My Brooklyn Boy

If only I could get my Alaska guy to love the city as much as he loves the hat!

Brooklyn Boy at Heart

My friend Kevin with his new hat!

Homer Sunrise

The view of the sunrises and the sunsets here are always spectacular.  I took this sunrise shot while driving in to town, pulling over to let a moose cross the road and capturing the view of the sky from two sides.

The expansive view here is so much more than the little piece of sky I could see while looking out my bedroom window in Brooklyn and the quiet is so tranquil and soft.  Still, I miss waking to the hum of the city yawning and coming to life, gazing out from my little Brooklyn window.

Remembering the Hurricane

It was three months ago today that Hurricane Sandy hit coastlines and coastal communities.

I pause and remember the lives and the natural spaces that were forever altered.

In a heartbeat, everything can change.

I light a candle and think of those who continue to suffer because of the hurricane...

 

Spread the Love Valentine's Day Portraits

Treat yourself and/or your spouse, partner, friend, family member, coworker, neighbor, youth group, ladies/mens group, reading group, hiking group, pet or other special person or people to a portrait sitting.

A percentage of all income will be given to a family in New York City who lost their home during Hurricane Sandy.

Here's the skinny:

* Currently scheduling portrait sittings in Homer, Alaska for January 31st through February 21st

* Formal or casual/nontraditional style, your choice

* Can include as many people and/or pets as you like

* At a Homer or surrounding area location of your choice

* After the photo shoot, you'll choose five images of those taken, and you'll receive them via an email attachment within 24 hours

* 10% of all proceeds will be donated to the Gonzalez family, victims of Hurricane Sandy in the Rockaways, Queens, who I met while volunteering

* $50 Valentine's Day Special 

* Please contact me at alaskachristina@gmail.com or at 907-299-4437 with any questions or to reserve your portrait sitting now

 * Gift certificates are also available, valid through February 28, 2014, at this special price, with proceeds donated to the same family

* Feel free to further spread the love by letting others know of this opportunity to receive a portrait while giving back!

Full Moon Over Kachemak Bay

Baby, It's Cold Out There

At -20 degrees below zero, we don hats, gloves, long underwear, thick parkas, neck warmers and ice cleats to walk the frosted neighborhood.  

The neighbor's kids are skating up and down their driveway...

To Come Alive

A quote I read in a motivational enewsletter this morning.  I like the idea of calling people to conscious living.  If we are walking around without passion, asleep at the wheel and with no sense of purpose, how can we expect to affect positive change in our own lives, let alone in the world around us.  
 
 "Ask not what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and then go and do it. The world needs people who have come alive.  You must come alive first, before you can help to heal the world."

The Journey "Home"

New York City: A Pause

I'm heading back to Alaska for a short period of time, to take care of some things at home.

While I'm incredibly sad to leave New York City, even if it's just briefly, I think and feel that this is the right thing for me to do right now.  It will be good to reconnect with friends, my boyfriend and our animals, and to indulge in the beauty of the natural environment that surrounds our northern home.  Still, I am experiencing sadness and joy simultaneously. 

And so I pause...

Friends

Two of my favorite people in New York City are Rebekah and Haran.  Their friendships have been easy and fun, and have brought so much joy in to my life...

Saying Farewell to Coney Island

Of the many places I've visited and revisited in New York City, Coney Island is one of my favorites.  I love the beach, the boardwalk, the pier, Tom's Restaurant and the tidal treasures of shells, glass and wood.  I love the train ride from my house, just twenty minutes, passing street after street of graffiti-covered brownstones and businesses, and the giddiness of excitement that whelms up when the Wonder Wheel and Luna Park comes in to view.

On a bitter morning complete with a bitter wind that bites at my exposed skin, I pace briskly up and down the deserted boardwalk and beach, gathering shells and glass to share with friends in Alaska and photograph the changing light.  The owners of Tom's Restaurant opens early for me, allowing me to thaw my chilled extremities and I sit perched in a stool next to the window, watching the sun's rays cast its long fingers over the waters, watching the seniors walking up and down the boardwalk, lifting and lowering their arms as they exercise, watching the gulls catch a ride on the steady wind.  

Cup after cup of coffee and a breakfast of biscuits and fruit fill my belly as the view fills my soul.  I have come to love this place, this beach, this boardwalk, this pier, this restaurant... and I feel tears well up in my eyes and slide down my cheek and on to my napkin.  I'll be gone for just a month, but I think of the waves, the birds, the people and the serenity that I'll miss. 

Coney Island is forever etched on my soul.  I love that a place can do this, can lift me, soothe me, heal me and make me long for more, more, more!

Oh Henry

Having honored the anniversary of losing Spankee, our other feline companion Henry is facing the same illness.  I think it is very unfair, unfair for Henry most of all, but unfair also for Taz and for me, for we know what is in store, what to expect.  You might think that having gone through this same disease just two years ago would make the process less painful, but it doesn't; in fact, perhaps, it is even more difficult because we are not naiive this time around, no longer can we be innocents, hoping for the best.  

Still grieving Spankee's death, we now tuck in to prepare for another loss on the horizon, while yet embracing and loving Henry in every moment that we have to be with him. The work of caring for Henry, giving him daily fluids, making sure he eats, his visits to the Vet, all of his caregiving falls on the shoulders of Taz.  

I'm ashamed to be so 4,000 miles from home...

In Memory of Spankee

It was two years ago today that my beloved kitty companion Spankee passed away.

I honor his memory by pausing to reflect on the incredible joy that he brought in to my life in the twelve years that we were together.  The simple delight he took in being in nature, snuggling in my lap, playing with his catnip toys and running all the neighbor dogs and cats off the property still makes me smile and yearn to hold him.  There are endless memories that I'm so very grateful for, but that also continue to make my heart ache for him.  

How to let go?  Feelings of guilt and grief still overwhelm me... This process, this journey is a tough one.

5 Pointz - Grafitti Art

5 Pointz in Long Island City, Queens is a block of colorful, detailed graffiti art that changes on a regular basis.  It took me nearly two months to realize that Long Island City is not a part of Long Island, thus my not making it out here until now. Ah, the joy of discovery and laughing at my own ignorance!

Reading that it is being threatened to be painted over this summer, I make my way to this oasis of color, pattern and beauty on what is the coldest day in New York City since my arrival in mid September.  At 19 degrees and with a robust wind taking the temps down to just 5 degrees, what I've planned to be a couple of hours spent photographing the buildings, instead becomes twenty minutes of nursing frozen fingers and toes while shooting.  Still, the gray light cast a moody ambiance over the covered warehouses and the bright colors taunt me to stay just a few minutes longer, and just a few minutes more.  And I do, until I can no longer feel my fingers, my toes or the end of my nose.