Peer Critique

     Alright, so... I don't really know anyone from class other than Breanna so, I decided to choose a name at random and go for it. The lucky portfolio I chose to critique was made by Brooke McArthur. 
     Her portfolio blew me away. I didn't realize how shitty my pictures were until I flipped through her portfolio. The texture and lighting in her,"Shooting Tight" picture is awesome. I don't know why I am drawn to that picture because its just a picture of what looks to be an old barn.
      I also liked her,"Axioms" photo. Something about the color and texture and the way she used the rule of thirds draws me to that picture. I also like how the subject is in focus and everything in the background is out of focus. 
     My FAVORITE photo is her illustration photo. I love how her eyes capture and reflect the light. The lighting is also soft with no shadows. I also love the action of pilling off the tape which says,"silence" on it. For me, it could symbolize a lot of things.
     Since the presidential elections are coming up and both parties are voting for their representative, I thought of the Bernie movement and how a lot of the younger millennials as well as some of the traditional Americans have had enough of political corruption and they will not be silenced anymore. Being the Bernie supporter that I am, it is very exciting to see this type of change that is occurring in our country. It makes me happy to see that the american people are becoming aware of the injustices of our political system and government and how they will not be silenced anymore. After coming to my own interpretation of the photo, I decided to go back to her blog and see what she had to say about it.
     After reading what she had written about the photo, I realized the picture was aimed at a feminist approach, which I could totally see after it was pointed out, Haha. She did mention that it could be interpreted any many different ways, and I like that. I like how it has a powerful intended message of feminism but, it can also be interpreted in other ways. I definitely like that the photo represents something she is passionate about because I feel like it gives it a deeper feel/meaning rather than just taking the picture for no reason and leaving it up to your own interpretation. I also like how the picture makes you guess what the message is and how it makes you think about what message she is trying to convey.
     All in all, I think that Brooke is an amazing photographer and I enjoyed going through her portfolio, which was also well put together and professional. 

Portfolio Link

Below is a link to my portfolio. After looking through a few other portfolios, it made me realize that maybe picture taking isn't for me. Haha, I tried my hardest to grasp the concepts that were taught in class but, not having my own camera made it extremely difficult. Nonetheless, here are a couple of my favorite shots. 

http://d00131001.wix.com/mysite  

Portraits

Portraits

These are just a few pictures I got from shooting in the studio. I wasn't able to get a camera for the northern light shoot so, here are the few pictures I was able to get. Also, it was hard to get a decent shot because of how many people were in the room taking pictures of the same subject at the same time. It was hart to play around and to find the right angle because of everyone in the same room. I also found that I had a hard time getting the exposure dialed in just right. a lot of my shots are a little darker than I wanted but, for the most part, the ones that didn't turn out blurry came out ok?

Feature News Story

This is my buddy Zack Broderick. When he was 14 he was helping his buddy swap out a lift on his truck. While working underneath the truck the left u-bolt got stuck and so he decided to try and pound it out with a hammer. On the third hit, there was a large crash as the u-bolt came out and the leave springs ejected apart which cause the axle to fall off the jack stand. This caused the vehicle to fall and crush Zack. As his friends fantically raced to get him out from under the vehicle Zack tried to remain calm but was in excruciating pain. Once they got the vehicle up high enough to drag him out, Zack immediatly knew there was something wrong. He was not able to feel or move his legs. His friends decided to get a piece of plywood and use it as a stretcher to get him inside the car so they could rush him to the hospital. Once they got to the hospital, Zack had to wait in the car for what he says felt like hours. Since they did not call an ambulance, they could not immediately treat him so, he had to wait. Once the EMS showed up, they took him inside to get x-rays to determine whether they could treat him there or have to move him to another hospital. After being x-rayd it was determined that he had to go to another hospital downtown. On the way to thee other hospital, Zack actually died but they were able to bring him back. Next thing he can remember, he was talking to his mom in the hospital where he then passed out and died again. After all was said and done, Zack had died a total of three times before he became stable. Out of surgery, Zack was informed that he was paralyzed from the waist down and that he would never walk again.

This was a devastating blow to Zack. He was a very active kid and he couldn't believe or even process the thought of not being able to run and play again. Zack became very depressed and self conscious. He felt like he was largely ignored at school because people did not know how to act around someone in a wheelchair. He could see people staring at him and once he made eye contact, people would quickly turn away. One day Zack was going down the hallway when he noticed another kid that was in a wheelchair. Zack then decided to wheel over to him and ram him with his wheelchair, as to say hello. As the kid tuned around to see what the heck had happened, he turned around to see Zack staring at him with a huge grin on his face. The kid turned his wheelchair around and then rammed into Zack. The two began laughing and ramming into each other with their wheelchairs till they both became tired. Once they stopped ramming into each other Zack introduced himself to the kid. His name was Joe Douglas. The two became instant friends.

After awhile, Zack started noticing that Joe was always gone. Zack decided to ask Joe about it and Joe informed him that he was a competitive skier to which Zack replied,"we can do things like that!?' After talking more about it with Joe, Joe showed him a bunch of videos of his competitions and Zack knew he needed to get in on that action. He quickly bought ski equipment and began to lean. Skiing came very naturally to Zack and he quickly began to catch the eyes of multiple coaches and teams. Over the course of the next three years, he went from being a beginner to one of the worlds top athletes. Zack was accepted to the Paralympic team after two years where he medaled in countless races along the way. Zack is most proud of his wins in the X-games. he proudly displays his medals he earned and his X-games patch at his home. Zack later became the head coach for team Mexico in the 2012 Paralympics and he continues to ski to this day.

I chose to write this story on Zack because to me, he is an inspiration. Having the active lifestyle that I do, i'd like to believe that i'd have the same attitude as Zack but, I just don't know. Below are some picture I took of Zack with his medals. The first four I photo shopped a little bit but, all the others are raw pics.

D Week Video

This assignment was way harder than it should have been for me. Haha, I recorded these videos on Saturday on my phone and downloaded a video editor and I wasn't able to do any voice overs on the B role so, I had to wait till the school was open on Monday to record my voice over and edit it together in the school Mac Lab. Sorry for the crappy quality, it didn't upload well. Looked better on my phone.

Also, I hate recording myself and talking in to a camera/microphone. Haha

Hard News 1 and 2

George's Street Fest

George's Street fest on Main is southern Utah’s new, popular outdoor nightlife event. On the first Friday of every month from 6-10 p.m., local residents and tourists gather at the center of Historic Downtown St. George to celebrate. The event features a free Main Street concert and Zion Brewing Company Jazz Garden at Ancestor Square for adults 21 and up. This April 1st, St. George was honored to be featuring the country-rock sounds of popular southern Utah band,"The Whiskey Tooth Revival", which headlined at 8 p.m.

Best City in Utah!

A total of 68 city's competed in a poll to determine which city is the best in Utah and it has come down to Park City and St. George. Voting for this final round will go through the weekend and will be officially stopped at midnight on Sunday, April 3. The winner will be named Monday, April 4th.