NATE IS A CHAMPION!

this past weekend nate participated in tupelo's skate competetion. there apparently were some really good skateboarders there this year, but nate still prevailed and placed FIRST in the competetion. he was even interviewed by the newspaper. the mohawk is public, baby! i'm so proud of him and wish i could of been there to share in this moment. go nato my potato!!

GROW TREE GROW!

there is a wonderful little tree outside our living room window. i have decided to document its rapid growth throughout my time here. this is how much growing it did this week!

A HIKE INTO THE VALLEY

the view down into the valley as we descended lacoste














the valley is filled with cherry trees for farming. the cherries will be blooming in may. yum!















the view of lacoste from the valley. the castle at the top belonged to the original sadist, marquis de sade (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marquis_de_Sade), although the village of lacoste was protestant during the religious wars.

































the valley is full of edible plants, some farmed, some growing wild. these are olive bushes. i picked some wild thyme around here for cooking. almond trees are also abundant in the valley.














provence is known for their vineyards, of which they make their many rose (rose-A) wines under the region cotes de luberon. these uniquely twisting trunks will be swelling with ripe grapes in mid-july.




















there are many wild flowers around that i found to be interesting.















some flowers were surprisingly familiar to me from mississippi, such as the yellow flowers.















this is what many of the homes in provence look like. they are mostly made of limestone and have clay shingles for the roof.














there are many random rooms or caves as well as limestone sculpture scattered through the valleys and hills that surround lacoste.

ABBEY ST. HILLAIRE

our first adventure in 'light of provence' was to the abbey st. hillaire, a medieval church within walking distance from lacoste. that light within the limestone walls was amazing. there was a bit of old painting still existing on some of the walls. i found the holes to be the most interesting to me.





















a nice man invited me and a friend into the upper level living area, so we could photograph it. it was filled with antique sculptures, toys, furniture, decorations, and books. it was amazing!

MICHAEL'S SURPRISE BIRTHDAY PARTY

MARCH 6th 2007

betsy and i had been planning for a while to do a party in honor of michael. this planning turned into all kinds of secrets we had to keep from him and it was really difficult. as we approached the venue, michael was expecting that he was modeling for me in a photography shoot of a character from a film he liked. we arrived...














even when we started singing 'happy birthday' to him, he was still confused.














we were so happy it was a success!















we all dressed up as characters/actors/directors from our favorite films.















michael and mom (indiana jones and katharine hepburn)















abby and allie (laura ingalls wilder and her sister, Carrie? from 'little house on the prairie')















betsy (vianne rocher from 'chocolat') with nigel and leigh gardner and april little





























benjamin stewart (spiderman)















bobby fiedler (bruce willis)















me (jaws)















surprise key lime pie for mom for her birthday and cupcakes for michael!















dad (spencer tracy)

all photographs were made by hillary zinaich. thanks to hill!

FRIENDS IN SAVANNAH

STEPHANIE LAZENSKY - PHOTOGRAPHY

i met steph my first year in savannah in my second photography class. michael had a class with her previously and had told me to look out for a really cool girl who likes to read and i would probably get along with great. sure enough i looked back in the classroom and there was a girl reading a book with her foot propped in the chair. we both made books that quarter and began hanging out as we prepared our books for our final critique. instantly we were friends. we had so much in common and could talk for hours about everything and about nothing. we have grown a lot in our friendship over the years, adding memories to the list that will last a lifetime. she is a true inspiration to me and my work and we still have wonderful conversations about everything and nothing. i love her.















ZAIDEE WALKER - DANCE/ARCHITECTURE

i met zaidee in a jazz class i took my first year in savannah. i asked her if i could photograph her for a project i wanted to do about a dancer and her work. she agreed and became the subject of, not only this project, but another in the same quarter. we had a lot of fun hanging out and she did very well as a model, giving me the espressions i wanted every time. since then we have had many wonderful conversations about God and many fun dinners together. i definately miss this jewel from trinidad.















MICHAEL PERKINS - FILM (left)

i met michael when i was born, duh, he's my brother. i consider him a friend also because he has constantly been a source of inspiration and been a delight to converse and joke and make random noises with.

BOBBY FIEDLER - FILM (right)

i met bobby through michael. i haven't had the opportunity of hanging out with him a lot since i have met him, but we have had some wonderful conversations about art and God and the difference between exposures from moving film and still film.



BETSY PERKINS

i met betsy when i was sixteen on a youth trip to panama city. we couldn't seem to get rid of the bedbugs and dinosaurs that had infested our room. we have had many wonderful memories riding around in a car with no horn, ordering chicken nuggets, and enjoying many tasty meals that she normally makes. she conveniently married my brother and our friendship is now permanent. she's cute.