Student Report# It doesn't matter anymore

What did you accomplish in the last week?
I can't say I've accomplished anything this week. It's been rough.

What problems did you encounter this week?
Personal problems.

What do you plan to do and/or accomplish in the next week?
In the next week, we have to design our logo for AP, and as such, I will hopefully be able to design my business card.

What provided you with satisfaction this week?
Pretty much nothing. Although, I got to include the name of a very important person in my hallway piece. Not much. I just figured that if "I" am going to be in this school for a while after I graduate, I would like to have a little piece of her here with me.

What were you unhappy or dissatisfied with this past week?
Not being able to concentrate on any of my work.    

First Photoshoot in a While

So today, after school, I'm going to have a photo shoot with my friend, Nicole Abelove. She's one of my favorite models to work with because we are very comfortable with each other. And through my little bit of experience with working with models, comfort is a big deal. I can't explain how hard it is to work with models who you don't personally feel comfortable with.

• Miranda- The first person I worked with. My friend, Kim, was designing clothes for the schools fashion show, and had asked Miranda to model for her. She was originally going to take the photos herself, but since I happened to be around, she figured I would take the photos and she would direct Miranda. Looking at the photos now, they really were not that great; maybe 5 total that I personally liked, but regardless, it was the fact that it got me started.
• Lauren/Haley- My ex's neighbor Amy was the first to hire me to take photos. Sadly, it was photos of her two children, Lauren and Haley. Cute kids, but I feel awkward directing them. I feel like it's not my place to order them around. This is how I feel about all kids, such as my step-mom's cousin's daughter. She's 8 (I think), but she's a child who is just not fun for me to be around.
• Kevin- The first guy I worked with, and was honestly the easiest. We picked a location, he had outfits, he brought a prop (his guitar) and we just went. Even though we weren't personal friends, he could tell me what he wanted in the photos, which gave me a guideline of sorts/boundaries in which I was free to work with. I loved that. Having all of the control puts too much pressure on me, and then I panic, and then it's just bad times for everyone.
• Lauren (Lawr)- A good friend of mine, who is very confident in front of the camera. Working with her is a dream, because she has range. I've noticed that some models, not just ones I've personally worked with but in general, tend to have their go-to pose, or the blank/pissed off face. I don't particularly like that, at all. Lawr, on the other hand, can go from angry pissed off to flirty/seductive to happy/bubbly. And she takes direction very well. Writing this has just made me want to set up another shoot with her.
• Nicole- Working with Nicole is fun. There is no pressure to get good shots. After our first shoot, there was only one that we both truly loved, and it happened completely on accident. The rest of the shoot was just us messing around, and it was such a great experience to be able to take photos without any pressure. And today, we are having another photo shoot. This one is going to be a bit more racy, I guess, and initially I'll try to be professional, but knowing the two of us, we'll be joking about the entire situation and just having fun again within a few minutes.

I kind of lost track of where exactly I was going with this, but basically:

I'm excited.

Student Report# The one after the last.

What did you accomplish in the last week?
In the last week, I've started uploading my AP portfolio. Two weeks and 200+ points off later, but at least it's going. And as per AP art, I've started the first clone photo I've done in months.

What problems did you encounter this week?
My review. If I had any other problems, they have been pushed to the side by my review.

What do you plan to do and/or accomplish in the next week?
In this week, I want to finish my hallway piece as soon as I can and replace a photo in my Concentration.

What provided you with satisfaction this week?
The positive feedback I got for my hallway piece made me pretty happy. It's good to know that my personal mark on this school will hopefully get a decent grade.

What were you unhappy or dissatisfied with this past week?
The review. Forever and always, this review.    

I Hate This Review. So Much.

Between getting my AP work together, (trying to) start my online class, and posing for Alyssa, I have had next to no time to do this damn review.

• It litterally took me two hours to label each photo I took with the band members who are in it. I understand that not every band is going to have a website or a facebook page; I would love it, cause that would make life so much easier, but I get that it won't happen. However, for the bands who do have pages, why can't you have either each member with their instrument or a group photo with each member labeled? Is that really so difficult? Seriously, come on.
• Also, as a whole, I really don't like it when bands drop out of shows. Again, I understand that stuff happens, considering quite a few bands I'm friends with have done that before, but still! The way Talent Farm works is, when you pay to get in, you get a wrist band that has every band (in order) who is playing that night. Now, when bands drop out, and you don't actually know who the bands are, it messes up who you think is playing. This makes my job much more difficult.
• Also, when bands suck. Not that I personally care, but this one band said "Hey, we've only practiced twice before, we don't know what we're doing... MIAMI HARDCORE!" and started playing. They were okay, but it's hard for me to write about it.

So yeah, I hate this show, and I honestly regret doing it. But now I don't even care if I get paid or not, I just want to no longer have this review looming over my head. If I miss another show, that looks pretty bad. This really is a great deal for me, being able to get into shows without spending any money, and I really don't want to lose this.


I'm just never going to cover a show without prior knowledge of the bands themselves. That was incredibly stupid.

Tired. Sore. Dissapointed.

Last night was my first show at Talent Farm for OutLoud and to be completely and brutally honest...

It sucked.

Hard.

It's not that the music was bad or anything, I actually thoroughly enjoyed having a change of pace from my usual upbeat Ska to the Hardcore that was assaulting my eardrums, but a HUGE part of the fun I have at shows, at Talent Farm or Solid Sounds especially, is that I get to take hundreds of photos of the bands and the crowd as well.

This was not the case last night. I was already pissed off because after biking from Davie to my house, to my dads in North Lakes, back  to my house, and then hauling ass to Talent Farm to make it there by six,  I find out that there is next to no one there, and the show didn't start for another hour and a half (time I could have spent for homework). But you know what? Fine. Talent Farm is never on time, but I'll deal with it. Even if I'm tired as hell.

But oh wait, there's more.

During the last song of the opening band, the memory card randomly wiped everything like it has before. And with that, 100+ photos that I hadn't been able to put onto my laptop are now gone. Of those, there were 5 or 6 that I wanted to use for my personal project, but oh well. I guess I just wasn't meant to have those. It's not like there was an entire 90 minutes I spent by myself, bored to tears, waiting for this damn show to start that I could have been using to back everything up. Oh. Wait. There was.

At this point, the show is in full swing. Litterally. At hardcore shows, the method of dance is primarily to swing your limbs as hard and fast as possible, with little to no care of who the hell is around you. Even if I wasn't the youngest one there, the smallest one there, the weakest one there, I still had to take care of my camera. And I can't exactly hold my own against huge pissed off men. So that made taking quality photos all but impossible to do. If I didn't have people flying between my camera and the bands (all of whom decided "let's set up on the floor guys! Give the crowd as little room as possible!") I had to worry about fists and feet swinging at me from my blind spots. Several times I could hear the woosh of air pass inches from my head, and with none of my friends there to look out for me, I was honestly terrified.

So not only am I incredibly dissapointed with my photos, as far as writing the review for the magazine, I don't know what I'm going to do. The band's didn't play in the original line-up, I'm pretty sure one band didn't go on at all, and I doubt any of them have web pages for me to check out the band members and what they play (the information I need to label each photo with).

And on top of the astronomical amount of SUCK that was my night, it just wouldn't be finished unless I had to ride my bike for 40 minutes in the dark through near abandoned, poorly lit streets in Pembroke Pines and Southwest Ranches, scared that I'm going to get mugged and/or killed.

So yea, I need money and I need to build up my portfolio, but I refuse to do shows for bands I don't personally like. $20 bucks is incredibly not worth it.

Student Report # I can't remember

What did you accomplish in the last week?
In the last week, my major accomplishment was getting my breadth and concentration together.

What problems did you encounter this week?
As far as WISE is concerned, I didn't really have any problems. 

What do you plan to do and/or accomplish in the next week?
In the next week, I want to start working on getting an official portfolio together. I don't expect to be "done" soon, but I hope to get the bulk of it going.  


What provided you with satisfaction this week?
Critique for AP art was very satisfactory, seeing as how I now have a Concentration that would actually work.

What were you unhappy or dissatisfied with this past week?
I have nothing to be dissatisfied with, I just wish I had gotten more blogs done like I had planned. But I do hope to get back into blogging cause even when the year is over, I want to keep it going.

It's Been A While

My dear blog, I have been neglecting you, and for that, I am terribly sorry.

I wish I could go over everything that happened, but sadly my memory can't handle every awesome detail. But here are some of the highlights.

• I was published again! OutLoud published my review for Streetlight Manifesto, and I got my check and three copies in the mail.  I realized how much my editors can change what I've written; one line in particular was given different punctuation which drastically changed the infliction I was trying to give. I am not exactly "proud" of this review, and only two of my photos were put in the magazine, but on principle alone, it's still pretty awesome.
• My laptop is in recovery. Afraid to have it on for extended periods of time, I'm trying to backup all of my important files first. Right now, I'm backing up music files onto CDs, and next will be photos that I haven't already uploaded to Facebook. Whenever I get a steady paying job, I intend on buying a new laptop. Hopefully it will be before my current one crashes completely and will make the file transfer process much easier. Possibly.
• Before my laptop initially crashed, I was at a concert where I discovered how to do my Ghost photos that I mentioned in an earlier post. Not only have I recovered those photos (and finally sent them to the respective bands) but at a show on Sunday, I discovered how exactly I got that effect. I am now proud to say I have started my 3rd(?) series of photos, which I have already titled "Ghosts from the Pit." I am very, very glad to have that again.
• One last major point: I now have a Breadth AND Concentration. Between my AP backup, already printed out ex-concentration pieces, and new photos, I have been able to recreate my Breadth which is to be uploaded early next week. And as far as my Concentration, I am actually ecstatic. My original idea was fun, but not visually cohesive and had no progression. But now, I've been told that due to my controlled lighting and tendency to favor the right side of the frame, my photos are cohessive, I have found Visual Voice, and there is some progression.

I have quite honestly pulled an entire year of AP work out of my... Hat. ^-^

Student Report# I have no idea.

What did you accomplish in the last week?
In the past week, I've worked on my personal project, having taken a few old photos from Facebook, and editing them to fit the theme. I've also started a third series, this time fully in black and white.

What problems did you encounter this week? 
Having to take my AP art exam knowing I lost my updated breadth, never did a concentration book due to ever changing ideas, and not having a solid set of photos to use for my concentration.


What do you plan to do and/or accomplish in the next week?
In the next week, I'm not entirely sure what is going to happen. A show Sunday, and a few days off in which I can go places and take my portraits. I just have to decide whether or not I can actually go through with it.

What provided you with satisfaction this week?
Starting my B&W series made me pretty happy, but that is more or less the extent of my artistic satisfaction.

What were you unhappy or dissatisfied with this past week?
I am extremely unhappy with AP. All my work and potential to have a portfolio I am proud of has gone down the drain with little chance at being rescued, and it has just now truly hit me.   

Student Report# Something or another.

What did you accomplish in the last week?
Considering what has happened concerning my computer, external hardrive, and school computer, virtually nothing. But, I did start one new series of photos that I have been wanting to start for weeks now, and one other joke set that has yet to be announced.

What problems did you encounter this week?
Technology hates me. My external hard drive is busted, my school laptop with my entire Breadth crashed, and my personal laptop is now in this state of Limbo, where it turns on for a wee bit of time, and then proceeds to shut off again. I have stopped attempting to turn it on for fear that it makes the problem worse.

What do you plan to do and/or accomplish in the next week?
A goal I have recently given myself is to go up to complete strangers, and ask them to pose for a few photos. I don't have much hope for the photos coming out amazingly, but just to let go of my anti-socialism and approach someone will be a humongous success for me.

What provided you with satisfaction this week?
Starting my new series is more or less the highlight of my week.  Whether or not I can use this series for my Third concentration, I still don't know. But I'm glad I just got it going.

What were you unhappy or dissatisfied with this past week?
I am unhappy with technology. Incredibly unhappy. It needs to not die around me.    

Thank You, Clay Enos.

As of late, I've been having a bad time with things. Not only with my photography, but just in general. So, despite my better judgement, I dedicated an afternoon solely to MyModernMet. I looked at 20 or so sets of photos. Watched a couple of artsy videos (Like Tick Tock from a few entries ago) and a few How-To's. One in particular was a how-to on Street Portraiture.

And I was completely blown away.

Clay Enos, who took photos for Watchmen and Sucker Punch, was litterally stopping complete and total strangers on the street, and asking them to pose for a few photos. All he had was a Nikon (forgot what model it was), a 50 mm lens, and a white backdrop. He found a corner of a building that was completely in the shade, taped up the backdrop, and started shooting. And they came out amazing! Obviously if he's taking photos for movies and having videos dedicated to what he does put up on one of my favorite sites, he mus be pretty talented. But the photos are so simple, and in that simplicity, even better.

I have always been caught up in having the proper lighting, planning on getting a lighting kit with umbrellas and reflectors and all that jazz. But just yesterday, I had a photoshoot with Brittney R. for her own WISE project and she brought a light kit from TV production. It was terrible! Absolutely terrible! First off, getting the lights to cooperate was a challenge, figuring out how I would set them up. Then I couldn't find the right settings on my camera to compensate for the orange light bulbs (i forget what type of light bulb that is, and will probably correct this when I find out). I ended up shutting off the lights and just using my flash. And on top of that, I realised just how hard it is for me to give my models any kind of direction whatsoever. She liked a few, but I didn't hear the kind of enthusiasm that is generally reward enough for any of my photos.

I think that's why it's so hard for me to charge bands I've been shooting for the better part of a year to get the photos I would have taken anyway. The kids in the ska scene in particular are just so psyched to see my pictures and I've received such praise from them,  it kills when I don't put up photos for them to enjoy.

But, having gone way off topic, I digress.

Thanks to Clay, I've been inspired to get back to what are essentially the roots of my photographic ability. What really made me take up photography as a hobby was taking photos of my friends. And now, after much too long, I have returned. Having looked through near hundreds of photographer's portfolio's, I'm starting to get a better idea of how they developed their "Voice," what makes a viewer instantly know that it is their work.

Now, I don't have something completely new and entirely my own, but I've started with editing my portraits a bit; lowering the saturation and increasing the contrast to make them stand a part from just regular snap shots. It isn't much, but I still think its a much needed step in the right direction, away from being "the artistic mute." Hopefully something will happen with my rapidly increasing series of Subdued Shots, but frankly only time will tell. I just can't over think it like I do with every other aspect of anything to ever exist ever. That leads to frustration, from frustration to anger, anger to hatred, and eventually I hit the dark side.

I completely botched that Star Wars quote. Beg I forgiveness, Yoda.

I Feel Numb

Saturday the 19th was a very rough day. Some personal stuff happened and I had to leave hanging out with my little sister to go to Talent Farm for a show. First off, I biked from Ikea there in an hour, leaving me exhausted, just to find out that they pushed the show back another half hour.

So I'm tired, pissed off, and personal stuff. And then Sydney E shows up and asks if I'm taking pictures for the bands. I am, so she talks to her band mate and agrees that they might be up to paying me for their set.

The first band to legitimately agree to pay me for a show. I paid close attention to them and tried to get as many shots as I could.

Then some more personal stuff walked through the door and tap me on the shoulder.

The three of the other bands I have listened to before -King Rooster, Enrique's Revenge, and Reverie- and I knew they weren't planning on paying me for my photos. So this gave me the perfect opportunity to mess around and get really creative.

• Use my telephoto add-on lens with my 18-70 lens instead of just the 50mm. If used one way, it created a gentle vignette effect, which was pretty fun on the spot. But if used another way, and probably with a large file instead of medium, it would create a fish-eye effect. I have always liked how fish-eye photos come out, thinking they could lead to some pretty interesting portraits and proportion-play, but not enough to ever want to invest in a fish-eye lens. But now I have the DIY version. 
• Slow down my shutter speed and prop myself/camera up against a wall or my knee. When I took the photo, it stayed open for a few seconds, and after it was done processing, I would see a still stage and background, but actually have the motion of the crowd moving. Which would have been perfect for my AP concentration

 I played around with different flash settings which created two very interesting effects.

• One was that with the flashing multi-colored lights in the venue, I would have a "normal" version of someone in their starting position, and then multi-colored lines of the motion they made in the two seconds after. Instead of the blur lines showing where the person was, the lines showed where they were going.
• The second, which I discovered first, was what called "The Ring" effect by a friend of mine on the spot. I never saw the movie, but the best way I could visually describe it is with Back to the Future. When McFly is looking at the photo of him and his family, and they are slowly fading away leaving the background. Thats what I accidentally re-created. If I had to guess what exactly happened, I would have to say that my flash caught what was happening in that second, but things that were moving faster then the bulk slowly faded out because they were too fast. (ex: the legs of my friend Ben as he was swung about by Sam, a big, big man). I plan on re-re-creating the effects of this one in my studio if I can, and if not, at the next small venue show I go to.

After the show was over, the other band I didn't know, They Cage The Animals, came up to me and asked to see my photos I took of their set. I only took 70 photos of them, most of which were too blurry. But they still paid me $20 bucks on the spot for them. They gave me an email, and I ended the night on a high note.

Cut to Sunday night. I'm tired from AIDS Walk, mentally fried for a lot of personal stuff, and just trying to work on my photos from the night before for my Concentration/Personal Portfolio.

That is when my laptop decided to overheat. And crash.

I haven't been able to backup the majority of my personal photos, along with all the work I had done over the break. So I'll just list everything I probably lost for good.

1. Thousands of photos from my Sophmore and Junior years, and a couple hundred from my Senior Year.
2. My essay for the UCF application that I'm only doing to make my sister happy, not actually thinking I'm going to be able to go anyway.
3. My AP Concentration commentary.
4. My personal portfolio. From near a million photos I've taken in my short life, I had narrowed it down to a couple hundred which I was still in the process of narrowing further.
5. A couple hundred studio self-portrait shots I had done to practice different lighting effects.
6. Three AP Concentration pieces that I had been editing in photoshop.
7. The photos of the only two bands willing to actually pay me for my work. I am now going to have to refund TCTA if I am not able to recover the files. 
8. The photos I had set aside to be used for my WISE preview video. 
9. The will to continue AP Art (again) and pursue photography as a career. Just as I start to backup photos I'm getting paid for, my laptop crashes. If that isn't a sign that maybe this isn't for me, I don't know what is.

This morning, I actually had a 5 minute fight with myself as to whether or not I should bother bringing my camera to school.

I did, but only cause I have a reputation to uphold.

Not Too Deep

<object width="640" height="390"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/ZiRHyzjb5SI&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&version=3%22%3E%3C/param%3E%3Cparam name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/ZiRHyzjb5SI&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&version=3" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="640" height="390"></embed></object>

 <iframe title="YouTube video player" width="640" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/pOVNNlRjJfI" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Just too videos that made me think. And almost cry. In the middle of the library. When I should be doing my work.

the song to the second video "Anthem" by Emancipator

Student Report #6

What did you accomplish in the last week?
In this last week, I did some minor practice stuff but my biggest accomplishment was covering the Streetlight Manifesto concert. Over 700 photos were taken, a good portion I know to be at least decent.

What problems did you encounter this week?
I didn't encounter any problems this week aside from problems with getting the right settings during the Children of Eden play.

What do you plan to do and/or accomplish in the next week?
In the next week/over Spring Break I have to edit/sort all of my photos and write my review by Monday. But tomorrow, I am going to RenFest with my little sister and hopefully taking a couple hundred photos.

What provided you with satisfaction this week?
Streetlight Manifesto and finally accomplishing one of my biggest dreams.

What were you unhappy or dissatisfied with this past week?
I was extremely dissatisfied with my Children of Eden photos. Of the photos I took, very few of them are even worth sharing.    

Still Mind Blown

Last night was the night I've needed since my accident 7-8 weeks ago. Before I continue any further, I would just like to point out that there truly are no words that can accurately describe how incredibly happy I was nor how I am still high off of a Ska induced euphoria. (Note: I was not actually high, nor have I ever been. But this was the closest to that splendid bliss I have ever experienced. Ever. And I loved it.)


While leaving school early to go eat lunch at POC with Connor was a definite high point of my week, covering Streetlight Manifesto at Culture Room is quite possibly the best thing to have happened in all of 2011 (so far). As I write this, I am honestly still in shock that I was actually there. I still have to write my actual review for the show and edit/sort my photos from the over 700 taken (for three bands only) but I want to include some of my highlights.

• First off, Larry and His Flask. Quite possibly one of my new favorite bands to photograph ever. There is an ungodly amount of energy in this group, specifically in the Upright Bass player, who honestly plays like a man possessed. It was beautiful to watch.
• Sam Gallerstein. During one of the first few songs of Streetlight Manifesto, I ran into my friends from Enrique's Revenge. The trumpet player, Sam, helped me fulfill one of my biggest dreams. Ever since SkaFest 2010, I have always dreamed of being that one photographer crazy enough to get lifted above the crowd to take photos of the Headliner. Sam, the huge man he is, throws me onto his shoulder (despite my hesitance) and just holds me above everyone. It took a second for me to collect myself and actually start taking photos, but it was breathtaking. And even though I had security more or less tear me off of his shoulder, those two minutes were absolutely amazing. It didn't stop there. The majority of the set, Sam was at my back, helping me take photos. Pushing people out of the way so I can get a shot, directing my arms as I held the camera far above my head. Just being the most helpful guy I have had the pleasure of knowing.
• Streetlight Manifesto. One of the better known Ska Bands, even by those who don't listen to Ska. And I am getting paid to write a review for them. I am getting paid for the most amazing show I've been to. I am getting paid to be happy. Holy christ... for four hours, life was just Perfect.

I'm actually really having a hard time getting my thoughts together, so I'll stop before I continue babbling. Tonight I'm possibly going to see Children of Eden again, without my camera. But before that, I shall be attempting to sort out my 700+ photos. My worst fear right now is that my memory card will just... Die, more or less. It has a tendancy to mix up all the files and make all of my images virtually impossible to get to. And should I get my photos onto my computer, I will immediately upload them to my external hardrive, even if it takes hours to do so.

Practice FAIL (Late Post)

So, yesterday (3/8/11) was bitter sweet. I re-found two lenses for my mom's old video camera. Old. Old. Old. A telephoto lens and a wide angle lens. They just so happen to fit over my 50mm lens and when held in place, affect how the end photo comes out. Deciding to experiment, I left for Western an hour and a half earlier than I would have in order to give myself time to mess around with the different lenses. I only got about 5 different subjects but ended the trip with 140 photos, 52 of which are of me. And for the most part, I like how my photos came out. They aren't the most artistic pieces, but for quick little snapshots, they aren't that bad.
While that was pretty fun to experiment, my main intention with taking my camera out was to take photos of Children of Eden, as put on by Western High. Last semester, I had taken photos of the one night display of Rocky Horror Picture show, and their drama department loved my photos, so I hoped to do it again this time. And on top of that my "little sister" is in it, and I wanted to be annoying. But while the play was awesome to watch, my photos turned out like crap; to the point where I stopped taking photos before intermission. Over exposed, blurry as hell, etc. etc. Given, the lighting wasn't the best I've ever worked with considering I couldn't use flash, but with my 50mm I could get down to F1.8 and using between 800 and 1600 ISO, I should have been able to got something. I just couldn't find the right settings to use and I just felt extremely disappointed with myself. And what possibly kills more than anything was that Aimee (my best friend/ "little sister") told me afterwards that she could hear my camera shutter and was distracted. I felt absolutely terrible...

I'm Still Livid. (Started 3/7/11-Posted 3/8/11)

This weekend was the Next Big Thing tour at Revolution Live. This was a 12 hour long battle of the bands concert. And the bands that didn't make it into the main venue had a "mini" show down the street at a bar called The (original) Fat Cats. Don't quote me on that, I'm not entirely sure of the bar name.

Now, I could have requested to photograph this show for the magazine, but I'm glad I didn't. I wouldn't have been able to get there when it first started, nor was I able to stay till the show ended. And writing a review for a show that consisted of 20+ bands would have been damn near impossible.

What I am not glad about is that I didn't have my camera. Why would I, Nick Morales, Concert Photographer, not have my camera at this humongous concert, you may ask? Well, months ago, before I joined OutLoud, I had gone to see the ska band Less Than Jake at Culture Room. I had my camera. What I quickly learned is "No Photo Pass, No Camera." I didn't like it, but it's venue rules, I dealt with it.

Now fast forward to two days ago. I'm not covering the show for the magazine, I don't have a photo pass, why bother bringing my camera, right? I go inside and within 10 minutes I found just as many girls with DSLRs and flashes popping left and right. Most of them were using flash and I have a feeling that their flash settings were too strong and just ruined the image. My friend's friend was there taking photos, and I'm sure her photos came out amazing.

I was absolutely furious. I wanted to be mad at the girls. I wanted to be mad at the venue. I wanted to be mad at Sandy.

But it was no one else's fault but my own. I should have done my research on this specific venue instead of just assuming. I could have called or emailed someone. Anything. If I'm going to have this be my career, taking that sort of responsibility comes with the job. It's sucks knowing that I missed hundreds of shots because of my own lack of initiative.

I know better for next time, but that really, really sucks.

It doesn't help that my glasses got broken in the pit and my ankle got tweeked again.

Student Report #5

What did you accomplish in the last week?
In all honesty, what I completed was changing my AP Concentration. While making it work will be difficult, I see myself having a relatively easier time than my previous idea.

What problems did you encounter this week?
Thinking back on the past week, I feel like I just didn't have enough free time to do what I want. I feel like I've just been constantly on the move even though I am pretty sure I haven't been that busy.

What do you plan to do and/or accomplish in the next week?
In the next week, on Wednesday, I will be covering another concert at Culture Room. That is my biggest priority seeing as how that affects my "job," WISE experience, and now my AP Concentration.

What provided you with satisfaction this week?
This week I was glad to have switched my concentration idea. Again, it will be difficult but will hopefully work out in the end.

What were you unhappy or dissatisfied with this past week?
I was unhappy with the amount of work I got done. I changed my idea, but that's pretty much it. Next week will be much more "work."    

Cause I Make Great Life Decisions

Two things have happened.

One. I am using my 50 mm lens again, my first lens. Ever since I received my 18-70 mm lens, I have been nothing less than obsessed with the ability to zoom in on things. This is made all the worse when Connor lets me borrow his 55-200 mm. But it wasn't until the Reel Big Fish concert that I decided to use my 50 mm to handle the low lighting situation, and in turn, fell in love all over again. While my 50 mm forces me to "zoom with my feet," (which in all honesty is a habit I think that most would agree is very important to do) I am able to get a much greater depth of field much easier. I am also capable of getting closer, more detailed shots, primarily portrait shots. I love it.

The second however, is a mixed bag. I've decided to start an entirely new Concentration. In that, absolutely nothing of which I have done for the first 8 weeks of Concentration can be used. Nothing. At first, I was all gung-ho about doing self portraits- "Well... I don't have models. So I'll just use myself! This will be so easy! I do this for fun in my free time!" NO! It is no longer fun! Due to personal problems, my entire plan gets thrown off, and even if original plans had gone perfectly, I still have no visual cohesiveness and apparently, I'm an artistic mute (no personal voice). So even if I wanted to continue with my exploration of Aspects of the Human Personality, I quite litterally cannot. Which is why I went with Concert Photography. Something I'm quite good at, so says a magazine, my friends, and a ska band (Sir Veza) that would like me to take photos of them May 20th, which I am already ecstatic for. The main problem I have with this is producing AP level products; Magazines, Bands, Peers (outside of Art Class), and Myself are all capable of enjoying my work without such harsh criticism. I fear feel that my AP classmates, teacher, and future AP portfolio graders (job tittle is lost on me) will not be so kind. I'm quite sure they won't in fact.

I'll end this right here.

Student Report #4

What did you accomplish in the last week?
In the past week, the bulk of my work has just been practice. No real research aside from the occasional desperate search for inspiration. I covered two different concerts and spent a half hour practicing with using my studio lighting.

What problems did you encounter this week?
I didn't really encounter any problems, aside from the ever growing lack of inspiration.

What do you plan to do and/or accomplish in the next week?
In the next week, I plan to start and possibly finish a mini-series of photos which are of a style I saw that I particularly like. 

What provided you with satisfaction this week?
The most satisfying aspect of this past week was all the praise I received for my work on the two concerts, and all the new fans I got.
  
What were you unhappy or dissatisfied with this past week?
As far as my actual WISE experience, research has left me unhappy. I'm looking at different photos for inspiration, but haven't been looking at the "how-to"s on how to get that type of photo, which is what I would put in the noodletool entry.  

Sitting on my Studio Floor, Defeated.

Lately, I've been walking into my "studio" in an attempt to get some kind of official AP Work done. What ends up happening is me taking a few steps in, looking around, and then laying down on the nearest patch of clear carpet, and just staring up at the ceiling. The sheer weight of how hard I don't feel inspired is enough to literally make me collapse to the ground.

During my time with myself, I tend to think of what I love, and in turn, how it hurts me. So as to avoid getting too personal and to keep my blog related to my actual WISE project, let me just talk about photography.

I truly love Photography, so much so that I have a tendency to capitalize it randomly. At times, it feels like it is another person in my life who I love and care for. I entered AP Art in the hope that I would be able to spend my entire senior year doing exactly what I love, conditioning myself to how I would hope to spend the rest of my life. But much to my dismay, the type of photography I love and am good at does not work with AP Art. A friend of mine recently said on Facebook that "[Nick Morales] is the best I know at capturing the essence of FUN in a single shot."

In no attempt to sound cocky, but that's what I do. I capture moments that will never in a million years, be replicated exactly as it happened. And I try to make them look damn good.

There is no planning.
There are no thumbnails.
There is no changing the image after peers tell me what's wrong with it.

It either works, or it doesn't. It is quite litteraly, do or die photography. And I thrive on that. But I can't make that work for AP. After realizing that my current concentration has hit a dead end, I've been trying desperately to see if I can make my concert photography work, but I can't. It's not even like I can show up with photos from a new concert every week because I don't have the money to go to a concert, every week. And it honestly kills.

I have lost all desire to create Fine Art pieces and to continue my concentration. I just don't feel inspired to work with my very, very limited resources. AP is absolutely, positively, killing me.

"Yay!" for a happy post.

Challenging Myself Pt.2 (Nature/Landscape-Macro-Nude)

My weekly update about photography types. I don't think I'll be able to keep this up the entire semester, but I'll give it a try. Today's update may come off sounding bitter, and for that, I apologize in advance. I don't intend to undermine any one's ability/potential nor damn others for their personal beliefs, some things just aggravate me.

     Nature/Landscape & Macro- Whenever I have friends who pick up my camera, they generally take photos of one of three things immediately: People, Plants/Trees/Foliage/, and close-ups of anything within a 15 foot radius (which I guess can be labeled as macro, or at the very least, attempts at such). I understand that completely, seeing as how that is Exactly what I started off with as well. With my mom's point-and-click in hand, I'd take horrid shots of friends which often came out too damn blurry/had horrible composition. I'd go out after it rained and take macro shots of the water dripping from leaves, or the ripples in a puddle. And you can bet your life that you could easily find me taking photos of that big ol' sunset. I'd get lucky every now and then, but that was just me messing around. Now I have seen some absolutely stunning nature/landscape photos and even more mind-blowing macro shots, but I have grown so used to kids who have high quality DSLRs and take photos of a leaf, set it to black and white, and call it "art." So as to leave my personal rant on teen "photographers" (which will include myself) for another post, let me just say this: Nature/Landscape & Macro photos can be beautiful things, but sadly, I feel they are ruined subjects for me. They can be fun to take occasional photos of, but I can never take it as seriously as I would other types, and therefore don't get as "in to it" as I could.

     Nude- This is an extremely touchy subject, especially as a male -an underage one at that- and affects me on a personal level. For pretty much my entire life, I've been hearing "All men are perverts and just want to have sex and see naked women," etc. etc. and because of this and reasons much too personal for this blog, I've resented having those kinds of thoughts. But as I walk around school, I see literally thousands of young, good-looking women wearing short shorts and tank tops to cope with the weather and/or to be "eye-candy." Needless to say, a guy can only have so much self-control. And it truly is agonizing. Because, while yes, those "guy thoughts" are there, at times I think of nude women in an entirely non-sexual manner. I see them as living, breathing pieces of art. To me nothing can ever compare with the absolute beauty of a woman. And if given the opportunity, I would look over thousands upon thousands of nude photos and simply study each model; every curve, every shadow, every tiny detail. But if I'm caught looking at a nude photo outside of an art room, I'm labeled as yet another horny teenage boy.
     Which brings up a quick comment towards the group who decides what is and is not blocked from school/library Internet users: Nude Photography (or any other media) is NOT Pornography (just as porn is not art). I understand the arguments against allowing it in these locations, but please label them correctly. Seeing Pornography come up as a reason for me not being allowed onto one of my favorites websites during class is infuriating. Nude Art would at least show understanding towards the content. And plus, Nude Art is shorter than Pornography anyways.
     But I digress. To be honest, it just sucks knowing I won't be able to practice this type for a long long while. Even if legality isn't an issue (i.e both my model and I are over 18yrs old) it's not exactly an easy thing to do. I have so many ideas for both AP Art and my own personal self that would require a girl I can work with. It's not exactly like I can approach a girl and ask "Hey, would you mind posing naked for me so I can take photos that I will end up showing to a whole bunch of people?" And say, for instance I had a friend who was at least willing to give it a try, how can I, as a young man who has never done nude photography before, be able to keep the line between Artistic and Pornographic strong?
     One piece I have in mind that would fit in my general AP Art Concentration is Lust/Passion. The main focus of it would be to convey the intimacy between my model and myself, either through a kiss or a variety of other ways. But I can't do it. Why? Because I don't have a girlfriend. I have girls who I feel would at least give the idea a second thought, but I can't direct them to fake that sort of intimacy I need. Pretending to want each other is very easy to tell, I've seen photographers try to fake it. And the one girl who I think that would be comfortable enough to be able to pull off that passion and desire, is not at all comfortable in front of the camera. Even if she was up to it though, all of it, the position, the lighting, etc, I personally wouldn't be able to ask her to do it in the first place. I might forget to keep things professional in front of the camera.

SUCCESS!

So this weekend was more or less nonstop photography. And I am very pleased.

• Saturday- Thanks to a friend of mine, I was able to go to the House Show Spectacular down in Pembroke Pines. The show itself was pretty amazing, though it did have some slow moments. But when King Rooster and the Skandals arrived, I had forgotten about that. And not only was it a fun show, I took so many photos that I am proud of.
• Sunday- I arrived a half hour earlier than the already early time I was asked to arrive at. Abe (an old friend of mine who happened to be co-hosting) asked me to show up at 12 so that I can get in Talent Farm as part of his crew for the Strings for Hope benefit concert. Sadly, not many other people showed up, roughly 30-40, not including the bands themselves. But for those who did come to support the cause, they got a pretty decent show. I personally preffered the ska bands Enrique's Revenge and Sally Mills is Dead (and the cover-ska band Dubious Walrus) because as with most ska bands, the energy in not only the musicians, but the crowd as well was absolutely amazing. And of course, this led to me taking hundreds of photos of the crowd and bands. Between the two shows, I took well over 1000 photos, and was left with roughly 600 that were of a Good or better quality.
• Sunday Night- My ex's birthday party. It was a fun party, but I just could not be bothered to take candid photos. I'm sure it was party because I was just so tired after covering a six hour long show, dancing with my friends, and then biking twice the distance to get to the party. But I fear that I'm also just losing my edge. That desire to get those shots. I see them near constantly, but my camera stays still. It kinda sucks, but I'll live.
• Monday Afternoon- After some down time, I remembered I needed to go take my landscape photos for photo class. I biked out to my little place between US 27 and South Post Rd and knocked them out within a half hour. More relieved to have finished them than anything, I was still happy with some of my images.

Now, I struggle with AP Art. Even if I have the natural talent for general photography, I still lack the

1. Props
2. Locations/Sets
3. Costumes/Outfits
4. Models (who can help me produce the image I want without messing around/feeling awkward)
5. Regular access to Photoshop (which would help in actually completing my pieces)
6. And among other things, the straight up Desire to actual complete my concentration/breadth/time in AP Art.

The last of which is more important than anything. Cause even with amazing time management, all the resources in the world, and knowledge of how to produce Fine Art, one can not just force inspiration.

Forced inspiration -> An idea you don't truly love -> A piece of Decent or lesser quality -> Doubt it one's ability -> Less desire to be Artistic -> Eventual hatred for everything ART.


Basically. Don't force it.

Student Report #3

 UPDATE: I am now mobile! Ryan was able to replace my back tire, and I am now no longer dependent on others for rides. This means in (hopefully) being able to venture off and take photos.


But now for the overview.


What did you accomplish in the last week?
Again, the bulk of my week has been research. I did get some of my practice done when the Cypress Bay drum line played out for the soccer team and in the courtyard, but that wasn't as much as I wanted. But the gov't article that was needed actually let me know where I stood legally as far as taking photos of public places.

What problems did you encounter this week?
This week hasn't really presented any problems. If anything, time management as far as balancing research, field work, and school work. But that's not new. And keeping up with noodle tool entries. I do the research, I just forget to log it.


What do you plan to do and/or accomplish in the next week?
Starting Tuesday, I'm not entirely sure what I want to be doing specifically, but this weekend will be full of practice which is explained in detail in my blog.

What provided you with satisfaction this week?
The most satisfying thing this week was the impromptu shoot of the drum line. I personally love listening to them play, and being friends with them and taking photos of them play is always a pleasure.

What were you unhappy or dissatisfied with this past week?
As far as actual work/research, I'm happy. The only thing I'm unhappy with is my inability to keep track of my research via noodle tools. That's the major issue.    

So Practice...

I'm kind of in a rush, so this won't be a long entry, but I wanted to get it down now before I forget to write about. I'm about to leave the library so I can go meet up with fellow WISE student, Ryan Feller to see if we can finally fix up my back tire (get it replaced.)

But, as I said before, I really want to practice different types of photography. I haven't been able to get much during the week, but this weekend I hope to get a lot in.

• Friday- Having a going away party for my good friend Peter. Watching our friend's soccer game/dinner/movie night. All that jazz. And this seems like an all too amazing time to work on my Street/Candid photography. Awesome.
• Saturday- There is a good chance that I will be going to a house show down Pembroke Pines where a few local bands (most of whom I'm friends with) will be playing. That in itself is Candid/Concert/All Around Fun photography
• Sunday- A friend I've known since the 5th grade is putting on a benefit concert (Strings for Hope) at a local venue (Talent Farm). A while ago he asked me to take photos of the event, and of course, I gladly agreed. Un-needed Concert photography practice: Check. And depending on how my ankle feels, I may bike over to Feller's house for a birthday party for my Ex Girlfriend who is in town to celebrate. Regardless of how the party turns out, that's more practice.

And even today, I managed to get easily a hundred pictures of Cypress Bay's drumline, whom I love dearly.

Practice. Practice. Practice. Not always fun, but I have to admit it is needed.

Challenging Myself Pt.1 (Fine Art-Concert-Street/Candid)

Never entirely sure what I should be doing, I decided to give myself the obvious challenge. To try as many different types of photography as possible. Following is a list of some of the types I'm most interested in and a little piece on my feelings toward it. EDIT: I'll be starting with the types I have the most experience with and end with types I have never done in my life, but really want to.

• Fine Art- Being in AP ART, I have obviously been working on the Fine Art aspect of photography. While, at times, this can be fun to really get creative and produce an image of an event that never actually happened, it is simply not for me. To much pressure to come up with new interesting ideas that are entirely my own. I just can't handle it. Don't misunderstand me, I fully intend to keep creating these pieces for as long as I am physically capable, if for nothing else than my own amusement and to impress my friends. Just, not professionally.
• Concert- As of right now, this is easily my favorite type of photography. To me, this is how I really started spreading my name as a photographer. My first show (aside from a Queen concert when I was very young) was SkaFest 2010. I had gone to see my friend's band, King Rooster, play. At this point, I have been taking photos of everything and anything I could, and wanted to try my hand at capturing the show. And I had one of the single most amazing days of my life. The amount of energy a band puts on, the sheer chaos that is a skank pit at my back, the urge to just shout and dance. All of this captured on my camera. Now given, looking back at my photos of the day, the grand majority came out absolutely horrible. Too blurry, too dark, horrid composition. But the one show got me to go to another ska show, where I made friends with a bunch of the local ska bands. And that led to me going to another ska show, and another, and then a hardcore show, and then several house shows. People are now expecting me to take photos of their shows, and I feel amazing cause of it. Now a days, I work for a South Florida magazine (OutLoud) and can get into concerts for Free. And if I write a review for it, I get paid? How incredible is that? That is textbook definition of the perfect job. Doing what you love more than anything, and getting paid to do it. I haven't been to any local concerts, due in part to my bike still being without a working back tire, but this Sunday, I am covering the Strings for Hope benefit concert that an old friend of mine is putting on at Talent Farm (a venue located in Pembroke Pines). To say I'm unbelievably stoked would be a drastic understatement.
• Street/Candid- When I first got my DSLR (digital single-lens reflex) camera, I took photos of everything. My camera was always wrapped around my torso whenever I left my house, and it still is. So, this ended up in me being the designated "historian" whenever I hung out with my friends, making sure to photograph as many interesting/funny moments. Every now and then, when I uploaded my photos to FaceBook, I got nothing but appreciation and praise for my photos, even if they were a bit embarrassing.  It was then I realized how much I love capturing the true emotion in a moment; no matter how hard you try, you can't just re-enact a moment and expect it to be as amazing as first was. The intensity, the comedy, or just the simple beauty. I fully believe that in every second, there is an amazing photo to be taken, no matter where I am. The only problem is that the photographer may not be in the right position to get that particular shot. Which is why we wait... And wait... And wait... And hope that we happen to be in just the right position to get that amazing shot.

EDIT: Having written only tthree different types, I've decided I'm going to split this up over several different entries. Three different types per entry. But here are some of the types which I will be talking about in the near future.

• Portrait/Glamour/Fashion
• Landscape/Nature
• Sports
• Underwater
  
• Wedding
• Macro
• Nude 

Maybe someday, when I turn out to be a well known/respected photographer, there will be a WISE student (or any young aspiring photographer) who will find this blog and be inspired to try something new or to even stick to and improve one particular form of photography. That would be pretty damn awesome.

Student Report #2

As I'm filling out my student report, I came to the amazing conclusion that these questions would help make for an awesome post on my blog. So I've decided every week (most likely Fridays) I will post my Student Report w/answers as a general recap of the week. If not for my followers, then for my own self. Not much, but this is my first one (to be posted)


What did you accomplish in the last week? 
Not much as far as physical progression. General research, a mentor meeting induced realization that I don't need a physical end product for my WISE experience, and a hope for next week.

What problems did you encounter this week?
No real problems concerning my progress this week. Only in that I want to narrow down my range of research.

What do you plan to do and/or accomplish in the next week?
My major plan for this coming week is to practice. Actually do some "field-work."

What provided you with satisfaction this week?
Winning first place in the Weston Art Show was pretty amazing, and having my mentor compliment me in front of my dad was a big help.

What were you unhappy or dissatisfied with this past week?
I am still unhappy, not really having felt like I accomplished much. I know that doing research will be the bulk of my WISE experience, but I haven't been pushing myself to actually practice different forms, which is important for my progress.    

 

A Bunch Of Links...

...That I really did not want to forget about.

With 4th period off, I decided to go to the library and check some stuff on the computers since I don't have internet at home. By habit, MyModernMet is one of the sites I always go to, just to see if there is anything new on the first Photography page (if you move the mouse over Blogs, a list comes up with several topics, one being Photography, which I normally click). Now, by accident, I just clicked Blogs, which brought up all the recent blogs in each category.

And here are most some of the ones I just found.

• One Dead Tree (20 photos)
• Hands (10 photos)
• Only Seventeen (18 photos)
• Showers (10 photos)
• Surreal Realities (11 Manipulations)
• Mugshots (8 photos)
• Land and Sea (16 photos)
• Animals (22 photos)
• Street Artists (10 Artists)

Not exactly a lot of actual info, just wanted to save it all for future reference.

So...

Doing research wasn't that bad. There really isn't too much I learned, mainly that there are about a hundred different types of photography. Although, in my interview with Ron Glazer, I got a small look into what I can expect that particular line of photography to pan out for me.

But, a site I feel anyone reading over my blog should visit is YayEveryday. It is full of daily updates with various art pieces such as Photography, Street Art, Advertisement, Videos, Animation, and a few others. Even if you aren't a huge art buff, there is a very high chance that you will find something you enjoy.

And through YayEveryday, I found my very own internet oasis. My Modern Metropolis, while it has some other forms, is a photographic wonderland. It honestly has examples of every type of photography, I am sure of it. I've been sifting through it for weeks now (primarily through celebrity photoshoots, which never cease to amaze me) and I know I'm nowhere near done. Whenever I'm really struggling for inspiration, I tend to visit and find something I like. I don't replicate the image, just try to take a particular technique and see if I can mimic/adapt it to my own style.

Hah! Two links in one post. I'm proud of myself.

Real Talk

Just had my first real mentor report with Jenkins today. Showed her the interview with Ron and we talked about my plans and all that jazz. She also read my journal entries. But the main thing is that she helped me realize that I don't need to create something for my WISE project. Use the time to do research for my own self improvement, and in the end, figure out a creative way to display all that in my presentation. So for now, I need to calm down, relax, and just do what I want to do.

Like I said before, I want to learn about the different types of photography, and in turn, find out which is best suited for me. If I could open up my business with my own studio, amazing lighting equipment, and a cute secretary who does some modeling in her down time, that would be amazing. But if my future is to work for a music magazine, taking photos of concerts and writing reviews, then so be it. If that is going to be my lot in life, I'll do what I can to be the best damn Concert photographer in the business. Or maybe I'll go on tour with one of the local bands I regularly cover and become a part of the group who will spend the next thirty years of my life covering the rise, peak, and (hopefully gracefull) fall of the next Great Band. And then make a book and make millions. And if I can find a girl who would make the journey with me, you wouldn't be able to find a man happier than me.

This Isn't Right.

I feel like I'm doing something wrong with my project. Even though it's only the first week, I feel like I am going nowhere. It feels as if I should have my entire project done by now, but I don't even know what my project is. I know I want to do photography and a stop motion film, but I'm not sure how exactly to make that a project.

Research? I want to learn about the different types of photography, all of them. Which of them are done more as a profession and which are more for the weekend photographer, taking pictures in his spare time? What kind of equipment is best for my personal work? Also, I want to learn about the steps in making a stop motion film. How much time setting up a scene + the time taking each photo to get X minutes of footage is my biggest question.

And one big project I've had for my own personal self is to create my very own mobile studio. Lights, stands, tripod, backdrop, reflectors, camera, etc. If I can figure out how to fit all of this in one or two bags that can be carried like a backpack or shoulder bag, I would personally feel extremely accomplished with myself. While I personally feel natural light is the best kind, this isn't always the case. And if I can bring all the equipment I need, it would make life a lot easier.

But, then again, this may already exist.

In which case, I want to make it better.

Well then...

One problem I didn't expect to have was theactual Blog, itself. Hopefully, since it's just starting, I'll have more to talk about as time progresses. But getting into the habit of keeping tabs on what I've been up to is definitely harder than I had first thought.

Last Thursday was the first time I got to sign out and use time specifically for my photography, and it felt amazing.

And Saturday I recieved three copies of the OutLoud magazine in which my article and photos of the Supervillains concert appear along with a check for $20. While it isn't a lot of money, given the fact I was allowed into the show for free and taking photos of this band was in itself, priceless, I would say it isn't a bad deal.

Actually seeing my article gave rise to the possibility of a future as a Photographic Journalist? I plan to stick with OutLoud for a while, and see if I get any better as far as my reviews, and give the idea more thought.

Who knows?

Day One

While yesterday was techincally the first day, I consider today the first day since we now have our IDs and are officially able to leave campus and pursue our project. Today, I did leave campus and went to Chipotle with Connor B. and Alejandro R. and we discussed possible ideas for how to present our projects at the end of the semester. My short videos and examples of my photography. But it depends on how much I get done as far as actual artwork is concerned. It will more than likely change as my project goes on.

Things I am excited for:

1. Gaining more experience in my particular forms of photography. (i.e. Street/Candid, Concert, & Portrait/Glamour)
2. Becoming a more well-rounded photographer.
3. Having time specifically for me to go take photos/practice.
4. Possibly shadowing several local photographers and gaining general knowledge on how to run a photography business.

No as excited for:

1. Research.

Of course, I will do my research, but there's just something about Having to have certain types of resources each week is a bit of a put-off. I want to interview people, I want to do online research, but on my own time. Even that smallest form of a rule is irksome. I don't know, I'll just have to deal with as best I can.