Air Show Highlights

Stopped by the air show for like 30 mins really just to hear monk say "PLANE PLANE PLANE" but the entire experience was well worth it! He seemed to love the show and the planes flying close to his face didnt seem to bother him.

Dyuthi celebrating her birthday....the 1st one incase you didnt notice

So after I took the first set of pictures, Phani invited me back to take pictures during her first birthday. Lets just say she was the life of the party...her party and she owned it.

Dyuthi being the child model she is....

First post of the new year...ive been slacking so im going to be posting a bunch of pictures together. This is from late last year of Dyuthi. Phani asked if i would take pictures of their family and who in their right mind would say no? The photo shoot was filled with moments of shyness.laughter, continuos stares followed by bouts of shyness and some more laughter. She was awesome and never cried.

Show Photography

Bright lights, packed auditorium, colorful traditional dance attire, awesomely delicious Indian concessions,numerous digital cameras flashing, feet thumping bollywood music, scintillating dhol/drum players and doubtful premonition of the events to come set the stage for the 2010 Diwali Show. Though Michael Scott's non-fictional depiction of Diwali as the indian Halloween crossed my mind the entire night, there were no Freddy Kruegers, space men or slutty nurses at this event. This was the first time the annual Diwali show was being hosted as a competition and Georgia Tech was hosting it.

Though never religious, Diwali was the festival I waited for all year because it kicked off my dessert frenzy. Diwali, followed by thanks giving and Christmas to me is a source or endless desserts, candy and all kinds of deliciously mouth watering confections. I drool at the very thought of these items, the way they feel, the way they taste, the way the look at you and......OK..you get my point...they are freaking delicious but this conversation is neither here nor there. The point i was trying to get to was that we were there at the Diwali show to put aside my sweet cravings of the season and to focus on Payal and Saloni's dances.

I took my 70-300 mm lens and to my surprise got a ton of descent shots. My biggest fear with the lens was the lack of lighting and the inability to get crisp images with the low lighting. However, the show lighting actually proved to be overwhelming striking and I was able to get great pictures with the basic settings. I tried to wave down the dancers to stop moving so I could get a descent shot but I guess they had some sort of routine or something to follow being a dance..sheesh...go figure.

I couldn't stop but admire the awe inspiring costumes and continuously ponder the effects of the contusing visual imagery they made on the audience. All in all the show was great and while there were winners picked, the mere talent of the performers was confirmation that regardless of win or loss, they were there to enjoy every minute of their performances.

Haitian Lovin

Had to post these to the blog. They are a couple months old and I took none of these pics. It is all Jean-Marc's attempt at photography. He claims to be a Nikon lover...but he admitted that he was in love with the Canon that day. Jesse's amazing cooking was definitely the highlight of the day. The food was amazing and the wine even better. We had Napoleons at this French bakery the same weekend, so this meal was the pretty much as one would call, sealing the deal. Some part of me had to be Haitian during one phase of the cycles of Karma and reincarnation...and if not, then i sure wish the next time around. The food was delicious and the company it was enjoyed in, even better. We ate, drank and chatted the night away. Reminiscing back, I cant think of anything else that is needed for a good time but a good circle of friends, delicious food and oh did I forget to mention bottomless wine?

The McConnies

Instead of going into deep posts, I figured I should keep the blog to be more photo oriented and mention a few blurbs about it. This was my first official family photo shoot with the McConnie family. The kids were exhausted by the summer heat but were good sports and let me snap away at them. It was definitely an eye opener cause one thing was evident...kids definitely dont work on your time but their time..so get with the program!

Tokens of Nostalgia

This one goes back to the Mobile visit. Saturday morning, I decided to step out and take some pictures. Monk was awake and the better part of the morning pictures were focused on him, as usual. However, walking through the yard, one fixture caught my attention. The old and beaten basketball rim made me pause and wonder of possibly better times it had seen. Standing erect in the sunlight, paint flaking, rim holding on for dear life to the backboard, this basketball rim seemed to have led a fulfilling life, possibly completing the tasks thrown its way. I had no idea, how long ago it was put up and didn't have a single memory around it, but it made me reminiscence on my good times involving similar tokens of nostalgia.

Through our lives, we develop memories and along the way we start associating certain things with memories. I refer to these as tokens of nostalgia. To me soccer cleats, toy guns, Toblerone candy bars, firecrackers, grilled fish, and action figures are all associated with fond memories. The younger elementary school version of myself, didn't like books or to study and definitely didn't understand why grown ups had to work. I do however remember one thing through my whole childhood...the image of my exhausted dad returning from work everyday with a Toblerone bar tucked away in his pocket. No matter how stressful or busy his day was, he wouldn't forget that candy bar...maybe cause of the time I sulked when he did forget. Now whenever I am at the checkout line at Target, I see these bars and first image that pops up in my head is my dad at my old apartment door and then me falling asleep on his lap with a half finished candy bar. Another time I have this memory is when I am sitting in the dentist chair awaiting my 30th root canal, but thats neither here nor there.

Similar memories surrounded this basketball rim. To Lyssa it was a memory of simpler times when they were young and played countless hours of basketball with the family. She told me their dad would lose and then blame the sun being in his eyes for missed shots when the sun was clearly behind them and not the culprit. Things are more complicated now, but these memories stay and the rim continues to provide solace in these memories. I can only wonder what tokens Monk and the younger kids I know will use to weave their web of memories. If you made it to the end of this post, take a step back and think of your tokens of nostalgia. How have your memories been molded and wrapped around simple tokens that now affect your daily life? Think about it and while you ponder that thought, I am going to go get myself a Toblerone bar.