Family Dinner

Dinner is a time for families to gather around the table and enjoy a meal. This is a time where good news and even the bad news are shared. Coming from a large family, dinner time is always a time that we all take a break from our crazy lives and talk to each other. The older I get, the more I appreciate the moments and memories that are created when my family can all be together.

Now that I don't live with my family, dinner time isn't that special. Meals consist of fast food and anything microwavable. When you eat a meal with family, it always end up with some laughter. Now, if there's laughter it comes from the television. The table never gets used and my meals are always lonely.

Being far away from family can be lonely and life can seem slow, but my meals are always fast.

I would dream of the day I moved out. Now, I dream about never leaving.

Staying hydrated is important, but not sure if Mountain Dew is the solution?

On a Friday evening, I prepare a romantic dinner. A dinner that consists of a personal pizza and glass of wine, for one.

When things begin to pile up and create clutter, everything still seems empty.

Some people have breakfast in bed. I have lunch and dinner in bed, too.

Many nights go by that I don't speak. The only conversations that I hear are the ones coming from the t.v.

They said these would be the best years of my life...

Red

For my Photographic Studio final we were given a color to use as the theme of our project and could interpret it any way. I was given the color red. 

Being inspired by fashion magazines, Vogue has always been my favorite. I would create stories with each spread. They were never just models; there was always a deeper connection. With this Vogue fashion inspired project, there is more to the story.

Red is the color of anger. Through each image, even though they are black and white, the color red is what stands out. When someone lets madness take over, they become red. In each image you can see how the girl is angry and hatred for another has caused her to go mad. She has become red. 

Collaboration

These are some photos I took about a year ago. I never ended up using them for anything until now. I just submitted these four photos in hopes of being selected to be paired with a poem/short story. I am a member of the Student Photographic Society (SPS) at my school, The Illinois Institute of Art - Chicago.

Our SPS club is doing a collaboration with students from the Alabama Writers' Forum. Writer, Bart (Marlin) Barton has lead a group of juvenile offenders in the art using writing to express oneself. Mr. Barton has been teaching at the correctional institution for several years and his classes have evolved into a published anthology of poetry and short stories. It is my hope that the image(s) selected will be published along side the poetry/short story.

The theme that we were given was family and/or relationships.

SPE Conference

As my first blog post, I'm excited to share that I will be attending this year's SPE (Society of Photographic Education)  national conference, as it will be in Chicago. According to SPE's website, the Society of Photographic Education is a nonprofit membership organization that provides and fosters an understanding of photography as a means of diverse creative expression, cultural insight, and experimental practice. Through its interdisciplinary programs, services, and publications, the society seeks to promote a broader understanding of the medium in all its forms through teaching and learning, scholarship, and criticism.

This year's conference is March 7th-10th and will be celebrating photography's continuum. The keynote speakers are Richard Misrach, Martin Parr, and Zwelethu Mthethwa. The featured speakers are Mona Kuhn, John Upton, and Olivia Parker.

https://www.spenational.org/conference