School has been...

...GREAT! I am almost finished with my first calendar year of school, and I am really excited about that! I have been working so hard the last year to do my absolute best in all of my classes. There have been a few classes that I absolutely disliked [one even close to hating], and there have been classes that I did not want to end because I loved them so much!! I love going to school for photography! I like learning things that just any random person on the street doesn't know, unless they did some serious "digging" and research on. I used to think I knew a lot about my camera, how a camera works, editing photos, etc. But I have learned that it doesn't matter how long and how many times you've read the manual of your camera, you aren't going to really know a whole lot about it; it doesn't matter how many hours you've spent editing photos and making photos look "good" because you have to learn what looks and is right; it doesn't matter what kind of camera you have if you don't know how to use it properly and continue shooting in AUTO; and there are so many other things that I have learned. I'm happy that I'm not just another person that went to the store, bought a camera, and call myself a photographer. If you know me, you know that I don't call myself a photographer now, even though I know a whole lot more than the people that have just picked up a camera and call themselves photographers when they have no photography experience at all - I am just a photography student right now. And you know what, I feel better by calling myself a photography student because I know that there is still more for me to learn before I can call myself a photographer. Yeah, I take photos for people, but I have yet to accept any money because it's all just a learning experience for me right now. Maybe in a little while I'll start accepting money, but I want to learn more before I start charging people.

Right now, I am currently taking a math class and Digital Image Illustration. Math is super easy because it's Algebra and I rock at Algebra! The Digital Image Illustration class is pretty cool! I'm learning a whole lot about Photoshop, and it's making me more comfortable with the program [but I still prefer to use Adobe Lightroom when editing because it's a FANTASTIC program and much quicker to use]. I have a certificate saying I passed a Photoshop course [simple tasks in the program, really], but even after taking that class, I wasn't very comfortable with Photoshop. I like to learn the more advanced stuff in programs, and this Digital Image Illustration class is teaching some advanced tasks. I love it! Here's just one example of something I learned to do in the class:

Photo One:

Photo Two:

And this is what I came up with in the end:


It was a bit tricky, and a little tough and frustrating at times, to get my ending image. But in the end, I'm happy with the results and I love that I now know how to do that! I honestly couldn't explain it to someone if my life depended on it, but I can whip out an image like that without any problems now. For the more advanced stuff, I like Photoshop; but for the routine editing, I prefer Lightroom because it's much quicker for me to edit photos.

I am now going to have to go through some of my past assignments and random photo outings of mine, and pick out with photos I would like to post in another blog entry.

HOLY MOLY!!!!

So last night, I was looking through some of the stuff for The Art Institute that was on the list of things to do before starting school. One thing on the list is about the software and they have a website for the school to order the software you need, as well as extra stuff. I looked at the website last night, and just browsed through the software, hardware, and all of that stuff. The one cool thing about The Art Institute is that, if you order stuff through their website for school, you get 85% off of everything!!!! AMAZING! There's this one thing I've been wanting to get [Adobe Creative Suite 4 Master Collection], but it's about $2,500!! Yeah, there's no way on God's green earth that I'd spend that much on software right now. But as I was browsing the school's website last night, they sell the collection to students for $510!!!! One of the programs I am required to have is in the collection, and it's about $100 by itself. So Mark and I talked last night, and he said that I could go ahead and get the CS4 Master Collection. Why pay about $100 for one software program when I can pay a little over $400 more and get 16 programs?! It just makes sense to us if I just got the whole collection. And I have to admit, I am so happy that I have a husband that is supporting me 100% with going to school for photography and letting me get some new things so I am able to start at a semi-professional level with all of it. Gosh, I love him so much!!!!

Speaking of Mark, he left this morning. I miss him like crazy already!! We were lucky enough to be able to text each other for a while before he got on the ship. It just sucks that I won't be getting a million texts from him a daily basis for the next 6 months or so. He did send me one last photo though from his phone before he left. He was frowning in the photo. He's not thrilled one bit about this deployment, but we're hoping that this is the last one for a while. The boys have no idea that Mark's gone and not coming home for a while - they were asleep in the stroller when he left. It just hurts because they don't know. But at the same time, I'm glad they didn't see him leave because Michael was such a mess the last time Mark left on deployment. I just hope that this transition without Daddy and the move go smoothly with the boys. I know it's going to be a lot on the right now, but I'm happy that we're getting it all done with within a short period of time. [I hate dragging things out.]

So here's to deployment #3!! I hope that this deployment goes smoothly and that we're an even happier, closer family in the end!!

School Update & More

I got a call from my advisor dude at AiP last night, and things are going well. Actually, he said things are looking really great for me!! YAY! All of the stuff that needed to be done on my end is complete!! WOOHOO! Next is just the financial aid stuff has to be taken care of on the school's end. I don't know how long that'll take them, but I do have a while before it needs to be done since I'm suppose to start on July 13th. I just can't believe that I'm wanting to go back to school, especially as much as I do - let alone actually trying to make it happen!! HA. I swore up and down I'd never go back to school for anything, especially if I had to take "core classes". Guess I was way wrong!! HA. But it does feel really good to actually be able to go to school for something that means a lot to me and something that I really want to push myself and succeed in.

So yesterday was pay day. I woke up early, got ready, got the boys ready, and we were out the door by about 6:45 to go grocery shopping. Since we're leaving Monday morning, I only needed to by things for 5 days. I know I shouldn't have done this, but I did anyway...I went to the makeup aisles and bought some makeup. And only one of those things is something that I'll use every time I put makeup on. HA. The other things I bought were 3 Cover Girl eyeshadows [that are brand new colors from CG], 6 Maybelline eyeshadows [most of which are brand new colors], and Maybelline's new Lash Stiletto mascara. The CG eyeshadows I got are INSANE!!! They are bright, metallic colors and I just love them!! I actually really want to go get some more!! Some of the Maybelline eyeshadows I got are pretty awesome, too - while 1-2 are just okay!! I have yet to use the Lash Stiletto mascara. I seriously didn't even need to buy the mascara. I already had 6-7 tubes of mascara before buying the new one yesterday. [And all but two of the mascaras I had before were ones I've bought within the last month or two. I love mascara and have to have different mascaras for different looks.] But the makeup I bought yesterday is to maybe test out and use for when I go home and maybe test the waters and do the extreme beauty shots on people. I know my sister is willing to let me try any kind of hair and make up stuff on her whenever I'm in the creative mood. She's such a good sport!! HA. I'm thinking about buying some fake eyelashes, too, for whenever I do extreme beauty shots. Fake eyelashes are amazing...it just sucks that I can't put them on myself!! If I could put them on myself, I'd be rockin' them almost every time I walked out of the house!!

I've decided that next time we move back down here, I'm not going to paint walls because we hopefully won't be here for long. We'll either go to Columbus, Ohio, because Mark got accepted into MECEP and Ohio State, or we'll be stationed elsewhere. So instead of painting walls, I'm just going to probably get a bunch of new picture frames and hang up some of my photographs on the walls. I don't want plain, boring walls, and photos will definitely "spruce things up a bit". I've already gone through some of my photos and picked out the ones that have to be hanging up on the walls. I'm not going to lie, I am very proud of a lot of the photos I've taken, especially recently, and I think that they should be on display wherever I may live. Plus, I think photos are more personal than just any type of decor. Don't get me wrong, I do love those little things you can find places, but photos are more personal and when I see lots of photos in someone's house, I feel like they are letting me be more into their life than someone who only has a few photos up. Do you know what I mean? But I just want people to be able to walk into my home and look at my photos, and feel like I'm welcoming them into my own little world. And you just never know, maybe someone will really love a photo I have up and be moved by it, even if it's just a little bit of that feeling. I know that I am often moved by photos. Some photos just have that ability to touch ones soul instantly, and those are my favorites.

One Step Closer.

After waiting over a week for a phone call back from my advisor at The Art Institute, he finally called me today. THANK GOD!! We talked about my FAFSA form and how the financial advisors have my paperwork in order [I just had to fill out the FAFSA form], and got some problems taken care of. I was having a hard time with FAFSA because the student loan that I'm still paying on right now is under my maiden name because the financial aid people were being lame about changing my name before. But I got all of that stuff taken care of, and my mom [who was so awesome and offered to fill out my FAFSA form] filled out my new form. So that means I am just one step closer to starting school this summer!! YAY!!

I am seriously so excited about this!! It's crazy!!

I have decided to fill out my application and FAFSA and just start off as a part time student, just so I can get a "feel" of things. Part time for the online division is just one class per every five and a half (5.5) weeks. So once those 5.5 weeks are up, you get anywhere from no break to three and a half (3.5) weeks for a break. I'm thinking that after the first or second quarter, I am going to start taking two classes at a time, making me a full time student. It'd be nice to get more work done so I can just finish the photography program that much faster. Also, the school is a year-round school, so no summer break that lasts 2-3 months long - but I am okay with that because I'll just be taking classes online, instead of spending hours in a classroom away from the boys.

I am really looking forward to this!! I can't wait to actually start!! The proposed starting date I have is July 13th...my birthday!!!! So I will be coming home from my week long trip in Indy on the 12th, then starting school the next day. HA. It'll be one hell of an interesting, yet unbelievably awesome, week for me!! It's going to be great!!

Some of my favorites.

I am always looking at photoblogs, sites for camera accessories, sites for pictures, and stuff like that. There are a few sites though that I am searching every time I sit down at the desk and am online. I thought that I would just share my top three with you, in case you've never heard of them.

My NUMBER ONE site is B&H Photo Video.
They have EVERYTHING on that site!! I first heard of B&H about a little over a year ago because we got this monstrous catalog in the mail. It was for someone that used to live here, but I just started flipping through it and looking at all of the amazing things that just the catalog had!! Fast forward to now, and I am constantly on the website, searching for things that I'd like to have one day for my camera [and future camera]. You can go to this site and spend hundreds of hours searching it for stuff, and you'll be nowhere near seeing half of the things they sell!! Plus, it'll be nice when I start my AiP online classes because I'll get a 10% off discount from B&H!! HECK YES!! I love looking for stuff on that site. It's seriously addicting - especially if you have a strong passion for photography and just want everything out there for your camera!!

Another site I love going to is Photocritic. I love reading the articles and learning how to do some really cool things with taking photos and editing. Probably the coolest article there is Digital Schizophrenia. Once I get a tripod, I am definitely going to try doing that!! It's just so cool looking! I love it!

As you should already know, I would love to be a sports photographer. So it's only proper for me to have a photoblog in my favorites that's by a sports photographer. That site would be Beyond the Best Seat in the House. This guy used to work for a newspaper or something, but due to the shit-filled economy, he decided to take the severance package from the newspaper company and go his own way. And what's really cool is that in some of the photos he's taken, he has Drew Carey in them!! Being from the Cleveland area [in Ohio], I obviously love Drew Carey...and miss always watching "The Drew Carey Show". [Seriously, who doesn't miss that show?! It was absolutely genius!!]

Of course, there are PLENTY of other sites that I go to, but none more faithfully than the three I listed above.

THIS IS NOT A JOKE! I REPEAT - NOT A JOKE!!!!

HA.

Anyway, today has been a good day so far. Wait. Scratch that. It has been a GREAT day so far!! Why? you may be asking yourself. Well, I will tell you why. I HAVE OFFICIALLY APPLIED TO THE ART INSTITUTE OF PITTSBURGH!!!! [Obviously their online division. Duh! I'm not going to Pittsburgh anytime soon - if ever.] The other day, I just started the application process, and today I finished it!! YAY!! I am SO EFFING STOKED about this!!!! I know it's expensive, I don't know how much financial aid I'll be able to get, don't know if I'll get a scholarship, or anything like that, but I'm happy!! I am not planning on trying to "zip" through the program, but rather try and stretch it out as much as possible. If it wasn't so expensive, or we had a crap load of money, I would definitely do as much at once as possible, but it's just not realistic right now. Plus, with two kids, it'd be better to not try and cram in a ton of classes and stuff. I am just definitely hoping that things work out. I am sure everything will work out. But you know how it is - you sometimes second guess yourself and the way the world works once you've done something you think you should've done. Don't you just hate that?! Ugh, so annoying!!

I've been looking through the classes that they have/offer for the photography program at AiP, and the one I am probably most "in love" with right now is the Sports Photography class. If I could, I would definitely become a sports photographer!! I know - a FEMALE sports photgrapher...STRANGE!! HA. But get this, the other class I am looking forward to is Figure/Fashion Photography!! HAHAHA. Two different extremes, yet they are what I absolutely love!! Only I would be so in love with two different extremes. HA. And of course, they just happen to be the two most difficult types of photography to get in to and be taken very seriously. Oh well. I guess I just like to set the bar high, huh?

So this weekend is Family Day for all of the families of the MEU that Mark's deploying on/with. I'm really excited about it!! The weather is supposed to be BEAUTIFUL, which makes it even more exciting!! I have never been to a Family Day before. But I am going to be there taking a million photos with my camera. Oh, you better believe it!! HA. I am going to say right now I will easily take over 100 photos while we're there.