Photo Safari

Last year I bought a DSLR, sort of on a whim. It was one of those, I'm bored oh hey let's buy something sort of days and i went with a Canon XS after doing a little research. I really would have liked to splurge more but boyfriend reminded me how easily I often lose interest in things and this could be one of them. Plus many reviews on beginning photography mentioned it's not so much the body as the lenses. So I went with a fairly basic body that was suggested for beginners and figured I could get more lenses if I got into it. And if I really got into it, I could get a sweeter one. So of course life pans out as usual and I barely use it/know how to even use it so when this opportunity came up to take a few hour photo class in Chicago, I figured why not? It was held in Millennium Park and within the first ten minutes I already learned a ridiculous amount about my camera. Ok, it's stuff I kind of knew but didn't really get how to achieve it with my camera. So after brief discussions on things about our camera, we went to do some shooting. We started off with things in motion, keeping them clear with a blurry background. A lot harder than it seems, but really fun and exciting when you get a good picture... For every like 5 pictures I took, 2 would probably be pretty good, 1 would be ok, and 2 would be really not good. Here's one of the good.

Then we headed over to AT&T Plaza to shoot some pics. We learned a cool way to shoot words, making it go from focused to unfocused. I definitely didn't get it at first but our teacher was really good at the one-on-one help and after a few minutes, I totally got the gist of it.

AT&T Plaza is where Anish Kapoor's Cloud Gate is. It's more commonly referred to as "The Bean". But seriously, this thing is pretty cool. I loooove how it reflects all the awesome architecture downtown.So this family was doing a family portrait session at the bean too, and seriously, look how cutie this little girl is. She's taking a picture of the photographer th

Then we went over to Lurie Garden for some up close photo taking with the macro function. It actually took quite a few photos to get used to the macro function as it's awfully particular about wanting to taking a photo of what you want it to take. And then the flash would pop up thinking you needed more light and then just blow the photo out. Plus this was also a lesson our teacher was trying to encourage us with of not taking photos in the center and using the idea of thirds which is more interesting.


Lastly, we headed to Crown Fountain designed by Jaume Plensa. It's two 50-foot glass block towers sitting on either end of a shallow reflecting pool that children (and adults) enjoy playing in to cool off in this ridiculous heat. On the other side there are images projected on LED screens of people and what not. It's pretty cool.
So here we practiced taking pictures of falling water which was kind of fun when I came home and looked at the pictures (its a bit hard on an LCD screen). This was taken at 1/15 exposure time.
This was taken at at 1/1000 exposure time. Love how you can see the falling drops much better here.
So after three hours with around 200 photos taken, I came back with a much better understanding of my camera and maybe 125 pretty neat pictures. Plus it was a good time spent downtown.

Weekend Bike Ride through Chicago

I've been enjoying my summer vacation in Chicago so far despite the weather. On Friday afternoon there was a huge storm that rolled in right after lunch. It was waaay crazy with a bit of hail and plenty of lightning and thunder. Coming from California where we might get lightning and thunder every few years, this was a bit scary. We heard later that some windows from high rises blew out, we saw a huge tree that fell on a car, and boyfriend's family lost power... and I don't think they got it back until today. But other than that the weekend was fairly lovely... and hot and humid. So boyfriend and I decided to do a bike tour of Chicago. We figured it might be fun to do a bit of evening sightseeing and get some leisurely exercise too (8 miles in 3 hours with plenty of stops).

Boyfriend and me at North Beach (stop 2 on the bike ride)

Riding through Gold Coast, this is the Charnley-Persky house designed by Frank Lloyd Wright
Then we biked through the streets and ended up down by the river
The view from Museum Park... so pretty!
And just so you know, I really did ride a bike. This is Peter. We had a good time.

My friends got married!!!! Part 2

After watching my friends get married at city hall, we celebrated! The bride may seem a bit on the lower maintenance side with how she didn't have a real wedding ceremony and her reception was on the smaller side but let me tell you, that did not make it any easier. This lady was allll about the details and making it truly about the bride a groom. Above are the ultra adorable birds that she made! They love birds and these little guys were soooo cute. I may.. or may not.. have stolen one that's not pictured (Ila, you will have to fight me for the one I stole if you want it back). Also notice the super yummy jam (that she also made!) for her favors. I just wish the jars were bigger (I'm greedy).
She didn't have any official brides maids or anything but that doesn't mean she won't need help with things so that she can sit and not worry and tend to other needs such as greeting guests and taking pictures. So me and Jenn stepped up to help her! Pictured above (stolen from her sis Amy) is the venue, Old Vine Cafe at The Camp in Costa Mesa. It was the perfect venue for these two and also super yummy. You can see me and Jenn in the background worrying over the seating chart. It worked out I think.
And there was a photobooth to enjoy. Props and all!

If you can't read it, it say "Hottest Bitches Evar". True story.And as a gift from the bride for helping her out... A super cute pin with an albatross on it. She couldn't find a dachshund but since I fly a lot, a bird seemed appropriate, and albatrosses are good luck. Completely love it and it's definitely flying with me whenever I do because I do get a bit nervous on planes. Nothing huge, but a little good luck never hurt, no? And a beautiful Tarina Tarantino bracelet. I actually happen to lover Tarina Tarantino. Her stuff is so pretty and whimsical and girly. Love it.

All in all it was a wonderful weekend. I can't believe she's married! But at the same time, it's just right. Great time seeing boyfriend for the weekend and having fun with my girlies <3!

Procrastinator? I think not...

I'm usually a procrastinator. The whole "I work better under pressure" statement is usually my motto. But for the first time in I don't know how long, I did not procrastinate and I finished early. I usually still somehow end up finishing barely on time when I don't procrastinate because I start early and then linger and take my time and then I'm practically late. Does the lingering count as procrastinating. Let's just say it doesn't this one time. Anywhoooo... so last week I was able to finish my final project for the elements of design class. I went to class last week even though it was optional mostly because my TA scared us with a sort of threatening email in regards to going if we were at all unsure about our project and how we would be spared on grading. Luckily only 7 of us took it seriously so we got out early. Anyway, it turns out I didn't need to go to class and my teacher looked at me like I was sort of dumb for coming since I didn't really need any help, at least not in comparison to others. I guess it was sort of true but I did get reassurance. Anyway, here it is! It's a hanging art mobile that evolved from my sculpture project. I'm sort of excited over it. I sort of thought it was lame but I really enjoyed making it and sort of got into the concept of abstract art and what not. I really like that it spins. I'm actually thinking of keeping it around after my class. Besides the enjoyment of making it, getting carpal tunnel from cutting it, and only bleeding twice. I was super excited that I finished it last Thursday and it's not even due until tomorrow night. Usually I'm really working up until that point. Let's just hope nothing happens to it between now and tomorrow night.

Next up on the finals list is my design communication portfolio. So I finished my last homework yesterday and even managed to start putting my portfolio together. That sort of meant going back and re-doing and adding any final touches to past homework. I actually pushed through (and by that i mean work until 3am) and got a lot done last night. Then I finished it up today and since I had minor changes to the last homework, I was able to finish tonight. I had even planned on working on it a bit tomorrow morning but now I don't even have to do that. So proud of myself =) Anyway, getting to previous projects that I haven't updated the blog over:
This is week 7, an orthographic projection and elevation of a bedroom.
Week 8: One point perspective of one side of a bedroom. I actually re-did this project because I made a bunch of mistakes but this was essentially the project. I'm too lazy to photograph the final for my portfolio but essentially I failed to make a few things 3D... oops.
Week 9 was actually some 2 point perspective exercises that weren't too exciting so I'm not posting them. This was week 10 though. It's a 2 point perspective interior. I know... a bit bland. But for my final I added a few extra things in it. So lets just say this was the basic version.
This was week 11: a 2 point exterior. I finished this over the weekend and it was a pretty good end to the course. The only thing I reworked was that tree to the right. I thought it would be ok per the professor's instruction but it was suggested I make to more interesting than just a cutout.

So that's it! Tomorrow I take my portfolio for design communication to get reprinted so I can drop it off before my final presentation for elements of design. Yay! And portfolios aren't even due until 6/28. But I'm actually getting back from Chicago that day and I don't really want to lug all this stuff to Chicago to work on it and then mail it in. So yay for not procrastinating and yay I'm done! That means tomorrow I can actually take some time to clean my room and pack and just relax before I leave.

My friends got married!!!!

And I got to witness their civil wedding! I couldn't be more excited for these two. Love you guys so much! Can't wait for this weekend's festivities.