Susan Solo – Photographer | Traveler | Adventurer

Blog

  • Wall-E

    If you have yet to see the new Pixar movie, WALL-E, get thee to a theater asap! Chris and I saw it last weekend and I absolutely fell in love with this dilapidated little garbage-roaming robot. Even with only a handful of dialog lines, the story is captivating. There is definitely enough substance to keep adults interested while entertaining the kids. And call me ridiculous, I don’t care, but the romantic moments between the two animated robots actually made me swoon. The digital imagery is amazing, and the message of the movie really filled my heart. Oh and the short that played before the movie had me laughing louder than anyone else in the theater, so that was a total bonus. Seriously, why are you still here reading this. Go see the movie!

    I loved it so much that Chris bought me this teeny WALL-E replica:

  • The Worst Item On the List

    If you’ve been following my blog this year, you know about my 101 in 1001 list that I plan to complete by December 31, 2010. I composed my list of items that I need to get done, goals that I want to achieve, and things that I want to experience. A lot of the items will definitely push me outside of my comfort zone, but there’s one on the list that is so far out of my comfort zone that I’m nervous already just thinking about it – the dreaded #33: Go snorkeling (for more than 5 minutes even if I’m terrified). I know it sounds silly because most people probably think that snorkeling sounds fun, relaxing, exciting, etc. But yeah, I’m terrified of it. Terrified of jellyfish mostly, but I’m also scared of anything in the water touching me: fish, eels, sharks, seaweed, everything. I’ve been in lakes and in the ocean several times before, but every time I get in, something scares me and my fear gets worse. I absolutely love swimming, but I’ll take a pool any day over natural bodies of water.

    I’ll soon have an opportunity to accomplish this item on the list, and I’m really going to give it my best try. As an added incentive to give it a go, I bought an underwater housing for my point-and-shoot camera so hopefully I can at least get a few pictures. Stay tuned to see me conquer one of my biggest fears!

    Updated to include a photo of my toy:

  • Early Bird Update

    Well, it looks like my experiment with getting up earlier and trying to train myself to be a “morning person” was a big bust. It just isn’t going to happen right now. I got up 1 1/2 to 2 hours earlier than usual every day for a whole week, and for a few days in a row while we had Zoey, and I just didn’t get those feelings that morning people report about being up early – enjoying the sunrise, the peaceful feeling of being awake before everyone else, being able to get things done, etc. I could barely open my eyes to even see the sunrise, I felt more grumpy than peaceful, and I was so lethargic that I couldn’t get anything done. Not only that, but it was hard for me to get anything accomplished during the day, too. I think I just naturally prefer evenings/nighttime because that’s when I get those peaceful/get things done feelings. And sleeping in makes me so deliciously happy. So, I’ve decided that I’m not a morning person, and in the words of my brilliant sister, “It’s like trying to talk me into being Chinese or six feet tall or being Quaker. I’m not.”

  • Martha & Chris – 6.21.08

    A few weeks ago, I had a fabulous opportunity to work with Jill Myers to photograph Martha and Chris’s wedding. They were married at the beautiful Dahlgren Chapel of the Sacred Heart located on campus at Georgetown University, followed by an elegant reception at the Decateur House in DC. Jill has tons of great photos and an amazing slideshow on her blog, so be sure to stop by and check that out. Here are a few of my own favorites:


    After Martha and Chris arrived at the ceremony site, we stole a few moments with them to do some portraits in Lafayette Square.

    These next two photos are so typical of DC. One is the City Segway Tour that rode by while we were doing a few portraits in front of the White House, and the other is a photo of the reporter from a local radio station who did a quick interview with Martha and Chris.



    The gorgeous tented area of the reception:

    Before the dancing started, the kids kicked off their fun with a game of duck-duck-goose.

    The band, Pure Gold, filled the dance floor from the moment they began until the party was over.

    A few details from the day:

    Best wishes and congratulations, Martha and Chris and thanks Jill for having me along – I had such a fun time working with you!

  • Baby Borrowers

    Baby Borrowers

    Apologies for the blog-silience this week! I’ve been quite busy, and here are a few hints as to why:IMG_8595IMG_8597IMG_8598

    If you guessed puppy, you’re right! But not our own puppy – Chris and I watched my friend Coelle’s dog, Zoey, for a few days.

    IMG_8564 IMG_8608

    And with that, I think I’m going to cross off #22 and 43 on my 101 in 1001 list – get a dog, and housebreak the dog. I know it’s a stretch to say that I “got a dog” and that I housebroke her on my own, but I’ve decided that this task will fulfill those two items on the list because I realized there’s no way I could keep up with everything else that’s going on in my life if I actually did get a dog in the next couple of years. It’s a full-time job! We had Zoey for about 72 hours, I pretty much didn’t do anything else that wasn’t Zoey-related. I do think we housebroke her for our house though – she only had two minor accidents the first day, and every time after that if we didn’t already anticipate her needing to go out, she walked down the hall and sat by the stairs. She’s such a good girl, and we had a lot of fun having her around! Maybe we’ll eventually think about getting an older dog, but for now that’s a check and check on those two items.