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."