Website Part Two

I finished my website last night! I know it was a littlbe bit of the procrastinator in me but I couldn't help it! The last week of the semester is always rough! Although, I've done much better this semester than ever before! I couldn't find alot of my CD's with photos on them. I have a feeling I know where I can find them since they weren't where I thought they would be. I guess I'll be updating my website even though the class will be over!

One of my friends let me borrow his MacBook Pro to work on the website since the library at school won't cater to my late hours :-) I saw quite a difference in the colors that I had in my photos on my laptop compared to the Mac. You know what this means? I'm buying a Mac! :-) If only it were that easy!

The website will be updated again soon! But go ahead and check it out now! http://www.krissydeal.info

Making a Website- Part 1

For the past few days I have been going through different photos that I want to use in the gallery on my new website. My main problem is that most of my old photos were downloaded to my old laptop. I was able to put all of the photos on CDs before the laptop was wiped clean. However, I have moved since then and I am not completely unpacked. It is taking time to get to all of my photos. I also have alot of film photos but I do not have a film scanner. Hopefully, the website will be done soon (especially since the deadline is Wednesday)! I'll make sure I add a link to Part 2 of this blog as soon as I'm finished!

Collaborative Projects

This was a difficult project for me to get completed. Third time's a charm! I went through two partners before I got in contact with my friend, Brad, who lives right outside Chicago. I wanted to use one of my friends that was further away so I could get a better idea of new landscapes and come up with something a little more creative. I wanted to use something that I had never seen before. But I think our photo came out pretty interesting. Brad had some fun photos of Chicago and we started thinking about our Cubs vs. Cards battle. We decided that we could create a "Midwest Holiday." People tend to visit Chicago and St. Louis for baseball, big city life, and different sites. People come to Springfield for Lincoln.Brad and I had fun (I think) working on this. It was difficult e-mailing back and forth but we got the project complete! I'd like to try something different but I think I'll need more time!

Groups and Partners...

Let me just say that groups and partners can aggravate me more than anything sometimes!!! I have gone through two partners for my collaboration project for class. The first person I asked had said possibly but probably not. I'm not stupid, that means "no." Just say it... N-O! So I asked a second girl (maybe three weeks after class had started). Needless to say, she gets back to me quick enough that she has something and then... EPIC FAILURE! So I have a friend in Chicago and I'm hoping we can work something out! I have a fun idea but I need a photo of that stupid bean to see if it will work... I just wish I could've got photos from my friends in South Carolina or California... I did this photo right as I was getting into photography and it was one of the first time I played with Photoshop. It's a photo of one of my best friends and his older brother. I found the background images on Google. But it's a photo that always makes me smile (and makes me think of mixing photos together so I thought I'd include it in my blog...

Etsy.com

I finally posted my painting on Etsy.com. It took forever to set up my account! It only took forever because I needed to update all of my Paypal account information. But now that's is finished, I can relax and wait for my painting to sell... or not... However, I LOVE looking around the site. I've had so many ideas just hit me... I went out and spent quite a bit of money at Hobby Lobby! Ugh... I think I will edit some photos and try to sell some of them! I need to find a good place that will print them. I usually print 4x6 on my photo printer but I can't print anything larger than an 8x10. But if you're interested, my painting looks like:

I just love the quote, "Ginger Rodgers did everything Fred Astaire did... But backwards and in high heels!" It always makes me giggle, especially since I always feel like I'm dancing backwards in high heels (too much going on in life and bending over backwards for many people)!

Stop-Motion Part Dos

I had no idea it could feel this good to finish a project! Okay... I'm lying. I felt this good after finishing my 27 page paper on baseball and WWII last semester. But I feel amazing now! I finished taking the photos on Tuesday and then figured out my Windows Movie Maker program and put all of the photos together. Unfortunately, I couldn't figure out how to time each frame faster that half of a second. Therefore, the first part of the video is REALLY boring. However, I did not spend that much time taking photos of candles to not use them. I did cut some photos from the beginning so that the end would line up with the music. I'm not editing music too. Besides, it's springtime and I like the Beach Boys. Summer here I come! Anyway, this was definitely a rewarding project. I learned so much! I don't know if I will attempt another stop-motion video ever again. I'm a big fan of the "Deadline" stop-motion video and I passed the link around the office that I work at. Maybe I'll attempt another stop-motion video sometime when I don't have a month left of school to finish it (I know I shouldn't have procrastinated). Now if I could just get my partner for the collaborative project to work with me! I'm pretty sure that's why it's called a collaborative project (that statement was dripping with sarcasm- there is a great need for a sarcasm font). Hope you enjoy the video! By the way, does anyone need 100 tealight candles???

Stop Motion Part One

OH MY WORD! I had no idea how "intense" this stop motion video project would be. I planned out my idea with an excel sheet so I would have an ida on what I wanted to do. I lined up 100 tealight candles and my video will be a "jumping" flame. Let me just say... wow... It took awhile to come up with a plan for the project. I have about five pages of excel images and then notes for the images that I didn't plan out. I'm guessing I will have about a 30 second video when I'm finished with everything. I know I don't need to have that much time but for all I know, I'll cut out alot. Anyway, tonight I took about 100 photos and finished off two lighters (they weren't brand new lighters). So tomorrow I have to buy a couple of new lighters before I can continue the project. My mom saw what I was doing and helped light candles for me for a few minutes. I already know that my back will be sore tomorrow from the bending over. I hope this will look cool when I'm all done with it! I'll feel so blah if it doesn't work out. I'm so excied to see it all finished though!!! I'll give another update once I get some lighters! Until then!!

Pixelgirlpresents...

I completely finished another assignment for my art class! We had to submit an image to pixelgirlpresents.com for the experience. It would be cool to have an image chosen. I'll probably come up with something more to try posting at a later date. The flower photo, "Spring Fling," is the one that I entered to PGP. I had came up with another photo and typed some text on it and when I went to upload, the website said NO TEXT. So I worked on the flower photo. I really like my dance shoes. I took dance classes for about ten years and I always miss taking classes and competiting. I don't particularly like the text on this photo. I'm not very good at adding text to photos. I need to practice on that. But this is the original photo I was going to enter. And NO these are not all of the dance shoes I have. I have other styles as well as some that have been tossed out over the years; these are just some of my pointe shoes...

One Down...

I have completely finished my first assignment for my Creativity and the Internet course! Well, I still need to add more to my bio and photo icon but I just haven't decided what to use. I’ve had my project piece to sell on Etsy.com finished for awhile. I just need to take a photo of the painting and post it and then that project will be completely finished! My blog is coming along (obviously). I don’t think I’m very good at this blog thing. There is just something about actually writing in a journal on paper. As much as I love technology, I do like to handwrite my “journals.” So there are three assignments “done.” I need to go through some of my recent photos and find something for the pixelgirlpresents.com project. I think I have a good idea… We’ll see… I’ve been tossing ideas around for my website. One of my friends is going to let me borrow his MacBook to work on it so I don’t have to be stuck at school (I really need to get a Mac.) I plan on starting my collaborative project on Sunday. Stacey and I are going to do a fun piece revolving around diversity. She lives in California and I can’t remember the town’s name. We used to work at Starbucks together and she’s now in the AmeriCorps. She and I need to get to work; it should be a good time! Anyway… back to finishing some homework for other classes before Spring Break is completely over!

Hours of Editing

“Photography takes an instant out of time, altering life by holding it still.” –Dorothea Lange

I spent several hours last night editing photos. I don’t think people realize how long it takes to edit a group of photos even if there is nothing more to do than cropping. It takes me awhile because I love messing with the colors. I love bright, vivid colors. Hue/Saturation is one of my favorites to play with when I’m editing photos. I suppose that’s one thing I love about photography, capturing a moment how it really is. It’s the evidence (although, I suppose one could say I’m altering the image by playing with different colors!) That’s something I really want to study in grad school (pending admittance- keep your fingers crossed for me!) The one thing that really drives me crazy is how different computers/screens show different colors. One of my friends and I swap photos and his are always too green on my computer and mine are usually too red on his computer. I guess that’s why the standard is a Mac... which I could really use! Maybe this summer… I’m not sure which Mac would be the best for all of my photos.

Past and Future

I wish I had more time to focus on my photography! I was able to spend some time today reviewing past experiences. Has photography always been a passion? I have pictures that I took over ten years ago (and for someone who is 23, that's not too bad). Of course, those photos aren’t nearly as professional as the ones I take now but they are still fun to look at. I decided that I enjoy photographing almost anything. I found some great photos in my files on my laptop that I have not looked at since I got Photoshop. After homework is finished, I'll be able to play with those photos. I really have the urge to visit the St. Louis Zoo (on my own) so I can wander at my leisure with my camera. I would love to travel to see animals in their natural habitats but that will come soon enough. I am really looking forward to completing my underwater photography course in Florida this summer. There aren't too many local places to scuba dive but I might be able to get some photos at Haigh Quarry! As I was going through some photo books I found a quote in a photography lesson by the New York Institute of Photography, "We start by loving the camera. We end by loving the art."

Busy Being Aggravated!

I am ready for the weather to warm up and plants to grow their leaves. I’m tired of taking photos of the cold, “dead” plants. These images are often powerful but I’m so bored with it! I love bright colors. I think I’m also just tired of the weather; I'm ready for spring! I want to get down to the St. Louis Zoo for some cool photos! I'm also thinking taking a Saturday and doing my own Lincoln tour. I’m really looking forward to my summer camping trip in the Smoky Mountains . I need to make sure I get a better tripod by then. I have a basic tripod now, but depending on which lens I am using, the tripod has been known to fall over. It also doesn’t have any height. I know I should invest in something that will be usable for years to come but I’m a poor college student! My camera is only a year and a half old but it’s probably outdated… Why does technology have to change so quickly?! It’s so aggravating but so cool, all at the same time! I also need to find some stuff to create a background. Thick, white sheets always work but I want to come up with something really unique but I don’t think I Have time for that right now. But my shopping list includes a tripod and some new sheets! Here I go!

Underwater Photography

I just began the most amazing hobby! I took a course for an underwater photography scuba diving certification. I'll be certified this summer after I do some photo assignments on my own but taking the class was amazing. The instructors set up a mock reef in the practice pool. There were all sorts of plastic sea creatures all over the pool, including floating/moving animals. Students were giving cameras to pactice with changing the flash and lens settings. It was so much fun to pretend that I was actually in the ocean photographing amazing animals. My instructor is an award winning photographer in underwater photography contests. The cameras that were used are not too difficult to work. I would really enjoy owning one but until I can afford more diving trips it's just not fiscally responsible. However, being able to combine scuba diving and photography is so exciting! All photographers should be as lucky as I am!

Surprising Activites

So the past few days I've had this extreme urge to paint something. I went to Hobby Lobby and went wild with supplies. For someone who can't paint I bought more than I would ever need. This is why I have boxes of craft supplies. I had a craft book on painting silhouettes and I went to town. I've only finished one painting so far but I have several others planned out. My ideas all seem to revolve around dancing and music. But the first one turned out realy well for a "first draft." I think I've created something I might put on etsy.com (which is one of my new favorite websites!). But while I was painting, I was thinking about doing a self portrait: I'd be leaning over my painting but have the camera capture part of the back of my head and arm with most of my painting. I'm really read for spring so I can get outside and do some more photos. I hate taking photos in the cold! Oh well. Next week is my underwater photography course at the dive shop(I'm a certified scuba diver) so Florida, here I come (hopefully this summer)!

What this is about

Hola! My name is Krissy Deal. I'm starting this blog for my Creativity and the Internet course at the University of Illinois at Springfield (UIS). I'm really excited about this course and for learning new ways to use the Internet to show off my work. I'm new to blogging so my blog will be pretty basic for awhile. It will be a work in progress for a few weeks until I have some extra free time.

I love most art forms (Hobby Lobby is one of my favorite stores). However, I would have to say that photography is my favorite art. I consider myself a beginner photographer. But everyone has to start somewhere, right? Anyway, this is my starting blog. We'll see where it goes from here!