I'm a farm girl at heart.

Haha not. But I do love visiting! Today I got to have a video shoot on location at my friend's farm. It was beautiful weather, perfect settings. I really cannot wait to see how the footage turns out. The only bummer was that the youngest horse they have is a rascal and gets into everything. The guy I was working with and I walked over to the stables to film another horse when he got into my purse and knocked it to the ground. With my camera in it!!! I was never so scared for one of my possessions. I just could not believe that this horse was all up in my stuff. But it was like he was trying to taste everything, as he would pick stuff up in his mouth then slowly drop it. Yeah, never letting anything like that happen again.

Today's picture was a fast one, since I had to concentrate on filming stuff than my project. But I'm hoping I can get a still from the footage and post that soon. I wore plaid specifically for this! Hehe. I don't even own any plaid, I had to borrow it. But it looks pretty appropriate don't you think?

Early Mornings, Late Nights

I love what I do, I know I've said this a million times on here, but I really do. I get the chance to do things most people only dream of. Even though I struggle a lot with the technology, I wouldn't trade this major for the world.
Last night I got this phone call from a friend asking if I liked to fly on planes. I really do, so when I replied he then proceeded to ask if I would be willing to fly over my school and take video for a scene he has planned. Yes I said! Then came the hammer. I would have to meet the pilot at 6:50 in the morning. So I got up and meet the pilot, Nick, at exactly 6:50 this morning. Watching the sun rise never gets old.
Picture # 86

I decided to get some b-roll before taking off. And yes, I took a self-portrait. Nick had to go and fill out some paperwork or something so I had to entertain myself for a few minutes. Here's another picture as well.
Picture # 86b

The sun totally overpowers the picture, but you can tell that it is bright and early out. Plus, I just love sun flare.

BIG GOD....little bitty problems...

Today has just been one blessing, then one enormous problem or annoyance. I'm not going into details, but I'm feeling just a little overwhelmed right now because of technology fails and finding the balance between doing what I want to do accomplish for my major, and what I have to do for school. But, I've always been one for balancing work with play, so after getting some school stuff out of the way this morning, I took some time to hang out with my friend Stacy. She's been on here before, but today we spent a ridiculous amount of time with each other. I think I really just needed some girl time, and Stacy and I are kind of at similar places in our lives right now so that just made it so much more enjoyable. Here is a picture from our shoot!
Picture # 85

This picture cracks me up so much. We both got roughed up a bit, but nothing to serious! I think we would have had a lot more unique shots but in the location we were there was a lot of traffic, and it is still extremely awkward to do this sort of thing while you see people watching.

Dreary Day.

Today was such a dreary day. And it started pouring later on. At least church was great today. Otherwise I wasted hours just chilling.
Picture # 84

See? Dreary. Only way to describe it. I basically got nothing accomplished that I had planned today. One thing fell through and it was like I gave up. I think I'm just going to go to bed and try again in the morning.

Photo hike!

I went on a hike today. For two hours! I like hiking, but rarely do I have time to go anywhere. Luckily, my friend Mason is a photographer and he works on the grounds for my school. He invited me along to go take pictures of this Dam we have on the trails. It ended up being a group of four who went, and it was awesome seeing everyone's creative shots of nature.
Picture # 83

I didn't bring my tripod out for this trip so I was worried about taking my self-portrait. But it turned out that the dam had the perfect amount of room for me to lay down across the top. I took some crap from the guys for taking this shot, but I think it's worth it.

Here is my favorite shot from the day!

One of the guys found a piece of dead wood and just had to kick it. Love the dust effect!

And here is my second favorite. 

We found an old paint can out in the middle of one of the trails. The goo on that brush was disgusting. So of course photographers would be all over it. :)

Praying for the building!

So the Broadcasting department at my school is outgrowing our resources. And recently the board of trustees bought a plaza with an empty building in it that has 23,945 square feet of empty space. We want it. Getting our program into that amount of space would mean we could grow into so much more. There is even talk of starting a film school. How cool would that be! So earlier a few of us met outside the building and prayed for about an hour. Here is a picture from tonight.
Picture # 82

I just love that I'm not the only girl who showed up. Now I'm off to my school talent show! It'll go until 2 in the morning. Blah.

Memory switch

Ok, I've got my other memory card in my camera today so that means I can be back on track! I'm still going to have to buy a new one, but it's not a super high priority right now.
Speaking of high priority, I had to write a 12 page paper last night. I'm so exhausted right now, I stayed up till four then woke up around eight. And then during the day I dropped a rifle on my foot. Sounds random I know, I have done color guard since the 9th grade and one of my friends was practicing in the courtyard today. I'd say it was worth the pain just to take a break from  working.
Anyway, I just bought these awesome pants that I think every girl should have. They are seriously comfortable and you can wear them with practically everything. I'm wearing them right now, and seriously, I just want to wear them everywhere. It's ridiculous.
Picture # 81

This is what I wish I had more time for. Reading used to be such a big part of my life until college. The book I'm holding is SUCH a good book. It's titled, "Don't waste your life" by John Piper. I really need to re-read it.
And I ended my day on a high note. Literally. Tonight I went to the Wind Ensemble concert and it was phenomenal! I was so proud of all of my friends. It kind of made me miss my French Horn playing days. And I loved listening to the Tubas, especially Kyle. (Shout out!)

Still no memory card

Well I didn't take a picture today. I feel like I'm failing my goal, especially since I just made it to the 80 day mark. In order to make up for it I'm posting two pictures from earlier in the year that I absolutely love but they didn't make it in.

And here's the second one!

Ok, I should be on track tomorrow. Since I'm behind because of a technology fail I will probably just extend my project and end later than January 1st. 

In other news, I hit a guy with my car today. Don't worry, it was on purpose. And no, it's not because I decided I hated him and wanted to take him out. This guy has been trained to do stunts and so my friend Ryan wanted this scene in the movie he is making. Apparently not to many people were willing to hit the guy so I stepped up. I drive a Buick so I wasn't to worried about my car. 

And... now I have to get back to my 12 page paper that's due tomorrow. I originally thought it was five pages for some reason, so now I'm basically pulling an all-nighter. But it's ok, I'll just crash on the weekend. 

I messed up...

Ok, so I can't post my picture of the day because my memory card is currently in two pieces. It was cracked for awhile, but tonight it fully broke. I'm sorry! I'll try to post two tomorrow to make up for it, since I do have another card, I just have to switch it out of my video camera. It's just not possible right now since I have a video project due and I'm using my camcorder for it. It's sad, but stuff like this happens, I'm not stressed out about it.

Not showing my face

I'm not being lazy! I promise...I had an idea for an image in my head, but when I started messing around with the image I love the way this shot turned out in post. I really like my hair in it.
Picture #80

So epic! Anyway, I have a ton to do tomorrow, I think I'm going to have to skip my first class. Which I'm pretty sad about, especially since I'll be missing next Tuesday as well due to a field trip. At least that one will be an excused absence. Alright, it's bed time for me!!!

Back to School

We made it back, safe and sound! We passed by so many accidents though, it was ridiculous. Luckily none of them looked to serious, just fender benders. I'm just so thankful that nothing happened on the trip back. I know that several parents were praying over our car so that definitely helped keep us safe.
Anyway, when I finally got back to my room this was the first thing I wanted to do!
Picture # 79

I haven't unpacked or anything. And I have an early morning class. We'll see how I do tomorrow. I've got so much homework to get done as well. Like a 5 page paper on Thursday and a video due on Wednesday. And I realized that I skipped a very crucial line while I was filming over break so I'm going to have to redo some of it to make the footage work out. Grrrr....back to stress. On the flip side, I can finally get away from all the junk food I've been eating and back to being healthy.

Last day in Paradise

We are heading out back to school in the morning; away from the lovely hospitality, the amazing food, and the phenomenal fellowship. Back to late nights, tough schedules and tough thinking. I got the majority of my work done, so I'm pretty happy with myself, but I also know that my deadlines will come up really fast. Anyway, I have got to get to packing!
Picture # 78

Not sure if I'll be able to post on time tomorrow because it's a 14-15 hour drive, but I'll try!

The Early Risers

This morning the girls and I got up at six in the morning! Hard to believe four college girls on spring break would willingly get up that early. But we had a plan and we wanted to see it through.
The reason we got up so early was to watch the sunrise on the beach. We made it just in time for the skies to lighten up, then within ten minutes the sun popped out from behind the clouds. It was so beautiful, I could not help but reflect on God's glory.
And of course we took photos all the way through!
Picture # 77

I'm the one on the far left. What an experience! I fully recommend everyone go watch the sunrise over a beach at least once, it is something truly special.

Zoo Day

We went to the zoo today! I absolutely love going to zoos and aquariums. I always learn something new. And of course while we were there we had to take pictures. I didn't bring my tripod with me, so one of the other girls took this, but I didn't have any opportunities to take a self-portrait today. We've just been going and going, and we are getting up really early tomorrow so I don't want to take one now. But I love this picture and I did set the camera up for it, so I guess the image is half mine?

Picture # 76

Can't wait to see what happens tomorrow!

I love Florida

The Sunshine State has been treating me well. Today has been a real chill day, we had nothing planned except for homework. So I went outside and shot for a while by myself.

Picture # 75

 I am really starting to love this challenge, even though it is start really awkward to talk about it or take pictures in front of people.

All Dolled up

Last night was a girl's night. We were going to the Theatre to see the musical, In The Heights, and we went all out. We didn't get back until after midnight, so I'll be posting two pictures today. But going to see the musical was so worth it! WOW, it was so good. I was most impressed with the choreography, I wish I had just half of the dancing ability that the actors did.

Picture # 74

Yesterday was just all around a blast. Before getting all dolled up for the show, we hit the beach again. But we went to the resort where Victoria's dad works, and he bought us all frozen hot chocolates before heading down to the sand. I was fully in love with that drink. I did not want to finish it, but I couldn't stop sipping at it! We all wanted another one before we left, but didn't have the time. Maybe another day.

The Beach!

I spent most of my day at the beach today. And yes, I got burned. I put on a ton of sunscreen, but stayed to laying down for to long and my back is pretty burnt. Nothing else though, so it's not to bad. We are going again tomorrow I think.
Picture #73

We did NOT mean to match! But we love that we are.

I see Palm Trees!

Yes, we are officially settled in and loving spring break. I've got two pictures to post today!
Picture # 72

Proof that we are in Florida. See the "Bush" Palms? That's what Dawn calls them anyway. So cute.

Picture # 72b

Standing in the ocean! We had a lot of fun with our ten minute run into the water. Then we went on to Victoria's house where her dad had cooked us dinner. Yum!

Spring Break '10, Day One

I was in the car for....about ten hours? Yeah, we left just before one, and pulled in right at eleven. But currently, I am sitting in a house in Florida! One of my good friends from colorguard has two roommates that live in Florida, so we are visiting one tonight who lives in Jacksonville and then we are traveling to the other's house tomorrow.
This is the first break I haven't gone home at all so I'm super stoked. Definitely missing MD though. But if I can't go home, Florida is one of the best places to be.
And the picture today is of the three lovely ladies I am traveling with and I.

Picture #71 "Onward to Adventure!"

There are some many fun things planned for this trip, I don't know how I'm going to limit myself to one picture on here!!!

Phenomenal day!

Mmmmmm....today was such a good day. Even though the weather was awful and my hair frizzed up something fierce, so many great things happened. I had a long meeting with the director of Media House in Egypt, and I fully think that I will be there in the summer. My friend Elizabeth was back in town and I got to see her for a bit, then I went out to eat with my friend Joe where for desert we got this amazing cheese cake, it was ridiculously delicious. It was great catching up with him, we used to be dinner buddies back during freshman year. And we both have a shared love of this show, Chuck. It's such a great show, and we both just stumbled into watching it and were instantly hooked.

Picture # 70 The last dress!

Today was a tough day in front of the camera, but I was also taking this ten minutes before my final mid-term, so I was stressed out. This was my fourth day of wearing a dress to class, and I can honestly say I am going to miss it. I need more dresses! They put me in a very sociable mood. 

Just one more to go

I finished my third mid-term today. It was a lot easier than I expected it to be. But, tomorrow is going to be a ridiculously busy day. :( I don't even know how I am going to remember all that I need to! Oh well.
Anyway, today I shot in my school's media lab with the lighting set-up. I got to try out several different types of poses, and it was definitely interesting. It's an open place, with people walking in and out (one guy was even sleeping in the same room I was shooting, but he was out like a light). I don't have much confidence when it comes to shooting myself in front of other people. But the feedback has been pretty positive.
Picture #69

 I wore another dress today! It has been so fun dressing up this week. And again, I'm posting two pictures because I want to show the variety I was able to do today for this shoot.
Picture # 69b

Please note that I am not acting dead in this picture! Just trying something new.

Second day of mid-term week

Well, I'm pretty sure I aced my second exam. I'm going to be pretty upset if I didn't especially since I thought it was really easy. Anyway, since I'm battling off a cold and am about to head out for dinner, I'm just going to post the two pictures and call it a day!

Picture # 68

 I totally wore another dress. Though this particular dress turned out to be not the best decision since it was colder today and it was threatening to rain. And....I'm posting another picture just because it was I'm feeling emo and this is an emo pic.
Picture # 68b

Hopefully this cold is long gone for spring break!

First mid-term

So many mid-terms! Blah...I am the worst studier in the world, I would much rather be out living life and taking photographs. I had my first one this morning, then I have one every day until spring break.

I have this weird habit of dressing up when I have a major test to take. I believe it helps me to focus, since it's a break from the norm. Anyway, I wore a dress today, and I'll probably wear another one tomorrow. And for the picture today I tried to make the shot more of about the outfit than me. But as you can see, I cut off my head. I didn't mean to...but I had my prime lens (the nifty fifty!) which really forced me to be aware of the space available.

This turned out to be my favorite image and it really does show off my dress.

Picture # 67

A gold star goes to my friend Paul Watson for giving me some great ideas for shooting locations!

The first real spring weather

How appropriate, that right before spring break the weather warms up and gives us wonderful weather. I could not believe that I was overdressed for today. I had a long sleeve shirt layered under a short sleeve and I did not need it. I really should have checked the weather before leaving my dorm, because I wasn't really happy with my outfit. I could have broken out my spring skirts. Oh well.

Anyway, my afternoon class was canceled today I went up into the little garden on campus and got some shots in. I'm posting two of my favorites.

Picture #  66

Picture # 66b

 I definitely want to go back up there again, there were so many awesome things to photograph! I also took some pictures with me behind the camera, the lighting was just to beautiful to pass up.

A family Pic!

Today my parents came to pick up Jessica. It was sad. But they took me out to lunch and brought me spring clothes. So I didn't mind. :) Now I have to buckle down and study, so I just sent a text to my friend Lauren. She suggested going over to her house to do laundry and have some peace and quiet. And I can't get internet at her place so I'm posting now in case I get stuck there late.

Awww...Family love. 

Another sister picture!

It's been great having some one on one time with Jess. She's hanging out with one of her best friends now, so I'm left to my own devices as I wait for her to come back.

This morning we went out for a short hike. It was really chill. We then went to see my school's musical right after this, which was phenomenal!!! Oh man I had the main song stuck in my head all through dinner. It was awesome. I really wish she didn't have to go tomorrow. On the plus side, tomorrow my parents are taking me out for dinner and I get to switch out my clothes for spring break! Definitely ready to switch up my wardrobe. 

My sis and I

I traversed all the way to my younger sister's college to pick her up today. Her spring break just started and it happens to be family weekend at my school where siblings can stay on the hall for free. So she is spending tonight and tomorrow night with me! I've already got tomorrow pretty planned out and I cannot wait to do everything we want to do. I will probably be documenting everything as we go throughout the weekend.

We had just loaded the car and about to get in and go when I cried, "Wait! We must take some pictures!" So we did. My sister is a part of Corps Cadets at her school, and she is applying to be part of the calvary next year. And a tradition they have there is to force the people who are applying to carry a horse-shoe around with them everywhere. In this pic it looks like she is attempting to shoot lasers at me. We had fun.  

Better than intention

Today was such a good day. I was super tired, but today was such a God-filled day, I can't complain. And hopefully I'll make it to bed early tonight, as I have to drive an hour and a half tomorrow to pick up my little sister, then drive back. I'm really, really excited to have her stay the weekend with me as I haven't seen her since January. Her spring break is a week earlier than mine, so she's coming here for the first two days then my parents are taking her the rest of the way home. Should be fun!

I'll be honest, this picture is kind of a fluke. I had a great shot set up, but the tripod I was using slipped down at the last minute. And for some reason, I keep coming back to this shot. I think the clothes work perfectly with the background and it has an interesting composition. I also think that this shot reminds me that sometimes accidents can create a better product than intention.  

Natural Softbox

I love the soft box light. Bounced off a wall or balancing out a harsh light, it can give a person a really nice glow and an almost perfect look. A reflector can also do this the majority of the time, which would also have worked in my title.
Yesterday it was snowing here in Virginia. Today, it was cloudy but no snow. I prefer sunny days just because I love Vitamin D and how much fun you can have out in the sun. But for photography the lighting could not have been more beautiful, because it mimics a soft box. I am so glad I had some free time around four so I could take my shot of the day.

Picture # 61

I love the lighting in this shot!!! Everything just looks so even, almost glowing. And in this picture you can clearly see my eyes, which I love. I don't have very bright eyes, but they are unique. I have two different colors in my eyes. One color, typically blue, is a ring on the outside, where the other color, typically green, is around the inside. Unfortunately, sometimes when people discover this about me they always try to stare right into them, which if I am not really close to the person it freaks me out. And I will tell them this, it is quite the conversation to have.

My creation!

Tonight was the last video shoot that I am involved in for my project, at least until April if I decide to keep going with it.
I had two shoots today, one where I had the main actor playing Basketball with some of his friends and basically working up a sweat. It was a lot of fun, but frustrating at the same time.
See, this is the first time I've ever actually had a script of mine be turned into film and the differences are crazy. I have a great actor for the lead guy, but sometimes (as all of my actors do, I'm not picking on him) he intentionally does something crazy with his lines. And I get the weirdest feeling. Not hatred or anger, but more of like:
 I didn't write my words to be that way, why are you saying them like that?!

Yeah, that's as close to explaining it as I can. Anyway, I will admit, I did not take a picture of myself today. But I did take pictures! Here is one of my production pics.

I'm on set at this point, and I got a shot of my DP, Dan through the lighting. Then half-way through the shoot I passed off my camera to Olivia's (The Awesome Actress!) boyfriend. He said he was not a photographer, but took the camera from me anyways. Here one of the shots he got of me. 

This was the least blurry of me, or I would show more. But he didn't do bad at all. And this is me, acting on camera. While Olivia is "flirting" in the background. It was great. I just can't wait to see the final cut!

Here's to hoping!

Tomorrow is hopefully going to be the day when every last shot is done for the video I am working on now. Instead of there being only two scenes we need to shoot, there are three. And three video shoots in one day can be quite tricky.  But I've got brownies in the oven as I write, and for the guys that show up, it'll be good. 

Anyway, my picture today I took outside in the sunlight!!! It turns out that people think you are really weird when you go around taking pictures of yourself, so I had my friend Jaimy stand close by so I didn't feel too awkward. 

Ok, so it wasn't until after I decided on this picture that I realized it looks like I'm scratching an itch instead of just lounging around. Oh well, I still like the shot setup.