pink bunny sunday.

Last week I told my brother I had an important project to do on Sunday that would require his help. By help, I meant I needed him to drive me around while I took picture of Peeps (marshmallow peeps, not peeps like my friends) at various locations around my city.  My brother didn't seem phased by the fact that I wanted to take pictures of marshmallows.   I'm that far gone.  

The adventure may seem bizarre, but I actually had a goal in mind. On the National Geographic site, they're doing a Peeps project. People can send in pictures of Peeps at all sorts of iconic/fun/hometown venues. The pic currently on the site includes yellow duck Peeps in front of the White House.  I was intrigued.  I was inspired.  I wanted to play along. I resolved to take some great pics and win, of course, and thereby get a free subscription to National Geographic. My subscription ran out, and it's a bit pricey, so this is ideal. One perfect picture was all I needed. And hello? It's a marshmallow! It's not like I have to wait for a Peep to pose.  Or so I thought.

On Sunday, I borrowed my mom's camera (much nicer than mine ... only a classy camera would work for a project of this magnitude) and hopped into my brother's car eerily giddy.

"So ... we're going to buy Peeps?"

"Peeps!" I yelled.

Wal-Mart was closest and they had a huge selection of Peeps.  I don't really like marshmallows, unless they are enclosed in a Smore, so I was unaware of the many varieties.  The shelves were a neon rainbow of orange, pink, blue and yellow critters.  I selected the classics: pink bunnies and yellow ducks. Also, we got some Cadberry eggs to sustain us for the journey. The following is a photo documentary of the day's events.  Brace yourselves.  Photo journalism has never been so exciting.

I pulled the first pink bunny away from the red rover line with the utmost precision. A free subscription was riding on the cuteness of The Bunny so I didn't want to rip off its ears. As soon as the bunny was free, my brother ate it:

I forgot to mention eating the props was NOT allowed.  He didn't find the process enjoyable, which serves him right.  So then I peeled out Bunny #2 and waited for my first exciting photo opportunity.  I decided to practice.  I call this one Road Warrior Bunny: 

The Bunny is really cute, don't you think?  It almost looks like he has a little arm.  :)  Then I saw my first perfect photo opp:  A Volkswagen van.  This pic was taken from the road while driving so The Bunny got a little hacked off.  The van is for sale though, if you're in need of a ride. 

The location I really wanted was a barn. My town is famous for a toursity spot called "Rock City". It is a little bit cheesy but very fun. It's also gorgeous ... supposedly you can see seven states from Rock City. My dad and brother think this is a load, but I like to think it's true :) There are also all kinds of fairy tale caverns and gnomes (not real ones ... I don't think). Rock City is on Lookout Mountain, which boasts one of the cutest towns I've ever seen. All the streets there have names like "Red Riding Hood Lane" and "Cinderella Avenue" and so on. There is a college up there that looks just like Hogwarts. Dad and I went to Rock City around Christmas, and it was gorgeous.  There were lights everywhere, music playing, stands where you could stop and decorate giant Christmas cookies.  From the top, we saw stars in the sky and city lights sparkling like stars on the ground.  The light never stopped.  It was incredible.  I'll show you some pictures sometime.  Anywho.  If you've ever driven on I-75 through Tennessee, you might have seen a few barns with"See Rock City" painted on the roof or side. At one time (a looong time ago), I think farmers were paid to advertise this way.  Now most of the barns seem empty, but the "See Rock City" phrase is still there; chipped, faded, kind of iconic. Maybe? So that was my first idea. We drove to a barn to take my picture.

Problem.

It is really hard to hold a camera in one hand and The Bunny in the other and take a decent shot. Also, my jeans were at the point where I'd worn them so much they were falling off. I forgot to wear a belt. I was trying to point the camera, hold The Bunny, and pull my pants up all simultaneously.  I'm sure this was a treat for people driving by.  I couldn't get The Bunny to focus, but this is the shot Tyra Banks would have picked for his portfolio:
My best friend Sarah told me I should have used a coat hanger.  "You should have impaled The Bunny," she said.  "That way you could control how far in front of you it could be held."  
She speaks wisdom, my friend.
Since my plan was becoming a major fail, I decided to get more creative.
The Mountain Bunny Monster (I like this one :): Peace Bunny and the Aquarium: 

Surrealist Bunny: 


The Bunny's preferred music:  Adam Lambert's Ring of Fire song, which sounded better on the single that it did when he sang it live.  (Anybody an American Idol fan?  I'm pulling for Alison, but I really liked Adam's song last night.  Go Fiyero!)

However, The Bunny much preferred Jeff Buckley.  


I finally gave Duck some love.  FYI, the only duck I would want to be in that close proximity to is one made of marshmellow:

My brother broke his arm this week saving a bus full of children from a falling meteor**, so we won't be able to do a reshoot anytime soon.   Sarah said she might be up for the project, so I'll keep you posted.  The weekend was still kind of perfect, even though my plan failed.  Trees were full of pink and white puffy flowers:


The sunset was incredible: 

A perfect sunset, time with my brother, Volkswagon vans, white flowers, pink bunnies, and Jeff Buckly = a pretty incredible day :)  
If you had to pick a place in your hometown to shoot a picture of a Peep, what place would you pick?   Happy Weekending. 
** alternate explanation:  when he tripped out of an elevator at work.
Love (and peace bunnies),Natalie