WEEKS FOUR AND FIVE DAILY CREATES IN REVIEW: Focus on Photography

I can be a bit dramatic, I admit. I’m enthusiastic! But our class challenge to shoot a daily create every day for two weeks was MADDENING. Despite how much I loved every photo assignment, I wanted to spend way more than 15-20 minutes on each assignment. I don’t know which was harder, knowing when to quit, or when not to.  You see, I was a skeptic. I didn’t believe a class with so many fun activities could actually be so overwhelming. But I’ve figured it out. It’s because I actually want to do the work, I want to spend hours editing photos and thinking of creative ways to tell a story with art. Especially since my skills, in comparison with my classmates (which I shouldn’t do, for the sake of my pride) needs as much practice as I can get. So let me walk you through 14 days of “daily creates”.

Monday, 2/6/12 – Take a picture upside down:

The university library was finally able to inspire me. I love the lines in the lights and ceiling tiles with the converging lines of the book shelves. The grid reminds me of Tron, hence the name of the photo, “Tron-iversity”.

Tuesday 2/7/12 – Take a photo of where you lose things in your house:

The abyss of my junk-drawer: an epic failure of organized chaos. I used depth-of-field to draw attention to the contents of the extending drawer and the angle to make the lines draw you in (don’t get lost!).

Wednesday 2/8/12 – Take a picture of your happiest or most memorable moment:

This subject matter was easy. Nothing has been more memorable or made me happier than being a mother to my three kids. But lately, these moments of stillness and rest are so rare and therefore, especially priceless.

Thursday 2/9/12 – Create a photo that represents something you aspire to be or do:

It’s no secret that I have big aspirations. Not many families feel they could travel the world with their kids, and I’m guessing even fewer single parents. But with the combination of technology, strong will, and grace I hope to make that my career and a unique opportunity for my children to learn about being part of the global community.

Friday 2/10/12 – Take a photo that represents confusion:

My daughter actually took this picture of herself using my webcam when she didn’t think I was looking. She has a whole file on here of funny pictures she took of herself using various affects and filters of the webcam software. I added in the coloration for an even more confusing vibe.

Saturday 2/11/12 – Take a picture that emphasizes the human hand:

By pixelating the picture into exaggerated dots, I depersonalize the hand, thus emphasizing its common humanity. I’m such a bleeding heart, aren’t I? Plus you’ve seen this affect before (hint: logo banner at the top of the page).

Sunday 2/12/12 – Take a picture of someone’s tattoo:

While I love the art and admire the courage and commitment of tattoo-wearers, I lack both attributes. Here I took this photo of my brother Ramsey’s most recent tattoo and used a color splash technique to isolate the design then amplified that color to make it more intense. I titled it “Man on Fire” because of how the affect turned out making his skin look really orange, like its on fire. Then there is the spiritual significance of the design. It represents the Holy Trinity with a Celtic cross at its center. My brother is a man of faith- someone whose fiery passion for Christian ministry is written all over his heart, and now, his arm.

Monday 2/13/12 – Take a picture of food that is either being eaten or served in an unconventional way:

This was as much fun to make as it was to eat. The fact that I’m pretty good with a knife isn’t weird at all, right? I love fresh fruits, and used them as my muse to represent their super-nutrient powers. I used blueberries, raspberries, bananas, kiwis, and pears. Mmm… Nom nom nom.

Tuesday 2/14/12 – Take a picture of a toy in action:

This car sees all types of action… Barbie wars, food fights, crying concerts, wardrobe malfunctions, Bluetooth conferences, speeding tickets, and of course, a file cabinet full of receipts from the many shopping expeditions. I took this picture initially as a 3D picture using my HTC Evo 3D (cell phone). But the effect is lost anywhere but my phone (can we say, gimmick?).

Wednesday 2/15/12 – Take a picture that represents how old you feel:

I admit, at 29 years old, I feel too old to be in undergraduate studies. Mostly because it can be difficult to relate to my peers and for them to relate to me. But this part of my journey is still full of great experiences that I wouldn’t trade, despite the challenges. Plus, I wouldn’t have my DS106′ers that I love so much. *tear* But really, its time to get off the bus, soon.

Thursday 2/16/12 – Take a picture of a bird:

Rain, rain, go away. Birds don’t fly in the rain much, so I had to sit in my thinking chair for this one. As I was driving to the park, I noticed every road sign or community had some sort of bird reference. I found this clever bird perched… I mean painted on a neighborhood entrance. Added some color effects to not make it look like wood. Ta-da! Here’s what it looked like originally:

Friday 2/17/12 – Take a picture of someone else’s art in a way that makes it your own:

I loved this assignment so much, I took a whole rack of pictures trying to find the right one. This is the one I decided on, because I love the inspiration of it and the way it fits in with my blog theme (hello self empowerment). But I equally loved the shots I took of my daughter’s artwork as well because I played with angles, textures, and materials. So here they are as well:
         
       

Saturday 2/18/12 – Take a picture of your most prized possession:

Most prized possession? My Life (thanks Mom & Dad). After all, you only get one (better do something meaningful with it). Faith, family, home, sanity- all these things were high on my list of prized “possessions”. But first and foremost, I am thankful I am alive and well to enjoy them. You could add how fortunate I am to be born and raised in the U.S.A. where I have liberties that many others in the world do not.

Sunday 2/19/12 – Take a photo that represents your current job or one you had previously:

I created this meme for today’s daily create assignment after a weekend of full web culture immersion (see design assignments) and partial success balancing the above mentioned roles, i thought it would be fitting… feel free to share/pin/tweet/like.

As Week Five comes to a close (holy crap, time flies!) I’m finding some patterns in the things I like to create with and from. I love textures, contrast, exaggerated color (or lack thereof), odd angles and lines, and personal subject matter.  Since I spend a lot of time indoors, at home with the new baby and my preschooler, I have to get really creative to think of what to use for my subject matter besides my kids. After all, I’m not around other adults much, except DJ Lance Rock from Yo Gabba Gabba. Le sigh… Did I mention I aspire to be a young vibrant woman again and not just a mommy-bot? Enough with the violins. Back to art! This challenge of two weeks of all-inclusive daily creates was inspiring, fun, and exhausting. And I think I should give myself credit for some pretty good phone photography, as they were all taken with my cell phone camera. Looking forward to your comments, constructive criticism and cheer-leading below.

Want to join the madness? Check out today’s daily create assignment and see what others have submitted, or submit one yourself! Just go to http://tdc.ds106.us/