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This week, I completed several assignments. For a quick reference, see the links below.

Visual Assignment Part 1: Reflection

Visual Assignment Part 2: Photo Safari

Visual Assignment Part 3A: Five Frame Story

Visual Assignment Part 3B: Your Favorite Photo

Visual Assignment Part 3C: Mixing 2 Worlds

Visual Assignment Part 3D: Draw It

Visual Assignment Part 4: Summary (this blog post)

What did you learn?

Many of the concept mentioned in this week’s lesson were things that I already knew. For example, pictures can be used to support stories, taking an amazing photo doesn’t require expensive equipment, luck plays a part in catching that perfect shot, etc. One thing I did learn was that creating the perfect shot is challenging. This is not something I have experience with, so I struggled with it this week. I wouldn’t say that I have learned how to manage all the elements required to get a great photo, but I am in the process of learning. This is something that will require practice. I also learned that a critical analysis of my own pictures will help me grow in the area of photography. By studying what I did wrong, I can figure out what to do right.

What was harder than you thought it would be?

The photo safari was the hardest part of this assignment. It’s funny because it was probably the quickest part. I don’t particularly enjoy creative assignments such as this one. It borders the line between scavenger hunt and set creation. Neither of these things appeals to me. I had hoped that I could just go through my house and find items that were quite literally what the assignment asked for. That wasn’t the case though. While I managed to take most of the photos, I wouldn’t call them good photos. Passion and interest and important for successful completing photo assignments.

What was easier?

The visual assignments were all pretty easy. It was nice to have easy things to do since there were so many required assignments. If they were more difficult, I might not have had the energy or drive to complete them.

What drove you crazy? Why?

While the assignments aren’t difficult, they are time consuming. I don’t understand why each week there are so many blog posts. The assignments often are multipart assignments which are quite tedious. It takes a bit of time management since my schedule is so full. I start my days at 5:30am, get on the road by 6am, and drive until 8am when I arrive at the archaeological dig site. Then I work from 8am-3:30pm. Afterwards, I grab dinner and drive home. Normally, I get home between 6pm or 7pm. Usually, I go straight to a shower after greeting my kids. By the time I’m ready to work on these digital studies assignments, it is already after 8pm. I often stay up until 1am trying to complete bits and pieces of these assignments each day. This leaves me with only about 4 hours of sleep each night. Saturday, when I am fully exhausted and needing to recover from a week of very physically intense work, I can’t because I need to complete these assignments. For example, today, pulling all the pieces of these assignments together took more than four hours and I’m still not quite finished.

What did you really enjoy? Why?

The only part I really enjoyed this week was taking the photo from an unusual perspective. I don’t know why I haven’t done that more often in my photo sessions. Usually, I only grab an unusual perspective when I see a face. I have pareidolia, which is when my mind sees faces in normal items. It’s not just faces, but I can imagine hair, coloring, clothing, voices, how they would speak, everything. Maybe one day I’ll use that creative input to make comic books or something. The characters my mind sees in a manhole cover, for example, are quite original. So, while I am familiar with the idea of using a different perspective for my photos, I haven’t tried it in the way presented in this lesson. I will definitely do more of that in the coming weeks.

I’m a little nervous for next week’s lesson on design. I feel like things are only going to get more complicated from here. Hopefully I can keep up!

Prompt: Tell a story using five photos. Basically, that’s it. Figure out the story you want to tell and then take five photos to tell it. If you need to edit, add filters, etc. in order to get the effect you want, go for it. 

This is a 3.5 star prompt.

I chose a different path for my story. First, I thought of a story in my mind. Then, I chose pictures to tell the story without any narration. After looking at others’ stories, they created whole narratives with the pictures as supplemental objects, enhancing the story. My mind went a different route with this, where the pictures are the only storyteller. Hopefully, this is acceptable. Below is a slideshow. Click the right arrow to figure out what happens to me.

The story:

One day KP is out for a walk in an old historic city. While enjoying her hike, she happens upon an old building with a do not enter sign above it. Being an avid video game player, KP knew that the best places are those labeled as “Do Not Enter.” KP’s internal historic preservation conscience told her that she shouldn’t open the door, but she couldn’t help it. After all, what if there was some great historic object housed just beyond the door? She opened the door and entered into a dank, dark, stone tunnel. Above the tunnel entrance was another sign, “Turn Back!” “Well,” she said to herself, “It’s too late now. Might as well push on.” She continued down the tunnel.

The floor was slick at times as water occasionally dripped from the ceiling. Other times, she encountered pieces of bone and other debris. While it was slightly dangerous, the tunnel was lit, so she continued on. As she walked, she began to notice side tunnels connecting to the main tunnel. These side tunnels were just openings into the darkness beyond. They were not lit and they had not doors or gates blocking her entrance. KP didn’t have a light and was afraid to venture into the darkness. After about 15 minutes of walking, she started to hear eerie sounds. At first, the dripping of water. Then, skittering, like rodents or bugs crawling across the stone floor. The tunnel descended steeply and KP lost her balance, sliding down into a puddle of water. Wet, cold, and more frightened than before, she continued on. KP began to shiver from the chill in the air and her wet clothes. Then, she heard moans coming from behind her. Was someone else in the tunnel? Or did something or someone enter the main tunnel from one of those dark side tunnels? KP was terrified. She wasn’t supposed to be here and now something creepy sounding was blocking her way to the entrance. The moaning sound came close. KP started to jog through the tunnel, taking random turns, trying to escape from what was behind her. The sound continued to follow her, the moaning thing sometimes hissed and sometimes screamed. Exhausted and lost, KP decided to wait in one of the dark side tunnels for the moaning creature to pass by. Maybe after it passed, she could find her way back to the surface. She turned right and waiting in the silence. The creature came closer. KP listened, trying to silence her breathing and slow her heartbeat. The creature moaned and screamed and hissed, the sound growing so loud that KP thought she would lose her mind. Then suddenly, it stopped. The only sound was water dripping from the ceiling to the floor. Plop! Plop! Plop!

KP strained her hearing, listening for anything ominous. After what felt like an eternity, but was only about 10 minutes, KP gathered her courage. She decided to count to three and then dash from the darkness and into the main tunnel. She thought to herself, ‘One, two, three!’ She jumped into the main tunnel and came face to face with a terrifying monster. The creature, part woman, part snake, hissed and screamed at KP. The fright of it all turned KP to stone. In anger, the snake woman flicked her tail at KP, sending her stone body crashing to the floor where it broke into several pieces. KP’s head broke away from her body. The snake woman took the head and entered into the dark room where KP had been hiding. Having night vision, and needing no light, the snake woman could clearly see other heads lining the wall of this room. She slithered over to an empty spot and mounted KP’s head on the wall. Hissing in pleasure, she turned and slithered back into the main tunnel, returning to her den.

After some weeks, KP’s stone remains were found in the tunnel. The police pinged her phone and found her last location when hiking. They wandered through the woods until they found the entrance to the tunnel. Hesitantly, they entered the tunnel and wandered from room to room. Each side tunnel led to rooms filled with things too unspeakable to describe. Eventually, they found the remains of KP. It took them several hours to remove all the stone pieces as KP was not a thin woman. Eventually, her stone remains were buried in a local cemetery with the epitaph, “Curiosity killed the cat.” It wasn’t a nice thing to put on a headstone and it surely didn’t give an accurate account of her deeds during life. Sadly, her life was minimized to a warning for others who might decide to venture where they should not.

You may have heard of Shadow Fredericksburg? Well, as often happens when someone puts out warnings, others select to ignore them. One stupid soul ventured into this dark realm in the hopes of gaining inspiration for their painting. This is their story.

When Alberto couldn’t focus on his painting due to his neighbors Victoria and Joe, he decided that if they were disruptive and terrible in normal Fredericksburg, they must be picture perfect in Shadow Fredericksburg. Quickly throwing all his belongings into a duffle bag after seeing the news, Alberto tracked down an entranceway and tumbled into Shadow Fredericksburg.

He found his home, and when he knocked on his door, he wasn’t surprised to see his shadow self standing there. Alberto waved cheerfully. His shadow self shut the door in Alberto’s face.

Figuring the man just needed time to warm up to him, Alberto climbed up the side of the house and through an open window. He tumbled into what he could only assume was his shadow’s bedroom (his art room) and stood up, brushing the dust from his pants.

He glanced around and froze in horror when he saw what was sitting on the desk.

No! Perhaps Victoria and Joe were fine in this reality, but he wasn’t. Here he wasn’t a painter. He was a godforsaken writer.

Not wanting to be infected, Alberto escaped the house. He ran down the street, getting as far away from that evil device as he could.

Eventually, in all his running, Alberto stumbled upon a fortune-teller. The woman claimed she could predict one’s future by looking at the meaning of Alberto’s name. (After all, since it doesn’t work here, it must work in the shadow realm.) Now suddenly worried he may one day become an author, Alberto quickly agreed.

Alberto headed inside and sat down at a table. As the fortune-teller pulled out her baby name books to discern his name’s meaning, Alberto’s eyes strayed. He choked back a strangled gasp when he saw what was sitting in the shop’s window.

“Why is there a cat?” Alberto asked worriedly.

The fortune-teller reluctantly looked up from her work. She looked at where Alberto was pointing, and her lips twisted into a fond smile. “That was Maryanna. She was a good cat. The best cat. Of course, I had her stuffed.”

Alberto gulped and pushed himself out of his seat. “Would you look at the time,” he said, and tossing his duffle bag back over his shoulder, he sprinted out.

Having realized the Shadow World was worse than the real world, Alberto wanted to return home. However, he quickly realized he had no idea how to go home.

Bracing himself for the worst, Alberto started the walk over to Victoria’s house. She had to be the only normal person in this universe. She could probably get him back home.

When Alberto knocked on the door, he was greeted by a Victoria, but she wasn’t the Victoria he knew and hated. No, Victoria was dressed up in a rainbow clown outfit. Behind her, someone he vaguely recognized as Joe sipped his tea, staring at a pile of what seemed to be bodies.

“I’m from the real world,” Alberto started.

Victoria tilted her head in confusion. “The real world?”

“Not the shadow world.”

Joe seeming suddenly interested in their conversation, came over. He wrapped his arms around Victoria. “Victoria, dear, I think he means he’s from the Light World.”

Surprised by this sudden affection between the two of them and finding it fairly disgusting, Alberto looked elsewhere in the house. He was alarmed to find pictures of Victoria and Joe everywhere.

“Oh!” Victoria exclaimed. She started feeling around in her countless pockets. Finally, she pulled a key from one and handed it to Alberto. “That should get you home.”

Quickly Alberto snatched the key away from her. He shoved it into the nearest lock. The next thing he knew, there was a glowing light and Alberto was standing by the entrance to the Shadow World.

Alberto rushed home, ignoring the screams coming from Joe’s house, and headed inside. He spent the next three days painting, blocking out the horrible experience before he contacted us.

Now that you have heard a story from a survivor, we hope you avoid the Shadow World.

Assignment-

For Five Frame Story, I had to tell a story using 5 photos. I decided to combine some of my previous stories in order to tell a bigger one.

It was worth 3.5 stars.

(3.5 stars)

Below are pictures of my friend and me over the years. This was fun to make because I had to go through some old pictures that bought back good memories. The first picture was when we were one year old and the last picture was over winter break when we were both 22 years old.

For this visual assignment, for 3.5 stars, we had to create a story using 5 frames. For my post, I decided to do an 80’s story based on the classic simple story of a dog’s favorite part of the day being when their owner comes back home from work and they get to play. I thought this would correlate with the 80s home lifestyle more from its simplicity. Nowadays there are so many distractions that it seemed to fit more in that time relm for my storyline. This could fit under the hypermasculinity analyzation of the 80s and it’s popular “man’s best friend” phrase. I took a picture of the dog seeing that their owner back from work,a frame of the dog circling around their toy, then a picture of the dog looking up at their favorite toy, then running after it, and then finally a picture of the dog looking content as they run back from getting the toy. I kept the colors in the photo duller than usual to show it’s “vintage” look. This is supposed to be a perspective on how short dogs lives are and how little and simple some moments matter to them. Hope you enjoy!