Aix en Provence

Today I went to Aix en Provence. It was a cool city to go to and get away from Lacoste for a little while. Lacoste isn’t bad but is good to get away from every once in a while. I had two cameras and my tripod. I was ready to capture every event possible. The first thing we did was walk around to try to find a café that we all agreed on. That took quit a while but I didn’t mind. It was relaxing and I enjoyed it quite a bit. I did what is often called people stalking. But I like to call it people capturing. Because the way I do it is, I make it obvious and don’t try to hide around corners. It was a little different though because I started to noticed that the French don’t like their picture to be taken. The worst is the people asking for money and if you take their picture they ask you for money. It hadn’t happened to me because I just didn’t take their picture but really wanted to. One thing I saw that was very interesting was a woman and her baby siting out side of a church begging for money. It was probably the sadist thing I saw all day. The coolest thing was the inside of the church. There was actually a service going on in it. It was interesting observing what they did in this church. It was unlike anything I had ever scene but yet so peaceful at the same time. After these two moments I continued on to find my the other part of the group. We didn’t find them but we found Christoph and we had him guide us to where we were going next. It was funny because we went in a circle. Then he told us where the buses were instead of the street we would walk on. It was very kind of him to take us in to a circle. When we got on the bus to go find this famous painter and his studio. It was so horrible for me because I had all of this stuff with me. When I was getting my change my key fell on the floor. I set my coffee down and then grabbed it then walked to my seat. Well while I was walking to my seat he started to move so I bumped into the seat and coffee splashed all over this poor little girl. I gave my coffee to Sarah and then finally was able sit down. Then after a long bus ride we ended up passing our stop and at the last bus stop the bus driver kept opening and closing the bus doors because it was the last stop. Well after he noticed we were clueless Americans he drove us to the final station and gave us tickets so that we could ride on whatever bus to get back which was very nice. So we finally made it and then it was time to leave back to Lacoste.

Colorado 6

Going to Colorado was one of the coolest experiences. It started out really good when we ran in to a lavender field. This field was filled with violet, vibrant colors that just make me extremely happy. It smelt so famous. It was a time filled with excitement. We shot pictures of Bates because he looked perfect in the lavender field. Then there was Ishmael, looking like a tiger crouched down shooting Bates. Then the frolicking sisters Corrine, Mary and Ferris. Once we moved past this we met Forrest at the entrance and he told us about this plant that use to be an asparagus while it just starts out little and then just grows into something big. Walking a little further we found our first ochre pit. With in seconds, Ishmael found his tree and perched on it. Then a couple of then slid down the mountain to enjoy their self and pick ochre samples until they were satisfied and climbed up the ochre mountain. I felt like they were taking long so I decided to go along by my self. It was a fun experience to explore by my self. I new I didn’t have two long to explore and didn’t have a map so I just continued on and didn’t really get to enjoy my self and the nature of the ochre. I came to a cave and it was really cool to walk through and see what it was like to go through an ochre cave. After a while of exploring the cave I felt like I needed to head back the same path I came from so I did. On the way I ran in to my group of friends so I joined them and showed them the cave. Being in a group was a lot more fun while experiencing the cave. While they went through the cave some of us picked ochre that was flabbergasting. It was this very rich violet. It reminded me of nothing I have seen before. Runing out of time we decided weather it was faster to head back the way we came from or to continue. So we found out that continuing was the better rout. So as we continued on the way Eli found that on the way there was a view point that was just outstanding. It was totally worth the trip. This was definitely a place I will return to. A beautiful experience with my awesome new friends.

Blog 5

Going on the trip to Fort Buoux was intriguing. It was good to see all the history that was there and to be walking through it. When we first got there, there was a big rock wall that we were forced to walk under. It was kind of cool seeing all the details in rock and looking at how different it looked in the morning to the afternoon. After walking through the porch of someone's house. We began our journey up the mountain. I was flabbergasted by what I saw. The photographs I was getting were very crisp. The quality of light was phenomenal. Walking up slash running up the mountain with Ismael. The only bad thing about this was I wasn’t paying much attention to what was around me. Once we got to the top I just went nuts. I took photos of Ismael on the edge of the cliff. I set up my tripod to get pictures of the mountain and the villages around the mountains. The moment was breathtaking. It was the third best scenery moment I have had in my life. Then the fun part was walking down the mountain. We went down this secret staircase. One thing I would say about the secret staircase is it is just secretly steep and unnecessary. But yet it was all worth the experience because when I came back in the afternoon I went down the same way. Overall this trip was a great experience. Now I am going to talk about the second time I went to Buoux. This time it was a lot better because I spent time by my self. I took pictures of a lot more details because I wasn’t moving so fast. There wasn’t one beautiful thing I missed. Because I took so much time at the top last time I wasn’t so interested in staying up there so I snapped a few pictures of the mountain and also the rock climbers. I find rock climbing so fascinating because it takes so much trust in your body and also the rope. But I guess you can’t keep a rope in the way of living life. As I went down the mountain I switched to my macro lens. I went so slow trying to find any bug to capture a picture of until I found an odd object that I found to look interesting when I was climbing up to the top. After that I actually spent a lot of time looking for bugs but couldn’t find any. So that concludes my trip to Buoux.

Paris Trip

The trip to Paris was the most influential experience I have had in a while. I learned so much about myself as I critiqued the art in each place I went. I learned what I liked and what I didn’t like in photographers. Forest gave me an awesome realization that we can look at art, through a mirror or through a window. “When we look at art through a window we are looking at something we have never seen before and when we are looking through the mirror we are looking at something that is about us.” This really helped me look at art in a different way and opened my mind. I like knowing why I am doing what I am doing. I can now comfortably say I can look at art in the way I feel it is intended. Now to talk about the first impressions I had when I first looked out of the train station. I fell in love with the repetition of urban design in the buildings. Caring the suitcases to the hotel ruined most of the enjoyment of the walk through Paris. Once we go to the hotel and dropped the entire luggage off is were the experience of Paris began. Some of my friends and I walked around and we found a café and enjoyed the culture of the people and I shortly realized that when you take a picture of a performance they will shortly ask you for money. The second time I had to say no to them because I didn’t enjoy their attitudes. After a while we left and began our experience back to the hotel and we didn’t have trouble because Bates had been to Paris before Lacoste. The pictures I took that day were very satisfying. The next day we went to Varsay with the painting students. I enjoyed the art inside the building and also the architecture. The garden was so breath taking when I walked out side. It was rainy so I was upset about that part. Other than that I enjoyed my time. After taking a bunch of photos I realized I had lost the ticket that I had for my tripod. We had to check our tripods for some reason before we went in to the building for some dumb reason. So I went to the desk and explained what had happened and I had to sign my name on this piece of paper and the only reason they believed me is because I had my SCAD card and on the tripod it said property of SCAD. After avoiding that bullet I went to a café near by. I enjoyed the town. It was very unique. Then after enjoying the Café I met up with Audrey and we some how found our way back to the Hotel. The next day was the Louvre. Before I went in I explored the garden because the light that morning was absolutely amazing. While walking to the garden this women asked me if I spoke English. I said yes I do and she insisted that I signed this petition but I told her no thank you like 4 times. Then she finally left me alone and I found Ishmael and Bates and we went in to this museum that had impressionist paintings and then we went to the Louvre and we saw the paintings and also the Egyptian artwork. Then we went to the Winagrand show that they had. He was an awesome photographer who inspired me to take a lot more candid shots.

Week 3

I went on an awesome trip to this trail by the chateau. I went through it to this construction quarry. There were rocks cut out all over the place and I captured all kinds of textures and colors. After I was done with this I went back a different way and ended up in some ones back yard. It was the coolest back yard I have ever seen. It had all kinds of sculptures and monuments. She was the most artistic person I have ever met. She used a lot of the lime stone from the quarries. I went on an awesome trip to the cedar forest and it was one of the greatest experiences I have ever had. I jogged to the entrance to the park to start my hike. Once I got their I decided to take a rest because I was more tired then I usually would be. On the way up I found this hairy insect crawling on the ground. I grabbed my macro lens to capture an image of this creature. I got on the ground and snapped a lot of this creature. I just let him do what he does on his normal day. He looked hairy with orange and black striped on him. I captured the perfect moment of him eating a leaf. Then after I captured that I continued on this intense hike. Once I got to the top I saw a beetle. It looked so cute, as it crawled around. I waited until it was still to capture the photo I wanted and then moved on to continued my hike up to the beautiful mountain. Once I got on the mountain I wrote this. “It's feels so good to experience the space of the mountain. The power that the sun has, lighting up such a space. I feel so small but yet I am glad I can comprehend what is before my eyes. The textures of the rocks, the beautiful light that shines so beautifully in every crevice. The beautiful river in the background shines uniquely. The mountainsides that have a shadow that is so uniquely designed. Every moment is different. The light is constantly changing based on the clouds that are blocking it until the sun bursts through the clouds. The wonderful sound of the wind constantly controlling what I here. Looking at the plants and trees, attempting to see the sound of the wind. No one in site, not even a bug or animal to disturb this moment of time. Waiting for dusk to roll in to attempt to capture a detail of this big scene.” After righting this I was disappointed with no sunset. I had to walk home in the dark, but this trip was definitely worth every moment.

Week 2

Week 2 A group of us decided to go to Bonnieux. We decided instead of using the road that we would find our way through the vineyards. It was a fun adventure, on the way I shot some photographs but I wanted to get to Bonnieux. The lighting was fabulous, we took advantage of every field we could to capture our adventure and then we spotted a dog. The dog took 30 minutes to get past because my friends decided to play with it. Once we got to Bonnieux we found an amazing view at a pizza place and watched the sunset. We took pictures as we waited for our pictures and just had a fun memory that I will always remember. The sunset was like being on the beach, experiencing so much warmth from the sun and friends. It felt good to only know these people for only one week but feel so close to them as if I new them for a long time. The way back was so fun. We adventured back in the dark, trying to trace our every step back. Corrine and I were walking faster than everyone so when we were out of the view of our friends we decided to play a prank on them and let them get ahead of us. Once they did we followed them from behind and after a little while of them getting scared because they noticed we disappeared, we scared them and then finished our walk back to Lacoste. The next day I didn’t have class so I decided to take a bike to adventure further down the path I jog. I found a park that ended up being so beautiful. I shot photos of the landscapes that I found. It was a beautiful ride and also a hard time at the same time. I realized that France is very hilly and when you go down hill it is fun but you have to go back up the hill is what I had forgotten. On this trip I found this trail that lead up the mountain. Then next day I ran to the trail I found the day before and adventured half way up the hill and was blown away by the most beautiful scenery I have seen in a while. While on this trip alone I thought about being in this foreign country and feeling how much freedom I have as an American. To be able to have this opportunity was just overwhelming and I started to look at the thing I was grateful for and I just enjoyed the time I had alone. Then I ran back looking through the beautiful nature God gave me to look at.

Week One

Week 1 My trip to Lacoste has been amazing. Everywhere I go I have to have my camera. My camera is a memory box that I can always go back to. I started off my trip just taking it all in and looking at everything without taking pictures because when I am taking pictures I am not paying attention to the feeling of the experience I am having. Once I began taking photos I fell in love with the outcomes how many photos I was taking. I looked through them and I usually only have a few I keep but I haven't dragged one photo to the trash box quit yet. I went through a faze of just taking touristy photos as everyone has to do when entering a new place. The first objects that interested me where the figures made out of stone. I had the idea of taking pictures of all of them that I walked past. The next day was a foggy day and I saw the most beautiful sunrays coming through the fog and I grabbed my camera and took some amazing photos to only find that I didn’t have a memory card. I came up with a new phase, YOLMCO “You only leave memory card once.” We took a trip to Bonniux and on that trip of failure we experienced the vineyards, ate grapes and apples. While on that trip I got wonderful pictures of Laucoste, a bus stop that had what looked like water for horses. There was cool caves, awesome trees growing out of the ground, a praying mantis that I got macro pictures of. This experience was a failure for reaching Bonniux but was an awesome photo experience. The best trips are the ones that don’t work as planned but end up being the amazing trip that you needed. The next day was the first day of class for most people except myself. I took advantage of this and explored different areas with a few friends. I took pictures of the snail fields and macro picture of one snail witch peeked my interest of having my final explore the different bugs in France. Capturing pictures of the tiny bugs that people don’t want to get on the ground to see. I have always been interested in the things that are small and never scene by most people. We found this gated place were we saw that was being worked on and also someone who was using the place to live in because we saw hangers. I looked in this place and saw a cool drawing on limestone. It was an amazing piece of art/graffiti that someone created. Then continuing on we saw this guarding frog that was just before this path. Making sure know one passed. I captured a photo of it and it was an amazing photograph. The photograph captured the moment. The next morning I woke up to the sunrise and watched the different colors appear and slowly change. I captured the sunrise as it drastically changed. Then as it was almost over the horizon the fog created a cool look to the mountains and made it a whole new feeling. It was an awesome chance to explore how to capture fog in a unique way. Then after all my classes I found out what I needed to do for the first assignment and explored ways to make a landscape photograph not look cliché. What I found worked for me was leading lines. Capturing very warm scenes or foggy scenes. Making a landscape photograph is difficult to create in a creative way.