Friday, May 29, 2009

Better Post Next Time

Today I went for a walk to get pictures and I wasn't too impressed with what I saw. Nothing stuck out but there were a couple of images that I played with for a little bit.

Medusa made me laugh. It was just an old poster that was half way gone already. I didn't read what it said until I got home so it was a cool surprise.
I like stop signs. Not sure why, I have never really been good at stopping at them (unless I have a camera apparently). And fire hydrants. I tried taking a picture of one outside my house yesterday but couldn't get the right shot. This still isn't it but at least I'm getting closer.

I'll get better pictures tomorrow. The plan is to dress Krista up and have a fun time with a photo shoot.

Thursday, May 28, 2009

Picasa Edits

The best part of photography, in my opinion, is being able to edit images. Of course we didn't always have the technology to do stuff like this with early photography but there are still fun things to do to edit pictures in the darkroom. If I had the resources and time I would spend a majority of my day in the darkroom. I even love the funny chemical smells of developer. But alas I do not have the time or equipment. I don't even have the cool Photoshop editing software. I have the free download from google called Picasa and it has served me well so far. I don't edit all of my photos; I just play with some of them.

I was really fascinated with the fact that our back stairs have "No Parking" painted on them. I also love black and white photos but taking out all of the saturation didn't do this picture justice. So I gave it a focal point and this is what I got. The ground crew keeps leaving cones in our visitor parking spots and I've called management on them several times. I have been given the ok by management to move them if they are blocking the visitor parking spaces and I have had to do that a couple of times. We even put their "Authorized Parking Only" sign behind the shed. I'm not sure if they have found it yet because they have yet to put it up again. Anyway, even though I despise these cones they were still fun to take pictures of.


The metal on this wheel barrel looks so cool. I used a warmify tool on this picture just to make it feel more relaxed. Can I say a picture looks relaxed? I just did so I guess you as a reader just have to get over it.



And my personal favorite, the saturation tool not only turns pictures dull and faded to black and white but it also enhances color. The original was just a nail and a rock which wasn't all that interesting in my opinion. But saturating the picture pulled out yellows and oranges in the wood I couldn't even see when I was out taking the picture.



I feel like I need to close with text to make this blog post look more symmetrical. So really that's all this last tid bit is. You can ignore it, honestly. I am on my way out the door now to read with my roommate.


Life is full of surprises...Find them.

I was pleasantly surprised yesterday at work. I was called down to the lobby with the claim I had someone waiting on me. I never have appointments and I never have things delivered to the KMC so it seemed odd. Then I realized it must be Paul but I did not want to get my hopes up. Not only did Paul come to visit me he brought me the brightest yellow daisies I have ever seen. They made my desk light up as well as me. I was beaming the rest of the day. I have this fascination with the middle of the daisies. The green bumpy part has a really cool texture.
To top things off I took a lunch break. Yes, that’s right I find joy in lunch breaks. My lunch breaks before consisted of me clocking out for 15 minutes, grabbing a quick snack and clocking back in. I was also having a hard time staying until 4:00 and never have I been able to stay until 5:00. I stayed in front of my computer the entire time and wondered why it was so hard to stay at work. I would then go home and work on Independent Study classes, that’s right you guessed it, online! Last week I decided to take an actual lunch break. Leave the building if possible and take a good book (or one I have to read for class). When Paul and I went to the Springville Museum of Art last week I discovered a tree out front that is perfect for leaning against. I found my new lunch spot! Don’t be jealous and don’t you dare think about stealing it. There are these corn-like things around the tree that I’m sure have a specific name and function. To me it looks like deer feed. Regardless they also have a cool texture and were fun to take pictures of.

Explanation

To explain what I am doing with this blog would limit it but I can tell you where the idea came from. I was having a rough day and needed someone to talk to. I’m good at talking everyone around me knows that but actually saying what I want to tends to be a little more difficult as I am sure it is with most people. I knew needed to pick up a hobby and I was determined to find one but I couldn’t think of something that had minimal costs and I didn’t already do for school. I’ve dabbled in jewelry making but for a college student that tends to be a little too costly. I always love writing but I already spend hours writing for school. By the time I have time to write for myself or start a new idea I am fed up with it and cannot come up with anything clever. My camera has slowly been pushed to the back of my closet and I’m not sure when the last time I took it out was. I am sure I could look at the pictures that are currently on the chip but I have yet to take it out. Instead I grabbed my tiny Samsung L200 and now carry it with me where ever I go. I do not claim to amuse you with this blog. I merely amuse myself by taking pictures and writing about them. I do hope that as I come to find beauty, joy and happiness from everyday blessings you will too begin to see how wonderful life is.