Express Yourself...

But only if it will make you worthy of a desk job. 

Today I read an eye opening article on Yahoo and I thought I would share it with my fellow artists. 

Don't Let Your Kids Study These Majors

My step-dad sent me this article today in an email, and what was different about this email was that I actually opened it. I usually ignore the emails he sends me because there's nothing of value to me in the links that he sends. For some reason however I decided to open this link and found an article that made my blood boil. 

Not so much for the content, I understand that going into my field of study is a gamble and that in any art form there is going to be challenges and struggles. No, what really go to me was the condescending way this article was written. 

First off, you write for Yahoo... Who even are you? 

Second, you're bashing liberal arts when you're a journalist who probably went to school and studied liberal arts. 

Third... you write for Yahoo.

I feel like I should write a bit more but I'll let you read the article and form your own feelings and opinions. 

Our Lips are Sealed

So as you can probably tell from this blog I'm an aspiring photographer. One thing that has always bugged me about other photographers on social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram is when you ask them advice or you're like,

"Oh my god! That's such a cool shot, how did you do that?" 

They just don't get back to you or they say it's a secret. 

Excuse me? 

I'm sorry I didn't realize photography suddenly turned into the CIA and everything was now top secret. I can understand if it's something you came up with on your own and maybe a secret spot that's all your own that you found out in the woods after hours of searching, but when it's a technique that is used by other photographers and you just refuse to be helpful it's kind of annoying. Whenever I do something new and post it on my Facebook page and someone asks me about how I got the shot or how I edited it I always share. I don't give them a step by step walk through on my exact process of course but I'll tell them something like (ex:)

"Oh I just added a gradient layer then adjusted the opacity then I messed around with levels until it looked the way I wanted it too."

I mean I'm not telling them exactly what I did and they aren't going to be able to copy me step for step but it's still helpful information. I don't understand what the point of keeping your knowledge a secret, knowledge is meant to be shared. It's not like by not telling me I'll never find out, there is this magical thing called Google. I can't tell you how annoying it is to be an aspiring photographer and finding a photographer who's work you really admire and asking them for advice and they're just like "nope it's a secret." 

You are not a magician and this is not 4th grade. 

Sharing your information is not going to compromise your business or your art, because no one can do what you do exactly the way you do it. It's just a huge pet peeve of mine and I thought I would share. That's all and I should probably get to bed because it's 1:30am and I have to get up early. 

If anyone has photography questions or sees a picture of mine that they like and have questions on how I achieved the look of it don't hesitate to ask. I'll try to give you as much info as I can, even if it's just linking you to resources that I've used in the past.

Herman

Seeing as I've developed insomnia in the past couple of months I thought now would be a good time to write a nice post on Herman (the Frog). 

This is Herman. He's a little blue frog made out of plastic with a heart of gold (actually he's hollow, but that's beside the point). This picture is actually him in Gent, Belgium, from my trip to Europe in September. Jesus there's a lot I did that I probably should have documented through something other than just a Facebook status here and there. 

So my best friend Kass and I were at Colony Place one day just shopping and walking around when we stumbled across this little blue plastic frog laying on the sidewalk. We decided we couldn't just leave him there so we picked him up and I decided that I would take him home with me. Not really sure if there was any real thought process behind naming him Herman, I think it was the first name that one of us threw out that we both liked. We thought it would be cool if I brought Herman with me to Europe and took pictures of him at all the cool places I went, then I would tag Kass in them. Kind of like she was there too. The idea caught on and developed into Herman traveling all over the place with me and getting his picture taken with cool people and places. We're hoping to get on Ellen someday. 

So there's the story of Herman and how he went from laying on a sidewalk to icon. He's actually reached celebrity status when he met Frankie Muniz and now has his own Facebook page. You could say he's a pretty cool frog and he's a great ice breaker.

"Hey would you mind taking a picture with my frog?"

Hipster Nation

So yesterdays photoshoot which was originally supposed to be an editorial styled shoot sort of took a turn from the mainstream and we ended up in Hipster Nation. I got a couple black and white shots in there and some editorial type shots, but mostly it was high waisted shorts made from thrifted mom jeans and disinterest. 

It started out as a normal shoot of mine usually does, spending a couple minutes to catch up and have a friendly chit chat (all of my models are friends of mine so shooting is also a good excuse for girl talk) then we got to business. After getting acclimated to the frozen tundra of a basement we were using as a backdrop we got to work picking our first outfit. We did some black and white head shots and then decided to move onto something more fashion forward. As a joke I snapped a picture of Annalee in her underwear and the result looked like I had picked it straight off of Tumblr. 

After that we basically abandoned the idea of editorial and decided to see how hipster we could get. It was a lot of fun and this shoot actually gave me the opportunity to mess around with different editing techniques. 

As much as I enjoyed the day and the pictures I took it helped me realize that what I really love to do is more fictional and other worldly photography. I like to create stories and worlds when I work, using the places around me but putting my own spin on things. I have a shoot coming up that I'm really excited about experimenting with levitation and face paint and different lighting styles. 

Feel free to visit all of my links that I sprinkled throughout this post, shameless self promotion is always a good thing. 

Girls on Film

I have a shoot this morning! So excited, haven't taken a photo in what feels like years (it's been about 3 months). Today I'm doing something a little different from normal, it's going to be more editorial and fashion related, I also be doing some black and white shooting. I'm excited to experiment with different types of photography. I've been studying W magazine and Vogue, as well as looking through Pinterest for inspiration. 

Inspiration Board, if you want to check it out :) 

I'm hoping this goes well, I feel like I've been in a little bit of a creative funk lately. However I'm almost positive that it has to do with the weather. 

Like jesus, make up your goddamn mind! Want to be warm one day and give me the faintest of hopes that it's starting to get nice out then...

BAM! 

You rip that tiny ray of sunlight away and replace is with a planet Hoth style blizzard. Come on Mother Nature, what the hell are you doing? 

I have a lot of ideas for photoshoots but they all are outside (seeing as I don't have access to a studio or empty rooms) and most of my current inspirations involve water. Unless I find a really cool model who wants to risk contracting hypothermia for the sake of art, I'm going to have to wait a bit to start my projects. 

Luckily I do have an idea that I'll hopefully be working on soon that involves intense face makeup (something I haven't gotten a chance to do yet!) and the USS Salem. A friend of mine, who has modeled for me in the past, her dad has extended a pretty sweet offer to me that I can't really pass up. I'm really excited for that opportunity and to see what I can do with it! 

I'll be sure to put up a post about how the shoot went today as well as some photos from the set, I'll also link my two photography pages incase anyone is interested in seeing more of my work. 

Well time for me to head out, hope my camera is charged ;) 

The Mountain Goats- No Children

A really good friend of mine just sent this to me. An ex boyfriend of mine, who also happens to be a really good friend. A really good friend in the way of this song actually. Pretty much sums up our relationship. I highly suggest playing this for a loved one or a dear friend of yours. It's really quite touching.  

Back in the USSR (sort of)

Woah, haven't been here in a while.

Well I was looking back at my old posts and noticed that I was a pubescent middle schooler apparently.

Fuck that.

Let's not going back there, sounds like a pretty good plan. My life is pretty decent right now. I was accepted to my top school and got some money for tuition so I can actually go there, that's quite exciting. It's in California. San Francisco to be exact. Let's see how I fair in art school all by myself with no one around to remind me that I have to actually do my work. In order to keep my scholarship I have to maintain a 3.0 average GPA. I can't be the only one doubting myself, I mean come on... I barely graduated high school.

I suppose however getting into college without a school system of help was a kick in the pants and I did take the initiative to apply on my own without anyone saying that I should. I also picked the location on my own knowing fully well what will come with being across the country from my family and friends. It's an adventure that's for sure, always been one to jump feet first into the deep end. No toe dipping for me.

Aside from school and such I guess I should write about my current interests. I was recently invited by a friend of mine to come see him play a show in Wareham, MA where I was introduced to my new favorite band.

Kingsfoil.

I haven't stopped listening to their music since the show. I had never heard of them prior to that, and I was unfairly deprived of awesome music. No matter my mood it's just always playing. I hope I can see them one more time before I go off to school, they unfortunately don't tour out west :( But you know maybe they will someday. They're all wicked nice guys and they're really talented and deserve every ounce of fame they'll gradually gain. Oh and as an added bonus their drummer is none other than Agent Cody Banks. Ya that's right, I met Frankie Muniz at the show. Had to really use the little self control I posses to keep myself calm, cool, and collected. Well, let's be honest, I'm never any of those things. I just used Herman to break the ice.

I didn't have Herman last time I posted! I'll be sure to do a separate post all about him. For now though I think that pretty much wraps up this quick update. I'm sure it's scattered and anyone reading it is probably developing ADD as we read. However don't worry I can assure you...

It will only get worse :)

p.s. here's a picture with me and the guys from Kingsfoil. We all look possessed.