reminders:

I had forgotten how exciting and nerve-wracking film photography can be. i was dancing the whole day, and then more on the way to the developer, and then three times that on my way home after picking up the negatives. then it progressed to straight-out squealing when i saw the photos. 

so embarrassing. 

Good Karma.

last week we had a "pay it forward" project at the club. we spent all week planning, calling,  organizing and getting everything ready. come friday, i drove our 15 person van all over town, full of squealing and squirrelly teenagers. i would pull over discreetly (okay, almost discreetly) on neighborhood streets and seconds later, the van doors would be thrown open and one of my kids would bolt out, sprinting down the sidewalk, giant pinwheel in hand. after reaching the house of one of our cute grandmas, volunteers or single moms we had in mind, they dropped off their pinwheel with a little note on kindness and paying it forward. they would make it back into the van with a face flush with excitement and adrenaline and i would peel off into the sunset. the night was full of heart busting random acts of kindness and i loved seeing my kiddies have fun and feel good helping others.
postscript: four hours in a van with 13 teenagers is one heck of a trip. whining, complaining and farting, oh my!

anyways, after driving around town with my hooligan children for hours and keeping my cool, i felt like i was home free in collecting my month's worth of good karma points. and i was right. i met the sweetest man at a photography gallery later in the weekend and he let me test out one of his cameras! i then promptly bought some film and took to the mountains. and these were the results.
what would i do without the kindness of others?

Meet Penny

The penny farthing bicycle that I found in Aztec, New Mexico and promptly bought. The penny farthing bike that was stuffed into my car and then seven hours and over 400 miles later was revealed to my beyond elated grandfather and ridden by every family member up and down the street. The penny farthing bicycle that is now prominently displayed in my grandpa's front room for all the neighbors to see.

hoodoos and goblins

 Visited Goblin Valley State Park in Utah and couldn't help but imagine it being the best place in the entire United States to play hide-and-seek. and capture the flag. and sardines. and to have a picnic. and in that order preferably.

The Ultimate Procrastinator

I should be packing. I should be doing a million things. But all I seem to be doing is watching the olympics and editing photos. So productive, huh? Maybe I'm just avoiding the inevitable fact that I have to leave the best apartment in the entire state of New Mexico. Farewell 200 S. Main. I will miss your glorious windows, hardwood floors and 7 billion bedrooms.

also a million thanks to all the friends and family that visited me in my own personal hotel. (also, tylah & juan kill me every time .)

Sometimes I come up with really weird/fantastic photo ideas.

Please ignore the fact that i have posted more photos of myself in past few weeks than ever before and focus on how good of a photographer my mother is. considering my mom sees more of my freaky faces than anyone else, she timed these shots perfectly catching non-freaky faces and you can't even tell how much of a weirdo i am. what are moms for huh?

i know the best people.

when i think about it, my life is full of people who humor me endlessly. they smile and say, "fiiiiine, kylie. sure." when i am obnoxious and have ridiculous ideas like driving three hours just for a photoshoot, or when i ask them to pose for me in outrageous getups and laughable situations and genuinely questionable scenarios and oh so many jump shots. you know who you are and i love you for it.


speaking of some of those people i love who have graciously humored me my entire life:

 

Part two:

All the best things happen in the desert. (even alien sightings)

Kylie, you're a nut.

And below is part one of my alien abduction photo series. hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha.
Yes, I did just say that.

Roswell: town of aliens and weirdos.

Let me get this straight. I will be the first to admit that I'm a bit weird. I mean, I willingly walked around town with a tin foil hat and bra for a solid hour, just because I thought it was funny. Totally weird, right? Agreed. But all my weird combined still didn't make me the weirdest person in town. Good on yah Roswell, for making me feel more normal. That being said, I might need to explain that my inspiration for these photos was part ninja/alien/tourist. It's also very clear that I need to quit my day job and become a model. And that my mother is a saint, not only for humoring me, but for taking my photo, and also donning tin foil antennas of her own.