Photo #4 Moves

I had a lot of fun with my fourth assignment, motion. We had to stop action (photo 4) and make an object look like it was in motion. Motion creates some great energy in an image. By using a technique called panning, where you follow the object in motion, you can blur the background while the thing in motion looks crisp (see photo 5). You can also slow the shutter speed and capture the movement of an object while the background stays in sharp focus (photo 1-3). Here is some of my favorites.

My favorite moving object in SLC
(here is a secret... they were hardly moving that night)

I got this by accident which means I really don't know how to repeat it

I'll be honest...I shot this same photo along time ago for my first photo class
so I knew it would turn out how I wanted it.

Erika was so sweet to let me ask her to do this again and again and again

We loving call him Hoopes

Photo Assignment 3

Back to catch up. My third photo assignment was to play with depth of field. I used my Minolta film SLR to take these pictures. I was running out of time to get them done and developed before my next lab day so I ran over to Liberty Park on my lunch. These are my favorites.

This image was to show a large DOF (everything in focus)

This photo has a shallow DOF so only the
first trash can is in focus.

The think DOF is my favorite way to create interest in an image. I am not always good at getting the camera to do what I imagine, but that is why I am taking the class.

Ash Wednesday - Bring on Lent

Today is Ash Wednesday and the start of Lent. Well even that depends on if you are under the Western or Eastern Christian religious affiliation. I am not sure which I am. I’m Mormon, so I don’t know if either really counts. All I know is that when I looked at my calendar on Monday and it said “Lent begins” I thought to myself “oh crap I didn’t know it was Lent today.” Lucky for me I can start today, Ash Wednesday, the second recognized start date of Lent.
I have never participated in Lent before. Something just sounded appealing about it this year. Maybe I didn’t have enough goals and thought I should squeak another one out. Maybe I just like cruel and unusual punishment. So instead of heaping this on top of my other goals, I am going to use this to accomplish one of my 27 goals. Goal # 19 “Develop a Christ-like Characteristic.” You don’t mind that Lent ends after my birthday do you?
The purpose of Lent is to make sacrifices allowing you to grow closer to God. Christ fasted 40 days in the wilderness before he began his ministry. I am sure he used that time to pray and converse with his Heavenly Father. To learn from him, to understand his mission and to prepare himself for his ministry. Today I embark on my own 40 days of Lent (technically it is 46, but Sundays aren’t suppose to be counted).
Now to decide what to give up?. I asked everyone I came in contact with over the last 2 days. People at work, friends I ran into at the coffee shop and people in my photo class. I even searched the internet for ideas. Finally, I found something that would be worthwhile and challenging. SNOOZE!

Yes, that is right. For the next 46 days I will be giving up my snooze button. That doesn’t mean I can’t sleep in. I just can’t use the snooze button to give me 8 extra minutes of blissful sleep. This will be extra challenging because I have two alarm clocks. I will have to use only one, thus reducing the desire to have one as the back up and ultimately acting as the snooze for the first alarm. I will also have to go to bed earlier making sure I am rested when that alarm goes off. Ever turn off the alarm before you even realize it? That is me far too often. So there you go. I am putting it out in the blogging world. I am giving up my snooze button as my sacrifice to Lent.
But wait! That’s not all. Ultimately, I want to participate in Lent for its true purpose. I want to draw closer to God. I want to learn from Him, understand His mission and prepare myself for my personal ministry (ok that is a little weird to say, but I am sure there is something/someone of which I am supposed to minister). I have never read the entire Bible cover from cover, so that is exactly what I will do, sort of. I have the next 46 days to read the entire New Testament (so that is half of the Bible). There are 403 number of pages in the copy I have. That will be 8.76 per day. Wow! This will be a challenge. Wish me luck.

Here are some links I enjoyed about Lent and ideas for Lent.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lent

http://www.ehow.com/how_2172166_pick-what-give-up-lent.html

http://www.dailyprincetonian.com/2003/03/05/7507/

http://www.beliefnet.com/Faiths/Christianity/Lent/What-Im-Giving-Up-For-Lent.aspx

Birthday Goal Report

Yesterday marked the one month count down to my 28th birthday. So I am just catching up on what is left on my list. I'll say this right now, this year has been a tough on the list. I'm going to have to rethink my approach to the list next year.

1. Learn a new “mommy” skill
   - A perfect example of what I am trying to learn.  My great friend Brooke taught me how to make individual microwave cakes.  I now know a practical skill for snacks without spending the money on the store brand stuff.
   - I made home-made Mariana sauce to freeze.
   - I had a awesome sleep-over with my nephew Scott
2. Take a class in a subject that interests me- I took an InDesign and Design class this last semester from SLCC.  Loved it.  See some of my projects here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here (whoa that was a lot).
3. Develop a relationship with the library- Although my level of book check out isn't high mostly based on my lack of time to read and a one month time frame doesn't always fit my schedule my record continues, a full year without buying a book. 
4. Design a personal scripture study program and use it
   - My plan is to do an hour of study every Sunday morning and 15 minutes daily.  Not so great at keeping up with it.
5. Learn about nature
   - I would like to learn more about geology.  Nothing done yet unless you count the little booklet I picked up in Bryce earlier last year. Does the desire to get a dog and name him Geo count?
6. Learn about my family -
   - Did you know I am so much like my Grandma Berger? I talk to complete strangers in the grocery line, I snatch food off other people's plates and ask people where they got their red hair. She wrote her life story which is amazing if I do say so myself. She is my hero and example of a strong woman.  I am working on transferring it to the computer. It is taking a lot of time so we will be adding this to next year's list.
7. Gain a personal testimony of the temple & temple work - - I went to the temple in July to receive my personal endowment. It was an amazing experience and I am so happy. 
   - Reading "The Holy Temple"
   - Was a little bad in Nov. and Feb., but otherwise I have been going to the temple at least twice a month.
8. Experience a different culture- I joined my family last July for a trip to Germany.
9. Teach someone a skill- Taught Talena how to set up a slackline for her family reunion.
10. Pick up a new outdoor skill - My friend Marne is a master at orienteering. I am joining her and her family for a little mountain biking trip to Moab in 2 weeks. This should be a great opportunity to learn her skills.
11. Understand the body and how it functions - I have been collecting articles about nutrition and exercise science.
12. Expand a passion - Signed up for a photography class and you can see my first 2 assignments here and here.
13. Research a topic that confuses me til I understand- Computers!  Purchased my first computer and I spent a lot of time talking with my computer smart friends about the components and hardware.  
14. Be creative-  This seems hard to explain, but I feel life this is an entire state of mind change and I can see how my vision has changed. (Design classes, craft night, seasonal crafts and more have been completed this year.)
15. Improve grammar and spelling
    - I have been keeping a spelling list and practicing just like the old elementary days.
    - Talena loaned me a grammar book, still to be read.  
16. Acquire a new resume skill- My InDesign class has really been a huge skill boaster.  
17. Expand a talent
    - Learn 10 new songs on the piano and/or guitar. Due to my crazy schedule I had to stop guitar lessons and sadly I haven't played either the piano or guitar.
18. Learn from the past - Change is difficult and it takes a long time for some habits and weaknesses to be changed, but this is going well. Vague I know.
19. Develop a Christ like characteristic - The person I am and the person I want to become are not one in the same. I am sure that many of us can express that same sentiment. I hope to build a relationship with my Savior and become more like Him. A lifelong goal.
20. Explore my surroundings - A recent photo day got me running around the Salt Lake valley exploring places I have never visited and seeing old things from a different perspective. It was a really fun day. It will have to be repeated. 
21. Challenge myself physically - I start training for another tri next week. It won't be completed before my birthday, so I hope you will forgive me for checking off the list despite the timeline.
22. Participate in my community- Talena and I attended a neighborhood meeting in January. It was really nice to hear what was going on and to meet some of our neighbors. We meet Laura who lives just a few houses down from us.
    - I have been reading the newspaper almost daily and I am very excited about knowing more about what is going on in our legislator. I am even following a few bills as they are debated.
23. Share the gospel- Gave out 2 Book of Mormons this year.
24. Record my experiences, thoughts and feelings
    - I am horrible at keeping a journal.  I have started and stopped many times in my life and even after setting this goal I have been struggling.  This is a work in progress.  But the goal is to write at least once a month. And yes I know the blog could count, but I am not satisfied.
25. Discover an old friend- Somewhat monthly lunches with my old roommates, Marne & Lindsey.
    - Pen-pal Melina. We have been friends since we were 5, but we live far away. The pen-paling has been much more fun then Gmail or Facebook.  
26. Serve in secret - If I told you it wouldn't be a secret.
27. Develop a healthy habit- This one goal has had two habit forming benefits. The goal to eat out less and prepare more meals at home. The result, more money in my bank account and maintaining a healthy diet.

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.