Chow Challenge Results (Challenge #1)

After a lovely lazy holiday, I've finally settled into the hole of the futon to crank out the Chow Challenge results.  Enjoy.

Challenge: Using Food Photo Blog advice, practice food photography techniques on thanksgiving dinner.


 Results:
 
I shot everything with my only prime lens - a 35mm.  I set it to Aperture mode, and decided to start out taking advantage of the beautiful natural light that seeps in through my mom's kitchen window.  Then the story-teller in me kind of took over...




I dabbled in slowing the shutter settings to show the quick movement of my mother and sister as they dressed the turkey.


Different and a little spooky, right?










There's some nice natural light that comes through the dining room window, but since it was about 4pm, it was disappearing fast, and I'm afraid I was desperately trying to avoid using fill flash.


One of the blogs said to "get low," so I practiced with a table setting I found on Pinterest.



Winning over aperture without sacrificing shutterspeed so much I would need a tripod become a challenge as the sun continued to steal away with my light.




A little too backlit, perhaps...




Aperture is too low here, and I lost the detail in the croissant and sweet potatoes in the back. 


One of the rules was to "avoid the bird's eye view," but I wanted to show the fun swirl in the drink, so sacrifices were made.

Conclusion: I don't exactly consider this challenge won.  I could have done better if I had afforded myself the time to invest in a fill or bounce flash. Overall, I believe I'm a journalist through and through. My patience is challenged with "studio work." I prefer subjects that are less ... stable, if you will. Still, I obviously should spend a little more time on lighting and composition of static subjects. After all, practice is practice, and everything will improve the eye for more exciting work in the future, right? ... Right... Maybe I can find a sports event somewhere to shoot...

Making the Most of Turkey Day

This post is getting snipped short. Partially because there isn't a lot to say for today's topic, and partially because I'm stoked about getting home for Thanksgiving, and I'm far too busy impatiently pacing the apartment while I wait for us to hit the road to spend time tip-typing away.  (Lucky you!)

Yesterday I attempted my first swing at the challenges.  I took my 35mm and - literally - got lost in Augusta.  My aim was downtown and where I ended up was a neighborhood called Olde Town.  I haven't downloaded the shots yet, but as I was shooting, I could tell something was off.  My eye was cloudy, I wasn't focused.  I felt very uncomfortable walking past people pushing carts of blankets and empty cans with my expensive SLR.  So I guess that's something I need to work on.  But, being the perfectionist I am, the plan has been altered to include a nice pep talk and some bouncy music to butter myself up for the next go.  Along with excellent directions.  What I DID learn yesterday: owning a hotel, motel, inn, or lounge in Augusta is not the key to success.  But then again, I might not have been in the best part of town.  Also, cops, much like drill sergeants, don't like a person with a Nikon in tote.  (I doubt they would have any preference if your brand was different.)  Noted.

As for tomorrow's challenge, I did quite a bit of research this morning, and picked up a few tips from the following blogs.  Apparently food photography is more ... basic... than I had originally presumed.  Their tips are mostly "the rule of thirds" and "backlighting" and "don't let it be ugly."  Go figure.  There are still a few interesting tips, though, and I figured I should give credit where credit is due for the brilliance I'll be borrowing tomorrow.

Lastly, I have a lot to be thankful for.  Sometimes I have to slap myself across the face to remind myself what I'm thankful for (like a pretty decent backhand), but I'm proud to say that most days it's not difficult for me to pinpoint the blessings in my life.  Not everyone has even the simplest things.  Did you know that 1 in 6 Americans are hungry?  1 in 5 are children.  Hungry kids are more likely to end up involved with disciplinary issues, health problems, low grades, and diminished self-esteem.  It's a preventative measure to help the 40% plus American families currently below the poverty level to get back on their feet, and prevent crime in the future.  I don't often share my opinions along these lines, but I will today.  If you can, donate to a food pantry, or to the hundreds of hunger drives nation-wide.  If not for you, then for the future.



Sources:
Food Portfolio - Food Photography
Digital Photography School: An Introduction to Food Photography
Lunch Box Bunch: 15 Tips for Food Bloggers
Livestrong
APA
World Hunger Org

Social Media Blames it on My ADD

I have been teased for years for my fluttering attention.  Sitting through movies any longer than 100 minutes is painful for me.  I get restless on days that I don't check in for a gym rat credit or two.  And if both the TV and the radio are mixing up the audio airwaves at the same time? Forget it. My brain secedes from the Union. 

I've dealt with it my entire life.  Combo parents who don't take "I forgot" as a viable excuse with an extremely demanding high school curriculum, and I managed to teach myself how to cope with it, and even benefit from it.  Alas, despite my years of practice adjusting patterns to suit both my quickly progressing focus and my strongly perfectionist work ethic, doctors call it Attention Deficit Disorder, and frequently attempt to play catch with medication to help "my problem."  But with ADD and ADHD on a spiking rise in today's generation, a lot of media studies are beginning to question why.

And a lot are answering that it's today's media, and social media is making it worse.

They have a point.

Have you ever noticed how movies and TV shows use video work to manipulate the viewer's emotions?  Quickly scanning rooms, shaking hand-cams, distance, zoom, *shriek shriek shriek!*  Have you also noticed that in every scene, you can count 3-5 seconds between each change in camera angle (JOUR 464, USC)?  Next time you're tuned in to a NCIS repeat, count between camera changes.  The whole show suddenly feels like it's sped up, right? But they do not extend any shot past 5 seconds. Know why?

Because studies are showing that the average attention span has literally becoming "scanning."  Within five seconds, your brain has absorbed as much as it would like, and has moved on. You've never noticed how much information you can absorb in such a short period of time, have you?
Well how about this - ten years ago, the average attention span was 12 minutes (Redux).  What else has been on the rise in the last ten years? Oh yea, how bout Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and even texting?  The majority of posts, tweets, pins, and SMS we read, on average, takes - and this is my own estimation, from my own experience (which is a lot), not a study - I'd say it takes about 3-7 seconds to read the average social media interaction.

Since it has become such an integral part of our world, it has literally CHANGED OUR BRAINS.  Neuroscience studies show that "tweeting" and other social networking activities has the same effect on our brains as talking to friends and family, or even as having sex (Big Think; Harvard Medicine).  Well now I'm creeped out.

But then again... is it the chicken or the egg?  If tweeting and other social networking gives us a "social high" or as Harvard puts it, acts as "brain candy," and social networking is actually us interacting with our friends, family, and lovers, is it social media that is putting our brains on sugar rush? Or is it today's constantly "going," the world continuing to spin as people work themselves to the grave, and society only clinging to the social connections we have time for?  Or has the Dave the information age finally found it's "robot partner?"

I don't know.  But what I do know is that I'm gonna keep popping the brain candy if there's any hope of it leading to gainful employment and getting some dough.

Sources:
Redux Media and it's Assisted Living Today infographic
Big Think's blog by Dominic Basulto: The Internet's Battle for Our Digital Souls
JOUR 464: Infographics and Videography, Spring 2010, University of South Carolina's School of Mass Communications

PS: Know how long it would take the average person to read this blog post? Less than two minutes. 

This Week's Challenge...s...

After signing off last Friday, I went for a run, took a lukewarm shower, and kicked back into the valley of the great broken futon (which has a concave center strangely the exact size of my butt) to play Bedazzled and listen to the latest Photofocus podcast (the underline means it's linked there. Smiley face.) 

The point of Photofocus is to give advice and provide resources for budding photographers - be it professional or amateur, we are all still budding.  One of the things they talked about in this particular podcast was self-training, practice, how does a photog improve oneself?  How do we push ourselves, challenge ourselves.  I haven't quite identified which voice is which since I'm still new to the blog, but who I believe may be Scott Bourne said one of his tips is to pick up a lens, go out into the world, and shoot.  He suggested a prime lens (ie: not a zoom lens. Prime lenses have a fixed focal range.), preferably something wide, (wide meaning, has a very "wide" range of focus, generally a shorter lens, like 18mm or 20mm).  But don't just shoot.  See.  Look.  Figure out how to best optimize your perspective with this particular lens. The experience would, ideally, teach you how to make the best of the situation you've afforded yourself.  And, as true photographers do, make lemonade.

Then they went on to talk about young photographers (as in, really young. Like, still obsessed with the Wiggle-Wobble-whomever people), and the entirely different perspective they bring to the table.  Not only because of their innocence, their capacity to retain simple interests, and don't grasp the timid notion of shame, but - this is the kicker, are you ready for it?

They're short.

Literally, they have a different perspective.  They stand at three feet tall and look up at this great big world, and tend to offer a very different view of it.

Huh.  Who really considered that?  ... Ok, well I stopped drinking coffee so I'm still catching up to that being naturally sharp concept without the assistance of java. But congrats on your ingenuity.

Moving on. Speaking of consuming copious amounts of garbage. Of course, with Thanksgiving only three and a half days away now, I've been perusing Pinterest and magazines and recipes and such, to take into stock a number of recipes I won't be making this week (I, like many young women, just do what Momma tells me.  Anything other than that tends to be a very, very bad idea.) a lot of food photography has been making everything look fantastically succulent.  I'm not sure how they make food glow like they do, but I'm going to try to find out.

THUS, my goals for the next two weeks, to be reported on the blog as I accomplish them:

#1: The Chow Challenge: On Wednesday, I'll look up a few advice blogs and websites to see if I can find some tips for quick and cheap food photography.  Then on Thursday, if my family will participate, I'll attempt a few of these tips and let you know how it goes.

#2: Augusta in 35mm or Less: I'll tour Augusta with the only prime lens currently in my possession.  It's not as wide as Bourne suggests ( he specifically says 20mm), but it'll have to do.  I'll see how creative I can get and try to pull myself out of the box a bit.

#3: The Short Show:  Luckily, for my birthday a couple years ago, my dad bought me a yard stick.  I'm still not sure why (maybe he foresaw this challenge... parents are creepy like that, right?), but I'm going to put it to use now.  I'll tour a city, either Augusta, Greenville, or Columbia, with a yardstick and my kit short zoom lens (or borrow a lens from Papa).  Let's see what kind of shots I can get with this.

I'm excited to get started with these!  However, I don't know when I'll get a chance to do them.  My aim is to get them done in the next fourteen days, and in betwixt those posts, I'll see if I can't come up with some other topics to babble about.  You think I can't see you rolling your eyes, but somehow I feel like I can.  That's rude, you know. Joking-tongue-sticking-out face.

Professor Professional: Etiquette in the Workplace

You know whenever something big comes up in your life, everybody has their two cents to flip in to the tip jar?  Well, when I was discovering just how unfitted my last job was to me, the tip jar was full, and much like our beloved nation, it was pretty bipartisan.

"Tell them you're unhappy."

"Don't let them know you're having trouble."

"Explain what you want to change."

"Fake a smile. They might fire you if they find out you're looking for another job."

Oy.  So I debated quite a bit and, after some deliberation, decided I should take my own advice - If you're going to complain about something, have the *stuff* to change it. So at my annual review, when I was asked what the company could do for me, I decided to let the boss-man-lady-person know how I felt.  The answer I got, and I quote: "You're either happy here or you find another job."

Well all rightey then.

As a general rule (or at least for me, anyway), we're raised to be honest.  To strive toward being good people, do what we can to do the right thing, "use our words," etc. Then we graduate, get plopped into the pool of the professional world, and it feels like a lot of games.  They toss you into this vicious, clamoring world of lies and deceit and vindictive, immature, malicious people.  Or at least that's how it felt, and I've never even worked in law.  If you're anything like me, your first professional world reaction is something relative to viewing the latest Geico commercial for the first time: "I miss the cavemen."

See, when I worked for the Army and other military branches in college, it obviously had its pin-ups.  It's not exactly a joy to walk onto a training site and have people who are experienced in weaponry glaring at you.  But, for the most part, it's pretty easy to tell who you can confide in, say certain things to.  And, for the most part, you can say something a little tongue-in-cheek without getting an anvil to cranial meet n' greet because, for the most part, military tend to be aware that work sucks sometimes.  You gotta blow off some steam.  You joke around a bit, say an offensive thing or two (depending on what this here rank on their chest is), then you let it go and move on, because, hey, it's better than getting shot at or blown up.  And that's the reality of the military. They know to be thankful for the good days, and they are what made it such an amazing work experience.  Of course, it didn't hurt that I loved that job, so the crappy bits were easy to suck it up and deal with.

When I began working in the civilian world, however... well.  It was a vastly shocking transition.

And since USC didn't offer Office Social Etiquette 101: And You Thought You Were Done With Jr High, I figured sharpening up the social skills by doing some research might be helpful... I really hope it doesn't say I have to drop the sarcasm...

50 Professional Etiquette Tips Every New Grad Should Know: A lot of this seems pretty common sense, but there are a few I was sorry to hear.  No smileys in interoffice e-mail?  That must have been what I was doing wrong... (It doesn't say anything about sarcasm. Smiley Face. )


7 Tips You Won't Find Elsewhere - Obscure, strangely detailed, and probably completely legitimate.

And I'm off to have a wonderful weekend - After I do my 30 minute daily exercise! Happy Friday!

To My Minions: An Apology in Advance, and Keeping Positive

Having been unemployed before, I know how it works.  There are rises and falls of productivity.  There are days when you just want to lie in bed with the curtains drawn, the chocolate within reaching distance, the Netflix on streaming, and just soak up the beautiful sadness that is feeling like a failure.  Other days you’re so bored, so fed up with the reality television you’ve been watching at a house that isn’t yours to relish in the guilty pleasure of cable, that you’re begging friends and family to let you help them do something.  Can I dust your blinds? Can I chop up your carrot? No, no, it’s all right, I’ll go to the doctor and get your flu shot for you. 

So this time, I set goals for myself.  Of course I set career goals and professional goals, but mostly, as it goes in the world of long-term unemployment, simply setting goals is quite a feat to be mastered.  My goal: be productive.  For at least the time of a normal full-time job, be productive.  Now this ranges from the dull - washing my boyfriend’s ACUs (I make a game out of how long I can go without touching anything velcro) - to the painful - the job hunt, scrolling through pages upon pages upon pages of “Jobs We Recommend for You!” on the five career search sites I’m subscribed to - to the more time-consuming, slightly career-oriented, and almost enjoyable advice research. 

Out of my Mon-Fri nine-hour minimum productivity per diem, I spend roughly half researching tips and tools, techniques and trades, titans and twitters (... that one is a bit of a reach, but I was running out of t’s.) Saving money, finding coupons, finding a job, making yourself more marketable, what not to do in a job interview, the hue of eyeshadow that is appropriate for each level of work, and, the stuff I actually enjoy, the photo blogs.

Now, according to these job search advice columns, having a twitter account, a facebook page, a blog, and portfolio website is how you get a job in communications.  Makes sense that they would want someone savvy in the field of talking. Of course, one must keep up with it, keep it updated with professionally relevant information, but “let your freak flag fly!” Ie: Let employers know you’re human, watch football, like nachos, etc.  Since I don’t have much to do with my time as of late, I don’t really mind investing the hours into keeping my social media networking skills sharp.  To my friends and followers, however, I deeply apologize.  Unless you are a photog yourself, I doubt my retweets and facebook status updates quoting my latest obsession Photofocus.com are wildly interesting to you.  If you would like, I can make it up to you by dusting your blinds. Or by chopping up your carrots... Have you gotten a flu shot yet?

Point being, as a person who thrives on challenges, project-minded, and goal-oriented, being unemployed with stepping outdoors donning the medal of your highest accomplishment of the day, it is difficult to keep the positive attitudes rolling.  Here's some advice I found from google searches on staying positive in the demeaning world of job - seeking:

Catherine's Career Corner: 20 Ways to stay Positive in the Job Search.  Unfortunately a few of these cost money.  I'm not sure who is unemployed and is spending money freely on counselors to help you sort out your negative feelings and going to conferences and seminars, but a few of these are pretty legit.

The Job Box Report: 10 Ways to Keep Your Positive Attitude During a Long Job Search.  This one looks a lot like the advice I would give.  Particularly the three daily goals and the daily exercise. 

There are a ton others but mostly say the same thing with a ton of babbling in between. (Sh, this isn't babbling, this is useful... for me...) By the way, apparently a lot of people are concerned about keeping a positive attitude during the job search, because google got me over 22 million hits tying "positive attitude" with "job search." (bing's results were worthless) And that's without the alternative terms of unemployment, job hunting, job seeking, looking for work, etc.  So I guess if you take comfort in nothing those blogs say, for one, get your head out of your ass, and for two, you're not alone.  I don't know about you, but that does make me feel a little better.  And if you're a photog, this is a little something I like to keep in my pocket for a rainy day - most professionals say if you have a whole day of shooting, and you get one in six shots turning out to be something you're satisfied with, either you too easy to please, or you're a damn good photographer.  I like to translate that into job-seeking terms.  Applying to a lot is like snapping the shutter, just in case. And eventually, you'll come through with one that you're satisfied with.  And maybe out of the fifty exposures, you might even get one you love.

The Patriotic Public: and its hunt for lemonade

With mother nature throwing us bitter southerners into the brisk breezes of winter, disgruntled citizens barking about what they perceive to be a botched election, and news corporations desperately trying to regain control of the "We tell you what to think about factor" with the Patreaus' three-way, things are pretty gloomy out there in the forever streaming social media world.

And as I sit, curled underneath a half-dozen blankets in my unheated apartment, unemployed for more than two months now, I have to admit that it's been quite a battle trying not to get dragged into the negative vibes lately.  With the prolonged hours of busying myself folding laundry and trying to pick up a freakin' trivia answer while watching Pawn Stars, I can't help but find my shoulders getting a little frosty with the mass of "Patriotic Public" as of late. What is it with us Americans that we must always be displeased with something? 

A significantly plump-in-per-capita region of our country has been battling a lack of heat, food, electricity, and, up until recently, water due to the ferocious natural disaster that plagued them several weeks ago.  Just a couple days past, the country was a 24-hour devotion to the veterans who fight to defend freedom, and a memorial to those who made the ultimate sacrifice doing so, and then we move on, while families who have lost a loved one will continue to mourn, and desperately attempt to wash away their never-ending grief.  There are citizens who have spent their entire lives happily paying taxes, not a word of complaint, who are now suffering in the world of unemployment, and are being denied a check to meet their family's needs because big, fat, companies are unwilling to pay the piper.  Perhaps I'm a bleeding heart, but these are Americans here, people.  And while you are sitting fat and happy in your toasty house with steak in the freezer and your kids in public school and cops protecting your street and strangers watching over your freedom, you're bitching and moaning and complaining about... well, just about anything.

What's patriotic about that?

I'm a lucky girl, and I do my very best to keep reminding myself of that.  I have a little savings left that I can stretch until something comes up.  I have a loving family, a supportive boyfriend, and a strong-willed dream that I'm chasing.  I'm warm, I'm fed, and I'm healthy. And if it weren't for the fact that social media is one of the nations biggest employment recruiting centers, I would be damn near boycott sheerly due to the ungrateful people who are continuing to make a positive attitude a luxury commodity. 

Perhaps my past couple of years bumping elbows with camo has changed me into someone who believes whole-heartedly that you should be thankful for what gifts you've been given, and work with what you've got - make lemonade, if you will.  Or perhaps it was a recent encounter with a less than ideal work situation that refocused my prerogative toward one of professionalism, patriotism, and integrity. Or maybe the realization that it costs a lot of dough to get a job these days has made me soft to my fellow employment-seekers. 

But I know one thing for sure - I'm a patriot. I believe in the U.S. of A.  I have faith that things will work out for me, and I'll do my damnedest to try to help other people get there as well.  And just in case that isn't enough to drill through my point, top off that chilly goodness with this here cherry for your thoughts - complaining isn't going to get me anywhere, and I'm pretty freakin' thirsty for some lemonade.