On going back to Pittsburgh.

I still haven't gotten all my film developed from our trip east last September and here we are getting ready to head back to Pittsburgh in a few weeks! I'm quite excited about the trip. Excited to be on the road again. Excited to see so many good friends again. Excited to be back in Pittsburgh, a city that is forever full of wonders to me.

I've been agonizing over what cameras to take along. I feel like I always take too many and then spend too much time trying to decide what camera to use. I also end up with too many of the same photos taken with different cameras and film. That can be interesting (to me, at least), but I want to approach things differently this time. Take less and shoot more. Of course sometimes I just get caught up in being there instead of having half of my focus on what might make a fabulous photo. I think that is important as well.

But this is a year that I really want things - some things, all things, I don't know - to be different. Maybe not hugely different, but a little different. And I have to admit that not a lot of change has happened thus far, but there has been some progress in certain areas. Baby steps of change. And it gives me hope.

So I would like my approach to photography to be different on this trip. Maybe try to be less self-conscious about what I am doing. Maybe actually make a plan of some places that I want to go to take photographs. Maybe focus on using one or two cameras instead of five. And I would really like to take some portraits of our friends (on instant film) even though I am not great at taking portraits these days.

And perhaps I should not reveal all here, perhaps it is putting too much expectation on myself, but I would like this trip to be different in other ways as well. I hope that I can let go and truly have a blast. Not worry so much about sleep and schedules and all the anxieties that often get in my way of having fun. (But still take care of myself; there's got to be a balance, right?) I want to laugh and smile and let myself out. I feel so trapped here in Santa Fe sometimes.

But no matter what happens, I imagine it will be a good trip. And it will also be okay if I have to feel anxious about some things. That's how I roll and denying it only makes it worse. One thing I constantly have to remind myself: be compassionate with myself as well as others. Because constantly being hard on myself, reprimanding myself or feeling bad about who I am or how I react to things, isn't particularly helpful.

Anyway...here a a few shots from our last trip taken with my Lomo LC-A + Kodak Gold 400 film.


Gorgeous, giant zinnias in the Larimer Community Garden.


Steeple + sky.


The view from the third floor of the Mayflower house.


The Mayflower house!


The church down the street from the Mayflower house.


Peeping alien!

Instant kitties.

[Blixa]


[Clem aka Clams]


[Fred aka Fritters]

It's not just at home that I end up taking a lot of cat photos, I do it everywhere we go! I just can't resist a cat!

These are all Pittsburgh kitties and all were taken with a Polaroid SX-70 Alpha + PX70 Color Shade instant film from The Impossible Project.

Steelers football.

Back in September, when we were in Pittsburgh, we went to a Steelers game with our friends CC and Dana. It was an awesome day. The weather was perfect and, well, we went to a Steelers game!



We parked downtown and walked across one of the bridges to get to the stadium. (One of my favorite things about Pittsburgh is all the bridges.)


[CC and Dana]


[Our view.]

We sat way up high in the corner of the stadium. The stairs were so steep, they were a little vertigo-inducing. But no matter, our view of the field was good as we could pretty much see everything that was going on.


[CC and Will]


[Me and Dana]

Look at all those Steelers fan. I was so excited when we first got there, I almost started crying. Will and I had been to one game while we still lived in Pittsburgh so it wasn't our first time, but there was something about being at a game, with our friends, after being away for so long that felt extra special.

Watching the home games in Santa Fe, the aerial shots of Pittsburgh and Heinz Field always make me miss Pittsburgh so much. So to actually be there, in Pittsburgh, at Heinz Field, was the best thing ever.

And we won that game (vs. the Seahawks) which made the experience all the better.

Going to another Steelers game in the next couple of years is already on my dream list!

Pittsburgh, The City of Champions!

Seriously! First the SuperBowl, now the Stanley Cup. It's totally awesome and I love it. I bet there are lots of happy folks in Pittsburgh today.

And I have to say, I really enjoyed watching all the games. Granted hockey gives me high blood pressure and sometimes I feel like I am going blind because I can't quite see where the fast moving puck is, but still, it was fun. And so many great players! Simon can't decide if he wants to change his name to Sidney, Maxime or Malkin.

Congratulations to all the Pens fans out there. What a great win!!

Also, I was wondering about stats for winning a SuperBowl and Stanley Cup in the same year and I just found it via Rich Eisen:

Pitts becomes 1st city 2 win Super Bowl/Stanley Cup in same yr. In fact, never happened in history of NFL, which began in 1920.

On the hockey bandwagon.

Yeah, I know, we mocked some of the folks who jumped on the Arizona Cardinals bandwagon when they made it to the SuperBowl and now we're essentially doing the same thing by jumping on the Pittsburgh Penguins bandwagon. It's just too hard to resist. We are compelled to support any Pittsburgh team that makes it all the way.

And I do like watching hockey. We just never got into it because we are so devoted to football, we decided that we would get nothing else done in our lives if we became so fanatical about another sport. And out here, I don't think they air all that many Pens games anyway so we'd be looking at spending god knows how much more money on another sports ticket. No can do.

But the Stanley Cup is on national television. Yes! (Or at least it was Saturday and Sunday. I panicked last night when I didn't see the game listed on a local channel. Lucky for us it was on one of the other sports channels that DirectTV provides us.) And what a game! I was hoping that playing at home would give the Pens that extra kick they needed to win a game and it definitely did. We are anxiously awaiting tomorrow night's game.

Watching hockey is stressful though. Way more stressful than football. It all happens so quickly. Back and forth, back and forth. Cheering and groaning and cussing and cheering. It definitely brings out the sports fan in me. And, um, I have to say, I really like the fights. More fights!

Last night the game made me homesick for Pittsburgh. They showed a brilliant night shot of downtown Pittsburgh and it made me want to be there again. Plus a lot of our friends back there are huge hockey fans and watching the games makes me think of them too.

GO PENS!!!