Tuesday, January 29, 2013


Chris Gass
Professor Kelly Warren
ENC 1102
January 29, 2013
Photos For Life
“Photography by nature is spiritual, considering it comes from the darkness to show the light”. (Judy Glee). The local gallery opening this week was a smash with, including many styles of photography. I enjoyed some of the added effects; simple saturation and contrast can really enhance the color and bring an image to new life. With “Immaculate conception” the photographer added an overlay of sheen or shine to the shot, it looked like they painted it on, I thought it took away from the original capture. The other two “Through History”, and “3’s a crowd” were more my pace. Each of them told a story, evoke emotion, and also lead you to tell your own story.
“Immaculate conception” by John Shipee was a photo originally captured in a catholic church setting. In attempt to spice the image up, Im afraid the added features did not work for this picture. There was already so much to look at, the added effects to the image to make it shine didn’t work. There is a shimmer of shine to the photo that I did not like. The image itself was sound, and captured in quality of all the inside of the church including the alter and the pews as well as the stain glass. The Mother Mary and Jesus himself were pictured in the stained glass behind the alter. Jesus and the apostles were color on color. The encased molding and shape of the roof were beautiful, and the image was strong, but again, did not like the shimmer effect.
“Through History” by Brittney Goodwin was a classic two story brick home, with the shutters on every window and the rocking and chairs out front were a great addition to making this classic country home come to life. The picture was black and white house. The bushes carved the home, going through the center of both sides of the house, from the ground to the top of the house. The huge oak tree grew tall to meet the bushes at the top of the house.
Daniela Ortiz “3’s a Crowd” was my favorite. Three things stuck out in the picture, small young girls who was wearing striped stockings and had lock blonde locks; she looked from behind like Alice from wonderland. The next character that stuck out in the photo was a adult figure that looked like the mad hatter, the shadow image had on the big tall pimp magic hat, following the young girl. The young girl was moving in the woods towards a group of doll like figures having a tea party. The sunbeam picks up all three of these images with great detail. The man following the little girl in the forest would be way creepier if they did not have the costumes, and the setup.
In photography the there are so many elements to be aware of or look for. In the times we live it is very easy to snap a picture and make it look professional. Photography is such a neat way to express yourself, and how you feel about the world or life. It works as a medium that can provide hours of fun and entertainment, but can also tell powerful stories. A picture says a thousand words, and captures a moment in time. I use photography as my working memory. For me it’s an essential tool in keeping track of moments in my personal life.

Monday, January 14, 2013

Journal 1


Enc 1101 was an overall great experience. The teacher was a burst of inspirational energy. She was a firecracker, and extremely well read. Professor Tomblin had allot of life experience, she was in her late seventies early eighties and I felt very comfortable in her classroom. She was married twice, had two grown daughters and had traveled around the world, visiting many popular locations across the globe. If memory serves, her first husband was in the military, and she raised her family overseas, teaching and building small school houses for those in need. ENC 1101 was filled with a variety of students, many demographic, all shapes and sizes and colors, she took time to critique each student individually working with their strengths. Luckily there were no MLA, or APA style papers. We wrote at least a half dozen papers, so I got a chance to write essays on different topics. I think we also unpacked different hot topics for example abortion, or same sex marriage. Patricia Tomblin read scholarly journals, and was notorious for combining her timeless stories with different writing techniques, but I don’t remember because it's been too long. I tried to keep a consistent journal for a few years, but I haven’t worked on it for the longest time. I want to challenge myself with this course in researching. I don’t know how to use the tool, and I know it cant be that hard if I can just figure it out. I need a bit more practice. With the MLA I’ll just have to look over the rules. Looking forward to the course!