How to Survive: Develop Hobbies

One of the keys to surviving in Shishmaref is to develop hobbies. Without movie theaters, malls, restaurants, and family around, Steve and I have a lot of available time. One of the hobbies I recently started pursuing to fill my evening hours is photography. I bought a Nikon D80 and a couple of sweet lenses last year (Hey Steve! Thanks for letting me make a major purchase!).




After fiddling around and perusing Flickr and some photography blogs, I started to be able to take some pretty decent pictures. I got to practice this summer when my little sister Lisa married Jason Davenport of Pocatello.




Now, I'm not pretending to be a wedding photographer. I'm not nearly as talented as my amazing sister-in-law, and I'm not planning on quitting my day job. I just like to have fun taking and sharing pictures.





But... pictures like this? They inflate my ego.





So, excuse me if I show off a little.





I'm actually quite proud of some of these shots.





I may not have been able to replace the real photographer, but I'd like to think that only a sister could could capture a few of these moments.





Because only a sister can inspire true silliness.





And the professional photographer's not always there when Mom and Dad are late picking us up.





And you never act more like yourself than when you're around family.





Since we're talking about family, I might as well show you this picture of me with my brothers and sisters. (I'm third from the left. Just in case you're from Alaska, and you've only ever seen me with my hair in a ponytail.)





We more typically look like this... I may be the loudest and spazziest Busch child, but all of us are pretty silly.





I originally titled this photo "Busch Babes." Then I realized that wasn't exactly accurate. One of these babes is a Busch, but one is an Alston. And one is a Davenport. And one is a Winterbottom. Weird.

Thanks for getting married Lisa and Jason!!! It was a great chance for me to practice my new hobby.