What a Surreal day!

    

Today was a  fun /unique kind of day in CI. CI (Creative Imaging) is always an interesting push of ones creative abilities.  I always feel a little "stretched" and "pulled" outside the safe boundaries of my "box". Today was no exception, after a long lecture of famous photographers noted for their type of photography exhibiting  either "Straight"or

"Surrealistic" attributes,  we were given an afternoon assignment of producing a photo/image of a cityscape of both types. Shooting the straight was easy- Point and shoot, as you see it , level, great depth of field with lots of details. Surrealism on the other hand is capturing the image the eyes see but the brain has not yet been able to process. A slightly different way of viewing the city. I used the Idea of reflection  to create a few surrealistic views of the city. Hope you enjoy!

This well known picture I shot through a store window and created a new backdrop of the buildings behind me, behind the kids.

This was a movie poster behind dirty glass that reflected the buildings behind. 

Headshots part2 Board assignment.

Meet some of the students in my new group. The three classes in the school just went through a change up and I've gone from being part of group B to group C. There are a total of 9 of us in this group. I think the change has been good and it is very interesting to see some new peoples work. Our Board assignment this week is head shots and was assigned by Craig. ( I told you a few blogs ago that I had a feeling we'd be doing this again, and again, and again....). I had a great afternoon practicing on these three. Scott is pictured above, Kelly is top shot (Kelly's pic made the board ) and Joshua at the bottom. Thanks "guys" for being my models! It was fun!

Coffee anyone???

This week's board assignment came from Ross. He wants to be "sold" coffee in any form. (Must have been influenced by the -48C temps we've been having this week!) Warm thoughts is what it is all about! Out came my black drop cloth and the kitchen stove soon became my mini studio. I tuck the cloth up under my cabinet doors and out comes the little Ikea spot lamp I bought for my son a few years back. Mom the cook is off - out comes mom the photographer (It's not that fast I usually have to let the stove cool down first to avoid any potential fire hazards!) Funny thing this shoot- I love coffee but ask any of my friends and they'll tell you (with a small snicker) that I can't make a good cup of coffee. Well, if I can't make it taste good maybe I can make it look like it tastes good. My only issue with this shoot- I couldn't make the steam show up more. Craig ( the school's director) gave me some advice - "try steam chips".

???????????? Is there such a thing? In my quest for the truth I googled the item and to my amazement you can actually buy them from a company in New York! Considering I had only a few days to do the shoot in, I think ordering these items are out of the question but may be in future considerations. I also got some other ideas for showing the steam rising from the cup. Photoshopping it in, using a dark backdrop (tried that didn't work) and opening a window letting cold air hit the cup after the coffee's been poured (I'm laughing at that one because my windows have had about an inch of ice on them over the last 2 weeks, and are far from being able to open!) Anyone have any other ideas? Keep warm!

Today's Assignment-Head Shots!

Today was a lot of fun we got to work on portrait shots. We had to team up with some one in class and create a good head shot of that individual. I have a feeling Craig will be making us do this over and over again! Heidi was a good sport and made the assignment really easy! Thanks Heidi!

Working it out! Fitness and the Photographer.

So a new year has begun, and all the New years resolutions are made and just about forgotten only 2 weeks into the month! As some of you know my  19th wedding anniversary was on Jan. 1st. What did I get as  a gift -a ready for this - a TREADMILL! Okay, if you know anything about me you would know that working out is about my least favorite thing to do- I think having my teeth repaired ranks above it(Yeah- that bad). It's not like I'm really bad at sports- I think it's safe to say I have natural ability to learn or play a sport-my issue is more with conditioning. I wasn't sure how to take this type of gift- insult or love? I know it's something my husband wanted and I am now sure (after about 2 weeks of consideration) that it was a well intended gift. I know I need it. I think I probably left clues about needing it over the last few months of school. What gave it away? Perhaps the red face and me trying to catch my breath every time I walked up the 3 flights of stairs to the photography school????!!! In all fairness I was toting about 18 lbs of gear and books up the stairs too! ( I did weigh it on my scale, I really thought it was closer to 50 lbs!) Another clue Henry may of received was the longing gazes as I looked through Daryl Benson photography book, Canada, that I got for Christmas. He has all these amazing landscape shots where Daryls camped out beside waterfalls and in wooded areas. This type of photography would require much exertion and I can imagine my 18 lb load and 3 flights of stairs would pale in comparison to hiking up a mountain carrying probably 50 lbs of gear. Dawning in Ebonie's brain- good photography- need for working out! I also had that realization this week as I shot Mandy's still life assignment and ended up in a convoluted position on the floor, my feet up in the air against the wall, in order to shoot some shots of my lucky bamboo from underneath- Some Yoga might also be in order! (Seriously I won't tell you how long it took me to get out of that one!)

With good intensions, I approached the treadmill with a little hesitation-wouldn't you - the front looked like I was on the flight deck of the U.S.S Enterprise!

All those knobs and dials- After about 30 min. I discovered the  O incline, 0 time, and 1 km/hr buttons....

With it's resemblance to sand paper, I think this would hurt if I landed on it- I'd better hold on...

I have one of my instructors to thank for my approach- Some how photographing it 100 different ways, eased me into a comfort zone of actually wanting to step on it and try it out. I think my inspiration will be to maybe be able to, one day, go on a shoot where my new found photography skills and my ever increasing physical abilities will collide in some cosmic whirlwind to create the shoot of my life!-I wonder if Daryl Benson does field trips???

Inspiration

Well, week one back to school after the holidays. Already the assignments are piling up! I was thinking about my next weeks board assignment from Sarah. The assignment is to pick a song or poem and then create a photo that depicts the same mood as the song or poem. That means she does NOT want us to illustrate it but just replicate the feel/mood. Okay, just try it- every time I think about a certain song I see some sort of subject mentioned in the lyrics of that song. Or sometimes the actual music/ beat reminds me of certain subject-but she doesn't want that either. I've given this about 3 days worth of thought and research. Ever try to recall the words to a song- I mean those words after the first 5  and not just the chorus??? It's pretty hard unless your a wedding singer, or something similar. I got out all my beloved CD's to see which ones actually could help me with  the words to their songs. I think I scored only about 2!!!! Don't these groups want the average person singing along with songs!??? I was relieved that one of the 2 was my fav., group from -(ready for this) 1984. Yes, I was a HUGE Chicago fan, and the proud purchaser of not one but 3 Chicago 17 CD's! (I wore out the first 2-no that's not correct my first one was actually a cassette. Okay, by now you can envision leg warmers, big hair, and baggy pants.  I loved the song You're the Inspiration. When I hear this song I always feel so lifted up and inspired!!! Now about the photo to go with- I had to think of something inspiring. I came up with a few ideas but nothing inspires me more than a great sunset or sunrise! What a way to look at the up coming day or to end one! I also am inspired by new growth on plants or flowers( It's the gardener in me). So, I was so amazed when I came home today and noticed that my Peace Lily had a flower in my front window and the sun was setting down behind it casting beautiful colors in the sky. I think someone was trying to tell me some thing like...GRAB THE CAMERA QUICK!  I started with the above picture and then the next 5 minutes where magical. The next hour was also quite enjoyable as I did a little editing in Iphoto. I can hardly wait till tomorrow to do some more editing in Lightroom at school. Enjoy the picture and the lyrics- and if you can- just hum the tune as you go along....  

You know our love was meant to be

The kind of love that lasts forever

And I need you here with me

From tonight until the end of time...

  You should know, everywhere I go

You're always on my mind, in my heart

In my soul....

Chorus: 

You're the meaning in my life

You're the inspiration

You bring feeling to my life

You're the inspiration

Wanna have you near me

I wanna have you hear me sayin'

No one needs you more than I need you.

And I know,yes I know that it's

plain to see

We're so in love when we're together

And I know that I need you here with me

from tonight until the end of time...

You're the meaning in my life

You're the inspiration

You bring feeling to me life

You're the inspiration

Wanna have you near me

I wanna have you hear me sayin'

No one needs you more than I need you....

You should know, everywhere I go

Always on my mind, in my heart 

In my soul....

Chorus:

You're the meaning in my life

You're the inspiration

You bring feeling to my life

You're the inspiration

Wanna have you near me

I wanna have you hear me sayin'

No one needs you more than I need you....

Oh...Oh...Oh......  (Thanks for listening-I mean reading-I've got to go now conquer a mountain-of laundry that is!!!)