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Thursday, May 19, 2011
PG150 final portfolio - Student Choices
After the five assigned categories, we could submit three student choice pictures. Here I got a little upset with my professor, because I got this picture I thought was really cool, but he didn't want me to submit it, because it was "too candid". I ended up doing something else, but it wasn't that great so here are my "four" student choices. #4 is the one I was not allowed to use. #3 is what I choose instead. #2 is also from my first roll of film. Can you guess the city now? ;) #1 is one of my favorite pictures (good job Chicka)
PG150 final portfolio - Quality of Light
Quality if light is hard to describe, it should be clear that the picture is about light. Most people took pictures of shadows - some of them very cool. Mine was a little different.
PG150 final portfolio - Still Life
Meet Mr. Bananaface. I had a lot of fun with this category shooting and than also developing. People really liked it and it is really original, because most of people in my class for still life put together just bunch of objects and took pictures of it. :)
PG150 final portfolio - Motion
Picture for category motion could be one of the three different kinds. Stop action - when the moving object is sharp and the background is blurry, burred motion - when you know object is moving because is blurred, but the background is sharp and focused, or so called panning technique when you move together with the object - this is really difficult to do. So here is my blurred motion. I guess I could have done better.
PG150 final portfolio - Cityscape
Next required picture for portfolio was supposed to be a landscape or cityscape. Because this class was mostly in the winter I decided to go with a cityscape. I took this picture on my first film, when we were told just to go out and shoot a roll of film, so the professor can show us how to develop it. I happen to be traveling over the weekend and this was actually one of the best pictures in my portfolio. Anyone knows the city? ;)
PG150 final portfolio - Portrait
This picture was supposed to be a studio portrait. Or at least portrait with controlled lighting. My school has a studio, so we just took turns taking pictures of some of us during the class. This is just one of my classmates (no need to get excited some of you)
PG150
One of my last classes this semester was a photography class. Old fashioned black and white film photography, where you get to go to the dark room and develop your own pictures.
I really liked this class and even when sometimes it was a lot of work and time consuming.
It's so much faster to just snap a picture and look at it right away in the camera and decide if it's worth keeping or no.
The magic of B&W film photography is when you take out the film from the tank and you see that there are some pictures on it. And when you can tell that not all of them are underexposed. And later when you dip the paper in the developer, you wait a second or two and all for sudden a picture starts popping out - not always the best quality right away, but after several attempts of configuring the right aperture, right time and right contrast filter you get out of the dryer something you can be actually proud of.
(long sentence, if anyone has a suggestion how to shorten it, email me)
Even though I didn't excel in this class (shocking, I know) I enjoyed it very much and I'm going to miss it.
Next couple posts are my final portfolio pictures. Feel free to leave a comment - professional or not.
I really liked this class and even when sometimes it was a lot of work and time consuming.
It's so much faster to just snap a picture and look at it right away in the camera and decide if it's worth keeping or no.
The magic of B&W film photography is when you take out the film from the tank and you see that there are some pictures on it. And when you can tell that not all of them are underexposed. And later when you dip the paper in the developer, you wait a second or two and all for sudden a picture starts popping out - not always the best quality right away, but after several attempts of configuring the right aperture, right time and right contrast filter you get out of the dryer something you can be actually proud of.
(long sentence, if anyone has a suggestion how to shorten it, email me)
Even though I didn't excel in this class (shocking, I know) I enjoyed it very much and I'm going to miss it.
Next couple posts are my final portfolio pictures. Feel free to leave a comment - professional or not.
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
It's been a bad day...
Yes indeed. A bad day which started yesterday, when I was going home from work.
I was feeling a little under the weather, which was really nasty btw. and all I wanted was to go home, get a tea and watch some Glee. Not happening.
As I stopped on the red light all of sudden I hear an engine roaring. I start looking around for the macho with really great car. No such luck. It was my car, which meant only one thing, problems with muffler. Normally it wouldn't be such a big deal, I can drive with broken muffler, I just get a lot more attention. But as I moved, I could hear that I'm scratching the ground, which is definitely not a good thing.
So I pulled into the nearest apartment complex and parked there.I started calling my go to guys. Fortunately for me one of them lives quite close and although he was sick and about to start enjoying his evening he came to my rescue. Thank you again PD, I really appreciate it.
It was still on and off raining, but we had the luck and it didn't rain while he was trying to make my car at least drivable, so I can go home without being towed. The trunk of my car is full of odd things. One of them being a wired hanger, which he used to somehow hook the loose end of my muffler pipe (I'm not really clear on the terminology) and I was able to drive home. He drove with me, just in case.
After I got home, another one of my guys, Jon, gave me a contact for his mechanic (very interesting guy). Unfortunately he wasn't able to come right then (it was already 10.30pm at that point) so I had to try to live a car-less life.
Yes, I used a public transportation to go to work. Luckily I live and work quite close to metro/bus stations, so all I had to do was walk and take only one bus. I had no idea how much is a bus fare or how to pay it and the driver in the morning wasn't very helpful. He refused my $5 bill, and made me fish for some spare coins, fearing that I won't have enough (they don't take pennies). Somehow I made it and I got to work, even on time. On the way home, I wanted to just charge my smart trip card, when I realized I forgot it home. I took my $5 to McDonald's and got some change. Then I ran to the bus stop where my bus was just about to leave.
After I got home the mechanic came and checked my car. He said it's a good news and a bad news (isn't it always?). He is able to fix it, but I need a new part. Than he started calling his dealer friends and located the part we needed in Silver Spring (I walked around that shop today when going from work). We drove together to pick it up (and pay for it). I can just say he's an interesting guy.
We got back 45 minutes ago, and I just checked on him, he's almost done. So I got good news and bad news. Good news: I'll be able to drive again. Bad news: Can't wait till Friday!
I was feeling a little under the weather, which was really nasty btw. and all I wanted was to go home, get a tea and watch some Glee. Not happening.
As I stopped on the red light all of sudden I hear an engine roaring. I start looking around for the macho with really great car. No such luck. It was my car, which meant only one thing, problems with muffler. Normally it wouldn't be such a big deal, I can drive with broken muffler, I just get a lot more attention. But as I moved, I could hear that I'm scratching the ground, which is definitely not a good thing.
So I pulled into the nearest apartment complex and parked there.I started calling my go to guys. Fortunately for me one of them lives quite close and although he was sick and about to start enjoying his evening he came to my rescue. Thank you again PD, I really appreciate it.
 |
| Old pipe and new pipe |
After I got home, another one of my guys, Jon, gave me a contact for his mechanic (very interesting guy). Unfortunately he wasn't able to come right then (it was already 10.30pm at that point) so I had to try to live a car-less life.
Yes, I used a public transportation to go to work. Luckily I live and work quite close to metro/bus stations, so all I had to do was walk and take only one bus. I had no idea how much is a bus fare or how to pay it and the driver in the morning wasn't very helpful. He refused my $5 bill, and made me fish for some spare coins, fearing that I won't have enough (they don't take pennies). Somehow I made it and I got to work, even on time. On the way home, I wanted to just charge my smart trip card, when I realized I forgot it home. I took my $5 to McDonald's and got some change. Then I ran to the bus stop where my bus was just about to leave.
After I got home the mechanic came and checked my car. He said it's a good news and a bad news (isn't it always?). He is able to fix it, but I need a new part. Than he started calling his dealer friends and located the part we needed in Silver Spring (I walked around that shop today when going from work). We drove together to pick it up (and pay for it). I can just say he's an interesting guy.
We got back 45 minutes ago, and I just checked on him, he's almost done. So I got good news and bad news. Good news: I'll be able to drive again. Bad news: Can't wait till Friday!
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Quesadilla à la Yireh
Last year in September I got to live for a month with a friend of mine Yireh, who shortly after that moved to England, and only God knows when she will be back (literally). Yireh is originally from Puerto Rico and she can cook some amazing stuff. I haven't learned from her anything special, but one simple thing. Quesadilla.
Here I will share with you how to make a really, really good quesadilla.
So what do we need:
1 or more hungry person
corn or wheat tortilla (size and amount depends on how hungry the person is)
shredded cheese (feel free to buy a block and shred it yourself)
garlic powder (or real garlic, chopped or mashed)
ham, mushrooms (optional)
olive oil
How do we make it:
really simple.
Put one tortilla on a plate, sprinkle on it as much cheese as you like, add garlic (if you're using mashed garlic, you can mix it with cheese beforehand) add ham or sauted mushrooms. Than put another tortilla on the top. If you're not very hungry or have a big tortilla, just fold it in the middle, so you get closed half circle.
WARNING!!!
Do not stick it in the microwave!!!!!!!!!
Take out a pan in the size that will fit your quesadilla and put on some olive oil. When oil is hot put on your quesadilla and fry from one side, than flip and fry from the other side. It doesn't take long. Less than a minute for each side. Don't burn it, just a little brown spots should appear.
And than feel free to eat. You can add some sour cream to it, or guacamole or salsa, but it's good as it is :)
Next time when I make it, I'll try to take a picture before I eat it. Maybe.
Saturday, March 5, 2011
Crush
When is the last time you had a crush on someone?
Not on a actor, athlete or musician you never met in your life, but on a living person, who you actually talked to and with which you spent some time. I don't know about you, but I think it's an awesome feeling.
Doesn't matter if you just met the person recently, or you know them for a while and something had suddenly changed.
Crush is not yet being in love. It's more a special kind of high, when you are hoping to run into him (her) anytime. Or waiting for a phone to ring, even if he doesn't have your phone number, waiting for friend request on Facebook... you know the symptoms, you've been there. You can't stop thinking about them, but it doesn't prevent you from eating, sleeping and enjoying life. It's not yet being in love. If your crush is not returning your feelings, it's not the end of the world. Your emotions will calm down soon, especially if you don't get in touch soon.
Maybe you're asking how do I know all this? Yes, I do have a crush on someone. Who? I'm not telling. Maybe if it will progress into something more, but than it won't be a crush anymore :)
Not on a actor, athlete or musician you never met in your life, but on a living person, who you actually talked to and with which you spent some time. I don't know about you, but I think it's an awesome feeling.
Doesn't matter if you just met the person recently, or you know them for a while and something had suddenly changed.
Crush is not yet being in love. It's more a special kind of high, when you are hoping to run into him (her) anytime. Or waiting for a phone to ring, even if he doesn't have your phone number, waiting for friend request on Facebook... you know the symptoms, you've been there. You can't stop thinking about them, but it doesn't prevent you from eating, sleeping and enjoying life. It's not yet being in love. If your crush is not returning your feelings, it's not the end of the world. Your emotions will calm down soon, especially if you don't get in touch soon.
Maybe you're asking how do I know all this? Yes, I do have a crush on someone. Who? I'm not telling. Maybe if it will progress into something more, but than it won't be a crush anymore :)
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Mistakes
In my country there is a saying "Hlupy sa uci na svojich chybach, mudry na chybach inych."
I always wanted to do this :) Have you seen it in some movies? There is a Chinese guy and he always says "My mom used to say... (something in Chinese, which never gets translated)" and people wonder what was it that his mom used to say.
Anyways, I'm not going to be mean and let you wonder. Meaning of the Slovakian saying is that a smart person learns from the mistakes of others while dumb from their own. So you might say I was being dumb today. But believe you me, I learned my lesson, at least I hope so.
I'm taking a photography class this semester and I really like it. It's a course in black and white photography made from the real film, no digital cameras. So we spend most of the time in a lab developing films and making prints. It's really fun, if you have some extra time and like photography, you should try it.
We have a project due Wednesday for this class, so went in today, with a friend who's also taking this class, to develop my film. That way I would have time to make my prints on Wednesday. We went through the whole process already in class, with the instructor - once. So Lucianna and I were a little bit worried, how we can manage, that's why we decided to go together. Opening and rolling the film in total darkness went surprisingly quick. I guess you get better with practice. That came the fun part, playing with the chemicals, mixing them in the right ratio, set the timing right so you don't damage the film. OK, so right ratio - check, right timing -check... but there is one more important thing - right order
Halfway through the process we both realized that we are using fixer instead of developer. Could the film be still saved? If there was anyone who knew better, they would told us, that it is a lost cause. Nobody was there, so we went for it and tried anyways.
Yeah, you are right, it didn't help at all. But at least we got to practice the whole process, so next time we know what to do. And I'm sure I'll always make sure if I'm supposed to use fixer or developer. Although there is so many other mistakes to make. No matter what - "Try, fail, try again, fail better.
I always wanted to do this :) Have you seen it in some movies? There is a Chinese guy and he always says "My mom used to say... (something in Chinese, which never gets translated)" and people wonder what was it that his mom used to say.
Anyways, I'm not going to be mean and let you wonder. Meaning of the Slovakian saying is that a smart person learns from the mistakes of others while dumb from their own. So you might say I was being dumb today. But believe you me, I learned my lesson, at least I hope so.
I'm taking a photography class this semester and I really like it. It's a course in black and white photography made from the real film, no digital cameras. So we spend most of the time in a lab developing films and making prints. It's really fun, if you have some extra time and like photography, you should try it.
We have a project due Wednesday for this class, so went in today, with a friend who's also taking this class, to develop my film. That way I would have time to make my prints on Wednesday. We went through the whole process already in class, with the instructor - once. So Lucianna and I were a little bit worried, how we can manage, that's why we decided to go together. Opening and rolling the film in total darkness went surprisingly quick. I guess you get better with practice. That came the fun part, playing with the chemicals, mixing them in the right ratio, set the timing right so you don't damage the film. OK, so right ratio - check, right timing -check... but there is one more important thing - right order
Halfway through the process we both realized that we are using fixer instead of developer. Could the film be still saved? If there was anyone who knew better, they would told us, that it is a lost cause. Nobody was there, so we went for it and tried anyways.
Yeah, you are right, it didn't help at all. But at least we got to practice the whole process, so next time we know what to do. And I'm sure I'll always make sure if I'm supposed to use fixer or developer. Although there is so many other mistakes to make. No matter what - "Try, fail, try again, fail better.
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Yahweh U2
Last weekend I took a trip to Chicago. My good friends were getting married. For several different reasons, curiosity only one of them, I decided to take a train from DC to Chicago. Yeah, I spend 37 hours of my weekend on the train. I got to do things I usually don't have enough time to do. I read a book, I slept a lot and I listened to my music, without doing anything else (no internet connection on that train).
On my iPod I have 4 U2 albums. My favorite Joshua Tree and the three newest albums. As I was listening on shuffle I came to the song called Yahweh, which is on the album How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb.
I know this song, it is one of my favorites when it comes to U2, and that time on the train I enjoyed it and moved on. The next day I had to go back to this song and I couldn't stop listening to it. I was just turning it on over and over again on my way to work and back.
Here are the lyrics, the bold parts are my personal favorites.
Take these shoes
Click clacking down some dead end street
Take these shoes
And make them fit
Take this shirt
Polyester white trash made in nowhere
Take this shirt
And make it clean, clean
Take this soul
Stranded in some skin and bones
Take this soul
And make it sing
Yahweh, Yahweh
Always pain before a child is born
Yahweh, Yahweh
Still I'm waiting for the dawn
Take these hands
Teach them what to carry
Take these hands
Don't make a fist
Take this mouth
So quick to criticise
Take this mouth
Give it a kiss
Yahweh, Yahweh
Always pain before a child is born
Yahweh, Yahweh
Still I'm waiting for the dawn
Still waiting for the dawn, the sun is coming up
The sun is coming up on the ocean
This love is like a drop in the ocean
This love is like a drop in the ocean
Yahweh, Yahweh
Always pain before a child is born
Yahweh, tell me now
Why the dark before the dawn?
Take this city
A city should be shining on a hill
Take this city
If it be your will
What no man can own, no man can take
Take this heart
Take this heart
Take this heart
And make it break
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