Writing Workshop #3

Reed something really interesting during the writing exercises. I don't remember the exact quote, but what he said was something about how ironic it is that he hates (and therefore never writes) when other people are the room when he's trying to work, but that he's making us write in a room full of people regardless of how he feels.

And I'm the same exact way; in fact I snapped at my little brother today when I was helping him write a speech because he started talking when I was fixing some of the sentence structure. Simply saying thank you put me on edge when I was dealing with fourth grade grammar.

But that being said, I think there is a lot of value in being forced to write with a room full of people. It helps you cut out that "I need to be inspired" aspect of getting shit done. I like being trained to just write without having your novel writing utopia around you. It helps you create structure in a field that has a negligible amount of structure. You write when you can, it's your job.

Writing Workshop #2

There isn't much to do with writing other than critiquing it before going to write again. This isn't a complaint - merely an observation. I don't know if this makes me like writing more or less. Probably more. It must be more.

But I think these two things are so incredibly useful - and time consuming - that it's easy to forget that it's only really two things. Today we did critiquing (writing is to be done at home). I realize how useful critiquing must be for the person whose work you are critiquing. But, me being the center of the universe and all, what matters most to me is how useful critiquing some one else is to me. Critiquing some one else's work is more than helping some one else get a better essay. It's about opening your eyes and mind so they can see what makes good writing rock and what makes bad writing suck. It's having a mind set capable of doing this without thinking that makes good writing.

I mean you can, read and read and read, and watch and watch and watch, and immerse yourself in any bit of pop culture you can find in order to build your library and come up with the best stolen piece of writing ever, but I'm talking about really improving your writing, not making what you have to say worthwhile. What good is all that if your voice sucks and your sentence creating skills prove you to be illiterate?

Writing Workshop #1

We didn't really get that far into the actual writing part of the workshop today, but I can tell I'm going to have a really good time in this workshop. I like the idea of being forced to write the first chapter of a novel, because it's something I wouldn't start on my own and would never have the opportunity to have critiqued. I just need to sit back, relax, and type. I also need to not try really hard to write something fresh and exciting. Like Reed said today "Good writers borrow, great writers steal."

Lighting Workshop Six

Sorry about the late post (I've been without a computer for over a week now).

The last workshop was a great learning experience, what struck me the most was the amount of pressure. Our job was to make our client (Mr. Semerdjian) happy. That's a lot of pressure. In most other forms of art your job is to create. For most there is a lingering thought of an audience that you hope to gain the approval of in the back of your mind. But that's all it is; it's just a thought. It's not until its too late and you have the finished product that you get to worry about how it will be received. When you're taking photos for some one else the audience is sitting right in front of you, waiting to see something worth whatever it is they're paying you. (In our case there was no money, just the desire to impress some one who may or may not be grading you.)

But it seems those who are truly good at what they do manage to do whatever they want and have everyone adore their work regardless.

Lighting Workship Number Five

What I loved about today's assignment (other then the adrenaline rush of a deadline) was that I could take a picture of the same thing 10,000 times and have it look completely different each time. This is true for all photography - not just newspaper photography - but it became really clear to me today when your objective was to spin the subject a certain way and all you can really change is the angle. Lighting, location, and even time, is completely out of your control. But with a 30 degree change in the angle of your wrist, you can have the auditorium seating have a whole new meaning.

Lighting Workshop Four

After two workshops with natural lighting and two workshops without, I can definitely say I like studio lighting better. I'm we're covering both, because I know I need to learn both. I can just say that I enjoy creating the lighting situation more than having to make something out of the natural light given. Although, I do like the effects of natural lighting more. There seem to be a lot of beautiful light you can find in nature that you just can't recreate.

What I enjoy the most is the fact that I am at the point that I can have an opinion on these things. My opinion may not matter, but just the fact that I am able to say, with certainty, that I like working with studio lighting more than I like working with natural lighting is a cool thing. It's nice knowing enough -however little it may be- about something that you are able to figure out where you stand on it.

Lighting Workshop Three

I jokingly called myself the "Queen of Innovation" today in the workshop, but there was some truth behind it. Less emphasis on the queen part (I don't actually think I'm the queen of anything) and more emphasis on the innovation part. I wasn't creating robots that perform surgeries or some kind of food source that could provide for every starving person in the world, but I was finding ways to create art out of cardboard and clothing hangers, and that's pretty cool too.

Right now the workshop isn't about the photo for me. It's more about the procedure. I'm not really working for a gorgeous photo (although its a pretty great reward when I finally get to shooting and see how pretty some photos actually come out). I'm working in order to better understand how to create the scenario that a gorgeous photo comes from. I know they may sound like the same thing, but they're really not. There's a difference from spending an hour setting up lighting for a picture that you want to have come out to be really pretty and spending an hour setting up lighting so you understand what makes a photo come out really pretty. The first mindset comes after more experience, like maybe you should start thinking this way when you're about 4,000 hours into something. Right now I'm having a lot of fun with just having the lighting be the accomplishment - it's like a puzzle! I can't wait for the day where the lighting becomes routine and the photo is the real prize.