projects & opportunities

The education continues. After a great thanksgiving spent in New Haven School continues to slowly amp up. I needed the thanksgiving break but found myself thinking about assignments due soon after the break and images I would like to create. 

The day before thanksgiving break we got back our phase 1 final assignment. I was rather surprised with a really good pay out. ( We are graded on dollar amounts. When we are given as assignment it is fixed with a dollar amount. Such as $500 or $1000. This gets you in the mode of thinking money and value instead of grade point average. And we all know that a GPA will never pay the bills.) Our phase 1 final was worth $10000. I received $9250  for it. I am pretty pleased with this result. 

But the assignments continue. We are started to focus on two very large markets, Commercial and portrait. (The weather here is starting to cool considerably which is chasing us indoors where a majority of these photos happen) We are photographing reflective metal, glass, and catalog shots in commercial. In portrait we are shooting  lighting patterns and learning posing. The amount of stuff I am learning is lets just say a lot. 

On top of our commercial and portrait assignments. We are learning how to make our own web page, design our own promotional material, an aerial assignment, research for a 10 minuet speech/presentation, and learning the intricacies of retouching. Plus there is always the need to just take pictures, because I need a picture fix. The outside contacts that are starting your network that you need to keep up with. And the ever looming question, Where is this all taking me.

How can I forget! My family. Dishes, laundry, fixing that damn dryer, new tires for the van, landlord issues, bills, helping the kids with homework, hockey practice, and of course this blog.

You know what??? I love it. I would not trade this for anything right now. I know, know, know I am where I need to be.

The new  photos taken in commercial studio and a shot I took while on my aerial assignment. The portrait was taken by one of my fellow students

Peter E

Random

Thinking..... Meatballs really do work in soup.  When you are going for a walk at night and bump into someone you don't know, do you say anything?  Do red and green really make purple? Sometimes when I am driving on a long trip, my hand will just end up in the air. Nose hairs! What's up with that? Can a hyena really break an elephants leg bone? How could da Vinichi write with both hands? What do a farmer and a brain surgeon chit chat about? Is there an end? And When really was the beginning? Don't you ever just want to through a rock in a window?!?! I like snow storms. I have this one particular hair that grows in a rather odd direction on my face. I don't like it. It bothers me. Blog is a gross word!!! Ever milked a cow by hand? Or Burn ants with a magnify glass. Have you ever laid in the grass and stared into the sky to see how far it went? Do you want to go to the Falkland Islands? What do sago caterpillars taste like? 28 is my favorite number. Who got to decide that shit is a swear word??? Leathermans rock! The ? is probably my favorite symbol!

Just want to get off the train sometimes! Bus driver stop the bus! I am getting off. I need a break! This is going to fast. And it is not going where I thought it was. My ticket says Denver but the highway signs read Miami! Explain please!!! I want my money back!

Me and random have a pretty tight relationship. We get along, most of the time. I do have a hard time when random keeps me up at night and wants to talk, talk, talk. We had this awesome time one time though and I was inspired by one word in our conversation. Corners. I am not sure where I am going with it? Just somewhere! Random helps me get through the mundane and boring. What a great friend.

This weeks photo is of an old, long forgotten fence. But not to me! Enjoy your thanksgiving. 

Peter 

Exposed?!?

There has been a slight delay in my blog. I skipped a week. But there is good reason. I shall explain!!!

Two and half weeks ago. We got our final assignment for phase #1. (there are 4 phases in all) For the assignment there were 10 procedures which related to the previous two months of classes. (I won't bore you with the details) We had to have it done Friday the ninth at 8.45 am ready to show in front of the whole school (everybody).  Really rather intimidating. HOLD THIS THOUGHT BECAUSE I AM GOING TO RABBIT TRAIL FOR A Minute................

Have you ever felt naked, exposed and vulnerable Well, when ever I show my work this is how I feel.  OUT THERE!!!!  Here I aM!!!!! I am ALMOST screaming inside with teNSion. Because I really really want you to see what I have been working on and how I have been seeing. But do I really want you to see what I am seeing??? Because then you can see what is happening inside me. And I doN"t KNOw if i want YoU there.  Because I COULD bE  HuRt!!! I Don'T likE BEING hurt. IT Hurts OK!!!!! There is also a big DANGER, DANGER, DANGER, here. The tEnsioN in this vulnerability, can stifle, cripple and even kill creativity. Oh the risk. Oh the TEnSioN. CAn i? WIll i? Do i EVEn wanT to boTheR??? Oh the BATTLe of  being a creative. MayBE, Just MAYbE this whOLe scenario wiLL cauSe moRE creaTivitY. HHHMMMM!!!

So yesterday, (Friday the ninth), there we all sat. In the Auditorium with each other. Staff. Students. Photographers. Having battled through the previous paragraph, knowingly or not, ready to be inspired by our work. Which we all were.  And the experience was as you would expect. Wonderful! Thought provoking! Dangerous! Beautiful! Scary! Sensual! Tense! Happy! 

So as you can see I have a little preoccupied with this whole experience. It is sometimes very difficult for me to communicate what is happening on the inside in a creative sense. I hope this post will do that. To the right is a self portrait that we had to do for the assignment. 

Love you all

Peter

Ever been frustrated by a computer? Or by those that have the "magical" touch on the same machine that will not work for you? Or When you forget to do that "one thing" you were supposed to do running a program? Or if you delete something you didn't really want to?

My thought process is not 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10. Mine thought process is more 4, 7, 1, 8, 9, 2, 5, 3, 10, 6. Well computers aren't like this. So computers and me have a rocky relationship. This past week I deleted some pictures that I were not supposed be deleted. I imported a lot of my digital files improperly and couldn't find them. ( I am becoming fast friends with one of my instructors, who is a computer smarty, because I am always asking questions on how to get out of what I have messed up. ) So, needless to say I am learning a lot about computers. But I think even more importantly I am learning how to think 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9  10. Which when it comes to computers is very necessary.

The photo to the right was taken in the rink where the boys play hockey. 

Here's to a week that will hopefully come with no major computer scares.

Peter E

 

the power of line

Lines

Lines help us see, Lines blind

Lines lead, lines push away

Lines define, lines confuse

Lines break, lines heal

Lines are old, lines are new

Lines are black, lines are white

Lines compose

Lines compare

Lines suggest

Lines fly, dig, sink

Lines speak

Lines die, and lines LIVE.

Kinda obvious what I've been thinking about. When you are taught new things you start to see in a different light. These are just a few adjectives I came up with that I have been thinking about when it comes to seeing lines. All are important to photography. If you start asking yourself, when looking at a photo or if you are just looking,  If the line is comparing? What is it comparing to? If the line dies where does it go? If the line leads where does it take you?

One thought that has come to me while thinking about this; there is a lot of "order" out there, and things are not near as random as they appear. In my own life and life in general.

NYC is a lot fun. We as a class were there this past friday to take in the annual photo expo. To the right is a shot i got while there. Draw some mental lines while "seeing" this week and see where they take you. You might be surprised.  

Peter

The results of hard work are starting to come in. My thoughts on this are mixed... Let me explain.

Learning, relearning and unlearning are very real to me right now. I am learning many things that are brand new to me. I am relearning many things that I new a little about. And I am unlearning some bad habits that I have picked up. Of course I am relating this to photography. But does this sound like life to anyone? Sure does to me!

My work is reflecting all three of these scenarios. And of course I see the glaring mistakes more than I see the good things that are showing up in my work. I am not super satisfied with what I have done to date. Because I know I can do better. So I am at present walking the thin line between, being very hard on myself, and being excited for some of results. (I wish I could show all of you some but can't. So I will tease you with... Stay tuned for a web address announcement.) Ah, those "creative people". I will just say yes to that.

We continue to get lots of assignments. This week we will start to use the large format cameras and start shooting products. We also have to capture "New England Life". A rather broad concept. But a catch comes with it. We are being encouraged to submit our images to photo stock. That means they have to be D___ good.

In other news Joshua Scored his first goal of the season. As the  Franklin County Catamounts destroyed the Holy Name Stars 13 -1. Number 77 scored as he slapped a pass home. Josh recorded 2 points  early this morning. And was quoted as saying "Hey Dad I scored". 

This weeks picture of the week is of my princess. 

Talk to you soon.

Peter

Create vs Technique

Week four just complete....

I have made it through so to speak...

Though, "create vs technique", do compete...

I look forward to the day when they will meet...

On that day, a goal will be of reach, that will be a feat...

Right now "to create" will have to take a seat...

The oft forgotten technique, needs to eat...

Be patient I say, This is not going to be neat!

Oh, the technical stuff....... For most creative people, we struggle with disciplines, technical know how, and numbers.  So the creative side of me is having to take a back seat to all the afore mentioned items. Which, if I really think about it, is really why I came to Hallmark in the first place. Their teaching of the technical is awesome and I am learning  many things that I did not know. Wow.... All my realisations  from last week remain. It is becoming very clear that my technical skill needs to catch up. And I can see it doing that already.

This past week we got several assignments back. I did all right, I guess. None of them were perfect. Deep down this frustrates me. But it gives me room to improve, fix the errors, and fill in the gaps. To the right is an image taken last week. Full of errors and imperfections. But I love it.

So, next time you raise your glass. Raise it for the tension. That we all love and hate.

Peter 

Inspired

Inspiration surrounds me, holds me, captivates me, frustrates me, wakes me, loses me, and shakes me. Being taught "to see" is exciting. Yet, seeing and then translating to film is a another story. 

The building blocks "of seeing", that we are being taught, are extremely crucial to success of my education here at Hallmark. And in the midst of that I am experiencing all these feelings/emotions. Wading through them is ................! (I'll let you fill in the blank because whatever you put there would probably describe it.)

I am waking in the night with ideas for photo's. I am dreaming at night of pictures and me photographing them. I am being surrounded by creative people who are pushing and pulling us in a healthy tension. It is forcing me to think and forcing me to create. None of these things have ever happened to me before. And I am loving it.

This week our assignments included photographing colour, lines and outdoor portraits. We also received our digital backs for our Mamiya 645. To the right is one first images I took with it. 

Yesterday, A photographer  (Michael Yamashita)from National Geographic was here. He has had 3-4 stories published in the Magazine in resent years and is being commissioned by them to do more. He worked on a story about Marco Polo for 2 years. To hear about and see his work was amazing.

So, all in all it has been a great week.

Until next week. Peter

getting in a routine

Routine is starting to set in (and depending on how you are this is good or bad). For me it is good and bad. I don't want to get life in my school to become routine so I forget why I am here. But I do
like some routine because it will keep me sane. Our schedule is far from routine. But my life is starting to fit into that routine (if that makes sense). Enough babel let me tell you what I did this week.
Monday I had 7 classes and got 5 assignments. Four photo shoots and a speech. I was really overwhelmed to say the least. Once Tuesday rolled around it started to make a little more sense why we got them all in one day. Many of our assignments will be done in class where we are given a lot of instruction and help if we want it or need it. And they all build on one another. So, the things we learned in the first assignment will have to be taken in account for second. And so on and so on. Nothing is random although it feels that way sometime. On Tuesday we went to Clark Art Institute in Williamstown Ma (An absolutely stunning drive). There we photographed art and architecture taking into account composition and lighting. We spent all day there and by the end of the day I was done. A very rewarding and stretching day.
Wednesday we had an assignment to shoot regarding Depth of Field. (if you are really interested in what this means e-mail me and I will explain It) I was able to tag along with three other classmates. One of them new of a real sweet spot very close to school. In many of our classes we are required to have people as our subjects so we use each other in our assignments. It kinda forces us to get know one another. I am developing (no pun intended) some real cool relationships.
On the first day of class we were given a "friendly" competition assignment. The topic was "childhood fears". It was not mandatory and no grades are given. The picture I entered is to the right. I will let you guess who it is!
Well, until next week. Here's to studying hard and having your work in on time.
Peter

a new view

I woke early Thursday morning excited and a little nervous. My first day
to use my new camera for an assignment we had just gotten in class. Its
like taking out the brand new car for the first time.
(although the"smell" isn't quite there ) We were going out to a nearby
historic town to try it out.  I didn't have to be there till 9. 
So I had time to take the kids to school. We left a few minuets
before 8. 
(they start at 8, as do I so I don't get to take them to school often) I started the van and there was a no so good noise. I decided
to carefully ignore it. 
The kids got to school fine. But my attempt to get home was not as 
successful. A very loud noise and loss of power steering later, really made me wish my careful ignoring had been more thought through. 
My thinking was this.... "I can not be late to my first day of shooting" 
What am I going to do? 
We don't really know anybody yet that can just drop everything and help us out. A taxi drive, $8.50 and 10 minuets had me back home and on my
way to class. 
Thank the Lord we are in a more rural area. The van was fixed by a real 
nice mechanic before I got back.  But set us back $300. 
One thing that has been drummed into us this past week and a half is to...
 "not be late!".  
No matter what!  
Aside from that, It has been a real good week and I am even more excited
about doing this school. 
We already have 5 assignments, from writing a press release to capturing
 "side light", "front light", and "back light". 
 I will keep you posted on some of my results and where you will be able
 view them.

Other family news includes, Noah and his new set of eyes. He doesn't have 
a site problem, (his eyes are 20/20) but a vision problem. We were able to 
get him to a vision therapist and she said that he uses his whole physical body 
to visualize. 
So his glasses are calming in nature not corrective. He has to go back and 
have vision therapy. 
He is looking very studious which really fits his season of life.

Our week in a nutshell. 
Check in soon
peter 

the begining

So, here I am. My first week at hallmark complete.  
On September 5 , 2007 my journey  began. 
I walked into the building and had to pinch myself.  
It was difficult for me to hold back my emotion.
This really is happening!!! I had to pinch myself.
I remember the my very first photo and when I told myself that photography is what I wanted to do.  I guess it is never to late to get the ball rolling.
My class is composed of 230 people from 41 states and 9 countries. 
Women outnumber the men 2 to 1. We range in age from 16 to 60. 
This is going  to be an interesting time with a lot of information being tossed my way.
This will be my last real free week-end till graduation, on June 20. Officially we start on Monday. My first class is at 8, Intro. digital imaging
So. Why am I blogging this part of my life? Partly selfish. ( so I don't have e-mail all of you that are interested, Because I will not have time) and it will be a good way for me to track my own progress. I am going to try to do this once a week and I will try to post a picture of the week. So, enjoy the journey with me and I look forward to your coments.
Peter E