RMSP MONTANA FAIR

so i'm a little tiny bit sad to be done the RMSP workshop and the slightest bit depressed that my hanging out at carnival, eating cotton candy and deep-fried carb days are over. 

but now?... i'm like, insanely smart and i know basically everything there is to know about photography and i rock at life in general as well. sooo yeah. 

ok, not really but if i pretend that then maybe it will someday be true and if i tell myself i'm cool enough maybe a gossip columnist will eventually overhear and it an maybe then will get into the magazines and maybe james franco will read it and realize our undeniable love connection and show up at my door on a black stallion awaiting to whisk me and my awesomeness away into the sunset. 

honestly though, apart from learning how to turn my camera on (and all that important stuff that i really should know if i plan on doing this thang long term) i learned how to own it; to have confidence and be myself. rocking at what you do isn't all about your equipment and computer skills and the diplomas hanging on your wall. its about learning who you are and truly expressing that through your work. 

i know i'm still in the process of being found and it may take years to truly embrace my true self and expose that through my photos but this has helped me to identify myself a little better and see who i am.

...now im going to go put something black and paint a dark painting of deep and meaningful stuff while i ponder life.

RMSP Rodio Queens

RMSP - Rodeo Queens


what little girl out there hasn't dreamt at one point in time of growing up to be a beauty pageant queen, or rodeo queen or the queen of england? (yes, i set my goals high) i can remember participating in my share of pretend beauty pageants when i was little. i would fasten my toilet paper sash, labelled "miss canada" and tell the judges about my hopes and dreams into a hairbrush. and it was always such a surprise when i won. like, really... you'd think after the fourth or fifth win that the judges would feel sorry for the neglected barbies and cabbage patch dolls sitting behind me and award the crown to someone else. crazy judges. 

so i've checked and i'm pretty sure these girls have one of the coolest jobs out there. miss rodeo montana spends her day riding horses and participating in beauty pageants. not gonna lie, just a little jealous over here.

i love all the sweet hats and western outfits. they put tons of work into their ensembles and they looked so completely cool! if i had a leather skirt and jacket and matching cowboy hat i would probably wear it at least 5 out of 7 days of the week. i would probably carry a whip and lasso around also and say howdy to everyone i passed, for extra coolth.


so these were my rodeo gals for the day: libby and callie. 

RMSP 4H/FFA

RMSP Downtown Missoula

RMSP workshop - downtown missoula


our assignment today was to go around downtown missoula and take a portrait of a stranger that showed emotion while telling a story.


i found dennis. dennis came to missoula when jerry garcia died. before that he travelled around on tour with jerry and the rest of the grateful dead, right up until the last days just before jerry commit suicide. they say he had a heart attack but dennis says he just gave up and let himself die. jerry struggled with heroin addiction most of his life and was admitted to rehab several times and the last time he went in and refused treatment and sat in the corner all night until he died. i know because dennis told me.


dennis also doesn't have an actual physical address, i dont think. but he'd got mad biking skills. you should see some of the stunt shots we got! (... ill post more on flickr when i have more time)




then there was jerrod. even though i had my story and was on my way back to the hotel, jerrod caught my eye and he was so intriguing i couldnt pass by without talking to him and finding out more about his undoubtedly interesting life.


ohhhmg you guys i just bit into the centre of this jawbreaker ive been sucking on for the past like 3 days and its soo amazing. it was totally worth the wait and i just had to mention it because it literally the best thing ive tasted in 2-3 months. and im continuing to enjoy its fruity chewy centre... wow. just, wow.


ok so moving along, jerrod works part time in missoula while he plays with his band fagrag. and if you live in montana and like music and want to feel young and hip by hanging out at an urban art museum littered with hipsters carrying their macbooks, clad in skinny jeans and black horn rimmed glasses, then check em out at total fest this thursday at the missoula art museum.


jerrod has a huge collection of sci-fi novels and he's read each one of them three times or more. i wasnt really sure what to say to that, so i said "wow, thats really impressive to some poeple out there, probably"! and i think that offended him a little so i turned and left. but jerrod and his crazy book collection will always hold a special place in my heart.











aand yet another city i've fallen in love with and would move to in a heartbeat.

RMSP Barrel Racing

RMSP workshop - barrel racing


note: barrel racing is not pushing a bunch of barrels off the top of a steep hill and letting them race down to the bottom. clearly i was never a farm girl.


so apparently the horses race. around barrels. (thats where the barrels come into play) and we got to go watch the riders train their horses for the barrel races. it was neat-o and even though i know nothing about horses i can appreciate all the work that goes into making them look and perform as well as they do.


i photographed emily. she is 16 years old and won the title of 2010 state champion barrel racer. emily is awesome. when she "tore a hole in ma britches" she just patched it up with duct tape. i'm positive this chick will go far in life! I mean, c'mon. She's wearing a bat-man shirt. How is that not the coolest thing ever?




these are emily's riding boots. she got them brand new at the beginning of the year.

RMSP Workshop

AHHHHH!!!!!


WORKSHOPS AAAARE AWESOME!! srsy folks, if you are even slightly considering attending a photography workshop, or considering looking into attending a photography workshop, or thinking about going on the world wide web and asking google what a photography workshop is... DO IT! you wont regret it. especially if you take one of rocky mountain school of photography's workshops. 


i'm not even kidding. like its only the second day and i'm having a blast. we had our own pictures taken today and even though i hate being on the other side of the camera we actually had a lot of fun. (i am not making that up) we climbed trees and rode walls and overall just really learned how to connect with your subject. lol


i have already learned things that i knew i needed to know and just didnt know how to go about knowing them. jeremy and tony know everything there is to know about photographing people, connecting with the subject and capturing that emotion... they truly are awesome instructors. and if i was positive this wouldn't be read by one of them i would write exactly what i think ;)


here's a few from my shoot... clearly i need to improve on my gangsta rapping skillz.

chad + stacey

chad + stacey


i know, i know.... a little less snappy and more workie there, missy. but if i wasn't snapping there wouldn't be anything to blog, right? and although there has been a major lack in the post department lately i promise to make up for it by posting 3 times a day, everyday, for the next 10 years (subject to change). also, i will punish myself by going to missoula tomorrow for a week long photography workshop with RMSP. it will be horrible. it's located in the boring rocky mountains of western montana, in a glacial lakebed...  we'll be be shooting the montana fair all week, it will be super dull i'm sure. and to make things worse, our instructor is really cute. So yeah... pooor me. sad face.


...anyways, moving on.


chad and stacey's wedding was magical. (in a non-cheesy way) the location was literally a photographer's dream. stacey's parents put huge amounts of time and effort into their meticulously manicured yard and it was evident on this day. and then there was the quonset. gorgeous details covered the walls and tables and something crazy like 500 handmade tissue pom poms hung from the 40 foot ceilings... it was wild.


the bride and her girls were beautiful! everyone looked stunning, basically everything was perfect. it really was magical. and then they lived happily ever after.