Since December 16 it will have been four months since I moved to London and what an amazing adventure it has been so far. I just got done with my first semester of graduate school and boy was it a doozy, i've learned so much about photography, the history of it, not working with cameras. Though that would have been awesome, working with all those old cameras. I have been crazy busy with papers and learning images for two tests. 59 photographs for my 19th century photography and 49 photographs for my 20th century photography class. I had to learn the photographer, the name of the photograph, the date of the photograph and the process used to make it. I leaned 49 photographs in a day and a half, that has to be a first first for me. The reason I had to learn these is because I had a test where we would have to compare the photographs and didn't know which ones would be used. The last two weeks I had to neglect my social life and just focus on school. I was not the best person to be around, i'm sure my roommates and friends can attest to that, I was supposed to go out with a friend and her boyfriend one night but I was so worried about learning the images that I went home early.
So during the last couple of months i've had the best time with classes and making new friends, ooh it sounds like i'm in the first grade, haha. I started off this semester not knowing anyone but my roommates and have met some awesome people along the way. My classmates are all so much fun, when we go out or when we just hang out. Through them i've learned so much and had random fun when out during field trips. This semester I went to Bradford, a small town with the National Media Museum, Paris, what an awesome 4 days filled to the brim. I've been to Windsor Castle to go see the Royal Collection, amazing and that would be an ideal and interesting job to have. I've been to auction houses and just learned and formed just what I want to do. I may still not know but at least I can say i've explored my options. Those 108 notecards were not of all the photographers that we learned throughout the course, it wasn't even half. There is so much good that comes out of memorizing that there has to be a negative that comes out of that. I didn't read my notes on the photographers, there is no way I could, unless I put information down on the back of the card. Oh well, it's over with, I can't worry about it anymore. One thing I do have to think about is the 3,000 word paper due in January when I get back to London, that one i'll have to think about and do major research on. I also know what I need to do right with this paper, as my paper for my 20th Century Photography class was not the greatest. I also would have benefitted from having a longer paper due in the middle of the semester and get that back before we start on another paper.
Anyway enough about being worried and disappointed, i've been worried instead of becoming stressed, I learned the hard way just what that does to me, so now I just have to remain calm and breathe with everything. I get to go home (?) soon to Colorado, the reason that there is a question mark is because I sort of consider it home, I moved out to live in London. The thing is I guess home is wherever you make it, home is wherever your loved ones are, wherever the ones that you are close to and your friends are. I guess I could say that I consider a couple of places home, Colorado, London and maybe in New Mexico, on second thought not NM cause I couldn't wait to leave when I graduated even though I have a lot of friends that live there.
I've learned so much in four months and those notecards reflect on what i've learned, i'll keep those to remind myself just how far i've come, i'll keep the essays to remind myself just how far I still have to go
Sunday, December 18, 2011
Monday, November 14, 2011
Zig Zagging
Recently my class went to Paris for a field trip and oh man were those 4 days filled to the brim, this is how the days looked:
Day 1 Thursday
I got up at 5 a.m. to take a taxi to Kings Cross/St. Pancras at 5:45, we had to be at the station at 6:45, because i'm always early for everything I was there around 6ish, which was fine because I had time to sit and enjoy a breakfast. The train was at 7:22, it took a little while with customs
When we got to Paris we dropped our bags off at the hotel, some of us checked into our rooms and then we set out to find lunch. 5 of us went to eat at a nice little bistro. We had to be at Sotheby's Paris for a auction preview at 2, we decided to walk, now I walked all around Paris last year on my backpacking trip, however holy crap that was a long way. I don't think any of us figured that it was going to be that much of walk from where we were to where Sotheby's Auction house is. It's actually across from where the French President lives, interesting little side note. Anyway we got lost on the way, went left instead of right up the right street. We were late, which was fine, there was interesting photographs there, especially a book by Leni Reifenstahl (sp?) some by Seydou Keita among others.
After Sotheby's we went to Christies Auction House to see their preview and there was so much there, however probably more copies of prints then at Sotheby's. There was more in there and Henri Cartier-Bresson's photographs were there as well as many others. They had auction catalogues, but they were pretty expensive and were divided up by artists, I wish the auction house had a big catalogue, oh well. After Christies we headed to Institut Neerlandais where there was an exhibition going on of Breitner, who did early street photography. After that there was a talk given by a couple of notable people. One was the director of Musee D'Orsay, another was a online magazine editor, one was an artist and the other worked for the Institut Neerlandais. It was a little boring and we were tired and hungry. After the talk some of us headed back to the hotel and others headed out there own way. I went out to eat with 3 others, Alex, Juliette, and Laure. I had escargot for the first time, and it was a-mazing. It was so much fun getting to know people outside of classes. After dinner everyone was tired so we went back the hotel and went to bed. It was a long day and the next couple of days would be even longer.
Day 2 Friday
We didn't have get up early, this day we went to Paris Photo at the Grand Palais, great place to hold it in, it is an annual photography exhibition and there are a lot of galleries. Since I didn't know what to look at I kind of zig zagged my way around the venue. The first gallery I happened upon was Hamilton's, I was very impressed with how they set up their booth, it was very intimate and they showed only a couple of photographs. I wasn't originally going to talk to any gallery owners/workers, however i was so interested in these huge photographs that I just had to talk to someone who was working the booth. The photographs were of storms coming in on a coastline. Turns out the photographer's name is Murray Fredericks and the series was of time lapsed storms on the Australian coast. They are amazing and I would strongly suggest that whoever reads this go to www.murrayfredericks.com.au, click on the projects and go to the Hector Series. I want a coffee table book on that. There was so much to look at, another series I liked was of NASA images, I asked the gallery worker that worked there how they acquired the photo's, it was from various people as well as NASA just throwing those images away, which I can't imagine why they would in the first place. Nick Brandt's photography was there as well, I like his work. There was so much to take in, I went to the booths that interested me. I found more Ilse Bing photographs, a lot of Kertesz and many many more. Luckily our class went in early for VIP's so there wasn't a ton of people in there. If we had gone later in the day it would have been like Frieze art fair, I wouldn't have seen everything that I did and I would have gotten annoyed and would have left.
After Paris Photo I went out to eat with Jen, a friend from the course and then we went to Sotheby's photograph sale and even though it was in French I understood what was going on. It was very interesting to see what type of people collect photographs as well as how long they'll stay at the sale. We didn't stay the whole time, instead we were off to another place, this time to the Henri Cartier Bresson Foundation where Lewis Hine photographs were being exhibited. After that we went to La Maison Revue Noire, which is a gallery that exhibits African Contemporary Photography, it was the end of the day and I was not interested I was tired and I was hungry and I had enough of photography that day. After that everyone went their separate ways, however 4 of us, Alex, Jen, Julia and I, went to the Latin Quarter to eat and ended up at the same restaurant from the night before and had Fondue. We had various meats including duck, which was amazing, and wine. After dinner we headed back to the hotel and had some drinks, went to bed because we had to be up and going around 9 the next morning.
Day 3 Saturday
Up around 8ish to leave for Societe Francaise de Photographie, they showed original photography. However people were dropping like flies, not many places to sit, after that we went to have lunch and then went to La Maison Europeenne de la Photographie, I was quite taken with the Albanian Photography and would like to learn more about that, maybe someday? After that no one wanted to go to the last photography museum that was planned for that day, we pretty much had enough. Everyone went their separate ways and I went with Jen and we ended up walking and going for drink and a very long talk.
We then headed back to the hotel before a group dinner at Le Mesturet. Not everyone went, however it was a lot of fun, I met a woman who attended the first photography course, which was about 7 years ago. She's a psychologist who uses pictures sometimes as an ice breaker for her clients. We talked for a bit and for dinner I ended up having snails again, it was: Escargots de Bourgogne en feuille de chou, tomates et pleurotes, bouillon d’herbes fraiches (Burgundy snails in cabbage leaf, tomato and mushrooms, and fresh herbs broth) and steak, however I should have asked for it to be well done, I forget that medium well in France is still beating. I also had a lot of wine and a gin and tonic. After the restaurant we went back to the hotel to have some more drinks and then head to bed, it was 1 a.m. and we had to be up earliesh again, however I did not sleep that much that night a total of probably 5 hours, like that wouldn't haunt me.
Day 4 Sunday (Our last day)
That day was not as busy as the last 3 days were, which was good, because everyone was tired, we went to Jeu de Paume near the Tuileries Gardens, we went to a Diane Arbus Exhibition, I had enough and I don't like Arbus' work that much. After that, Jen, Julia, and I went to go shopping, everyone was on their own again a didn't have to meet up until 6ish to head to the train station. So we found a vintage store and Jen and I, while waiting for Julia to try on some clothes, took pictures of ourselves in the hats and wigs, the workers got irritated at us. We were in the Jewish District and we headed to a falafel place that was mentioned to me by my roommate as well as the program coordinator, however there was a huge line and we didn't want to wait.
So the three of us met Alex and headed out to eat at a pizza place. After that Jen and Julia took the tube back and Alex and I walked back to the hotel. We waited for everyone and left, I was so tired by then, when we got to the train station, immigration is a bit of a bitch. Two immigration posts and I had to put my info on a paper to give to one of the officers, which meant that I had to step out of line. Then we had to go through x-ray and metal detectors and of course no one is prepared for that. The whole operation would have gone smoothly if they had signs warning you what to do. Anyway the train was a long ride back and I ended up having an hour commute home because the Northern line was being worked on. I got home, talked with my roommates and was on the computer for a little bit and went to bed. So an exhausting 4 days that was worth it, zig zagging everywhere, this way and that way and I wouldn't have done it any other way or with any other group of people. It brought us a little closer as a group and we know each other's interests a little better now.
Day 1 Thursday
I got up at 5 a.m. to take a taxi to Kings Cross/St. Pancras at 5:45, we had to be at the station at 6:45, because i'm always early for everything I was there around 6ish, which was fine because I had time to sit and enjoy a breakfast. The train was at 7:22, it took a little while with customs
When we got to Paris we dropped our bags off at the hotel, some of us checked into our rooms and then we set out to find lunch. 5 of us went to eat at a nice little bistro. We had to be at Sotheby's Paris for a auction preview at 2, we decided to walk, now I walked all around Paris last year on my backpacking trip, however holy crap that was a long way. I don't think any of us figured that it was going to be that much of walk from where we were to where Sotheby's Auction house is. It's actually across from where the French President lives, interesting little side note. Anyway we got lost on the way, went left instead of right up the right street. We were late, which was fine, there was interesting photographs there, especially a book by Leni Reifenstahl (sp?) some by Seydou Keita among others.
After Sotheby's we went to Christies Auction House to see their preview and there was so much there, however probably more copies of prints then at Sotheby's. There was more in there and Henri Cartier-Bresson's photographs were there as well as many others. They had auction catalogues, but they were pretty expensive and were divided up by artists, I wish the auction house had a big catalogue, oh well. After Christies we headed to Institut Neerlandais where there was an exhibition going on of Breitner, who did early street photography. After that there was a talk given by a couple of notable people. One was the director of Musee D'Orsay, another was a online magazine editor, one was an artist and the other worked for the Institut Neerlandais. It was a little boring and we were tired and hungry. After the talk some of us headed back to the hotel and others headed out there own way. I went out to eat with 3 others, Alex, Juliette, and Laure. I had escargot for the first time, and it was a-mazing. It was so much fun getting to know people outside of classes. After dinner everyone was tired so we went back the hotel and went to bed. It was a long day and the next couple of days would be even longer.
Day 2 Friday
We didn't have get up early, this day we went to Paris Photo at the Grand Palais, great place to hold it in, it is an annual photography exhibition and there are a lot of galleries. Since I didn't know what to look at I kind of zig zagged my way around the venue. The first gallery I happened upon was Hamilton's, I was very impressed with how they set up their booth, it was very intimate and they showed only a couple of photographs. I wasn't originally going to talk to any gallery owners/workers, however i was so interested in these huge photographs that I just had to talk to someone who was working the booth. The photographs were of storms coming in on a coastline. Turns out the photographer's name is Murray Fredericks and the series was of time lapsed storms on the Australian coast. They are amazing and I would strongly suggest that whoever reads this go to www.murrayfredericks.com.au, click on the projects and go to the Hector Series. I want a coffee table book on that. There was so much to look at, another series I liked was of NASA images, I asked the gallery worker that worked there how they acquired the photo's, it was from various people as well as NASA just throwing those images away, which I can't imagine why they would in the first place. Nick Brandt's photography was there as well, I like his work. There was so much to take in, I went to the booths that interested me. I found more Ilse Bing photographs, a lot of Kertesz and many many more. Luckily our class went in early for VIP's so there wasn't a ton of people in there. If we had gone later in the day it would have been like Frieze art fair, I wouldn't have seen everything that I did and I would have gotten annoyed and would have left.
After Paris Photo I went out to eat with Jen, a friend from the course and then we went to Sotheby's photograph sale and even though it was in French I understood what was going on. It was very interesting to see what type of people collect photographs as well as how long they'll stay at the sale. We didn't stay the whole time, instead we were off to another place, this time to the Henri Cartier Bresson Foundation where Lewis Hine photographs were being exhibited. After that we went to La Maison Revue Noire, which is a gallery that exhibits African Contemporary Photography, it was the end of the day and I was not interested I was tired and I was hungry and I had enough of photography that day. After that everyone went their separate ways, however 4 of us, Alex, Jen, Julia and I, went to the Latin Quarter to eat and ended up at the same restaurant from the night before and had Fondue. We had various meats including duck, which was amazing, and wine. After dinner we headed back to the hotel and had some drinks, went to bed because we had to be up and going around 9 the next morning.
Day 3 Saturday
Up around 8ish to leave for Societe Francaise de Photographie, they showed original photography. However people were dropping like flies, not many places to sit, after that we went to have lunch and then went to La Maison Europeenne de la Photographie, I was quite taken with the Albanian Photography and would like to learn more about that, maybe someday? After that no one wanted to go to the last photography museum that was planned for that day, we pretty much had enough. Everyone went their separate ways and I went with Jen and we ended up walking and going for drink and a very long talk.
We then headed back to the hotel before a group dinner at Le Mesturet. Not everyone went, however it was a lot of fun, I met a woman who attended the first photography course, which was about 7 years ago. She's a psychologist who uses pictures sometimes as an ice breaker for her clients. We talked for a bit and for dinner I ended up having snails again, it was: Escargots de Bourgogne en feuille de chou, tomates et pleurotes, bouillon d’herbes fraiches (Burgundy snails in cabbage leaf, tomato and mushrooms, and fresh herbs broth) and steak, however I should have asked for it to be well done, I forget that medium well in France is still beating. I also had a lot of wine and a gin and tonic. After the restaurant we went back to the hotel to have some more drinks and then head to bed, it was 1 a.m. and we had to be up earliesh again, however I did not sleep that much that night a total of probably 5 hours, like that wouldn't haunt me.
Day 4 Sunday (Our last day)
That day was not as busy as the last 3 days were, which was good, because everyone was tired, we went to Jeu de Paume near the Tuileries Gardens, we went to a Diane Arbus Exhibition, I had enough and I don't like Arbus' work that much. After that, Jen, Julia, and I went to go shopping, everyone was on their own again a didn't have to meet up until 6ish to head to the train station. So we found a vintage store and Jen and I, while waiting for Julia to try on some clothes, took pictures of ourselves in the hats and wigs, the workers got irritated at us. We were in the Jewish District and we headed to a falafel place that was mentioned to me by my roommate as well as the program coordinator, however there was a huge line and we didn't want to wait.
So the three of us met Alex and headed out to eat at a pizza place. After that Jen and Julia took the tube back and Alex and I walked back to the hotel. We waited for everyone and left, I was so tired by then, when we got to the train station, immigration is a bit of a bitch. Two immigration posts and I had to put my info on a paper to give to one of the officers, which meant that I had to step out of line. Then we had to go through x-ray and metal detectors and of course no one is prepared for that. The whole operation would have gone smoothly if they had signs warning you what to do. Anyway the train was a long ride back and I ended up having an hour commute home because the Northern line was being worked on. I got home, talked with my roommates and was on the computer for a little bit and went to bed. So an exhausting 4 days that was worth it, zig zagging everywhere, this way and that way and I wouldn't have done it any other way or with any other group of people. It brought us a little closer as a group and we know each other's interests a little better now.
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Breathe....I think I forgot
Drip, Drip, Drip --- I think that's my sanity leaking out, for the last two weeks, without realizing it, I have been stressed, actually beyond stressed. I had a paper due last week and I could barely write it, I had so much trouble with it, I had researched possibly way too much to the point where I didn't know how to write the paper. Don't you hate that? Maybe it's me, however I really hope I don't over research when it comes time for me to do my dissertation. I hope that's not the case, I met three people who were in the Master's of Photography program and just finished their dissertations. They were tired and pretty much living on adrenaline, dead to the world. I don't want to become like that, however I probably will, I don't even know what I want to do my dissertation on and we have a meeting on that next week.....ugh.
Because I have been stressed I kind of took it out on myself and another person who should not have gotten any brunt of it. To that person, I am very sorry about that and hopefully haven't ruined a friendship because of it, apologies are in order. I ended up retreating and through that my room became messy, which is a definite sign that I am stressed. I don't think I went anywhere besides home, school, and the libraries in the last two weeks, with the exception of my mom being here the week before last during reading week. I may have seen upbeat but I wasn't, I was just going through life. Even though I have papers due weeks within each other I need to find time to enjoy life. I think that's what was missing. Another thing, I haven't been doing yoga in the past two months, that was a great de-stressor, I need to get back into that somehow. When my mom was here she gave me yoga dvd's so hopefully I will be able to set aside some time and start that.
I just need to remember to breathe and think through my actions. So for now I gotta suck it up and start enjoying things again, and not let something so small sneak up on me. I think the day I realized I was stressed was on Sunday when my roommate and I just vegged out on the couch all day watching Downton Abbey and X Factor. I got out of a rut that I was in probably yesterday, I guess you could say the fog lifted a little bit and made me realize how irrational I was acting with a bunch of things. Hopefully this weekend i'll write part of the paper and go out with friends and just have fun, drinking need not be involved, I just need to get away from school life every now and then.
Because I have been stressed I kind of took it out on myself and another person who should not have gotten any brunt of it. To that person, I am very sorry about that and hopefully haven't ruined a friendship because of it, apologies are in order. I ended up retreating and through that my room became messy, which is a definite sign that I am stressed. I don't think I went anywhere besides home, school, and the libraries in the last two weeks, with the exception of my mom being here the week before last during reading week. I may have seen upbeat but I wasn't, I was just going through life. Even though I have papers due weeks within each other I need to find time to enjoy life. I think that's what was missing. Another thing, I haven't been doing yoga in the past two months, that was a great de-stressor, I need to get back into that somehow. When my mom was here she gave me yoga dvd's so hopefully I will be able to set aside some time and start that.
I just need to remember to breathe and think through my actions. So for now I gotta suck it up and start enjoying things again, and not let something so small sneak up on me. I think the day I realized I was stressed was on Sunday when my roommate and I just vegged out on the couch all day watching Downton Abbey and X Factor. I got out of a rut that I was in probably yesterday, I guess you could say the fog lifted a little bit and made me realize how irrational I was acting with a bunch of things. Hopefully this weekend i'll write part of the paper and go out with friends and just have fun, drinking need not be involved, I just need to get away from school life every now and then.
Sunday, October 16, 2011
8 Weeks of what?
I have been at Sotheby's for 6 weeks now, it's crazy to think that I have been living in London for 2 months now, it seems longer. Since I have been in London I have made some amazing new friends, I have great roommates, anyway i've made new friends, I sound like a kindergartner. A lot of people are younger or older then I am, however I really don't care, what matters to me is that i'm getting the most out of this experience.
When I first came to London I didn't know what to expect, I didn't know how long, or short, it was going to take in finding a flat, I didn't know how hard, or easy, it was to get a bank accout. I thought I was going to find a place that was under 450 a month (in pounds) in zone 1 or 2, it's not realistic. Oh well, I also wasn't sure how I was going to get along with my roommates as we only had talked over skype once and then facebooked each other the rest of the time. I'm happy that we get along and that we do stuff together and separately. We're in a flat where we aren't in each other's way all the time, except when we're hungry at the same time, then the kitchen is really small, haha.
I have yet to really explore the area around which I live, so this week being reading week (a week off, kind of like fall break), and i'm a poor student, I will explore and i'll take pictures, so make sure to check facebook or email me asking for pictures. The more I explore around London the more I want to take pictures, i'm glad that I have people to do that with. This week my mom and her friend are coming to visit, so possibly a chance to get out of London for a day, we'll see, but i'll be sure to bring either my big camera or my small camera. I love that I got back into it, i just bought a 2 GB memory card for my camera, I didn't have a very big one before. Now that I do, well, everyone get's the picture. (haha, ugh)
School is becoming to get a little stressful, I just finished writing everything in my calendar for what I have to do till the end of the semester. Needless to say I got overwhelmed, I have to write a paper, due next week, and I just had a meeting with my teacher about a 2000 word paper we have to write. It may not seem like a big deal, however I have to write it very well, we are graded very harshly, so my structure of the essay and everything else has to be perfect. Oh did I mention that it has to be in the Queen's English, which isn't bad, however it has to be up to Sotheby's standards. I got my first paper back, I looked at it and didn't want to deal with it. <-- Oh look a run on sentence. I have to begin another paper soon, so I will have to face it and go through the notes. On the plus side, I got my oral presentation back, a 75 out of 80, not bad. Ok enough with this, I am looking forward to a year here, because everything is bound to get better, the pictures, the people, and the classes. I was asked if I was going to stay here after I did my dissertation, I would say yes, because I love the atmosphere here. I'll see where the tide takes me, so to speak, if it's staying here, going somewhere else in Europe or returning to the States i'm always up for an adventure.
When I first came to London I didn't know what to expect, I didn't know how long, or short, it was going to take in finding a flat, I didn't know how hard, or easy, it was to get a bank accout. I thought I was going to find a place that was under 450 a month (in pounds) in zone 1 or 2, it's not realistic. Oh well, I also wasn't sure how I was going to get along with my roommates as we only had talked over skype once and then facebooked each other the rest of the time. I'm happy that we get along and that we do stuff together and separately. We're in a flat where we aren't in each other's way all the time, except when we're hungry at the same time, then the kitchen is really small, haha.
I have yet to really explore the area around which I live, so this week being reading week (a week off, kind of like fall break), and i'm a poor student, I will explore and i'll take pictures, so make sure to check facebook or email me asking for pictures. The more I explore around London the more I want to take pictures, i'm glad that I have people to do that with. This week my mom and her friend are coming to visit, so possibly a chance to get out of London for a day, we'll see, but i'll be sure to bring either my big camera or my small camera. I love that I got back into it, i just bought a 2 GB memory card for my camera, I didn't have a very big one before. Now that I do, well, everyone get's the picture. (haha, ugh)
School is becoming to get a little stressful, I just finished writing everything in my calendar for what I have to do till the end of the semester. Needless to say I got overwhelmed, I have to write a paper, due next week, and I just had a meeting with my teacher about a 2000 word paper we have to write. It may not seem like a big deal, however I have to write it very well, we are graded very harshly, so my structure of the essay and everything else has to be perfect. Oh did I mention that it has to be in the Queen's English, which isn't bad, however it has to be up to Sotheby's standards. I got my first paper back, I looked at it and didn't want to deal with it. <-- Oh look a run on sentence. I have to begin another paper soon, so I will have to face it and go through the notes. On the plus side, I got my oral presentation back, a 75 out of 80, not bad. Ok enough with this, I am looking forward to a year here, because everything is bound to get better, the pictures, the people, and the classes. I was asked if I was going to stay here after I did my dissertation, I would say yes, because I love the atmosphere here. I'll see where the tide takes me, so to speak, if it's staying here, going somewhere else in Europe or returning to the States i'm always up for an adventure.
Friday, October 7, 2011
I Could Spend Days in this Place
Recently I went to Bradford, U.K., it's about 4, maybe 5, hours away from London, I went there on a field trip with my Masters of Photography class for three days. Those were packed days for sure, the first day we got there the group went to 2 museums, the second was the National Media Museum, and here's where it gets interesting and fun. We got to go into the archives, behind the scenes, thousands of files with pictures, however the place that made me die and go to heaven was the camera room. That's right the camera room, not only were the newer cameras there, there were also cameras dating all the way back to the 1830's, possibly even earlier. The curator only had us in there for, maybe 15 minutes, but I could seriously have spent hours in there, just looking at the cameras behind the glass cases. Ok, that's a lie, I could have spent days in there, I would have loved to go into the cases and examine all the cameras. I would loved to try all the older cameras and figure out the processes that go along with each camera. After a break, we had a lecture on cameras and methods, I was so interested, I know it had been a long day, there were a couple of people really trying to stay awake. I was writing so much that my hand hurt.
I found a part of a passion that I didn't know was there, I didn't even know I was that interested in cameras and methods, shocker!
I got to see curators in action, got to see how passionate they were. I want to be that passionate about my work one day. I don't know where this degree will lead me, but for once, i'm just estatatic, I don't even know if that's the right word, I seem to have found a passion for the technical. This trip opened my eyes, and i'm sure other trips will continue opening my eyes. Another thing, because i'm not going to focus on the cameras, however I could and would get into a camera's history. Thursday, 6th of Oct, we got into pairs and wrote captions on photographs, my partner and I were really struggling with the caption until Roger Taylor, who is a curator/professor ex. Photographer, I could go on for a while describing who he is, however I won't. Anyway he came over to sit with us, asked us questions, and it lightened up or view of on the photograph, of the period really.
One thing that I haven't written about is that as a photography student, we get to look at original pictures, original negatives of photographs. Jealous? By looking at these images we're figuring out what processes are used, ook, now i'm just being boring, but like anything that's interesting passion comes along, and i'm slowly finding my passion, it may take a while, but it's there. By watching others who enjoy their work and listening to them i'm way excited about what I will one day, hopefully be doing.
I got to see curators in action, got to see how passionate they were. I want to be that passionate about my work one day. I don't know where this degree will lead me, but for once, i'm just estatatic, I don't even know if that's the right word, I seem to have found a passion for the technical. This trip opened my eyes, and i'm sure other trips will continue opening my eyes. Another thing, because i'm not going to focus on the cameras, however I could and would get into a camera's history. Thursday, 6th of Oct, we got into pairs and wrote captions on photographs, my partner and I were really struggling with the caption until Roger Taylor, who is a curator/professor ex. Photographer, I could go on for a while describing who he is, however I won't. Anyway he came over to sit with us, asked us questions, and it lightened up or view of on the photograph, of the period really.
One thing that I haven't written about is that as a photography student, we get to look at original pictures, original negatives of photographs. Jealous? By looking at these images we're figuring out what processes are used, ook, now i'm just being boring, but like anything that's interesting passion comes along, and i'm slowly finding my passion, it may take a while, but it's there. By watching others who enjoy their work and listening to them i'm way excited about what I will one day, hopefully be doing.
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Click Click
Nope that isn’t the sound of my camera, in fact I haven’t been taking any pictures at all, sad, I know. I don’t have time too, why? Because I’m always going somewhere and don’t have time to stop and see what’s around me. I’m sure if I did stop I would find something amazing to take pictures of, I always do. No the click click are people’s heels on the pavement. It sometimes amazing to me that women can wear these high heels when walking all day, why not tennis shoes like the rest of us? Because, really, who drives? Not a lot of people. Also it’s really expensive to own a car, cause you’re always paying for parking and gas, plus it’s really hard to find parking spots and streets are crazy they’re really narrow.
Ok enough of my ranting, I was worried that I wouldn’t get enough exercise when I got to London. Being a poor student I can’t afford a gym. Instead I walk everywhere I can, except when I need to catch the tube. I wish I could walk to school, but from where I am it’s about 35 minutes, by tube, who knows what it would be walking distance, I don’t want to try. I have found that I like walking around the city, however slow people, ex. old people, tourists, and people who don’t know where they’re going (that’s me half the time, however I stand off to the side) are slow, and they block your path. Particularly when you need to get somewhere, there is always a slow person; same goes for the tunnels in the tube. I need to get to my train, why are you lollygagging? So with people going to and from it’s fun watching them, it’s also fun watching people on the tube, however make sure you don’t stare off into space while looking at a person, it’s weird and uncomfortable, I’ve done that to people without realizing it. The ride makes you tired, not sure why but it does and people watching is the best, especially in the morning when you get the random women putting on their makeup. Do they not have time to do it at home? Isn’t it a little harder to do it on the tube car? Depending on the day and time people are smushed into those things like sardines, it’s hot and it smells. Oh, while I’m on that subject, and I’m not ranting, it’s an observation, what is with the people who stand right in front of you? There are other places in the carriage to stand, why do you insist on putting your crotch near my face? While I like the tube, I like to walk and see what’s around me, either going to my destination, going somewhere and getting lost or just simply take a wrong turn.
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Living the Life....sort of
It’s crazy to think that I’ve lived in London a little over a month now, and boy it has been a crazy month. I started Sotheby’s Institute of Art last week, the week before we had orientation, that was a crazy fun time. I have met so many interesting people and made some friends there as well. I have found people who have the same interest as me, have the same personality/humor as I do and people who I want to get to know more. The only thing is with the way classes are it’s hard to say hi to people, b/c I either have a day off or in class when everyone else is generally busy. Speaking of which my schedule is light but heavy at the same time, this is what my schedule looks like:
Monday: Research/Study Day
Tuesday: Lecture, Seminar, Lunch/office hours, Lecture and maybe a seminar
Wednesday: Class, Seminar, lunchtime lecture and whatever else they like
Thursday: Lecture, Seminar, a visit?
Friday: Visits to galleries where I have now idea where they are :/
Classes start at 10 end around 3 or 4 depending on the day, yeah it sounds like a short day but really it isn’t. By the end of the day you’re tired. I’m not bitching I actually love it. I have such interesting professors and classes and I’m learning so much more than I initially thought I would. My day starts with a 30 minute tube ride from where my tube stop is to where I have to get off for my school. It’s awesome just as long as I’m not going home during rush hour, then there’s nowhere to sit until 2 or 3 stops before my tube stop. Oh the joys of commuting, but I like it, except when it’s muggy in the stations, then I just feel like I need a shower.
Aside from the crazy schedule I have 3-day weekends, now I’m just rubbing it in. My roommates, Drew, Emily, and I have moved into our lovely little flat. Just enough space where we won’t bump into each other all the time, and big enough rooms to get away from everything and study/do yoga if I wanted to. Speaking of which I miss yoga and I miss going to the gym, the gym I can live without because I’m walking every day and when I come home there’s a small hill that I have to walk up. So with all the walking and not eating as much I have probably lost a bunch of weight. I want to find somewhere to start running, I need to check if there’s a park nearby. The area of town I live in is North Finchley, and the flat is just down the street from a grocery store, there’s a bunch of little clothing stores, cleaners, books stores, discount stores and restaurants. The only thing though that I would harp about is that we have a washer but no dryer, no laundry mats near us. So we have to let everything air dry, the old fashioned way, takes forever. The other thing is that internet takes a long time to be set up here. Being a student we need internet all the time, so until then an internet stick does the trick. If the internet stick runs out then just go to the local coffee shop with “free internet” or lug my lap top to school, which is what I’ll probably end up doing. Oh another thing I love is that the museums and galleries are mostly free, so if I do have any free time I’ll go to a museum and check everything out, especially if they have a photo exhibit going on.
Well I think that’s all for now, just enjoying my living in London on a budget going to school, isn’t that that life?
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