Photo Assignment 2

Our second assignment we learned to scan negatives and to use the heal and brightness & contrast photoshop tool. This was a photo I took in my U of U photo class. I removed all the dust on the negative and burned in the sky. The adjustments are professional, but I liked the final product.

Photography Class - Assignment 1

After a crazy school and work schedule last semester that left me stretched thin I decided to only enroll in one class. I registered for the photo 1 class. I took a photography class when I was at the U of U, but it has been a really long time since I used my film SLR or was in a darkroom so I was excited to take the class (Note: we won't be in the darkroom until after spring break, the first half we can use digital and if we shoot film we scan in our negatives.)
Our first assignment was to just take a roll of 36 exp film and get them developed. After getting our gear list I headed to Pictureline and asked them to get me the film I needed (my teacher has described it as chromogenic film which I think confused the store clerk). I walked out of the store and started shooting. We only had 2 days to shoot and get the film developed.
It was the night before class and I raced to Inkley's to have them develop my film only to discover I had purchased the wrong film. I had true negative film which is what is used in the darkroom. Inkely's would have to send the film to a lab and it would be 2 weeks before I would get it back. WHAT! It was due the next day. I had a small freak out then headed home to redo the assignment. Luckily, I had my friend Matt's Nikon D90 camera which he had loaned me to take photos of him proposing to his finance (YEAH Matt is engaged). So in only 45 minutes I took 36 photos of whatever I could find in my house, downloaded them to Walgreen's and was really annoyed at how boring my photos were.
The next day I picked up my prints and went to class. For critique we got in a groups of 4 people. We passed our prints to the right and the person next to us picked out their favorite 15 images from our rolls. Then those 15 images were passed again. The next person picked their favorite 10 of the 15. Again the prints were passed and cut down to the person's favorite 5 of the 10.
I actually really enjoyed this type of critique. Once complete we presented our best 5 to the class for open critique where people explained why they picked certain images. But what I didn't like were the images my group selected as my best images. I was really surprised by a terrible guitar photo they selected. There was nothing unique about the image nor was it shot well. So to appease my abhorrence at the selection I am presenting my favorites from this assignment.

My fellow classmates selected these as my best photos
 (my feet? you can tell I was  hurrying)

These are my favorites.

Now I wouldn't say that there wasn't some good thing about what they selected, but I found these second group of images more interesting. I like the blinds in the second group better because you could piece together some lights of the city. I loved the depth of field on the pears and I liked the angles of the lights.
What this critique demonstrated to me was the everyone has very different style and taste. But one of the things I really want to learn while in school is solid design principles so I can back up my opinions and be able to communicate powerful critiques based on design, not personal taste.
I am open to critique so leave a comment with your feedback.

Nephew Sleepover

Relaxing in his foot bath

Wow! It has been a long time. Sorry for the absence. So here are a few catch up posts. A few weeks ago I planned a sleepover with my nephew Scotty Scott (he is so big). Scott doesn't forget anything. I suggested a sleepover around Christmas and he never let me forget. Saturday night I picked him up from my sister's house. This five year old knows what he likes. He has sophisticated taste. Scott likes to relax, soaking his feet in bath salts in Grandma's foot massage bath.

Scary bug glasses

He also hide something under this jacket. Told me it was a surprise. On the drive to my house he pulled out his bug glasses. They were awesome. I loved driving down the freeway with this kid in my backseat.

Watching Ben 10

We made homemade pizzas and watched Sonic the Hedgehog. After the movie we set up the camping mattresses in the living room for the sleeping portion of the evening. The next morning we made pancakes and got ready for church. Scott taught me all about Ben 10. Who knew how many aliens a boy can change into.

No broken bones, no tantrums and we even went to bed on time. Not too bad for Aunt Annie. Chalk this up for mommy skills.

Snowshoe Winter

This is my favorite winter view.
Love the pine trees covered in snow, sun shinning.

Talena and I headed up Big Cottonwood Canyon 2 weekends in a row trying to make it up to Dog Lake.  Last week I was sick and we made it just over half way when there was no more trail and we were both too tired to go off breaking trail.  But the sun was shinning and it was a beautiful day so I couldn't complain too much.

At least we brought a really tasty lunch

This week we took a map and a navigator (her bro).  Despite our effort to not get lost we never made it to our destination.  We got started too late and ran out of daylight.  Oh and there was the little fact that it was FREEZING!  I couldn't feel my nose.  I could tell I was touching it, but I couldn't feel myself touching it.  Talena's feet were going to fall off (ok not really, but I am sure they were cold).  Ellie (Talena's sis) had cold hands and all the hand warmers they had with them expired in 2005.
I threw a little 2 year old tantrum for 30 seconds then we booked it back down to the trailhead, my Subaru and its amazing tushie toasters.

Even my hair froze

Cold, but we still smile.

Dog Lake we will be back another day to conquer you.

I'm finished...for now

YEAH!  I finished my first semester.  It was a little stressful to have classes every night, but I learned a lot.
Here is my final projects for my Design class.  The final was self portrait.  Pretty open again, but I enjoyed my results.

Bring on the ice and trees

This last weekend was a return to winter for me.  I ended my Friday night early so I could be in bed by 10pm.   Up at 5:30am Saturday morning to pull on my winter gear and head out into the not as cold as I expected morning.  Beside one detour back to my house to pick up the socks I forgot, I picked up friends at 6am in SLC and drove down to Provo for one last pick up.  Unfortunately, someone slept thru his alarm so we had to call his mom (well he left his phone there and she answered), find his address and pull him out of bed.  By this time our plans to hit up Joe's Valley were thwarted.  BUT we were determined to get our ice.  Up Provo Canyon we went to Stairway to Heaven.  This ice climb usually has somewhere between 5-7 pitches when it is fully in, but there was only 1, maybe 1.5 pitches of ice.  (It had been too warm the last week and was melting all our ice.)  So we set up a few top ropes and did laps on the ice.  I did about 3 climbs, not much, but it was enough to make me the good kind of sore.  My ice climbing is in serious need of improvement, but I'm happy to get climbing early this season.  I hope to do a lot more climbing this year than last with my new (to me) ice tools.

Photo posted by my friend Matt on SummitPost (this was not taken on Saturday)

So one advantage of climbing in Provo was that I was really close to home.  After a nap (I was so wiped out and sore) I was able to go to the last night of the Festival of Trees.  It was really fun despite my less than usual energy level.  I won 20 points from Hoopes for all the people I knew at the event and I got to hear some stellar bag-pipin'.   The gingerbread houses are not as grand as I remember from my youth, but this was my first time hearing the Salt Lake Scots Pipe Band.  They were incredible, but really who doesn't love a good bag pipe.  It might have to be a new tradition to go to the Festival the last night so I can hear the pipers.

Project #7 - Scrap Sculpture

Hello, really open project.  Some people would love projects like this, but they stress me out.  The project was to create a sculpture.  We could use any material, basically scarp.  I could use trash, metal, fabric, food, feathers, rocks, trees, sticks, spike (Land Before Time reference).  As you can see I wasn't limited.  This just makes things become difficult for me because my mind runs 500 miles an hour and I can't seem to focus it.
So after struggling for a while I came up with an idea...a tree and a pretty little birdie in it, but with some unusual tree colors and a bit larger than normal bird. I think it kind of turned out like a Dr. Seuss tree and I like it.

The Result