photo class | authoraiINK.

Posts Tagged ‘ photo class ’

your genius is showing.

Listening to: Sade — Jezebel

Yes, I am the educated type of person who makes Spongebob references. Mind me not.

So, everyone, as of now I am pretty much mentally on spring break. I have no “real” classes next week — it’s a relaxation/”alternative learning” week we have before we’re actually allowed to leave — and tomorrow, well, tomorrow’s a Saturday. It should technically be a weekend. Tonight’s the winter dance recital, so I’m alsopretty psyched to be — successfully! — lifting my partner and not dropping her in front of the entire school and my dad, who’s driving down from Canada to see me.

Today I nearly failed a class for the entire marking period. And by “failed” I mean got a zero. In Photography. How did this happen, you wonder? I have an issue with uploading my photos to the school’s network. So, even though I may show them in printed form or on my computer screen, I never actually turn anything in. You see how we have a problem, no? Well, today in the middle of lunch he told me he was going to fail me if I didn’t upload my latest portfolio (last time I tried, the computer stalled and refused to take less than seven hours to do the job) by the end of the period. I spent the next half an hour having a veritable nervous breakdown until one of my much-more-logical friends suggested that, instead of uploading my seventy photos file-by-file, I make a zipped folder of the portfolio and upload that instead. And somehow, after I’d closed every program my computer was running, plugged it in, and put the battery on high performance mode, it managed to upload them with fifteen minutes to spare. Cue relief. My GPA was just saved from making a full two-point crash.

In other, less cataclysmic news, today I spent awhile skulking about with a few of the lax bros in my class. They’re all pretty fun (and rather welcoming to me, the Nerdy Artsy Black Chick), though the number of times I heard the words “fuck” and “bro” was staggering. I finished editing the fourth chapter of my novel and posted it; though I’m still conflicted about telling you all where it’s at on these interwebs (sorry!). But according to the Matrix, which I finished watching in class today, it doesn’t matter because your memory of reading it would be false, anyway.

There is no blog post.

2011: 02/25
CATEGORY: misc.
news.
Leave a comment

bish got blog.

Listening to: Phoenix — Rome

It’s that time again. Yes, portfolio-building time. I told you recently that I just updated my Carbonmade portfolio, but apparently that wasn’t good enough — my photography teacher has now tasked me to create TWO portfolios, one of my best fashiony work and one of my best randomosity. With 50 freaking photographs each. Did I mention it’s due tomorrow, and I haven’t even started yet?

But the main point of this post was to tell you that I’ve started an auxiliary blog, The Ridiculous Things Store, since apparently the writings. page on here isn’t quite as functional as it could/should be. The Store should be updated more frequently than authoraiINK here (because have you noticed how posts have been slowly waning? school does that to you.) with snippets of writing and poetry. But don’t worry, I will still post my rants/photography/occasional sartorial choices here. And maybe one day Blé will post too.

2011: 02/17
CATEGORY: news.
writings.
Leave a comment

jump high or be lifted (and subsequently dropped).

Listening to: Blue Foundation — Eyes On Fire (Zeds Dead Remix)

Augh. Only the second day back, and I’m already drowned in homework. Might I say that I’m pretty annoyed? First thing first period yesterday. I had a cumulative first-semester quiz. Then at photo class my teacher basically told me that my photos have no focus (in a conceptual sense, not a technical one). I disagree with this. I don’t believe that every image I capture has to have a meaning; maybe it’s all hyper-Surrealist.

But anyway. Today in dance we were working at the barre for the first time, which was… interesting. Suffice to say that we are not a ballet group. At all. Then, while working on our current modern piece, we had to partner up by size/height and were told that we were going to do lifts. Cue thunderclap.

Being the second-tallest person in our class, my partner was a very nice German gymnast girl who was waaaay too patient with me. I took one look at her and said, “I’m lifting you.” But then our instructor gave her customary evil laugh and informed us that we’d both have to lift each other. Cue lightning.

Before we got to the actual lifting, however, we had to do a little trust fall/sit and backwards somersault. I am not a very trusting person. My partner and I had to try about seven times before I would let her sit me down, me feeling worse every time she told me that it was okay. The entire debacle went something like this:

Her: Okay, now, leave your feet there, and I’ll pull you backwards.

Me: Sure! *walks backwards nonetheless*

And repeat. Then, after the backwards somersault, it was time to do some lifting. For anyone who doesn’t dance, it’s important to understand that lifting isn’t about weight or strength or anything; it’s about momentum and timing and both people working together to keep from collapsing into a sad heap. Me lifting my partner wasn’t that bad, except that I kept turning her the wrong way. But then came the moment I’d dreaded: her turn to lift me.

…And then everything exploded into a cataclysmic fireball of doom.

Or something like that. I already mentioned that I have issues with trusting people with handling my weight. That, coupled with my off timing (and momentum that sent us turning, once again, in the wrong direction), well… let’s just say that it was special. We actually, finally, got in a couple of really nice lift/turns, but nevertheless when we finally ran through the piece, it ended with:

1. Us missing the cue for our fall/sit

2. Me rolling into her

3. Me getting the momentum wrong, again, and sending us in the wrong direction even though I wasn’t actually off the ground

4. Her exclaiming a rather tasteful curse and dropping me

5. Us collapsing in general, giggling, while everyone (sort of) danced on around us.

At least, we thought, we didn’t take anyone out with us. There was a particularly amusing incident with another two pairs, where one pair stopped moving completely and, whilst in the middle of a perfect lift, another pair turned and knocked one of the immobile pair over with the liftee’s foot. We felt slightly better after seeing that.

We’re doing lifts again tomorrow.

2011: 01/05
CATEGORY: misc.
1 comment

my body on caffeine is my mind on apathy.

Listening to: The Xx — Crystalized

When I’m feeling depressed, I’m often really tired and/or can’t sleep. Thus I drink twice the amount of caffeine I do usually. Caffeine in copious amounts tends to wipe my emotions. So I end up depressed and apathetic, which as you can probably guess is not a great combination. At around 6:30pm I had a strange crash and couldn’t stop shivering.

But anyway. I scrounged up 55 photos for my portfolio — a veritable miracle, since earlier in the morning I had only 25 — when I was busy not sleeping. At my first and third period classes, we had parties where we ate cake and Belgian chocolates. And since The Xx’s “Heart Skipped A Beat” plays in my head on repeat when I’m not quite happy, I felt compelled to play it aloud — and in the process found the video for their song “Islands”, which I now find oddly fascinating.

2010: 12/10
CATEGORY: misc.
Leave a comment

organizational hazards.

Listening to: MIA — Paper Planes

I just finished my last radio show of this calendar year. It’s hard to believe that it’s almost 2011; already I’m slipping up and, conversely, writing 2012 on my assignments. Maybe I’m just eager for the end of the world?
But since it’s almost the end of the semester, I have a crapload of organizing to get done. I have to organize my binders for the teachers who like to make sure that good grades are backed up by neatness (even though, personally, organizing all my crap is going to put me a bit back on studying). I have to organize my room before I leave, and I was just told (read: in the last two minutes of my last photography class, to which my teacher arrived late) that I need to salvage a portfolio/photo dump of around fifty images by Friday. Since I’m doing that right now — well, sort of — I decided I’d share a few self-portraits with you. It upsets me that I can take self-portraits but fail epically at taking a simple outfit photo. I suppose it’s evident from these examples that I have issues with taking full-body photos, though…

Random note — the song that played right after Paper Planes was Paper Gangsta. My iTunes must be on the same wavelength as I am….

2010: 12/07
CATEGORY: photography
2 comments

an analogue portrait of the digital mind.

Listening to: Tegan & Sara — Someday

Happy December & World Aids Day! Yesterday was back to classes. First thing first period, we had a “morality quiz” — our class was split in half and put in two separate rooms, and each group had to decide whether or not to rat out the other group for some unspecified crime. If we both ratted each other out, we’d all get a 60%; if they ratted us out and we stayed silent, they got a 100% and we got a 0, and vice versa; if neither group said anything, we’d all get 80%. But since we all fail at morality, apparently, both groups ratted and we ended up with a 60%. Great way to get back in the swing of things, no?

At photo class I had the customary argument with my teacher; as usual he didn’t like anything I’d shot over break. Well, actually that’s a lie — he really liked two photos, which is up from hating all of them. Le sigh. But he thinks — and I’m sort of compelled to agree — that pretty much every photo I take has people in it, so my current assignment is to take inanimate objects.

But the thing is, I really don’t want to shoot digital right now. Actually, I really, really miss using my F10 more often, but I can’t unless I shoot black and white and develop the film myself because

1) the only roll of color film I took with me is currently in my LC-A+

2) it’s practically impossible to develop color film here, anyway.

My D3000 is just getting on my nerves at the moment, though. The ISO isn’t what I’d like it to be, nor is the fact that I can’t use my better lenses with it because of its stupid D-series mount. I’m hoping for a Diana+ 38mm super-wide angle lens for Christmas, but even that I’ll only be able to use with the F10. And I feel like with the D3000, I’m taking the same thing over and over just because I can. Maybe using the F10 for a while will force me to be a bit more creative?

Anywho. Here are some gorgeous analogue portraits from around the interwebs.

2010: 12/01
CATEGORY: Lomography
misc.
photography
5 comments

some things are just too delicious for… ah, is that a crêpe?

Listening to: Ladytron — Versus

Sometimes it really rocks being the only one in my photography class. For example: Today, instead of having class, my teacher and I took a trip into town so that I could take my color film to the awkwardly-houred camera store. I’d been taking a roll a day over the weekend (trying to document my life in Lomo), so the three rolls plus a CD (which will be ready tomorrow! yay!) ended up costing me around forty dollars. That left me with nine dollars, which I was supposed to use to pay back a friend, with which to buy lunch.

On the way to my coffeeshop of choice, I stopped by the candy store with the sole purpose of wasting money on another button for my CBOQO (Communist Bag of Questionable Origin, in case any of you don’t remember). This is the one I got:

We’d met barely five minutes prior, but the salesguy laughed when he saw it and said, “That seems just like you!” Which was strangely not-strange — I suppose I’m just that good at conveying a lot about myself in a very short period of time.

At the coffeeshop I realized that I’d wasted a bit too much money, so I had to cancel my order of coffee halfway through. But the people there were really nice, so I got a small mocha on the house. By way of food, I ordered what they call the “Chocolate Chimp Crêpe”, which is Nutella and bananas and 105% delicious. It was so good that I devoted a whole post to it.

I was halfway through eating it (it was very messy, since it was all melty and Nutella-y and the pieces of chocolate and hazelnut-covered banana kept falling out) when it dawned on me that, hey, I should totes record it on fake film! So there you have it, dear readers: The Most Delicious Crêpe to be Bought In The Middle of Nowhere and Consumed by Anwa.

2010: 10/19
CATEGORY: misc.
1 comment

mutually uninspiring.

Listening to: Tegan & Sara — I Can’t Take It

I feel like I’ve been stuck in a rut lately. I’ve had way too much work and, of course, not half the time it takes to get it all done. That means that I haven’t been doing much of the things that I like to do, like writing and unassigned photo shoots. This adds to the relative depression I’ve been feeling over the past week and a half, which itself was added to by the amazingly sucktastic weather (example: yesterday it was a torrential downpour and 44°F, and I sat on a cold metal bench, covered in mud, for and hour and a half).

On the photography front, I feel like I haven’t really loved anything I’ve shot since the start of the school year. Not to mention it all gets picked apart to its bones on a regular basis, and every day it all boils down to fashion photography: what it is and what it means to me.

I, personally, know that I want my final portfolio to be composed of what one could call “fashion portraits”. Except my teacher doesn’t believe that fashion photographs are anything but artistic advertisements, and that in order to shoot said photos I have to actively, well, advertise. Nor does he really like fashion photography, but that’s another matter. I, on the other hand, think that a fashion photograph is any photo with a large emphasis on the styling (and so, admittedly, does he, of course unless it’s my photo we’re talking about). So we have a large disagreement there, and every class we spend at least ten minutes debating it. And then there’s the whole question of “narrative” and the debate over what exactly that defines, and whether it’s present/ how much it’s present or not in my photos. And it’s all just so frustrating and

miss

creativity.

Ugh. I can’t wait until fall break.

2010: 10/07
CATEGORY: misc.
photography
1 comment

scoring some purchases.

Listening to: Hey Monday — I Don’t Wanna Dance

This past weekend has been unusually busy. My soccer team had our first game of the season on Friday; we won 6-3. During my short stint in goal, I rolled over my hand and jammed my fingers — the index and middle finger of my left hand are now taped together, which, in case you couldn’t tell, makes typing…rather…difficult. And because such a minor injury is rather debilitating to a goalie, I spent our game on Sunday (we lost 7-0… it was painful) keeping the bench nice and toasty. But, considering the score at the end of that game, I was kind of glad that I wasn’t the one in goal.

But today we had a mall trip, so a handful of us piled into a van and drove up to Albany. I went into an H&M for the first time in my life (I know! How can someone claim to pretend to blog about fashion without shopping there?) and got a probably-too-short-for-dress-code dress, a dark-lavender shirt, a plain black belt and the oh-so-chic plain striped t-shirt which everyone on lookbook.nu seems to be wearing, along with their floral skirts and oversized hipster glasses.

Now, however, I have to stalk the interwebs to find more of other people’s portraits for my current photo assignment. Hopefully my teacher will approve of the photos I’ve chosen, since to him everything with a hint of styling is “a fashion photo, not a portrait.” Ah, well. They’re supposed to be my favorites, not his.

2010: 09/26
CATEGORY: fashion
misc.
5 comments

dayzed.

Listening to: Black Box Recorder — Brutality

Wow. I can’t believe that the first “real” week of school is over — conversely, it seems like we’ve been here for at least a month. So much has happened over the past few days, which is weird to think about because here it’s said here that “nothing that happens before or during the weekend of the first dance even counts”. Of course, the aforementioned saying has nothing to do with schoolwork; if all of the homework I’ve been swamped with the first week of school didn’t count, I would have to shoot someone.

Because I’m the only one in my photography class, I (read: my teacher) decided to have only two classes this week. The first one was to receive my assignment (portraits), and the second one was for him to pick apart my studio portraits because 1) I only used — gasp — one model, 2) even though they were all compositionally very good, they “just didn’t do anything for him”, and 3) he flat-out doesn’t like fashion photography. Le sigh. I spent the next canceled class taking stalker-portraits of passers-by, with which I’m sure he will be very happy.

Once when we were preparing for a photo shoot, Blé joked that I’d found my life’s career in applying other people’s eye makeup. The girls of my dorm seem to believe that as well, as they all made me apply theirs before the dance yesterday. In their words: “Ohmigosh, I’m totes having you do my makeup next dance, too!” In my thoughts: “Ohmigosh, you’d better bring five dollars next time!”

Today we watched Mean Girls. I know it puts me at odds with most American females of my generation to say this, but I strongly disliked that movie. It wasn’t the acting or the plot that did it for me; it was the whole “Girl from Africa” premise. Please, filmmakers of Hollywood, quit your colonialism and remember that FOR THE LAST TIME, AFRICA IS NOT A GIANT EMPTY SAFARI FILLED WITH ELEPHANTS AND POOR, IGNORANT TRIBES-PEOPLE. As someone whose family hails from a country that is both African, metropolitan and one of the most populous in the world, this irks me so much.

On a semi-random style note: I was taking a look at my Pinterest board (yes, I only have one), I noticed that most of my favorite photos are taken my Eastern European, namely Polish, photographers. And while I’d love to chalk that up to Blé’s influence, I think it’s more because so many of them, at least the ones you see on art sites like deviantArt, have a very similar style. I suppose that I try to emulate this very general style, in a way, but I’m better at incorporation than emulation.

That is all. If you read the entirety of this rambling and unfocused post, you deserve a Double-Stuff Oreo.

2010: 09/19
CATEGORY: misc.
news.
photography
2 comments

yeah, we went there.