Catching Dreams

I spent almost the entire day editing photos from fun outings that I never got to. It was a nice way to distract myself from being so upset about my lack of sufficient financial aid (and the very real possibility that I will, yet again, have to consider taking a year off to earn enough money for college).

One of the photos I edited was from my Indiana visit in March, when some friends and I joined Sandra's husband at the City Methodist church to celebrate him acing the EMT test. Which version do you like better? If neither, what did I do wrong?

Here are a few of my favorite black and white shots of each girl from the past couple weeks (that I've edited in the past 24 hours, anyway).

My ex-classmate and now partner in crime (literally, if you ask J. Imes), Katie, in action.

My fellow brown girl and new model, Abby. I so want to steal her hair. Watch out, guuurl!

The super-adorable and equally sweet Becca, who I hope to work with more. I love meeting people like her!

The ridiculously gorgeous Emily. No one will ever be able to rock that hair accessory the way that she did. 

The awesome and adventurous girl I can't believe I didn't meet years ago, Ellen. Do you believe in soul-pals? LOL

And, of course, today's photo. It's just a snapshot of part of our newest dreamcatcher, which I'll be using during this weekend's fun Native-American-inspired photoshoot with, of course, the fabulous Katie Dawes!

I cannot wait for this weekend. Hanging out with my friends has seriously been so much more beneficial to me than they could imagine. I'm going to hate when we all become too busy to have these weekends anymore.

Anyway, time for bed! Goodnight, y'all. :)

"WHERE'D YOU GO?!"

That's probably what you guys are asking. Well, I have almost literally gone nowhere, and I am now officially making my return to my 365 Challenge.

I owe you guys 32 photos, but today I will only post a few that I took over the long hiatus. Sandra and I have decided that it would be best to tack the days onto the end of the year instead of posting all of the photos I took or neglected to take since (1) I must definitely say I did NOT take a photo every single one of those days, though I did take one most of them, and (2) I have been extremely sick, and by the time I get well enough to make up for the missed photos, I will have a ridiculous amount of photoshoots to work on.

Let me catch you up a little.

Ursa has finally stopped looking for Roxy and now spends her time calling out to the other dogs on the block.

Daisy, my ironically named orchid, has passed on due to overheating.

I felt better for all of three days. Grandpa hit the shutter release for me because I have managed to lose my remote.

I learned how to draw with Soft Pastels for Drawing in Color class

I expressed myself in collage form for that same class using my photos and song lyrics. (Tears of a Clown and Mad World)

I finished a Drawing project in one class session, basing it off of Monet's style and JMW Turner's painting.

The friend whose maternity photos I took had her baby. Yay!!!

And, finally...

Today, I had a stalker. He watched me that intensely for over 5 minutes. The little creep.

Otherwise, I have attended more doctors' appointments than classes, begun physical therapy, gone through withdrawal from medications, come down with a sinus infection that's currently plaguing me, spent an entire day with my grandfather at the hospital, been told I am a carrier of a blood disorder, and (holy cow, GOOD news) been informed that I am an Honor student. Now I am going to be observed for two different sleep disorders this week. Life is... something. On the plus side, I've begun a tutorial that may very well become a small e-book for you all that explains (as thoroughly as I possibly can) the Photoshop toolkit.

Thank you for hanging in there with me. I pray I don't let you down again. :-(

Finding the Time

It's been a crazy week! An amazing week. It couldn't have gone better. :D I have to thank Renee for bringing me and putting up with my constant in-and-out behavior. She was a doll.

I had at least one photoshoot pretty much every day while I was in Indiana. Between those and all the running around I was doing, there wasn't time to check my e-mails every day, let alone edit and post photos, so now that I'm home, I've spent the day working on a few. Here are my favorites for each day of the week, and then yesterday's quick "thank goodness I'm home" snapshot. I'll post today's shot later tonight. :)

Sunday:

Mr. J hamming it up

Monday:

Ms. M and Mr. P's little bundle of joy

Tuesday:

Little Mr. J sleeping in a basket

Wednesday:

Ms. R enjoying my flower

Thursday:

The ever-gorgeous Khalila making me jealous with her beauty.

aaand Friday's snapshot:

Mmmm, Chinese food awaited us when we got home!!! Thank you, Grandma.

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!

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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.

Worn

To be perfectly honest, I took this photo a few days ago, but never really got around to editing it. It wasn't until I came across this wonderful action that I knew what kind of look I wanted. Now the photograph is just how I feel today: Worn.

Class went great. I focused my attention on learning the things I needed most immediately, so I didn't get very many prints, but the few that I actually DID finish were "perfect" according to the professor. At least technically, anyway.

However, I have no photos to show for today until next week because every picture I took was with the SLRs. Lessons learned:

1.  Always wear two pairs of gloves when shooting outdoors with SLRs in the winter.

2.  Do not wear a cap in a darkroom.

3.  Always make sure that you have at least 1 frame left out of 24 GB worth of memory cards.

4.  Enjoy every minute of your learning experiences.

:D 

Reminisce

Today, I received a call from one of my middle/high school close friends who I've lost touch with in the past few years. It really made my day. We talked until his phone died! In honor of him and the chain of reminiscence he started, I thought I'd take a photo that had to do with memories.

Little did I know, that was the daily challenge. LOL So much for creativity.

My high school graduating class.