Coming soon.

I've learned a lot in the last two months as I work on a video for Tyree Harris' song "Memory Lane." Mostly I've learned that I don't actually know how to make a rap video. But in the meantime, I'm learning things to do better next time. After about a billion hours of fiddling, I am now doing what I hope is a final export!

My Stuff: Amanda Allen

Amanda explains:

1. Origami - My friend Gabriel made this for me before he moved back to Montana. I always thought it was inspiring. I keep it on top of my computer.

2. Key - I got this as a present from my friend Patricia for my 26th birthday. I think it came from an antique store in Chelsea. She got into a bad bike accident shortly thereafter. I have a tattoo of this exact key now.

3. Cup - Before my parents were married, they had a set of camping cookware. There are only two remaining artifacts of that set. I have one, and my dad has one.

4. Horseshoe - I bought this at an antique store on South Congress Street in Austin. I bought it on my last afternoon of the trip. For no particular reason I had a goal of bringing an old horseshoe back with me. Maybe I was listening to too much Ryan Adams. This was the dingiest one, the one I wanted. It's one of the best reminders of a solitary trip/

5. Scissors - I bought these in July at a stationery store. They're Indian tailor scissors, and they are incredibly sharp and precise.

6. Dracena Palm Tree - My mom bought it as a start on Maui when I was a kid. It's a good 16 years old now.

7. Record - This is my mom's original copy of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. Right before my mom and I moved to Hawaii, we had a huge barn sale, and my mom was selling all her original Pink Floyd and Beatles records for a quarter each. I knew that was a mistake. Thankfully, most of them didn't disappear.

8. Kodak Camera - My grandpa gave me this and two other cameras. I think this one was made in the '30s. My uncle once described it as a Wizard of Oz camera.

9. Bobo the Bear - In 2008, I found him in a free box in front of my house. He's kind of ratty and disheveled, but I felt some kind of affinity for him. Later that year, I was having a lot of anxiety, and I would wake up in the middle of the night. If I snuggled Bobo, he calmed me down.

10. Where the Sidewalk Ends - My grandma bought this for me at Village Books in Bellingham, Wash., when I was 7. We used to spend many rainy afternoons at Village Books. If I had to set fire to my bookcase, this is the book I would save.

But there's something about the summer

Last summer I borrowed Quentin's Canon AE-1 film camera. He left for Nebraska before I finished the roll, so the film took a ride to Omaha. He mailed the roll back to me a little while ago, and I finally had it developed. I miss the heat!

wist·ful

wist·ful
   /ˈwɪstfəl/ Show Spelled[wist-fuhl]
–adjective
1. characterized by melancholy; longing; yearning.
2. pensive, esp. in a melancholy way.

The most fun you can have in half a second

This is a video I made for the Oregonian:

Orygun Gunfighters from Casey Parks on Vimeo.

Friday Night Lights

More photos from my life in 2010 attempts. When I was a teenager, I spent most Friday nights clutching hot chocolate and vaguely paying attention to the score at football games. I haven't been to a game in more than a decade, but Friday night I went to the Aloha high game. Aloha is this unincorporated community I cover. I'm busy working on a series of articles about it right now, and the football team has a kind of rags-to-riches story. Seemed like as good a chance as any to get some good reporting in. The picture-taking was just a bonus.







(This previous photo is of two pre-teens. The girl (left) is asking the boy if he has a girlfriend).

@the Ace

For the last assignment in my photography class, we're supposed to take a bunch of pictures this week (ideally 360 a day!) of life in 2010. After class, I made a list of places in Portland I wanted to go. First up was the Ace Hotel. I kept trying to be surreptitious, which does not make the best pictures. I just don't know if I have the guts to be one of those 50's-era photographers who just walk right up to people and take their photos. And I'm too nervous to ask a person in a coffee shop if I can take their photo. So here is what I came up with: