::catalyst::

::if there's a god up in the air::

2012-02-07T15:07:00.000-08:00

I spent a very relaxing and enlightening afternoon this past Saturday with my youngest cousin Eddy and his 9 month old daughter Emma. Eddy is 23 and recently became a single father.We took a long round about drive to the Cascade foothills to the upper end of the Skagit River. The sun was blinding and we had an amazing and candid talk about relationships falling apart, the dark places your mind and heart goes when you're dealing with the aftermath of it, and the possibility that "God" maybe does exist and maybe there is a grand plan to everything we go through.
I've known him his whole life and in my mind he always seemed to stay a squirrely little kid. Suddenly standing on the river bank watching him fish for Steel Head Salmon with Emma on his back laughing, I saw him in a new light of being a responsible adult man now raising a child of his own. He's grown up to be not just be my little cousin, but a man that I really respect and admire.

"Quiet & calm through the dawn of the day,
See the sun burn through the fog,
Approaching was a yellow dawn.

If there's a god up in the air,
someone looking over everyone,
at least you got something to fall back on..." -Band of Horses

::these are the places you will find me hiding::

2012-02-01T10:58:00.000-08:00

Scenes from a pleasant little winter excursion my friends "French Press" and I took to the Oregon coast this past weekend.

::the storm that eclipsed the city::

2012-01-19T14:35:00.000-08:00

Seattle has been under a sudden beautiful blanket of snow this week. This city is pretty ill prepared for such things. Everyone was off work yesterday except for all the folks who work in bars and coffee shops which were packed to the gills. I took the afternoon to wander around Capitol Hill with my camera. My neighborhood looks like a completely different place under all the white.

::we are made to bleed, and scab and heal and bleed again, and turn every scar into a joke::

2012-01-03T16:38:00.000-08:00

It's been exactly 2 weeks now since I randomly in a split second slipped on a wine glass full of water at a friends house and ended up puncturing a blood vessel and getting 4 stitches in the back of my right Calf. It's been 12 years since I had to go to the ER and it just so happened to be the at the same hospital in my home town that I went to when I was 16 and slammed my finger in a door. I've been feeling totally creatively out of commission. Laying on the couch for days taking Vicodin, watching Netflix and reading may sound fun but after a couple days I felt really bored, and on the verge of being really depressed. I realized how much I thrive on being productive and working. I also realized how much I take for granted being able bodied and healthy.

::we walk the plank with our eyes wide open::

2011-12-27T00:40:00.000-08:00

Well 2011 is winding down, and what a funny cathartic/chaotic year it's been... Inspired by my good pals Casey and Ryan who love to meticulously document and make lists. Here's a list of my top songs of 2011. Note these are in no particular order of hierarchy nor are they all necessarily songs that were released this year. This is simply a list of tunes that touched and resonated with me in the past 12 months.

-"Lost in my Mind", The Head and the Heart:
I had the pleasure and honor of working on the crew for the making of this song's music video in Leavenworth, WA in January.

-"Hard Times", Gillian Welch:
"Hard times, aint gonna rule my mind, no more." This line became a mantra of sorts to me back in july.

-"Wheat Kings", The Tragically Hip:
I hadn't thought of or heard this canadian band since I was a teenager, then this song was on NPR on the 4th of July when I was cooking some soup over a campfire in the Okanogan Valley with my dad. For awhile this summer I really liked listening to this in bed in the dark before falling asleep.
"Sundown in the Paris of the prairies,
Wheat Kings have all their treasures barried"

-"Old Pine", Ben Howard

-"Laundry Room", The Avett Brothers,
I discovered this song back in january through NPR's tiny desk concert video series, then fell in love with it again during a really dreamy rainy weekend away in portland in september. "but I can't keep no secrets, I wish that you would always stay...."

-"Erica Western Teleport", Emperor X
The most gorgeous and raw song about trying to remind yourself to forget someone who's always on your mind. I embarrassingly started tearing up on the bus one afternoon listening to this on repeat.

-"Swim Club", Cave Singers

-"Unless I'm Led", Mates of State

-"Somebody That I used to Know", Goyte:
The lines of this song rang so true for me couple of different times for me in the last 6 months of this year.
"But you didn't have to cut me off
Make out like it never happened and that we were nothing
And I don't even need your love
But you treat me like a stranger and that feels so rough
No you didn't have to stoop so low
Have your friends collect your records and then change your number
I guess that I don't need that though
Now you're just somebody that I used to know"

-"Ritual Unions", Little Dragon:
I hate to use this word, but I feel like the only way to describe this song is, groovy the perfect driving song for warm evenings on the way to weekend camping trips.

-"This Here Year", The Dirty Mittens:
Hot evenings, cold cans of Watermelon beer and cut off shorts in Portland.

-"One Inch Plantation", Legendary Oaks

-"Grown Ocean", The Fleet Foxes
This song finally caught my ear at the end of this summer, after returning from a wonderful Labor Day camping trip on Orcas Island. All the lyrics in this song are so bright and inspiring. It always gets me going if I listen to it first thing in the morning.
"I know someday the smoke will all burn off
All these voices I'll someday have turned off
I will see you someday when I've woken
I'll be so happy just to have spoken
I'll have so much to tell you about it

In that dream I could hardly contain it
All my life I will wait to attain it
There, there, there"

-"King of Diamonds", Motopony

-"With Every Heart Beat", Robyn

-"Stranger Overtones", David Byrne & Brian Eno

-"Calgary", Bon Iver:
I was going through a super rough time back in July and was up sleepless one night and heard this song on NPR's All Songs Considered at 3am, and knew that everything was going to be alright.
"Open ears and open eyes
Wake up to your starboard bride
Who goes in and then stays inside
Oh the demons come, they can subside"

::lord have mercy on my rough and rowdy ways::

2011-12-23T23:22:00.000-08:00

A beautiful weekend with old friends up in my hometown that lasted one day too long and resulted in me getting stitches in the ER in the middle of the night. Happy Holidays!

::I've just come, from the land of the sun::

2011-12-13T01:43:00.000-08:00

It's foggy and 30 degrees in Seattle. Despite a couple of my plants maybe being dead it feels cozy and good to be back home, hugging friends and my own big bed.

::red cadet, do you copy?::

2011-12-10T20:41:00.000-08:00

An experimental time lapsed capture of last night's full Lunar Eclipse as seen from my mom's porch in Ocean View, HI. It dawned on me yesterday as Mom and I were driving up to the Observatories at the summit of Mauna Kea coincidentally enough, that I should really take advantage of the clear calm weather and try to photograph the eclipse. I've never really delved into the world of Time Lapse Photography. With a little research I figured out how to hook up my laptop to my camera and leave it on the porch over night programed to fire my camera every 5 minutes from 2am-6am.
I got up several times during the night to check the exposure and location of the camera. At 3:40 I got up and realized I needed to move the camera off the porch and into the driveway. I fumbled around in the dark without glasses or contacts searching for some sandals or slippers and loudly whispered "shit godamnit!" when instead I stuck both my hands in the cold bucket of water for the dogs. Even though the moon was incredibly bright and close it's still very hard to manually focus a camera in the dark when you're exhausted. I found that it helped a bit to shine a flashlight beam at it.
While my digital work station outside recorded the action, I slept sporadically on the couch so I could see everything out the window. During the eery dark Orange phase it went through around 4am, it looked as though I was looking at Mars.

::handmade holidays::

2011-12-07T21:01:00.000-08:00

It's been too many years since Mom and I have spent Christmas together. This year I'm back in Hawaii for 2 weeks in between Thanksgiving and Christmas. On a blustery cold Sunday afternoon Mom and I decided to get to work making a Vinetarta. It's a traditional Icelandic Holiday cake we've been making since I was very young. A good handful of my relatives in Blaine, WA were of Icelandic decent.
It's a bit of a lengthy process that usually starts with boiling down the filling that consists of dried Prunes, dried Currants, Brandy and/or Rum, (just use both, it's Christmas after all!) Cardamom, Lemon juice and Vanilla extract. The Prunes may sound a bit off putting but it's surprisingly really tasty.
The next step is to make around 6 or 7 large sugar cookie sheets that will divide each layer. Basically Eggs, Flour, Sugar, Vanilla and Almond extract and an overly generous amount of Butter. I guess that's really more of a Short Bread.
This may not be true to the traditional recipe but it's extra good to put a thin layer of a Powered Sugar icing with a bit of Almond extract mixed into it on the very top cookie layer of the Vinetarta. Let sit for at least a day before cutting into it, so the Prune filling can sink into the cookie/short bread layers and soften them a bit.
This cake is pretty rich and small slice is especially nice late at night with a bit of Guava desert wine.

::why on earth should life be so serious?::

2011-12-03T20:43:00.001-08:00

"just wait and see, all the changes there will be, by the time it gets dark" -yo la tengo

::intentions and reflections::

2011-12-01T13:52:00.001-08:00

::please stay tuned::

2011-11-26T22:29:00.000-08:00

This week has been so crazy and busy is so many ways. All while fighting the enclave of darkness here in the Northwest. I can't even begin... In little over 24 hours I head off to my far distant homeland of Kona Hawaii and hopefully the sun and seclusion will wake my head up again and I'll be back on track. I promise many photos, stories, and videos to come.

::seasons change, and so do we::

2011-11-15T13:20:00.000-08:00

A mix of images from July and November 2011

::Show me your jams::

2011-11-14T12:01:00.000-08:00

As a photographer I usually politely decline from photographing weddings or family portraits. Financially that's probably unwise but I don't particularly enjoy that sort of work nor do I feel super confident with it.
Yesterday was different though. My longtime friend Emily asked me to shoot some very casual/non traditional family portraits of her, her husband Michael and their 2 daughters, Sonja and Mackenzie for their holiday cards.
Emily's mom is a longtime very close friend of my mom and was apparently very instrumental in my mom's early adult development; riding horses and learning the fine art of floating an open beer bottle in a lake while swimming and not spilling it. Emily herself was a bit of an older sister to me when I was younger and I always really admired her. It was such a funny and awesome feeling to now be an adult myself and be sitting across the table from her two children and realize how much history is between all of us.
This photo was at breakfast after our chilly early morning shoot at Pike Place Market was over, I pulled out my camera for one last shot and said "okay monkeys, show me your jams!"

::baser instincts::

2011-11-08T16:13:00.001-08:00

Last night on the phone with my mom we were discussing all the funny little sentimental scraps, artifacts and found objects we keep around with us and in our homes. She said this very simple but poignant thing to me. As humans we feel a need to keep these things around as a reminder that even if an event or era in your life has past, and the people are gone, we did experience them and they are always within us and we keep a tangible connection to it all.

::I'd be so happy just to have spoken::

2011-11-06T18:08:00.000-08:00

A chilly late afternoon photo shoot with 2 of the most and talented folks I have the honor of knowing. I was using a real funky Polaroid OneStep camera I found in an abandoned/collapsed house in Eastern Washington earlier this summer and some special Impossible Project film Casey gave me. 14th Ave East & East Thomas Street.

::Today is the day::

2011-11-05T23:05:00.000-07:00

I really cannot speak highly enough about these two creatures below. This weekend has been blessed with the presence of my two of my nearest and dearest, Casey and Ryan from Portland visiting me up here in Seattle.

::Sunrise over the Cascades::

2011-11-03T19:02:00.000-07:00

~Today I'm thinking of you in a new way~

::everyday magic::

2011-10-31T20:28:00.000-07:00

Ladies and Gentlemen, allow me to introduce the amazing, Victor Lindstrom!

::truth be told::

2011-10-23T00:20:00.000-07:00

inspired from my good pals over at We Are Suitcase
These two friends inspire me to no end!

This photo was taken in Casey's apartment in Portland, late July, exposing a Sun Print, and looking at her hardcover JayZ book with Airplants all around. An inspiring environment indeed.

::Only as the day is long::

2011-10-19T00:29:00.000-07:00

"Lordy Lordy, I feel 40" as my mother often says. Though she is 56 and I'm 28...
Anyway It's been a long busy day battling exhaustion and a lingering head cold that won't let up. I showed up to a small shoot this morning and quickly realized all of my camera's memory cards were on my desk at home. That's been one of my biggest Photography assignment fears, and today it came true. Thankfully it wasn't a huge deal but I was extremely embarrassed.
Later in the day I threw together some very over rip Figs, a Cigar box I bought the other day and an antique Sea Chart recently given to me. I set up a reflector disc on the kitchen table and took maybe 10 shots with my 5D all of which I wasn't super excited about. Before I put the Figs in the fridge and called it a day, I shot this with my phone. I was pleased.

::In response::

2011-10-17T22:51:00.000-07:00

This morning I read an excellent commentary by ASMP's (American Society of Media Photographers) Executive Director Eugene Mopsik. I have been a member of this association for 6 years now. It was originally seen as a bit of an Insiders Club. You had to prove your worth and have sponsors to approve you and let you in at General Member level. Many argue that Asmp should reconsider their membership criteria. Well if a group simply stays inclusive what kind of momentum do you have? Here was my email I sent to Eugene Mopsik this afternoon.

Dear Eugene,
My name's Amanda Allen. I'm a 28 yr old freelance Photographer/Designer/Videographer in Seattle. I just read your Director's Commentary in the new Fall Bulletin while eating lunch and felt the urge to respond. I really agree with and appreciate what you expressed.
I am a proud AMSP Associate Member. I'm very grateful for the AMSP community in Seattle for many reasons. This year alone I've attended 4 ASMP sponsored talks on various topics, from Social Media Marketing, to HD DSLR Cinema techniques that have been very enlightening and enriching to my work. Attending ASMP events also allows me to catch up with seasoned Photographers I've assisted for, or my former College instructors who come to gain new information to pass on to their students.
Though I have been in the industry a mere 6 years and Photography does not bring in 100% of my income I take my work very seriously, and represent a really important portion of our industry and community. The Associate members around my age that I'm friends with are the folks that perhaps make your coffee in the morning or your cocktail at the end of day, or are maybe an editor at the magazine they also shoot for. Being a 'part time professional' allows me to make so many contacts out in the world in the most unexpected places that have led to many great Photo opportunities. The younger emerging photographers are also the ones who have a very keen and unique skill set. When I graduated from the Commercial Photography program at Seattle Central Community College in 2006, my class was the last to be required to use Wet Darkrooms, and the last one required to own a 4x5 View camera for the program. Many of us have now sold our 4x5's and purchased 5D's. It's a fantastic feeling when I'm working with a new client and I can not only provide them great images, but also perhaps a short video for their company, or redesign their website. In January I was shooting a 'Behind the Scenes' video of a music video production that was very nicely and professionally put together by an eclectic group of creative individuals all under the age of 30, whose day to day job titles overlap in a myriad of ways.
My point is Associate Members and especially young ones are a key demographic to ASMP's growth. Photographers are curious thinkers by nature and these days I see all around me in my friends and colleagues this curiosity leading us to be able to harness the constant changing technology in very beautiful and innovative ways.

Thank you for your time and your words.
Sincerely,
-Amanda

::love is old, love is new::

2011-10-15T22:38:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure why I have suddenly got so inspired by this image tonight. It's always framed in my kitchen. My Grandpa, Sterling J. Allen who past away 3 weeks before I was born. Short little guy with the big ears, second from the Right, top row.

::wise words::

2011-10-13T21:13:00.001-07:00

::one red thread::

2011-10-10T16:15:00.000-07:00

I've been coming across quite a number images on various blogs lately of this nature. This is by no means an original idea. I have though, always been someone intrigued by collections, artifacts, treasures and tools. Today I gathered up a few items that I'm currently using a lot, or that I hold particularly near and dear. See explanations below

Clockwise from top left:
1. Antique Bushnell Binoculars my grandpa used when hunting and hiking
2. Outdated guide to bike touring The San Juan Islands found recently for 50¢ at a yard sale
3. Clarks Desert Boots, purchased recently for a friends wedding now my favorite everyday shoes
4. New Letterpress business cards made by my friend Yuri
5. Antique cigarette box that was always a fixture on the china cabinet in the kitchen when I was a kid. My mom sent it to me as an Xmas gift a couple years ago with a little note inside, "Amanda I've had this box since before you were born"
6. Swiss Army Victorinox knife, commonly used on fishing boats, aka "a Vicky"
7. Raw Hemp twine used for the tag part of the new business cards (pretty rough on the fingertips)
8. Black Bandana given to me by my dad while camping at the beginning of this past summer, mostly used to wipe dust off computer screens

::Sacred History by Implied Violence::

2011-10-10T00:03:00.000-07:00

One of the weirdest and most beautiful events I've ever been privy to witness...

::RGB::

2011-10-06T17:26:00.000-07:00

I'm totally smitten with this new Seattle company making some fantastic Ginger/Lemon soda entirely by hand and about to open up a brewing/bottling operation and bar (Montana in Dec 2011) on Capitol Hill. These folks are sure a pleasure to work with. I'll be documenting the bottling process this coming Tuesday.

::Close the laundry door, Tiptoe across the floor::

2011-09-30T22:32:00.000-07:00

Sunday 9.25.11
Casey and I were amused by our almost matching outfits, including our ever present Canon cameras. We had a little light hearted late night "shoot out" in her living room in Portland. I love how the reflection of my legs in her lens looks like a big tooth.
Casey was shooting with a 50mm and me with a 28mm Wide Angle.

creative dorkiness at it's very best...

::know I lived it to the fullest::

2011-09-30T19:46:00.000-07:00

In pursuit of summer from Casey Parks on Vimeo.

I am living such a blessed existence to have some amazing, fun, hilarious, insanely/intensely creative, beautiful, kind friends. It's even better when you and a couple of those friends collaboratively shoot (a couple Canon 5D Mark II) and edit a document of a wonderful end of the summer trip to the San Juan Islands.

::fashion photographer???::

2011-09-29T14:50:00.000-07:00

Inspiration always seems to come from the most unexpected places. In the past months I've started perusing a couple of style/decor blogs that some friends of mine have created. The images I've been absorbing have subtly heightened my interest in high end clothing and all the little nice details contained in them. Then out of nowhere I find an ad one morning by a nice young guy, Jeff, here in Seattle seeking a photographer to work with on a style blog he's running. Even though I've long considered myself mostly a Food and Editorial shooter I responded to the ad and expressed that I thought I knew the aesthetic he's going for. Well guess who's now the new shooter for Look Young Speak Old !

::September 27, 2001::

2011-09-27T10:19:00.000-07:00

Joie de vivre: Hearty or carefree enjoyment of life. [French: joie, joy + de, of + vivre, to live, living]
Ex: She is admired for her energy and joie de vivre.

::I heard it was fun::

2011-09-26T21:45:00.000-07:00

I could've gone deeper into the dark, but this summer I traveled into the lightness. I'm not so much minding and dreading these darker days upon us. What's going on here is living! Some very special people in Portland I have the honor of knowing created this little synopsis in the photo booth at the Florida Room last night. Desert Sage in my teeth and a camera in my hand. Right in my element.

::Needful Things::

2011-09-25T17:50:00.000-07:00

Two weeks ago I woke up to a text message from Casey Parks saying she wanted to start a little project with me where we would only communicate through sending photos from our phones to each other for a week. After one week I felt that we had such a great momentum and interesting dialog going on I suggested we keep going for another week until we would see each other again in person in Portland. All together we have about 160 visual exchanges. Here's a little peek into what we made.

L: Amanda; R: Casey

L: Casey; R: Amanda

L: Casey; R: Amanda

L: Amanda; R: Casey

L: Amanda; R: Casey

L: Casey; R: Amanda

L: Amanda; R: Casey

L: Amanda; R: Casey

L: Casey; R: Amanda

L: Casey; R: Amanda

L: Casey; R: Amanda

L: Casey; R: Amanda

::Canadian Car Bomb::

2011-09-23T15:38:00.000-07:00

Happy first day of Autumn!
As I said in my last post my old friend Rachel has been in town this week for her 10 yr high school reunion. She arrived at my place late Sunday night. The wonderful Seattle weather we've been soaking up suddenly took a turn for the worst this weekend and Rachel and I both had the beginning hints of a cold.
I cant really take all the credit for this, Rachel is a pretty brilliant (and a tad demented) mixologist. Here's a step by step tutorial in how to make the most cold calming cure, the Canadian Car Bomb:

Start off with a generous pour of Crown Royal Whisky. (that's the Canadian part)

Make sure we each patient gets an equal dose.

Apply fresh squeezed Lemon juice.

Maybe a little more while you're at it, why not?

Finally place two Honey Menthol cough drops in each glass and add a generous spoonful of Honey and boiling hot water. The cough drops should audibly crack and disperse their medicinal qualities through out the beverage. It's especially soothing to kick back with some old Golden Girls episodes or The Colbert Report with a couple of these little numbers. Cheers!

::Dont let this fading summer pass you by::

2011-09-22T13:34:00.000-07:00

Exploring aboard the 'Jean D'. My old pal Rachel was in town from Chicago and gave me tour around her step dad's fishing boat.

::Sunday morning at the House of T&A::

2011-09-19T11:18:00.000-07:00

It's always a treat to attend a party then sleep over at Adam and Tasha's house. My surrogate older brother and sister always treat me to a great breakfast.

::eating well with others::

2011-09-13T13:04:00.000-07:00

The meals, conversations and good company never cease to disappoint.

::you are ahead by a century::

2011-09-11T11:57:00.000-07:00

::will I see you tonight, on a downtown train?::

2011-09-05T23:25:00.000-07:00

Perhaps the last hooray of summer. These ladies made it a special time. As cold as we woke up in the tent this morning, I know that we did this season well...

Wine fueled dance party on the cliffs at Doe Bay, why not?

::everyone becomes invisible in the land of dreams::

2011-09-01T23:21:00.000-07:00

Some of my favorite scenes from this past weekend up in Stanwood.

::Urban Land Army::

2011-09-01T20:35:00.000-07:00

This is my new friend Sandy Pederson. She hails from Saskatchewan Canada and grew up helping on her parents 100 acre Wheat farm. She runs a cool little organization called Urban Land Army She's been on a mission for a couple years salvaging buckets and any other vessel that will hold dirt and water, that is destined for the landfill and turning them into container gardens and showing folks how easy and awesome it is to grow your own food, even if you're in the city with a small plot of ground or in an apartment. Sandy also is a garden and landscaping consultant. She's putting together and simple instructional manual for her clients and I took some photos of her for this soon to be published manual in her fantastic thriving backyard garden in White Center.

::I'll follow the sun::

2011-08-25T21:28:00.000-07:00

I recently rediscovered "Sun Prints". My dear friend Casey told me awhile back that she'd made a sun print of me. I was really confused, then learned that she'd taken a film negative shot of me last Fall and made quick contact print with it one these cheap thin sheets of light sensitive paper.
I'd entirely forgotten all about joy of these little things! My younger cousins and I used to take these out in the back yard and lay sticks and pieces of plants on them (I think I tried a cat once) I told Casey when we made a couple of these prints together on a sunny afternoon in her apartment in Portland, that my cousins and I would rinse them in a "special solution" after they'd been exposed. Casey said "Oh I just use water" oops, my child mind and years of dark room training in college tricked the adult in me that it was some magical liquid that made these images appear.
Now I've been digging out old film negatives and some simple artifacts and making a couple of these ethereal images at home every morning.

"Some day you'll know I was the one,
But tomorrow may rain,
so I'll follow the sun"- The Beatles

::it takes a couple lifetimes::

2011-08-19T23:29:00.000-07:00

I've recently realized I've spent too much time disparate and distance from my parents. Not any more. For the first time in 6 years I spent a weekend with my dad/hero. Helping him carve out the foundation for his retirement cabin.
"No dress reherasals, this is our life" -tragically hip

::Matcha green tea simmering in the sunshine::

2011-08-17T12:36:00.000-07:00

My stomach, head and body as a whole finally feel okay again. In the past week i've probably consumed my weight in Kale.

::Crimson Beaver Tears::

2011-08-14T14:39:00.000-07:00

Lately I've been doing some product shots for my wonderful friends and neighbors Yuri and Joel who have been hard at work getting their new business Crimson Beaver Tears off the ground.
CBT offers super cool customizable monthly subscription packages of all the goods you might want for your "Lady Time" as we like to call it. Yuri has been seeking out the best quality herbs, candles, vitamins, tampons, chocolate etc, many of which are made by companies right here in Seattle. Go check em out if you're in need of some 'lady time' love.

::Specimens Part II::

2011-08-14T13:25:00.000-07:00

figure I. tiny moth + Yucca pods found in Austin, TX

figure II. Sage + Prickley Pear found in Painted Hills, OR

::It's cold in the desert, water never sees the ground::

2011-08-09T11:33:00.000-07:00

Eastern Oregon Desert Portraits, part 1.

::Keep the channel open::

2011-08-08T12:49:00.000-07:00

My dear longtime friend Lasara Jarvis has recently completed a pretty intense year training to become a certified Yoga Instructor. Lasara comes from a background of Modern Dance and knows so much about how our bodies work and move. She's always giving me little tips and ideas about my aches and pains and posture. She's started assisting and subbing many classes around Seattle. Check out her site for her current schedule if you finding yourself in need of a very friendly, silly, knowledgable and passionate person to practice Anasura Yoga with.
We did a little photo shoot in a beautiful overflowing community Pea Patch on Capitol Hill yesterday afternoon then had a great time editing and tweaking all the photos late into the evening. Lasara really wanted to mess around and try to achieve an "Instagram-y" feel to them. I'm pretty pleased.

::resting on your laurels::

2011-08-04T01:34:00.000-07:00

Saturday morning 7.30.2011 Mitchell, Oregon. Casey is dreaming up a great day...

::keep it light enough to travel::

2011-08-03T01:24:00.000-07:00

This morning I woke up in Portland Oregon. Tonight I'm back home in Seattle, in my own bed for the first time in 5 days.
I'm sitting on a ton of photos from my "transcendent" camping trip this weekend I need to get to posting.
Although I never left my time zone I'm feeling pretty car, train, and bus lagged; but oddly rejuvinated.

-Casey's kitchen window- 8.1.11

::product photography nightmare::

2011-07-25T12:46:00.000-07:00

I think my skills as a still life photographer just grew 10 fold last week working with this little number.

::tell me no love is like our love::

2011-07-21T19:20:00.001-07:00

My cute friends Heather & Michael are getting married in September. Last week I took some photos of them for their wedding announcements. It was a little hard simply because these 2 are so silly and ridiculous I couldn't hold my camera still while laughing through the whole shoot.

::Preservation:: - the making of some Strawberry jam

2011-07-07T22:22:00.000-07:00

::Sound Spirits Distillery::

2011-07-01T22:50:00.000-07:00

A very brief peek at the cool new company I'm working with. I never knew I could love Gin!
p.s It also doesnt hurt that this dude featured below, Kevin plays Banjo for The Maldives, in my opinion one the very best Alt Country bands on the map right now!

::Specimens::

2011-06-22T14:41:00.000-07:00

This past week I've been staying up late studying all the fascinating 'heirloom/heritage' seeds and plants offered in the Seed Savers Exchange Catalog and reading the article, "Food Ark", in this month's National Geographic.
"Agriculture isn't just about growing food; it includes trees, and other plants that produce fiber, control wind erosion, and shade livestock"

figure I. Dried Jalapeno Peppers + heirloom Trout Beans

figure II. Barlett Pear core + saved heirloom Lemon Tomato seeds to send off to Mom

figure III. Indian Paint Brush picked in Roslyn, WA + Ball Moss airplants that grow off Live Oaks in Texas

::walking far from home : wind & sun in my face::

2011-06-20T15:34:00.000-07:00

::Sunday market never ceases to amaze::

2011-06-07T14:16:00.001-07:00

::as a child I could::

2011-06-06T14:24:00.000-07:00

an ever so tiny selection of images from my trip up north last weekend to my old stomping grounds, Bellingham, Blaine and the British Columbia Lower Mainland in Canada. Visited the graves of my great and great great grandparents, met my new baby cousin, and started feeling a bit old myself. Funny that....

::my brain in overdrive::

2011-05-22T22:31:00.001-07:00

Whoa shit, still cant get over how cool this lady is:: What if I AM good enough?

::We are love, we are fate, we are the feeling you get in the golden state::

2011-05-20T22:23:00.000-07:00

Wednesday afternoon I embarked upon a jont down to San Francisco/Berkeley. Such a fun and too short 24 hours in the Bay Area. Badminton in the yard, picking oranges, riding a bike that really put my legs to the test...
I've daydreamed for a long time about just showing up unexpected to surprise someone so near and dear. So fun to just to get on a plane and then waltz through the back gate with a fresh bunch of Asparagus in hand, tied with a ribbon and walk in the back door, hug and surprise Erin for her 30th bday!

::what I want is right here with you::

2011-05-16T22:33:00.000-07:00

Propping the cutting board up against the window sill with my knee trying to capture the Artichoke before I put it in the pot, before Michelle and Banjo got back from their evening walk. Trying to channel Penny's words "you need to work beyond your photographic cliche" And then I think, sometimes I really need to just focus on the task at hand, which is not always creating a great image, but tonight it was creating a great meal for my love and I. Done and done.
Opened some wine, watched the Fleetwood Mac episode of GLEE and called it (a wonderful) day.

::I'll bring my heart, I'll bring my face, you name the time & place::

2011-05-14T00:26:00.000-07:00

I dont get "star struck" that often. We are just who we are, everyday human being folks. Thats what I constantly tell myself & what I hope for.

When we are trying so damn hard and studying everyday it gets a little complicated and convoluted sometimes...

It felt very amazing today to have the chance to converse with (and genuinely hug) this woman, I admire & ask her what makes her tick, and keeps her going...
Today I sat face to face to Penny De La Sos Santos. I've been soo charged by her work for years now, and it's hard to explain what struck me in the beginning about her photo work, be it the warmth, the humility, but it sticks in my mind every time I go out and create a new image, for an assignment or for simple longing of creating.

I've had some amazing schooling, and amazing advice drummed into me for which I'm grateful for... BUT! What I need is to be there with my head and heart more often/all the time.

We are perhaps at the hardest point ever $$$ wise, but I'm so glad I'm alive right now and absorbing this as it happens.

This is such a perfect glimpse at this lady; this is from a magazine I happened upon while I was in Austin 3 weeks ago.

(photo by: Michael Thad Carter for L Style)

::Transplanting::

2011-05-13T17:32:00.000-07:00

Even on sick days I cant seem to sit still and not have my hands in some sort of task. Welcome to my new Sage plant; the replacement to the one that died of neglect while I was away in Texas.

::Tasting Texas::

2011-05-09T17:15:00.001-07:00

The found, and the savored.

::this moment 4.3.11::

2011-05-09T17:13:00.001-07:00

::Austin, as I see it, part I::

2011-05-09T17:04:00.000-07:00

Hot days, warms nights outside, buzzing bugs, barking dogs, right in my element.

::Learning to love more::

2011-04-20T13:53:00.000-07:00

It's hard to know what to say about these photos below. For the past few months my girlfriend Michelle has been volunteering with a great organization in Seattle, Saving Great Animals that facilitates animal rescuing, fostering and adopting. I've known from a young age the importance and the reasoning behind why we must spay and neuter our pets, and why it's not wise to buy animals support the breeding industry; but it blows my mind and saddens me so much how much ignorance still surrounds this. It's an overwhelming task to advocate and care for all these unwanted animals who have so much love, personality and potential in them. I could go on and on...
All these animals below are at a rescue shelter in Burien, WA.

::Just when I needed this the most::

2011-04-07T12:15:00.001-07:00

A short and sweet little inspirational pick me up.
Found through aphotoeditor.com an excellent resource that discusses many different area of the Commercial Photography industry.

::neither here nor there::

2011-04-06T16:12:00.000-07:00

I've really been lacking in my posts lately. This hit and miss overly chilly and rainy April weather we've been having up here in Seattle hasn't led to much energy or inspiration lately. I've also gone into a bit of creative hibernation and taking some time to reevaluate my creative goals.
Finally this afternoon the sun was out in full force and flooding into my apartment. I grabbed my camera off the bedside table and got excited about taking some photos of a couple serene little scenes around the new apartment.
As for the antlers, they're fake, cast resin.

::Exploratory Insight::

2011-03-23T15:22:00.000-07:00

I'm currently in my second week of an online course called Do What You Love, that focuses on solidifying what exactly it is you want and need to be doing with your life and career, and is specifically geared towards visual artists.
This first week really focused on exploring our environment and becoming more aware of the small details that with our hustle bustle lives seem to get looked over and let go. I've been trying to cut my time spent in front of the computer and get out and about; and also take photos just for the fun of it and not worry about their "commercial value"....

(click on image to view larger)

::I wake up in the mornin'...::

2011-03-21T20:04:00.000-07:00

Yesterday morning I took part in the Big Climb at Columbia Tower. I was part of a Documentary film crew yesterday in support of Frankie's Fan team yesterday put together by Director Matthew Barraro.
For 25 years there has been a fundraising race to the top the 2nd tallest building on the West Coast in support of Leukemia and Lymphoma research... (69 stories to be exact)
I got choked up a few times, and had a hard time holding my camera still, especially while interviewing Kelly, the mom of Frankie who died at 13 months from Luekemia...

::Down by the bay, where the watermelons grow::

2011-03-08T11:24:00.001-08:00

Last Thursday's impromptu trip up to the wilds of Whatcom County:

After all the hiking, beach playing, and burritos we ended the evening at the Green Frog Tavern for a couple pints and some dog tricks with Neko and in house bar hound Rasputin.

::It's official!::

2011-03-05T19:57:00.000-08:00

Back when I was a young teenager I spent a great many hours obsessively watching Mtv, that is back when they still played music videos and not pointless teenage reality shows. My hey day of inspiration was circa 1997; Beck, Smashing Pumpkins, Oasis, Alanis Morissette, Foo Fighters, Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Anyway this morning was pretty exciting as the video for "Lost In My Mind" by Seattle band The Head and the Heart, premiered as one of Mtv.com's buzzworthy videos.
It's pretty dorky to say but it chokes me up a little watching this come to life, having been part of the crew who put this together. I must commend Director Christian Hansen and Producer Bobby McHugh for scouting out the perfect secluded spot for this. Shot in a small open valley just outside of Leavenworth, WA where the acoustics were so awesome; The Head and The Heart's harmony's echoing off the hills under the full moon as it got dark.
Little 12 year old me who was crazy about the way songs can become something cinematic, is pretty happy she ended up here.
P.S. the 'behind the scenes documentary' I made for this production can be seen here

::a measure of the way things change::

2011-02-24T23:15:00.000-08:00

I'm soo glad in this week of stressing out Ive had some moments of placid pleasantry!

::in between seasons:I miss days like these::

2011-02-13T18:14:00.000-08:00

fig.1 Idaho, August

fig.2 Seattle, January

The making of "Lost In My Mind"

2011-02-10T16:54:00.000-08:00

Woo Hoo! It's done!
I got the awesome opportunity to film a small behind the scenes document of the making of the video for "Lost In My Mind" by fantastic Seattle band The Head and The Heart. I saw these folks open for Hey Marseilles (another fantastic pacific northwest band) at the Tractor Tavern back in May of 2010 and have been listening to them and attending their shows ever since.
I shot this with a Canon 5D Mark II 35mm digital SLR camera with a small shotgun microphone mounted on the camera's hot shoe; over the course of 24 hours in Leavenworth Washington 3 weeks ago. I really wanted to capture all the creativity, ingenuity, humor, and hard work that went into this production. The official music video directed by Christian Hansen will be released by SubPop Records this weekend just in time for Valentines Day.

Behind the scenes of "Lost In My Mind" from amanda allen on Vimeo.

::beautiful sunday silence::

2011-02-07T19:42:00.000-08:00

::I cant keep no secrets, I wish that you would always stay::

2011-01-31T18:23:00.000-08:00

::Today, I'm thinking of you in a new way::

2011-01-25T12:34:00.001-08:00

My first site of the morning.

::sneak peak @ the production of "Lost in my Mind"

2011-01-21T17:38:00.000-08:00

The past couple days found me amongst a small crew of about 10 folks out in the Cascade mountains in Winton, WA just outside of Leavenworth. We headed out with a rickety old piano and 60 house lamps to assemble a set for the video of "Lost in my Mind" by up and coming/blowing up pacific northwest band, The Head and the Heart. This was such a perfect setting for this song, that I gorged myself a bit too much on this past summer, and which is so "up lifting" and inspiring. It was incredibly cold and a bit hard fumbling in snowshoes, burying lamps in the snow and having 2 cameras strapped on me as I was filming a tiny behind the scenes document of the making of the video, and also getting even a bit sunburned out there in the snow at a high altitude for 10 hours. I'm so excited to start working on the editing of my small video and see the finished product of director Christian Hansen-Sorrenson's vision soon....

::new year, new takes::

2011-01-14T22:36:00.000-08:00

I've been a busy bee lately, putting together images to submit to stockfood.com to hopefully get represented by their agency.
Producing some new images to beef up my portfolio has been my biggest task for the past couple weeks, and such a huge challenge. I feel like I'm constantly fighting and racing to utilize the very limited grey gloomy daylight hours to shoot with; kinda wishing I still had my studio to work in...

::Put something in::

2011-01-10T23:23:00.000-08:00

"Draw a crazy picture,
Write a nutty poem,
Sing a mumble-gumble song,
Whistle through your comb,
Do a looney-gonney dance
'cross the kitchen floor,
Put something silly in the world
That aint been there before." -Shel Silverstein (from A Light in the Attic © 1981)

::Didn't want to be anyone's ghost::

2011-01-05T11:33:00.000-08:00

My brain is screaming for sunshine, motivation, and longer days. It's so hard to get up and going at a decent hour when it's so dark and windy outside my window. I'm longing for the feeling of San Francisco... Austin... Los Angeles....

::brother in arms::

2010-12-29T15:56:00.001-08:00

I am not an early riser by any means especially when I've been sick for the past week. This morning I had set my alarm to wake up promptly and tune into KEXP to hear my friend Jack Wilson playing live on John Richards morning show.
Jack is a sorta goofy and nefarious fella in my life. A fantastically talented and friendly guy, living half the year in Austin Texas and half the year here in Seattle.We used to work together couple years ago and although he was a self admitted pretty damn lazy bar back and prep cook who annoyed the shit out of us all I still have a funny fondness for him.
I curled up cozy in bed under my new blankets with the 9am sun coming in the window and listened to Jacks twangy voice coming over the airwaves. It made me so lonesome for the warm winter days I spent in Austin 2 years ago and also the freezing cold afternoon him and I spent last March on the porch of his old house in Seattle the day before he drove back to Austin.
I was shooting photos of him with a camera I was about to sell, and drinking whiskey while he played me some new songs.

" Lets make a photograph, lets make a Polaroid...
I'll stay off the pills, the thrills, I am not a falling star..."

::Lord have mercy on my rough and rowdy ways::

2010-12-27T23:49:00.000-08:00

It's December 27th. I feel soooo excited about the new year upon us.
My dear dear friend Xan is in town from New York for the holidays.
Her and I have this tradition we started on Easter 2007 of sending paper boats out to sea with wishes/resolutions/things we want to banish from our lives/things we want to manifest, written and tied up and on board. We braved the freezing rain at the Olympic Sculpture Park, set our feet in the sand and let go.....

::feels like I've been drivin' north, it's getting colder by the mile::

2010-12-19T22:50:00.000-08:00

*please note, the political opinions expressed in this blog post are not necessarily those of Amanda Allen, in fact they TOTALLY are not!
A small cozy recap of my little weekend family gathering in Whatcom County for my cousin Eddys wedding:

::completely unrelated::

2010-12-12T22:16:00.000-08:00

Last night my mom was rubbing elbows at an inaguration party in Pahala Hawaii for the new Democratic governor of Hawaii, Neil Abercrombie. It just makes me so proud and happy and reminds me of this funny little moment when I probably 12 when my mom pulling out of the library parking lot one afternoon and I asked her "so whats the difference between a republican and a democrat?" She responded very vaguely but genuinely with,
"well your great grandma was a democrat and our whole family has always voted democrat because democrats are about fairness and are for the people and that's just the way it is"....

::feels so late by 4pm::

2010-12-12T17:04:00.000-08:00

"Take me to the dance and hold me tight I want to see the bright lights tonight"

::here we go again::

2010-12-07T15:40:00.000-08:00

I seem to have such a tough time making decisions. I get so worked up and feel like I must be the most indecisive and easily distracted person on the planet...
4.5 years ago I graduated with a degree in Commercial Photography and huge naive hopes. Since then I worked among some of the best in Seattle, catalog shoots, music videos, meeting some of the most talented chefs, fashion designers and athletes this small big city has to offer and have had a very respectable amount of my work published.
Still, it has been very hard to carve out a full time career this way. I blame the Economy, the ever changing trends in modern media and technology, and of course my own damn motivation and attention span that I constantly grapple with.
A few months ago I got the notion to explore taking a different route.
I applied for the Masters in Clinical Psychology with a focus in the field of Art Therapy at Antioch University here in Seattle. Perhaps a nice steady career merging my huge interests in Psychology, Mental Health and Creativity would be the answer.
Everything was good to go I was one step away from being fully signed up for classes and the next new chapter of my life in January. But last night over dinner with my girlfriend Michelle and our friend Danny at Via Tribunali in Georgetown we got into a serious talk about jobs and careers (Michelle and Danny both work as producers for the A&E channel) it hit me that my heart is truly belongs in Photography, Media and Art Direction.
It's without a doubt the only thing I've never grown sick of or lost interest in for the past 12 years and is always there for me.
Long story short, this morning I deferred on school for a year, my place is still saved, weather I ever pick it back up, well we shall see...
I'm buckling down to give this yet another good, hard, go.

(photo by Casey Parks)

::vacation in the city::

2010-12-02T14:16:00.000-08:00

After all the Thanksgiving and brief snow storm hubbub I had a little 29th birthday surprise for Michelle. Friday we headed downtown for a for a fun fancy dinner at the Pink Door in Pike Place Market and then for a night's stay at the ACE Hotel. I've been wanting to go there just for fun for months and months and finally had a good excuse. I got caught by housekeeping nabbing some souvenir boxes of matches and condoms off a cart in the hallway and then I accidentally went home with the room key. I suppose we could now just go let ourselves back into room 121 any time we like....

::snow day::

2010-11-24T15:42:00.000-08:00

For the past couple days the Pacific Northwest has been under siege it seems. Temps in the low 20's and ice on the roads are not things we handle very well in this normally temperate climate. But with a quick visit from my dear friend Casey from Portland and holed up with my girlfriend Michelle and her cat drinking tea and watching Law & Order, I really cant complain...

::I miss it::

2010-11-18T13:52:00.000-08:00

I left Hawaii a week ago today.

Mango Road in the Puna District aka Lava Zone 3

::today's inspiration::

2010-11-17T13:12:00.000-08:00

As a life long creative person, a person who has been diagnosed with ADD and someone consider entering the world of Grad school this little film really resonated with me.

::mountains beyond mountains::

2010-11-16T15:09:00.000-08:00

snippets from the trip...

::This::

2010-11-15T21:45:00.001-08:00

sol·id-state*
–adjective
designating or pertaining to electronic devices, as transistors or crystals, that can control current without the use of moving parts, heated filaments, or vacuum gaps.
Origin:
1965–70

I'm not sure why I woke up with this* term in my head this morning. I've been having the most incredibly epic, fun dreams as of late...
This evening I'm spending some time with a new batch of secrets I discovered while back home in Hawaii last week; another beautiful little example of my dad's childhood stamp collection gathered and meticulously saved while he was growing up in Italy, Turkey, Germany, and Kansas.
As I get older and realize more and more of the funny disconnects within my immediate family sometimes it's hard for me to really see and feel my ties and lineage, but shuffling through these thin fragile artifacts I feel part of it all.

::off the map::

2010-11-08T11:05:00.000-08:00

Postcards from the Big Island
::north end::

::south end::

::dont follow your head, follow your heart::

2010-11-02T13:54:00.000-07:00

November 1st, Dia De Los Muertos (Day of the Dead)
Here we are at one of my favorite haunts (not pun intended) back on the Big Island. Ho'okena Beach just south of Kailua-Kona, an old shipping port and former hang out of Mark Twain.
I thought this would be a great place for Michelle to say goodbye and toss in the small handful of ashes she was given of her friend Sara who recently passed on August 1st of this year. My mom encouraged her to pour the ashes into a little tissue paper pouch and with a lava rock to weight it down as to make it easier to toss out into the water where it's really windy. The tissue paper quickly dissolved and the ashes were dispersed out into the Pacific.

::reminder::

2010-10-26T16:21:00.001-07:00

King County general elections, November 2nd. Get out and do it! Or if you're like me, figure out where you've hidden your ballot from yourself.

::collaborative endeavors::

2010-10-25T13:01:00.000-07:00

Last month, I headed down to Portland for the weekend, lighting it in tow to lend a hand to my my good friend Casey's on going interview video project. At the last minute I ended up getting put in charge of recording the audio as well. Hours of giant headphones on my little ears, holding a mic that magnified even the tiniest little sounds of cars outside, and the Clearwire transmitter on the roof of Casey's building .
This video is the first in a series of 2 we shot that day, more to follow....

Questions: Who did you want to be when you grew up? from Casey Parks on Vimeo.

::I get lost in my mind::

2010-10-17T21:20:00.000-07:00

Wow what a fast and tiresome week. While my brain is blanking out, and anticipating attending an open house on Tuesday to what could very well be the path that leads me to my Master's degree.
I dont have much new to report.
Therefore, once again I would like to guide you to the fun, curious, down to earth work and explorations of my dear friend
Casey Parks Whom I see often, but not often enough.