WRITING: What I Use

Since this is still the start of my blog, I still want to push through to get all the introductions out of the way. Should you feel a little bored I will do my best to insert pieces of interest whether it's stunning pictures or strange tales of giant chickens and gum-berries.

And now, ladies and gentlemen, the writing program that works wonders for eliminating distractions. I started using ommwriter when it was still in it's trial version.

The program takes up the entire screen. There are many options to chose. I work with the free version, so mine is a little limited. You can have calming music or sounds in the background, sound for the key-strokes, different fonts, and a few different backgrounds. When I write I usually turn the music off and have my Pandora playlists on. Once you start typing, all distractions go away:

Extra 13 points if you could read the story (the points can be traded in for a pencil after you accumulate 50,000 of them). Even when I have to pay attention to format, I type it on omm and then later transfer the document to another open office writing program.

Another thing that is very helpful for writing is a quote book. Even just listening to conversations works wonders, but sometime I hear or say something that just inspires me:

"Tragedy is when I cut my finger; comedy is when you walk into an open sewer and die."
                                                       -Mel Brooks

"well, he talked to himself a lot, so it made me think of you."
                                                      -my mom

"The parched night sky gulps the red blood shed by fools...and the moon...she laughs."
                                                     -Kazuya Minekura

I also have a dream journal, but do forgive me if I don't share from that. Most of my dreams tend to be either fantastical or nightmarish. It's why I mostly write horror/mystery. Recently I have dabbled in comedic short stories. I like to think I have a good imagination that helps me introduce random elements.

I think I shall end here today. Tomorrow I will try to update with the drawing utensils...and that should be all for introductory things.

Don't fall down any giant pots until then, please.

PHOTOGRAPHY: Software

Now editing is where I spend the most time. Without much money I never had any type of photoshop in the past, so my ability to clean up or stylize a photo was very limited. It was almost enough to cry, but emotion is so last season.

One morning, as I casually scanned the internet and became quite lost in the webbing, I discovered a add for a photo editing program that was on sale for three days. Bright-eyed and excited for something to up the quality of my work, I downloaded the trial. Then I fell in love. We are in a very comfortable relationship now, though there are plenty of fights.

The program I now use, and have soo much fun playing around with is Photoshop Lightroom 3.

The interphase is really easy, and there are many ways in which I can alter and create photographs in my very own way. It took me a while to get the hang of it. I end up learning how to use something from messing around, not reading instructions. If I get too carried away, the program tends to get a little overloaded, though. The results are fantastic, but there are limits and someday I would love to get a program like photoshop where I can do more digital alterations. Until then,  the exploration of some free ones should prove quite entertaining.

Here are examples of some of my earlier edits before and after:

BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER

PHOTOGRAPHY: Debut of a Camera

As this really is the beginning of the blog, I figured it would be a good idea to introduce you to the camera I use for my photography.

First off, I should like to introduce you to my beautiful Pentax k-r:

This beauty was actually a birthday present from my wonderful brother, who I'm sure would like more than a card to repay this treasure. For now I've promised him a music video for his albums once I get the funding. I have the whole thing planned; imagine some strangely moving aliens and tools with a poor soul unsure of what will happened to him. It's a cheap description, but I don't give the good descriptions out in case a really wretched man with a double chin and a mole above his bushy eyebrows steals the ideas and then takes them to France where they make million and millions of dollars (he might even be the same guy who buys and sells organs behind K-mart).

Anyway...

The great thing about this camera is it's ability to interchange parts with the old Pentax film camera I inherited from my intimidating father. My whole set has three interchangeable lenses (the zoom is fantastic), a flash, and a memory card able to hold thousands of pictures as well as movies.

We actually chose this camera because of the added quality of the video and sound. That way I could do pictures and films; important if you are looking into various types of projects but are on a budget. If you are looking to buy a camera, I recommend you check and see if any relatives have old film cameras they aren't using. Most brands can use the same lenses as new digital cameras.

STORY:

When I first really went out to experiment with my camera, it was at the Denver Zoo. I chased down so many peacocks (I kinda have a thing for them...but not in a creepy way). The big cats probably got sick of seeing me all google-eyed and excitedly snapping pictures like a six-year-old (which I am not), for I went to see them at least three times. I ended up being so mad at myself for forgetting the zoom lens when I knew the animals would be far away in many cases, I was in a complete mood until I got home.

The quality of the picture ended up being way above my expectations. I'm sure it would have been even better if I had actually figured out how to use the auto focus at that time. Actually it took me several months to figure it out....there are a lot of of buttons and settings......did I mention it was the first time really experimenting with it...

Really I just wanted to introduce my love and to give a very early example of what it can do. Look forward to my upcoming photography posts where I show you my growth, give tips, and even reveal the fashion photos I'm most proud of! I'm sure my next photography one should show the editing program I've been using, but I got that program after this particular trip.

Now this post really should find an end much like The Land Before Time never could, and I present you with my favorite set of pictures from that day (they look cooler when you flip them back and forth):

Introduction

Why hello there strangers and friends. I welcome you to my page. Please be prepared to be horrendously dazzled by the magnificence of my wonderful blog...wait! Where are you going? I was just kidding! Come back! I know where you live!! I have muffins! Okay, there are no muffins, but now that you have returned I should like to begin.

Ehem...

Not to long ago, I quit my job. It was risky and very dangerous in this economy, but the job itself treated me in ways that no human ever deserves. It only slightly related to my degree, and not in a direction I wanted. Too make a long story short, I made the decision to get back my life and my time to pursue a what makes me happy and where I feel my talents truly lie.

I'm an artistic person. In fact, I consider myself to be a growing culture of artistic talent; right now, I'm unsure as to which one to pursue more seriously. I enjoy all arts, but I need to be smart and find out what will support me and what is my strongest ability. This is where I might also need help. As of now I am a jack-of-arts, but have yet to find out which one I can master.

The shades slowly breath in and out as the wind enters through cracks in the old window. Trees scratch desperately at the panes, fleeing from the wind. I sit in the dark corner, hazel eyes lit up blue in the light from my screen as I wonder: Could I be a writer?

Pencils litter the fine oak desk. An orange tabby stretches her paws, pushing a set of paints outwards. Multitudes of papers and sketch books collapse upon a small frame. The tiny yelp echoes off the walls. Buried under the clutter and desperately scrambling for breath without damaging the detailed and fantastical drawings, a frail porcelain girl ponders if she would ever become an artist.

Bright lights flashed violently and rapidly. The small room was electric not only from the thick wires that covered the wooden floor, but also from the elaborate visage standing in front of the bright screen. The beauty balanced her her heels much like a flamingo, but with slightly more feathers. Her eyes hinted at hidden secrets as the photographer moved to capture every clue. Together they explored the dreams and nightmares of the world. Here I sit with my camera, computer and a passion for fashion, wondering which character I am.

Music softly crescendos and figures appear and dance on a giant screen. A hundred eyed blink and laugh together, cry and scream together. In the furthest seat in the back where the cool air reaches the least, a pair of eyes watch not the screen, but the people. Holding in their possession a degree in film, the person attached to the eyes dreams about the worlds that live in the mind. A book of nightmares sits by her bed at night, waiting.

Please join me as I explore, grow, and share my own struggle. Hopefully I wont end up a starving artist, but I hear there are some really nice refrigerator boxes. I might even be able to badazzle one up a bit.