You don't take a photograph.

You ask, quietly, to borrow it.

 Last weekend in honor of Martin Luther King Day (and a three-day break!) I drove to Edmond, Oklahoma, to visit Amanda and see what college life was like outside the TCU bubble. I arrived at about 11:30 a.m., after waking up far too early and berating myself for deciding this was a good idea. I parked and got comfortable, and within a few hours of meeting her roommate and a few other friends I was invited to join them in a photo shoot the next day.

The shoot was to try and imitate the haute coture style of dress and motion found in fashion magazines worldwide using an avant garde thrift-store approach. Because I had missed the initial planning session the day before, I hadn't had a chance to go thrifting and prepare, and I was hesitant about joining in. Nonetheless, I borrowed pieces from all the girls, added crazy makeup, and drove downtown with them in nervous anticipation.

In all our preparations there was one little thing we forgot - at the same time we arrived for the shoot, Edmond was preparing to begin their MLK day parade. And by 'preparing' I mean people were everywhere. We got so many stares we considered simply joining the parade! We'd probably have attracted less notice. But unfortunately, four inch heels aren't really conducive to uneven streets and mile long walks so we stuck with our original plan.

Strange looks aside, the shoot was a ton of fun! Here are some of my favorites from the day:

"There are always two people in every picture: the photographer and the viewer." ~Ansel Adams

"Love is often gentle, desire always a rage." ~Mignon McLaughlin

"The soul that sees beauty may sometimes walk alone." ~Johann von Goethe

"If you cannot be a poet, be the poem." ~David Carradine

"Freedom lies in being bold" ~Robert Frost

"Every time you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing." ~Mother Teresa

"To be natural is such a very difficult pose to keep up." ~Oscar Wilde

"A man who is 'of sound mind' is one who keeps the inner madman under lock and key."  ~Paul Valéry

"Now we see as through a glass darkly, but then, face to face. " ~Anonymous 

"If you do not raise your eyes, you will think that you are the highest point."  ~Antonio Porchia

"Hate must make a man productive. Otherwise one might as well love." ~Karl Kraus

"With the past, I have nothing to do; nor with the future. I live now." ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

All in all we took over 1,000 pictures. Credit goes to Hannah Bingham, Jenny Dahl and Hayley Fisher for being the lovely photographers they are, and for the time and energy they put into editing and uploading. Also, credit to the other models who may have sporadically taken one of these pictures using the ladies' cameras. Thanks for having me!

Breathe

Two a.m. and I'm still awake writing a song.
If I get it all down on paper it's no longer inside of me
threatening the life it belongs to.

I love the night. That it's currently 3:34 a.m. doesn't affect me much. I've been known to suffer through days of fatigue, swearing to myself that I would go to bed early this time, only to be found awake at four a.m. taking a walk through the darkness.

There's something so serenely beautiful, so incredibly calm about walking through the night. It's like all the worries and cares and rush of everyday life stop, just for a little while, and you're the only one left awake to enjoy the still. Maybe it's because I've always been so busy, but I think I value those quiet moments more than anything else in the world.

I've often talked with friends about how, if we could have a super power, we would chose to be able to sleep but not to need it to survive. There's so much time lost in the dark! And yet, if that wish were granted nighttime would cease to be a peaceful, meditative spell and become a reflection of day, hurried and burdened. Would that really be worth it?

As humans, we sometimes forget that between all the overachieving and attempts to attain perfection we need to breathe, to do nothing but let ourselves unwind. Stress, tension, heartaches - they gather and build up inside until you pause and take the time to let them go with your breath.

The smooth velvet of the night sky puts everything in perspective. It's time to let it go.

Just breathe.