Uploads from Mandy Rosen

it's beginning to feel like Summer

nobody@flickr.com (Mandy Rosen) — Thu, 23 May 2013 21:47:37 -0700

I love that mood in the air. I feel it every year. Just a few weeks before summer begins you can always feel the weather change in southern California. There is such a crisp, beautiful light that appears at the end of each sunset. It makes me think of the plastic bag in "American Beauty" ... the moment when Ricky realizes that there is a special and mysterious force behind everything in life.

I was going to delete the model's bracelet at first but then decided to keep it. I like the touch of contemporary-ism and I think it looks cool with a dress from a different era :) We took this picture just as the sun was setting. Natalie is such a dope chick, she's the only girl I know in Huntington Beach who I can go vent to about corrupt politicians, the Federal Reserve, and other bullshit caused by the power structure of the world. We have some political/video projects we want to collaborate on together in the future... especially since I am now making videos for We Are Change on Youtube :) I just did a video interview with a major CEO (about corruption + regulations within the FDA) and soon it will be uploaded onto We Are Change's Youtube channel (which is actually a dream come true for me because I have been avidly watching their videos for the past 6 months!)

Model: Natalie Toppo

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nobody@flickr.com (Mandy Rosen) — Tue, 21 May 2013 10:30:33 -0700

Mandy Rosen posted a photo:

I loved photographing Natalie, she has such a presence to her and is always offering creative ideas and I like working with models like that. I also like how this photo is part photo manipulation and part "natural." I want to expand my photography more in that direction in the future.

Please hit "L" to view large otherwise it's SO small looking!! :)

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jane says

nobody@flickr.com (Mandy Rosen) — Mon, 20 May 2013 19:03:04 -0700

Mandy Rosen posted a photo:

"jane says i never been in love,
Don't know what it is
only knows if someone wants her
I want them if they want me
I only know they want me...

she knows, they all want her to go
but that's O.K. man
she don't like them anyway"

^These are lyrics from "Jane Say's" by Jane's Addiction, literally one of my top 5 fav. songs in the entire world and one of my fav bands of all time. The first time i heard this song those specific lyrics really resonated with me and it felt really relatable. I think a lot of young women these days feel empty and used by men. Sometimes it can feel like guys are always trying to get something out of you, or benefit from you in some way, and it's hard sometimes knowing who is honest and genuine. Do they actually mean what they say when no one is around? Or do they just say whatever they think you want to hear so they can take advantage of you?

The actual song is about a heroin addicted prostitute who dies the next day (hence "I'm gonna kick tomorrow" always repeating throughout the song)

This is kinda different than my usual style, I don't want to move away from photo manipulations, but I want to try shooting more "natural" pictures also and continue my exploration of soft tones and curves. I've never done an "expanded" shot before and I want to try my first one tomorrow. I think, over time my photography will grow in different ways as I learn new techniques and try different things.... I only just started experimenting with curves/tones about a week ago and yeah i'm kinda hooked....

by the way everyone keeps saying they hate this new Flickr layout... but I like it. I feel like my photography is starting to change and I feel like Flickr is changing with me hehe :)

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Glinda

nobody@flickr.com (Mandy Rosen) — Sat, 18 May 2013 16:49:09 -0700

Mandy Rosen posted a photo:

This picture is inspired by Michelle William's performance as the character 'Glinda the Good Witch' in the movie Oz; a role immortalized by Billie Burke in the 1939 classic The Wizard of Oz. I've never been a huge fan of Michelle Williams and was surprised by how impressive her performance was.

Departing from Burke’s Glinda, Williams decided that in Oz the Great and Powerful, the character should be more fallible. “Glinda can’t be omniscient because then she has no struggle,” Williams explained to the LA Times. “If she already knows everything about the situation, there’s nothing for her to discover. If she’s just good and pure, she’s easily dismissed as being unrelatable or not that interesting or, even worse, annoying.. Her purity, her truthfulness, her goodness, those things are absolutes, but within those, what kind of flavors and variations can I find?"

In the film, Glinda leads the townspeople in a revolution against the tyrannical force that is governing their village. She knows James Franco is not really a wizard, but she is confident that he is the one that will help free her people, and she guides him to achieving his destiny- she inspires him.

model: Nebraska Jones

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the smoker's corner

nobody@flickr.com (Mandy Rosen) — Fri, 17 May 2013 19:16:32 -0700

Mandy Rosen posted a photo:

nobody@flickr.com (Mandy Rosen) — Wed, 15 May 2013 17:35:56 -0700

Mandy Rosen posted a photo:

model: Nebraska Jones

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nobody@flickr.com (Mandy Rosen) — Wed, 15 May 2013 10:56:19 -0700

Mandy Rosen posted a photo:

nobody@flickr.com (Mandy Rosen) — Mon, 13 May 2013 04:44:06 -0700

Mandy Rosen posted a photo:

leaf smoke cloud

nobody@flickr.com (Mandy Rosen) — Sun, 12 May 2013 23:00:31 -0700

Mandy Rosen posted a photo:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=6dtMI96zc0s

photographing myself

nobody@flickr.com (Mandy Rosen) — Sun, 12 May 2013 13:56:46 -0700

Mandy Rosen posted a photo:

Exactly one year ago I made a picture with the same concept of being on both sides of the camera... I don't know why I just like making pictures that show both sides of my life, being the model + photographer. In this picture the Mandy on the left is directing the Mandy on the right how to pose.

You probably won't notice at first, but there are two boys in the background of this picture. I almost deleted them but I decided to keep them, ppl constantly appear in the background of my photos anyways, and since I am showing what it's like when I photograph myself it's realistic to keep them in the picture. Plus when you zoom in close you will notice the boy on the left is pointing his toy gun (bebe gun?) at me. Crazy my camera caught that. As they walked past me I heard them speaking loudly, "there's that girl again. What is she taking pictures of?" haha

I bought this Holga camera from Urban Outfitters 2 years ago and I still haven't used up the first role of film haha.

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i am Jack's melancholic enslavement

nobody@flickr.com (Mandy Rosen) — Sat, 11 May 2013 15:37:33 -0700

Mandy Rosen posted a photo:

This picture is inspired by the scene in Fight Club where Edward Norton and Brad Pitt have their first fight. Right before Edward Norton stays at Brad Pitt's house, Brad Pitt turns and looks at Edward Norton and says, "You just have to do one thing for me. I want you to hit me as hard you can." and then the video frame freezes.

The audience doesn't realize it yet, but Edward Norton and Brad Pitt are one person. Brad Pitt is nothing more than an apparition or split personality that solely exists in Norton's mind.

So in this scene it appears that there are 2 men beating each other up, but later we realize it was Edward Norton punching himself, and that the fight is solely taking place in his mind (security footage of the fight displays throwing himself around and punching himself in the ribs and nose).

I think that subconsciously Norton was beating himself up for the same reason he blew up his apartment: to set himself free. "It's only after we've lost everything that we are free to do anything." The theme of existentialism is extremely blatant, and the notion that the individual must make meaning from a chaotic and destitute universe. Norton subconsciously created the contemptuous and violent Tyler Durden as a means to fight back against the consumerist culture which he feels lost within. The film illustrates that oppressed men find greater satisfaction in punching each other out than working through society like “normal” people. Not only is Tyler Durden unlocking the chains that enslave Edward Norton to a world of meaningless materialism, but he is teaching Edward Norton how to live, how to BE. He is teaching him that his personality, who he is, (his confidence, his sexual abilities, his overall mental and physical capabilities) is limitless and you can be ANYBODY you WANT to be. Your alter ego IS you.

Fight Club is the story of a man who creates a manifestation of the portion of his psyche that longs to fight back against a world it hates, and subsequently he created a split personality that tries to control him more and more; thus the film becomes more about freeing yourself from YOU, rather than society. The true fight of the film is not against society and consumerism, but against one’s own self. The real fight is within Jack’s mind. I believe it is that sort of inner turmoil, the fight between our own ethics and morals but ultimately powerless to our rebellious side that we can all relate to…. I know I can.

Not only is this one of my favorite films of all time, but I also love it because it includes some of my favorite themes that I incorporate into my own photography such as self-discovery, chaos, isolation, detachment, seclusion, destruction, the desire to create...

"HOW MUCH DO YOU REALLY KNOW ABOUT YOURSELF IF YOU'VE NEVER BEEN IN A FIGHT BEFORE?"

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daily doses of Starbucks

nobody@flickr.com (Mandy Rosen) — Fri, 10 May 2013 14:58:02 -0700

Mandy Rosen posted a photo:

I've been drinking green tea lattes almost every other day (literally sometimes everyday) for the past 3 years. My mom got me hooked on this drink a few years ago, I used to drink it hot but over the years I have converted to the cold version (but with no sweetener and no ice). I have to cut back because they're too damn addicting and I am having them too much.

This is my second picture in collaboration with Starbucks.
Click the next picture to see the other picture I made for Starbucks.

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cake pops!

nobody@flickr.com (Mandy Rosen) — Thu, 09 May 2013 05:46:54 -0700

Mandy Rosen posted a photo:

A few days ago I collaborated on a concept shoot idea with Starbucks. I swear I'd love to meet the person who invented the birthday cake pops they taste amazing!! I'll be releasing another Starbucks picture tomorrow that involves a levitation + a giant green tea latte :)

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the key to art is balance

nobody@flickr.com (Mandy Rosen) — Wed, 08 May 2013 04:23:47 -0700

Mandy Rosen posted a photo:

(Banksy quote)
One of my favorite books that I've owned for 6 years.
please hit "L" to view large :)

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nobody@flickr.com (Mandy Rosen) — Tue, 07 May 2013 14:06:59 -0700

Mandy Rosen posted a photo:

honey I shrunk the Mandy.

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nobody@flickr.com (Mandy Rosen) — Mon, 06 May 2013 12:38:03 -0700

Mandy Rosen posted a photo:

you gotta stop looking back,
and remember to look ahead
-Mistakes

(this is my first "tiny me" picture... please hit 'L' to view large)

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the emerging woman

nobody@flickr.com (Mandy Rosen) — Sat, 04 May 2013 13:09:55 -0700

Mandy Rosen posted a photo:

I found this beautiful mirror in an antique store and have been wanting to use it in a photo for the longest time.

I took this picture of the sky on the plane while coming home from the Caribbean. I was looking out the window and the gap in the sky caught my eye, especially since it's surrounded by a plethora of thick cloud. I thought it was interesting, and I love how the woman on the mirror is dancing, emerging from the crack in the sky soaring high above the clouds... it kinda summarizes how I'm feeling in life right now rising above life's obstacles feeling happy and carefree

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sitting on a dock of the bay..

nobody@flickr.com (Mandy Rosen) — Sun, 28 Apr 2013 15:05:25 -0700

Mandy Rosen posted a photo:

People seemed to really like this on facebook so I thought I would post it on Flickr too. The song "Sitting on a Dock of the Bay" by Otis Redding kept playing through my mind as I took these photos. I didn't have a tripod so I set my Canon to self-timer and placed it on top of one of the poles... the weird angle has actually grown on me :)

If you go to my next Flickr picture, you will see an image of me jumping against the sky. I actually took that picture on this same pier, but just photoshopped the pier out (and kept the same sky in the picture).

After 2 weeks of non stop work I finally finished editing all my Caribbean pics, the "normal" ones and the "artsy" ones. You can view the full album here.

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let go.

nobody@flickr.com (Mandy Rosen) — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 19:03:00 -0700

Mandy Rosen posted a photo:

I love to write Mandy verse
Some aren't bad, some are worse
I've written of her dreamy skies
I've written of her lovely eyes
I've written of her sea so fond
I've written of her by a pond
I've written of her times of stress
I've written of her butterfly dress
I've written of her darkest fears
I've written of her lonely tears
This image really had me stumped
Lucky for me away she jumped!
-Poem written by my Flickr friend Ethan

butterfly water wings!

nobody@flickr.com (Mandy Rosen) — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 11:14:34 -0700

Mandy Rosen posted a photo:

self portrait over the Caribbean ocean

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