I am so frustrated right now. Wabi Sabi did not help that frustration. I am in hopes that the Legion of Doom will come up with a fascinating conference. I reverted to my shamed feelings of sinfulness when I walked into the First Baptist Church Austin. It was like I was 16 again and the judgment permeated my brain. It wasn't REAL, mind you, but it was a natural reaction for me. I wish I could tell you that I took something away from the conference that changed my life, but I didn't. I only got frustrated at the fact that I feel there is nowhere to go as far as a house of worship is concerned. There are TWO right in our area, yet I am wary of our involvment with them. What happens when you have been burned by modernity AND post-modernity?

:: how nintendo are you? ::

Was there ANY doubt which one I would be?

well, we are off to wabi sabi for the weekend, down in beautiful Austin! It should be cool, though I have never been to a "po-mo" (David is going to kill me for using that word) conference before. Thanks to Dan's parents for letting us crash!

everything is cool now with karl's website, sorry to those who missed the hacker antics. check it out anyways!

Karl's Photography Website

I can't believe this! This is the first time I've seen a real hacker at work. They took over the photographer's website that is letting me work out of his studio. Not for the eyes of right wing conservatives or children.

coming soon...a cooler, shinier new blog!

I went back to Next-Wave, in part because Mark Riddle was being censored, and I went back in time, three years ago to be exact, to a time when I produced images for a cause. To prove a point. To represent myself, in fact. It has been a long time since I had done that. Commercial photography takes over, making you forget you have your own thoughts and ideas, not the client's. Anyway, I welcome anyone to go back and see this little piece that I am still very proud of... Marked By God: Experiencing Divine Connection Through Skin Art (April 2000)

Wow, I have had a lot of feedback on this blog! I'm FINALLY popular. So here it is: Episode 3 of the Relevant Saga...

This morning, I recieved an email from the editor and here was her response:

"Melissa, we used all stock photography and publicity photos--which don't
require photo credits.

i was never under the impression you wanted us to use your photo without
payment but with a byline. had i known that we would have definitely used
the photo. in fact i don't ever remember seeing the photo at all. this is a
misunderstanding and a lack of communication.

i'm going out of town but if you have further concerns i will address them
next week.
cara"

So the question is... who told Mark they wanted to use the photograph? If they are so cheap and can't afford photographers, how did they afford stock images (they can be very expensive)? Who is the real brains behind this operation and why can't they communicate with one another? Why is she suddenly "going out of town"? It all sounds very fishy to me...

i thought i would post some contact info:

femmephotog@yahoo.com
AIM: xfemmephotogx

Well, I wrote an email to the managing editor of a certain magazine (see post 3/10/03) in hopes to set them straight. They claim they did not know about my efforts, but looking back at old emails today ( I save everything) and my partner in crime on this project Mark had in fact recieved feedback on the images and the magazine told him that I did a great job. Thus the saga continues... stay tuned.

bear with me, blog UNDER CONSTRUCTION!

Kids! If you like senseless violence and cartoons, in an "Itchy and Scratchy" kind of way, check this out:

Happy Tree Friends

Thanks Andrew for your shout out. That just goes to show you... anyways. I am finding that people just don't understand how photographers make their living. We starve trying to get our business going, starve between jobs or while we are waiting to get paid, and work our asses off trying to produce top quality images while people nickle and dime us left and right for our service. It absolutely amazes me. I am more than willing to do a great job and do it for a fair price, but people hit way below the bar of what is considered fair.

Images are taken for granted in our society because they are everywhere, but someone had to do it and it takes a lot of talent and experience to visually present to you even the McDonald's menu.

I'll quit ranting for the day, but it needs to be said.

Wow! Been awhile since I have written on this thing. I don't know what to say. I have completely moved on from the evil studio I once was apart of. I am now a free agent trying to stay afloat in the world of photography. I am hoping to get some freelance shooting jobs soon.

By the way, SCREW YOU RELEVENT MAGAZINE! whew, I feel better. They suck and here is why: They called me wanting a photograph of Scott Gornto, pastor of Journey in Dallas. So I traips out to Dallas with David, a Hasselblad, and Dynalites in tow and photograph him, with the understanding that Relevent would not be paying me for this. I thought, they are a new struggling magazine and I can do this for free with the hope that they would hire me in the future and pay me then. Well, I get an awesome image out of him and ONE YEAR LATER my friend Dan gets the first issue. Guess who's photo is not in the issue? They put some stupid picture of him praying, which is so cliche. So much for making an impact on our culture if we aren't going to support each other's roles in said culture.