I've Been Tagged

Thanks be to my elder sister who has "tagged" me to relate five embarrassing moments from my childhood. Very well. I would also encourage all of you to visit her blog, listed to the right under links as "milk and karma."

Ahem. So here we go.

1) I first must protest that my sister's #4 is one of mine as well. Not necessarily because she locked the cage (reference aforementioned blog) but because I was shoved in a rabbit cage in a harem outfit with the rabbit. (FYI, I am now certain that all of you will visit her blog to get the rest of the story.)

2) I didn't really mind Middle School. I had some good friends and some great teachers and I got along pretty well with all of them. That is until one warm, spring day when I wore a little summer dress. I was sitting along the wall with my good friend, hunched backwards with my knees way in the air. All of a sudden two of the popular boys started pointing at us and laughing. Pointing and laughing. If you didn't think that people actually do that sort of thing, well I can guarantee you that they do. Especially when they can see a girl's underwear. I know, juvenile, right? Well, it wouldn't have been so bad except that I was wearing a pair of industrial grade superundies that had "Harvard" emblazoned across the posterior. Don't ask me where I got them. I have no idea. But I will never forget them.

3) There was this one time that I was supposed to start taking tennis lessons. My stepmother had gotten me this little tennis skirt and she wanted me to try it on. I had just woken up and was still wearing the giant t-shirt that I always wore to bed. I agreed, begrudgingly, and went into the bathroom, emerging with the tennis skirt on. The shirt was too big to see the skirt, so she asked me to lift up the shirt so she could see if the waist fit. I lifted the shirt up to my shoulders. In front of my father. Without a bra on. Sorry, Dad, but it had to be shared.

4) My sister and I used to make up fabulous games to keep ourselves occupied. One of the most bizarre, and the most fun, was the game where we would take my Dad's orange fuzz-lined, slick, long, black winter coat, both climb in and zip it up. I don't really know what the game was all about, but we became a super creature! The arms were too long for either of us to appropriately use, so we would just flail them around in circles. One day we knocked something over. I think it was the TV. All I remember after that is Dad being furious that we had been so careless and I just being dumbstruck that we had been moving at all, because I was the back half of the monster and couldn't see over my sister's shoulders.

5) Saved the best for last. When I was in sixth grade we had a swimming class for P.E. in January. The swim class was at the end of the day, the last period, and we had to trek up to the High school campus where the pool was for class. I had been told that if you went outside with wet hair in New Mexico in January that it would freeze and break off. I loved my hair. It was precious to me. So I would stay late after class to be sure that it was as dry as I could make it before walking back down to the lower campus to get my things for the evening. One day my friend stayed with me so that we could walk down together. The P.E. coach had asked that we turn off the lights when we left. The problem was that when you turn the lights off in the locker room, you also turn the lights off in the corridor between the pool and the gym hallway. In that corridor are three doors. The door out, the door to the girls dressing room, and the door to the guys dressing room. We turned the lights off, stumbled out of our dressing room and into the men's dressing room. There, standing before us with his pants around his ankles in his boxer shorts was our history teacher.
"Hi girls!" He exclaimed with some surprise.
We both screamed at the top of our lungs and ran all the way back to the lower campus without ever taking a breath.

P.S. I would have listed "sixth grade perm" as a most embarrassing moment, but it lasted for three months and is imortalized on my sixth grade I.D.

SPF - Your next blog, which had better be soon, shall be your five most embarrassing moments from childhood. You have been tagged.

One Down, Seventeen To Go

So the first seven week session is completed. I came out on top with room to spare. Literally. I achieved higher than a 4.0, but they can only give a 4.0, so I am listed as a 4.0. I inquired about "roll over GPA points" but my instructor laughed. I don't see why.

On top of that, the instructor requested six black and white prints from the class for his personal collection. Four of them were mine. So, basically, everything that I printed for final five I no longer have. Sorry family. I will reprint them with the same meticulous attention to detail that I originally printed them. After all, they are part of my portfolio as well.

So let us discuss final five for a moment. Final Five consists of four black and white prints and two 4 x 5 color transparencies. (Five "boards", six images, as the 4 x 5 images are mounted on one board.)

Image 1

This image I used as part of my "Shape, Line, and Texture" assignment. It was an image that my instructor liked from the contact sheet. It could easily be used for "shape" though I think of it more as "texture." It is an abstracted image of a stucco wall detail from a resort in Palm Springs. In the abstraction it appears as a square, a quarter circle, and triangles made from the early morning shadows in bright sunlight. The "texture" comes from the textural lighting on the stucco, which makes each grain in the wall stand out. The depth of field on this was as large as I could make it to accentuate the sharpness of the wall. (Have you ever run your hand over stucco? Sharp.) This image received an A+.

Image 2

This image I originally shot for "Architectural Detail." I really liked the tonal range and detail in the initial image, but there was one distracting element in the middle of the image that I did not see when taking the shot. It could have been avoided, so, after I turned in the original and passed the assignment, I went back to that same place and reshot the scene of decaying and weathered arches holding up the veranda cover of the Old Mission of Santa Barbara. The composition the second time was better not only because the distraction was gone, but because I included part of the adjacent wall and a window of the mission itself. So, instead of leading lines that lead you off of one side of the page, there are now leading lines on the opposite side that draw you back in to the image, and around and around you go. This image received an A.

Now here is where I began to push the limits, both my own and that of reason.

Image 3

This image was not turned in for any assignment. It was shot on a miscellaneous roll that had no real purpose other than my OCD. (I have a two reel developing tank, and I cannot develop only one roll. So, I was developing a reshoot of "Architectural Detail" and I shot this roll as well.) It is hard to explain. It is a shot of a white, stucco wall barricading the stairwell of a parking structure. It is nearly impossible to describe other than that it, too, is an abstracted architectural detail. More to the point, it is a white wall. For those of you who have ever taken a picture of a snowy scene or white sand and it comes out way over-exposed, that is because your camera meter cannot read a white scene correctly. Which means that I had to put my education to use to make this image. I had to think about the white wall, think about the stop differences, think about how the meter was reading it and think about how I wanted to read it. And I did. And it showed. This image received an A+.

Image 4

This image I shot at the same time as the first image, during my cousins wedding in Palm Springs and with the intention of using it for "Shape, Line, and Texture." It was interesting, but on the contact sheet it didn't look as interesting as the previously mentioned image, so I didn't print it. When I went back to the darkroom to print Final Five, I looked at that contact sheet again and I saw that image and tried to remember what it was. It looked like stairs. Typical marble stairs from an interesting angle. The problem was I didn't remember any marble stairs at the resort. There was, however, a marble fountain made in the shape of stairs with perfectly balanced water trickling down each of the sides. This was intriguing of its own merit, even if it didn't work for Final Five, so I printed it. Again, this image is hard to explain, because once the image was enlarged you could feel the water rolling off of the stone. The tiny vibrations in the pools were jagged and crisp, providing an intricate crystallized view of the marble beneath. In the words of my instructor "It is really fun to find the water in the image." This image received an A.

Image 5

This image is the same as Image 2, but it was done with the 4 x 5 camera and on color transparency film. I knew that I wanted to get this image and I waited two weeks for the sun to be right in the morning. On the day that I woke up to find the sun streaming through my windows instead of the characteristic diffuse morning haze, I threw on some clothes and was out the door. I got the shot, and the shot got an A+.

Image 6

Yes. Now we get to the meat. This one, however, has a back story.

The day before Final Five was due, I was printing feverishly, the same as all of my classmates, to get the four perfect images that I wanted to present in class. Lucky for us, our instructor's office hours coincided with our printing time and he was at the same lab as us, so I showed him my transparencies to get his opinion. He saw Image 5 and was stunned. He pretty much told me right there that it was an A+. He then looked at all of my other transparencies and told me that he didn't see anything else that I had that was as good as Image 5.

"You can't hold me as the curve to my own work!" I exclaimed, a little terrified that he was going to fail one of my transparencies.

"I have to." He replied with a devious smile. "I want to see something as good as that." He pointed to Image 5.

"Okay." I studied his features to try and determine what exactly he was looking for and how I was going to get it in the next twenty four hours. "Any ideas?"

He thought about it for a moment and then nodded, explaining that there was a beautiful church outside of Santa Barbara that he had never been to and wasn't quite sure where it was, but that it would be an excellent addition to my collection. He suggested that I scout it out soon and decide when the best time to return would be.

"Fine, but if I am exhausted with huge black circles under my eyes tomorrow, it is your fault."

"If that happens," he replied, "then I will know that you are finally working as hard as you should be."

This sentiment, though I think meant to be a jibe, stayed with me. I was in the darkroom for six hours solid to print my final five. I then proceeded to the mounting room and mounted my three black and white prints that were new, and mounted the required Final Five tag to the back of all four black and whites. Then I went to Samy's (local camera Eden) and bought more 4 x 5 film. I then went home, researched the mysterious church with very little information, and found what I was looking for. It was sunset by now, so I raced to the church in the hopes of getting some warm sunset lighting and being done with the print. To my horror, the lighting was the opposite of what I needed. Meaning that it was not sunset light that would make the perfect image, but sunrise. I meandered home and tried to go to sleep early, but to no avail. All night I sat looking at the ceiling and thinking Do you want to be a professional photographer?

That was our instructor's answer to everything. When someone would ask, "Do we really need to buy the expensive lupe, or is the cheap one okay?" He would respond "Do you want to be a professional photographer?"

"Do you think I should reshoot this assignment or go on to the next one?"
"Do you want to be a professional photographer?"
"I am so tired I think I am going to call it quits for the day."
"Do you want to be a professional photographer?"
"Would you spend the money to push this transparency, or do you think the color is okay?"
"Do you want to be a professional photographer?"

And so on and so forth.

Remarkable how much affect it had on me. Once 4:30 rolled around, I knew that I had to go. Because I do want to be a professional photographer. So I was at the church at 5:00a.m. with my camera set up waiting for the sunrise to poke through the fog. Which it didn't. The sun couldn't penetrate this morning's fog because it was fiercely thick and maliciously thorough.

Okay, professional photographer, I thought to myself, what are you going to do now?

Make the image. Make the best possible image that you can in the circumstances. So I reevaluated my image. It was no longer going to be warm, orange light on the white surface of the church complimenting the blue tile roof and dome. Orange was not coming this morning. So what did I have? Blue. I had blue light on a white wall which made a blue wall with a blue roof and a blue hazy sky. Okay, then. Monochromatic it is. So I took a meter reading. Even with my lens all the way open, the meter reading was 8 seconds. 8 SECONDS!! This introduced a new problem. A problem that I have not dealt with. A problem that I have only begun to understand. A problem called reciprocity failure. Whenever you take a shot at a shutter speed of longer than one second or shorter than 1/1000th of a second, you lose the linear relationship of light intensity and time. Logical, physical criteria no longer apply. And I didn't have a chart with me, so I had to guess. I shot the Polaroid at 20 seconds and it looked perfect. So I shot the first two transparencies at 20 seconds. What I didn't realize is that as I worked, the light, though not changing color, was more bright. So the next meter reading that I took said 1 second. So I determined that my reciprocity experiments were probably for naught, so I set everything up, took the meter reading, and immediately changed the settings to shoot the scene. I did this another four times, and each time the reading was different. I then dropped the film off at Samy's, and went home to sleep for two hours. Then I got up, showered, went back to Samy's to get the images, drove to class and chose the best one, mounted it to the already cut board, and turned it in.

When my instructor saw it, his eyes lit up. "You actually shot it!"

I was a little surprised that he thought I wouldn't.

The image was another A.

I Deserve Chocolate Cake

Six weeks and one day after I started my adventure here at Brooks I await the final class. Today's class consisted of the Final Exam and the grading of the final assignment, Window Light Portraiture. I passed the assignment, passed the Architectural Detail reshoot, passed the Magazine Cover reshoot, and aced, and I do mean aced, the final. At the worst, I missed two out of 100 questions. And those two I made educated guesses on, and I am pretty educated at this point.

The only thing that remains in this session is the presentation of the Final Five. The Final Five consists of five boards, six images. I have two of the six completed, one that needs to be mounted, one that is a choice between three or four possibilities, and that leaves two black and white images that I need to pick, print, and mount. I actually feel like I am in a really good position. I know what one of the remaining two is going to be, I just need to print it. The remaining one image will be a challenge, but I am pretty confident that with all of the roles I have taken I will be able to come up with something that will at least be worth a B, if not an A. Which should mean that I will be at an A average for the session. That is pretty good. I am happy with that.

Hence the chocolate cake. It is in my fridge now. I am waiting for my lunch fullness to subside.

So, let us recap. What have I learned over the course of the past six weeks?

What have I learned about photography? This would be the obvious question. I have learned tons about basic daylight exposure, the handling and operation of a 4 x 5 camera, and characteristics of film and photo papers. I have learned that 68 degrees for developer means 68 degrees. I have learned that photo flo (which reduces water spots on film) is ESSENTIAL in the processing of negatives. I have learned that if you don't fix your negatives correctly the first time, you will have to reload strips of five negatives onto a reel and re-fix them, re-hypo clear them, re-wash, and re-dry them. This is worth a little extra time on the front end to ensure that the fix is 70 degrees and to fix them for at least five minutes.

What have I learned about Santa Barbara? There are very few drive thru's in Santa Barbara. This means that when you are starving after eight hours in the darkroom of solid printing, you have to actually GO IN to fast food restaurants. Very annoying. This results in frequent dinners of Cheez-It's and Fudge Stripe cookies because I happened to buy some one time when I had time to go to the store. Seriously. That was dinner for three nights in a row. Turns out, Cheez-It's for dinner lasts about four meals. (They were also lunch one day.) I still have the Fudge Stripes, so I don't know how long they will last. I have learned that on crystal clear days, where you can see out past the oil rigs off the coast to a clear and distant horizon, you can pick up 94.9 from San Diego on the 101 South between La Cumbre and Carrillo. Sweet.

What have I learned about myself? Hmm. Perhaps the most difficult of the questions. I have learned that I really want to be the best. So much so that I often push myself to crazy extremes when I begin to question my work. This becomes a problem when I have perfected a print from one specific negative, but the negative is lacking something. In that case, perfect printing can't save a questionable negative. It can, however, drive you crazy. So now I know that I would rather reshoot a negative that I like to make it perfect than stress myself out over a bad negative. There are, however, times when you must use a bad negative, so the practice in printing a bad negative will actually come in helpful. I have also learned that I have a much thicker skin now than I did in college. Mona would be a good instance of a negative criticism that didn't really bother me. I have had one other such instance regarding an image of my sister for the Window Light Portraiture assignment that I really liked, but I listened to the criticism and understood the problems with the negative. Based on the previously expressed logic, I reshot the assignment with SPF instead of my sister because I didn't want to push the negative that had some exposure and flare issues.

Oh, also learned that blogging takes time. Time which I will be severely lacking over the next three years, though I will try and blog as often as I can.

Update

Well, let's see. We have had four critiques and out of fifteen images turned in, here are my current stats. Two final five, seven pass, five undetermined, and one reshoot. I have gotten A's on all four of the quizes so far. I have missed a total of four questions combined. I have passed one paper and have another one in review. I have another assignment due on Wednesday of next week, which I am going to shoot with the help of some friends this weekend. I have to have the reshoot completed by Wednesday as well and there is another paper due the same day. I have already written the paper. I wrote it the first week. Some of the best advice I have gotten so far was to get all of the papers done the first week.

I have also assisted with one other photo shoot for a friend. It was eye opening. He managed to find a semi-professional model who was wonderful. The shots were beautiful. I need to start thinking bigger, thinking like a professional. Right now, I am not. Right now, I am thinking like a girl who likes to take pictures, not a photographer who makes images. I cannot think like that anymore. After I finish out this class, I will have to find models, scout locations, plan and prepare and innovate. Even a standard shoot should have mood or scene appropriate props. I have learned, for the most part, how to judge the appropriate quality of light, so that is a tool that I can stick in my pocket.

Problem now? June gloom. The quality of light is ruined for the next month or two, and I have a reshoot due next Wednesday. Great.