Amanda Blanton Photography

Teton Mountains, Wyoming Back on August 30th, I celebrated Eid al-Fitr and the end of Ramadan with millions of other Muslims in North America. In honor of the holiday a good friend of mine hosted a celebration at her home. Eid al-Fitr, for my readers who don't know, is kind of similar Christmas in that everyone gets dressed up, goes to the mosque for special prayers, and you buy gifts for the kids. Because there were going to be loads of kids at my friends celebration, she went to Cost-Co and ordered a white sheet cake with balloons on it. She asked the baker to frost the phrase "Eid Mubarak!" in-between the balloons. For added clarification she wrote the phase on a piece of paper with the correct spelling. Awhile later, the baker came out with a cake that read "Happy Birthday Eid Mubarak!" While this is quite funny and gave everyone a good laugh, its also a little disheartening that Islam is still so foreign to the general public. Its this ignorance t...

Me and Hajja relaxing at Aicha's house. Summer 2009. I stepped off the plane in Casablanca. The air was smoggy, hot and dry. There was the distinct smell of diesel fuel, stale perfume and ocean air in the distance. I visited Morocco once before in 2006 to meet my husband’s family for the first time. They threw an amazing three day wedding celebration for us. This visit there would be no major celebrations, just time to visit and see more of the country. Hajja (my mother in law), Omar (my brother in law) and Aziz (the mister) met me at the airport.  It was wonderful to see them again. My mother in law has a fantastic sense of humor always smells faintly of orange blossoms. Omar is kind and gentle- he is a devout Muslim and has the dark marks from regular prayer on his forehead. It had been six weeks since I had seen Aziz. he looked strong, tan, rested and refreshed. We packed my luggage into Omar's Fiat and headed to Aziz's sisters house. When we arrived, Aïcha ha...

Having spent the past 10 years striving to use the best camera I could afford, best film I could buy and best printing materials possible it has been refreshing, even liberating, to create images with a low quality cell phone camera. And I am not the only one. Talking to other photographers and reading through other blogs, image making with a mobile phone cameras is gaining popularity. Even carrying the potential to win awards. When I graduated from art school in 2004 I started using a Mamiya RZ67. Its a sexy camera. I loved it when I first got it, and I still love it today. The first time I ever questioned using it was during a trip to Morocco in 2006. Regardless of where I was- in the medina, hiking through the Sahara or at home with family- it drew way too much attention. The presence of the camera changed peoples reaction to me. The amount of attention I received in public places made me very uncomfortable, family members became stiff and awkward, and weight of the camer...

San Francisco has been my home for the past 15 years. I love this city. She has been good to me. I've met some amazing people, eaten incredible food, and seen some unforgettable things. Despite all this, I've grown a little tired of the old 7x7. I've even considered moving to (gulp) L.A. But every time one of these fleeting thoughts becomes a remote reality, I cling to SF like a familiar lover I never want to leave. I spent this past weekend walking around the city with fresh eyes and remembered again why I love it here. Chinatown has always been one of my favorite neighborhoods to photograph. All the colors and old architecture never fail to be visually stimulating. Saturday afternoon Grant Street was closed down for the Chinese New Year Flower market. Check out all the pictures on Flickr- http://www.flickr.com/photos/amandablanton/