How Lauren got her groove back!

My photographic groove, that is. (Ya big perv.)

Ever since I fell into the Long Island Sound with all my fancypants camera equipment I've had a really bad relationship with photography. I wasn't ready to break up with my Nikon D700 when it died a hard, fast and wet death. Through the years it traveled with me on coffee plantations in Guatemala, up a volcano and all over ruined cities in Italy (in 105 degree weather to boot!), it climbed up mountaintop towns in the south of France, crawled through amazing food markets in Spain, and shot all sorts of art festivals here in our humble city of New Haven. But on that fateful day it plunged into the sea I could not breathe life back into it.  Cursing, crying and experiments with rice did nothing to power it up again. It was dead in my hands. I felt like I killed a friend that accompanied me all over the world. That's a little dramatic, I know. It was my fault for walking on a slimy sea wall with tractionless shoes. I can't say that was my most brilliant decision. ("Make good choices!" I hear my friend tell me.) Nikon repair shop sent me a letter stamped with a HUGE BOLD red "BEYOND REPAIR." I had to wait months before insurance approved money for the next camera. So it all came down to "shooting" with my iPhone. And that is highly addictive if you have apps with fun filters like Instagram. I spent about 8 months ignoring the whimpering coming from the closet where my college diploma lives.

But Lately I've been listening.

Why, Lauren? How can you do this to us? We had a good thing going! How can you take photos with a stupid ass smart phone? And not-so-secretly enjoy it? 

Whoops!

For those of you folks that don't know what I did for four years while in Boston, other than chase Thursday night girlfriends at ManRay, I was in school for photojournalism. :) I've been a bit neglectful of my degree after I lost the D700. RIP. But the sobbing of my college diploma has been too loud to ignore lately. I've been taking my new Nikon ere'where I go. It's bulky, the buttons are in the wrong places, some of the functions are ass backwards, but I feel like I'm using that part of my brain where cobwebs formed. Shooting at the Arts & Ideas festival made me feel alive again. I feel like I've come home. Here are some photos from my photographic re-awakening. I hope you can feel the joy I felt while taking them. Picture one eye squinted and a huge smile on my face. Oh, and a big confident stance.

It's not entertainment until something is on fire. And then tossed all over the Green.

These two guys travel the world performing acrobats on a ladder held by a bunch of random audience members.

He's standing on the other guy's head while juggling knives. Not too shabby, eh?