focused on infinity

Au revoir (for now).

2011-01-03T01:18:00.000-05:00

I've been taking more pictures lately and today I finally got around to uploading them. I think with everything that is on my plate lately it will be easier for me not to post them here though. I enjoyed the time I spent here and maybe someday I'll return. I think I will mostly be sticking to Flickr as it is far less time consuming. My username there is Accidental Song or you can click here for a direct link.

One more for the road...


Off my first roll with the Holga.

See you around!

October Summary

2010-10-31T12:54:00.000-04:00

October came and went way too fast. I kept meaning to update but couldn't find the time. (Well, didn't make the time is a bit more accurate). So today I'm just posting a quick collage rather than trying to play catch-up like I originally intended. Instead I'm going to try and focus more on next month's endeavors. Which may include some film shots from my new Holga (which I am super excited about). My goal for next month is to make more blog posts than I did in July (13).

See you next month!

i cross my heart & hope to die, these dreams of yours are gonna fly.

2010-10-13T12:55:00.000-04:00

Lately I've been feeling lost. I've hardly been using my cameras. I don't go adventuring. I stay home with Dan every night. I feel like my lifeforce has been sucked out of me. Everything is at a standstill. I think I just need to try hardfer. I'm not ready to abandon my dreams yet.

change of pace.

2010-10-04T00:16:00.000-04:00

Last week my friend Peter asked me if I'd be willing to do a shoot for him. His manager needed updated pictures of him in underwear. It's something I'd never done before but being my good friend I wanted to help him out. I was a little anxious, especially about finding the perfect location. I don't own indoor lighting, and trying to think of a good spot for the shoot, especially based on the content, was proving to be a challenge. Eventually I spoke with Adam from Bellamia Studios and he was nice enough to lend me his studio for the day. The finished product (although far from perfect) is something I am proud of.

This was such a new experience for me, I've never used studio lighting outside from my work. It was different and I had so much fun. Peter is a fantastic person and friend. I couldn't have asked for a better model and I look forward to hopefully getting to do this again in the future.

Royal Pines with Dan

2010-09-15T02:05:00.002-04:00

I unfortunately haven't been out with my camera for a while due to a number of different things. But about a month ago Dan and I went to Royal Pines, a nearby nature park. We had a good time, I tested out my lensbaby but didn't come home with anything that didn't make me dizzy looking at it. Here are a few of the shots with my regular lens though.

Hopefully I'll be able to get out with my camera and post some new stuff soon!

2010-08-28T21:51:00.000-04:00

Dan and I recently went to Orlando. We went to see Something Corporate, one of my favorite bands ever. While we were there I kept my camera put away, opting mostly just to use the Hipstamatic app for my phone rather than dragging a DSLR around with me. But on the ride home I took her out (clover, my camera). I also successfully turned a 2 1/2 hour drive into a 4+ hour drive by taking us way north of where we ever had any business of being. This did get us sidetracked to Cassadaga (the psychic capitol of the world) somehow, which didn't bother me any. The whole being lost thing didn't actually really bother either of us. The drive was way too beautiful for that!

The only picture I really got of Cassadaga. Now I want to go back!

Dan was driving...

...I was playing.

The biggest rainbow ever, caught very snapshotty through my front window.

Sunset and me in the mirror.

I always save my favorite for last, don't I?

I heart faces Week 34 - Beach Fun

2010-08-24T12:53:00.000-04:00

This week's challenge at I Heart Faces is "Beach Fun". Living in Florida how could I resist!

Hands Across the Sand 06/26/10

This was taken at the Hands Across the Sand rally in Lake Worth, Fl. There were actually demonstrations going on all across America's shorelines to stop off shore drilling in lieu of the BP oil spill. The line was 1,000 people long in Lake Worth and I was lucky enough to get to capture a small section of that line.

Hey there, Lanuria.

2010-08-22T20:05:00.001-04:00

Dear Courtney,

As I write this letter you are already getting settled in the Land of Snow and Cheese. I want to keep it short and simple and just say I will miss you in about a month since that is about how often we hung out. Also, I look forward to my new life as your e-friend. Now for some pictures!

You are always representin' Azeroth.


'splorin Lake Okeechobee.

Posing for me makes me happy!

Wonder who you're texting?

More posing for the camera.

And the guy who's stealing you away from me, well he's pretty cool (and he puts up with you), so I guess it's okay with me.

That doesn't mean Dan and I will miss you any less. Come back and visit soon, bring cheese, etc.

The three of us, adventuring.

Love,
Tara

P.S. Be happy I didn't post the embarrassing pictures. =P

There is wonder to be found in those pages...

2010-08-09T11:42:00.000-04:00

Reading is definitely up there in my favorite things to do, so when I noticed my Memere and Goddaughter reading "James and the Giant Peach" together I couldn't help but sneak a photo.

My new toy!

2010-08-05T22:07:00.000-04:00

Happy birthday to me! My family all threw in and ordered me the LensBaby Composer for my birthday. I was super excited when UPS was at my door today. I'm even more excited to take my new baby out and play with her. I'm sure there will be pics to follow.

Self Portraits: Feet

2010-08-04T12:34:00.001-04:00

So, I'm home sick from work and I have nothing to do and no new pictures taken (it's been a busy week). I was going through my old pictures and realized I take pictures of my shoes/feet a lot. So here they are. Feet self portraits!


This one was taken with a film camera in my mom's backyard three years ago.


Another one from three years ago. My legs look kind of awkward but I like the lyrics I wrote.

These four were all at Wakodahatchee, one of my favorite places in the world, at different times throughout the past two or so years.


Taken at Halpatiokee. When I lived in Stuart.

With my feet on the dash the world doesn't matter.

Those lyrics above happen to be one of my favorite lines from a song. I feel like it's one of the truest statements ever. When I'm riding in the car with Dan and our cameras, no matter where we are going or what's going on in life, I am happy. I'm with him doing what I love and nothing else matters. Pure bliss.

Tropical Storm Bonnie?

2010-07-29T08:00:00.002-04:00

Dan and I heard a tropical storm was headed our way, so to prepare for impact we... grabbed our cameras and went to the beach. However, we were sorely disappointed when we received barely any rain and only slight gusts of wind.

Of course I still took some shots of Palm Beach. You can see the "storm" in one of them. As much as I wished there was a bit more of a show, I am happy to say that South Florida was kept safe and sound.

Meet Ziva...

2010-07-29T00:26:00.000-04:00

She's our new puppy. Well dog, she's a year old. Dan and I adopted her about a month ago. I thought it might be too soon but it was a good decision and I couldn't be happier with her. She completes our little family.

These are just a few of the thousand pictures I've taken of her. Isn't she the cutest?

iheartfaces Week 30 Challenge: Purple

2010-07-27T18:14:00.000-04:00

Another new challenge website I wanted to try my hand at is iheartfaces. This site, among many awesome things, has a portraiture related weekly challenge. Portraiture is not my strong area in photography so I thought it would be different. This week's challenge theme is purple, my favorite color. So what better week to start than this?

Model: Dan Gershman Shot with: Canon EOS Digital Rebel XS

Focal Length: 48mm ISO: 200
Aperture: f/9.0 Exposure Time: 1/125

Photo Friday Challenge: Sky-High

2010-07-26T00:02:00.000-04:00

I decided to start entering some weekly challenges. I googled and found a few different sites that host the challenges, this one being Photo Friday . Their challenge this week is "sky-high".

Taken 01/19/09 with a Canon EOS Digital Rebel XS

F/7.1 Exposure: 1/1250

ISO:200 Focal Length: 55mm

Happy Birthday To Me!!

2010-07-24T01:59:00.001-04:00

Today is my 23rd birthday and I figured I would celebrate myself by posting a few of my favorite pictures up.

This is my turtle Apollo a picture I took last October.

Here is a great blue heron taken at Wakodahatchee awhile back. Not the best picture, but i like it.

This is my mom. She is beautiful. 03/06/2009

Fireworks from 4th of July 2009.

Sandhill Crane taken at Halpatiokee Regional Park. 05/16/2009

The next two are probably my two favorite landscape shots I've ever taken.

Taken at Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge. 06/17/2009

Taken at Royal Pines, right by where I live. 09/22/2008

Let's open up a restaurant in Sante Fe

2010-07-14T12:37:00.000-04:00

I just came across this photo of Dan from a trip to Miami we took way back in January. We had one of the little metro movers to ourselves. This picture just makes me think of Rent. If you haven't seen it there is a scene when they are on the subway and they sing about just leaving it all behind and starting over somewhere new. I think about that all the time. Just packing up and going. Nowhere in particular, just see where life takes me.

"Let's open up a restaurant in Santa Fe. Oh, sunny Santa Fe would be nice. Let's open up a restaurant in Santa Fe and leave this to the roaches and the mice."

Turtle Power!

2010-07-13T14:02:00.001-04:00

Gena came over with her turtles the other day for a "Turtles Having Fun" photoshoot. Apparently, the turtles were not having fun. But we did manage to get some good shots. (When I get a link to where she has her pictures posted I'll post it here.)

This is my three-legged turtle Apollo on one of her turtles backs, looking mighty proud.

This is one of Gena's turtles, but I don't remember if this is Slink or Change. (sorry turtle friend!)

This is probably my favorite picture I've ever taken of Apollo. I can't seem to get the words across for how I interpret this photo, but I guess sometimes that's why you make a picture of it in the first place.

Butterfly Haven

2010-07-11T00:22:00.006-04:00

(a continuance of yesterday's excursions from the previous post.)

Courtney, Dan and I were driving to find an abandoned roller rink and somehow ended up at Arnold's Wildlife Rehabilitation Center . Which was a beautifully run place with wonderful people. As well as being a wildlife rehab they also have a butterfly garden!!! I'm apt to "squee" everytime I see a butterfly so randomly running into this beautiful place was so amazing to me.

There were two lovely volunteers who also helped point out many different species of caterpillar and butterfly amongst everything else they taught us.

Here are two of my better shots. I fell in love with the blur on the one above and I like the curve of the flowers stem on the one to the right. It gives it an almost 3D look.

There were a lot of orange flowers and I loved the way they were so bright and contrasty so I had a lot of fun shooting those as well.

And I'll leave you with my favorite shot of the day...

(Sort of) Urban Exploring

2010-07-10T00:20:00.023-04:00

Today I went with my two favorite shooting companions to explore some broken down building in Okeechobee, Fl. We saw an old bank attached to the (office?) of an oil company. The old bank is supposedly haunted. The Gilbert's Oil Company had a modern a/c window unit so I don't know when it was abandoned. The building was in serious disrepair though.

Along the way there were some random shots. Traffic lights and old payphones being amongst those

.

We also found what seemed to be an old apartment building. There were several front doors, some with masterlocks and others being held closed by cinder block/lack of doorknob, nothing too difficult to breach if one wanted to squat. There were still curtains in the windows and it was up for sale, but it would be a fixer-upper for sure. The building was in such a dilapidated state. The back door to the house seemed to be more out of the way of the public view. We supposed that if their were squatters this is how they entered, but that was pure assumption. There was smaller green shed around back and the three of us heard something definitely human from that general area. So we decided it was time to get out of there.

Of course, we found beauty amid destruction.

We headed off in Courtney's LANmobile to destinations unknown and most certainly awesome. But that will be the next post...

P.S. This post was kind of image heavy so I posted the pictures smaller. Click on any one to enlarge it!!

Downtown Adventure Part Three: A Man and his Mangos

2010-07-08T01:36:00.004-04:00

While Courtney, Dan and I were out downtown a man was riding his bicycle with a box. He fell over and we helped him pick up the spilled contents of his box, which were mangoes and various other fruit.

I had my camera with me and he asked me to take a few pictures of him. I took some pictures of him and his fruit, which he seemed to be proud of. He then wrote his address in my journal so I could mail him copies of the prints. It made me feel good that he wanted his photo taken by me and I was very thankful to have him as a subject.

Thank you Jerome! Hope you enjoy your pictures! =D

Downtown Adventure Part Two: The Wall

2010-07-07T01:08:00.005-04:00

Continued, as promised, from the excursions Courtney, Dan and myself had downtown a few weeks back...

There is this building by the train tracks that is painted really awesomely. It's a wonderful cliche spot for anyone in or around West Palm to take pictures.

Well, the three of us decided to venture to this wall and play around for a bit. It proved quite fun, despite the sulky looks on Courtney and Dan's faces in the following few.

I love, love, love the use of negative space in this one.*

We played around for awhile, and had a lot of fun. I came home to a corrupted memory card. It took me four days to recover and I was still missing a few favorites. All in all though I am satisfied with the photos from that day and the wall ones weren't even my favorites. So look for another entry or two from this day.

My words just don't seem to be flowing properly right now. So I will leave you with quite possibly my favorite triptych of all time.

(The credit goes to Dan for the jump shot of me.)

* and the boy too, of course.

2010-07-02T04:19:00.005-04:00

I don't come bearing an extensive blog... firstly, despite the time stamp that says July 1st on my previous post, I was still awake from June 30th, it was just past midnight, so I did manage all six blogs I wanted to do by the end of June. Go me!

Secondly, I am entering into the Palm Beach Post "Focus on Nature" photo contest. Eeeep! I don't expect to win but I do want to give myself the shot, see where I wind up. I can submit five pictures and choosing those five is going to be torture!

Thirdly, this is what I shot with today.

Which makes me squee! I haven't used film in forever. The pictures came back alright, nothing to write home about. However, I had the most fun day in a really long time and when it comes down to it, that's what matters.

Gloria Juliette

2010-07-01T01:16:00.004-04:00

Dan and I currently live with my ten year old god-daughter, Gloria. She is a precocious, energetic, funny young lady. Not to mention extremely photogenic.

As much as you think a couple of newlyweds in their twenties would dislike having a a ten year old around, in this case, you'd be wrong. Yes, we encounter the temper tantrums, but that's not really for me to deal with anyhow. She loves playing with our puppy and she is very willing to jump in front of my camera. The one below is my favorite.

I hope I'm doing my job right, setting a good example and all. Giving her someone halfway decent to look up to. I think I'm doing okay. She's growing up so fast, so I have to try and capture as many portraits as I can!

Hands Across The Sand

2010-06-27T00:41:00.003-04:00

Today I participated in an awesome event called Hands Across the Sand. Which according to their website is, "a movement made of people of all walks of life and crosses political affiliations. This movement is not about politics; it is about protection of our coastal economies, oceans, marine wildlife, and fishing industry. Let us share our knowledge, energies and passion for protecting all of the above from the devastating effects of oil drilling."

Anything that threatens to harm the environment gets to me, but I have a special place in my heart for the ocean. So when my co-worker Gena told me about this, I knew it was something I wanted to experience. It even ended up with us having a brief stint on the news!

Here is Gena, my partner in crime for the day.

There were lots of sign-holders, this is just one of many. The signs all had very poignant messages. And I was very pleased with how this peaceful protest remained peaceful.

Gena, again, I just really loved this shot of her.

I had to jump out of place for a moment to snap a few photos of the line itself. It ended up being over a mile long! Job well done Lake Worth.

This oil crisis is way too real and I feel so helpless. It seems like hardly anything is being done effectively to attempt to rectify the unrectifiable. So Hands Across the Sand made me feel a bit better, knowing that there are others right here in our community that care about this issue and other environmental issues as well. Something has to be done and I think this public demonstration was a great start.

Downtown Adventures Part One: The Doorway

2010-06-26T01:46:00.005-04:00

Courtney, Dan and I went downtown last week. I grabbed my camera as we ran out the door and I'm so glad that I did. Several impromptu photoshoots happened along the way thanks to Courtney and the unusually willing Dan.

I found a green door that I fell in love with. Above is Dan, looking very handsome. Below is Courtney being candid and pretty. I love their t-shirts, robots and dinosaurs.

Here is Dan. I think the sign and the mood displayed by him in this go together very well.

It's all happening...

2010-06-23T00:12:00.010-04:00

A little while back Sam and I went to Arthur Marshall to do some shooting together. Something we don't do nearly enough.

Sam hates to be photographed so the few shots I could sneak of her are verrrry candid.

Here she is shooting a gator in the distance. I think this is my favorite of her from the day.

She wasn't my only subject. And for some reason I really like this particular shot of a Great Blue Heron, even though it's at a weird angle and it definitely isn't the best shot I've ever gotten of one of these guys.

Someone was trying to warn us away from an alligator, which sometimes appear on the trails here. I got very excited, I was hoping for some close-ups of my reptile friend, but he had already moved on.

But back to Sam! She is moving far away from me and I'm going to miss her terribly even though I'm a bad friend and hardly see her anymore. Once upon a time we were together everyday and we had some crazy misadventures and I am going to miss her very much when she leaves.

A very happy un-birthday to you!

2010-06-15T21:57:00.003-04:00

So, on April 13th it was my Dan's 22nd birthday. For his birthday we went out with some friends to Boomer's (see previous post). We also went to Key Biscayne which is a small key right off the coast of Miami with a state park that we accidentally found one night while exploring. After Key Biscayne we went to Miami Science Museum. So it was a fun-filled birthday. So fun, in fact, that it has taken me two months to post these pictures. At least that's the excuse I'm using.

Honestly, I couldn't ask for a better husband. We make the perfect team. He also puts up with all my nonsense. Anyone else would have ran away screaming by now. So thank you, Dan. I love you. Happy Un-Birthday!

(Pre) Engagement Portraits

2010-06-09T01:50:00.011-04:00

Courtney has been a friend of Dan's since before I met him, and she has always been a good friend, despite the amount of relentless teasing Dan always seems to have for her, and over the course of the past few years I would now consider her one of my good friends as well. So when her boyfriend Taylor was in town from Wisconsin and I was going to get to meet him I was thrilled. We spent the day at Boomer's (for Dan's birthday) and we had a ton of fun. We played a round of mini-golf sans Dan and I got the opportunity to snap a few candid shots of the two of them just being in love. On the drive home I found out that the next night Courtney was going to be proposed to. Being within 24 hours of engagement I personally consider these engagement photos. You can all give me benefit of the doubt, right?

What it really comes down to is that I am sooo happy for you two. Congratulations!

P.S. I have a really beautiful shot of Courtney from this day. I'm saving it for another time though. I don't even think she's seen it!

She's not a girl who misses much...

2010-06-09T00:47:00.003-04:00

Referencing the title line, I do not truly miss much in the way of observing, planning, scheming, dreaming. I work overtime in my head. Then I trail off to the "Do do do do do do, oh yeah..." and never actually accomplish. "She has so much potential, if she only applied herself." I swear if I hear that from one more person I'll scream my head off. But it's the truth, and maybe that's why it bothers me so much. If only I applied myself. But this isn't about the 'if only' because that always fails to get me anywhere. I'm going to turn this a bit personal and make a promise to myself here... 6 more posts before June is through.

"She's well acquainted with the touch of the velvet hand
Like a lizard on a window pane"

Alice in the Park

2010-04-05T12:50:00.004-04:00

Alice and her mad hatter decided to step out of Wonderland and take a stroll through Veteran's Park while I was there trying to scope out little green herons (which I managed successfully, maybe that will be a later post).

Perhaps next time I can make the journey down the rabbit hole.

Backlog Blog

2010-03-21T18:49:00.004-04:00

In January Dan and had the pleasure of going to the South Florida Fair with our friends Melissa, Tyson and their baby Jaxson. I didn't take too many pictures but I snapped a few as the sun was setting behind the ferris wheel and I was pleased with how they turned out.

Delaney Ohana Gershman

2010-03-13T23:23:00.006-05:00

So it's been too long. Again. But here I am...

This entry has been on my mind for weeks but everytime I sit down to write I can't bring myself to do it. A month ago today my puppy, Delaney, died. This entry is in memory of her. I don't want to focus on the bad and all the crying and the hurt and how difficult the whole situation was. I'd rather think about all the wonderful things she has done for me. Delaney taught me a different kind of love. What I admired most about her was that she truly was a being who did not know hate which is something I would like to be able to say for myself and, well, anyone else. She was my first dog and even though we only had her for seven months she brought me so much happiness and I can only hope that Dan and I did the same for her. I could write for hours but no matter what I write here it won't do her justice, hopefully these pictures will.

This is definitely my favorite puppy portait that I've taken of her. I took it the day Dan and I brought her home.

This one Dan actually took of her and I playing on the bed.

"Ohana means family, family means nobody gets left behind. Or forgotten. "

At least they're not lolcats.

2010-02-11T18:08:00.004-05:00

I suppose I'm off to a rought start with waiting 8 days between posts. That's no way to run a blog. So here are a few photos of my cousin's darling cat Jelly. Yes, there is a Peanut Butter but he's not as social.

I was going to consider doing some different things with editing. Try working in Lightroom a little bit more, I still don't know how to use much of the program. But I liked the way the close-up turned out without any of that fancy stuff. Which I'm not too big a fan of anyway.

Same goes for this one, I like how it looks almost like I added a vignette. The composition also makes this one of my favorite shots of the day.

These are from January 13th, and I have plenty in my backlog from then until now so hopefully more consistant posting? We'll see...

cold-blooded cutie

2010-02-03T18:37:00.000-05:00

a few weeks back sunny south florida encountered a rare freeze. on one of these unusually chilly evenings dan and i found a gecko outside of our front door. he had shut down all unnecassary body functions as geckos are prone to do under these circumstances. so we brought him in the house and let him get nice and warm. he was even nice enough to let me snap this before he went on his merry (and hopefully warmer) way.

new beginning

2010-02-03T16:55:00.000-05:00

this won't be the first time i'm attempting a photo blog, but hopefully it is the time that i stick with it. the last time i attempted this it was going to be a 365 project. as much as i wish i'd have perservered and kept working on it, i kept up for about a week and then missed a few days, got discouraged and stopped all together. this time around i am trying not to overwhelm myself. if i post, i post. i'll do my best to record my efforts and hopefully it will motivate me to post-process more of my photos and get them up here.

so here it is, the adventures of a girl and her camera from mundane to magical.

" I wish more people felt that photography was an adventure the same as life itself and felt that their individual feelings were worth expressing. To me, that makes photography more exciting."
- Harry Callahan