final post!

So this semester has been long and full of a billion ideas.
Something many people don't know about me is that it's extremely hard for me to stick with a project for more than two weeks. (i'm sure that this class has picked up on it) I know that that sounds horrible for an artist, but something i've always like about being a photographer is that most of my projects are usally pretty short term, or i can come up with different ideas by the week or day. So this semester was really a huge challenge for me. Sticking with one thing the whole semester. which, of course, i couldn't really do. At first i decided i wanted to do images incorporating QR images, but after only a few weeks, i got bored. And then i decided that i wanted to do polaroid transfers. Which i did NOT get bored with, my camera just broke, and the supplies were very hard to get. but this made me really think about what i love about photography. The spontaneity of a film image vs a digital image. I feel very passionate about this issue even as the semester comes to a close. Lately i've only been shooting film. so i figured it would be only right for me to make pinhole images. Something i've never done before. They ended up looking more like paper negatives, but i really enjoyed doing this. I liked the disciplin of having to sit still for sometimes 5 minutes long for an exposure and then going and developing the image just as i would with any other image in the darkroom.
So here is my final product. These were my favorite, and the ones that came out the best.
I displayed them side by side against a wood material because i thought that it brought it back in years. These tiny photos are kind of like daguerreotypes,which were some of the first images to be produced. they had a very long exposure time, and they were very very tiny. This made them very intimate.
For me, this series was more intimate and for me than anything else. I was becoming one with my images, as lame as that sounds. I had to focus on every single detail of the frame and the exposure, and every single movement i made would effect the image that was produced.
I am very happy with the outcome of these tiny images, and im glad i stuck with it for more than a few weeks. This is a big step for me!!!

sleep is for the dead

it's only tuesday, and i've already spent 24 entire hours on CCAD's campus( i do not live here) wide awake. ahhhh finals week, can you smell the body odor and stress?

here are some of my pinholes from the last week and their inverse counterparts.
:)

Can't wait for this year to be over! it's a bittersweet feeling though I guess. One more semester in my entire college career? talk about scary
I think this one is my favorite, because it was shot at night and it looks completely like day except for the light streaks from a car. my exposure was 5ish minutes.

everythings going as planned.
been shooting a whole lot of everything lately.
ready to finish up and move on to bigger and better things this summer photography wise
film all summer.
:)
this class has definitely made me become more aware of my need to go back to film photography.
with polaroids and pinholes and everything else ive experienced this semester, ive definitely grown as a photographer and a student. im excited to see what's to come.

Pinholes are going good/bad. I shot more this weekend, but apparently my dark bag isn't as dark as i suspected. and so i have little grey pieces of paper. WHOOPS. more to do more to do!!!
Not much of an update, but I'll post more over the week.
on another note, i've been shooting lots of film lately too I'm really excited about it. :)
here's one of them

So I realized that i'm dumb and I saved my last blog post as a draft but it's up now.:) I LOVE Technology!!!

Ive been shooting my little pinholes. They are sort of difficult to gage, but i think i've decided around 2-3 minutes is a good exposure time. Luckily, i can change my aperture on my pinhole.

here are some of the images that I captured.
They look a bit wonky, but I think that's the fun of it. It kind of takes you a second to figure out what they are because they're tiny paper negatives.
I will bring them into class so you can see them in person. I was having major scanning issues so I couldn't scan them at school. Again, YAY TECHNOLOGY <3

Garage sales and 5$ bills

So, going home to new jersey was not as bad as I expected. I got a few great things out of it, including a new twin lens reflex. Mind you, this little guy was built in the 1940's in Chicago. It is a Spartus SPARTAFLEX. Sounds epic right?
I found this to be an awesome opportunity to not only shoot more with medium format films, but also I think it'd be fun to turn this baby into a pinhole camera! which is exactly what I did!
It didn't take much, really just some light tight tape. But it's a whole lot of fun.
This camera will produce 2.5x2.5 sized pinhole images. I know that they sound tiny, but the end product will be much bigger. I intend on making several of these small paper negatives, and then turning them into positives, and then posting them all together, so it's a huge mass of tiny little images that you won't know what they are until you get up close. :)

here are some images of the camera

paint cans popcorn cans, what's the difference?

So I am making a pinhole camera, and i've been trying to figure out what to use that wasn't a paint can because i want to make this project more difficult than need be, and also, i want bigger images than a small paint can, so i'm using a three different kind of popcorn christmas tin. i have to paint it black still, but i'll do them this week and have the images up by this weekend before spring break :)

here is my can

i just need to get the wooden part!

http://www.kodak.com/eknec/PageQuerier.jhtml?pq-path=11865&pq-locale=en_US&_requestid=23082

this is the website im using!

i hate technology.

sooo im blogging from my phone right now because my internet decided to not work.

once again i hade to change my idea because my polaroid camera decided to die with 30 dollar film in it. insert me crying her. so after meltdown number 56 this week i have decided to make some pinhole cameras. its a one shot deal. its new and fun and exciting still while i figure out my polaroid issues. anyone have an old polaroid 600 camera i could borrow.

im going to go cry now.

see ya.

i will post photos this week of my new pinhole camera im making that will have no wires no batteries

UPDATE

Just a short update,
been shooting more film. Charlotte gave me another 600 camera, which is unfortunately broken, but Dan and Duncan said they could fix it (they must be magical). unfortunately it's a camera that has only expensive film. i've been keeping a close eye on camera/film deals on ebay but so far, some are 600$! i will scan in my new Polaroid images tomorrow. I just wanted to update you all on where i am at. but so far, right now, for the cameras that i have, film is going to be 30$ and very hard to come by.

money money money money MONEY

EDIT EDIT EDIT EDIT.

So i changed my idea from the QR Codes.
I changed my idea because i just didn't feel passionate about it.
i am a senior now as of this semester and i really just wanted to do something that made me excited about making art and photographs.
so i decided to go back to taking Polaroids with this film i bought for my polaroid 600 camera. the film is very rare and very expensive, so i have to choose each shot very carefully. i want to do transfers and emulsion lifts with these photographs and at the end i will have a series on different hand made papers.
i am so excited about this project because it makes me feel excited to be making art again. i really needed this spark of inspiration to really make me excited to do what i love to do.


so of course I should have known that money would be a set back in this project, but I am determined to continue on with my new idea of using Polaroids.

the idea i have is to take photos and then do Polaroid transfers with them on home made papers.

the transfers are really beautiful and are a lot more than just taking a photograph.
the transfers would look something like this



as for the film/camera issue, I've been looking on ebay for a new camera that would be easier to buy film for.
if not, i'll be continuing to buy the 28$ for 8 exposure impossible project film.

update update update!

I have been reading up on qr codes and different ways to use them. these small codes are almost like the new UPC codes. UPC of the future!

these are some links i found on QR codes and what they are most useful for.

http://www.foxypropaganda.com/qr-codes-top-reasons-to-use-qrcodes/
http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=46402543055&topic=7185
http://www.readwriteweb.com/biz/2011/01/how-small-businesses-use-qr-codes.php
http://www.fastcompany.com/1720193/13-creative-ways-to-use-qr-codes-for-marketing
http://notixtech.com/blog/27-ways-use-qr-codes


reading up on QR codes has really taught me a lot. it makes me more excited for this project.

here are some more creative ways in photos to use these codes.






I will also rewrite my artist statement as I continue my project. The beginning of this project started off pretty fast paced and now I'm at a stand still just waiting to do more shoots in the studio which will happen this weekend. I will also be doing a shoot for my hair salon and i will probably use some more shots from that for this project.

Artist Statement

Smart phones do not make Smart People.

People ages ten to one hundred and ten, are connected. A buzz comes from a back pocket or bag 2000000 times a minute anywhere in the world. We are connected to people in the next room, across the country, and out of the country. These images show just how connected we are with our mobile devices. By taking an image of someone and replacing a part of it with this QR code,the viewer curious to see the rest of the photograph. When scanning the code with their "smart" device, the viewer will be brought to the image, without the missing piece. This series of photos will show that without our mobile devices, we feel like we have a piece missing. How can we be in the know 24/7 if we do not have phone, messaging, email, and internet at our fingertips? There was a time when we were not so dependent on the phone or internet. What would happen if we left our phones at home for a day? Go ahead and try it. You wont be able to see the finished product of these images instantly. Feel uncomfortable? Me too.

Zack Attack inspiration.

So this is where it all began
Flashback to the early 90's. Sitting in my living room eating Trix Cereal and watching "Saved by the Bell." Mid class, Zack Morris pulls out this BOX from his back pocket and answers it.

Zack Morris is my first recollection of a cell phone. Zack and his "mobile" phone, even though it was the size of a 6 foot 7 army man's combat boot, generated a frenzy.
Flash forward.
it's 2011. I can guarantee everyone in this class room has a cellphone that is within reach. I find myself checking it for a text message even while writing this post. Constantly checking it. My cell phone is actually an extension of my hand, if you didn't know. Email, Social networking,GOOGLE. Anything I want at the touch of a button. We are SO reliant on cell phones,ipods, ipads, iANYTHING. A day without a cellphone for a 20something college student is like living without food. Or so we think.
Flashback again to the days where you had I mom call my best friend's mom on the house phone to ask if she could come out to play because I was too scared of the phone.
Flash forward.
I spend hours a day texting/calling my best friends.
I call my mom once a week.

We are so dependent on this piece of plastic to keep in contact with people.
but now, phones not only call and text, they are capable of scanning, taking photos, GPS, etc.



If you have a smart phone, or any phone that is able to download "apps", this little block of black shapes can take you almost anywhere on the World Wide Web. It could bring you to an artists website, someone's contact information, a video, a product's information, ANYTHING. With just one scan, your phone can now take you above and beyond anything you ever imagined.

This generator, and our obsession with cell phones, is my inspiration for our semester project. For about a month i have been dabbling with the idea of how I could incorporate this image in my work.

I am most passionate when i work in the studio. If i can not control my light, i feel uneasy. for this semester I would like to do a series of portraits that will have this QR generator over a part of each photo, making it unreadable unless you scan the code with a smart phone. For every photo i will generate a new code.
this project is to show how a part of us (not ALL of us, but mostly all of us) are so very attached to being connected constantly and our phones are a part of us.
Think of these codes and the missing pieces of these portraits as this is what people see. People see us with our devices, our smart phones, iphones, i pads, lap top computers, etc. We are technology. When people look at each other we judge constantly, we look at hair, clothes, shoes, cell phone, lap top brand (what? you go to art school and you don't use a mac? shun shun shun.. yes i did hear that in the days that i was rollin' with a gateway computer)

So basically, in a nutshell, this project that I plan on doing is to show the connection between us and our wireless devices. Without them, we feel like there is a missing piece. I will show that with these photos. The QR code, the missing piece, can only be viewed with a cell phone.
(the completed photos will also be up on my blog for those who do not have the access to a smart phone.)

Project ron saks final

The tradition of the Mirror Lake Jump.
Every year, hundreds of thousands of ohio states students, strip down their clothes and jump into mirror lake the Thursday before the last game of the year, which is always against Michigan. The rivalry has been going on for years, but not one person knows the actual root of the tradition. Years before the actual jump started, upperclassmen would always throw the freshman in to mirror lake as a tradition. So, it has always been a tradition of initiation. When asking senior, Phil Rocci, about the tradition he said, " First thing that comes to mind is mind-numbingly COLD, but besides that, i'd say overall it's great to see a campus unite over a common love, BUCKEYE FOOTBALL! While my memory may have been hazy due to excessive alcohol intake, I vividly remember a grand sense of camaraderie and enthusiasm. "
Every student who I have spoken to who has done the jump has all said the same thing, they feel really proud to be a part of something that everyone else is so proud of.

The reason I did my project on Mirror Lake, is because this year I moved from CCAD campus down near OSU campus, and I have noticed a HUGE difference of pride between our students and theirs. We are very proud to be CCAD students, yes. But we don't have anything to prove it. No traditions, no banners, no blankets, no paraphernalia, and to be frank, when you tell people who ask you where you go to school that you go to CCAD, most people will say, where? When I moved here, I felt like there was a sense of belonging. Even though I do not go to Ohio State, the mind set here, is if you are a buckeye fan, than you are a friend. You could walk down the street with a jersey on and five people will yell out O-H to which you will respond I-O! without even thinking about it. Why do we at CCAD not have a chant to each other? When we walk down the street and notice someone is our student, we should be high-fiving and chanting and being PROUD of where we are. Everyone should know where we are from and what we do!
The poster I made is a poster that you would see on campus on a telephone pole or in a bar, or on the side of the road in car windshield wipers to get students ready for the next years "Michigan Week." I chose those photographs because the students were making the legendary O-H-I-O's with their bodies. mostly everyone had at least one letter up in the air at one time, all over the place.So I made sort of an advertisement out of the 277 photographs i took that night, these four were my favorite, they were all so genuinely excited to be there.

so that's what I have.
this is my proposal to CCAD.
lets show our pride for our school! out loud! and like we mean it! Yes, we're all tired all the time, but there is no reason to not shout it out loud to the world that we go to the greatest art school ever in one of the best cities in the country.

Final progress post for project Ron Saks

So i have my final 10 images that I think that i'm going to use for my project.
The reason i am doing this project is because I really believe that even though the environment is so different at Ohio State, CCAD kids should really go out and experience what campus has to offer. Who says us art kids can't enjoy football, beer, and 29 cent wings? I say that we definitely can. When I decided to move to campus, I was super nervous. I was nervous that no one was going to like me because I didn't go to OSU and I didn't know their traditions and ways of life. But on the contrary. I have met so many friends here and i feel incredibly welcome. I've been thinking of ways I would display these photos, and I was thinking, why not make them into flyers that I would put on telephone poles? Telephone pole ads are all over the place on CCAD's campus AND OSU campus. It is the way everyone can see what is going on that week all over Columbus. I would make the black and white xerox copies that I will post on campus(ours and theirs).
SO I am basically finished. :)
it's a Christmas Miracle!

O-H-I-O

Some CCAD students find Ohio State football to be obnoxious.
Others find it to be intriguing and enjoy it.

Ohio State students on the other hand, consider it to be their life.



These are some of the photos i may use out of the 300 I actually took the night of the jump.

I did a documentary on Ohio States traditional mirror lake jump. Happening every year the Thursday(or in this case a Tuesday due to the holiday) before the Michigan Vs Ohio State game.
Students get wasted and take their clothes off in the thirty degree weather just to participate in this tradition. As a bystander this year, I thought it was hilarious. I love how into football Ohio State students are. This year I really became a buckeye fan when I moved to Ohio State campus with my roommate. I love it down here, the atmosphere is always so lively and fun, especially on Saturdays during the football season.
It would be really great if CCAD students had some sort of tradition to hold on to. It gives the students a sense of family, even though there are thousands of students who go to the school.
Now that I've taken the shots, i'm going to talk to a few people who did the jump themselves and ask them about there experience and why they choose to do it every year.
I plan on going next year, will i jump? absolutely not, but i will definitely be there taking pictures.

Right now i have no idea what I want to do. I am thinking of doing color photographs, but not digital, I would like to do color film and print them myself on 11x14 paper. I have been thinking maybe redoing a fairy tale in photographs. I'm really completely undecided on this project. I will post more this week once I maybe figure out what I really want to do. but for right now, i'm still undecided.


sorry:/

so after MUCH thought, I am going to do my project on traditions of Ohio State University students. I will focus on the traditions of jumping into mirror lake and get stories from students who bleed Scarlett and Grey. It's interesting that we go to CCAD and our students are not as die hard about our school as OSU students are about their school. Between the morning drinking, jumping in ponds in 30 degree weather, and other traditions. It will be interesting to take a look at a school, much bigger than ours and hear their stories.

PROJECT JFJ FINAL

We are the creatures in your mind
you can not sleep for fear of our arrival
you do not know if we are real
or fake
but we're in your head.
and maybe we're under your bed
or are we just in your dreams
your fear is bursting at the seams.
When you hear music
you'll know that we're coming for you.

Project JFJ

I have finished shooting for this project and I am excited for it. I have added onto the writing that i did last week so maybe now the idea will be a little more clear, but if it's not that's okay, because it's for our imaginations to run wild.
basically I wanted to do a project that reminded us of our childhoods. you know when you're alone in your dark room at night your imagination runs absolutely wild.
I am going to post images of things that I was afraid of when I was a kid in the dark.

1. the dinosaurs from Jurassic Park.
I was always afraid that these guys were hiding in my bathroom. I'm not sure why.

2. The beast from beauty and the beast.
Most people probably think that this is ridiculous, but i was petrified of beast coming to get me when i was a kid. I would hear things and think that it was him outside of my door.



3. the poltergeist/getting sucked into a TV.
Since I was a kid I've been scared of ghosts. Believe what you will, but I know for sure that they exist. The thing about them is that no one knows if they are really actually real or not. It's all up to the believer.




lets all remember back to when we were kids and what we were afraid of.
are you still afraid now?



Now I may just stick with what i posted last week, I really like the direction it went in. but there will probably be more updates as the week goes on.

Project JFJ

We are the creatures in your mind
you can not sleep for fear of our arrival
you do not know if we are real
or fake
but we're in your head.
and maybe we're under your bed
or are we just in your dreams
your fear is bursting at the seams.
When you hear music
you'll know that we're coming for you.

As a former student of the great John Fergus-Jean, I am super excited about this project. He is one of my favorite instructors at CCAD, mostly because of his dry sense of humor and his vast knowledge of everything under the sun.
I want to experiment with something horrifying just in time for the upcoming holiday, which is my favorite.