THANKS GIVING!

Thanksgiving was an amazing photo opportunity for me.

I really like how all of these pictures portray the sterotypical traditions of Thanksgiving. Everyone is working together as a family. Nobody is dressed nicely--because we are all working in the kitchen. And then later--we can dress nicely for the family picture around the dining table. The pictures were fun to take; and the video of my father is priceless!

The Leaning Edibility of Pizza

Although the month of February is known for its red and pink Hallmark cards and heart shaped Dove chocolates in recognition of Valentine's Day, February 9 goes year after year unappreciated and forgotten. February 9 is International Pizza Day. It is no surprise that not many are aware of this day, because honestly I don't think many people are aware of the entities of pizza in general. http://www.askoxford.com/languages/culturevulture/italy/pizza/

Point blank: In my opinion pizza has dramatically gone down hill within the past 5 years. If you were to order a large, pepperoni and cheese pizza from Papa Johns 5 years ago and compare it to one you might order 5 minutes from now, you might shocked. Despite the fact that the price has not fluctuated very much the quality has.

The Ingredient Breakdown:

• Cheese: I can recall when I would eat pizza and the cheese was stringy and delicious. The cheese on a pizza should be real and I'm pretty sure Papa has become a cheap bastard and is serving us clumps of stretchy, plastic coated, artificially flavored synthetic cheese. It's not real. Despite what they might want you to think;

According to Papa John, "Our signature, proprietary cheese is crafted from high-quality milk by one of America's finest cheese producers and is not available to any other pizza company. We pride ourselves on using cheese made with 100% mozzarella."

I would like to know what exactly is 100% mozzarella compared to 50% mozzarella. I find it hard to believe that the texture and taste of the cheese could change so dramatically over the past 5 years. I mean, is "America's finest cheese producers" really only catering to Papa John? And what qualifies them as the finest. I'm sure Pizza Hut and Little Caesars aren't promoting,"...our cheese is made by almost one of the finest cheese producers in America, but unfortunately Papa John beat us to it."

(Did I mention the grease factor that comes along with the plastic taste? It's astonishing. If I took a large pepperoni pizza and ran a steam roller over it I'm practically positive that I could fulfill the needs of the McDonald's deep fryer enabling them to serve another "billion customers".)

• Sauce: What happened? I have heard of sauce less pizza (Margherita Pizza), but isn't that something you have to specifically order? Apparently, not. I remember when Papa J. had the sauce to cheese ratio on lock down. Purely amazing. The only excuse I could come up with to justify Papa J's sauce-slacking routine is that perhaps America is in a tomato shortage and Papa John's is and has been suffering for quite some time.

• Crust: I can honestly say I am still satisfied with the crust at Papa John's. I feel safe in knowing that Papa still knows how to combine the correct quantities of flour, water, and yeast and bake it to perfection.

• Extras: It pains me to state that what once came as a free amenity with Papa John's crust is now available for an extra charge. This glorious amenity I am referring to is the Special Garlic Dipping Sauce. I find it very disturbing that they are now requiring you to pay for something they use to give out as part of there crust. That's what I always loved about papa john's crust. I think it appealed to customers with kids because they offered it as a side, so as giving the customers the choice to use it or not. If this Indian-giving scheme becomes a trend in fast food McDonald's will be charging extra to put the "Special Sauce" on your Big Mac. Please give us back our special sauce Papa J!

Despite my anger.... I honestly can not remember the last time I was able to enjoy a slice of pizza without having to take Maalox shortly after. I have a weak stomach, but honestly, after eating a slice of Papa J's pizza I can accurately associate the bubbling irritation taking place in my gut with the feeling of being beaten with a burlap sack full of door handles. But my complaint means nothing, and will forever continue to be ignored by chain pizza places. A single weak stomach doesn't account for very much in this pizza loving country.

Being a college student I know very well that pizza sells miraculously. It's edible whether it is hot, warm, cold, or frozen. It's still good the next morning directly out of the box. It's relatively inexpensive and you can always find someone willing to throw down a few bucks to help with the cost. Pizza places are so thoughtful they will even will personally deliver your pizza, so as no extra work for their beloved customer.

Those pizza joints are pretty nice guys; I mean they'll feed you an extra 300 calories* per slice and relieve you from having to do any movement whatsoever prior to inducing your body with such splendor, ----except for reaching into your wallet to pay for their delightfully delivered treat...and of course your special garlic sauce.

Don't worry, just by paying you are burning 2 whole calories. Damn. Pizza reigns no matter if it's good or bad in a college community.

*the 300 calorie count is for a single slice (1/8 of an order) of a 14" P.J's Cheese Pizza

*proprietary-i had to look this word up online. papa john is trying to outsmart me

Final--Photo Essay

For my final project we had to take a set of photos that resembled those that the original LIFE magazine. Photo essay pictures are able to tell a story within. If it was to be paired with copy the reader would already know the subject of the article/writing just by looking at the picture.
I chose to focus my photos on city life.
I think that urban life is very beautiful for the fact that it is very different from life in a residential area. Cities have so much to offer and many people do not take note of. Simple things such as tables or chairs can be very interesting and tell many stories. I think all aspects of the city are affected by so many different individuals that it is constantly changing. Even small things such as building signs, building designs, store window decorations, even the different pieces of trash accumulated on the side of the street, etc. Even the smallest most mundane things can hold so much interest.
I took pictures of more than just the buildings and architecture. I took pictures of the small things that hint at human existence and presence outside of the sky scrapers we have built; those that show humanly characteristics, emotion, and actions.
The pictures featured in my project are from Chicago, Milwaukee, and Washington D.C.

Portrait Projekt

Before I began my Environmental-Portrait Project I read Martin Lester's chapter on "Rights to Privacy", from his book on Photojournalism.
I really enjoyed reading Lester's article. I think it is funny how people rush to be the first to capture something. I also think its funny that people loved to be photographed, but only if it makes them appear perfect. Nobody wants to be caught doing something that society would disapprove of or frown upon.
Perhaps people should learn to be more confident in their behaviors...or...if they feel so guilty of them, they should change their ways.
I think it is appropriate to have restrictions of photographing one's "private parts". Obviously the body is a personal matter and can easily become explicit material. I would never have the courage (nor would i want) to place my camera into a window of another individuals' house and take pictures. That is just beyond creepy. I think the rules of permissible photography are important to keep borders on people's lives. Of-course people are going to do things in private and of-course they may not be the most "clean" behaviors....but in all reality who really wants to see that anyways. I think there is so much amazing things to photograph why waste time with the unethical ones. :)

Portrait photos:


"Lite Up"

"Girl In Central Park"

This one is my favorite because I like how this woman's dress is such a brilliant white. I like the different levels of value within this picture. I also really like how she seems to be thinking about what else she needs to get done with the limited amount of sunlight left in the day. I like how even thought her facial expression is rather blank, her body language speaks loudly to me. I think that the two people in the background give depth to this picture and the reflections in the building window's draws more interest to the environment she is sitting in.

Document Projekt

I wanted to take pictures of the city. Milwaukee is lacking a decent skyline so I decided to go to NYC for the weekend. My document project is going to prove the phrase, "the city that never sleeps" to be true. I wanted to show different aspects of New York City. I also wanted to capture the people there in their daily lives. I want to show the aspects about the city that you associate with New York compared to other large metropolis'.

Living in New York City would be the greatest thing ever. I love it there and I definitely teared up a bit when I had to board the plane back to Milwaukee.



"You Will Be Safe": I have never once been in an area where I saw so much law enforcement patrolling the streets on an everyday basis. I think its interesting because the police force is almost one with the community because they are on the streets communicating with citizens rather than just spying on them and punishing them for poor behavior. In Milwaukee, I commonly only see the man behind the flashing blueberries and cherries if there is a college party busted, a driving incident, or health emergency. I like this picture because I captured a snapshot moment in time where there was so many components that make up NYC life congested in one area.


Other pictures from this assignment:


"Let's Walk"


"Eat Healthy"

Lighting Projekt

Before I started the Lighting Project, I read an article on lighting by Szarkowski. I agree with Szarkowski's understanding of photography as a means of capturing what is in front of us. I also agree that light can be more that just an ingredient to a great photo but designated as the subject matter. Light is a very interesting subject matter because it appears different all the time. It is constantly changing depending on the time of day, your location, the weather, etc. Light has very interesting characteristics that make it complicated and beautiful. Capturing light makes for an interesting photo because light behaves so differently and is rarely constant. Now that photography has become digitally enhanced, photographs can be altered and thus considered more of a work of creation. But the base of the creation is something that was originally selectively captured.

My favorite lighting-time of day would have to be 15 minutes before the sun is about to say goodnight. I love that time of day because the sun creates so many different effects on everything; such as interesting shadows, sky color changes, and reflections on water bodies. This time of day not only has interesting lighting but it also is a closure on the day. We are no longer walking amongst the sunlight and our whole mind set changes. People returning from work, people getting done with their classes for the day, people wrapping up their last minute projects and finishing their "to do" lists for the day. The hustle and bustle of the day comes to an end and night life stirs up a whole new agenda for the day, new activities, and new "to do" lists. This time of day is an awakening for what the city night life brings. When the sunlight stops shining we resort to electricity. We find our way through use of street lights, car lights, flash lights; all which can make for excellent scenery, although I prefer the natural light.

"Orange Reflection"

This is my favorite Light Photo. I woke up early enough so that I was on the shores of Lake Michigan 20 minutes after sunrise. I took so many pictures of the lake but I liked composition of the photo because of the positioning of the rocks. I edited this photo in photoshop-by adjusting the saturation levels and adding a black frame.

Other Light photos:

"Sparkler Dream"

"Shawano Sunset"

My Baby

HHAAAYYY!!!

The camera I will be using for this class is my Nikon D-40.

I love this thing more than I love chocolate milk. Which is pretty much an insane amount of love. ;)