Shakespeare accomplished

So the other day, I took the super fancy Hasselblad out and about (but mostly in my apartment) and took 6 of the Shakespearean Women photos. First we went to my friend's apartment courtyard and took the Calpurnia one. It was freezing out. Then we headed to my other friend's house and attempted to take the Titania one in front of a pine tree at a country club, but it didn't work out so I reshot later inside (without freezing my models) and i'm going to composite the background and figures. Then we went to the frozen lake and shot Ophelia, which was burning cold. After we went home, we shot Desdemona, Lady Macbeth, and Goneril and Regan from King Lear. All in all they seem to be pretty good. I might want to reshoot Goneril and Regan at some point because the composition's a little funky and it's so overly blurry that you can't even tell what they're doing, but the rest of them are pretty discernible.

Alright, off to edit those. I'll link to them soon, I promise.

Shakespeare for FUN!

So I checked out a giant book of Shakespeare from the library to get a head start on my research for my Advanced Photo project. After about a page of Pericles, I decided that sparknotes were the best way to go. I read Pericles and Antony and Cleopatra. While Thaisa and Cleopatra were typical Shakespearean underdeveloped females, I can't really think of a good way to portray them in tableau form. I could do Cleopatra with the asp, but I feel like that's overdone, and I would rather focus on how whiny she is while Antony's not around. I don't know. I'll think about them more, but I just don't think they have the same potential as the other women I've been considering.

More later as the Shakespeare quest continues.

Abandoned Neighborhood

I made it out to the abandoned neighborhood today. It was eerie and sunny at the same time. We took all our pictures while driving, because it's freezing and none of the sidewalks are plowed anyway (owing to it being abandoned and all) but I think we got some fairly nice ones. I hope.

Ready for 2nd Semester

So, break is almost over and I'm wrapping up the first stage of the autobiographical project I'm working on. I have 4 of the 6 initial pictures of houses that I need to go on. I'm planning on taking the other 2 on my way out of town tomorrow morning.

I've also been planning out the project I think I'm going to focus on in my Advanced Photo class this semester. I'm excited that it's a critique-based class, because I always have trouble making work that I really love when I'm prompted by a project. This project is going to be on Shakespearean Women and how underdeveloped and one-dimensional they are. I need to do a ton more research for it, but I have a fairly good idea of what I'm going to do for several of them, including the Nurse (Romeo and Juliet), Calpurnia (Julius Caesar), Titania (Midsummer Night's Dream), Lady Macbeth (Macbeth), and Desdemona (Othello).

In other photo news, I failed at my one goal for winter break, which was to update my website. It hasn't been updated since first semester LAST year. So there really isn't anything I feel accurately reflects my work up at the moment. It's mildly upsetting.

I've also been meaning to photograph an abandoned neighborhood near O'Hare Airport. The city ruled in favor of the expansion and this neighborhood had to evacuate, but it's winter so they haven't started demolishing it yet. From the outside it's beautiful and creepy, and I'm pretty sure if I miss this opportunity they'll knock it down and I'll regret it. How often do you get to photograph an entirely deserted but in-tact neighborhood? Not often.