Lisa Gelazin Photography

Jaguar

2010-11-17T07:54:00.001-08:00

My Zazzle Store

2010-11-04T17:47:00.001-07:00

Jaguar

2010-10-26T19:40:00.000-07:00

2010-09-13T20:59:00.000-07:00

aceo paintings I have been working on. These paintings are 2.5" x 3.5". The size of a standard baseball card. These paintings are available for purchase on ebay under my ID witrussian.

Coyote

2010-03-08T17:47:00.001-08:00

Coyote

2010-03-08T17:44:00.000-08:00

Coyote

2010-03-04T14:54:00.001-08:00

Me

2009-10-24T18:00:00.000-07:00

I love thunderstorms that threaten to rip the world apartI love lying in the dark on cool sheets with a fan blowing on meI love movies, all kinds of moviesI love animals, all of themI love not owning an umbrella when it’s rainingI love life
I love watching the moon rise over the mountainsI love meteor showers even though I want to wear a hard hat while they are happeningI love the sound of the desert when the wind is blowingI love black and white photography, especially, even though I love photography as a whole
I love dust storms that sweep across the valley
I love the way asphalt smells after it rains
I love that I have unlimited texting on my phone
I love that my dog climbs into bed with me when I go to sleep,
Even though he is as big as I am and takes up most of the bed
I loved the way this site helped me get over my dad’s death

I love music, all of it
I love the way certain photographer’s works make me feel
I love the violence of nature even when it ends up being disastrous for people
I love those huge suckers that are swirly

I love when I hear adults laugh like children
With no pretense and no restraint
I love everything bagels with cream cheese
And I absolutely adore coffee.

I love the smell of fresh cut grass. :)
I Love winter, the clothes, the fires, the holidays, the way real pine trees smell,
I love roasting marshmallows, ooh jelly bellies, there’s an addiction for ya.

I love getting lost period, I love having people secretly love me.(thanks Sara) :)
I love books and I love the way books smell. Weird, I know.
I have a small library in my house, and I won’t use air fresheners in there just cause I love the smell the books give the room.
I would love to have a kitty to purr loudly but Zeus won’t let me

I love hearing stories of miracles, even though they don’t work for me
I love fruit smoothies of all flavors
I love my tigger slippers

2009-09-20T10:19:00.000-07:00

2009-07-04T15:55:00.000-07:00

This is a print screen of the Vision Age Contest where I received an Honorable Mention. I thought it was pretty neat.

Polar Bear Love

2009-07-03T22:49:00.000-07:00

An almost mythical species whose habitat is being melted away faster and faster each year.

Thunderstorm Bliss

2009-07-03T22:39:00.000-07:00

My second favorite time of year here in Phoenix. The first is what little winter we get. So here is a taste of what I love about this place.

This was taken yesterday just out of my back yard. Bring on the rain.

New Images

2009-04-24T23:17:00.000-07:00

The Other Side of April...

2009-04-02T10:33:00.000-07:00

Generally a time of spring and new growth and snow melt and flowers blooming, April is supposed to be fresh and new and lovely. And it is sometimes, but that does not stop life from happening or death...

April Fools... Tricks and jokes abound. You might find your bed short sheeted or your shoelaces tied together, year after year, the same tricks so you almost know what to expect. Two years ago, I received a phone call at about 10:30 am. A frantic call from my fathers girlfriend. At first I thought it was a joke. When what she was saying penetrated my disbelief, I prayed for her to be joking. It took me less than five minutes to get to my father's house. Where I found a hysterical woman and my father lying on the bathroom floor. She hadn't even called 911 yet... So, I yelled at her to call 911 while trying to get my father to respond to my attempts to rouse him. I knew right away by looking at his face what had happened. So, I shoved the hysterical woman out of the bathroom, and tried to make my dad more comfortable while we waited for the paramedics. My brother also beats the emergency crew to the house and helps me. My father keeps trying to get up, but due to the stroke, has no control over his body. I try to keep him calm by talking to him and holding him until the emts show up. They carry him out of the bathroom and into the living room, where they cut the clothes from his body, and ask all the questions that you could give a shit less about, but you know you have to answer. He is unresponsive except for the occasional moan. They get him situated and shipped off to the Mayo Clinic. When I hit the hospital, as the next of kin, I was given choices. Choices over whether my father was to live or die. The first was the injection that might open the clot and somewhat reverse the effects of the stroke. On the other hand if they didn't give him the shot in that three hour window, it might very well kill him. I okay that shot, because I assumed that he had had the stroke just before hysterical girlfriend called. I figured we were in the safe zone still. Turns out I was wrong to trust hysterical girlfriend. (later it came out that he had had the stroke around 7am). Here starts our hospital wait. The head ER doctor asked me if I wanted him resuscitated if the treatment didn't work.

I said no...and signed the DNR.

My dad had always told me that if he couldn't take care of himself, he didn't want to live. Signing that piece of paper broke my heart. It shattered the calm that I had surrounded myself with, that calm that allows for action instead of hesitation. There were no tears. I knew in my heart of hearts that if my dad ever realized how bad off he was, he would find someway to end it. I told everyone he would have been better off if he had died right away. It was truth I spoke, without the benefit of compassion for the others in that room. It was cold, but knowing my dad, he would have said the same thing in the same way.

They showed us the results of the CAT and MRI scans. I knew just by looking that one whole side of his brain was dead. I didn't need to listen to the neurologists words. I walked away.

April 2nd. Waiting in the hospital, calling friends and family, more waiting. The miracle injection didn't work. At this point we are waiting for stability. People come, hang out in the ICU for awhile, come and go, we get yelled by a nurse for being too loud. Sharing stories and laughter for the past while my father lay in the hospital bed. My stepmother and hysterical girlfriend(long story) take the night shift and I go home.

April 3rd. 2007. I am getting ready to drop Zeus off at the vet so he can get neutered then head back to the hospital to sit with my dad. I get a call at 7:30am, that saves Zeus, but sends despair into the bottom of my heart. My dad has taken a turn for the worse. The miracle injection caused a major bleed that was swelling his already broken brain. I get to the hospital, He is now on oxygen, because the swelling is shutting down his vital organs. It is a matter of time, and I am pulled into a room filled with too many doctors, to be told that he won't last the day. My grandmother shows up a few hours later and gets to tell her baby boy goodbye. Hysterical woman yells at me to do something, And the calm that I have wrapped around me snaps. "There is nothing else, this is it!" I yell in her face. I am being pulled away from hysterical girlfriend before I beat the shit out of her. She leaves, peace for awhile until, the sounds from the breathing machine become erratic. The nurse comes in and tells me there is less than an hour left, she has seen this before, so I take her word for it. I go and sit by my daddy, and hold onto him as he takes his last forced breath and tell him I love him and he is not alone.

2009-01-03T18:08:00.000-08:00

A little more from the dark side...

2008-12-29T09:42:00.001-08:00

2008-11-25T08:46:00.000-08:00

RedBubble T's and Prints

2008-11-15T22:57:00.000-08:00

For more examples and art work: http://www.redbubble.com/people/whiterussian

The Kiss

2008-11-14T19:46:00.000-08:00

The lining of her ankle length chinchilla fur coat tickled her cheek and made her sneeze for the fifth time since leaving the restaurant. Her fast pace excited the cobblestones of the walkway into a staccato of echoing taps that bounced back and forth through the narrow alley between the four story buildings that seemed to lean ominously together, eating the faint moonlight that tried to make its way through.

The angry clacking of her heels was punctuated by intermittent sneezes and curses about being stood up for the tenth time and never agreeing to another blind date as long as she lived.

At 42 she thought she would have been over the sting of it by now, never knowing love, the feeling of someone that isn’t related to you, wrapping their arms around you in post-coital bliss. A French kiss never experienced is just two people on the T.V. locking lips and rubbing your face in it. The curse of love lies in the never giving up the search for it. Hence the tenth blind date, and tenth time being stood up. Yep, the sting is still there.

So wrapped up in her hushed ranting about the woes of love never found, her excited heels slipped on a loose cobblestone. Her silk clad legs flew wildly up over her head, heels flying, arms pin wheeling as she landed on her back with her fur coat to soften the blow. Injury added to humiliating insult, she lay for a moment trying to catch her breath.

A silhouette darker than the surrounding night hovered over her a few seconds before speaking.

“Are you all right miss’s?” The low voice with a soft lisp reached to her core and plucked nerves she didn’t even know existed until this man spoke. “That was quite the slip you took. “

“Um… I think so. I just need to catch my breath and I should be fine”, she replied hesitantly.

With a firm hand on her arm the gentleman lifted her to her feet.

“There you are now love. Safe and sound, sure you didn’t break anything in that tumble now, right?”

“No, I am fine, I assure you. All is well, and by the way I passed up miss’s about twenty years ago, but I thank you for the compliment.” She replied more confidently.

“Ah, well you’re still a babe compared to the centuries I have seen lover. So, be thankful for that.”
He mused in a rueful tone.

“What!” Shock and confusion rang from her voice.

“Michael!” a shout from the other end of the alley whipped her head around. “I swear you are such a child. Stop playing with your food already.”

“So sorry Oli!” the chivalrous man still holding her laughed. “Be right there.”

“What’s going on? Who are you?” Her soft voice sounded panicked now and Michael could hear her rapid heart beating, ripping his pretense aside.

“I am your lover ducky. Come give me a kiss.” Steel clamps binding the fur coat to her body like a second skin, Michael pulled the irritating fur away from her collar. He whispered, a ghost of breath against her mouth, “first the kiss,” and gently parted her lips with his and kissed her more thoroughly than she had ever dreamed possible. Sharp pinpricks of pain coursed across her tongue and lips as his teeth sliced her mouth to ribbons.

“Now my supper” he whispered as he pulled away from her savaged mouth and plunged his fangs into the faintly wrinkled side of her neck and ripped out her throat. “I do love you ducky, the way a man loves a perfect cut of prime rib.” Michael pulled a black handkerchief from his breast pocket and wiped the blood from his lower jaw as she stared blankly up at the night sky.

Casualty

2008-11-10T08:28:00.000-08:00

Here is another story that I wrote for my RedBubble group Pulp Noir.

He’d been hiding now for two days.
The whole fiasco had started when a dust storm had blown through the city last Thursday. Then, the madness started. The onset was gradual, like a case of the flu coming on, but the epidemic spread like wildfire through rain starved grassland. As if all the soft tissue in their bodies could no longer be contained by their skin. The bleeding started at the obvious openings. After about three hours the very skin started to break down and the gore escaped that way. Death was inevitable.
The only problem with that was that it didn’t last. When the dead woke up, they were hungry, and not like burger and fries will fix this, hungry. He’d seen that first hand when the undead had pulled a cop out of his car, and had a piggy buffet in the middle of the street.
For some reason, he hadn’t been affected by the spore. A small time con, with a little murder thrown in here and there for the right amount of money, and you would have thought he’d be one of the first to bite it. A coward at heart he huddled in the dirty hotel room with Friday’s newspaper his only connection to the outside world. He picked up the phone again, it was still dead.

A scream sounded from somewhere in the hotel. He pulled his knees up to his chest and molded himself to the desk. Someone was running up the hallway outside. The undead didn’t run. Brute strength they had in spades but not coordination.
He untangled his legs and crawled to the door. He pulled the chain off its hook and pulled the door open a few inches. A woman was in the hallway.
He eyed the other end of the corridor and saw what she was running from. Three of them came shambling on, leaving pieces of themselves in their wake. He silently pulled his head back through the crack in the door and put the chain back on. He returned to his spot under the desk.
A few seconds later the screaming started again, only this time accompanied by wet tearing sounds. Sweat poured out of him as he shook uncontrollably.
It’s not my fault. It’s not my fault. I couldn’t have done anything for that broad. We’re all on our own no. A moan of horror escaped his quivering lips. Sanity fled and animal instinct took over. He ran to the door pulling so hard the chain broke off its latch. He started to run away from what was left of the woman and the undead still feeding on her, and collided with one of the beasts. Steel bands wrapped around his torso and he had breath left for one shriek as the zombie crushed all of his internal organs in one massive bear hug. He was just another casualty of the bio war that the powers that be had unleashed on the planet.

New Stories, Artwork and T-Shirt Designs

2008-11-03T11:05:00.000-08:00

check them out at:

http://www.redbubble.com/people/whiterussian/clothing

RedBubble - Art Gallery and Creative Community

2008-11-01T17:10:00.000-07:00

RedBubble - Art Gallery and Creative Community

http://www.redbubble.com/people/whiterussian

Late for Dinner

2008-10-23T15:02:00.000-07:00

The blood made a maddening trail down the side of my face just in front of my left ear. I could tell it was blood and not the equally irritating, if less worrisome sweat, because of the sharp pain originating just above the trickle. The wall behind me was a hellish mass of splintered wood which sheared into the side of my head as I tried to get my bearings. I had been able to pick off a pinkie sized splinter of wood out of the paneling I assumed was behind me. It was the best I could do in the dark with my hands bound behind me.

I came to in this wretched darkness to the smell of piss and rancid meat, not realizing that I had only just bought a ticket on the terror train to hell. What made it worse was the foul tasting rag shoved so far into my mouth that I could only choke and gag, trying not to breathe too heavily. Too, terrified for tears, all I could do was listen to the rapid fluttering of my heart, and pray that I wouldn’t have a heart attack.

An hour passed, or a minute, I couldn’t tell how long it was really, it didn’t even matter at that point. I realized that the wall in front of me was glowing with a faint blue white light. Sweat slicked hair matted to my face, I carefully tried to swivel my head around to see where the glow was coming from. Putrid carpet smell jammed up my nose and an inelegant fish flop later, I was finally facing the other way. The faint light was coming from the crack under a door about 2 feet in front of me. I felt almost worse facing that light, as it made the darkness surrounding me more pronounced. The nasty carpet under me and the torn up wall seemed to take on a life of their own, and picked at my terror like fevered ants creeping under my skin. My isolation more complete somehow.

The light flickered from under the door, and I think I lost my sanity a little more with each flicker of brightness. I thought of my husband and how upset he would be that dinner would be a late. I thought of the doctor’s appointment that I was on my way to until the flat tire left me on the side of the highway. The doctor’s appointment that would have either confirmed or dashed my hopes of finally being pregnant, because even though the strip says yes, that doesn’t mean it’s true. Peeing on a stick is seriously undignified and I really needed to write to the product designers about that. I was still hoping for a boy, so much easier to take care of. I read somewhere they cost less to raise, that was an added bonus.

A resounding thud ripped me out of my own head as my heart slammed into my ribcage, I felt a pop. My breath froze in my lungs like concrete, as slow even steps sounded my doom across a hard floor. I struggled to push myself as far away from the door as I could, which wasn’t far and curled around myself with my hands pressed tightly into the jagged wall behind me. I couldn’t help but let out a whimper as the footsteps stopped outside the door and partially blocked the flickering light coming in. The heavy metallic sound of keys jangling and the slide of a key finding its home in the lock echoed in the small pit of hell I had found myself in. The handle turned and creaking hinges accompanied the bright light that flooded the closet. Eyes watering from the harsh light, I blinked rapidly, seeing for the first time my hell in all its Technicolor horror.

The wood paneling of my prison was covered in russet claw marks and the carpet beneath my face was splotchy and stiff with large dark brown stains. I choked and gagged around the foul cloth in my mouth, and couldn’t help the muffled screams that tore from around the gag. Fighting to see past tears of uninhibited terror, I looked up into the light to see the nice looking young man that had stopped to help me with my tire.

“Hello again, darlin’.” The pleasant southern drawl, so much in contrast with my surroundings, spiked my fear to a whole new level. “Did ya miss me?”
He reached into my hell and grabbed my left ankle to pull me out. I couldn’t help but kick out as hard as I could. My hell had to be better than the one waiting for me if he got me out.

I was right. He grabbed my foot in a vice like grip with both hands and pulled it with incredible strength up toward his face as I struggled violently against him.

“I have been waiting to taste you all day, darlin’.” The sweetness of his voice jangled in disharmony with my muted whimpers and pleas. “I hope you enjoy this as much as I am going to.”

Dinner is going to be late tonight honey, I thought as he bit off my little toe.

Untitled as of yet...

2008-09-25T17:33:00.000-07:00

I awoke to the reek of piss and a foul wetness on my face, which was unusual in and of itself, but I also hurt. It felt like every pore on my body was on fire. That I was accustomed to, unfortunately. I cracked my eyelids, peering through my lashes, as I took in my surroundings. It was dawn, absolutely fantastic, and I was lying next to a dumpster, even better. A partially consumed rat lay a few inches from my face which explained the foul taste in my mouth. Harsh, shallow breaths escaped my clenched jaws until the pain radiating across my skin started to subside. I was entering the pins and needles stage which meant it was almost over. I curled on my side with my back against the garbage and waited until the tingling left my limbs. With its absence clarity reappeared.

Above the smell of piss and trash, I caught another scent, one that I recognized, and instantly felt better. I eased to my feet and looked down taking stock of my naked body. No bruises or cuts, it was always that way, even though a meat grinder while messier, would have caused less pain. I could hear Angel's heart calming and knew she would be up in another minute so I waited with the sun slanting down on me from the east and hoped fervently that nobody felt like taking out the garbage. I could only imagine trying to explain two naked people that looked a little worse for the wear to any humans.

I listened as Angel's breathing evened out and she uncurled herself from behind the dumpster.

"Morning sunshine," I looked at her as she straightened and rubbed her arms.

She glared at me out of the corner of her eye, "Where the hell are we?" Unfortunately, her sense of navigation never fully matured and while her tracking skills were unparalleled, she never knew where she was.

I glanced around again, sniffing the air as I did, taking in the mingled scents of raw fish, gelato and from across the street the smell of garlic and pesto, and said "We're behind the sushi bar at 32nd and Camelback, which isn't a good thing because we're about twenty miles from home."

"Hey, you're the one that was all gung ho for this hunt, not me. I was completely content to stay home last night, but, no. 'This one is dangerous, Damon. We need to take him down now, Damon.'" she mimicked in a low pitched voice. "Remember that?" Her ice blue eyes scanned the alley uncertainly, "Um... speaking of which, how did we lose him? I thought we finally had him pinned down out behind Hazelwoods, and then the scent was just gone."

"I don't know. It's the damnedest thing I have seen in a long time. We'll ask Damon and see what he has to say. For now, we need a phone, and cover until they can get here to pick us up. I am pretty sure there is a payphone in front of this strip mall, so stay here until I get back."

I walked to the edge of the building closest to the street and peeked around the corner. All I needed was to be picked up for indecent exposure. It was empty and I couldn't hear any cars coming, so I loped around the building and there was the payphone I remembered. I dialed 0 and got the operator to place a collect call back to the house.

"'Ello," a gruff voice mumbled on the other end.

"Odin, 32nd street and Camelback, behind the sushi bar, and bring clothes for Angel and me. Hurry up, I think we have a problem." I said.

"Gimme fifteen," he said and hung up.

I hurried back to the alley and found Angel pulling wet paper from her silver hair. The smallest of my litter mates, she also had the most unusual coloring of us all. Our parents affectionately call her the throwback. Pale, almost translucent skin wrapped around a 5 inch frame, made for a striking combination with her pale blue eyes and hair. Her petite packaging hid a ruthless interior though and many underestimated her, fooled by her size and ethereal beauty into thinking she was only good for a quick lay. How any could mistake her for vulnerable and flighty was completely beyond me, even though I had known her my whole life. She absolutely vibrated with assurance and confidence, but right now that vibrancy was a looking a bit faded from the events of last night.

"I still don't understand it. How can anyone just disappear like that? I have never lost a scent like that before, and this reeked so bad, I am surprised anyone near him didn't drop dead from proximity to his b. o. Yuck, I mean couldn't you at least have picked one that smelled better?" she whined.

"It was the drugs Angel," I said patiently, as I gently pulled a piece of something I didn't want to look to closely at from her hair. "If he had gotten into a car, his scent would have dissipated some from the car disturbing the air as it drove off, but it was almost solid right up until it vanished."

We sat side by side in between the dumpster and the wall as we waited, both of us seriously in need of a hot shower and toothpaste, maybe a couple of doses of mouthwash as well. I hate the taste of rat, and can only claim exhaustion and the presence of easy prey after the hunt as an excuse. That we'd actually turned back behind a trash pile meant we'd overexerted ourselves, which also wasn't surprising considering the hunt began about 6 miles north of the den.

There were just too many questions without any answers. This whole mess started with a full page article in a tabloid. The main headline read:

WEREWOLVES: FANTASY NO LONGER

EVIDENCE HAS BEEN FOUND THAT PROVES THE EXISTENCE OF THESE CREATURES OF LEGEND

We were lucky in that the writer of the article included the name of his source. A little electronic tracking led us to Carefree where one Wendell Jackson resided. No one in the pack had ever seen or heard of him before. The others would have been going through Jackson's house while we were out hunting him down, looking for information and possible links to the pack. It was entirely possible that the article wasn't about us, but with his proximity to the den added to the fact that Circe was missing, too much was going on that didn't add up.

Walk the Line

2008-09-22T23:44:00.000-07:00

It’s a lonely road for all of us
Treading the straight and narrow,
On the eggshells of societies rules,
That grinds us meat and marrow.

Black and white on either side,
We carefully walk between,
Because the boundaries in the gray
Area, are rarely cut and clean.
Fear is what keeps most of us,
From traipsing down the line,
Our carefree selves kept in check,
Within the fences of our minds.

Until the very earth beneath us,
Tears itself apart,
And sends us dancing off the line,
Into creation’s heart.

and yes Grandma, I am writing again. :)

School

2008-09-22T23:33:00.000-07:00

I can't seem to learn enough fast enough. Everyone is slowwwwww. So I do it on my own. The world is my classroom and each day a new lesson to be learned. Yep, nerdy but oh well. I would rather know than not. Well, most things anyway.

New work

2008-06-06T13:58:00.000-07:00

I haven't had much time for running out and taking new random images. Most of my work has been in the studio for paying customers. I have started doing artistic portraits, and am having a lot of fun with them. Here are a few examples of my most recent work.

My Anti-Child Abuse Work

2008-04-10T18:59:00.000-07:00

I have been working on a photographic series examing the terrors of child abuse. Under no circumstances should a child be violated in any manner by anyone let alone someone they love and trust. Inspired by the Run for the Innocent, I decided to see if I could recreate the emotional turmoil a child would feel at such betrayal.

Keep in mind, my model, having no experience with the depth of emotion and reality I was trying to portray kept laughing throughout the shoot since she didn't understand the gravity of the work I was undertaking. Hopefully she will never know the terror and uncertainty that thousands of children are faced with each and everyday from those that are supposed to protect them. These images are my photographic representation of a disease that endangers not only our children but also our future.

Been working on my black and white photography...

2008-01-23T18:49:00.000-08:00

I have been slowly weeding the editing out of my photos, and so far it is going well. I am always trying new things so my style has not been set as of yet. But, here are some of the shots that I have taken minus the overediting. :)

2007-09-22T09:31:00.000-07:00

This is a composite of a sunset shot theat I took over north Phoenix after a thunderstorm and Squaw Peak Mountain.

2007-09-22T09:28:00.000-07:00

I chased this guy through the desert for days to get shots of him. I finally ended up playing peekaboo around a sajuaro and getting this shot of him. :)

2007-09-22T09:16:00.000-07:00

One of my moon shots that I played with in Photoshop. :)

2007-06-22T21:15:00.000-07:00

2007-06-03T16:26:00.000-07:00

Here Grandma and everyone else back east. This is an AZ sunset for you. I also have this photo in one of the digital photography contests that I am invoved in. Love you guys.

2007-05-11T10:37:00.000-07:00

Spring time in the Desert and the Sajuaro cacti are blooming. Pretty neat, huh! I love the desert.

2007-04-03T22:20:00.000-07:00

greg gelazin 9-24-1954 to 4-3-2007

2007-03-14T19:05:00.001-07:00

Lisa and Jesse in Traverse City MI

2007-03-14T16:23:00.000-07:00

My great dane Bella with a six week old Zeus.

2007-03-14T13:38:00.001-07:00

Me and Zeus

The Zeus Moose

2007-03-14T10:45:00.000-07:00

This is Zeus. He is my 3 year old, 115lb, Great Dane/Mastiff mix and he still thinks he is lap dog.

2007-03-14T10:33:00.001-07:00

zeus moose