All Things Creative

Merry Christmas

2011-12-25T11:33:00.003-05:00

...and a Happy New Year, everyone :)

Quick update!

2011-09-19T07:56:00.004-04:00

Hey guys! So it's no secret I don't update this blog as often as I should, but I felt the need today to do so! Here's a portrait I took of a local artist, Bob Langston at the 2011 East Coast Surf Championships. He designed both the ECSC poster this year and this skateboard deck he's holding!

You can head HERE to my website to check out the rest of the coverage from it too! Thanks for stopping by :)

Maternity Shoot

2011-06-05T23:35:00.005-04:00

This shoot was particularly special because it turned into an engagement shoot half way through :) Josh proposed to Amelia during the session, which I had known about previously and helped facilitate! It was very romantic :)

We did one session on the beach, and one at a local park with Adrian, Amelia's three year old son.

Enjoy!

A Birthday Present I Made

2011-04-18T17:33:00.006-04:00

My boyfriend's little sister loves dragonflies. I decided to make her a jewelry-type box for her birthday! I had a lot of fun with it. Her favorite colors are dark blue and lime green together. So I painted the box a base color of lime green and wrote her name in cursive with a black paint pen, which was MUCH easier than using a paintbrush. I did some scroll designs too with it, as well as the outline for the winged heart on the very back.

So anyway, thought I might show and tell. Enjoy!

I'm a professional....

2011-04-01T22:23:00.005-04:00

This past Tuesday I photographed the Mid-Atlantic Convenience Stores open house/ribbon cutting ceremony in Richmond, VA. They are the largest Exxon Mobil fuel distributor in the U.S. The mayor of Richmond, Dwight Jones was there, as well as Bob Ukrop if you all have heard of him!

So far my photo has been on the NACS website,

and the Virginia Business website.
I'm so grateful for this opportunity. I know the pictures aren't the most impressive, but it's the sheer fact that I was working and being paid as a professional photographer for a big company that made me so, so proud. I hope you all enjoy! I just had to share :)

Oceana

2011-03-08T20:45:00.003-05:00

Well, now I live right by the NAS Oceana air base, which provides for some great photo opps. More to come...

Roanoke Valley Home Magazine shoot

2011-01-12T23:13:00.004-05:00

And here it is! My first "Showcase Home" for the Roanoke Valley Home Magazine. I photographed the interior of a gorgeous, three story home for the publication. Here's a glimpse of the shoot, that won't run until this coming winter of 2o11 unfortunately :-/

First Wedding done solo

2010-12-13T20:05:00.002-05:00

Selena and Brett were married November 13th, and allowed me to photograph their wedding. They took a chance on me, since I've never actually done a whole wedding by myself. But I think it turned out fabulously!! The two below were my favorites.

To see more, check out their page on my website:
http://jessicasheaphotography.com/galleries/selena-and-brett/

Wedding season

2010-09-27T16:59:00.003-04:00

Hi all!! Check out my first attempts at wedding photography:

http://jessicasheaphotography.com/galleries/weddings/

Let me know what you think :)

Recent events

2010-09-07T11:50:00.004-04:00

Since the vintage market (my last post) I've had a few more articles published with my photos.

Here is the Festival of India, an event I wrote about and photographed:

(you can click to enlarge both)

And here was last week's paper, my front page article and photo of the First Annual WingFest:

(click to enlarge)

A front page picture and feature article

2010-07-28T12:45:00.003-04:00

I tried my hand at writing, and they liked that, too! So here's another front page picture as well as my story behind it.

You can read the article better on the website: http://newsroanoke.com/?p=6613

I landed a front page picture!

2010-06-10T22:34:00.005-04:00

Here's a screenshot of the pdf of my picture of this past weekend's Sidewalk Art Show on the front page of the Roanoke Star-Sentinel (get all that?). I'm rather proud!

Festival in the Park 2010

2010-05-29T16:14:00.005-04:00

Yet another festival to photograph, and it sure didn't disappoint. The event organizers around here never cease to amaze me. Here's a glimpse of the fun, and if you want more check out my flickr page:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jessdodds/

Enjoy!

This shot is from the massive suds area for the kids, brilliant idea.

I'm still deciding if I want to put any up on my website, (www.jessicasheaphotography.com)
So let me know if any of them really stand out to you!

Teaser

2010-05-20T19:03:00.004-04:00

Last night, I photographed the Drew Exposition, a local carnival type event here in Roanoke. Check out my website for more photos!

www.jessicasheaphotography.com

What I've Been Up To Lately...

2010-05-10T16:57:00.016-04:00

Since the creation of my website, I have done four girl's (college) senior portraits, as well as photographed the Strawberry Festival here in Roanoke, VA. Here's a quick glimpse of each shoot, and if you want more, check out my website (www.jessicasheaphotography.com) There's a gallery for senior portraits, and the festival is under Events. Enjoy!

Karlyn (and friends)

Tiffany

Jessica

Amanda

And some favorites from the Strawberry Festival:

My website is officially up and running!

2010-05-02T20:55:00.004-04:00

After months of designing it, my website is finally launched! And here it is, so check it out if you get a chance:

www.jessicasheaphotography.com

Enjoy!

Directory for my writing and drawing

2010-04-27T21:54:00.003-04:00

Just to make them easier to get to, I have compiled all the links to my artwork, stories, and poems, since they tend to get lost among the photos.

Here are some pastels, wire sculptures, and a painting on that cardboard circle that pizza comes on.

Here are some short stories I wrote and illustrated: A Sea Story (which was published in JMU’s publication, Hopscotch), Simon and Hunter, and The Rainbow Fairies.

Here are some sketches with conte, pastels, and pencil.
Here are more pastel and pencil sketches.
And Here is some mixed media.

And Here's some poetry.

My Book Is Complete

2010-04-17T23:52:00.004-04:00

So I changed the title of my book, it's now "Moments in Monochrome" instead of "Fashion in Monochrome." I decided to go with a deeper theme:

Moments in time are moments of beauty, and without color we are all monochrome. We are equally beautiful in black and white, colorblind if only for a moment.

The whole concept was just that, once these moments are converted to black and white, we all share that in common; everyone in front of the lens is the same two colors. Women need to feel beautiful, and this was a sort of tribute to them, no matter what race or ethnicity.

It turned out to be 38 pages, and it's now up on Blurb.com! So check it out :)

My latest project...

2010-04-06T11:21:00.010-04:00

Fashion in Monochrome: the title of my new book I'm going to make (through Blurb.com) for my final portfolio. I made a book through them about a year ago, it was titled Man Made vs Nature, and it turned out extremely well.

So this time, I chose to experiment with fashion photography in high contrast black and white. I'm really excited to see the final project. Here's a glimpse of what I've been doing for the past couple of weeks:

Happy Spring

2010-03-21T21:43:00.010-04:00

Some flowers and such to prepare you for the season to come :)

And I want to give a special thank you to Lexmark Ink Cartridges for featuring my blog on their awards site!!

Snooki pays a visit

2010-03-07T15:28:00.008-05:00

That's right, she came to JMU, her first college stop in her tour. And I was within inches of the 4'9 star of the Jersey Shore, poof included. Haha, just kidding. With the poof she's well above 5 feet tall.

So I got to photograph her for the full hour she was on stage, being "interviewed" by a comedian. If you're wondering what they could possibly talk about for over an hour, the topics included a fist pumping session, an ab contest with 6 members of the audience, a poof-making lesson, and a Q&A session. Oh, it was entertaining. And then, I had access to the meet and greet where I took a picture with her. Fun stuff.

So here's a glimpse of the latest celebrity among us college students; some don't agree with her status, but the people who were there were acting like Cameron Diaz was up on stage. So anyways, either way, I hope you enjoy!

And, if you gotta have more, here are the rest

Enjoy!

Any Corey Smith fans out there?

2010-02-17T23:30:00.007-05:00

'Cuz I photographed his concert. It was pretty sweet, too! As usual, I only got to photograph the first 4 songs, which went by SO fast! But I got some decent shots. Let me know how you think I did under pressure :)

If you'd like to check out the other hundred or so pictures I took, including ones of the opener Bryan Elijah Smith (no relation, haha) then you can go here.

You can also click on each image to enlarge them.

Thanks for stopping by! Enjoy :)

Thanks, Crystal!

2010-02-15T12:25:00.005-05:00

I really appreciate you giving my blog an award :) that's so sweet! I love all my followers, and love the feedback.

So I'm supposed to post 10 things about myself, and then award 10 other blogs. Here goes:

1) I'm left handed, and proud of it
2) I therefore hate math and science type subjects, and stay far away from them
3) I'm graduating in May with honors, Magna Cum Laude!
4) I have an older sister who is my complete opposite, physically and mentally, and we're still learning how to get along :)
5) I pretty much grew up having two adorable chihuahuas, one of which we had to recently put to sleep, RIP Max.
6) I've had a boyfriend for 3 and a half years now, and I can't wait to move into our new apartment!
7) I obviously love photography, and hope to become a successful photojournalist at preferably a magazine
8) I can't decide at the moment what I love more, Mexican or Italian food. Mmm.
9) My favorite color's teal
10) I played soccer for over 10 years, and play intramural here at school.

And now, my list of blogs:
1) Anne Gaal over at Gaal Creative, simply amazing card maker :) she always leaves sweet comments to my posts.
2) Ashley over at the Bung Blog and her fitness blog. She's been following me since the beginning!
3) Simple Woman Solange, who has also left some sweet messages to my posts :)
4) Sheltersky, who always leaves fun words of encouragement :)
5) Highton-Ridley, for his stunning black and white shots and words of wisdom
6) Javier Echaiz, for his absolutely beautiful and exotic photos
7) Julie-Ann Bowden, I'm always fascinated by her heavenly paintings!
8) Olivia, I've watched her photography grow over the past year. Keep it up!
9) Katie B, for being the youngest blogger I've ever met and is quite mature for her age!
10) And last but ABSOLUTELY not least, my dear friend Maggie. She's an incredible writer, check out her stuff.

Snow: the perfect picture opportunity

2010-02-02T18:59:00.006-05:00

We got at least 14 inches of snow this past weekend at home, and I just couldn't resist taking pictures of my boyfriend's family and new puppy, Koda. So everyone, I'd like you to meet Koda, the star of the show!

And his owner, Lindsay :)

She loves him very much...

And so does his uncle Patrick!

Many people think he looks like a wolf, but there's no need to be frightened. He's only 15 weeks old!

The End :)

A Year Later and Still Going Strong!

2010-01-28T12:54:00.004-05:00

Today marks the one year anniversary of starting my blog :) I can't believe it. So I just wanted to thank everyone who reads my blog, for posting your amazing comments, and essentially cheering me on! While I might not post as often as I used to (or would like to) I still make time to update it a few times a month. Soon, I will have my own website too! I'll let you know when that happens. But no worries, my blog will not be forgotten.

So for now, here's to a year of blogging!

Cheers!

A Christmas present I made

2010-01-17T22:06:00.005-05:00

My good friend Lindsay loves dragonflies, so I drew her a mirror image of them and made up a quote to go with it. She loved it!! So I thought I'd share :)

To : mom and dad

2010-01-09T22:00:00.004-05:00

This post is dedicated to my mom and dad, as I go off to finish my last semester of college before graduating in May. Thank you for being there, for helping me chase the horizon, for being my shining sun. For providing me with everything I could ever need, for making me so grateful.

Here's to a new day, and what it may bring :)

It's been a while...

2009-12-28T23:50:00.005-05:00

...So I'll refresh the page with some shots I took of JMU's dance team. Most of them looked better in black and white with the high contrast. I loved the motion of them, even though some were blurry. So hopefully you all enjoy them too! I thought they looked rather peaceful. Let me know which are your favorites!

Third Eye Blind Concert

2009-11-18T20:04:00.005-05:00

Over a month ago I photographed this concert where Blue Sky Reality opened for Third Eye Blind at my school. It was an interesting experience...they would only let me photograph throughout the first 4 songs, which JUST so conveniently was almost pitch black and had hardly any light on the band's face until literally the 4th song. So I was scrambling to get some decent shots during the last (4th) song, where I actually had light, and here's what I came up with in total. They turned out pretty good! (All of them are of Third Eye Blind).

Meet Zoe!

2009-11-03T23:30:00.004-05:00

She's my Mom's new Chihuahua puppy! And is absolutely irresistible, both in appearance and in personality. Hope this brightens your day as much as it did mine :)

Oceana Air Show

2009-10-25T21:45:00.010-04:00

Now talk about a great photo opportunity! These jets and planes were absolutely amazing, and having never attended the show before, I was surprised by the different acts they put on. I have here about 20 of my favorite pictures (out of the 400 I took...) to share with you all. Just know that these pictures can't even begin to illustrate how fantastic this show was.

There were stunt planes, the Blue Angels, the F-15 Strike Eagle, and of course, the Shockwave Jet Truck that has three jet engines attached to the back. Ridiculous.

Enjoy!

Isn't this kid adorable?! I couldn't resist getting some people shots

This guy actually stood on the top of the yellow plane and then latched onto the helicopter and held on all the way until it landed.

It was SOO cold!!

The Blue Angels actually fly so close together you can barely tell there's more than one

Fall Foliage

2009-10-16T20:57:00.004-04:00

Despite seeming like winter, fall is somewhat evident. Most trees really don't know what to do, half of them are still green, half completely bare. So here's a glimpse of fall where I live :)

Deliciousness

2009-10-07T23:30:00.005-04:00

I decided this post was going to make your mouth water. Don't hate me, I'm just trying to show you my most delicious work! haha. Let me know if it works...

Campus Events: Crazy Commons

2009-10-03T15:25:00.005-04:00

Every so often, about twice a month or so, a club on campus organizes "Crazy Commons" where there's free food, games, and other fun things from 10 am-2 pm at the center of campus where there's a lot of activity.

There was free cotton candy, popcorn, inflatable ski ball, basketball, and corn hole. Plus Crush the Can and that rubber ducky game. Here are a few shots from last week's Crazy Commons:

Thank you, Megha!!

2009-09-27T17:37:00.011-04:00

This is what I received from Megha Chhatbar, an amazingly multi-talented woman!!

Unseen Rajasthan Award. This award is given by a very talented and ardent traveler Mr. Bharat to all great blogs in terms of photography and writing. He has a wonderful blog which shows all the unseen aspects of not only Rajasthan but also of India. Please do check his work here.

The rules to pass on this award:

A) Pass The Award to 10 Bloggers and Link Back Unseen Rajasthan.(Right Click on the Link and Select Copy Link).

B) Mention Why you Like the Blog that has given you the Award.

C) Those blogs which have received this award will have to collect the Award from sidebar of Unseen Rajasthan Blog.

D) Apply the Award on the Blog.

Since I don't have a whole lot of followers, especially ones that feature photography, I'm just going to give 5 the award:

1) Joel Mackenzie at The Photos I Take

2) Ninth Sunn --amazing photography from around the world!

3) Kimberly at Burning Desire

4) Bordershot

5) Michael at Chase Images

sorry if I missed anyone, I'm so tight on time nowadays, but I wanted to get this posted!! You know you are all amazing :) Keep takin' those photos!!

PS--> I just wanted to mention that I wanted to nominate Patty, but I figured she already had one from Megha. Just thought I'd specially mention that :)

Fall Harvest

2009-09-18T15:09:00.003-04:00

Props to Farmer's Markets and locally grown produce!!

Football season's approaching...

2009-09-09T19:02:00.006-04:00

...so of course, I'm psyched to take some action shots. You know me and my sports. This assignment's for my school newspaper, and let me tell you it was quite a feat finally getting to the right location. You'd think hey, they'll probably practice at the practice field. The assignment said they would either be at the actual stadium or at the practice field. But while heading to the practice field, I see the entire team walking toward me. Turns out they were going to the stadium. The practice field was muddy. Oy.

Cash For Clunkers

2009-08-24T10:27:00.009-04:00

I decided (thanks to my dad for the idea :) to do a sort of photo essay on this whole cash for clunkers program going on right now. This was back when I was at home, so it was the Sheehy Ford dealer there. It's taken me until now to post them haha. It's hard narrowing it down!

So anyway, there were all these clunkers just lined up in the parking lot hood to trunk, as tight as they could...pretty close to their new cars--a sad comparison. Most were so close they were touching tail light to bumper. They were distinctly marked with C4C or CL, DO NOT SELL. I tried to capture the irony of it, that each of these cars has such a story behind them based on what was left behind; stickers, the condition of the car, the rust...it's all so representative of their owners as well as the whole nature of the program. The best part to me, as you'll see, is how quickly they were abandoned, to the point where clunkers is spelled wrong, and people started coming up with creative ways to abbreviate the program's name.

So as always, let me know what you think :)

R.I.P. Max

2009-08-13T09:24:00.003-04:00

A week ago Monday, I had to put my other chihuahua, Max, to sleep. He was 10 years old and was diagnosed with Lymphoma. He was the sweetest dog you'll ever meet. It's taken me a while to muster up the courage to post this, but he deserves it. Life is crazy right now and I don't want him to think I've forgotten about him. It still hurts that he's gone, but here's my tribute to a wonderful, loving dog.

Some of you might remember Mitzie. She knows he's gone too, but we make sure she gets the love she deserves.

Love you Max, see you in Heaven.

March 16, 1999-August 3, 2009

Some of my recent assignments

2009-08-10T17:09:00.005-04:00

So, I can't believe it...I have only 3 DAYS left at my internship!!! (I only go in on Mondays and Thursdays, and I go back to school in about 2 weeks...) So ridiculous. I have no clue where this summer went.

Anyhoo, here are some recent shots I took for an article they did on this place called Gallery 5, pretty neat place. The first ones of the chandeliers is from another art gallery. They're made from bike wheels!! how cool is that??

The other shots are from Gallery 5's gift shop, all hand made things. I only posted a few shots, but it was very cool.

Extreme close up!

And the gift shop:

I found more artwork!

2009-07-27T17:29:00.009-04:00

So I've been going through the mounds and mounds of stuff in my house, getting ready to move (my house is going on the market by next month, around the same time I go back to school) and I found two whole portfolio folders full of stuff from my high school art class....just random portrait studies and paintings and even some plexiglas etchings and their prints. SO, I thought I'd go ahead and share my findings with everyone. After all, I have been focusing pretty much totally on photography all summer, so here's a lovely artsy break!

First off, we've got a collage I made around a sketch I did on stiff paper with Conte, which is like chalk, just fancier I guess

This is a print made from a piece of plexiglas, painted, then hard-pressed onto I think watercolor paper.

This was a piece imitating Cubism, I did half of the butterfly normal and the other half "geometrically," or "cubistic." The branches are also mixed media, with wrinkled up construction paper glued onto the canvas.

This was just a sketch done in class for practice. Kind of like a workshop.

Pastels or chalk, I can't remember, on black cardboard, just some bottles in an abstract way

Pastel calla lilly on some sort of paper, probably watercolor

Definitely pastels on thin paper

Still life drawing (boring)

Ta Daaaaa!

Update on my internship!

2009-07-23T15:03:00.010-04:00

Since many kind people have been interested in how my internship is going, I thought hey! It's time for a new post.

So I just got August's issue today with about 3 of my pictures in it (I was gone on vacation for about a week and a half of that month). So that was really cool seeing my pictures (that's what makes the whole thing worth it!).

I just took what's called the "Quicktake" this morning, it's a little blurb review about a cool new restaurant in town. This one was for September's issue, it was a place called The Desserterie. It was actually really close to home, so that made it even better (I commute 30 minutes to my internship, but it's totally worth it, and it's only two days a week). So I thought I'd share a few of my favorites with you all for sharing YOUR interest in me!

Obviously, I took lots of pictures of their DESSERT!! Needless to say I had to hold myself back from indulging while I took these shots, my GOODNESS they looked so delicious. But I'll let you be the judge of that yourself :)

I <3 MYRTLE BEACH!!

2009-06-27T22:39:00.006-04:00

So, I just got back from vacation in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. My boyfriend and I have known for a couple of years now that we want to live together down there. What's not to love?! There's SO much to do down there, and every Wednesday night during the summer, there's a firework show at the 2nd Avenue Pier. Hence, the inspiration for this post. Both my boyfriend and I LOVE fireworks, and I LOVE photography, soooo it only seemed natural to photograph the beauty of fireworks. So everyone, I hope you enjoy these pretty pyrotechnics as much as I do, and as always, let me know any favorites, likes/dislikes. Otherwise, enjoy!

My Internship!

2009-06-02T21:51:00.001-04:00

FYI, I got a photo internship at Richmond Magazine (a BIG deal in my book!) and so far I've taken four assignments, some bigger than others. Today, I did a "Quicktake" on this little coffee shop called "Stir Crazy." Here's my favorite shot:

It's official...

2009-05-18T18:44:00.005-04:00

I know that one day I want to have my own portrait business. Or just photography business in general. It's so fun to see people's reactions to beautiful portrait shots! I even enjoy editing them afterwards! (I owe my life to photoshop haha...and I only have version 7.0)

I took my boyfriend's little sister's senior pictures the other day, and they turned out SO great!! The best part is, we literally drove around her neighborhood finding random places for her to pose. No fancy equipment, in fact it was even cloudy about 90% of the time! But like I said before, cloudy days can tend to be the best for shooting in terms of even lighting.

So anyhoo, here are a few of my personal favorites...since of course, she had her own

favorites. It was such a great experience. It was that push to get me to the next level of

photography that I really needed. And well...it did kind of help to have a beautiful subject :)

Let me know what you guys think!

Geese and goslings :)

2009-05-11T11:35:00.008-04:00

My mom has the privilege of watching these adorable little goslings every day from her little balcony. I couldn't resist grabbing my camera and standing among them while my sister fed them two whole sleeves of crackers!!!

And of course, a cute shot of my mom's chihuahua, Mitzie, poking her head through the railing to watch :)

Happy Spring! (a little late)

2009-05-01T10:12:00.007-04:00

I love flowers!

And brand new buds!

I made a blurb book!!

2009-04-27T15:45:00.002-04:00

It's my final portfolio, and you can preview it HERE!

Let me know what you think! It's actually for sale, I didn't know you could do that! So if some random person wanted to actually buy this I would make an itty bitty profit lol. Hey, I can hope can't I??

And for my FINAL portfolio...

2009-04-21T22:10:00.005-04:00

I have finally come up with an idea for my final portfolio for my digital photo class. All by myself!!

Here it is: Man-made items vs nature. I'm going to make a Blurb book (www.blurb.com), and on each two pages I will have a man-made item that resembles an item in nature facing that which it resembles. For example:

These two items have similar colors and shapes, a grapefruit, and a watch.

I've been working on this all day today in between the funky weather. I think I have some pretty good ideas. Here's another one:

A yellow tulip, and a paintbrush with yellow paint

This is due in a couple weeks, so I'm gettin a move on it so I can order the book and have it get here in time!! Wish me luck! haha

I'm really starting to like sports photography...

2009-04-14T21:44:00.005-04:00

...because I had some fun shooting our school softball team! It was PERFECT lighting out, almost a heavenly glow haha. I was happy to again capture some action!

pretty night pics :)

2009-04-09T13:34:00.003-04:00

Back again, it's our Wilson building. Almost every night I walk out to a gorgeous sunset, Harrisonburg truly is a beautiful place. This building adds to the aesthetics :)

A recent photo project

2009-04-06T20:53:00.000-04:00

This project was called "high tech/low tech," and you had the choice of using an older photography technique (like film or pinhole) with a newer technique (like scanning it and editing it in photoshop) or vice versa, taking a digital picture and editing it manually. I chose this second process, and photographed (digitally) an old boombox, and printed it onto watercolor paper, and proceded to color it with colored pencil. I think it turned out rather fun, don't you think?

wOw!!

2009-04-05T19:21:00.006-04:00

Thank you so much, Anne, for your award!!

I got...

the LEMONADE STAND award!!! How cool is that?!

This is from Anne's site over at Gaal Creative:

(since I'm a newbie to these things, bear with me...not really sure how this works)

The Lemonade Stand Award is for being a blogger who
shows great attitude and gratitude:

To pick up the Lemonade Stand Award:
Comment on this blog.

Cut and paste the award logo and use it in your own blog.

Nominate 5 to 10 blogs you feel show great attitude and gratitude.

Link to your nominees within your blog post.

Comment on their blogs to let them know they've received the award.

Link back to the person who gave you the award to show your appreciation.

So, therefore, I'll nominate a few people real quick who's blogs I love to visit and who have supported me from the beginning!

1). Ashley and Melissa over at THE BUNG BLOG!! These girls have to be THE FUNNIEST people I know...via the internet haha. So they TOTALLY deserve this award.

2) My Cambodian friend over at Ninth Sun blog. He always has something positive to say about my work, and also produces amazing photographs himself!!

3) Joel at thephotosItake. He takes fantastic pictures, and I love his perspective. He always shows a new view of ordinary things, and it's awesome!

4) Patty over at Crisfieldnews: Patty is a big inspiration to me. Even though we barely know each other, her experience is phenomenal. I love looking at her new posts to see what she's cooked up.

5) Michael over at Chase Images: his photography is amazing, I love seeing what new sunset or landscape picture he can take and make unique. Simply amazing.

Thank you, everyone, for your kind words and your comments, it makes my day when you leave one!! I'm sorry I don't have time to give everyone this award, I am a college student and decided to take this blog on during my hardest semester yet!! haha. So anyhoo, thanks everyone, and have an AWESOME, blog-tastic week!! (I know, such a dork...)

first came basketball...

2009-03-31T20:51:00.005-04:00

...now here's some baseball! I was quite proud of myself for not totally zoning out and missing these sweet action shots! haha. Sorry guys, baseball just seems much more fun to play, not watch. Anyhoo, here are my action shots.

I got the job!!

2009-03-29T12:07:00.003-04:00

You know, that one I interviewed for with the ridiculously hard questions?! Yep, all mine. Well, technically there's now two photographers, but I'm one of those two! haha. Oh, and I got ahold of MY pictures that I took as the "hands on" part of the interview. I'm hoping that's what sold them on the interview...since I KNOW my Q&A skills were lacking...

Anyhoo, here are some of them...I wish I could put all of them on here, but this job is super high tech, and I edited them on CS4!! And I'm lucky to have photoshop 7 haha! Therefore, I can't open them all on my computer. So here are a few that actually worked. Just thought I'd share the good news with everyone :)

quad shots of Wilson Hall, pretty much our main building

and the only portrait shot that I could open haha

My "Alter Ego" photo assignment

2009-03-25T22:07:00.005-04:00

For my digital photo class, I had to photograph my alter ego...the only thing I could think of for this was my exact opposite. Now, I don't want people getting offended by this, because I'm in no way putting down people's personal style choices...but I chose a gothic person as my opposite, or Alter Ego, to photograph. My roommates volunteered to be my models, they were actually pretty pysched to do it...but anyhoo, considering I had a makeshift "studio" (aka, my room with a blanket up as a backdrop, and in my living room in front of curtains) I think they turned out pretty cool!! Let me know any favorites, comments, etc.

My last short story

2009-03-22T16:41:00.024-04:00

So sad...but this is my final short story this semester. It's about two dogs, one of which is a puppy and one is much older. It's a story about friendship over time :)

AND YOU CAN CLICK TO ENLARGE! YAAAY!

Update

2009-03-19T10:25:00.003-04:00

So, remember how I said I had a lot of photo-related things going on right now?! Well, another thing was just added to that list. I applied weeks ago to be a photographer for my school's University Unions program. They photograph school events and such. It pays pretty well, and seems like a great opportunity. So I interviewed formally this past Monday, which was by FAR the hardest interview I've ever been on. How exactly do you answer a question like "So why shouldn't we hire you for this job?"

......?!?!?!?!?

Anyhoo, yesterday I had to actually put my skills to the test. I had to go out and shoot pictures of our "quad," I had to do a studio portrait shot (set everything up myself) and then a creative shot of my choice. I really liked the shots I took, since yesterday it was SO gorgeous out and as soon as that happens, everyone on campus is outside laying out, playing frisbee, playing with puppies, etc. I really want to keep the pictures I took on their camera, so hopefully if I get the job I can copy them. So you know I'll be posting those!!

Other than that, nothing extremely exciting has happened lately, or has been post-worthy. I'll keep you guys updated!!

Cool news! plus a change-up

2009-03-11T18:26:00.006-04:00

I know I've been focusing a lot on photography lately, (it IS my passion haha) but coincidentally I've just had a lot of photo-related things going on recently. One of which was the opportunity to photograph a high school state quarterfinals basketball game for The Roanoke Times!! One of my teachers sent out the word that they needed a photographer (the game was being held at my school) and I was like OMG I'LL DO IT! So yeah. These are a few shots from the game. Considering I've never shot a basketball game before, I was quite pleased with myself for pulling it off!! I was sooo nervous haha. These are a few of my faves, and be-LIEVE me there were way more where these came from!

So they're going to run my pictures (I'm not sure how many) in their community paper, and send me some copies!! How cool is that?! AND they put it on their blog:

check it out!

it's official! haha.

So anyhoo, that made my week.

To switch it up a little, I think it's appropriate to put in this poem I wrote a week or so ago. It's called "My Selves."

I find that I am currently trapped

among multiple different selves

Split into parts of halves of pieces

attempting to make up a whole.

My attention's divided about just as much

So a complete thought is out of the question.

This whirlwind of to-do lists and events I accidently missed--

while trying to get something else done--

has put a strain on my ability

to stay sane

and entertain

all of my selves at once.

Myself,

my selves,

all as a whole

Blur any focus I had.

So I have to question,

in the end,

which one is really me?

The artist?

The photographer?

The writer wannabe?

Those all belong to creativity.

The daughter?

The sister?

The student at a university?

Those all incorporate family.

The runner?

The girlfriend?

The roommate?

but see...

These all summarize me.

While within they conflict

As a whole, they depict

Who I truly am, heart and soul.

Part Three! Portraits

2009-03-09T21:08:00.010-04:00

Ok guys, it only took me forever, but here they are: my favorite portraits. You'll probably recognize a few of them, since my favorites tend to appear in multiple places. Please let me know what you guys think!! I really appreciate everyone's input :)

intermission--

2009-03-06T09:23:00.000-05:00

I just wanted to take the time today to acknowledge Patty (http://crisfieldnews.blogspot.com) and Reggie girl (http://midlifeandmenapause.blogspot.com) for the photo series they've got going on today, that I just didn't have time for. They're featuring photos of their home town churches, which sounded really cool! This past week was mid terms but now I'm home for Spring Break!! (not doing anything particularly awesome, though). I'll be sure to try and get in on their next feat! :)

The closest I got to shooting a church this week was the picture below of the red and black door, that was to a local church. Sorry, I know, weak!! But I hope you guys had fun with it :)

I pray you can forgive me! haha

Part Two: fav COLOR photos!

2009-03-03T21:19:00.000-05:00

Ok! Here are some of my favorite color photos. For some reason though, when uploaded to blogger they lost a lot of their vibrancy...hmm. Well, you get the gist. As always, let me know which ones really hit home! Thanks!!

Part One: Black and White

2009-03-01T14:57:00.000-05:00

Hey everyone! It's been a while since I've posted, but this next one will be three parts: first, my favorite black and white photos. Part two will be my favorite color photos, and I DO mean COLOR! haha. Part three will be my favorite portraits. I've come to the realization that most of my photos include at least one if not more of the three C's: color, contrast, and children. So you'll see those a lot in the upcoming posts!

I really hope everyone will participate so I can tell which ones have the most impact. Thanks in advance!!

Ok, here are my favorite B&Ws.

a few more from downtown

2009-02-23T21:32:00.001-05:00

Long story short, my memory card was "corrupted" and deleted pictures that I took. These are some of what I didn't put up and also what I had to go back and reshoot (downtown at our public library), because I thought they were worth it. Let me know if you agree haha

Took a walk downtown today...

2009-02-17T16:38:00.000-05:00

...and found some fanTASTIC stores to photograph stuff in. It's a little town, but I was still surprised no one kicked me out or got mad! Let me know what you think, as always.

My Latest Short Story!!

2009-02-17T16:03:00.000-05:00

Ok, here it is. Short story #2. It's called "The Rainbow Fairies," and it's basically a story I invented to explain how a rainbow is created. I knocked it out in about 2 days and it's 10 pages long, just like my first one. Let me know what you think!! (compared to my first one, too!)

And I'm having extreme technical difficulties here, or am just really stupid, but I can click and enlarge the pictures when they're above the words, but as soon as I moved more than 3 pictures it wouldn't do it anymore...help!!

:)

2009-02-15T12:36:00.001-05:00

I think the photo a day project inspired this one. Every day I try to look at things from a photographer's perspective, to find the interesting and unusual angle. I couldn't resist the burning desire to photograph these beautiful flowers my roommate just bought, and out came my latest favorite. I don't know why, but I LOVE this picture! What do you think?

and then this is another angle of the same flowers, which I also really like.

Toys For Tots 5k

2009-02-12T19:17:00.001-05:00

I shot this in December for Innsbrook Today magazine. It was just a 5k for adults, but you could bring your kids along and have them run like half a mile before the 5k around the parking lot. You had to donate a toy to participate :) it was really cute, and a great experience!

photos from my film photo class in high school

2009-02-11T20:51:00.000-05:00

Ah, back in the days when you had to work hours and hours in the darkroom to come out with the perfect print. Yeah...a whole 4 years ago for me haha. Sadly, film photography is slowly fading out, being replaced by digital cameras and photoshop (which, I admit, I do love more, but it's just not as gratifying). So here are some pictures I took using different methods, like painting on the developing chemicals and dodging and burning Barbie's face into a $2 bill. Barbie for president, wooo!

Barbie makes an appearance

Just a little sepia/vignetting action

Cool random sketch

2009-02-08T20:54:00.001-05:00

One of my favorite things to doodle/draw, but this is my own eye, so I was looking in the mirror drawing my own eye! fun stuff haha

My Latest Poems

2009-02-07T15:40:00.000-05:00

These aren't some of my favorite, but they're ok. Let me know what you think could be improved/anything that should stay. If nothing else, just let me know if they weren't torture to read! haha

I drive the open road

To the place I call home.

In this moment alone, I ponder aimlessly

About things that only come to mind

At random times...

Like right before bed,

Staring up at the ceiling,

All the things that I'm feeling

Come rushing to the surface

They won't let me sleep

After being suppressed

Now they're being addressed

With no one to judge,

They spill out of my chest

From my heart they unwind

Like a flag unfurling

Cloth and pole, once intertwined

Now my thoughts are all swirling

I can't get to bed

I'm driving autopilot

All these thoughts in my head

Are creating a riot

And before I know it,

I've arrived back at home.

I'm no longer alone, so for now

This whirling storm of thoughts

Must be postponed

Until another road trip is sought

And I'm again all alone.

And this one's a little self-explanatory...

"The economy sucks

So don't push your luck,"

The televisions preach.

"Dow's goin' down

So don't stick around

To see what new lows stocks will reach."

People laid off

Jobs being lost

The dollar is stretched to the max

But how do we know

That it's not just a show

When we really don't know all the facts?

People freak out

They worry too much;

Should've been wise from the start.

NOW they're resourceful!

But

NOW they're remorseful-

For purchases made without heart.

So make what you can

Of these words from THE MAN!

And just try to do your part.

Inches of snow later...

2009-02-04T22:23:00.000-05:00

What a beautiful day on campus it was yesterday. Snow always seems to make things prettier, don't you think?

What's in a name?

2009-02-03T19:38:00.000-05:00

Just a little something I couldn't resist capturing. It was too unique...too creative for me to pass up!

And for all those Twilight fans out there....

Aaaaand more art!

2009-02-03T00:01:00.000-05:00

Here's some more artwork that I found this past weekend, finally got a chance to post it! Any favorites here? (personally, my favorite is the stargazer lilly, my fav flower!)

As always, feedback is welcome :)

Sketches/pastels/colored pencil

2009-01-30T17:48:00.000-05:00

Now these are from my sketchbooks. Some were just random little sketches, some were projects, some just homework assignments. Let me know what you think, as always :) Any favorites? (I ask, because my art teacher was pretty critical...)

Some of my artwork!

2009-01-30T17:16:00.000-05:00

Ok, I thought it would be impossible to download my pictures this weekend, but then I remembered my dad's desktop has a built-in card reader in the actual computer!!
So, here's some of my stuff, it ranges anywhere from middle school to high school (in either my AP 2D or 3D class) up until recently. I'll try and specify.
Hope you enjoy!! Looking back at all my sketchbooks kind of surprised me. I had forgotten half the stuff I drew just because, at the time, they were merely homework assignments!!

Ok. These first 3 are pastel drawings on textured paper, just landscapes.

This is a random landscape I painted with regular acrylics on that circular piece of cardboard that comes under a pizza.

And THESE are two of many wire sculpture animals I made in my AP 3D class. It was fun, but really time consuming wrapping all the wire over and over! In the case of mr. lizard, I just wrapped green wire around the already wrapped aluminum wire. For ms. flamingo, I just stuffed her with pink tissue paper! They HAD to have color, it made them much more interesting.

And these were from 10th grade, award ceremonies/holiday cards that our class competed to design the cover to. I guess my teacher really liked mine!

An older poem :)

2009-01-30T12:12:00.000-05:00

I found an old poem from 2002, when I was a freshman in high school. Thought it was worth posting.

Looking eye level at the horizon, the sun rises in the east

Supervising its rays dancing over an ocean blue

Stirring all of nature from its rest and peace

All to brighten the earth with its vibrant hues.

It rises slowly, no need to rush the day away

Taken one ray at a time until flecks of gold are all around,

And in the pink and yellow sky the sun will only stay

Until its descent back down, and the moon can suddenly be found

Rising up to shush the land

And cast a warm white glowing light

To which will lend a helping hand

In settling nature throughout the night.

Coming Soon!!!

2009-01-30T12:08:00.000-05:00

Keep an eye out...I came home this weekend and brought my camera, but no card reader!! I took lots of pictures of my artwork from high school, and I was pleasantly surprised with what I rediscovered! I found at least 5 or 6 old sketch books, some watercolor books, and some of my wire sculptures!!! (which I'm quite proud of) SO be ready for some new stuff! I'm so excited to post them!

P.S. I put up a bunch of pictures along the right side of this page :)

A favorite poem, and some of mine

2009-01-28T21:07:00.000-05:00

Here's my favorite poem (thus far). It's by Maya Angelou, called "Phenomenal Woman."

Phenomenal Woman

And since I'm in an introductory poetry class, here's one I had to write in 10 minutes using 8 of the "cool words" that are listed on my home page.

The scintillating stars that I look to each night

Decipher my mood with their curious light

I dare not impede

Just to satisfy my need

To be absorbed by the euphoric feeling that proceeds.

Every time I feel jaded

Or feel faith has faded

My eyes meander along the dark night sky--

It's all too easy to be hypnotized

By a star's ambiance that makes me feel...alive

And yet another from this class:

I never thought I had it in me

To become who I am today

It took me 21 years to finally see

That this is the right way:

Don't ever live your life

Pleasing everyone but you

And less is based on what you say

Than rather what you do.

Time will test your friendships

So please, just keep in mind

That if you should lose your best one

A replacement's hard to find.

I've lived and loved and lost but yet!

There's so much more to come...

And if I've realized this much so far,

I love who I've become.

Doodles!

2009-01-28T20:53:00.001-05:00

Usually, when on the phone or in class, I like to entertain my brain by mindlessly doodling. Most of these came from my calendar on my desk, where I spend a lot of my time.

To start, one of my short stories

2009-01-28T12:09:00.000-05:00

I'm currently in a Children's Literature class for my Creative Writing minor, so I get to write and draw children's books!

This is my first one. It's called "A Sea Story," and the moral is that one good deed deserves another. Trying to come up with the story was the hardest part, but drawing was by far the most fun! Needless to say I had a great time creating it.

Let me know what you think! It's 10 pages long.

And so it starts! Here's what to expect:

2009-01-28T11:56:00.001-05:00

I've been wanting to start a blog, and here it is! I plan on posting many things, so expect anything from photos to poems to doodles to links to my favorite sites. I want to take pictures of my art work, from paintings to sketches, and definitely include a link to my flickr site.

I'm excited to see where this goes. I've always wanted to have one place to put all of my creativity at work. And as always, comments, criticism, and anything in between is encouraged!

So here goes!