Lyrics

The lyrics I chose for this project are

“Congratulations, I Hate You” by Alesana.

"no one ever said that life was fair and I'm not saying that it should be so knowing that you are where you want to be and I'm not comes as no surprise but don't expect me to be happy for you and don't smile at me and tell me things will work out for me too. I don't want your pity...I hate your pity. taste your vanity and its sweet bitterness. as you hide behind your veil of my stolen hopes and lost dreams...you took them all... I watched you steal my thoughts and had to see you smile. as you build your dreams on my shattered hopes. I'll look back on a day once loved and fantasize for tragedy. swallow your pride. beg me to make this easier and listen to my hopeless cries. suffer alone in emptiness. I lust to see you swallowed by the mess that you left in your wake. disgust lies deep within your empty gaze... beg me to make this easier and listen as my hopeless cries. send stares into your meaningless eyes. my envy can't describe how I loathe you for having all the stars. leaving my eyes to marvel the sky knowing it should be mine. yet it's you I see wasting the dream that only I deserve. I'll tear off your face to see your smile. as you build your dreams on my shattered hopes. I'll look back on a day once loved and fantasize for tragedy. swallow your pride. beg me to make this easier and listen as my hopeless cries send stares into your meaningless eyes"

Alesana is my one of my favorite bands and every time I hear their music or read their lyrics it evokes whatever emotion it’s trying to convey inside me. I chose this song because the lyrics are powerful and it somewhat reflects my past. I’ve been lied to constantly and been taken for granted while being used all wrapped up together in Ceram wrap that suffocated me. I guess that sounds “emo”, like I’m supposed to be sitting in a corner, crying. I’m not someone like that; I do take revenge. If someone tries to put me below them, then I bring them down to that level as well. Shawn Milke (a vocalist for Alesana) said that "Congratulations..." is about being able to stand up for yourself and that people eventually get what’s coming to them. I know the feeling of being at the lowest point of your life where death seems like the only option, but I’ve pulled through. Listening to bands like Escape the Fate, Alesana, and Blessthefall have made me pull through from my darkest places. I can’t say my survival goes all towards music, but it also goes to my friends I hold dear. This song makes me happy, not in a sadistic way, but in a “I can take care of myself” way, because I can take care of myself… with some help from Craig Mabbit and Shawn Milke.

Critique: Parke Harrison's "Guardian"

There is a man of age on stilts of brittle wood, balancing on a tree trunk. The man has frail wings of long twigs that are roped to his arms. His business suit is worn and has the essence of a pallbearer. His surroundings consist of twigs and tree trunks that have been burnt by a horrendous fire that enveloped the world around him, while the background is filled with a corrupting fog. It’s as though his wings are trying to fly him to everlasting hope as he attempts to glide to his once justified world. The antique color scheme sends an eerie feel, as does his face of pure concentration. The concentration people go through to get what they really want in life.

The way Parke Harrison took the picture straight on instead of at an angle lets you see the realistic height in which this man is dangerously from the ground. Such a feat of courage must have been difficult to capture in a matter of time. The antiquity of the photograph sends an amazing realization that this picture is something to ponder about, rather then just something you walk by with a glimpse.

Halloween Tutorials

The tutorial I used for this picture was a vampire tutorial. This picture was of my friend Alex just making a growling face in colour and everything. I changed her teeth with the marquee, and her lips and her eyes with the Burn tool. I think one of the most classic horror films there are is Count Dracula. Classic Halloween aspect. When you say "scary" your mind thinks of many things and including the infamous vampire. Usually they wear black capes, but the thing is with vampires; they look just like everyone else. Until the sun moves down the horizon that is.

This Halloween tutorial changed a plain blue eye into a haunting one. I used the Burn and Dodge tools mainly and some off colours. I chose this tutorial because something that scares most people, is the thought that someone is watching them. When you're walking down a sidewalk and there is that little cringe that says someone or seomthing is barreling and burning it's eyes into your back. That sensation you have when your afraid to look back and see who or what is really watching you. The thought of being watched isn't scary, the thought of whatever could be looking at you is terrifying; the sense of not knowing.

The Scream; My Interpretation

He is the person inside all of us. The person that fears but is never shown.

I think the artist painted him screaming as a psychology method. It lets you give your input to why you think he is screaming. Whatever you’re scared of you can say he’s afraid of it. The dark pastel colours also make it darker and his surroundings are also dreary. I think that the picture molds your psyche into thinking about morbid thoughts and contorting it to no end. I suppose there are different interpretations to it, but I think it’s just a painting that will remain in high esteem.

Photoshop Explorations

We were assigned to do some Photoshop projects using the elements of the art. Although, at the same time, we had to use the saem shoe over and over again. Which made it more challenging. I chose to do Colour, Line, and Shape.

In the Colour I decided to use the black and white version of the Converse and added as many different floursent colours there were. At the same time I also blended them in. Except at the top where I wanted the bar to stick out as a 3-D affect. In Line, I used different values and wanted the the lines to pop out. The norm black and white seemed too... bland. So i decided to add lines of an aqua blue. I think it brings the picture together. Although the shoe is cut off, i have no excuse haha. That's just the way it was cut. For Shape, I used the maple leaf brush and made a swift through out the page and changed the Converse star to a leaf. I also changed on the layers to different settings like Luminosity or Soft Light. Overall, this was diffucult, but being able to expirement with Photoshop was fun.

Elements of Art

Taking these pictures for all the elements of art was a difficult task even though it seemed easy. In the end i still couldn't complete all the pictures, which I'm greatly disappointed about. I'm not very good in shoe variety because I care more about quality then quantity. I hate shoe shopping so i usually just get shoes that will last forever, which kist happen to be Converse. I just bought these gray one a few months ago, but they're still new and it bothers me quite a bit.

The first picture are the top is the element, Colour. I know there is also a pattern of squares and black and white, but my Vans are written on in different coloured markers. Everything else was black and a yellow-ish white but the coloured marker still stand outs a bit. The second picture is Value. I shot frm the corner and hid it somewhat against the wall. The shadowing i used has also brought out the values when i changed the levels somewhat in Photoshop. The third photo is Light. I positioned two Converse and used my bedroom light as well as flash to make it seem like light was shining from the back of them. I wish i could have been much more creative with this concept but i was only limited to so much of my surroundings. The final element i did was Texture. This one I know I didn't do as good a job as I should've. I really can't see how it is texture myself, but this was a fairly difficult assignment. I think was going to use the texture of the Converse to indicate my point but it didn't turn out as expected. If I had the chance I would love to do this whole project over again and have more freedom to go places and take pictures.

Homework: Desert

Arizona is a dirt pile. Yeah, we have the Grand Canyon. That's about it. This assignment was Desert. AZ is nothing but desert. So how do we make it creative? When I think about desert and Arizona. I think about development. It's happening all over to try and make Arizona better.. but is it really better? Animals live here, just like people. Developement takes their homes. So this is a picture I took where homes were built and I had found out there were a pack of coyotes used to live there, but they were forced to migrate to who-knows-where. The desert is a home to eveyone and everything.

Homework: Urban

Urban. Literally, it means a city of city life. I didn't want to use the literal meaning. When I thought about 'urban' I thought about graffiti. Since I couldn't use graffiti, I decided to take a ride with my brother down 51st avenue. I saw these mills and took a picture while the light was red. I used it for 'urban' because that's what I think when I look at this photo. Granted, I don't know if anyone else will get it.

Homework: Reflection

The homework assignment was Reflection and immediately you think of mirrors. When I thought of reflection, I thought of light. As in, light reflecting off water and such. This is a potpourri vase in my living room and I was sitting watching the teli and I saw the light shining off of it. Also there was a mirror behind it as well.

Homework: Macro

We were given the assignment for Macro. This would be a fairly easy assignment, but it was so easy that it was difficult to make it interesting. So I took this picture in the back of the Agriculture building where they grow their plants. I wanted to show how many other sunflowers there were but keep this one the main focus and cature the light on it.

Photo Mosaic

The Aesthetic Experience

Watching the dabs of coloured dye going into the water of crystal clear water was a truly amazing experience. There were 3 coloured dyes that went into the water and those were Red, Green, and Blue. I felt that the clear water was life in the beginning; pure, clean, and untempered with. The Red was like the Rage anyone can feel and can enter your life without any moments hesitation. The water is now red. The Green was the Envy that we all feel without letting it, you can deny it all you want, but i feel it and I'm pretty sure you all feel it too. The water is now a dingy purple. I started to feel sick thinking of all the negative thoughts drumming inside my mind; past experiences or words of lies. The Blue was dropped in and that to me represented Sadness. I saw the blue leak into the other colours making the water turn black-red. The Blue-the Sadness... the empty feeling that I experience many times. I don't like feeling sad, but it doesn't care, it can develop in your life without a care in the world. So i think- Where's the Pink for Happiness? Does anyone really feel happiness? Yes, but only if we let it. The other emotions come and go as it pleases, but i realized that anyone can be and feel happy, just as long as you let it. Let yourself be happy- is what I thought. So i will.

This, ALL this happened in my mind in a matter of 3 minutes. And I'll never forget it.

Aged Photo

This project we used one of our old photos and practice using Photoshop to create specific effects. It's an aged Photoshop picture, using colour balance and other aspects to make it look older and rigid.