Having wanted to visit the Isabella Stuart Gardner Museum for quite some time, this weekend it finally occurred. I don’t think i could have asked for a nicer day. I have not been to the museum in years, and somehow it seemed different in some way brand new. Ms. Gardner was quite the collector of art around the world, and in particular two of my favorites; Titian and Sargent. Sargent painted beautiful portraits of Isabella Stuart Gardner, capturing her true beauty and free spirit.

The atrium is one of the most beautiful spaces in Boston; somehow you think you are very far away. The light and texture of the stone, greenery, and fountains evoke pure joy. There is also an exhibit by young children from local schools whose work was strong, leaving me asking where can I purchase a piece? I was so taken by the experience and time spent there, I am thinking of joining as a member not only to support the arts but also participate in some wonderful events taking place.

After having spent many hours lost in Ms. Gardner's home, i wandered the city for the remainder of the day taking in more beauty, and more pictures.

I have known of Minor White and his work for many years now, though he was not a standard taught to me back in school, he remains one of the great photographers of our time. I was re-introduced to his work about sixth months ago when I was taking a composition course, I immediately felt connected to his work. His photographs were about pushing the limitations of the zone system, which he developed with Ansel Adams and others.

Minor White’s work is abstract, not immediately tactile; but draws you in slowly and deeply that you think you are actually walking the road to the barn in the distance. In the last few weeks I have been researching all I can find on Minor White and his life, while such an influential photographer it is sad not more has been written on him. Trying to find his books has appeared a bit difficult as well, but I will get a hold of them soon.

So, have some of my recent pictures been the influence of Minor White? I am not sure, but something has been inspiring me, I am sure there are many influences. I look at the light in my kitchen at 4:00 pm or the French Press that sits in the shadows and feel inspired. Sometimes I go for long walks thinking nothing of taking a picture, but for a moment to just be and observe. I may not have a camera in hand; it does not mean I am not photographing the images around me. I don’t think I would accomplish much else during the day if I had a camera and took a picture of everything that captured my attention, it all does.

"I'm always mentally photographing everything as practice." | minor white

I went to see one of my favorite performers last night, Mark Nelson. He played an amazing set at the Loft, upstairs at Tommy Doyles as part of Tuesday Acoustic Showcase.

It had been almost a year since seeing him play last, far too long i say. He is one of Boston's finest singer/songwriters singing about the human condition in a way that resonates with anyone that breathes.

In addtion another local performer, John Gerard also played a great set.

For quite sometime I have maintained four sites worth of my photographs, Flickr, Photobucket, Picasa and SmugMug. All worthwhile online applications, but in the end i had to defect to SmugMug. I think what sold me on the site was the level of customization one has in designing the galleries. The tools for organizing the pictures far exceed that of Flickr, and the usability is much more intuitive. Flickr has some nice animation, but try to figure out how to rearrange your galleries you might be there for a while.

I knew there were applications for migrating photos from one site to another, though I imagined it was going to still be a bit of a nightmare, not so. There is this little plug-in called SmuggLr works like a charm, simply install and run Firefox, and before you know it your photos from where ever else they lived are moved in full resolution over to SmugMug. Not only is it a seamless transition data wise it will keep the groups and names of all the galleries at the previous location in tact.

Now that all my photographs that live online are in one place i need t go through and reorganize and retire some, and continue to update as much as possible. This weekend should prove to have many new pictures, stay tuned!

Lately I have been going through all my work, in an attempt to see where I have been and where I want to go. I have been working on a computer in some kind of capacity now for over ten years and well—there is a lot there! So many photos, after all that is where it all started, with a photograph. From there I just gravitated to working in PhotoShop creating, anything—collages, logos, web pages, posters, postcards, business cards; trying everything out graphically.

Through all my experience and exploration, I have found that web design is my passion. I have always wanted to move beyond just the design and to develop the backend that makes that design come alive. Hence, learning HTML, XHTML, and CSS has been so natural to me. I love what can be accomplished visually and functionally with a single file of code. I have known for some time now I really want to take it further and learn even more web technologies, JavaScript, PHP, CMS, everything. Web design and development provide me with constant challenges and very rewarding results.

One thing that is very obvious to me as I look through all my work is that I love to design in blue; I guess it is my signature color! As I continue to go through my breadth of work I will add pieces I like to the Vault.

Over the fall i took a photography class at the Cambridge Adult Center for Education over in Harvard Sq. It was a class on composition. I ended up really enjoying the class, meeting new people, understanding how others viewed their surroundings. I think it actually gave me a new way of thinking about taking pictures. I am alot more relaxed when i take pictures now, and i take alot more pictures which in itself is a good thing.

I am not sure where i would like to go next, whether i will take classes or not but i will keep shooting away! Here are some of the photographs i had selected to show for critique in my class.

On Sunday we headed over to the Boston Common to join the many dogs and their humans participate in the MSCPA Walk for Animals. My donation goal had been set at $200, but with the help of friends and family I raised a total of $253.16 for the critters!

It was such a fun day, and to be around all those furries made me very happy! The walk itself was just about a mile so no trouble there. It was just about having some fun and most importantly raising funds and awarness for the protection and care of all animals.

Here are some pictures taken of the day. I look forward to next year's walk!

On Saturday we all headed in to the Boston Tattoo Convention over at the Boston Center for the Arts (which by the way is a very cool place to check out anytime). There were hundreds of artists, locally and nationally. It was quite a beautiful site to see all the many colors and designs flowing out onto skin. Just about every artist was tattooing someone right during the show, very cool to watch! Check out some pictures from the event.

So, please go to my official donation page, and any donation you can make it so greatly appreciated! And if anyone wants to come out and walk with me, please let me know!

thanks! Shannon

This has been a great summer ( i know it is not over yet...but it is getting there) lots of amazing shows, new places traveled, good friends, yummy food and drink!

I have been trying to take as many pictures as possible most of them i dislike, every so often a few come out okay...but either way i find it is just nice to record my life in some way.

Hampton Beach, NH. That was such a fun time, went up to see Social D which was amazing, they are always amazing! We had lots of fun too on the beach and in the arcades killing zombies!

Mariaville, NY  We took a trip to visit some of Gary's family in upstate NY. It was beautiful up there and his family were just great, so generous and fun to be around! We, well i even got to see a meteor shower; the sky was so full of stars and so bright, i was ready to camp out on top of the roof for the night, but settled for a huge fire raging in the pit.

ICON Irish Festival in Canton, MA So much fun!!! Lots of great vendors, lots of history to learn about, again lots of good beer, and amazing bands to see, one right after the other--The Tossers, Enter the Haggis, Dervish, and finally the Dropkick Murphy's! We were front row and they were amazing, so much better then i thought they would be, kids just going nuts, me jumping so much thought i was gonna just jump all the way right into space.

I have just received word that CSSGlance has posted my site as one of their gallery sites!

I am always just so happy that someone appreciates my work and thinks it worthy to stand up with so many other wonderful designers. My website for me is my oasis; i may leave it for several months on end but it is always a creative outlet for me that lets me expand my skill set whenever i want to get back to it.

I have a number of technical items that need to be addressed, and eventually i will get there, but it is summer and i have been very busy with work and play; so perhaps in the winter i will have more down time to really overhaul the site visually and technically.

Once again, many thanks to CSSGlance; and i appreciate all feedback good and bad; it only makes your work better!

Fortunately for SSG they only needed a small website presence, so potential investors and clients see the kind of work they doing, so it was more of a calling card site.

Of course it is done with CSS and XHTML. I still need to go back and fix a few things to get it compliant. This will be an ongoing project with them, so I will have yet another site that I maintain on a regular basis, which also works well with my schedule. Next up for work is designing a website for another development firm.

Visit SSG Development & Construction

It has been a busy summer, we have attended a lot of shows and just recently the ArtBeats Festival in Somerville. It was literally five minutes from my apartment.

What a great day it was. There were lots of hand crafted arts, good food, music made on a typewriter, and performance artists; painted entirely in silver(yeah, they were very cool!). What was really nice about this event was it was unexpected. I had no idea this was happening nor that it is a yearly event, so when we walked out the door to go elsewhere, we only needed to walk minutes to a plethora of entertainment.

I want to highlight one particular vendor that i was just really impressed with and actually hope to purchase one of her pieces soon. The company is called Parrish Relics, located in Stoneham, MA. It is all handcrafted jewelry inspired by designs of the Early Ages and the like. It is simpley beautiful, be sure to check it out!

Of course i took many photos, which you can check out here. What was nice about this for me, is it was a chance to just take very random photos of objects, but people as well; which i am trying to work on. I love to people watch and are really trying to work towards a more photojournalistic approach to taking pictures. It also had been a while since i had taken any pics, so this really gave me the inspiration i needed.

So, up next on the calendar is Social D in Hapmton Beach, NH! Out of all the shows i have been to this year, this is the one i am most looking forward to. I have seen them twice before just last fall in Boston and they were amazing, so i know Mike Ness and the boys will not disappoint! Check back next week for an update of the show.

Anyhow, since i have been in the city for about a year now i have only been involved with one rescue (although quite momentous!) and was yearning to start doing some more direct volunteer work. Through the power of networking, i have come across a wonderful group, The Charles River Alleycats. They were looking for an extra feeder for one of the colonies in Cambridge, and since i live right near by i was only too happy to start helping out. Though for now it is only one day, i am very happy to be aligned with another wonderful shelter.

I continue to work on The MetroWest Humane Society's website and i love it, i just want to continue to do as much as i can for the animals- and i know there is so much more work to be done!

The MetroWest Humane Society in Ashland, MA currently has a large number of adorable kittens who need loving homes. They are having a special Kitten Adoption Day this Sunday, July 22 from 1:00 - 4:00 PM. Be sure to stop by and say hi to the little ones!