officious photography bitch

the summer issue of boise is out, and one of my photos was used for the cover! i had one article on foraging in boise, another on picking huckleberries, and one about a local wood artist. i also got to do the photos for my mom’s article on busking, and i spotted an old stock photo i took of a blue heron used for the background of an ad.

yesterday i turned in my article on red light variety show. weeks ago i did a group interview with all the members at once, and it was total ADHD insanity but that was perfect, i got just what i wanted. the group asked me to be their officious photography bitch and i’m happy to oblige. next month we’re doing a photo shoot up in idaho city. there are so many great settings to choose from in that little ghost town. and i’m planning out a whole truckload of props to bring along.

work has been crazy lately--both realsies work and freelance work. i’ve been busy, hence the lack of posts. at realsies work (that’s what i call it, because it’s for realsies) we’ve had summer writing camps going for the last five weeks. sometimes upwards of 11 classes going on at the same time. once in a while i get to substitute TA, which can be a lot of fun. one week i escorted a group of hyperactive third and fourth graders on a trip to the zoo. it was absolute chaos. another group was junior high age kids and they didn’t need much help, so i mostly took pictures and participated in the class. it was like being a little camper again.

i befriended a kid the last time i TAed. that’s bizarre, because i normally don’t enjoy the company of young humans, but this one was different. she’s only 11 but she’s so mature and smart, she clearly didn’t understand or identify with the other kids in her class who were constantly goofing off and raving about harry potter. she kept giving me this look like, what the hell is their problem? she got visibly upset when she found out i was only subbing for one day, but i got to see her a few more times, and she always ran up and gave me a big hug. super adorable.

there are a lot of staff changes going on right now and it looks like in a few months my job will change focus a bit. we’ll most likely be dipping our toes a little deeper into book publishing, and i’ll become the text and photo editor. i’ve already been doing lots of photography (events and camps) and some graphic design (an event poster, a writing program brochure, graduation certificates for campers, etc.)--and the other day i got to order 11x14 poster board prints of a dozen of my camp photos, to use as decoration. most exciting, though, is getting to design a book cover! front, back and spine, using my photos. it feels amazing to be at a place where i can be creative and contribute so much of what i like to do.