and you can go peek at her work by clicking here.

AAAAAAAAND shameless plug DONE!

yet another view of the hall.

up close and personal with some of the only real flowers at the wedding.

Rosa didn't even carry these down the aisle.

she just threw them at the single ladies.

i hid.

MUAH AH AHA HA H HA HA HA!

NEENER NEENER NEENER!

*cough*

THIS --

...is the most beautiful bride, Rosa and Lex (the Flower Artist Gal.)

Stunning.

oh yeah...the cake had flowers too.

mmmm......Borracchini Cakes.....Sugar. Fest. 2009.

I tried to be good.

Really. i did.

but it was Just. So. Hard......

........moving on!

Up close with flowers.

flowers in the window.

A lone Pineapple.

i was hoping it would stay like that....just a lone Pineapple sitting in a frosted glass.

but alas...

He was later joined by every fruit under the sun.

a stunning display.

Poor Pineapple....had to share his spot light....

Beautiful Rosa....

She just looked so 1940's Screen Siren....lovely and amazing!

so that's PART ONE.

All told i took about 500 pictures. i've probably edited about 150 of them and we Haven't Even Gotten to the Ceremony Yet. sheesh.

my camera over-heated several times during the ceremony! i was a Busy Girl.

Look for more to come!!!

oh yeah.

Art Walk on Thursday!

email me if you want more info!!!

I told you.

2009-07-28T13:08:00.000-07:00

She gives REALLY good eyeball.

Critters.

2009-07-24T13:38:00.000-07:00

You can lead a Prairie Dog to water.

But will he drink?

i loves the critters.

the furry variety.

no bitey snakes, or creepy spiders or squirmy amphibious types need apply here.

umm...ew?

yes.
see...i don't just take pictures of PEOPLE'S eyeballs.

i'm indiscriminate when it comes to eyeballs.

(except for the aforementioned reptilian, arachnidian, amphibious creepy crawlies. they can keep their eyeballs to themselves ThankYouVeryMuch.)

this horse is named....umm....uhh.....Horse.

Meet Abbott and Costello.

they are hilarious, just like their namesakes.

mostly because one's Hearty and Low to the Land and the other is Tall and Willowy just like Nicole Kidman.

and they think if they stand still enough, you won't see them.

but sometimes you gotta hang out with a Franciscan Monk or two for Real Camoflage.

these were taken at Jackalope in Santa Fe, NM.

Know what this is?

THIS is a Durn Good Donkey.

Durn Good.

I have no idea what real purpose he serves, but everyone always says, "He's a Durn Good Donkey."

I'll take their word for it.

he looks like premium Donkey Product to me.

Gawd i LUUUUV texas.

This is my 16 year old brother's dog Bo.

Bo is cross-eyed.

Bo is also tethered to the roof of the Porch off of my dad's trailer house.

There is a joke that says,

"if your front porch collapses and kills more than 3 dogs, you might be a redneck."

well ha ha. Have a gooooooooooood laugh.

'cause ours is tied to the roof!!!

Southern Ingenuity at it's finest, Ladies and Criminals.

This is my brother's horse Pato.

Pato is Spanish for Duck.

He's a bit of a close talker, that one.

Horse.

Duck.

I think he's the reincarnation of a Jewish Grandma.

what's spanish for that?

Marj. The Final Frontier....Well actually it's her backside...but you get the idea.

2009-07-15T10:04:00.000-07:00

this is the last installment of Marj and the ee cummings poem. if you are unfamiliar with what i'm talking about go look here. and here. and here.

i've been a little obsessed.

i know.

i've also just really wanted to turn out something wonderful from this shoot.

and i'm happy with what i've been given.

now on to new projects!

I Can't Let Go of e.e. cummings.

2009-07-14T12:12:00.000-07:00

Yeah.

i likes it.

she doesn't look real to me.

that works.

thanks Kimmer.

i owe you a sweater and an all night game of KSO.

*MWAH*

the others are here and here.

Ain't That America.

2009-07-10T10:22:00.001-07:00

Fourth of July.

red, white and blue and potato salad and sunscreen.

maybe a blow-up pool.

america.

oh how we show that we love you.

whatever.

this is how our trip home from idaho started out:

We couldn't have asked for better weather for the weekend of the 4th.

Coer d'Alene, Idaho.

Perfect for taking a dip in the lake, cruising in the boat and just taking it easy.

*sigh*

The Life.

But it's true that all good things must indeed come to an end, so we packed the car and headed for the City; just a hop, skip and a jump across the state of Washington, over the columbia river, through the cascades to our Home Sweet Seattle.

(But not before we made a detour to the Rez to purchase discount illegal fireworks and reasonably priced tobacco products. C'mon! it's IDAHO!)

The sky was beautiful, the sun was shining, until somewhere outside Ritzville, WA we ran into this:

A thunderstorm moving in.

if you've never been to ritzville, WA, don't take it too hard.

it's huge plains of dirt. it's not unlike West Texas in that way.

piles of dirt.

some would call it a "featureless landscape".....

.....except for the grain elevators. They're a "feature", eh?

anyway.

this storm was moving in all big and dark and grumbly, throwing it's wind around like it was really going to tear that "featureless landscape" all to shit.

go back and look at that picture.

no really.

GO BACK.

*waiting*

the black skies....the dirt kicking up.

it looks serious.

that wind was crazy.

4 drops of rain.

that's it.

a couple of tumbleweeds attacked the car.

that was exciting.

and then we were in Ritzville proper.

which is mostly a lot of these:

There was a sidewalk sale outside this auto repair place.

they had a couple of acoustic guitars sitting there so we pulled over.

i wish i could have taken a picture of that scene.

the Strangest People I Have Ever Seen. (well...maybe not, but WOW anyway!)

there was a biker dude that looked like Dog the Bounty Hunter, his toothless wife and what appeared to be a daughter who was sitting on an old couch, wearing a lingerie corset (mind you, not a tiny girl) and holding an extra-thick chain leash, at the end of which was the gnarliest Pit Bull i've ever seen. all growly and slobbery and.... Hungry.....he definitely appeared Hungry.....

And he's jerking on this chain and the Langouring Lugubrious Lusciously Lingerie-Clad Daughter doesn't bat an eyelid and never wanes from her mournful expression.

they wanted $100 bucks for this "meh" acoustic guitar.

We left.

god i wanted a picture.

patrick later suggested that i might have pretended to take a picture of him while he was eyeing their wares and surreptitiously taken the picture of Luscious and her pooch.

FAT LOT OF GOOD THAT DOES ME NOW, PAT-TRICK! (i say, secretly wishing i'd thought of such a brilliant scheme. then i'd have evidence of La Familia Creeptastico in all their glory.)

But alas, it was not to be.

all you get instead is my wordy, mildy entertaining recounting of my encounter with said family.

oh yeah....

and the really nice sunset we drove into as we hit the Cascades.

enjoy.

Tiny Dancer.

2009-07-08T13:32:00.000-07:00

Blue jean baby, L.A. lady, seamstress for the band
Pretty eyed, pirate smile,
you'll marry a music man

Ballerina, you must have seen her dancing in the sand
And now she's in me, always with me, tiny dancer in my hand

Jesus freaks out in the street
Handing tickets out for God
Turning back she just laughs
The boulevard is not that bad

Piano man he makes his stand
In the auditorium
Looking on she sings the songs
The words she knows, the tune she hums

But oh how it feels so real
Lying here with no one near
Only you, and you can hear me
When I say softly, slowly

chorus
Hold me closer Tiny Dancer
Count the headlights on the highway
Lay me down in sheets of linen
You had a busy day today.

Blue jean baby, L.A. lady, seamstress for the band
Pretty eyed, pirate smile, you'll marry a music man
Ballerina, you must have seen her dancing in the sand

And now she's in me, always with me,
Tiny dancer in my hand

chorus
Hold me closer tiny dancer
Count the headlights on the highway
Lay me down in sheets of linen
you had a busy day today

[repeat chorus]
But oh how it feels so real
Lying here with no one near
Only you, and you can hear me
When I say softly, slowly

[repeat chorus]

[repeat chorus]

Lyrics by Bernie Taupin

Marj. Part II.

2009-07-08T13:12:00.000-07:00

Another from the e.e. cummings poem "between the breasts".

i had initially envisioned several women with stanzas of the poem written on a different part of each woman's body and then bringing the pieces together to form a Frankenwoman or (as i prefer) Everywoman.

it hasn't really worked out that way, so i'm just enjoying each piece separately.

part of being an accidental photographer is never having your visions manifest themselves in the way you saw them in your head.

conversely....there are a lot of beautiful "accidents" that surface.

i am vigilantly passionate about women's issues, especially body image and even moreso, the influence of men on how women perceive themselves and allow their bodies to be used or abused by men and even themselves.

i'm not blaming men. and i'm no man-hater.

after all, we teach others how to treat us.

dont' we?

Endless Summer Part Deux

2009-07-06T10:32:00.000-07:00

The three photos in this entry are actually individual parts of a single photograph that can be seen here.

I like triptychs.

i also like the idea of examining the smaller parts of the whole up close and personal.

i really love these three pieces. talk about accidental!!!!

now if i could only figure out what the hell i'm going to show next month!!!

shit.

Between the Breasts

2009-06-24T10:04:00.000-07:00

between the breasts
of bestial
Marj lie large
men who praise

Marj's cleancornered strokable
body these men's
fingers toss trunks
shuffle sacks spin kegs they

curl
loving
around
beers

the world has
these men's hands but their
bodies big and boozing
belong to

Marj
the greenslim purse of whose
face opens
on a fatgold

grin
hooray
hoorah for the large
men who lie

between the breasts
of bestial Marj
for the strong men
who

sleep between the legs of Lil

- e.e. cummings

Princess of Power.

2009-06-23T15:55:00.000-07:00

This is She-Ra.

She is my friend Nick's dog.

total Princess of Power.

I love this dog.

even if she is 100 % purebred Bed Hog.

she's like one of those babies that really gets your biological clock all revved up....

after an afternoon of hanging out with the She-Ra i've got doggies on the brain.

that's how i'm going to end up with Eddie, my future Chinese Crested.

shit.

The Endless Summer Part Eleventybillion, or, My Trip to Westport.

2009-06-22T14:11:00.000-07:00

We finally went to westport.

after much hemming.

and hawing.

and many cigarettes.

we even weren't too upset about a $700 ticket from a jerk-off cop.

there was a SURF COMPETITION for the love!!!

i sort of felt like i was back in so. cal.....even down to the cardigan i had to wear because it just "wasn't quite warm enough."

i did manage to get a 5,000 degree sunburn somehow.

it's nice and tan now.

a tan in the Northwest feels like such an exotic luxury....how funny.

Besides the surf competition i had to go to Westport.

it was my duty.

i had to pay homage to my good friend 'Ginia.

Here she is:

This girl is not messin' around. i can't believe i ever tried to keep up with her. She rolls too tuff for me that's fo' sho'!!

Anyhow...'Ginia moved to Nevada a few weeks ago...i'm glad i took the opportunity to see her before she left.

And here's Patty Pat.

Lookin' like a mountain man.

Alas...the beard is no more....

too bad....

was a good trip.

Daddy.

2009-06-21T22:11:00.000-07:00

i see you once a year.

it's difficult to be so far away sometimes.

Time and the useless emotion called guilt are officially the price one pays for choosing to live 2,000 miles away.

i wonder if i will ever choose to go back.

i wonder if by the time i choose to do so it will be too late to enjoy the time.

but that's useless thinking too.

i do love you.

even at 30 you're not too old to just want your daddy.

happy father's day.

xooxoxoxooxoxo

El Paso.

2009-06-08T09:09:00.000-07:00

Robert Orly Curnutte
February 1931 - January 2009

October 3, 2008

Orli
Orleigh
Orly
Orlie

I’m sitting here thinking about how to name my child after you.
The one I’ve yet to have.

You’re not even gone yet and already I’m trying to find away to keep
even the tiniest part of you here.

Even if it’s just your name.

More than anybody you know how much I hate change.
whether it’s the
seasons or
the color of the lights on the tree.
I think the only way I’ll make it through
is if I pretend you moved to El Paso.

Une Femme Etretenue....the pouty kind.

2009-06-05T13:06:00.000-07:00

A kept woman in her boudoir.

A boudoir is a lady's private bedroom, sitting room or dressing room. The term derives from the French verb bouder, meaning "to pout"[1]. (Wikipedia.org)

it suits don't you think?

Long Tall Texan.

2009-06-04T16:40:00.001-07:00

That's my 16 1/2 year old brother.

My BABY brother.

i was 14 when he was born.

people thought he was MY BABY.

small town.

not completely unheard of.

but i suppose he was kind of my baby. i was old enough to take care of him and what-not.

although i left home when he was only 5 years old we share an eerie amount of personality similarities. we could be a case study for nature vs. nurture.

and eventhough i could probably count the number of times i've seen him in the last 10 years on both my hands, we remain siblings through and through and even now at ages 30 1/2 and 16 1/2 the bulk of our time together is spent whining and bickering over whom is breathing whose air.

it keeps things fun....

....and helps perpetuate my delusion that i'm still 15 and will always be 15.

thanks W.T.

p.s. the hat and ropes are for real. and by for real i mean the hat doesn't come off and the ropes are for animals. and by animals i mean steers and calves and stuff....like 'fer the rodeo.

My Friend Amos*

2009-06-03T11:26:00.000-07:00

An excerpt from her FaceBook:

"I think that laughing is super important. So are hugs and being nice to each other. I know, it's sappy, but I don't give a frack. Life's too short to be pretty.Hitched to a Big Brit I met on Match. He's a good egg. He speaks Klingon and was a Dungeon Master. One of the smartest and most obstreperous men I've ever known.I'm in the middle of a crazy career transition, and very hopeful. Life is good...doggies are good...the act of creation keeps me grounded, centered and alive. I am super sensitive, which is wonderful and hard. I make amazing NoBake Cookies and Rice Krispie treats (if I may say so), and look forward with both excitment and horror at the prospect of having children. They will wear dragon costumes.Right now, I love pre-code movies from the 30s, reading sci-fi/fantasy under my maple tree, and sewing up a storm."

yeah...she's alright.

*names have been changed to protect the innocent. i think.

5 AM Beauty

2009-06-02T08:43:00.000-07:00

She grosses me out.

really.

i mean....who looks that beautiful at 5:00 a.m. at a roadside overlook just outside of Yakima, WA??

seriously.

we were on our way to boise to be with a good friend whose father passed away.

we went to bed at 11:00 p.m. in seattle and were up and on the road by 2:00 a.m.

we probably spent more time on the road that trip than we actually spent in boise.

but it was worth it.

and this photo of this girl who is as beautiful on the inside as she is on the outside is one of the many things that made it so.

i still kind of want to hate her and her 5:00 a.m. good looks. :)

(p.s. i told you that soft and glowy people would make an appearance....expect more. MUA AHA HA HA HAHAH AHA HAHA.)

Eyeballs, dress-up and Some Very Bad Math.

2009-06-01T13:42:00.000-07:00

i wanted to try and do one post a day...but i'm excited and a boring old introduction shouldn't really count anyway.

..i'm over zealous.

..and slightly fixated.

plus i really love this picture.

this is a friend of mine who poses for me fairly regularly.

in fact, i probably got into this whole photography thing because she likes to play dress up....

...i suddenly feel as though i should clarify.

but i won't.

soooooo......yeah.....dress up.... cameras....

right.

i love shooting her.

it's the eyes.

i want to blow this sucker up like 7 foot by some other feet (i'm super good at math) and have it consume an entire wall.

that eyeball.

and that curl.

delicious.

thank you Leisel Von Hoppenschtein for always giving such good eyeball.

Me. Here I Am. Hi!

2009-06-01T11:22:00.000-07:00

hello.

i suppose i should start this off in the usual way.

name is erica and this is my place. i kind of detest the word "blog" in the same way i detest skinny jeans and katie perry...something about the way it sounds makes me make TheFace. fittingly, the publishing tool i have used to create my little nook in the ether world is called Bloggerwhich iduces a double shot of TheFace....but alas, what can you do...use WordPress is suppose....

Anyhow.

this is a photo B**g, right?

this is an early self portrait shot at Golden Gardens in Seattle. i was in a weird, "everyone looks better in sepia" phase then. as opposed to the "everybody looks better soft and glowy" phase i'm in now. you'll see...soft and glowy people will pervade this B**g.

back to the sepia photo in question - it was a beautiful late afternoon in September.

kelsey was dancing, danny was playing and everything felt right with the world.

if only we knew better which moments to hold most tightly to....

thanks for stopping by!

(and for not judging my liberal use of ellipses and sporadic Capitalization...)