PhotoJ: Icebreaker

"Describe a recent moment of happiness."

I asked this open ended question/statement to "break the ice" with a variety people over the course of the past week. The assignment was meant to teach us to reach past our comfort zone and learn to be professional when interviewing a photographic subject. The photo itself had to be within certain parameters: tight on the face and not too much extraneous information from the environment. 

The responses to my question/statement ranged from sarcastic to simple. Some answers were truncated, others were paired with elaborate stories about searching for happiness. Each person I talked to was interesting and amiable. I thoroughly enjoyed meeting each and every one of them. 

Elizabeth Knight, 28, translates 4-year-old Evan’s explanation of his recent moment of happiness saying, “We went on a school tour today and they had little cars, like a mini roller coaster for kids.”

Penny Ferguson, 47, is happy about “having the nice weather today.” The sunshine brings a lot of customers into her flower shop, A Lot of Flowers, on 11^th Street and Harris Avenue.

Sam Barber, 28, was really happy he didn’t die after going to the Emergency Room three times in a week before doctors finally found out that he had appendicitis and removed it before it ruptured. “It was on my birthday too!” he says.

Paul Parker, 55, was happy “when [he] got up and everything didn’t hurt at the same time.” He laughs saying, “You’ll understand that later.”

Danny Soloff, 19, describes a happy moment with a group of friends: “We decided it would be cool if we started om-ing and all energy broke loose,” he says. “I felt so aware and present.” He comments that the experience is difficult to describe because it was “otherworldly.”

Yan Chen, 31, says she likes to play with her son. It makes her happy “when [her] son gives [her] a hug or a kiss.”

Eclecticity

Eclecticity made funky music for a huge crowd in Western Washington University's MPR on Jan. 19. This seven-person band, along with their producer, jammed to raise awareness about non-profit organizations in Bellingham at an event called Localpalooza hosted by Music for Change Club. Filled with soul, the blues/reggae band sent a cascade of positive vibes into the audience. Hopefully, they inspired some, if not all, of the crowd to catalyze change.

PhotoJ: Disposable Image

For the first assignment in photojournalism we were asked to take pictures with a disposable camera. This specification aimed to take away all the dials and knobs of an SLR camera and focus on the pure composition of each photograph. Light was key in this assignment because we were unable to change ISO, shutter speed or aperture of our cameras; and without a flash anything but bright daylight produced grainy, muddy pictures that were unusable.

I spent a lot of time in downtown Bellingham, walking around and looking at posters for possible events to photograph. I took pictures of tango dancers, a maintenance woman blowing snow off the sidewalk, firemen responding to a medical emergency, cosmetology students designing avant garde mohawks, and more. It was a task that compelled me to explore the community I live in and forced me to overcome my qualms about taking pictures of strangers.

 

Brett Sivret, 37, establishes reference points for a street monument in downtown Bellingham at the intersection between Champion Street and State Street on Monday, Jan. 17. The city is replacing old street monuments that serve as the orientation point for all property lines. "They should be pretty precise," says Sivret.

Mel Hutto, a writer and artist, enjoys breakfast and a book at Avenue Bread and Deli.

Anders Mavis shows athlete Arielle Walton correct form for jumping steeples.

Snow and Sunshine

"Snow makes everyone friends."

This is the common phrase heard all around campus the day after it snows. And it's true. The snow tends to bring everyone together to participate in snowball fights, go sledding, stay warm, and embrace the pristine beauty of the crisp day that follows. Here are some photos I took the day after the most recent snowfall in Bellingham.

 

I am currently taking a photojournalism class at Western Washington University. One of the requirements is to post our photos from each assignment on a blog, so my next series of posts will coincide with that class. Enjoy!

Indulge

We pulled in in the nick of time, snagging the last parking spot next to the quaint Italian restaurant. A line had already formed as families and friends dressed in snazzy outfits anticipated putting their name on the waiting list at 5 p.m. My friend, Anthony, was kind enough to hold my purse while I pranced around to the back of the building where four resident cats were playing. The waiting time flew by with plenty of other people in line to watch and a camera in my hands.

At 5 p.m. sharp the doors to the brick building opened and the hostesses began scribbling down names. As we came to the front of the line the hostess wrote down my name: "Brooke, party of two," and told us it would be about a two-hour wait. Anthony and I went to the sister building where dimmed lights created a comfortable ambiance where two friends could catch up over the past six months. A bar and appetizers were housed in this building, which we made ample use of.

While munching on olives, feta cheese spread bread, and a cheese plate embellished with raisins, roasted almonds and grapples, the hostess came in and told us our table was ready, only an hour after we had sat down. Thrilled that our waiting time was unexpectedly short, we shoved the remaining appetizers into our mouths and went to the restaurant building to sit at a table with a perfect view of the wood-fire oven where the world-class pizzas were cooked.

I ordered the "Rosa" pizza that was topped with red onion, parmigiano reggiano, rosemary and AZ pistachios. Anthony got the other pizza I had been eyeing: the "Biancoverde" topped with fresh mozzarella, parmigiano reggiano, ricotta and arugula. Never before have I described a pizza as "juicy," but these ones were. They melted in our mouths, making us smile with cheesy delight.

Pizzeria Bianco was a wonderful place to indulge in mouthwatering food and meaningful conversation. The experience was one I would gladly repeat, so long as I'm not subject to the common four-hour wait at the notorious pizzeria.