October 27, 2017

4 Year Degree Plan

  1.  As a junior at St. Edwards University I have changed my major five times. I have had a different major for every semester I’ve attended. I hope that I will stay with Photo communications as my major but we shall see. My only back up plan if this degree doesn’t work out for me is to change universities because i haven’t managed to find a major that suits me since first started attending this university.
  2. I have not considered a second major or minor because I can hardly stick with a primary major in the first place. If I were to be forced to have a minor, I would choose computer science because it is one of the majors I actually enjoyed taking here before I became overwhelmed by the requirements.
October 23, 2017

Run Lola Run

In the German film Run Lola Run, sequence is used to portray how a couple can alter the outcome of their life, by changing even small things. The couple in this movie is Lola and her boyfriend Manni, whom end up in a race to acquire 100,ooo marks before noon. Manni starts the whole shenanigans by doing a sale for a boss but loses the bag of cash on a subway train. Manni then calls Lola on a public telephone telling her that he needs 100,000 marks by noon or he is dead. As the phone call ends the first iteration of the main sequence begins. The main sequence involves Lola racing across town to prevent Manni from robbing a store. She manages to get to Manni a bit late after navigating through a variety of obstacles. The ending of this sequence results in Lola being shot by police and it flashes back to a night where Manni and Lola are in bed together. When it flashes back to Lola lying on the street with a bullet in her chest the sequence restarts with Lola running down the stairs and across town as she did before. However this time she handles her obstacles differently and manages to catch up to Manni in time before he robs the store. Manni turns around to see Lola and walks into the street, where he is hit by an ambulance, killing him instantly. The camera then moves into his eyes and flashes back to the night he and Lola talk in bed. when the flashback returns to Manni lying dead on the street, the sequence starts up again with Lola running down the stairs and across town. Once again Lola tackles her objectives differently and manages to successfully reach Manni with 100,000 marks. This time Manni was able to track down his cash bag and return it to his boss, whom earns his respect. Lola also brings her casino winnings of 100,000 marks to the scene and the two live happily ever after.

October 18, 2017

Skills Inventory

For each class ask yourself the following:

  1. My greatest strengths in Book of Love include: paying attention in class, participating in class.
  2. For greater success in this course, I need to: keep up with the readings, write better papers, attend class.
  1. My greatest strengths in Understanding/Appreciating Arts: Dance include: participating in class and attending class.
  2. For greater success in this course, I need to: continue doing the best I can.
  1. My greatest strengths in History of Photography include: attending class
  2. For greater success in this course, I need to: study for exams, read all required readings thoroughly, take good notes.
  1. My greatest strengths in Visual Studies include: taking photographs.
  2. For greater success in this course, I need to: Complete all projects on time, complete blogs on time, try to do blog posts ahead of time to prevent getting behind I also need to attend class more often.

Computer skills:

  1. My computer skills include: Indesign, Microsoft Office Word, Powerpoint, Python, Unreal Development Kit.
  2. I still need to learn: Inkjet printing, Photoshop, Microsoft Excel, and many more

Research & writing skills:

  1. My greatest strengths as a researcher/writer include: procrastinating.
  2. I need to work on these aspects of research and writing: researching, writing, and processing thoughts onto paper.
  3. I learn best & accomplish most when: I feel motivated.

ACTION PLAN

Choose one class that you are struggling with or are not doing as well as you could.
Now make a list of 10 ways you could improve your performance in this class.

10 ways to improve performance in History of Photography:

  1. Read the textbook
  2. Study for exams
  3. Make flashcards to study with
  4. Review class notes every day
  5. Stop procrastinating
  6. Get enough sleep
  7. Stop drinking as much
  8. Stop daydreaming in class
  9. Take better notes
  10. Stop being A.D.D (unlikely)
October 17, 2017

Senior presentations and future website inspiration

The Senior presentations that Friday were very interesting and inspiring. I especially enjoyed Clara’s presentation on the photography that she took over the course of her time here at St. Ed’s and studying abroad in Poland.

Four Compelling Websites:

  1. Reddit. I chose Reddit because I spend a lot of my time on this website. It is where I update myself with news and find myself laughing at pointless memes. There are thousands of categories of information shared on this site by millions of users all over the world. I love exploring this site because I can always find something interesting to read about or blow my mind. https://www.reddit.com/
  2. Halopedia(WikiPedia). Halopedia is a wikipedia all about the Halo video game series. I find this site compelling because of it’s unending lore and intense concept art. I love reading the story behind Halo and learning new things I didn’t previously know. Also the design of the website is absolutely stunning. https://www.halopedia.org/
  3. Concept Carz. I find this site compelling because I am fascinated by cars. I also enjoy the immense number of wallpapers that this site has to offer. There is a full glossary of car brands and models from beginning to present that can be browsed. In addition to this each car page has detailed summaries of the specifications, features, and even histories of model recalls. http://www.conceptcarz.com/
  4. YouTube. This site is compelling because of the immense quantity of videos that can be found on this site. On YouTube you can watch thousands of cat videos all in one place. This site even recommends videos based on the videos you watch so you can continue to discover the endless possibilities of cats around the world. https://www.youtube.com/

 

October 17, 2017

VISU classwork

The goal of this Visual Studies assignment was to create a digital collage in Photoshop using images taken of aspects of South Congress Ave. The collages were supposed to be abstract and not to generate a scene, which I clearly did not follow very well. My answer to this project was to cut images from all over the place and place them into a single scene, although I should have made something that was more abstract. The strongest aspect of this work would be that the images were taken on SoCo. The weakest aspect of this work is the lack of creativity when it came to how I placed the images. I also could have created something that did more than show a typical street scene. The piece cold be strengthened technically if I had taken more pictures and taken the time to make more edits to the collages.

 

October 17, 2017

Time Tracker and pre-college creations

After tracking my use of time for one week I found that I spend the majority of my time procrastinating instead of doing my actual work. I spent way too much time binge-watching Netflix and sleeping. I spend about half my days watching The Office, South Park, Rick and Morty, and Lost. When I’m not watching Netflix I will pass the time playing guitar. On Mondays and Wednesdays I have four classes which for the most part I attend. On Tuesdays and Thursdays I don’t have any classes so I spend those days sleeping in until around 2 or 3 in the afternoon. On Fridays I have three classes which end at 1 pm. On Friday afternoons I go kayaking on Lady Bird Lake for three to four hours. On the weekends I hang out with friends and party a lot. By the time sunday comes around I decide whether or not I want to do homework or watch more Netflix. This is my typical week schedule.

Pre-College Creations:

This is a poster I created for a high school english class based on A Mid Summer Night’s Dream.

The next images are images I captured of lightning strikes.

 

October 17, 2017

Entrepreneurs and Artists

The article by Tim Leberecht explains that in order for entrepreneurs to be successful they must think creatively like artists. The article by Amit Gupta, conveys that artist and entrepreneurs become successful because they are fueled by passion. They have the ability to do what they must do because they feel they have no other choice. He also points out that artists and entrepreneurs must work hard everyday for their work to pay off in the future. The only way for one to keep their dream alive is to keep pushing through the hard times. Artists can learn from their ‘entrepreneurial cousins’ to take advantage of the many resources in their environment so that they can more easily tackle the obstacles down the road. I agree that artists are entrepreneurs because they create their own work and independently succeed. I agree with all twelve of the characteristics that make up an artist. The characteristic I would add is, artists are their own creative processes.

I do not have grit, or the passion to succeed in life. I hardly ever do my work on time, for example this blog post. It is definitely something I need to work on. I could increase my grit level if I started to give more care to my classes. It would be especially easier if I could stop myself from day dreaming constantly in class but I cant help my wandering mind. I much too often find myself completely lost in my studies as I do not possess the motivation that others so easily occupy.

October 9, 2017

Collages

These three collages I created in Photoshop are each composed of ten elements from the South Congress area. I put together different elements from separate areas of South Congress to create a new scene. The common connection between these three collages is the use of cars to produce a sense of movement. I incorporated a variety of stickers from the Gestalt project and used them as well.