I am getting the bug back!

So as I sit here, bitterly enjoying my Subway sub and looking at lenses for my camera, I am thinking to myself: “I really miss taking photos.” Over the course of the past week or so, I have been able to take a lot of photos of a variety of different things. I’ve been able to hang out with some friends and shoot photos with them, and more importantly, some of my girlfriend! As I thought about it over lunch, I realized the reason I quit enjoying photography was because I was shooting too many things that I wasn’t passionate about. Not only that, but it was usually on a last minute notice thing and more often than not, after hours. And while I enjoy attending events, I wish I had something to show for it. I talked with our creative director the other day, and ever since I started here I’ve been trying to get some new camera equipment. I’ve been begging for a good telephoto to replace the 28-200 G lens that I have now. Performance wise, the lens takes nice photos outdoors. Inside shots with low light, and autofocusing though are awful. I don’t think I’ve ever used a lens that focuses as slow as this one does, and is also not that accurate. Also, the zoom is not very tight (and is backwards from every other Nikon lens I’ve ever used…) and slides out while moving around. Aside from all that, it does take nice photos when the lighting is right. Unfortunately for me, I take a lot of photos in very poorly lit places and in places you’re not supposed to use a flash. In these situations I resort to my trusty 50mm f1.8. Like these photos here, the left one being pretty much my trademark shot:

Now, my friend Joe, of FJ Gaylor told me yesterday that he had a lens he might be able to sell me which would be amazing! Hook me up! Another reason I have been excited about photography is because the FJ Gaylor was updated to include all their fall 07 shots. Let me just say that they have their act together! If you need photographs of your college, I would highly recommend them! And I’m not the only one.

 

Moving on, last night at the library (I briefly mentioned this earlier) I was helping Jordan find some things. I came across a book titled “Memoirs of Mary and Martha Washington.”

 

Then I looked at the copyright date in the center on the bottom of the page….1852.

Isn’t that amazing?!?  It’s crazy to think that book is actually in my universities library.

It’s hard to read, but this book was given as a gift on Christmas in 1853.  These photos were taken with my iPhone.  It does a decent job for a camera phone in low lighting.  But so anyway, I was really amazed and I think the artistic aspect of that book really made me enjoy photographing them (even just with my phone).

 

Alright…last thing…I mentioned bitterly enjoying my sandwich.  Last time I got a tuna sub from Subway I got a six inch.  They put three scoops of tuna on my six inches.  Today I was starving and decided to get a foot long.  I watch as he applies the tuna and see him put only four scoops on my sandwich.  Now…it’s been a while since I’ve taken a math course, but if there are three scoops on a six inch, shouldn’t there be six scoops on a twelve inch sub?  The tuna was spread so thin on my sandwich, I would have gotten all bread and veggies.  So I asked him to put another scoop on my sandwich and he said it would be .50 a scoop.  Then I started thinking, I’m paying more for a 12 inch sub with an extra scoop of tuna than I would for two individual six inch subs.  $7.10 later, I leave with my sub and drink (drink was free for being a student!) and return to my office.  I usually spend $3.27 for lunch on a six inch sub.  It probably wouldn’t bother me so much except for the fact that 4 out of the last 5 times and 7 out of 10 times I have gotten “fast food” whether it be from Subway, Taco Bell, or Wendy’s, they have gotten my order incorrect.  I guess they think that when I ask for a hamburger I really want a cheeseburger instead.  Customer service has really gone down hill…

 

*UPDATE* I am convinced that Springfield, IL has the craziest weather!

*FINAL UPDATE*

At 9:15 p.m., it looks like this…what it doesn’t tell you is the 30-40 mph wind.

*UPDATE*

Just further proof that Springfield, IL has the craziest weather!

After lunch I had a few meetings to go to…I had to cross buildings, but I could instantly tell that it was colder; probably around 45 or so and this was around 3 or so.

It’s 4:45 now and the temperature has dropped substantially!

And outside it now looks like this…

Yeah thats about a half inch of ice…it’s been crazy…Post photos or videos of your weather! I want to see what it’s like where you are at.

 

Adding some flair to the Admissions Lobby

Since I started about six months ago, we have been working on sprucing up the admissions lobby. This week, I continue that project again.

My first day on the job, I spent rearranging the furniture in the lobby. It used to be when you walked in, it was like a doctors office where all the chairs were single and placed flat against the wall, etc. Being an art major certainly helped with the redesign and within the first 8 minutes (if I remember right) we saw signs of it’s dramatic improvement. People were actually utilizing the furniture the way it should be.

After that, I had a 37″ TV sitting in my office for some time until they finally came by to mount it for us. We also have added a DVD player for movies and slideshows.

On Friday I was able to pick up the mats for the frames we bought a LONG time ago. Since our printer guy retired, we have not had the opportunity to get photos printed, but I will be working on that today. Kinko’s can print up to 11″ x 17″ photo quality on glossy or matte paper for under $2.00. The paper may not be as thick as traditional photo paper, and the prints might not last forever, but considering the amount spent, I would say it’s a good deal.

Also this week, I’m going to be working on the other photo project which will be a collage. I created one for my girlfriend for our anniversary last year with all of our friends and will be applying the same concept to the one for the admissions lobby. By using 4×6 photos and placing a small piece of magnetic tape on the back, you can attach them to a magnetic whiteboard. I’ll be picking up a couple whiteboards for about $15 each, removing the frames, mounting them from the wall, and sticking the photos to them. By doing it this way, the thought is to create an interactive canvas for photos to be moved around and quickly changed out. I’ll post photos as the project progresses.

I hope to have this all done this week before classes resume again, so we’ll have to see. I’m awaiting approval to go pick up the whiteboards as we speak. For now, here are some teaser photos!

Brookens Library

Live Music

The Pond