First beginning, ending to a start. 365.

At this moment, I'm feeling a mix of strange emotions; I've got this thought in the back of my head telling me "what if you don't take pictures?" or "what if you completely lose all motivation?" I know I can't think like that, and I know I'll still take pictures whenever I have a spark in inspiration. But it's scary thinking it won't have to be a part of my everyday routine anymore. I remember constantly thinking during my 365 "Oh, I'm gonna do all of these things once this is done. I'm going to do this, this, this, and this. It will be amazing." But as my 365 came to a hasty finish; it really feels like all I want to do is take more pictures.

I don't want to do this, or that, or all of those things.

-

With that being said; my 365 has been the best choice I've ever made in my life. It's changed me as a person in a whole, and enhanced my love for photography by thousands.

There are things I learned during this project I know I'm never going to forget. I won't list them all, but here are a few of the biggest things I feel I learned:

I learned how to live with a camera by my side at every waking moment; and now I won't be able to live without it.

I learned what it was like to feel completely intoxicated with inspiration.

I learned how to get inspiration when I had non.

I learned my favorite way of meditation is going out alone to take pictures.

I learned endless things about myself.

It has helped me grow, helped me feel, and express myself.

I don't know what I'd be doing today if I didn't do this project.

As I've been getting ready for what my last picture should be, I'm finding myself getting sort of nostalgic. Like I can feel all the emotions I had during my 365 bubble up, searching through my brain in little cycles. Overwhelmed by the feelings of relief, and lostness. It'll be strange.

Once I thought about it for a long time. I sat, and imagined how it feels to start. When you start something new you have this whole new outlook on everything. It feels so fresh, reborn almost.

So my parents drove me to the most amazing abandoned neighborhood. Everything's destroyed, not suitable for living, really. Vines growing inside the houses, and through the doors. And I see them as sort of a strange ending to a house. I guess almost all houses end that way, abandoned, rustic, falling apart, being vandalized. But really, these houses should not be abandoned. The houses are brand new, built around the same time my house was built; just over-development. They inspired me to really imagine myself maybe someday buying an old house and getting something that's ultimately finished a start.

Which is how I'm looking at this 365. It's ultimately finished, there's nothing left of a 365 once it's finished. But it sure can start something else. Something big. And I think that's how I'm feeling now. Something big will come from this (and already has come from it). So. Here it is. 

365, an ultimately finished story of a start.

And finally, last, but not least. Thank you everyone for your constant support, encouragement, and helping me through all of this. It was definitely a difficult project, but I couldn't have done it without my friends and family. Thank you. <3

The Photographer.

The photographer.

Well! To start it all off, today is my day 200 on my 365 (yay!), and it's been the most amazing experience of my life. But I'll save all of that gooshy "I love photography and all that it's done for me" talk for when I finish my project.

To explain this picture. It's about what a photographer will do for a good picture. What they'll go through, whether it's hurt themselves, or trespass, or stand outside in the rain, or hang their camera from a ceiling!

We'll all do the most absurd things for pictures. But that's what makes us so awesome.

Photographers are crazy, and we like it that way.

A huge thank you to Laura Parrish for helping me start my camera collection<3 She gave me these three wonderful cameras. Tomorrow I'm going out to get film. So. Excited.

Dancing in coldness.

Let's dance to the sound of winter.

This was fun to take! Even if I froze half to death. I seriously love it.

I've had this idea for a while to do an elegant yet creepy/tim burtonish picture for a while, but never had the time to do it, or the right clothing. I got this shirt a few days ago, and it's my absolute favorite shirt ever now.

I got the tights around halloween, and the shoes for ETUSC in the summer. They've all payed for themselves with pictures, and inspiration.

Winter feels like it's finally here, and being freezing cold constantly.

Which is surprisingly having a positive impact on my pictures! I like having a cold, or icey look to my pictures.

Inspired.

Hello, Blogger! I can't sleep because I'm inspired.. So I figured, I'd catch you up on what I've been doing!

Unique.

I tried to be different. (again.)

Frozen.

Winter finally got here.

The cold is coming.

I did my first expansion picture!

The Imperfect.

I dyed my hair pink. (again) 

And sat outside in the cold shirtless for the first time.

The flower girl.

Tried to captured a flowers vulnerability in a picture. (Successfully, I think.)

The Daily News.

And spent my day cutting out butterflies from news paper.

Life is honestly going in an amazing direction. Next month I'm going to Minnesota for my grandpa's birthday!

I'm also going to be doing a photoshoot with the amazing Caitlin O'brien! I'm so excited!

And then, when I get home, I'll be going to photography classes at Gainesville University, and when I'm 15 I can go to beauty school to get my beauty license. Like I said, life is going amazingly.

I miss blogging, and rambling about why I love photography, though.

So -hopefully- I'll blog more often, so I don't have to do these long catch-up posts..  But oh well.

Also, if you actually read all of this, I made an Etsy! Check it out- http://www.etsy.com/shop/Photopluto I'm currently saving up for a 50mm 1.4 lens, so all sales will be going towards that. :)

Hope you all have a great day, and as always, all of my work can be found on my Flickr!

Oh my flour!

Fairy Dust.

So, today I did my second picture ever using flour. And oh my gosh. It was so much! I got flour absolutely EVERYWHERE. But it was totally worth it.

The first one I did was way back in June, the day before I started my 365.

Flowers In The Wind.

I like to think my photography ability has improved quite a bit since then, but I still really like that picture.

ALSO.

Today my neighbor said his first words to me ever. It was really quite exciting, and hilarious.

"Hi, powerdy girl!", yelled out of a school bus.

That's been the excitement of my day, other than stepping on a stick while taking this and getting a small hole in the button of my foot. Ouch.

I want to start going outside and making an absolute fool of myself when kids are coming home from school, I think it'd be fun. And maybe, just maybe, there will be a kid who joins me.

That would be awesome.

Reasons.

Life in Technicolor.

So, I like reasons. They help my mind work with things. When there aren't any reasonable reasons, I really dislike it. But there are certain exceptions,   one of them being photography. I never really understood *why* I love photography. Was it the bright colors, shiny equipment, novelty of saying   “I’m a photographer”? I thought about it today, and I think my reason is emotions. I love emotions, good or bad. I'm an emotional person, so I love the thought of being able to put my emotions into art.

I also love being able to show people my world. Or, the way I see the world. I like to look at things differently, and try and find the quirky weird things, or the beautifully simple things.

But overall, photography is such an emotional experience for me each and every picture is my feelings translated into an image. And I just love being able to put my mind into images. There is just so much to photography I love exploring, and realizing how big of a part of my life it is, and how important it is to me.  It’s crazy I’ve only been serious about it for less than a year. Although, will I ever consider myself a “serious photographer”? I’ll probably end up forever considering myself someone who takes pictures, just because I love it.

I don't think I could say it any better than that. I'm in love with photography, and everything that goes along with it.

Although, like this is really any new news?

'You don't take a photograph, you make it.' -Ansel Adams.

I glue stuff to my face.

Okaaay. So. I love blogging. I can't keep myself away from blogging for one day, even. Grah!

Anyways.
I glue stuff to my face.
A lot.

I knew I liked doing stuff that involved getting stuff on my face after doing my ever-so-famous picture.

Painty.

I kind of dislike this picture. Maybe someday I'll revisit the idea and make it even better.

And then, I just -HAD- to do more...

Plans of the Heart Eater.

Which unleashed my love for gluing stuff to my skin, and face!

Creating two of my other most famous pictures.

Shedding my Scales.

and

The Outcasts.

And then I decided I wouldn't glue stuff to my face for a while because of how much it hurts.

... Well. The day has come, people!

Crying the Joy.

That day of finally gluing dead flower petals to me! I love this picture. It really describes my mood lately.

Also, that scratch is just from me scratching my skin a little bit. It didn't hurt at all. I can draw on my skin it's so white. Merph.

Few outtakes I kind of like~

I tried gluing to my foot, too. It turned out pretty cool.

This is Kyra.

So, lately I've been trying to do a lot of trying-to-figure-myself-out-ness.
And this whole 365 thing was to show the world 365 pieces of Kyra- And I haven't really done that! I mean, sure, each picture is a little part of me, but I haven't talked about a few things about me.

This is Kyra.

So, I took today's picture, thinking I'd really just try and be myself, and capture it. I feel like I kind of captured that. Soo, here are 20 facts about myself~ Enjoy.

1: I haven't had completely natural/not dyed hair since I was 9.
2: I feel very little and unimportant a lot.
3: I have a crazy obsession with hats.
4: I have a crazy obsession with any accessories.
5: I never wear accessories.
6: I feel judged when I wear makeup.
7: I love being a teenager.
8: My favorite thing about me is my eyes.
9: I like boots.
10: I'm a vegetarian, unless it's for Japanese education to try out new foods.
11: When I feel unoriginal I feel sick.
12: I have a lot of friends, but not one friend I tell everything to.
13: My favorite food is spaghetti.
14: I hate eating.
15: I get sick a lot.
16: I hate where I live.
17: I feel best when taking pictures.
18: I get embarrassed way too easily.
19: I want to learn Japanese, and live in Tokyo.
20: I like rap music quite a lot.

Ta da! Now, you all know me a tiny bit better.
And if you knew me in real life, and knew all of this. Kudos to you for knowing me really well!

As always, more pictures on my Facebook and Flickr!

Explorer.

So, I didn't think I could love fall any more, and well, this happened.

Exploring the already explored.

I just HAD to do something like this after seeing THIS, it's seriously amazing. I  hope to be as amazing as him, someday~ I also gathered leaves for two days for all of these leaves, because I live in a horrible no-tree area near me house. So I had to go down to the pool area and blast Bohemian Rhapsody while collecting leaves. Which was pretty awesome, anyways~

Little outtake from today, too. the leaves looked so peaceful and colorful.

As always, more on my Facebook and Flickr!

Sayonara, for now~

Flight

So, it's been a long of non-inspiration, and finally at the end of the day, I have a sudden burst of "I know what I want to do!"

Flight.

This definitely explains how I've been feeling lately. Needing to take flight, but not quite sure how yet, so I just sit and watch as others do.

But it's really kind of amazing watching people be able to pick up their life from nowhere, and be happy.

Tomorrow, IT IS GOING TO BE RAINING. Oh my gosh, I love it when it rains. I always get so inspired by the depressing colors of outside, weirdly. And being able to wear scarves outside is amazing, so, crossing my fingers it'll only be sprinkling for a bit so I can take my camera outside without being terrified.

As always, more pictures on my Facebook, and Flickr~

Forever, forever.

Ahh! I haven't posted in forever, and I'm seriously sorry for that.

I've been busy on my Flickr, where I've started a 365 self portrait challenge.

It's been an amazing experience, and I'm already on day 113. 

So, I guess I should catch this blog up on what's been going on, though-

On June 21st, I started my 365, with a selective black and white.

Colorful Yet Blank.

It's kind of crazy to think about how long ago that was now..

On June 25th, four days later. I splattered paint on my face.

Which turned out to be my first ever "Explored" picture on Flickr.

Painty.

That picture got 167 views in over night- and gained me 672 views in one day.

18 days later, I was in Minnesota for two weeks-

And made one of my favorite pictures to date.

Holding On.

16 days later, I was a curly haired queen.

Curly Queen.

11 days later, it was day 50! Which will forever be one of my favorites.

The Monsters Come Out At Night.

7 days later, I painted my hair. It was awesome.

Transforming.

Day 60, 61, 62, and 63 I four of my most iconic pictures.

My Wonderland. (Which got my second Explored.)

I also happened to get Laryngitis, 

which happened to inspire my pictures in a good way.

Story of the No Voice.

Speechless.

A Fly Away Story.

On day 68, I had probably one of my memorable pictures ever.

The Outcasts got my third Explored, and won two Flickr group contests.

The Outcasts.

Day 70. Rainy days inspire the best pictures.

Did you know butterflies played in the rain?

Day 76. I made one of my favorite pictures ever, probably. 

Gluing stuff to my face has become one of my favorite things to do.

Shedding My Scales.

Day 79. I was stuck in the clouds.

Mad World.

Day 80, I was trying out softer tones.

I also love butterflies.

And there was a butterfly.

Day 89, I went on a three day cool picture spree.

Captured.

She Sleeps With the Fireflies.

For Just Breath, I went into the forest on the point at the lake for the first time.

Just Breath.

Day 94. I discovered natural lens flares.

Where was my fault.

Day 95, and fall was coming!

Naturally.

And five days, and 100 stars cut, 100 strings tied, and 100 holes punched later...

It was day 100.

100 Stars.

That picture inspired lots of star-influenced pictures.

Stars Fall Back.

And on day 107, I was back to my photoshoping craziness.

Just Another Puppet.

109, it rained again.

Keep your feet on the ground!

And finally. Yesterdays picture. 112.

Which is probably one of my favorite pictures ever.

Flowers By The Windowsill.

And, well, that concludes my catch-up post.

If you're interested in seeing any of the other pictures so far on my 365-

Check it out here. Or you can just browse my Flickr Photostream which has a lot of pictures.

Will probably post later this week! I want to start blogging again.

Anyways-

Sayonara~