Sunset in Ogden Dunes

Thanksgiving in a Nutshell

Thanks to Stephanie for letting me crash with her and her family the entire break! Thanks to both her and Bryan for a fantastic Black Friday and cheers to hot-tubbing, catching up on TV shows, trans-border sing-a-longs, and having a much-needed break from school.

Thankful for...

In no particular order:

1. My family's support and love

2. My friends and their hilarious antics

3. Warm chocolate chip cookies

4. Hot tea, hot coffee

5. My camera

6. Random acts of kindness

7. The long phone calls with friends from back home

8. A good education

9. Being in Chicago for the break

10. Sleeping in

11. Big hugs. Not just any hugs, the kind where you squeeze the life out of others and it feels safe and amazing.

12. Good Chinese food

13. Social media and staying connected with old friends

14. Lounging and vegging on couches

15. Long talks with friends

16. Snow and seasons

17. The lakefill

18. Stephanie Tang and her wonderful hospitality

19. Spontaneous dance parties in 301

20. The city

I'm going to stick with 20 because I just woke up and there is food to be made!

Leaf Piles

Enough said. Taken during the Teeter Totter A-Thon.

JRed

It's been a while since I've actually taken out my camera with a purpose. I rarely sign up for NBN stories anymore. It's a matter of principle, not a lack of motivation or creativity. Honestly, I'm not satisfied with the system and some of the leadership as of late.

So when my friend nudged me a month or so ago and asked if I can shoot photos of him, I happily, but hesitantly, said yes. When it comes to portrait photography, I freeze up a little bit. The last and very first portrait series I did outside of a class assignment was the Nelson twins, so some photos to accompany his music? That's a whole lot of pressure.

Jerred and I finally got together Friday and man did I get my creative juices flowing. Not only was the weather absolutely gorgeous and everyone had a bounce in their step, but Jerred and I had such a great time trying to frame shots by the Metra station.

Here are a few shots from Friday. He has some great tunes and I'm so excited to see what the future brings.

Run, run, run

It was such a thrill to take part in this event, even if it was just as a mere press member whose camera could barely do her justice. I kneeled next to official Chicago Marathon photographers and NBC videographers with gear that I would not be able to fit into my complimentary Chicago Marathon backpack that came with the press kit.

As a person who hates running, I could never imagine running an entire marathon. These participants have balls and such a drive that put me in awe. Check out the guy with the prosthetic legs. He was clocking in at about 2 hours and 30 minutes when he passed by the Addison/Broadway intersection near Wrigley Field. Even at the 22-mile mark in Chinatown (first time there!), most runners were still going strong and I could just imagine myself collapsed on the ground somewhere at the 2-mile mark.

Plus, unlike the previous years, the temperature was cold. Kudos to all of you who ran or wheeled! It was a pleasure covering the event.

More coverage at North by Northwestern.

ART 120: Self Portrait

Thoughts? You're right...it doesn't look like me. During the span of this quarter, Basic Painting has reinforced the idea that we are more attuned to seeing objects as what we expect them to look like rather than their actual shapes. We know what a face is supposed to look like, so we paint it such. We know what a horse is supposed to look like, so we work more from our memory than from pure, raw observation.

It's definitely a challenge to see things in a different way. Refreshing.

ART 120: Still Life

ART 120: Shape & Value

I have been a horrible blogger and I really have no real excuses for dropping the ball. After I finally got into the full swing of things, my camera has been tucked into my desk drawer, neglected and dejected. There have been plenty of beautiful things to capture around campus, but I simply haven't taken the initiative to do so. No excuses.

I'm happy to share that my basic painting class is going wonderfully (albeit extremely time consuming). So the next series of posts will be paintings from my class, starting from the very first black and white painting that allowed us to study shape and value. It has been so long since I picked up a brush that I almost forgot how amazing it is to just stand and throw colors onto a canvas.

Enjoy!