If you show a picture of a cute little Labrador, or maybe even a furry little kitten to Yvette, she will agree that they are cute. Really though, she is thinking to herself that nothing can be as cute as an elephant, especially the one in her favorite photo ever, an elephant covered in a bright orange rain jacket. To tell you the truth, I used to be not quite sure what was so cute about elephants. They are big, grey (although this is Yvette's favorite color, and undoubtedly great), and wrinkly. I thought this until Yvette walked into class with this shirt today and I had a revelation. As you can see we have a little hipster elephant (you can tell because of the glasses) taking a picture of him/herself and if I am correct is holding up a peace sign. If only all elephants actually acted like this, our world would be perfect. Some people want to end global warming or find a cure for cancer, and these are very noble causes indeed, but I have found a new cause that affects elephants all over the world; they do not have thumbs. This widespread epidemic must come to an end and I promise that 20% of our earnings will go towards research for this pressing cause. I have a dream. That one day all elephants, big and small, will have thumbs on their tusks to take pictures of themselves when no other elephant will dare to do so. I HAVE A DREAM.

Happy Halloween! And our awesome pho-toe pah-sss...

Some thoughts on photography:

Sometimes it isn't what is in a picture but how it is taken and the lighting that makes it awesome. Photos can be very evocative, and they often conjure up memories for the photographer -- warmth, home, etc. You can take a picture of an amazing event yet still end up with an average picture. You can even take that picture with the most expensive camera in the world and it will not guarantee that you will end up with a eye catching picture.

(from YC) Sometimes I feel like we are all waiting for the perfect moment. We are always hoping for something better, waiting for the big moment. This applies to me in many aspects of my life, but also photography. I'm always waiting for the big storm, the crazy scene, whatever, to photograph. What is hard is to look at the seemingly mundane -- my house, the fields in front of my house, places that I have known for my entire life -- and see them in a different way. One day I hope to be photographing in Africa or some far away fairly unfamiliar land, but for now, I have to keep my eyes open and try my best at self expression and experimenting with new techniques. We are forced to find beauty and interest in the simplest things, and although we might make fun of Jake and his fire hydrant photos, in the end, it is this intrigue that drives our lives and makes them so much more fulfilling.

Yvette just chillen on top of the chairs...in the middle of the theater. Yeah, this what we do for fun. Much better than sitting in study hall, I mean, geesh, in study hall you actually have to sit ON the chair, and people don't even take pictures of you doing it.

Pretty much a microcosm of our lives. As you can see from the list, working on the blog is our first priority and studying for art history is a last resort....also my awesome phone/phone cover (which is no longer on my awesome phone) along with my beloved purple sharpie which has been "borrowed" from the art room. Headphones are essential (especially now that Yvette showed me the amazing NPR Tiny Desk concerts). Water for hydrating is also essential (if you are an....) and Yvette's lens cap, which if you didn't know, goes on a camera...a camera is kinda important when you have a photography blog.

Before the crazy snow...

Negative print. Why do I find dishwashers so amusing?!??!??

Yellow rusty fire hydrants, so not mainstream. Also kinda reminds me of the red cousin of his that I ran into during the summer; damn malicious fire hydrants.

Oh, winter how much I despise you....at least the trees look pretty cool

How come washed out signs that prohibit people from entering a certain place and workers on the roof of the school amuse me so much??!?

Just chillin' outside the school...ya know the usual, just takin' some pics of trees and random workers on top of the roof, no big deal...just an average day.

We have not given up on the blog! Just a bit busy; Jake with you know what (no more direct references, it's getting old), and me applying to college (except I haven't even started....), trying to do a billion studio assignments in the span of a week (hi Mr. Leventhal),...and another time consuming activity that will remain unnamed.

Here's a pic though. Sandwiched negatives in the darkroom. (Exciting!)

Yvette posing for a pic on a lovely afternoon at south, also a beautiful flower... too bad its fake

Just foolin' around...

Jake's water bottle.

Our home base; the art room.

YC

Yeah, an average person would see this as a basketball hoop and a couple lights....but to an elite photographer like me, this looks like a face!

What we do....

-Sit on ladders
-Blog
-Take pics
(Jake also runs...I'm not sure if you know this but he is an elite runner)

Weird light coming out of the trees at 9pm. UFO landing in West Windsor?

You wish you were as cool as us.

Since this is one of my first posts you may not know but I run cross country. A couple days ago, we had a meet against our rival team North. This year, our team is ranked 13th in the nation. Going against our rival school North was not the most challenging of meets we have had this year, but nevertheless, all the top kids on the team (me, my brother, Dan Sheldon, etc.) did a workout and led the team to victory. The last couple meets we have had left us discouraged because we were not performing up to our potential, and the meet on Tuesday was a turning point.

Note: I would just like to say that my blog buddy Yvette is also very skilled at a plethora of activities, despite the fact that she isn't in the newspaper every week....

Went to the 9/11 memorial at Mercer County Park this morning. September 11th inevitably reminds me of the war in Afghanistan, which we just passed the 10 year mark for...at least 1,700 American soldiers have died; 1,500 from the Afghan National Army; 10,000 insurgents; more than 10,000 civilians.

Eisenhower said it best...
Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed. This world in arms is not spending money alone. It is spending the sweat of its laborers, the genius of its scientists, the hopes of its children. The cost of one modern heavy bomber is this: a modern brick school in more than 30 cities. It is two electric power plants, each serving a town of 60,000 population. It is two fine, fully equipped hospitals. It is some fifty miles of concrete pavement. We pay for a single fighter plane with a half million bushels of wheat. We pay for a single destroyer with new homes that could have housed more than 8,000 people. This is, I repeat, the best way of life to be found on the road the world has been taking. This is not a way of life at all, in any true sense. Under the cloud of threatening war, it is humanity hanging from a cross of iron. … Is there no other way the world may live?

The Rules to success

1. Trust yourself
2. break the rules once in a while
3. don't be afraid to fail
4. don't listen to naysayers
5. work hard
6. always find time to give back

First post on onethousand&one words (just messin around with some scraps in the art room, typical study hall with nothing to do)