My success boiled down to one day, and that was the day I skipped school.

 

Last Friday I was having dinner with one of my production assistants. I was telling her about how bad I felt for ditching school and that my followers would be anxiously waiting an update (Ok that anxiously waiting part is an exaggeration). Regardless, I felt bad.

She turned to me and said- “Look, in five-ten years down the road people are going to ask, what was the turning point in your career? And you’ll say- It was the day I skipped school.”

You see, I did not skip school just so that I could sit at home and veg out all day, no. I skipped school because I was having meetings and signing contracts for the biggest break I’ve had in my entire career. For now, this is top secret. I will refer to it as “The Project” until I can fully disclose it’s awesomeness.

However, I will tell you this. I am VERY excited. I am VERY nervous. I am VERY ready.

TMB2014_ART140_GCC_FALL_TRACYVINCENT_WORKING

ART140-Portrait Photography

Instructed by Tracy Vincent – Glendale Community Collage

This is a course in progress – FALL 2014

OPTIONAL TEXT-

The Portrait Photogrpahy Course, Principles, Practice, and Techniques- the essential guide for photographer, Mark Jenkinson

People Pictures, 30 Exercises for Creating Authentic Photographs, Chris Orwig

Week One – Introduction

What is Portraiture?

Brief History of Portraiture

Assignment – 10 Photos in 10 minutes – DUE Week 2

10 Photos in 10 minutes- Approach someone that you are not too familiar with for a 10 minute photoshoot. Five minutes for introductions and brainstorming, Ten minutes to shoot. The challenge is to SHOOT 10 CONSECUTIVE PHOTOS, ONLY 10. Not shoot 20 and pick the best 10.

-Keep in mind EDFAT <—MOST IMPORTANT TOOL

-Use different posing techniques

A Brief History of Portrait Photography Part 1

(Additional history and concepts)

(25 Iconic Photographers)

(Basic Camera Functions Review)

(Visual Review of Functions)

---

WEEK 2- Review of Metering, Review of Lighting, Studio tour, History pt. 2

What is Metering

Basic Lighting Techniques

Studio Lighting

Example Studio Tutorial Session

---

WEEK THREE- Lighting, Hot light Vs. Strobe

Qualities of light & shadow

How to get soft photos in harsh light

(4 tips to keep in mind)

---

Other Interesting Videos

(A self-critique of Jared Polin’s first photography projects)

(A Harsh Critique)

(Tips from Chris Budgeon)

091114001_JRN225_GCC_RAW (In Progress)

September 2014-

So this semester Glendale Community College is offering their first Photojournalism class. SO EXCITING!! The class is being taught by Tracy Vincent and you bet your bottom dollar I registered! There are about 10 students in the class (which works). Most of the students are actually journalism majors which makes for a good refresher of the basic camera functions.

So I will be adding to this post as the class progresses to give a run down of what the class consists of and as a personal reminder to DO MY HOMEWORK =]

---

Week One-Assignment One- Photography Fundamentals

Review Your Camera’s Manual (can also be found online at camera.manualsonline or butkus)

Experimenting with DOF using SUNNY16 24 consecutive stills with varied dof, in shade and in sun.

---

Class Review-

SIMPLE HOW TO SAVE METADATA (In Bridge)

HOW TO SAVE & ARCHIVE FILES  (The importance and suggested techniques)

Suggested format-

091114001_GCC_JRN225_ASSIGNMENTONE_RAW

(month/day/year/assignment#oftheday_Place_Reason_TAGNAME_IMAGEUSE

Image use is for when you go to edit. RAW will never be touched- EVER- save only. Then comes the _WORKING then come the _EDITED which could also be followed by what the output is such as .png, .tiff, .jpg, .raw etc.

THIS ALLOWS FOR EASY SEARCHING!!

This is ONE IDEA. There are many ways to archive photos. Pick a format that you like, and STICK WITH IT! Do not flop back and forth, that makes for more work on your part.

---

Week Two-Assignment One- Review & Redo

Review the photos from Assignment One, Reshoot them.

---

Week Two-Assignment Two- News

Start shooting for first critique (due week 8)

Must be a Newsworthy event. NOT A FEATURE Can be Spot News or General News (Click here for a simple comparison)

WISH ME LUCK!!

WATCH MY PROGRESS AS A PHOTOGRAPHER

Current Events: 100 year flood, Arizona Edition September 2014

Today.

September 8th 2014.

The entire state tossed and turned last night. Every two hours a Severe Weather Alert went off on all mobile devices. Rain and thunder non-stop. Very typical for Arizona’s Monsoon Season.

 

Typical my ass!

Look! JUST LOOK AT THIS MESS!!

Nobody could have ever prepared for this

 

So these were the first images that I saw waking up. Thank goodness our house is raised or else we would have been in two feet of water. It took a few hours to drain, but after we could assess the situation there was an overwhelming amount of work to be done. We had many chickens that we ended up blowdrying to save from freezing…. never thought I’d ever be a chicken stylist.

 

The news was flooded with these images. (Did you like my pun?)

  

 

Now there has not been a death toll as of yet. But there has been a couple deaths that I know of, as well as extensive damage to businesses, schools, homes, and vehicles. While the entire valley was in a standstill today, many tried to make light of the situation. Memes popped up almost instantaneously. Some of my favorites are as follows:

        

 

Here is a bit of comparison to show how long ago the last severe flood was:

 

 

 

All in all, it has been one adventurous day. Lets NOT do that again.

April 4th, 1992

The day it all began.

4/4.

Perfect timing.

So who am I? What have I become? Where am I going?

I’m a Texan by birth, Arizonan by choice… for now.

I come from a long line of Texans, and even though I did not grow up there, any Texan can tell I am of nobel blood. As much as I love being able to stand tall as a Southern Belle, I’ve got a bit of Irish in me. When I say a little, I really mean a lot.. from both sides of the family tree.

Now isn’t that a stellar combo? Aries+Texan+Irish

That makes for one stubborn son of a gun (or daughter).

So what have I done with these cards?- Well aren’t we all still figuring that out? I’d like to think so.

So far I have been many things.

Musician

Barista

Chef

Receptionist

VIP Manager

Caterer

Banquet Server

Cocktail Server

Bar Back

Kitchen Manager

Retail Store Manager

Gas Station CSR

Band Manager

Bookkeeper

And all of this had lead to me making my own path in;

Photography

Styling

Event Planning

And now BLOGGING!!

The world is my stage, and I am the Star!

Follow the journey. Enjoy the suckfest, celebrate the success.

“The same thing we do every night pinky, try and take over the world!” -P&B ❤

Blood, Sweat, Tears, and Bad Grammar.

They got me. They finally convinced me. I’m in. I’m all in.

As a person who reads blogs sparingly, I wasn’t too enthused about writing one myself. However, after much thought it struck me. Who would be a better blogger than I?!? I love to write, although I am very lazy about it. Regardless, love to share my opinion just as much as I enjoy hearing the opinions of others (however idiotic they may be) =D

So here I am. A Blogger. From this day forth, I shall blog my little heart out.

Blood, sweat, tears, and bad grammar.