Try, try, and try again.

With about six weeks left in school our annually student show is closely approaching. Sadly I didn't get anything accepted into the CRT or Photography show. Which just means i need to try a lot harder and push myself for next year. If at first you don't succeed try try and try again. Proudly I can see the major difference in my work and how far I've come! I am blessed to have such amazing teachers!

Owens Community College spring 2013

It has been a year since my last post and I have entered in my final classes for commercial art classes. I feel like this semester has been one of my toughest semesters yet. But with some hard work and dedication I believe that I will succeed . I will be counting down till my graduation date! But I couldn't be happier at how far I've come and what I've accomplished!

My reflections on spring semester 2012 at Owens Community College.

    If I had to sum up this semester in one sentence it would be, "I can't believe I made it through".  This semester in comparison to fall semester was difficult and very frustrating. I found that to be kind of odd since I only took 12 credit hours this semester and 15 during the fall. Then I reflected on everything about this semester. I realized that within a four month span I have moved twice and was picking up more hours. I am very grateful that I had teachers that were willing to work with me.

    If I could do anything different it would be to stay organized throughout the whole semester. I realized I would start the semester very organized but then would slowly slip into a more unorganized state. Another thing I would do differently is to not put so much on my plate. I need to learn I'm not a superhuman and I can't be at two places at once. All in all I really enjoyed this semester no matter how stressful it was. 

Managing Owens Lake Commons.

     For my portrait assignment I decided to do it on a majority populated college apartment complex employees. I choose to do my portrait assignment on a populated college apartment complex because this is the environment that I'm in. These are the people I see on a semi-regular basis other than my teachers and classmates.  This assignment was mildly difficult than expected. I believe the fact that I knew the employees made it easier to shoot them doing their everyday routine. Another thing that made it easier is that I talked with my subjects and they made me feel at ease when shooting them. 

    What I found challenging about this assignment is that looking at my photos I can tell that my metering was off. While doing this assignment the office had some good sunlight and they also had tuscan lighting so it was difficult to find a balance. Another difficult issue I faced was that my camera at high ISO has a lot of noise to it and is really grainy. This is something that I need to look into so that my images don't look so grainy.

Justin Drouillard working on some files for residents. (PHO 245/ Christian Howell)

Jen Mann (left), Debbie Mansfield (center) and Justin Drouillard look over upcoming events for the Owens Lake Commons. (PHO 245/ Christian Howell)

Jen Mann (left) talking with a potential resident and Justin Drouillard getting a file. (PHO245/ Christian Howell)

Jen Mann making copies of the community news letter. (PHO 245/ Christian Howell)

Owens Community College softball team is national ranked

   For my individual project I decided to do it on Owens Community College softball team. I choose to do my project on them because I will like to work for ESPN magazine one day. I thought covering a national ranked team will give me some practice and guidance in the right direction. The game I covered was on April 22, 2012 and they played against 16th national ranked Mercyhurst College. The OCC softball team is ranked 8th in the nation being lead by 9th season Coach Duane Lanham.

Mercyhurst teammates (Christian Howell/ PHO245)

Mercyhurst pitcher after the OCC just scored a run. (Christian Howell/ PHO245)

OCC cheer on their teammates. (Christian Howell / PHO 245)

Katie Butler at the bat to get a single run. (Christian Howell/PHO 245)

     I enjoyed shooting the team as they split winning the first game and losing the second. Despite the freezing weather the girls played the double header very well. 

Duane Lanham

Our team project at the Sunshine Home

Janet Schaefer takes a time out from painting Super Saks bag to greet us. (Pho240/Christian Howell)

For our team final project we were invited to capture a brief day with the staff and residents of the Sunshine home. The photos I chose to share in my blog post are the ones I felt provided the best of my experience. This assignment was easier than the previous ones, because we worked as a team. Even though we all shot different elements of the Sunshine home having my fellow classmates by my side provide a sense of comfort.

I found shooting the staff and the residents difficult because I didn’t want to invade any ones personal space. Luckily, the residents were excited to have their photos taken. The staff was very helpful when it came to getting the names of the residents. They also provided a more comfortable atmosphere for the residents as we all shot them doing their normal routine.

I’m getting used to shooting people photography and invading others personal space for that perfect shot. I still find it a little uncomfortable but it is something that is a working process. What I found challenging about the assignment was that I wanted to go everywhere and capture everything. Unfortunately, we had a limited time there so I captured what I felt was important.

This encouraging poster  located in the front doorway of the vocational building provides inspiring words to those that enter the building. (PHO240/Christian Howell)

Mariah Luifs (left) gives friend Melissa Jender a birthday hug after arts and crafts in the vocational building. (PHO240/Christian Howell)

Mindi Wilsoy works on removing staples and paper clips from the box of papers. (PHO240/Christian Howell)

Sports photography: Shooting the dream.

Lady Rockets dominates over VCU in round 3 of the WNIT game . 

             I was recently given what I felt was a once -in-a-lifetime opportunity to shoot the Lady Rockets in a WNIT Sweet 16 game against Virginia Commonwealth University. I was excited to attend a college basketball game.

 I found sports photography a lot easier than expected. One of the aspects that made this assignment easier was I could just sit back and capture the moments of the game with little interaction with my subjects. I’m slowly getting used to people photography.

I had a couple of challenges with this assignment. One of them was getting close to the players after the game. I particularly didn’t want to impose on the losing team.  Another challenge was when Andola Dortch of the Lady Rockets injured herself. I was unsure if shooting her lying on the floor in pain was ethical.

The sports assignment is my favorite assignment it is fitting with my love of sports. I desire that one day I’ll land my dream job working as a sports photographer for ESPN magazine. 

Lady Rocket #2 Courtney Ingersoll, senior, guard goes in for a lay up to the basket.
(PHO 245/Christian Howell)

Lady Rocket player #3 Lecretia Smith, junior, forward drives the ball down the court the basket.
(PHO 245/ Christian Howell)

Lady Rocket #22 Andola Dortch, sophomore, guard goes up against two VCU players as she takes the ball to the basket.
(PHO 245/Christian Howell)

University of Toledo fans celebrate as the Lady Rockets make a basket.
(PHO 245/ Christian Howell)

Lady Rockets 4th season head coach Tricia Cullop has some words with the Lady Rockets after their win against Virginia Commonwealth University in the WNIT game.
(PHO 245/ Christian Howell) 

Lady Rocket #5 Janelle Reed-Lewis , sophomore, guard celebrates with team mate as the Rockets score a basket. (PHO 245/Christian Howell)

The Lady Rockets get together for a team shot after their win against Virginia Commonwealth University in the round 3 game of the WNIT 2012.

 (PHO 245/ Christian Howell)