Women Build

One of my favorites from the Women Build kick-off on Monday.

Babies + Dogs

I realized the other day that I haven't posted any portrait session photos for, like...a year? It feels like that. So, stay tuned for a "best of" post with my favorites from the not-too-distant past.

I'd also really love to try some different kinds of sessions this summer -- more slice-of-life stuff. Strawberry picking? A backyard cookout? Water park? (Well, maybe not that last one. I don't have waterproof gear.) What do you like to do in the summertime, and would you like some really fun photographs to remember it? I'm open to suggestions...

P.S. I photographed the family above just a couple weeks ago. Not only were they really fun to hang out with, as the pictures show, they gave me a few bars of their own homemade soap as I was leaving. New best friends!

It's here!

First trip of the season to the farmers' market. I'm not even crazy about radishes, but I couldn't NOT buy them.

Heaven

Finally got my mitts on a handful of these beauties today, courtesy of a friend's neighbor. Who may or may not have known that my friend very generously allowed me to cut them. In the interest of protecting said friend's identity, I will not reveal his/her name, but you know who you are, and THANK YOU SO SO SO MUCH.

Costa Rica: More photos!

Just a quick post to share this link to my Flickr photostream, which is currently featuring about 200 photos from my Habitat trip to Costa Rica.

Almost everyone in our group gathered last night for a little reunion of sorts, and we watched a presentation that I put together using the photos and video I shot from our trip. Once I get that ready for the web, I'll be sure to feature it here!

Are you there, Spring? It's me, Andrea.

I took this picture last year on April 13:

All this rain is tricking my mind into thinking that it's later than it is (although my parents, who live in southern Pennsylvania, reported that their daffodils are already up 6").

BRING IT, SPRING. I'M READY.

Habitat for Humanity Costa Rica | Dina's story

When someone asks me, "How was Costa Rica?" my answer is pretty standard: "Amazing." And it was -- the weather, the scenery, the people, etc. Getting to escape the Minnesota winter, even for 10 days, is always a treat. And being exposed to another culture is, I think, one of the best things you can do to better understand your place in the world. Having participated in a Habitat trip to Honduras in 2007, I was prepared for a great experience.

We met Dina and her four daughters on our first day at the build site. They'll be receiving one of the 38 Habitat houses in the new development we were helping to build. Iveth (pronouced like "Yvette") is 10; twins Carolina and Vanesa are 9, and Francis is 5. They had gotten up very early that morning, picked about 30 coconuts from a tree in their yard, and -- I'm not quite sure of the process -- gotten them all down to the size of a softball. During our first break, Dina hacked at each one with a monstrous knife (while we gasped and hid our eyes) until there was a small hole in the top, perfect for a straw. She did this until everyone in our large group had a coconut, and then she did a few more.

Dina has a quiet strength, the likes of which I don't think I've ever seen before. She is in her late 20s, on the shorter side, but athletic. She's shy, but she has a sweet smile. And she is one of the hardest workers you'll ever meet. For the better part of the week, most of our group were wielding pick axes and shovels, trying to get through the heavy, red clay to make way for septic systems and concrete floors. Dina was a machine, hardly stopping for water or to catch her breath.

Throughout the week, I tried to learn more about Dina. Through an interpreter, I asked her a few questions. I got some shy answers, but enough to give an idea of how much this new house will mean to her. She's part of a group of residents of Santa Elena (a very small, very remote town near the Nicaraguan border) who have been fighting for better housing for six years after politicians, promising housing in exchange for votes, never made good on their promises. As the years dragged on and hope dwindled, other residents dropped the cause and said it was crazy to keep fighting. But Dina kept fighting, and midway through our time on the project, we learned why.

Dina's dwelling is right next to a brand-new house built for her brother.

Because of Dina's relationship with her girls' father, who is away much because of his construction job, she is ostracized by her family. She lives in a structure -- I can't call it a house -- right next to her mother's house, which is rustic but well-built, with comfortable amenities. Also next door is a brand-new house that was given to her brother, even though he's younger. Dina doesn't have enough room for her daughters, who sleep in their grandmother's house. She attached pieces of plastic to the outside of her "house" to keep the wind from blowing through the cracks, and the dirt floor is far from sanitary. "She deserves so much more than this," I thought over and over as she graciously allowed me to take pictures (to show the people back home just how much these Habitat homes are needed, I explained). And here she was, making tortillas for 24 complete strangers from the U.S. who were crowded in her front yard. Quiet strength, supreme generosity.

We made tortillas in Dina's mother's kitchen. 

For the remainder of the week, every time I thought of her situation, I got really sad. But immediately, I pictured Dina and her girls in their new Habitat house, surrounded by her friends. Because her new neighbors ARE her friends -- the friends that have been fighting with her for decent homes. She was looking forward to that security, she'd told me early in the week -- a home on land that she owned, where no one could kick her out. She's well on her way, and I'm so inspired by her and the people in Santa Elena who didn't stop fighting.

Learn more about Habitat Costa Rica at their website. You can watch a short video about the project we worked on (La Cruz) here (it's the first video on the list).

Costa Rica: Wait for it...

While I sort through all my photos from Costa Rica -- deleting, editing, keywording -- here's something pretty to look at.

More soon! Promise! In the meantime, you can check out Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity's blog to read more about our trip (and see some of my photos): http://www.tchabitat.org/costarica

Costa Rica: Blog? What blog?

Wait, it's Sunday already? Um. Well. I DO have stories, photos, and reflections to share. But you see, this is right outside the hotel as I'm typing:

Tell me, what would YOU be doing right now? Yeah, I thought so. Until later, my friends...

Costa Rica: Dig It

Okay, so it's late, my brain is mush, and forming any cohesive thoughts about our first two days on the build site doesn't seem like a possibility right now. So, here are more photos! Yay!

 Buenas noches!

Costa Rica: The Scenic Edition

People. This was the view from my room this morning.

I KNOW.

Yes, we're here to build houses, and I already have plenty of those photos after one day on site today. But I have to get all this gorgeous stuff out of my system, because there's SO MUCH gorgeousness down here, and I was in the process of gathering photos for this post last night when my laptop battery died, and -- in true Costa Rican fashion, as I learned too late -- things charge much s-l-o-w-e-r down here. So, enjoy the scenery...

So, right now, it looks like we're on a really awesome luxurious vacation. Up next -- heat, humidity, random downpours, and lots and lots of digging...

I'm baaaa-aaaaaaack...

Oh, hi there! Been a while, no? I'm getting ready for a trip to Costa Rica to photograph a Habitat for Humanity build, and I thought I'd dust off the ol' blog. So, after a little sprucing up, I think she's ready. Stay tuned! Depending on the hotel's wi-fi situation, I hope to post at least every other day while we're down there.

This picture is just here to test out the sizing options. But hey, I like it, so I'ma just gonna leave it there.

This photo won a girly pink honorable mention ribbon at the State Fair this year. Wahoo!