“The happiness of being with people.” -Kafka

September was a month of celebration & anticipation. Making much of others with plenty of birthdays, new houses, new jobs, their heartbreaks, weddings, babies, and reunions of all shapes and sizes. And anticipating the weighted approach of the new season that comes only in tandem with the warm fading of summer. It was full, and at times heavy with the weight of anticipation of the next shift or notable moment.

But amidst the flurry, there was ‘the happiness of being with people,’ that never left me. Celebrating, waiting, reconnecting, and reveling in the moments that are so electric, simply because they remind you that you are alive, and that time is marked only by our remembrance of its passing.

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There’s just something oddly perfect about that moment your best friends become parents. Having already earned my aunt title (thanks to the two coolest boys I’ve ever met, trust me - you want to meet them, and you should they’re very friendly) I’m a sucker for all things baby related and can’t get enough of their chubby perfection.
But something about your best friends starting to have babies is a whole different kind of aunthood. It’s like your current best friend multiplied, shrunk and became even cuter than you already thought they were.
So, meet my new tiny best friend, Lola Glory. She’s pretty great. We already have tons of inside jokes, it’s okay, you guys will have your own with her someday too, don’t be jealous.

Keep the cuteness coming, my friends. I will friend-aunt & photograph any and all heavenly offspring you wish you create!
xoxo, Rachel

“Some days in late August at home are like this, the air thin and eager like this, with something in it sad and nostalgic and familiar…” William Faulkner

Rachel McCord
Yashica D | Kodak Portra 400
From series: 2000filmteen - a film image each day of 2014

August was like a nap that you aren’t ready to wake up from. A much needed heavy pause that never seems to have quite enough breath surrounding it. It held goodbye’s & hello’s in tandem, blurred together and separating at seemingly alarming rates. It brought transition, displacement and crash landings in one fell swoop.

But still I found rest.

There is a simple grace in finding your footing on more stable ground than you left behind. August was the part of the book where you finally connect with the main character because you see them realize their messes can’t be hidden; and in the same breath they rise to the occasion with a lightness that feels palpable.
“I shook my tambourine the whole time because it helped me remember that even though I was gong through different neighborhoods, I was still me.” Jonathan Safran Foer
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July was a reflector. I was drawn to shadows, contrasts, visual clutter and spots of light - unconsciously looking for something else in everything I saw. It’s so fitting how only after holding the frames of time in your hands can you realize that you were thirsty for more in those moments. More than just what is seen at a glance, more meaning than just what was intended, and more to uncover if you just wait a minute longer. I feel like I’ve been looking at the world through the eyes you wear just after you awake, hazily squinting and trying to decipher what it is you see, or don’t see. This month my eyes focused.

“While it is possible to wake a person who’s sleeping, no amount of noise will wake a person who is pretending to be asleep.” - Jonathan Safran Foer

Yashica D | Kodak Portra 400 | From series: 2000filmteen - a film image each day of 2014

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Rachel McCord Yashica D | 120mm film | Portra 400
From series: 2000filmteen - a film image each day of 2014

June: the month of saying yes to all the things I throw no’s at.

This is the month I turned 25. I had my fair share of kicks & screams, not wanting to do things like check my credit score or get renters insurance; it put the up in growing up, more than I preferred. But then I realized, I can still go to bed at 2am and feel like crap the next day, count ice cream as an acceptable meal, and continue to dream of days when all my bills will be paid. My only June as a 25yr old has taught me to say yes when necessary, and even when it isn’t. Yes to celebrating & yes to sulking, yes to living out each moment & yes to the responsibilities. And yes to the pure idea of saying yes. Yes, because it scares you. I’ve decided to not let yes scare me. But to give my yes’ something worth asserting. “Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, magic, and power in it. Begin it now.” - W.H. Murray, _the Scottish Himalayan Expedition_.

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The month of May taught me how to see when my eyes glaze over.

When life loses it’s luster and puts more distance between you and that light at the end of the tunnel than you would like; seeing through the haze of the mundane is crucial. Finding hope in the days that make up years is crucial. Seeing when your eyes don’t feel like seeing is the missed opportunity I fail to grasp a thousand times more than I wish to admit. May helped me pinpoint my glaze, and point it back with awe at what I’ve been missing.

“The universe was not made in jest but in solemn incomprehensible earnest. By a power that is unfathomably secret, and holy, and fleet. There is nothing to be done about it, but ignore it, or see.” - Annie Dillard

Yashica D | 120mm film | Portra 400 From series: 2000filmteen - a film image each day of 2014

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“April is the cruellest month, breeding lilacs out of the dead land, mixing memory and desire, stirring dull roots with spring rain.” - T.S. Eliot

April is the month that ritual lost it’s newness and became a discipline. And, for me, if not examined and applied well, discipline can become unappetizing.

I can again resonate with the feeling of doing art for no other reason than to grow your soul. To quiet that nagging “I should’s”, push back the gritty bits of creative process, expose the parts of it that baffle or repel me and tackle them. To harness the tension, put some light on it, and get it on film.

Yashica D | 120mm film | Portra 400
From series: 2000filmteen - a film image each day of 2014

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“Love or fear or passion makes you real agaIn.” - Kerouac

Lone Rider, 2014 #twothousandfilmeen

I feel like there are so many or’s in my life. So many also’s. So many and’s.
I’m aiming to fill it with because of’s and from’s. Clarity that punctuates experience.
It’s as though I’m running out of time to continue to settle for days marked by ominous or’s.
Join me as I seek to sort this out visually in my year-long film project, #twothousandfilmteen.
The previous months of work are available to view, here.
XO | Rachel