Autumn-May

Good news: I'm no longer without a digital camera. This means I can actually be a functional member of yearbook staff this year (in addition to being able to contribute a few images to dA every now and then).

Bad news: It's a P&S. Being the poor college student that I am, I couldn't wait to save the $125 I spent on the camera I have now for a DSLR. I guess it's better than nothing though.

Ironic news: I absolutely loved the convenience of shooting digitally. Now I really REALLY want to go back to shooting film, which is much more costly because of the film itself, developing, and prints or CD's. The only 35mm camera I have that has a functioning light meter had icky light seals, so I just ordered a replacement kit. I'm hoping to get it all fixed up when I get home so I can bring it back to school with me and, hopefully, take the color portion of photography in the Spring.

In other news, it's my junior year of college! It's all so exciting and terrifying at once. I'm taking a lot of my major classes, looking into interning at a place downtown, and trying to plan for life after undergrad. Because I don't have another major or any minors, I'm hoping to have a little extra time on my hands to delve into different photographic techniques and maybe paint a bit. (Hopefully I didn't just jinx myself...)

For the past few days, the topic of discussion in my History of Photography class has been landscape.  As an aspiring photographer with an interest in photojournalism, I've been a little bored.  I'm most interested in photographs of events as they're happening; so landscape has been almost sleep-inducing to me.

But today there were a few images, photos and paintings, that really struck me. The one that touched me the most was William Jackson's Grand Canyon of the Colorado, 1883.  See it here:  greenmuseum.org/c/aen/Images/E…


See, today we talked about the transcendental idea of nature as God.  A romantic idea…?  Highly.  Even as an aspiring artist, I sometimes giggle to myself when people bring up such romanticism because, depending on who the critique coming from, it can feel heavily exaggerated.

I guess I've never felt so incredibly moved by a piece of art until today.  Don't get me wrong, art is a big part of my life in various mediums.  Even though I can't say I'm really talented at all, especially in the traditional sense, I really do enjoy looking at many different types of art.  A good piece of art evokes a feeling, an emotion… It even takes you away into the piece sometimes.

Maybe I'm just a little more aware of how certain pieces of art make me feel now that I've actually taken a few college level art classes, or maybe I am just being a big ole' sap, but I found myself on the verge of tears when my professor pulled up this slide.  As much of a fan of the arts I am, in general, I don't think I have ever felt so moved by a single piece.

William Jackson didn't use a high tech camera to capture this image, yet he still managed to capture the beauty and the vastness of the landscape around him, and the sense of smallness a viewer may feel when looking at this photo.

The idea of nature as God is a little far fetched for me (though I could definitely understand and respect that viewpoint), as I'm a Christian by definition, but it's things like this that truly make me believe there is a God.  I find myself being questioned, respectfully, by friends who are atheist or agnostic as to why I believe there is a God.  Sure, the entire world is tinged with some tragedy, evil-doing, and sadness, but sometimes people fail to see everything that is good and beautiful about this world.  A good majority of us are guilty of this; I know I am.  We get so stuck on the crap in our lives that we forget to take a look at the world around us.  We see coverage of atrocities on the news more than we see good on the news.  We've been hurt too many times to think good people, nevermind love, exist.

Beautiful things don't exist because of coincidence, neither were they meant to be overshadowed by ugliness and darkness.  When I saw this picture, I had all sorts of thoughts running through my head, hence the length of this post.  The sense of smallness that I felt was real, almost tangible.  This image made me wonder what it would be like to actually stand where those people were standing and how that made them feel in that moment.  Needless to say, I was a little overwhelmed.  I guess it made me feel like we need to stand where these people are, in a metaphorical sense, to see things from another perspective every now and then… to remind ourselves that there is so much more beyond where we are in our lives, and that the beautiful places and people around us, no matter how distant they may seem sometimes, were created by a God who loves us so dearly.  Sometimes, we just need to search for them.

So I say to you:  Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

-Luke 11:9-10

It's the beginning of the school year, so of course, that means a partial hiatus from dA.   The only thing that's going to make this hiatus even more of a hiatus is the fact that my digital camera broke.   So the only things that I'll be publishing on here are film prints and maybe some literary W.I.P.s until I replace my camera (which, at best, will probably be the end of December or early January).

I do have a few prints I've scanned to my computer from this summer.  Other than that, I might have some from my photography I class and maybe some pieces from by fundamentals of art and design I class (the ones that will actually fit on my scanner, that is).

In the meantime I'll be starting a "Help-Autumn-Afford-To-Be-Artsy Fund".   But seriously, cameras, art fees, and supplies are cray cray expensive.

UPDATE:
So, apparently I won my school's yearbook contest I entered last semester...  My photo was chosen to be on the first page of the yearbook! I thought someone would of told me when they actually picked the winner last semester, but I got a nice little surprise when I opened it up.  I was a little shocked that they decided to pick this one out of all the entries, but I'm not complaining.  

Also, some pieces of the art project I'm currently slaving over (and maybe some photograms/photographs from my photography class) will be on dA soon(er or later).

So, I just got back from MBC yesterday after taking my final exams; no more school until mid-late August!   It's such a relief to have a break from school and just to be back home with friends and family... (The couches and beds are a lot more comfortable too.)

A few hours ago I was at my very first Apocalyptica concert (at the NorVa); it was amazing! They put on such a great show, and it was definitely a treat to be able to see them in a venue so close to home with my little sis.  I don't think I could've had a better first night out after coming home.

With that said, I did take a bunch of pictures (a little over 300) and two videos throughout the night.  Hopefully I can get the videos up by next weekend and maybe a few pictures.  I have a lot to go through, in addition to the unpacking that hasn't been finished and hunting for a summer job.  For now, I'm going to transfer my photos to my computer, finally install my birthday present (Lightroom 3), and stew in the overall awesomeness that occured tonight.

Later!