Stop and See

The Arizona

Palm

Thanksgiving sunrise

Fence

3 Wishing cranes

Night photography assignment and no tripod? Use a car, a genetics text book, and a lens cap, and presto!!!

Photographic testimony to the necessity of a tripod!!

Hurray!

Wait...

In other news, RAW and Photoshop go together like peanut butter and jam - with a slight addition.  Photoshop demands you make the sandwich with sock gloves on, while reciting Hamlet's soliloquy, and tap dancing, in Morse code, the longitude and latitude to the olive oil shop in Old Town San Diego.  Possibly while your hair is on fire, or being done by 4 year old children who have an unlimited supply of hair clips, ribbons, and artistic vision.




Or I'm new and it's more like learning to drive a car with a manual transmission.

Window, window in the wall...

  This project was about utilizing window light in portraiture.  In other news, I have fantastic friends who model for me.  Aren't they gorgeous?!!!

This is a cropped picture taken in the Grant building in the late morning.  The light floods this hallway and lit her up wonderfully, and was at the perfect angle to create a clear reflection.  

He'd just finished cleaning up after devotional and agreed to be my underpaid model.  The light comes in mostly to his side, though he is looking through the glass, creating a fantastic shadowing on the right side of his face and neck.  

We were in the Seasider when the table next to the window opened up, so I handed her my soup and sticks and had her pose, and also eat some to see if that would work.  I like how the light falls across her forehead and follows down the bridge of her nose to her chin.  Also the light outlining her arm.  I am not a fan of the background however.  It's too much and distracting.

This I didn't turn this in, but I thought it would be nice to contrast the cropped and the uncropped photos.  Which do you prefer? 

Wait for it...

All of us have been and will be each of these people. 

Contemplative

Sometimes we talk about the future unknown; perhaps internships, career goals, family, midterms, and a million other things which will define and shape us.  And it is who we have the potential of becoming on this path which can be the most daunting.

Friend

When we are with friends, we will run the gambit of emotion and of giving and receiving emotionally.  Which will often times take the form of sitting with some pizza; listening to the future, to the past, and the moment of shared time.

Smolder

And all of us, at least once in our lives, will look at our friend in the camera lens and release...The Smolder.

Chickens, and Poke and Ants, oh my!

The Photo Graphy Assignment Numero First

The creeper by the bike rack near the library? Ya, that was me.

I am Ronaldo, the super puppy fire hydrant! 

Groot that was, and to Groot it shall return. 

(But not really since it is made of plastic)

A photo I found under piles of computer files.

I like taking photos, but the quality is inconsistent at best.  This is from a trip to Hawaii in November of 2011, and, for me at least, this is a really nice shot.  The greens are vibrant, the texture of the churned up sand next to the smooth surface of the shoreline is a visually interesting contrast.  The sky grows from the cloudy pale blue of the horizon to a more vivid blue seen through the palm fronds, and there is the movement of the ocean around the shore rocks frozen in place.  I also like the way the photo is divided between the different textures of the setting, the rocks, sand, shore, sea, sky, and flora.  And this is what I like to take photos of, the outside.  I once took a trip to Yellowstone and took a million shots of Morning Glory pool, feeling like none of the pictures I was taking could fully capture the depth and vibrancy of the pool.  I wanted to take home the awe I felt looking into the water, but could not capture it on film.

Ooooohhhh!! Things just got real! But not really.

I am hijacking my own blog!!!  And I am taking you all with me!  All 6 of you!

Now you may be asking yourself if you should pack anything?  Clean socks, or snacks, maybe the good sunblock?  Really, Rachel, what does this hijacking entail because there are sooo many responsibilities and frankly who can afford to be hijacked for too long before these responsibilities come knocking at the door, or tugging shirt sleeves, asking for cookies.  Mmmm cookies...cinnamon cookies...lemon glazed ricotta cookies...Nutella cookies...Great Grandma Huff's peanut butter cookies...mmmmm.  Wait, I was hijacking you, stop distracting me with delicious cookies!

On with the hijacking!!!

Now with that introduction, here is the anticlimactic, and sadly cookie free, hijacking.  Or rather, think of it more as a forced journey--of school work.  Dun dun dun.

School work?!  Gasp!  

Yes, I'm afraid so.  You see, I am taking a photography class...

Gasp..oh, photography, that's not so bad. 

...and will be posting photos here as part of a class requirement.  Feel free to comment on them, suggest things which will improve the shot, or what you liked that I should continue to try to replicate, etc.

And now, for the school work!  Eventually.

How was your morning?

3.1415926535897932 is Math For Dessert

This has been in my drafts folder for a while, enjoy.

There are irrefutable laws in the world: the law of gravity, the nucleus of elemental iron contains 26 protons, butterscotch is gross always, energy can neither be created or destroyed - really one could go on and on listing the various laws that govern the natural world.  But I do not want to highlight any of these natural laws (except for maybe the law listed third); no, this post is about another law.  A law which is equally significant in all our lives.  I speak of course of the observance of a nationally recognized mathematical holiday, I speak of Pi Day.

Pi is a mathematical constant; a remarkable number which never ends nor repeats, and is primarily connected to computations for circles.  And not, I think, coincidentally, is a homophone for something wonderfully fantastic, which is also a circle.  Charts!!!  Ah circular graphical representation of data...I kid or calf, sometimes I foal, depends on my mood.  March is the third month, thus, begining with the month, the fourteenth of March is 3.14, pi.  The year 2015 will be even excitingier with more pi!  More pie!!!!  I mean pi, yes pi mmmmmm pie ghggghhhgghghghghghghhghgggghhghgh.*

Anyhow, as law abiding citizens of the world, my house and neighbor participated in 
 *For those not familiar with my typed sound effects, the long gh combination is the sound Homer Simpson makes when he thinks about delicious things.

Graham Cracker Crust
7 whole graham crackers, coarsely broken
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted
2 tablespoons sugar

Black Bottom
1/3 cups bittersweet or semisweet chocolate chips (about 8 ounces)
2/3 cup chilled whipping cream
2 Tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Peanut Butter Mousse
1 3/4 cup chilled whipping cream
1 generous cup natural peanut butter
1/2 cup powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350.  Spray 9 inch glass pie plate with spray oil.  Blend graham crackers, melted butter and 2 Tablespoons sugar in processor until moist clumps form.  Press crumb mixture over bottom and up sides of prepared pie plate.  Bake crust until lightly browned, about 15 minutes.  Or, you just buy a prepared graham cracker crust like I did.  It was cheaper than buying a box of crackers I wouldn't ever get around to eating.

While your crust is baking, or sitting on your table all prepackaged, in a microwave safe bowl combine chocolate chips, 2/3 cup cream, honey and 1 teaspoon vanilla.  Microwave on medium for 2 minutes and whisk, if the chocolate is not completely melted, microwave for an additional 30 seconds.  Whisk until smooth.  Pour the chocolate into the bottom of your now finished pie crust.  Freeze for 10 minutes.

In another, or the same just cleaned, microwave safe bowl, combine peanut butter and powdered sugar.  Add 3/4 cup of cream and 1 teaspoon of vanilla.  Microwave for 1 minute.  Cool to lukewarm.  Because natural peanut butter is used, the oil will separate and you will wonder what this oily mess is you are looking at and wonder how it could ever become a lush peanut butter mousse, but never fear, the power of whipping cream is here!!  According to the original recipe, these are the final steps to making the mousse: Whip the remaining cup of cream with 2 tablespoons sugar until very thick but not yet holding peaks; fold into peanut butter mixture in three additions.  Our reality was slightly different.  We were short on cream, but mixed it up and folded it into the peanut butter.  Then we emptied the remnants of a spray can of whipped cream into the mousse and stirred until it looked good.  Spoon over layer of chocolatey goodness.  Chill in the fridge for an hour, or a day, or whatever your patients will allow within that time range.

If you are so inclined, you can garnish the top with drizzles of chocolate and sprinkles of peanuts.