Assignment #7

This assignment was so stressful for me.  I thought about it for weeks (okay, maybe just "week", but it felt like a bunch of them) before I settled on an idea.  There isn't anything more frustrating than A: having a great idea in your head and NOT being able to execute it or B: not being able to come with a decent idea at all, and having to settle on the only creative something that comes to mind.

Anyway, I thought about my concept for Assignment #7 for my photoshop class for a while.  What was the assignment?  Interpret the music of an assigned band and create an album cover that would sell that particular album.  I had nothing for a while, but finally settled on one of my mediocre ideas. Up until I actually had my model (Matt, thank you) and was on location, I was stressed.  But I got over it, and photographed what I had in mind and actually ended up feeling pretty good about what I had to work with.  I might even dare to say that I felt confident in what I had and thought that I could have had "B" work in my hands.

Well, I think differently now.  I liked the images before I handed them in, but didn't like the images after I handed them in.  A critique can do that to you.  It's depressing, but part of the (dumb) learning process.  So here are the images I turned in (minus a few tweaks I added later):




Front and back.  *sigh* I don't know what my grade was, but no one knew what genre I was going for (rock).  If you feel so inclined to look up the songs that are listed on the back (yes, they are real songs) you can see what I heard and what I interpreted.

Frustrating, frustrating assignment.  I have never felt worse about myself as a photographer than I have in my photoshop class.  And yet, I'm sure I'll come out of the class seeing improvement.  Hopefully I'll see that improvement sometime soon since the semester is over in just 2 weeks.  Hallelujah.

4x5 FUN!

I think I might be the only person in my class who really loves the 4x5 class I'm in. I (usually) love going out and photographing.  I DON'T love lugging this bad boy around with me, but I still love going out to photograph (speaking of love, do you or do you not LOVE the guy's outfit in that link???).

What I love most is developing and printing my film.  Being in the dark room is relaxing, which might be why I spend a lot of time in there printing.  Either way, I love my advanced photography class.  I have learned so much, and it really slows down my thought and photographing process.  I do everything as deliberately as I can, which isn't always so deliberate since it does take so long (for me) to photograph one image.

I haven't put up any of my 4x5 work on this blog yet.   And so I will do so now.

I have more that needs to be scanned.  I will do so and update when I can.

Mock tilt-shift

Who knew you could have images with a tilt-shifty look without having to have a tilt-shift lens?  Thank you photoshop.

I know it's not as sweet as owning a tilt-shift lens, but I can do it my cheap way anytime I want.  Maybe I'll show you how.  I just learned how to do it in my class the other day.  Yeah BYU education!

Holga+more

It always takes me a while to get my film processed and back into my hands after shooting.  I shot these holga images back in Marchish time, and my 35mm color film was actually shot way back in the day in Spring/Summer of 2008.  That was right before I got married to Andrew.   In fact, the images are from a camping trip I went on with my two best girlfriends and then fiance Andrew near Zion National Park.  We hiked Angel's Landing, and I was SO hot.  It was cloudy that day, but I still guzzled my water much too fast and ended up drinking the rest of Andrew's supply.

I love looking back on these images, though.  Especially my 35mm film because it was during that time I was seriously considering applying to the photo program and so I bought myself a camera for cheap.  I remember Andrew telling me to practice on this particular trip, so I took whatever photos I felt like.  Overall, they were pretty awful:).  It was fun though, and Andrew ended up taking the camera out of my hands to photograph a few things of his own (which aren't in the mix this time), which he still does.

Anyway, here are my film shots that I thought were fun.  Enjoy.

These are taken by a window at my old place.  I loved it there...I miss it.

Hey, that's me:)  Back when I attempted to fix my own bangs.  It was ok...but I'm growing them out:)  And my old neighborhood.

The Hare Krishna Color Festival

The hike toward Angel's Landing...so pretty!

I think this was right before I tackled him for the water:)

Sorry for the fuzz and dust all over the place.  I didn't feel like cleaning all of that mess up in photoshop, so I left it.  It kind of gives it some character, right?

PS-  Who has started listening to Christmas music?  I haven't...but once it snows, I will!

Dia de Los Muertos

Yesterday in my Spanish 312 conversation class, we celebrated "Dia de Los Muertos" (Day of the Dead) with pan dulce (sweet bread) and chocomil (chocolate milk, get it?:)). It was a lot of fun because we were told to write little poems called calaveritas, which means little skulls, that are about death. Morbid, right? Well, not really. It was really fun to do because the poems are satirical, so they tend to make fun of death/someone who died/will die. Hmmm...maybe I'm not really defending my point that it's not morbid.

Anyway, I guess you'd have to be in a Spanish class OR be someone who celebrates Dia de Los Muertos to understand why these poems aren't as morbid as they sound:) I wrote one, and thought I'd share it. I won a prize for it afterall;) (a sugar skull that is oh-so-popular in Mexico/Central America, also called "calaverita")

Mi Calaverita

¡La Muerte!

Por fin te encontre.

¿Porque mataste a mi perro,

y a mi pez?

¿Al reloj de papa

y a los flores de mama?

¿Porque?

Estoy enojado contigo.

¿Pero, que es eso?

¿Me trajiste un regalo?

Rough Translation:

Death!

Finally, I found you.

Why did you kill my dog,

and my fish?

My dad's watch,

and my mom's flowers?

Why?

I'm mad at you!

But what is that?

You brought me a gift?

Get it?

A creepy doll I photographed. Just to make this post even more creepy/morbid than it already is (actually, I don't think she's creepy...people in my class did though:)).

Oh, and I used this image as my 6th assignment, which was to create a black and white image that, when printed, looked as good as a silver-gelatin print.

Mas Assignments

I made it on the wall TWO times in a row! Can you believe it?  With a C+ on my plate, I was excited to know that I received a good enough grade to have not just one, but two of my photo placed on the wall.  You see, there is a hallway in the HFAC (Visual Arts/Music/Theatre building) that is dedicated to photographs taken in classes.  If your photo makes it on the wall, that means you did well enough to pass Paul Adams' inspection. He's a really great teacher, but it takes a lot to please the man.

Assignment #5:  What is your Ideal World....mine is a world where I could take pictures with my eyes.  No need to spend a bajillion dollars on photo equipment.

Comments:  Great idea, clear message, could add a few things to it to give it more of your own personal style.  Maybe add a few small details that could pep it up...give it more style.
Grade:  ?  It's on the wall:)  So it has to be higher than a B

Re-Do's:
I'm still working on this one...it's my magazine cover assignment.  I'm working on these three.  I'm having a hard time deciding which to use though.

I'm thinking the top one. I haven't perfected the font and colors since I haven't chosen a photo yet, nor have I completely edited the photos.