Self Portraits: My Attempt at Modeling

WARNING: This post is admittedly a little self-centered... I think? Probably. Anyway, we all have a right to be self-centered sometimes!

Katarina and I were supposed to do a photo shoot this past weekend in Hawthorne. It was going to be so much fun, Katarina is really pretty so the pictures were to be gorgeous, but this air-headed dweeb left her camera battery charging in Vancouver. So.. that's rescheduled to the middle of January. And my Nana bought me this wonderful tripod for Christmas that I've been trying to find reasons to use! Well, today, it miraculously started snowing (and hasn't stopped) in this wonderful place of Vancouver, so I decided to take crazy weird pictures like this one: 

Hair not did. Make up not on. In the clothes I slept in. Oh so charming. So, I then put a few on facebook and immediately thought "people think I'm weird, lazy, and uninhibited," which is generally all true, but I felt the need to get pretty and take some photos of myself. I was not at all hopeful that they'd turn out okay. I've never "modeled" in my life and just don't really know what to do in front of a camera except put a huge smile on my face or look really... really weird. So, I shall share a few of my favorites. In an amateur photographers perspective, I like the angle and location that I set my camera up and I didn't edit any of these because the lighting was either pretty okay or pretty good and I actually liked the unfocused falling snowflakes. Sooooo. Here are some.
SECOND WARNING: Some of these pictures clearly expose my stomach. If it offends you, scroll past them. It wasn't quite intentional. Also, my stomach looks less than attractive in at least one photo. It's the season of "eat so much more than your body can accommodate," so get over it. :)

So.. easy on the criticism. ;) But let me know what you think! And tell me your favorite!

Why I Question Media, Teenagers, and Humanity

I feel the need to vent. If I keep posting Facebook statuses in order to vent, I'll just annoy. So here is my full vent, unedited, all out. Here are the reasons I am completely livid with humanity at the moment:

1. There are some cold, heartless people out there who simply disgust me.
2. The media, and the news specifically, employs some of the most vulture-like, fame hungry, money-grubbing, completely thoughtless individuals I've seen in my experience.
3. As a country, we need to figure out this gun control issue. 

In detail:
1. I don't consider myself the most emotional person in the world. I consider myself compassionate and caring, but on "normal" levels. As soon as I heard about the shooting, I wasn't quite scared or worried at first. I was disappointed. My first thought was, "Another one? It is really unfortunate that I react to a shooting with 'another one?'" Immediately after this thought, and as soon as I heard people had been shot, I began to worry. I have about five or more friends who work at the town center, let alone about a dozen who are still young enough to be addicted to frequenting the town center daily, whether that be for shopping or just hanging out. Oh, and this is Christmas season. A season I usually spend locked in my house because I know the amount of people out and about buying gifts and such. The point being that there are countless amounts of people who could have happened to be at the mall who would have been in danger. Not just people I know, but people my friends know, and people their friends know, and their friends, and so on. We are all connected and related and similar and are all effected, in however large or small a way, by what one of us does. As such, neurologically, we should respond by subconsciously mirroring the emotions of those around us. This is called empathy. 
As I read through my Facebook newsfeed, I became increasingly concerned with my friends, family, and the members of the community who had gone to the Town Center today. Most statuses were shocked exclamations such as "there was a shooting at the town center!!!!!" or concerned statuses such as "I pray that everyone gets out okay!" but one status stopped me in tracks. A girl who is about my age, who I've maybe talked to once or twice (we share a mutual friend), to her eternal credit said,
"Can we stop posting about the mall now? Everyone knows not to go there, someone's shooting people. We get it."
Now, this would have been easy to ignore, except that upon reading her justification for saying such a thing,
"I'm not talking about the people who were shot or killed. But everyone is blowing up about the same thing. It gets old. There are shootings all the time. Just because it's at the mall, people are freaking out."
Umm...
Excuse me?! OF COURSE people are freaking out, you self-absorbed teenager. People were hurt, people were scared, and a status like that demeans the compassion the rest of us decent people are trying to express.
I scrolled up from her status, completely disgusted, only to find another, closer friend with a status near verbatim to the last. So I posted a polite, but hopefully pointed paragraph on how I felt. Several more from other friends of mine showed up so apparently I wasn't the only person with cold, disrespectful friends, which makes it all the more heartbreaking.

2. I was watching Fox 12 covering the shooting this evening. They said the same things over and over: "shooter at large, 2 dead, 1 injured, the situation is contained but no further information."
They started interviewing witnesses after they said the same thing in a loop a few times. The first witness was calm and collected. The first interviewer was concise and didn't ask stupid questions. The second interviewer, however, didn't know how to lead the interview and was completely fake. The interview I witnessed went a little something like this:
"Did you see the shooter?"
"No, I was on the other side of the mall."
"Could you describe the shooter?"
"No. I didn't see him.."
"How did you feel when you heard the gunshots."
"Well.. I was scared for my life."
There were two interviews that went like this. Again... OF COURSE people are scared, you thoughtless newscaster. May I mention that before the first interview started, it looked like he was declining to speak on camera, to which she shook her head, waved her arm, and introduced him anyway? I could be wrong, but it looked pretty suspicious to me. And during the press conference, all of the news people would not let it go that the police officer would not be more specific. I realize it's their job to get information, but it's his job to keep sensitive and/or questionable information to himself. Their pretty reminiscent of  vultures, in my opinion. Hey, I have an idea! Instead of sending pointless interviewers out to bombard and practically coerce poor fresh-out-of-tragedy witnesses, let's put a few trained counselors/psychologists on the site. Let's offer, say, fifteen minute counseling and a referral outside of the crime scene. It may not be practical, but it would be so much more helpful than some interviewers looking to get a raise.

3. Okay, I'm not very educated on this gun control issue. However, it's obvious that if unstable individuals can easily get their hands on firearms, something needs to change. And that really sucks for everyone else, but it's better safe than sorry. I'm not saying make it impossible to get a gun, but maybe require a psychiatric evaluation first.. Which of course would be impractical, but would we rather have people shooting up our malls some more? I don't think so.

Experimental Art

So finals went okay, yes I'm glad to be on break, last term was extremely exhausting. But I don't want to talk about school! Instead, this is another post of new photos.

Now this time, it wasn't exactly planned. I went to Levi's Christmas concert at George Fox and decided to take pictures just to try to catch Levi in one of them (remotely successful, as the only Levi pictures were too blurry to be good pictures). So, I ended up taking pictures of pretty lights and decoration. One of the photos is actually of the band as well as decoration, but the three others I'll put on here are just different lighting affects and/or decoration. So I refer to them as my first "experimentally artistic" photos.

Here's the photo of the band+decorations and such. They really go all out. It isn't just a choir concert, it's definitely a full-on show!

Lighting affects. Kind of cool. 

This one is my favorite. The ceiling looks like clouds and stars (which, if I remember correctly, was the point).

Pretty colors!


Thoughts? :)

ERMAHGERD PERPEHS ERND STERF

So there's a popular meme known as the ERMAHGERD meme. Here's what it looks like:

 Basically, this is actually some poor girls nerdy 6th grade photo. People take it and write things like "ERMAHGERD MAH FRAVRIT BERKS" - it's meant to be in a lispy, nerdy, braces voice. So, I made my own. Enjoy: 

Thank you Connor for providing me with a FANTASTIC face to use. ;)I edited more photos of nature and PUPPY. ERMAHGERD. Enjoy those to - I command you!!

 

Thoughts in the form of comments are appreciated. 

Farewell!

Pictures are fun!

Thanksgiving was fun, I feel perfectly satiated, now let's move on to PHOTOS! 

For some reason, I really like this one. It was taken at a pet store in Milwaukie. It's just a normal photo, but it looks cool.. Also, that tarantula was looking at me.. Sorry for anyone who is spider squeamish. Heh, that sounds like some sort of disease.

Originally the plan for the weekend was to take 50s styled photos of my friends. Unfortunately Jeremiah (Levi's brother) didn't have very good hair product and it was pouring down rain. So instead of looking like a greaser in the photos, he just looks wet. But that's okay, twas still fun for all. Also, Jessie looks gorgeous.

I like the top one a lot too. It didn't require much editing and I just really like looking at the photo. Not sure why. I LOVE the bottom one, but I'm wondering if it's too much hint of color in a black and white photo.. Cool idea anyway.

This one I decided to be funny with. Papa's cat was peaking from behind that decoration so I tried making it dark and eerie on purpose. Also because when I tried to fix his red eye, it didn't work because he has two different colored eyes. So the computer was like "Wha... What? What... What is that..? No... No I can't do that for you... Um, my brain hurts..." 

This is Jeremiah. This was a candid photo, believe it or not. I tried to make it a little vintage-looking. Not sure if it worked..

I am proud of this candid one!! Levi talking to some random kid in the pet store about his cats. Based on Levi's expression and hand gestures, I'd like to name this one "Aren't kitties so prreeettttyyyyy??" It's barely edited and quite an adorable photo, I think.

Let me know what you think! I was able to get to know my camera a little more and discovered a no flash mode, so hopefully that'll make future photos of people a little more focused and a little less bright.

My next post, coming shortly, will be all about puppies.. We went to a pet store while a lab was out for exercise... Be prepared. The cuteness will hurt.

For The Wonderfully Dedicated

So if you're becoming annoyed by my constant posts, I apologize. The boys I live with aren't exactly attentive in giving me plenty of critique and "safe space" to practice this hobby of mine, which I am coming to love. Let's begin, as usual, with a photo.

It may be really hard to tell, but I put a "signature" on the bottom left. It says "CailyRosePhotographs."
*In Russian accent* Is what Nana calls me.
I wasn't going to add a signature. I haven't been doing it long at all and I'm not very experienced, but I decided to try it out for two reasons: They're MY photos! No one else can have them! MINE. Muahahahaha!
Also, it's fun, deciding what name you'll use, what font, what color, where you'll put your stamp of ownership, etc.

This one I used CailyRoseCandids. I like this one because it kind of looks like we drew it on the door.
I don't quite like my edit on this one. Looks a little too edited. However, I love his "Lalala, I feel stupid, I'm going to laugh really hard because I'm nervous" smile. And when he does, ladies and gentlemen, his eyes disappear. It's quite an amazing magic trick.


Alright, on to talking about my life, my favorite subject! Just kidding.
I had a slight mid-college crisis recently. Despite the scholarship, I decided I DON'T want to major in Biochemistry. Blech. I haven't decided what I do want to major in yet. I found out that no matter what I major in, I'm one Physics class away from completing my pre-med requirements (and some English/social science classes but I'm taking those for Gen Ed regardless). I also found out that no matter what I major in, it wouldn't be difficult to double major in French. So, I'm double majoring in French. I'll most likely choose Biology because I'm kind of halfway through that major and I can take things like Marine Biology and Bacteria-Host interactions... ERMAGEHRD. So cool.

Anyway! Tell me what you think. TTFN.

Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Assorted Photos

Let's start with some photos!

Okay! The first is a view of a portion of campus around 7pm after my calculus class. I thought it was pretty! The second is Connor checking out his bike. I turned it to black and white, then reversed the effect on the colored parts of his bike. I thought it looked pretty cool.

So Thanksgiving. This year will be different as I will be having dinner with Kyle's family on Wednesday. Now, when I say dinner, I mean a full on Thanksgiving dinner. I will then be going to Papa's house for Thanksgiving dinner on Thanksgiving day... the day after Wednesday... The gym will be seeing twice as much of me in the coming weeks!

Many of you have asked what I want for Christmas this year. The answer: nothing and everything. So what follows is my "Please Only Choose The Cheapest Thing Off This List" Christmas list.

1. Disney movies on DVD such as Hercules, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, The Little Mermaid, Mulan, Lilo & Stitch, Aladdin, and Beauty and the Beast
2. I am in need of a winter coat
3. I am in need of winter boots
4. Fred Meyer gift card for groceries
5. A collection of music by any of the members of The Rat Pack/ whole Rat Pack collection.
6. Accessories for my Canon T3 such as low light lense, zoom lense, and tripod.
*Warning: The last category of items listed will be tragically expensive*

If it's alright with everyone, I've decided to give out some of my photos for Christmas. They're not the most professional yet, in fact their quite amateur, but they are my creations and it seems some of you enjoy seeing them from time to time. So leave a comment regarding which photo you like most (some more of them not shown in my blog are on my facebook) and I'll be sure to wrap it up all pretty for Christmas. :)

OH! I have a month off for Christmas from about Dec 7th-January 7th. This means I should certainly have time to see everyone. Send me schedules/preferred times to see me and I'll make every effort to make it work.

I'd also like to say that I really appreciate comments/critique left on my blog. It's quite encouraging. Thanks guys!

People! Subject of Choice

So this weekend Jessie and Levi came over, as promised. I have many photos I'm happy with. I basically had them talk to each other and me and was able to get a ton of pretty good candids, except for the ones that are obviously not candids.. First, le Levi:

Love the bottom one. I told him it could be in a Christian magazine. Not to toot my own horn... :)

And Jessie! Who was challenging because she never thinks she looks good. And she's wrong because she's gorgeous.

None of these are edited except Jessie's first one. The lighting where we took them and the way my camera works made it so that it wasn't absolutely necessary to edit a lot of them.

A few more of my favorites:

So there's that! Photos of people are a lot more fun. Thoughts? :)

No Shave November and Other Shenanigans

Recently Connor has decided to take up Toilet Paper Roll art. Is he talented? Yes. Is it practical? Absolutely not..

The top is Connor's first venture into toilet paper art. About a day after his creation was made, a roll fell into the toilet because the boys (mostly Connor) like to leave both the lid and the seat up. I am no longer in estrogen territory. The second he made after the fatal demise of that toilet paper roll. If the air freshener falls in the toilet, I am immediately going out to buy a new one. Because apparently testosterone comes with a certain... odor...

Aaaand No Shave November time. So apparently Connor looks about 5 years younger without facial hair!

I'll probably update quite a bit about his progression of facial hair this month considering he had a 5 o'clock shadow about two hours after he shaved... Heehee.

Expect a photography post this weekend after the model session with Levi and Jessie! Woo!
Live long and prosper, ladies and gentlemen.

Photography

So I'll probably start posting photography on here since I don't want to put it on facebook. Some feedback would be nice! But not too rough. I only just started. :)

UO campus. These are edited, obviously. I liked the colors and the feeling of Fall! I thought about making the bottom one look a little more creepy, but since the first one is pretty edited, I wanted to make the bottom one look a little more natural. I'll add the originals if anyone wants to see them. It was a pretty cloudy, gloomy day.

Different kind of edit.