Molto Carina » Blog

Camping in Harriman State Park, NY

Carina — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 16:39:51 +0000

It’s that time. Sausage on a stick time. Smoke in your eyes time. Moss for a mattress time. Dirt under your fingernails time.

A few West Philly friends and I officially kicked off camping season a couple weekends ago at Harriman State Park just over the New York border. I arrived to the park at sunset, and by the time we hiked to the spot our friends staked out for us darkness had fallen completely. But even though I had to wait until morning to take in my surroundings, there’s nothing like unzipping the tent at dawn, popping your head out, and discovering you’re situated at the top of a rugged hill that overlooks a pond on the one side and an entire valley on the other. Even though temperatures dipped below freezing that night, the next day slowly melted to a heavenly sun drenched afternoon. Between my snug sleeping bag cocoon, the peepers that sang us all to sleep, the leisurely pace of cooking breakfast over a campfire (that inevitably segues into cooking up more sausages for lunch), and a relaxing nap in the sun, I came back to the city feeling completely refreshed and ready for spring! The ten mile hike (that was probably only supposed to be six) left me with slightly sore muscles, but it was a good sore. Just like the touch of sunburn on my nose. Fresh air and scenery sure did this city kid some good!

Our perfect little hill. (Click to expand.)

We hiked up to a vista where you could just barely make out the NYC skyline in the distance.

Philly Youth Radio Showcase – “At the Heart, From the Heart”

Carina — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 16:10:51 +0000

On my journey to owning a photography business, somewhere between film studies and art blogging, I was on the radio. For five months, I produced a music and interview program that was heard all across the country. And that was cool. But my shining moment was a two-sentence translation voiceover I read for All Things Considered that aired to millions of adoring fans. ATC and NPR fans, that is… Yet attending Philly Youth Radio’s Showcase was equally as exhilarating. The evening of the event, a sizable crowd trickled into the dimly lit WHYY studio cum auditorium and buzzed with anticipation to hear the youth radio pieces…but I’m sure no one was more excited than the three student producers themselves! After a few words by founder Yowei Shaw and coordinator Beth Patel, the house lights went down, and the audience was given a little piece of each teen’s heart….

“To Date or Not to Date – That is the Chinese Immigrant Teenager’s Question” by Yingci Chen:

“What Twilight Didn’t Teach Me About Love” by Jaya Montague:

“Head Over Heels for Cooking” by Dinh To:

Following the screenings, the students participated in a panel discussion to describe their experience as youth radio producers, and they even fielded questions from the audience. Yowei and Beth announced that this would be the last session of Philly Youth Radio, and they spoke beautifully about how Philly Youth Radio changed them: right alongside the student producers they mentored into budding radio producers, the two teachers also grew in their own radio careers. I wanted to photograph the showcase for Philly Youth Radio so that even though this session and this program have come to an end, the night can still live on, and we can all still celebrate their accomplishments…and gather inspiration for our own creative endeavors! Congratulations Dinh, Jaya, Yingci, Beth, and Yowei!

Technical.ly Video

Carina — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 13:15:23 +0000

Sometimes you see amazingly epic masterpieces created by people on the internet, and you think, “Wow, I wish that could be me.” But when you see these amazingly epic masterpieces have been created by your friends and your peers, it makes you realize, “Man, that could be me!”

It has been nothing short of incredible to watch fellow Temple alumni Brian James Kirk and Chris Wink create something big out of a brilliant idea and a lot of elbow grease. I saw Technically Philly start off as a local niche blog in 2009 and quickly grow to become a trusted media organization and leader among Philadelphia’s burgeoning tech scene. But the founders didn’t slow down once they conquered our own fair town. Instead, they dreamed even bigger and launched a new branch in Philly’s southern cousin, Baltimore, to continue spreading their message of “Better cities through technology” to a new audience.

To reflect their expanded vision and reach, a fresh website and a slight re-brand was in order. Technical.ly is the new home base for the network’s signature local divisions, Technically Philly and Technically Baltimore (soon to be joined by Technically Brooklyn!), alongside a bigger picture of nationally relevant tech stories.

And with every new website and re-brand comes a fresh promo video! I was honored to assist videographer and director Stephen Metzger in producing this video for Technical.ly’s new About page. The sheer number of interviews we conducted with Philadelphia’s tech visionaries is a testament to Technical.ly’s incredible ability to create something bigger than content: a community.

And when I see the work of Technical.ly, it reminds me of my own power to create my own something big.

The Philadelphia Flower Show’s Horticourt Story Video

Carina — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 12:30:09 +0000

I must have turned the Zipcar around three times looking for the correctly numbered mailbox. We were on one of those country roads that seems impossible to navigate now that I’m accustomed to a land of numbered streets with numbered rowhomes on a generally orderly grid system. Not even a passenger with an iphone could explain why the numbers between two houses suddenly jumped by a prime number, so all the K-turns weren’t the fault of my defective inner compass for a change.

We eventually took a lucky guess down a long gravel driveway that led to a tiny cluster of houses set back among the trees, and after catching the glimpse of a sizable greenhouse, Steve and I knew right away which one belonged to Dr. and Mrs. Barad.

I was ecstatic to shoot video of such an accomplished horticulturist and all his award winning plants in the same New Jersey area code as my hometown with my favorite videographer. Talk about a great day at work! Dr. Barad has such a vast wealth of knowledge and so many seriously cool cactuses and succulents that I couldn’t help but nerd out just a little bit in his greenhouses.

Stephen Metzger worked his usual magic to put together this video for the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, and I can’t wait to see it displayed this weekend at the Philadelphia Flower Show! Enjoy/nerd out to this Horticourt Story!

Happy 90th Birthday, Abuela!

Carina — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 17:36:33 +0000

I always have to explain to people why I have an Abuela. There is no Spanish-speaking blood in my body, yet “Hola, Abuela!” and “Te quiero mucho mucho mucho!” were parts of my vocabulary at a young age. My family was adopted by Abuelo and Abuela before my sister and I were even born. I’ve heard the story so many times how my parents could smell garlic and potatoes wafting from their landlady’s kitchen on the other side of the wall…about a half-hour before they would find a fresh, warm tortilla waiting on their doorstep. I can’t drink ginger ale without thinking of Abuela. She always took care of me as a kid when I was too sick to go to school, and we would drink ginger ale and watch soap operas in the kitchen while she cooked. And when my own Grandma and Pop Pop lived too far away to come to Grandparents’ Day at school, Abuela and Abuelo were there with me instead.

On my birthdays, Abuela would always write me out a card I couldn’t understand. But I knew somewhere in the curly Spanish script, she was telling me she loved me, she thanked God for me, and she wished me years of blessings.

And last weekend, we all got the chance to tell her the same. Because Abuela just celebrated her 90th birthday! Happy birthday, Abuela! Te quiero mucho!

Mimi’s Gothic Lolita Beauty Shoot

Carina — Tue, 19 Feb 2013 17:38:45 +0000

Step into her rowhouse and you’d think you walked into an art gallery. Mimi’s walls wear a vast collection of beautiful women and doe eyed dolls who fill the room with a feminine energy that is sexy but sensitive, soft but tough.

Now her body, her body is an art gallery all it’s own. Over the past, gee, seven years or so, I’ve watched Mimi’s skin collect more and more ink. First, I saw her chest piece emerge. Then, a few more tattoos on her left arm. An old timey bicycle on her leg. The ladies on each side of her neck. Doll face on her knuckles. I started to lose track, but in a good way. Now whenever I see her, she always has some new art, another piece to hang on the gallery.

Mimi also happens to know her way around a makeup kit, and I’ve been wanting to photograph a creatively painted face lately. It was a match made in February afternoon heaven, which was amplified to 11 when Ricky showed up to style her hair amid a Misfits playlist. The three of us collaborated to put together an amazing gothic lolita inspired look and created some new artwork of our own.

Making Peace With Self-Timers

Carina — Tue, 12 Feb 2013 13:00:25 +0000

It seems like every photographer has done a self-portrait project. Not me. The self-timer and I have declared a ceasefire. Our battles are always the same: I set up the shot and pre-focus on the leaf where my butt will go, and I hit the shutter and run into the frame. Which leaf was I supposed to sit on again? The camera doesn’t wait, it starts snapping away, and just as I figure out what to do with my left hand, the burst is finished and it’s time to haul myself back up to check the back of the camera. Most images end up with awkward parts of my body cut out of the frame or out of focus in ways that aren’t artsy at all.

In that moment, I finally I understand what it feels like to see yourself on the other side of the lens. What in the world is that claw hand about? -delete- OMG is that what my profile really looks like? -delete- Why oh why didn’t I brush the hair out of my eyes? -delete- My elbow looks WAY too bony from that angle, gross. -delete- It’s a vulnerable place to be, on the other side of that lens. It amazes me how brave you have to be to let me shoot you. How much trust you all give me when you let me point the camera your way.

I pondered it all as I stared into the rushing water of the Musconetcong. My happy place. Even if all my self-portraits made me cringe, I wanted to hang on to the memory. All the memories. All the times my sister and I went swimming with our beat-up river shoes on. All the times I ran over the bridge building up endurance for cross-country…and then came to the Dreaded Hill. That 4th of July when I went tubing through with my best friends. And all the times I walked down there just to sit.

So I went back and forth once again. Camera shutter. Leaf. And when the burst finished, I didn’t scrutinize every shot. I just turned the camera off and stared into the water instead.

Foodie Friday – Rue 52

Carina — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 16:59:30 +0000

The whole city is my oyster, but if I had my way I’d never leave my West Philly bubble. I come from the land of co-ops and farmer’s markets and big front porches and Dock Street Pizza and Ethiopian food and TREES! And when new little cafes pop up in my hood, I get pretty excited. Rue 52 isn’t brand spankin’ new anymore, but for some reason it took me a few months to remember to check it out. I just don’t usually think of 52nd Street as having any viable sit ‘n’ snack options! Once I got it through my thick skull, I finally walked over to Rue 52 for a crepe date with Katie and became utterly infatuated. The interior is modern and comfortable – a spacious seating area in the back is supplemented by a couple of cute tables near the front window. So bring your laptop and stay a while; the people watching is great! And the crepes are, well, OMG. Get a “Rittenhouse” and sub the ranch dressing with pesto and you have a chicken, pesto, mozz, and bacon -gasm in your mouth. And best yet, you will definitely be stuffed and forced to take some home with you (earning the Stephen stamp of approval)! On another crepe date, I tried a simple sweet crepe with butter, sugar, and lemon. It was the perfect sweet and light compliment to a cup of coffee in the morning. The coffee is very tasty in its own right, and one time my mom twisted my arm to get a chocolate raspberry latte (earning the Carina sweet tooth stamp of approval as well). So fair warning – if you want to meet with me anytime in the next few months, chances are I’ll try to drag you on a crepe date to Rue 52.

In Katie’s Kitchen

Carina — Thu, 07 Feb 2013 19:09:15 +0000

This story starts with a crepe date, which, in case you hadn’t noticed, is a great way to start a story. Or a date for that matter. Ms. Katie Eclectik Domestic Briggs made the trek out to West Philly one of those cold-snap days that turned my hands purple because I thought I could get away with walking four blocks without gloves. Luckily, a cup of Americano warmed them back up in no time as the two of us sat down for a delightful and overdue chat. Katie and I speak the same language – food, not French – and she is also a fellow blogger, so basically, we had so much to talk about that we had to follow up with another date! Last week, it was my turn to visit Katie in her South Philly kitchen where we made some photos and her dad’s signature Caesar salad dressing. Believe me, you DEFINITELY want to grab that recipe on her blog! So here she is: the incredibly talented, joyful, and beautiful Eclectik Domestic herself! (Eat your heart out, Martha Stewart!)

Fashion Friday – Children’s Fancywear

Carina — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 19:51:02 +0000

Floral prints, puffy shoulders, lace-edged bibs, and satin ribbons tied around the waist. That would describe pretty much all the fancywear in my closet in 1992. I look at little kids these days wearing skinny jeans with a studded belt, miniature Chucks, and a faux fur bolero on top, and I’m a little jealous! Not that I didn’t LOVE getting fancied up in my adorkable little dresses as a kid… But back then we really didn’t have the same options of dressing like tiny replicas of fashion-forward adults. It was a bib you couldn’t spill on or nothing! I know all you 80s babies are feelin’ me right now! But imagine our collective mortification if our parents put our little brothers in dresses or us girls in a toddler sized corset. A corset!

I recently visited the Perelman Building, an annex to the Philadelphia Museum of Art where they always have interesting costume and textile exhibitions. Right now they are showing a collection of childrenswear from the late 18th to mid-20th centuries that give a fascinating peek into fashions from the past.

And for a little peek into fashions from MY past….

Happy (throwback) Fashion Friday!