SmallRedPrint

I saw her face, it was on the TV; so distinguishable, so real. Her eyes looked at my soul as if they were begging for mercy. It was one of those unsolved mystery shows. A voice faint in the back ground telling of a missing girl. I felt so confused. Had it been so long since we had spoken? I stood dazed by the idea that I would never talk to her again. Where had she gone? What had happened? Why? Then rage. Anger at who had possibly been responsible. Pain seared my heart as another TV appeared, upon which images of her child where shown; this tiny face missing mommy.

As I awoke, the dream faded with the realization that it had not been real.

For those of you who live in or near Columbus, Ohio (and also to show off my flyer designing skills!):

I started my fast back up and decided to create a blog specifically for that because I didn’t want to change the dynamic of what I originally created this site for.

If you are interested in reading up on it here is the link: fastjuicyfruit

I hope some of you stop by and check it out. Although it is slightly graphic, so I guess its a good thing I’m not extremely modest.

Well I successfully completed 2 days of fasting. It is now the would be third with a carrot in my mouth chomping away. Ahh my will power has failed me. Actually there were some other personal reasons I have decided to put the fast on hold.  But one thing is for sure. I have a different out look on eating all ready.

I feel less glutinous. I also have a deeper appreciation for raw produce.  And most of all I have a new clearer perspective on eating health. So after tonights Chipotle, I plan to do a lot more of this eating healthy, raw foods. I also have a new found love for fresh fruit smoothies. I was never a big fan of fruit before so this is a real big change. I still cant really swallow the veggie juices without at least one near gag.

I also am about 85% sure I am going to go vegetarian, at least for a while.

All in all, I feel a little sad now that I have decided to end it. Maybe its just my guilty conscious saying saying a gave up. But actually I was kind of excited by the results I was getting even after 2 days. I had a lot of extra energy and concentration it seems and now as I eat my carrots I already feel as though I’m getting tired.

I might even just break for a day, until some things clear up and then venture on. Who knows.

Sarah

Hello My friends and … well, The World!

Today is the first day of a juice fast I am trying out. I know some of you reading might see the word fast, and think my God you are going to become emaciated and die! But I beg to differ. I have been doing quite a bit of research and there is a lot of evidence that Fasting once or twice a year, or even once a month for shorter durations is actually good for your body. You see, at least here in the States our society has come to believe a 5lbs meal followed by 1lbs of ice cream is a healthy meal. But our bodies are actually screaming, what the hell are you doing!? You friggin psycho, stop that!

When you do a juice fast (also called detox) you are not actually ‘fasting’ because the term fast means to go with out food or water for a time. And since you are drinking juice packed with nutrition and vitamins, you are technically eating.

Juice fasting gives your digestive track a break and lets your body take the energy that would normally be concentrated on eating and digestion and focuses it else where. This energy is used to target and remove dead tissues in the body as well as other toxins and waste. So in other words Juice fasting is a totally body cleansing deal. It actually sounds really awesome, which is why I am giving it a go.

I guess if you are still skeptical you can check back as I will be blogging updates of how its going.

So Its the first day. Actually I didn’t eat too much yesterday because I knew if I did I would be feeling rather hungry today. So I thought it would be smart to ease my self into it, eating some sushi and crackers for lunch and drinking some yummy fruit juice for dinner.

I actually drank a lot of water last night and woke up about 4 times to pee. That will be annoying if it is a trend, which I have the feeling it is since I have spent about half the day so far making trips to the restroom. X(

The fun part about it is making all the juices. David decided to join me on this little endeavor so last night we went out and bought a blender and some fresh produce. We also bought some pre-made 100% juice for occasions where we don’t have a lot of time. I have the day off so I made some veggie juice for lunch. Actually it was pretty gross because I diluted it too much so I added some V8 concentrate to it. That made it pretty good, but I am not a big fan of veggie juice to begin with so I might end up sticking to mostly fruit juice.

As far as hunger goes I’m actually feeling pretty good. Not too hungry, the veggie juice is pretty satisfying in that aspect. I think the biggest thing is wanting to eat because I’m bored or for comfort. I am a huge comfort/boredom eater. But I have a lot i should be getting done today like studying and whatnot so hopefully that can take my mind of wanting to eat.

My hope is to include photography. I already took some photos earlier, which I will work on uploading later on today.

tata for now!

A day at the North Market in Columbus, Ohio.

First things first, yesterday was my birthday - which also means it was the best day of the year.

With that covered here’s whats new:

I was going to start a photo project that captured the idea behind my online and photography alias “smallredprint”

I was going to create a series of B&W photos that displayed some sort of red color in all of them. It was sort of a new years resolution of mine to come up with a project and stick to it to help feed my ever lacking motivation. It seems like between work, school and general upkeep on the house and social life I find it hard to really want to spend whats left going out to scary places and finding new ways to take bold photographs.

One issue I have is that I love street photography, yet I am terribly shy ad hate feeling like I am invading someone space or privacy. It presents a problem when trying to photograph strangers. It even keeps me from asking people to pose for portraits for me. I now what kind of photographer am I ever to be??

So I started this project and I will admit I was slacking. So a few days ago to try and gather some motivation I was browsing Fickr.com. And on there I found a photographer who did a large amount of HDR photographs.

Now let me take a minute to explain HDR to some of you who might not be familiar with it (actually this was the first encounter i had had with this type of photography). HDR photgraphs are made by taking 3 or more photographs of the exact same image, which vary from underexposed, to right exposure, to over exposed. Then you use a program such as CS2 which has a build in HDR merger and it creates this HDR file for you. Now what is actually happening to the image is the computer is taking all the sources and placing them into one large image that is a 32 bit file compared to a jpg which is only 8 bit. So what does that mean if i haven’t already lost you? It means an image with a lot more color and brilliance. Now I could get into a lot more detail about the logistics of this process but for the purpose of this post I’ll save you from all that tech-y talk.

(if your interested in learning more here is a really great links on the subject - http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials/high-dynamic-range.htm)

So I got interested in trying this type of photography out for myself. I learned really fast that it was very difficult to do without a very sturdy tri-pod. Since I haveyet to make a career of photography I am pretty limited in what I will allow my self to spend money on - especially not knowing if my photography will take me anywhere. But after the whole process I came up with one image that I must say I am proud to call my first HDR photograph.

All in all I decided to spend a little money - after all with my birthday just passing I had a little extra to spare and I bought myself a nice new sturdy tripod. I just couldn’t justify letting something as silly as not having a good tripod come between my new found motivation and my desire to have such.

Here are a couple images:

The one on top I did for the first project I started.

And this bottom one was my very first HDR. I’m pretty excited at the result.

So needless to say I have my new found inspiration. I hope to be updating soon and often.

- Sarah Jane

Its finally 2008! Wow is it just me or did 2007 fly bye!?

New Years is a world wide time of reflection where we ponder our futures and remember the years gone bye. This New Year’s Eve in time square confetti cast out over millions of viewers had a special touch added. New Year resolutions written upon thousands of these small tears of paper for all the world to see.

All over the world fireworks and celebrations rang in the New Year with cheer. Here in Columbus our city Mayor joined in on the celebration by getting sworn into office for his third term, as part of the festivities.

As for me I have set aside some goals for this year. A “clarity of self and mind” - sort of thing. I am determined to spend this year broadening my horizons and searching for deeper meanings. I plan to rejuvenate my soul and refreshen my mind. Combining art, creation, and exploration to reach out past my own boundaries.

With all that said I want to share with you a part of 2007 for me. I have gathered a few photographs which I had taken through out the past year.

January 2007

March 2007

July 2007

September 2007

November 2007

December 2007

Filled with experiences and emotions, ups and downs; 2007 is now a year of our past. Each of us will do what we wish with the memories we have made. Life will move on, not too much different from the day before as we continue to grow and learn and live and be.

-Sarah Jane

Hey! Thanks for visiting. As of now I am just a beginner in the blog scene. Actually I have been blogging for quite some time but on hosting sites and my blogs were always strictly for personal use. I suppose in a way this blog is as well, however I hope to maintain a professional atmosphere where my art and photography can be displayed.

I have been an artist since I new how to pick up a crayon. As the years went by I continued to develop my talents. I don’t classify myself in terms of being a beginner, amateur, pro or whatever other labels are out there. My personal philosophy is: “Art is who I am, not what I do.”

Duane Michals is my single most admired photographer. Self taught and always stepping outside the box. I admire not only his photography but thoughts and literature as well.

“Photographers tend not to photograph what they can’t see, which is the very reason one should try to attempt it. Otherwise we’re going to go on forever just photographing more faces and more rooms and more places. Photography has to transcend description. It has to go beyond description to bring insight into the subject, or reveal the subject, not as it looks, but how does it feel?” -Duane Michals

This is one of my all time favorite works of his.

A lot of what I do is strictly for myself. Its my way of breathing, feeling, letting go and setting myself free. Its my expression. The way I chose to make myself known in the deepest respect.

However I am willing and able to provide services of creating, experiencing and documenting. If you have an event you wish to remember, or perhaps you have a favorite place you would like to share I can help you accomplish this. I up for all things, be it creating a single piece of art to capture an essence or a series of photographs to tell your story. I am willing to work with your budget and your ideas. I do however feel as an artists I am entitled to use some of my own creativity in any project I am involved in.

As a final note, thanks for stopping by, I hope you enjoy your visit!

-Sarah Jane