Hi

It's been quite a while since I've posted anything. I always have dreams of blogging and being consistent and posting quality content. But it never seems to happen. (IT being I don't make it happen.) This year has flown by and without beginning the habit of blogging this space has become a ghost town. (Also I don't think anyone reads it because I do not post consistently, haha).

I want to use this space to post my travel images and stories. Which reminds me... I'm re-creating my photography website (it was accidentally deleted from the web...lesson learned to ALWAYS BACK UP YOUR WEBSITE). I was building it myself so quite a few hours went into it. But I'm excited to get it up and running. Christmas break project...

A little update (for me to look back on), I'm starting my last two weeks of this fall semester. I'm ready for it to be finished (yay, but I have a lot of projects due). It is incredibly hard to have any sort of motivation. If you've finished college / university, do you have any advice on ways to keep yourself motivated / able to finish strong? I'm graduating in the spring (woohoo).

a night in the country

Back in September - (oh September where did you go!) - I went on a retreat with my campus's RUF to a red barn on a farm at the end of a windy dirt road. It was perched on a little, green, mound of a hill out in the middle of some nowhere fields dotted with cows.

Leading up to the weekend I knew I had tons and tons of work I should do, but I was determined to go and enjoy the little time away because it was only one evening. 

The past few months there's been a severe drought in the slow, deep-south state and as we began to roll down the rocky red-dirt road the loose dirt billowed up behind us catching the light in a way that made us all turn around and watch it rise and float in the setting sunlight. It was a beautiful moment.

We arrived around 6pm breathing in the open air, soaking up the wide spaces and God-made views. It was so refreshing to get away for a bit.

The evening was spent lying under the stars, chatting about life, listening to a session on justification, and later poking the gentle glowing fire with a long spindly stick. Fires just have such a calming, hypnotizing effect (...when they're contained...). Everyone just sits round, chatting softly, gazing into it.

Well it was a lovely evening and the morning went much the same. Quiet morning light. Creeping over people and out the door and down the steps to sit on the early, cool, dew-covered grass. Soaking in the crisp air and refreshing light spilling through the cracks in the trees. Ahhhhh, sometimes I wish I was better at getting up in the morning to soak in those early, peaceful, quiet moments. It's such a lovely part of day.

We sat around sketching, eventually grabbing some coffee and a bagel (and maybe a couple m&m's...), and chatted about routine's, likes and dislikes, and dreams for our futures.

A little later as the sun rose higher, making us to peel off our top layers of sweaters and flannels, we headed in for the second session about sanctification. These two words - justification and sanctification - were the theme of the retreat. They're big "church-y" words. I've heard them so often that generally I've blocked them out or skimmed over them, but these session's were good, down-to-earth, simplified, bringing it back to reality even though the terms may seem large and intimidating.


On the way home - window's down, music playing, wind-blown hair - I began to write out everything I needed to do, wondering if I would be able to get it all done. It's so quick - the transition from retreat back to life. Retreat's are needed, even if they're only one night. One night of good conversation, solid teaching, fresh open air. It was needed. One night was a good time to take a deep breath, refocus and prepare to dive back in. 

re·treat

/rəˈtrēt/

verb

- move back or withdraw. 

- withdraw to a quiet or secluded place.

 noun

- an act of moving back or withdrawing.

- a quiet or secluded place in which one can rest and relax.

 

 

 

 

JXN

Well, I'm already halfway through the semester and the work load hasn't really slowed . I've started my junior year here and now only have three semesters left...whaattt. The busyness has been a good busy. Although, I'm not getting much sleep, but such is life...

This year I've been working on developing and creating a solid foundation for my photography business (hopefully I'll have a website up by the end of the year!). One way I've been doing that is working through Christina Dizon's CRAFT bootcamp for photographers. I'm behind since I started school, but it's really helped me to gain confidence and she's given me many resources and ideas for my business.

All my classes have been good in a challenging way. Most of this semester's classes are reading and writing heavy, which has been a challenge.

My two studio classes - window lighting photography and design 2 - have both been great. I've been learning a lot. Design 2 is about color and I don't know much about color, so it has been helpful and interesting.

I'm looking forward to fall break this weekend. My family is coming into town and we'll go to the state fair and enjoy some things in the area. I'm so looking forward to slowing down a bit!  

on break

On spring break // so I went down to the lake with two of my siblings. We found this soft-shelled turtle. My brother caught him so we could see him up close then we let him swim free.

5 reasons to shoot film (or at least try it)

Most people nowadays see shooting film as something old or done for the nostalgia of it all, besides hybrid shooters (shoot both film + digital) for weddings and other events. Using film is becoming rare as digital becomes the obvious choice with the ease, affordability and instant viewing/editing capabilities it offers. I'm sure you've probably had some contact with film in your life since digital cameras are a relatively recent development.

Last fall I enrolled in my first film photography class in college. Prior to school, I'd taken several week-long courses where I was taught digital basics as well as photojournalism. And I have been taking pictures since I received my first camera (film) for my 12th birthday, so I felt like I had the technical settings down. But I was interested in learning film for the sake of the coolness of it (also a little wary too because of the $$) even though I didn't know then how much it would help me in my process as an artist and image-maker.

This class was strictly B&W film - Ilford HP5 and we would be taking our images from start to finish - shooting, developing and printing our work in the darkroom (or The Cave as we like to call it).

**Before I go into reasons to shoot film let me just say, I love shooting digital. I love being able to shoot with my phone. I love the instant gratification and processing on my computer. But there is something to be said for film (which is why I'm writing this post and perhaps why you're reading it). :) Also my film experience is primarily with 35mm film taking it from capturing, developing, processing and printing my images - start to finish.

Here are 5 five reasons to shoot film (or at least try it):

1 :: It was the start of photography. Digital cameras and Lightroom/Photoshop settings are based off of film and the darkroom process because of the foundation film gave photography. When I took the course in the fall, I started to understand the why of photography. I began to connect the dots between film + digital and how they relate to each other.

2 :: It gives a slower pace to the creative process. With digital, the process is relatively quick when shooting. There is the insurance of deleting, retaking, instant viewing, and a lot of storage on SD (secure digital) or CF (compact flash) cards. Shooting film forces you to contemplate, view and see what you're taking in real life before taking the picture. Often I find myself snapping away with my digital camera without thinking too much about what I'm taking. There is a lot of freedom in that but I've discovered my film work has improved my digital work simply because I am taking the time for exposure before I shoot (cuts down on the processing work later). The more you practice the faster you'll get.

3 :: It's unpredictable (to a degree). You really just don't know what you'll get. You can hope and aim for what you want, but it's always a fun surprise. Many times in the darkroom, I have been happily surprised by an outcome of my film. Think of it like Christmas morning. The anticipation, excitement and suspense... :)

4 :: It's tangible. I've discovered that I have thousands of digital images stored on my hard drive and most of them never make it to print... Sometimes they will, but often they are filed away or uploaded to Facebook. There is something about holding your images in your hands. I feel like it has connected me to my work more being able to hold it, flip photo by photo or spread them all out on the ground - arranging and rearranging. Especially if you have access to a darkroom, there's just something awesome about taking your work from shooting, to developing, to print. Even getting your photos developed at Walmart and having to wait a week or two before getting them back helps you to relive and enjoy the memories.

5 :: It's fun! Dig out your parents 35mm from your attic, grab a roll from the store and start experimenting. Happy shooting!

Here are a couple links I found helpful when I was starting out...a little helpful video, the basics of film photography and film exposure.

If you have any questions about film in general or cameras or other photo stuff, feel free to ask and I'll do my best to answer!

ice day

 

I woke up this morning to water-crusted branches and frosty damp air. It's an ice day here in the south.

School is cancelled until 4pm. And there is snow in the forecast tomorrow... so ya know...one can dream. But for now, I'm thankful for a little time to catch up on homework.

2014 {according to my phone photos}

Getting on Facebook this morning, I read the words new year or 2014 in pretty much every post (as to be expected since it's NYE...). It's that time again. The time to reflect, ponder and hope. Having different seasons can often refresh us. It is a time to look forward to the new and unstained. This time motivates me to evaluate where I'm going in my life and create goals to challenge myself.

As I reflected on this past year, I realized that: I finished my first year of college. I purchased my first full-frame camera. I changed my major to visual art. I traveled to Prince Edward Island (which I've been wanting to do for a long time). Even though these are just some small glimpses into things I've done, I realized it's been a full year.

Here are a bunch of photos from my year. I loved looking back to see everything that's happened!

I brought in the new year - 2014 - with friends in Chicago - my first time visiting the city. We walked down to the crowded and freezing Navy Pier to watch the fireworks. 

On the same trip, I also went sledding in Wisconsin. 

In the spring semester, I took printmaking which I loved even though I had no idea what was involved when I signed up. It also helped me confirm my desire to be an art major.

A typical evening in my dorm with my Irish roomie.

Snow decided to visit my campus which was rare and so obviously school was cancelled. 

Spring bike rides around the pond on campus.

 

I spent a lot of time in coffee shops "studying" with friends. :)

The four of us spent a Saturday afternoon on horse back at Elise's home. 

For spring break, me and my friends took a trip out to Charleston for some time on the chilly beach.

I officially entered the ENO club.

 
Me and my roommate at spring formal.

The LADS were -almost- soccer champions! Hopefully we'll get that title in 2015. That wrapped up the spring semester at school.

Some scenes from being home for the summer.

I rode the Megabus up to my cousin's to get ready for her wedding!

 

My cousin married in May!

My brother and I decided to take a little vacation from our jobs and headed to Savannah for the weekend. We camped at Anastasia State Park.

July was the best because I was able to go up to New York and then to Canada and I got to celebrate my birthday.

At New River Beach in Canada - it was beautiful!

Me at the Green Gables house.

Wildflowers.

 

Back at home, back to work...

I moved into my first apartment off campus. I love it there. 

I especially love being able to cook for myself. Definitely beats caf meals.

No fall would be complete without a trip to the state fair... I ended up going three times.  0.0

And it wouldn't be complete without a night of camping with friends celebrating a birthday. It was a frozen night since most of us didn't have warm sleeping bags, but we survived and we've got some good memories.

Most of November I spent working in my studio for practicum. Practicum is when studio classes end and that time is devoted to finding the work in art that the artist wants to do. I experimented with watercolors and did a lot of drawing. My piece was based off the dry curled leaves - like the ones in the above photo.

Thanksgiving I flew to St. Augustine to spend some time with my family.

Camper life in the morning.

 
The plane ride home was beautiful and dreamy. I love those puffy clouds. It seemed like another world up there, floating along so smoothly.

My little studio space after the open studio show.

Before heading home for the rest of Christmas break, I spent some time with one of my college friends. We were in a different coffee shop every day reading or sketching. Christmas break is nice!

My family has started a white elephant gift party every year with two other families that we've known for a long time. Every year there are some interesting gifts.

This year we didn't get the tree up until the day before Christmas eve. 

The day before New Years Eve we went up to the botanical gardens. Even in winter there are still beautiful plants growing. These flowers seemed like clay to me.

I'm excited for a new and fresh year to explore, dream and succeed in.

I hope you all have a wonderful New Year's Eve celebrating with friends and family. Here's to the New Year!