Needs Advice by Sunday

There is a girl from Indiana who really likes my work and is looking for a photographer for her sister's wedding. I'm definitely interested in shooting this wedding (which will be Sept. 8 of 2012), but because I know by then I will still have little or no wedding experience, I told her I wasn't comfortable doing it alone. Of course, I recommended Sandra right off the bat. I also told her I don't know what I would charge, so I would research during the week and let her know by Sunday. She's such a sweet girl, and besides, I am supposed to shoot a cousin's wedding around the same time anyway, so why not?

Well, I've searched my behind off for answers, and as you can imagine, I've gotten nowhere. Thus far, all I can think of as a compromise is to find her a photographer that wouldn't mind having me as a second-shooter or whose work would be similar enough to mine to satisfy her. Do you have any ideas/advice? Should I just throw out something like a $75-per-hour price and find my own second-shooter to give some of the money to?


Anyhow, yesterday I was supposed to post pics from orientation and, since august 5th's photos are to be lumped with a different day's photos, I would skip to the 6th's. So here are those, barely and carelessly edited because I need to get to bed. Sorry!

Waiting patiently for our first advising session at Ohio State.

Pride.

Evidently it rained a little on the 6th. I had to giggle when I saw this because I'm pretty sure I've already taken a photo very similar... Guess I just really like that, um, porch ornament?

Today, I give you the 7th's photo and two almost completely untouched photos from this evening's photo "adventure". (vignetted and shrunken. oh, the editing. lol)

It may have rained on the 6th, but the 7th was sunny and warm!

Speaking of sunny and warm.

I'm still trying to figure out how he got out there. And how he's dry.

Lastly, I wanted to post that one unedited dandelion pic. This is what happens when you crank up the saturation and contrast settings on your Shooting Mode (in my case, Landscape mode is my chosen "default").

Are your eyes shriveling yet?

Time to hit the hay! I have less than 6 hours to sleep before I head out with my friend Katie to see the Ohio State Reformatory (site of the Shawshank Redemption and numerous other famous films). They don't allow "professional" cameras, so my pics will be lower quality than usual. Still, I CAN'T WAIT! AAAAAAH!!!!!

Goodnight. :)

P.S. Happy birthday, Aunty Julie! I love you more than the sun, the moon, and the chicken wings I always beg you to make.

Faces Contest Votes, Anyone?

I know that I haven't been keeping up with my blog for the past couple of weeks, and I'll explain why and post my photos when I am ready to, but for now, I'd like to cut to the chase.

I have submitted two series entries into the Faces Photo Contest, open to all photographers of any skill level. If you're interested, entries are priced as such:

SINGLE ENTRY: $35 per image
SERIES: $50 per series
STUDENTS: $20 (single OR series)


My Series entry into the Self Portrait Category is:

My Series entry into the Environmental Portrait Category is:

If you like these images, please vote for one of them under the People's Choice section. You are allowed one vote per e-mail address, so if you have multiple addresses, feel free to show some love! I'd truly appreciate it. The direct voting links are as follows:

Self
Photo 1: Moment of Weakness
Photo 2: Camouflage My Sadness
Photo 3: Fool the Public

Environmental
Photo 1: Miss C Takes a Breather
Photo 2: Mr. L Weighs His Options
Photo 3: Miss K Makes An Offer
Photo 4: Mr. D Takes a Gander
Photo 5: Miss S Has a Look


Thank you so much if you do spare a moment of your time to vote for me. :) If not, at least thank you for still following me here.

Someone Got A Booboo

Today, my dog got out of the house as she does regularly, but there was not a regular ending. I opened the door to let her in, and she collapsed when she reached the top of the hill. Evidently, she'd really hurt her foot in the few minutes she was out. My poor baby tried to get up a few times, but it just hurt too badly, so she lay there in the middle of the yard.

She's back in the house now. It started storming on her, so I tried carrying her in, but she panicked and darted up the stairs despite her foot. She hasn't moved from her futon since, bundled up in a thick blue blanket. :( Hopefully the vet will be open tomorrow.

And now for a few Senior photos of my gorgeous friend.

A Beautiful Morning

Actually, it was an ugly gray day, which was perfect for my camera. I'm extremely pleased with my photos today. In fact, I'm just pleased today, period. It's been a nice day.

I woke up to my grandfather telling me he was leaving with or without me, so I threw on some clothes, grabbed my necessities (money, camera, laptop, let's go!), and headed out. We went to breakfast [aka lunch] at a Mexican restaurant that I love, then Grandpa decided to explore a bit. We went to the beautiful park pictured above, where I got to chase around two gorgeous ducks.

Then he found a covered bridge that was technically fenced off, but since there was a trail around the fence, we went anyway like the rebels we are. Grandma, on the other hand, waited in the car. "Mama didn't raise no fool!"

Today's challenge: Illustrate symmetry.

There should be more days like today. :D

-Yawn-

Well... not much to say. Hopefully tomorrow I will be less cranky and more in the mood to go out and get some good photos! Until then, you can look at a few more of the photos I've been editing lately. Also, any other ideas for a tutorial?

The Ides

Tuesday, the Ides of March: The day I officially became an Arts major rather than a Business Administration major. A DAY TO REMEMBER!

I Solemnly Swear...

... to re-edit these photos whenever I actually feel like sitting in front of this computer. :) Until then, understand that this is just a post for the sake of posting, as I should have yesterday but was way too tired to stay up for. lol

Yesterday's snap: My darling doggy, Ursa.

Today was the Art Show I've been frantically preparing for for weeks. It was great, even if I didn't sell any prints. The place was smaller than expected, so there wasn't room for vending. :-( However, I did meet two women with 3 children each who would love to do a shoot with me. Everyone who commented on my work (whether they knew I was the photographer or not, as I was somewhat incognito for awhile) was in love with the photo of the little Wilson boy in the McDonald's Playplace. It really made my day. :D

Know what else made my day? Getting a snazzy new haircut! I decided to go with something out of the ordinary, and the stylist chose the color. These photos don't show it off too well, but mostly because of my editing (or lack thereof). Like I said, I will re-edit everything. Here they are for now, in all their contrasty non-glory.

Off to bed! *muah*

Portfolio and A Ditch

Oh, what a creative title.

My image for yesterday: BW Film Photography Portfolio-- Lines. Click for full size.

I spent 8 hours printing yesterday. Can you believe that?! EIGHT HOURS! That, my friends, is why I was not up to posting by the time I got home. Eight hours left me with a plethora of prints that were not perfect but were very decent, so I'm going to sell them for different prices depending on their quality at the art show on Friday. Yay! However, the above prints turned out perfectly (the scanner wasn't doing a very great job, so just take my word for it LOL), so they shall be my eight portfolio photos. The professor himself chose all but the first and last one, so I'm hoping for an A- or so. Maybe. *nervous mode* I can't believe this is due tomorrow already. ARGH!

Alright, enough of that.

Today's challenge was to take a photo featuring water in some way, so I headed down the street. With all the rain we've had lately, there was bound to be some water, right? Here's my shot in my preferred crop:

However, Sandra liked the flowers better and suggested this crop:

I find this amusing because we had such conflicting tastes when it came to this photo. Believe it or not, I detest flowers. I don't know why, but I do. They're great to photograph sometimes, but I just don't want to look at them very often. I favored the rock and the water on the left side of the photo instead, but figured the flowers would add some contrast and interest. Sandra, on the other hand, could do without the rock and the water and is a big fan of flowers. Most people-- normal people-- probably do.

That brings me to my somewhat photographically irrelevant question for you. What would you prefer: a rock, water, or a flower?

For Sandra

The competition. AKA the result of my practicing blurred water motion. Note to self: 1/10 is not slow enough! Use the tripod.

Antiquity

After a long day of studying nothing but the Gothic period and the High Renaissance, I came home thinking about sfumato and chiaroscuro, Leonardo and Michelangelo, pointed arches and sensuous folds. Eventually, I gave in and decided to just take a picture that sort of mimics what I've been seeing all day long. Enjoy. (Please. lol)

Recess Over

Alright, guys, I'm so sorry for being this late. I was playing! It was a cruddy day for reasons I'll explain later, and Sandra decided to let me play with some of her old photos of my beautiful best friend Khalila. It really cheered me up (thanks, Sandra!). This is a bit of what came out of it.

After regular processing, I used the same filters as my harlequin photos to give these pictures a completely different feel just for kicks.

Speaking of the harlequin photos, they show up in yesterday's shot!

Taken with the Minolta x-700

One of the first things you'll probably notice about the photo is that it's extremely contrasty. That brings me to the reason that the day was less than pleasant for me: my two rolls of 36-exposure film were damaged nearly past the point of salvation.

First, the lab ran out of fixer, then it ran out of fixer remover-- neither of which would have happened had the employee with the keys to the stock room bothered to show up for work today--, so we had to improvise when it came to chemistry.

Next, the timer in my darkroom went haywire midway through developing. Naturally, there were no more timers. Again, I had to improvise.

Then, when my film was finally done washing, I noticed that some of it was extremely gray, and other parts were almost completely clear. Come to find out there was a CRACK in my film canister. The film was getting exposed to light throughout the entire developing process.

I'm sad to say that these were not even close to the only problems I had in the darkroom today. However, I tried to make due, and now I am sure I'll be able to salvage most of my film on Thursday with any luck.

Definitely need some luck. LOL

This morning's quick attempt at filling the frame before class.

Squealing With Joy

Today, I received a notification in the mail that my photo is a finalist in the Photographer's Forum 31st Annual Best of College Photography Contest. I have been walking on a cloud since I saw that letter.

The photo was taken this summer while I was visiting my cousins in West Virginia. They'd just been given a baby girl from an adoption agency, so we were coming to see the new addition to the family. Their adoptive son Michael was throwing a very fake tantrum on the floor in front of a patio door that let in some dramatic light, so I had to take photos. Hilariously enough, Michael stopped crying and lay still for every single shot I took. Today (1/31/11 for the record, since it's apparently after midnight now) is his 4th birthday. Now, his photograph will be published in a book that will be distributed to colleges and art instructors nationwide!

I have entered 5 (so far) of my Project 365 photographs for the magazine's current contest. Hopefully, I will have some more success come August!

---

On another note, I regret to inform you that there will be no photo for today YET. Again, I spent the day taking SLR photos, so you will get today's photos tomorrow after I print them. This time my digital card wasn't full, though. I just needed to finish up my two rolls of film to develop tomorrow, and they're 36-exposure rolls. Eek.

The day's challenge was repetition. I do believe I will have a photo that suits the assignment. We'll find out tomorrow! :D

End ramble.

At Long Last

My grandmother has finally allowed me to take her portrait!

The challenge was supposed to be red, and she is actually wearing all red, but I liked this portrait so much better in black and white. The red distracts from her beautiful face. <3

Well, I'm pooped. Goodnight, y'all! :D

Prints, Edits, and Stripes

I took this photo a few days ago with my awesome new  High-Def  Panoramic Fisheye Lens (for the millionth time, THANK YOU SANDRA! *hug*) and somehow completely forgot about it. Came across it today while cleaning out a card and couldn't leave it behind. Hope it was worth it. :)

Now, today's challenge was to feature stripes somehow, so here are my photos for the day.

Wind chime from my bedroom window, using my 55-200 mm lens.

My poor, abused guitar by my other bedroom window. Today was all about daylight!

Finally, I will show you my terrible school prints, starting with the most overexposed: my dog, Ursa.

I've got a LOT of learning to do. Maybe next week will be better! *fingers crossed*

A Moment of Whimsy

Oh the things I find when I'm rushing to Photography class.

Speaking of class, today I learned how to develop film. It was so exciting! Next week, we'll make our very first black and white prints. :D

Meanwhile, I finally got around to editing a few more photos from the Wilson shoot and here are a couple for your viewing pleasure (I hope. lol) The darlings M and M.