the time i decided my future and came back.

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I don’t know who reads this blog on a regular basis, but whoever you are, thank you.  I have somehow intrigued you enough to keep reading, and for that, I am grateful.  I may have worn many hats in this life so far (teacher, writer, photographer) but as many of you may not know, I am embarking on a journey far from that which I’ve known these last 25 years.  In just a few months, I will be going to law school.  I will be studying to be a lawyer.

“A lawyer?!” you may ask, puzzled.  “A lawyer,” I will muse back to you with a similar confusion.  I will be studying law, and actually obtain, in three years, a law degree.  I will have a piece of paper that says that I am smart enough to be loved, smart enough to be taken seriously, smart enough, period.

I will continue to write and capture moments in the photographic sense.  I will still attend concerts and take pictures of friends in the best light.  I will be free to be creative. But I will also have a new life full of reading, studying, and overall crying.  Because apparently that’s what adulthood is all about.

Don’t worry about me, dear reader, I’ll be fine.  I’ll still keep in touch.  I will probably update this blog more often than anticipated, as I try to find solace in my new lifestyle, complete with student loans and a backlog of reading and writing, which will ultimately, and probably, drive me crazy.  I will look to you for comfort.  And strength.  And a good laugh.

So here I go.  Off on another journey to take me wherever life decides to plant me.  I may be a little crazy for a while.  But in time, I will realize this endeavor is good for me.  And that’s all I could really hope for.  I will continually update as the time gets closer, but for now, this is not the end.  It is just the start of something great.

defeated.

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The day completely broke me down and beat me over the head with the incessant reminder that people don’t know what they need to be happy. Maybe happiness is a small reprieve from the everyday routine of day in/day out wandering. And maybe it’s something to look for. And maybe it’s already there. The universe tried to teach me this today. I listened to the lesson. I might be better for it. I just don’t know yet. Maybe tomorrow I’ll find out for sure.

Back Pocket Memory

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About a week ago, I was invited by a couple friends to attend a free concert at the House of Blues, go backstage, and enjoy complementary soda and water.  Since when did I become cool enough to do something like that?  Since I have cool friends, that’s when.  And since I started taking concert photos as a serious hobby endeavor.

I was lucky enough to be invited by the wonderfully talented band Back Pocket Memory to take photos of their show at the House of Blues, which of course I couldn’t pass up.  And when I was told I could capture some extra moments backstage and from behind the stage, I had to say yes.   (I’ve mentioned them in a post before, but if here is their information again…write this down.)

Twitter: @bckpcktmmry

Website: www.backpocketmemory.com

Facebook:  www.facebook.com/backpocketmemory

Take a look at the photos of them here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/christine-perez/sets/72157629694040152/

music makes me swoon.

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(© Christine Perez – Chevelle)

The good thing about living in Los Angeles (what?? there’s something good about living in LA?! yes.) is that there is no shortage of live music. I came to LA with the anticipation of meeting writers, living with writers, dating writers, and being a writer among writers. This image fell out the window (yes, fell) when I discovered that writing in LA is a little more business and a little less writing. And then a lot more business and ego and lot less writing and words. I found my love affair with writing soon shared the spotlight with another secret intrigue, one that is in abundance in Los Angeles. Music. An art I know little about, but appreciate greatly.

(© Christine Perez – Dead Sara)

I used to play the violin, for a spit of time in the early years of my life. I never found myself to be musically inclined, so I quit prematurely. But I always appreciated it. I never took it for granted. And I always respected it as something greater than myself. Live music offers a feeling of complete presence. Living in the moment. Being there with the people and the noise and the raw grit of performance. It brings me a joy I can’t express into words. Over all, I have had the great privilege of shooting in three major venues throughout Los Angeles, enjoying the renewing energy and soul healing power of live music. And I look forward to shooting many more concerts in the future.

(© Christine Perez – Mastodon)

(© Christine Perez – Back Pocket Memory)

(© Christine Perez – Opeth)

Here is a link to a mix of my concert photography:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/christine-perez/sets/72157629954240815/

Also, be a fan of my photography page, if you’d like!

http://www.facebook.com/pages/CP-Photo/268151369917347

playing tricks.

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I remember when I first appreciated photography. At a young age, I was drawn to creative activities like drawing, collage building, and friendship bracelet making, as seen on Sesame Street and Lamb Chop’s Play Along. But when my fifth grade teacher required that we do something creative for a presentation on the literary motifs as seen in the Bible (Catholic school), I knew my latch hook rug skills would not suffice. I decided photography would be the way to go, since it was so real to life, and the people in the Bible looked better as people than collage art, and it just seemed like the right thing to do.

So I borrowed my dad’s old Minolta film camera and went to town. I took pictures of my friends living in my apartment complex, people walking by, some trees, a bush, and with every click, I felt it my duty to freeze the world as accurately as possible. No messing around. This was serious business and there was no room for hippy creative hemp-bracelet braiding freedom in this activity. At least, that’s what I thought. Until I came up with the idea of having my friend hold my pet turtle in on of the pictures. And that changed everything.

By putting my turtle in the picture, I bent reality. She didn’t OWN the turtle! The turtle probably felt uncomfortable in her popcycle sticky hands! But according to me, that was real life. And that is when I fell in love with photography.

Many years later, a friend from work asked me to take her photo for graduation announcements, and I couldn’t resist. It helps to work with someone equally as crazy on these shoots, and there was no shortage of reality bending in this shoot. We’re not really in the old west. She’s not really floating (or is she?!). But according to us, this is exactly what happened. And we froze the world the way we wanted.

Check out the shoot here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/christine-perez/sets/72157629886716225/

And the levitation photos here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/christine-perez/sets/72157629886936873/

Also, be a fan of my photography page, if you’d like!

http://www.facebook.com/pages/CP-Photo/268151369917347

 

that time i went to chicago and came back.

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Every time I make my way to Chicago I end up having some sort of epiphany. When I lived there a couple years ago, I discovered my hidden ability to navigate big city transit without an iPhone. Last year, after a short visit to this mid-western city, I found an interest in Greek Salad and family gatherings.  A week ago Friday, I realized my fear of losing contact with people from the past, and came to terms with this fear by meeting a friend for beer and pizza.

I only lived in Chicago for a short while, but within this time, I met some of the greatest people.  Genuine.  Affectionate.  I moved to Los Angeles shortly after, and mourned the loss of the era when I met these great people.  But in the absence of these people from Chicago, came more greatest people from Los Angeles.  And the cycle continued.  And somewhere, stuck in this cycle, I feared that those from the past would lose touch with me from the present, and me from the future would never fully remember those from the present, currently.  I have irrational anxiety.

So when I met for beer and pizza with my dear Chicago friend of the past, it brought about two ideas for me.  One, time is irrelevant.  Two, why hold onto people if they don’t particularly want to hold onto you?  That’s a lot of weight to be carrying around, and I have a bad back.

I brought my camera to Chicago to document what I thought was going to be proof that people from the past don’t remember me from the present.  Instead, I captured some pretty shots of a fantastic past friend.  I’m happy with how they turned out.  I would say I have the best friends in the world, from the many different lives I’ve lived, but I wouldn’t want to make you jealous.  :)

Here are the pictures from my beautiful trip to the beautiful city of Chicago:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/christine-perez/sets/72157629850713263/