Daily affirmations of a word mercenary
I Like To Watch Category
This is where photo posts go. Despite the voyeuristic category name you won’t find any photos that are erotic or scandalous. If you want to cut straight to the chase, you can browse my photos on Flickr.
Wool in the Amanas, originally uploaded by .Ariel.
Andreas and I just had an epic day of travel (door to door: 15 hours, four airports, two delayed flights) returning from Iowa, where we spent Thanksgiving with Dre’s mom and her partner. Here’s the first of my photo sets: Iowa Still Lifes.Wardrobe Remix
22
Nov
2006
In: I Like To Watch
Anyone who watches my Flickr photostream has doubtlessly noticed the ridiculous documentarian fashion shots I’ve been taking for the last month or two.
I find these photos so embarrassing that I considered starting a separate Flickr account for them, but I’ve gotten lots of feedback that people (ok, fine: women) find them interesting, so I’m leaving them. That said, I figured I’d offer an explanation of what’s going on.
A few months ago I found myself totally bored with my clothing. It was stupid, really: I have an enormous closet full of incredibly awesome interesting weird colorful wacky clothes, but it’s easy to fall into a rut. I considered challenging myself to wear each thing in my closet once, without repeating, until I’d worn everything. If I put something on that I hadn’t worn in ages and decided I didn’t like it, I’d put it in the give-away bag and be done with it.
Then I stumbled on wardrobe_remix, a Flickr group that’s all about everyday folks documenting their own brand of street fashion. It’s not about shopping (lots of the clothing is vintage, reconstructed, and otherwise one-of-a-kind) but about getting inspired. I’m a huge fan of street fashion — I find designer stuff boring and expensive and really, who cares? I’m interested in fashion that’s entertaining and creative and trends that bubble up from the sidewalks — not couture dictated from the top of the runway. My favorite articles of clothing are ones where, when you look at it on a hanger, you wonder “Uh, what is it?” For me, fashion isn’t about the runways, it’s about sidewalks and festivals and clubs and even creative-class conference rooms.
Therefore, the wardrobe_remix photo pool is infinitely more inspiring to me than the pages of a glossy magazine. I don’t care what people are wearing in New York, London, or Paris. I want to know what people are wearing in Montreal, Austin, Melbourne, San Francisco, and Portland, OR.
In exchange, I give them a little look at what people are wearing in Seattle. Or at least what weirdos like me wear in Seattle. I was a little hesitant to join the group at first — there’s definitely a heavy lean towards the skinny jeans/’80s vintage look in the photo pool, and that is SO NOT ME. I have no idea how I’d describe my fashion (layered post-raver bohemian kaleidoscopic, maybe?), but I don’t really rock the vintage much. That said, I’ve found the community to be totally friendly, inviting, and inspirational.
There’s a group rule that you can’t whine about yourself (ie, no “I look dumpy today!”) and there seems to be a culture of positive comments only (ie, no “Uh, those pants don’t fit, honey”). It’s supportive, and there’s no denying that it’s encouraged me to be more creative in my dressing. No more wardrobe rut for me. Now it’s always fun to see what weird combination I can come up with each morning. My coworkers seem entertained, and anyone who doesn’t like it can suck it back and forth (as my coworker Dana would say).
I think I’ve mostly gotten over my embarrassment at posting self-portraits of my outfits. I mean, I like looking at other people’s pictures, so why should I be embarrassed of my own? I guess taking the time to snap a shot of what I’m wearing each morning starts to get a little too close to my line in the sand of what’s interesting vs. what’s just painfully awful narcissistic navel-gazing blogger-horror. Today pictures of my clothes, tomorrow videos of me dancing around my room lip syncing Scissors Sisters songs while making “blogger face” at the camera and holding up hand-written signs that say “I’m so cute, I’m so cute, I’m so cute”? Ug. But whatever. I’m willing to sacrifice my pride to contribute to the fashion dialog and provide entertainment in the form of over-the-top wtf outfits.
And the slightly OCD documentarian in me gets a sick satisfaction out of seeing all the outfits in a row. *twitch* As one person pointed out, it’s like paper dolls! But, ME!!
Yay, Eugene!, originally uploaded by .Ariel.
Gothoween
29
Oct
2006
In: I Like To Watch
I am going to go home and cut myself now, originally uploaded by .Ariel.
If you’ve ever wondered what Dre and I would look like as goths,
wonder no longer.Fog in the redwoods
13
Sep
2006
In: I Like To Watch
Fog in the redwoods, originally uploaded by revolution8.
Since I’m still in the honeymoon phase with my new Canon, I took hundreds of photos at Shambhala. For your convenience, I’ve broken them into three sets:
People I know
This is the set for you if you know me in real life and want to see portraits of my camp-mates and our friends and stuff. If you don’t know me in real life, it might be sort of boring cuz you’re all “Who are these people?” and “What’s up with the weird clothes?” and “Why is Andreas humiliating himself like that?”
Set & Setting
Mostly places and things at the festival. I really didn’t do that good of a job of documenting the amazing location and many gorgeous stages, but I did get at least one great shot. I think Andreas actually did better at photographing the venue, so if you feel unfulfilled after looking at my set, check out his.
People I don’t know
Dawn loaned me one of her telephoto lenses for the weekend and oh my god was it ever dangerous. Evidently, I have no ethics what-so-ever when it comes to taking paparazzi shots of people from afar. This set is packed with gorgeous people candidly photographed by yours truly — the really good shots are friends-only though, because I didn’t want to exploit the beautiful nudies. That said, oh my god: Canadians are pretty hot. Oh and Couger culture? Totally for real.
So! If after looking through all those hundreds of photos, you want even MORE pictures from my crew of compatriots, you can check out the Shambhalicious pool. And yes, I realize that lately Elish has been mostly a photoblog, but stuff it. It’s summer and I can’t think straight.
Cutest tent at Meadowfab
8
Aug
2006
In: I Like To Watch
sacred tent, originally uploaded by saucygirl.
Awww!Meadow fabulous
7
Aug
2006
In: I Like To Watch
Here’s how it happened. After spending the better part of the weekend in the meadow that is the heart of Sacred Groves, this conversation took place:
Lily: That’s so ghetto-fabulous!
Damien: … Did you just say ‘that’s so meadow-fabulous‘?
Lily: No.
Me: But she should have!
And so a descriptor was born. The weekend was positively meadow fabulous. You can look at about a million and a half photos if you like, starting with mine and then everyone else’s. Apparently the shot to your right is the most interesting.
PS: I posted more photos than usual because I got a new toy. It kicks so much ass!
Boys at the bar
4
Aug
2006
In: I Like To Watch
why we go to bars, originally uploaded by damonomad.
to play with gadgets, not socialize
Wool in the Amanas, originally uploaded by .Ariel.
Andreas and I just had an epic day of travel (door to door: 15 hours, four airports, two delayed flights) returning from Iowa, where we spent Thanksgiving with Dre’s mom and her partner. Here’s the first of my photo sets: Iowa Still Lifes.
Wardrobe Remix
22 Nov 2006 In: I Like To WatchAnyone who watches my Flickr photostream has doubtlessly noticed the ridiculous documentarian fashion shots I’ve been taking for the last month or two.
I find these photos so embarrassing that I considered starting a separate Flickr account for them, but I’ve gotten lots of feedback that people (ok, fine: women) find them interesting, so I’m leaving them. That said, I figured I’d offer an explanation of what’s going on.
A few months ago I found myself totally bored with my clothing. It was stupid, really: I have an enormous closet full of incredibly awesome interesting weird colorful wacky clothes, but it’s easy to fall into a rut. I considered challenging myself to wear each thing in my closet once, without repeating, until I’d worn everything. If I put something on that I hadn’t worn in ages and decided I didn’t like it, I’d put it in the give-away bag and be done with it.
Then I stumbled on wardrobe_remix, a Flickr group that’s all about everyday folks documenting their own brand of street fashion. It’s not about shopping (lots of the clothing is vintage, reconstructed, and otherwise one-of-a-kind) but about getting inspired. I’m a huge fan of street fashion — I find designer stuff boring and expensive and really, who cares? I’m interested in fashion that’s entertaining and creative and trends that bubble up from the sidewalks — not couture dictated from the top of the runway. My favorite articles of clothing are ones where, when you look at it on a hanger, you wonder “Uh, what is it?” For me, fashion isn’t about the runways, it’s about sidewalks and festivals and clubs and even creative-class conference rooms.
Therefore, the wardrobe_remix photo pool is infinitely more inspiring to me than the pages of a glossy magazine. I don’t care what people are wearing in New York, London, or Paris. I want to know what people are wearing in Montreal, Austin, Melbourne, San Francisco, and Portland, OR.
In exchange, I give them a little look at what people are wearing in Seattle. Or at least what weirdos like me wear in Seattle. I was a little hesitant to join the group at first — there’s definitely a heavy lean towards the skinny jeans/’80s vintage look in the photo pool, and that is SO NOT ME. I have no idea how I’d describe my fashion (layered post-raver bohemian kaleidoscopic, maybe?), but I don’t really rock the vintage much. That said, I’ve found the community to be totally friendly, inviting, and inspirational.
There’s a group rule that you can’t whine about yourself (ie, no “I look dumpy today!”) and there seems to be a culture of positive comments only (ie, no “Uh, those pants don’t fit, honey”). It’s supportive, and there’s no denying that it’s encouraged me to be more creative in my dressing. No more wardrobe rut for me. Now it’s always fun to see what weird combination I can come up with each morning. My coworkers seem entertained, and anyone who doesn’t like it can suck it back and forth (as my coworker Dana would say).
I think I’ve mostly gotten over my embarrassment at posting self-portraits of my outfits. I mean, I like looking at other people’s pictures, so why should I be embarrassed of my own? I guess taking the time to snap a shot of what I’m wearing each morning starts to get a little too close to my line in the sand of what’s interesting vs. what’s just painfully awful narcissistic navel-gazing blogger-horror. Today pictures of my clothes, tomorrow videos of me dancing around my room lip syncing Scissors Sisters songs while making “blogger face” at the camera and holding up hand-written signs that say “I’m so cute, I’m so cute, I’m so cute”? Ug. But whatever. I’m willing to sacrifice my pride to contribute to the fashion dialog and provide entertainment in the form of over-the-top wtf outfits.
And the slightly OCD documentarian in me gets a sick satisfaction out of seeing all the outfits in a row. *twitch* As one person pointed out, it’s like paper dolls! But, ME!!
Yay, Eugene!, originally uploaded by .Ariel.
Gothoween
29 Oct 2006 In: I Like To WatchI am going to go home and cut myself now, originally uploaded by .Ariel.
If you’ve ever wondered what Dre and I would look like as goths,
wonder no longer.
Fog in the redwoods
13 Sep 2006 In: I Like To WatchFog in the redwoods, originally uploaded by revolution8.
Since I’m still in the honeymoon phase with my new Canon, I took hundreds of photos at Shambhala. For your convenience, I’ve broken them into three sets:
People I know
This is the set for you if you know me in real life and want to see portraits of my camp-mates and our friends and stuff. If you don’t know me in real life, it might be sort of boring cuz you’re all “Who are these people?” and “What’s up with the weird clothes?” and “Why is Andreas humiliating himself like that?”
Set & Setting
Mostly places and things at the festival. I really didn’t do that good of a job of documenting the amazing location and many gorgeous stages, but I did get at least one great shot. I think Andreas actually did better at photographing the venue, so if you feel unfulfilled after looking at my set, check out his.
People I don’t know
Dawn loaned me one of her telephoto lenses for the weekend and oh my god was it ever dangerous. Evidently, I have no ethics what-so-ever when it comes to taking paparazzi shots of people from afar. This set is packed with gorgeous people candidly photographed by yours truly — the really good shots are friends-only though, because I didn’t want to exploit the beautiful nudies. That said, oh my god: Canadians are pretty hot. Oh and Couger culture? Totally for real.
So! If after looking through all those hundreds of photos, you want even MORE pictures from my crew of compatriots, you can check out the Shambhalicious pool. And yes, I realize that lately Elish has been mostly a photoblog, but stuff it. It’s summer and I can’t think straight.
Cutest tent at Meadowfab
8 Aug 2006 In: I Like To Watchsacred tent, originally uploaded by saucygirl.
Awww!
Meadow fabulous
7 Aug 2006 In: I Like To WatchHere’s how it happened. After spending the better part of the weekend in the meadow that is the heart of Sacred Groves, this conversation took place:
Lily: That’s so ghetto-fabulous!
Damien: … Did you just say ‘that’s so meadow-fabulous‘?
Lily: No.
Me: But she should have!
And so a descriptor was born. The weekend was positively meadow fabulous. You can look at about a million and a half photos if you like, starting with mine and then everyone else’s. Apparently the shot to your right is the most interesting.
PS: I posted more photos than usual because I got a new toy. It kicks so much ass!
Boys at the bar
4 Aug 2006 In: I Like To Watchwhy we go to bars, originally uploaded by damonomad.
to play with gadgets, not socialize
Hey there. I'm Ariel Meadow Stallings, a native Seattleite who's written my way up and down the Left Coast. Electrolicious is where I post daily randomata, but I also write for a living. My first book, Offbeat Bride, was published last year.
You're reading a page from the archives. Check the homepage for current content.
