Davis in Polar Vision

I went to picnic day this past weekend in Davis and had an incredible time. I was able to reunite with all my Budapestian loves (those who I studied abroad with) and we stumbled around the streets for 14 hours where students were partying and soaking up the sunshine. I imagined Davis to be that cow field off the 80 you see when driving home from a skiing weekend in Tahoe. In fact it was the exact opposite; there were lush green trees everywhere you turned with accents of poppies and flowers of other sorts. I was very impressed. Hence why I wanted to capture the events that fell before me. 
Unfortunately soon after my arrival I realized my camera was not working, or at least the button wasn't. Therefore I spent the entirety of the day with a naked neck. The next day I realized it was merely my autofocus that wasn't working and that I could have been photographing the day in manual focus. I was a little bummed but still didn't really mind because I got to focus on spending my day with the people I love. I know that sometimes I can go off in my own world and be antisocial because of my excitement over something new to photograph. 
I should probably explain why my photos look the way they do and why I titled my blog what I did. After I realized my camera was up n running, I took it with me to see the campus. While eating a crepe at lunch, my friend Glenn was wearing Polarized sunglasses which I was completely infatuated with. The effect in gave my camera was stunning and I could not put them down. I walked around Davis trying to give my camera sunglasses while looking like a crazy person. Here's some of my favorites: 

Ms. Chinle

So this one day... a fiery red head (who goes by cadence) and I had a beautiful sunny sunday together. Add a little sushi, chardonnay, and a camera in the mix and you have a full fledged photo shoot. Although the colors in all my pictures that day came out beautifully, i'm a lil perfectionist when it comes to composition. Therefore I am only going to post one of my favorites and let Cadence steal them from me later. Oh! and this is with no editing to show you the natural beauty of photographing during the golden hours of the day.

Zion

Zion was breathtakingly beautiful. I had never been to Utah and what better people to go with other than Cadence and her family. Holy crap their place is the most beautiful home I have ever seen in my entire life. It was owned by an artist who dedicated his life to painting the landscapes of southern Utah (such a romantic tale). Every aesthetic of the home was in exact accordance of the aesthetics and beauty surrounding Zion national park, which they were smack dab in the middle of. 
I spent four days hiking, bathing in hot springs, and getting my photographic fix for my spring break. Here's a few: 

 On our way home from Zion I had to pull over to teach Andra how to drive a stick. I thought this would be a nice place for exploration. Turns out I ended up going alone past these fences and practically shit bricks walking through this area. Abandoned homes are always incredibly intriguing and always terrifying. 

Dream Some

When I returned from my travels and christmas was coming around the corner, I desperately wanted a wide angle. Its become my baby and I've hardly use my other lens at all.

Last quarter I took a photography class and had a blast. I feel as though it definitely helped regain my interest in photography. Photography sometimes feels like your learning a visual language. If you don't practice, you loose your touch.

Here are some photos from my final book project I titled Dream Some:

France

I made my way to France after six months of living and traveling.  It felt as if I was going home and it was something that I really needed. I went to Marseille alone for a few days (which was also something I needed) before I met my dad and his wife to go on a road trip through France to visit my grandmother in Poitiers. Marseille was excellent because it forced me to get to know people in my hostel. I met a girl from Switzerland that I really bonded with and I went shopping with a whiney Canadian that I didn’t like so much.  The girl from Switzerland and I had a blast visiting the tiny town of Cassis, where we eventually were stuck on top of some hilly vineyards. We decided to hitchhike by writing Marseille on the back of a Pizza box. We also met other people at our hostel, grabbed a few bottles of wine, and got hammered at the harbor with our feet dangling over the pier.

Once pops (what I call my dad) swooped me at my hostel the next day, I knew I would be in good hands. Our first stop was at a vineyard along the French Riviera for a few days (he works in the wine business). This place was stunning, and we were able to stay at the house right on the vineyard. As we kept heading towards my grandmother, we stopped at many little Châteaux’s in towns that I don’t even remember the names of.  Not all of them were nice. Some of them had this ridiculous/tacky 80’s look that may have been considered elegant at some point of France’s history?

We eventually hit my grandmother’s house and so much had changed since I had last visited. She lives in a rather sad home built out of rocks and she is not very satisfied with her life. Nonetheless I was still thrilled to see and reconnect with her considering it had been so long. When we went to the grocery store, she said with great pride to the working employees “c’est ma petite fille! Elle ne parle pas Français!” regardless of how many times I told her I’d been taking French and that I wanted to practice.  She was thrilled, and so was I.

After a sentimental farewell, we finally ended our trip in Paris for ONE day. It kind of blew but I had made a pretty long trip exclusively to Paris when I was in high school so it was not a huge concern.  I just tried to enjoy myself as much as I could while I was there and it definitely was not a challenge. As cheesy as it is... I LOVE Paris with all my heart. It’s the ultimate city for me. It’s a destination of pure beauty; the architecture, streets, food, wine, cafes, clothing, and people. I swear everyone is a super model walking around and they just get fashion. It’s unbelievable and made me want to seriously reconsider my attire.

After a day of pure enjoyment and realizing that I seriously want to take advantage of my EU passport and move there someday, we retired to our hotel. I slipped into the crisp/fresh sheets reflecting on a huge day ahead of me. The next day I would be returning home, where my boyfriend would be picking me up from SFO. Man I’ll never forget the kinds of things that went through my head that night and how I wondered what everything would be like upon my return. It was one crazy journey that I would never take back and am so thankful that I was able to part take in such a life changing experience. 

Where I went to kindergarten:

Some incredible photo's I found in a photo album at my grandma's house: