San Francisco

Playing with the shutter speed. :) 

Adoption, Anger, Happiness,

Well, today I talked to some people that have lost people that they love a lot in their lives. It hurt me to hear that because I know that losing the people that mean the most to me would be devastating. I talked with this lady who had an amazing love story. She had met her husband in Seattle during WWII and the rest was history. He died and she is left with only memories. I won't go into too much detail, that's her story, but i feel like life shouldn't be taken for granted. We need to value each day that we have with the people that we love. 

 These pictures are from China. We go over quite a bit. I'm adopted from Yiwu and I have gotten to see the people that took care of me at the orphanage.

I guess it was a bit awkward for me to see the people that might have known my mother. I use to feel a bitter anger against my real mother because I didn't get why someone didn't love me enough and would just throw me out on the street, hoping that I would get rescued. I guess, in a way, i have just put away those feelings. I wish I could say that I have come to terms with the feelings and some of the anger. It isn't a burning anger, it's just the bitterness that I feel from time to time. I mean, a few years ago, I got the note that was pinned onto me when I was abandoned. It was on a red piece of paper. Luck? Who knows, but I know that I am lucky to be in the place I am, being able to take photos, and knowing the people that I know. 

I'm hoping one day that I may be able to talk with her and ask the question that I have been wondering for 16 years. "Why?" It's just one word, but it's like the most common question with me, and with 6 year olds. :) 

I'm lucky to have the mom that I have right now, and sometimes life will take you in different directions. I' glad that the feelings of sadness that I have don't change me too much. I try to be a positive person. I made a goal to myself, to make at least 3 people smile everyday. I think if I can make other people happy, that I will find true happiness. and isn't that what everyone wants? 

I guess that's my deep post for the week. :) 

Thankfulness and shopping

happy thanksgiving. this photo is of mt rainer during this summer. we were driving up to Seattle and decided to take a different route than we usually do. it turned out to be very pretty day and we got a clear view of the mountain.

i did some running today. this post is going to be super short, but im going to do some videoing and maybe post it on here... we'll see. :)

Sad and Thinking

It's banquet season over at the Academy that I go to, which means that guys are asking girls left and right. Some of the proposals are funny, some are cheesy and some are just "Will you go to banquet with me?" type. It can also be super sad. I saw one guy get rejected today. The saddest thing ever. At least high school banquet isn't a lifetime commitment. I feel like some girl needs to surprise him and ask him out to banquet. That would be super cute.

I'm thinking about what I can do to make the world a better place... or at least make someone's day.  I feel, as a high school student, it's really hard to make a difference anywhere, and that can be really frustrating. I decided a while back that with the money that I get taking photos, I would make care packages for soldiers.I got signed up with a organization that does like the adopt a soldier/ adopt a platoon and got some soldiers to send care packages to. I'm really enjoying sending and preparing the packages. I love doing this because I can see the effect that I have really fast. I'm not saying that other things are bad, but with the big organizations, you can feel like your efforts are lost in the other people's giftings. This way, i can make one to one difference with people.

I have a chemistry test today. I'm not really looking forward to it.. I feel like I know everything; and I hope I do by the time the test gets passed out. Well, tomorrow is Thanksgiving break and I can be thankful for that.

these photos really don't have anything to do with what I'm writing about. I think they're like "thinking" photos. Ones that you can look at and think of a whole story that goes into it. That sentence was super deep... lol. I didn't know that it would get that deep until i read it again.. Well, that's my "deep" sentence for the day.

I'll close with this:
Losing someone is the worst feeling ever.

Basketball

I love basketball season. Or atleast watching basketball. Soccer is really fun to watch to, and take photos of, but basketball seems so intense. Our team is going to be playing in State this year, which is going to be really fun. I hope that they can win this year. I took photos of a scrimmage that we had last night. It was alumni vs. Girls Varsity, and then Boys Varsity vs. Boys JV. Girls Varsity won and I'm not sure who won the Boys game. They were super close. 

These pictures were taken at the game. The gym  is surprisingly dark and it was a challenge to get any decent photos. You wouldn't know how dark a room is until you start taking photos in it. 

I guess it's just one of those photography things.. 

I really can't wait for Thanksgiving Vacation. I wish that we got the whole week, but it starts Wednesday. At lease we get a long Christmas vacation. Which is going to give me quite a few work days at the ski resort. :) 

It's Wednesday!

It's Wednesday and I can't believe that it's Thanksgiving next week! I can't wait to see all my relatives, eat good food and share stories from the past year. Thanksgiving and the months following Thanksgiving are the best. It feels cozy and pumpkin spice - y. I have a candle that smells like pumpkin spice and it's absolutely amazing and i just love it. :)

I took this picture while I was downtown and decided to play around with the Bokeh craze... The bokeh is basically making it blurry, the light area blurry, like the chandelier lights and diamonds into round dots instead of the tear drops. I think it's pretty, but i like to have my photos clear. I finally came to the happy medium when I was able to get the fence area in focus but the chandelier bokeh style.

Classes have been pretty good, we're in the after test period, where we've just done a test, and the teacher's haven't assigned anything yet. It's like a mini vacation, but I really cannot wait for Thanksgiving break. I'm going to take a lot of pictures during break so I'll be blogging and posting quite a big. Free time = blogging. :)

Today was super cold like 30 degrees in the morning. The day before today when I woke up it was 60. Crazy bipolar weather..

vibrams, snow, warm weather

Well look at that. Today is the day after the 18th and i'm writing here again! Yay!
So that photo is of one of my favourite footwear. They are the toe finger shoes and I absolutely love them! They are different to get use to at first, but it won't be for long until they are like your favourite shoe! I surprisingly do not feel much of the ground beneath. I guess what I'm trying to say is that they protect more than you would think. I got them for about $100 which they were on sale. Really do not regret buying them. I can run in them, although I wouldn't advise it if you have weak arches, because they don't have arch support.

Today was really warm. I woke up and it was 50. I hope the snow at the resort hasn't melted. They have a ways though. They open the 7th in December I'm pretty sure...
Snow dance time! :D

Cycles, dogs, uninspired

And here the vicious cycle of blogging starts again. I don't post in a few days, I profusely apologize, and make resolutions to "post more".
I am not sure if I posted this picture already, but I really like it. It is of my dog. She has had some health problems lately, which is really sad to watch her struggle, but she's a trooper, always very curious and funny looking. i really enjoy having this dog in my life.  As she gets older, her eyebrows are turning white, which adds even more expression to her face. I wish I had the pictures on this laptop to show her to you when she was like 3 pounds.

The days are getting colder, so the photo shoots are getting a little shorter and harder to endure. I enjoy shooting in the fog and cloudy cold frosty days (not frosty yet) but it can have some drawbacks, like pressed smiles, and not as many good photos. Still, i think there are many good ones out there to get captured.

I think that's all I'm going to write so far, not feeling very inspired at the moment.. maybe some other day. :)

Oh blogging...

Blogging, i'm terrible at it. The picture has nothing to really do with what I'm blogging about... just something that i found deep down in the files. It's like finding $20 that you thought you had lost. Best feeling ever. :)

I was looking for external flashes today. No good finds though. Oh well. It's not like I really need it. I 'm doing more sports and action shots. I guess I am doing quite a few senior photos, but it's not like that's my job. Or maybe it will be come my job? Who knows. Like I can never say what the next few years will bring. I have been doing photography for quite a while, and had a fb page and stuff, but this year it really took off because I would go to the local soccer games and take photos. I tagged people because it was my highschool's team and people found about my page and it's been growing really well.
I also got to sell photos at a local coffee shop, which a year ago I wouldn't' have guessed that I would be getting money for my photos. I also got to work with the University photographer and he helped me with composition, gave tips, and helped me with the more model/studio shooting, like using the umbrella lighting and more. It inspired me to further than just a hobby.

i guess like since it's November, i have to say I'm thankful that I have had the opportunities that I have had to be a photographer and I hope that I have many more successful jobs and shoots. :)

China

I miss China. I took this picture while I was over there. I really like how it comes in focus and then goes out.
We go there quite a bit. i think every 4-5 years.
I was adopted and so going over there is like connecting with my past and with my roots. I really enjoy doing it. I feel like a lot of the time I forget where I come from, so It's a nice reminder.
Today, I thought I would share some of my photos on here. :)

We went to a museum and I thought this was a very artful. i didn't line it up in thirds, but I think it still has potential to be a god photo. 

 Over there, they had a pomegranite festival. These were their little mascots. They were the cutest things ever! :D

 We then traveled over to Xi'an and got to see the Terra Cotta Warriors. It was really nice and really like stunning to see how much man labour went into making these thousands of sculptures for this one king. It's like the giant pyramids in Egypt. He had different faces, and different hair styles. Also they had horses and chariots for the stone captains and the high class men in the tomb. I would defiantly suggest going there if you are in Xi'an.

Idea of Comfort...

It's amusing for me to see, that the more I blog along, the more dreamy my titles get. Like "Ideas of Comfort" and that other one i did earlier with the subjects of what I was talking about... feel like such a pro blogger. Just kidding. So not a pro blogger.

I like this photo because it shows what I like to wear for a winter photo shoot. Even though I'm behind the lens, I still like to look nice. You never know what will come, so I say always be prepared. These are my favorite pair of jeans and then I have my boots. I love how you can wear whatever kind of sock you want under boots and nobody's going to know. It brings a very satisfying feeling.

anyway, enough with that.

Why do I do photography? I do photography because it's the thing that makes me "okay". It's my way of art and expressing myself. I can portray my emotions through the lens. I love making other people happy with my photography. It brings me joy when I know other people have joy.

Challenge Accepted:
I have decided to go off facebook for a while. I know my business is from facebook, and my photography and stuff, but I thought that it would be good that i get a break from all the drama and the successful things that all my friends do while I'm here treading water. Story for another time. I logged off and gave my phone number around. I hope that this challenge is good because I want to be able not have fb on my phones and stuff. I feel like people rely on something like that (Even Google+) to find out and connect. I wish that we could escape all that stuff for a week. I'm pretty sure that we would feel much better. I feel much relaxed on trips when I can get away from my electronics and not worry about what other people are doing. So I challenge you guys to "fast" from something that you rely on (not showers, food, water, something like facebook, taking selfies, putting on makeup) daily that you could really go without.
So defiantly during this challenge I will blog about it. I feel like blogging also is healing to me. Writing of any kind really.
I'm not entirely sure how long I want to have this go on, maybe for a week, see how it is and then go longer. This is the plan ... draft 1.
1. no facebook for 1-2 weeks.
2. after the 1-2 weeks, see if you need it. if you do not, check it once a day (post pics, etc) from the computer and delete the app off your phone.
3. enjoy living life in the real world.
How does that sound?
I hope that I haven't rambled too much about my challenge.

Good luck! :D

Fall Seasons, Job, Waivers, and Bicycles

I love the fall season because i feel like we're just gearing up for winter. Like at Christmas time,we take out the decorations and it's like having all the decorations out on the living room floor, not opened, but there. It's like a drumroll for when snow comes. 

Good news! I got hired at the local ski resort and I told them that I could take action photos so i might be able to take photos for their advertisements and stuff like that. Which will be really fun because I've always wanted to do stuff like that. I might want to use a GoPro instead of my Pentax just in case I crash while taking photos... who knows. I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. 

I also got a job for a business, taking pictures of their new product, which means that I am going to have to have my models sign model release forms. I guess this is like the first time that I have ever had to do that. im really not looking forward to doing that. it'll be a pain... 

The picture that I did for today is of my bike. It's Fuji Finest 2.0. I think that it is the 2006 model, I'm not quite sure. It took me a while to find a bicycle that I liked that was my size. I'm only 5'2" and this could pose a problem. But I really like this. I got the clip less peddles to go with it and I really enjoy using that. It's much easier and faster. 

I hope you guys enjoy the new way that this blog is, and I hope that I will be able to post a lot more. 

Change

Just to let you know, i just changed the URL so I could have photography on here and not feel weird about it... lol. :)

Recent Stuff.

I went on a drive Saturday to visit some friends up at an academy near Spokane. They were having a talent show, amatuer hour thing so i took photos.

The talent show was pretty good. here are some photos to recap  of the night.. 

Now time to book some more senior photography sessions. :) 

Photography and Vegan?

i need to get time. i wish that i could make time happen. the only cooking that i have done is grabbing left overs for my lunches. maybe i'll have to turn this into a photography blog for the winter. and it won't be bad. I'll just have to change the name or something... idk. i'll just add in Photography and Vegan?? Idk..

Photography?

I feel like this blog is becoming more of a photography blog than anything else. Photography and cooking? Does that work together?
I would think it would be good... I just need to be more free. I have like a full load of classes + online classes. And I know I ramble a lot about all my school work. So to make up for that, I thought I'd post some pictures I took of my good friend, Danny.
I was like I need to try doing some silhouette. Didn't come out exactly how I wanted it to, but I like it.

I feel like he's the kind of guy that would play football, but he doesn't ... which is kind of sad. But he is a very good last minute model. 

hope you enjoy the photos. :)

check out my 

Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/105148044@N02/

Tumblr: thaciastirlingphotography.tumblr.com

I just love Siri

Someone told me to say this. It cracked me up. :)

It's november!

Happy november everyone! I'm working on finding healthy pasta. I think I found some. It's called Smart Taste. It's in a purple box. It has good amounts of fiber. About as much as the whole grain ones. Check it out! We can get it at walmart

They have all different shapes and long noodles. :)
What are your favourite kinds of noodles?