My scrap of dirt

Okay so I will admit I have like the biggest crush on Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens together. I mean I like Zac a lot but I have fairly little interest in Hudgens except then - THEN -



THEN THEY DO THIS AND I DIE.

And I mean when it comes down to it I actually don't care all that much that it's them. They emphasize it somewhat but it's the photo itself that I just adore, and her hand in his hair and that mop of hair I love on almost anyone and the smiles and the fact that it's so intimate and genuine even though the camera is right there.

I'm a sucker for pictures that show intimate moments. I love to look at them, I love to take them. I know it's intrusive and voyeuristic and all that but I can't help it. It makes me ache in my chest I love it so much. I mean there's a reason I love Jack Slomovitz's photography, at least his stuff with couples (quick sample here and here - and careful, the website is NSFW).

So anyways. Back to Zac and Vanessa. I don't even know. There's just something about them, about the fact that they're 20 and 21 and they've lasted longer than most people can in the business that they're in, the fact that they're very low key about their relationship and don't talk about it but the way they look at each other, it's so obvious this is not a publicity stunt and they deeply care about each other. I don't really believe in soulmates or love forever and they might break up one day and it'll be none of my business, just like this really shouldn't be anyone's business but theirs. But I can't help but indulge in that voyeuristic urge to look on to people who seem so happy with each other, especially when it's a photoshoot and that means the photos were not only agreed to, but this is actually good photography. Not exceptional, but it's still photography and yeah, I love that too.

This isn't a ship, really. It would be sort of weird to ship people in real life for serious? It's more like... loving what's there. Enjoying it while they do, and hoping that they do and that they really are as happy as they seem, not because I have a stake in it, but because I want people to be this happy with each other. For a little while, for a long while. Doesn't matter, as long as there was happiness.

( My two other favorite pictures of this photoshoot. )

Source for the photos.

Louise Attaque is making me all thoughtful and nostalgic, okay? Bear with me.

I'm exhausted, and I just want tomorrow to be done with so we KNOW.

Speaking of, link courtesy of ely_jan, a picspam made of awesome. So many beautiful images.

On that note, good night. I'm off to snuggle with purring kittens.

I'll be posting to my Photo LJ soon, but I have to post a few photos of Glacier because I adore the boy, even though he can be a big wuss. And girly-looking. But he's my adorable boy and I love him. He's also overbooked until the end of the month so I won't ride him until next week. I know I said this every single time, but I'm so, so grateful that the club owner knows me and that I can just show up and she's super accomodating and willing to let me ride Glacier like this. Next Friday I'm going on a ride in the woods at dawn with him - from 5:30 to 7:30am. I can't wait.

Anyway, so Sunday I went to a competition he was taking part in and he didn't do too well (the idiot got scared of a pink jump and wouldn't jump it three times in a row so got disqualified) but I don't care because I still got really good photos out of it and I could snuggle him. I got good photos of the whole competition, by the way, not just him - even I'm not that obsessed. :)



Look at him all classy and beautiful. (Doesn't happen too often. :p)

( On to my superstar horse. )

I've been updating my photo journal like crazy for the past two days (after four months of nothing... was about time!).

Here are shots from the series I've uploaded.

I've mentioned Martin Firrell before for his HERO project (which he did with Nathan Fillion). You can see that project if you click the following links: part 1 and part 2.

I ended up on his Myspace today, and if you have a Myspace account, check out his gallery. Some of these quotes are very powerful, and I love how he projects them onto buildings.

My favorite one is possibly the quote that I used for my subject line.

Just finished Young Masculinities - it's a challenging book and the topic (how do boys construct their identity as boys / men, how do they juggle with contradicting ideals of masculinty?) is fascinating but also terribly complex. I came out of this book wanting to interview more boys, in particular gay teenagers or teenagers raised by gay parents (on top of single parents and couples of parents), to see how it would complete that research, maybe help us get some answers or just draw a more comprehensive picture of how boys and men struggle with their identity nowadays.

In the end you realize how difficult it is to definite mascuilinity (or feminity for that matter). What makes you a man? If it's not specific tastes, abilities, a certain perception, an essence, then what is it? Is it solely physical? How can you then explain that people can be born in the wrong body? How do you know that you're a man? We were talking in class of how identities are defined in opposition - that's always how we define ourselves - in contrast with something else. In a world that assumes (and legitimately, I believe) that there is no fundamental difference between boys and girls, it becomes all the more difficult to construct your identity. Are you less of a man because you have what we still call "feminine" qualities? Of course not. But what, then, makes you a man?


On a less philosophical level, I had a wonderful time with moimoietmoi this afternoon. She brought her polaroid and it was so much fun to use it - my last memories of a polaroid go back at least 12 years, my grandpa used to have one. And since I've got a whole new series of pictures to work on, I also finally kick my own ass and posted the rest of the previous series of pictures I took along the banks of the Seine and at Les Tuileries.

Go to my photo LJ to see the last two batches I posted (specifically here and here). A couple of teasers :






And finally, recc'd by woodsong_1978 and with good reason, Like Water is an excellent Torchwood fic. It's Jack/Tosh and it's very quiet and bittersweet, exactly what I love in my TW fics.

This is a miscellaneous entry of miscellaneousity!

- The Ikea Game. For all you crazy Sweden lovers out there. Can you beat my 4/10??

- Wedding Wars promos and premiere! (Sean's mentioned by John in the clip from the premiere at the very end.) 2 days, people. 2 DAYS. *needs her Sean fix like woah*

- Canada won't reopen the same-sex marriage debate. Because Canadians are TEH AWESOME. So cool that even some Conservatives voted against reopening the debate. *loves*

- Chris Buck takes photos of celebrities and I love what he does. Not all of it is excellent, but some shots are truly brilliant.

For anyone who's interested, you can follow the fake cut to holdlifestill, my photo LJ, for a couple of new posts.



More German pictures.



I've also posted one of my favorite shots I've taken so far :

I was going through my photo folders earlier and realized I'd a bunch of really nice pictures from that one day I went down near Le Mans to celebrate Vincent's birthday... so I retouched and cropped and there you go.

(It's actually a pretty big batch so be careful, it's not dial-up friendly at all.)

Touching, laughing


( An afternoon in the countryside... )

I have this urge to watch Free Willy. I'm not too sure I should indulge.

I've been working on old photos of mine, taken in Andover, specifically the ones from May 17, 2004 in Boston. I'll post them later today, for now I just wanted to share just a few shots I took one morning in Paris when we stopped in a café.

Pensive notes


( Silent pianist )