March, already?

My boyfriend and I had a fairly constructive debate recently about which month is the best of the twelve. He says March while I think that October brings the most to the table.

Eliot's opening argument consisted of some fairly decent perspectives. (This entire conversation was sent via text, mind you.) Eliot explains that the biggest differences between March and October is that March "has Spring Break and marks the final lap of school" while October only marks the beginning of colder weather as well as the introductory school months. March Madness, he adds, also trumps October football where sporting events are concerned.

Of course, I quickly rebutted by pointing out the fact that in three short months he will no longer be a student, and thus, one third of his argument can already be considered moot. Secondly, the weather in October is not cold (where we live). It is actually perfect, both aesthetically and physically. Do not look at it as the gateway to winter, I suggested, but as the prime of autumn; a much needed break from the scorching summer heat. Thirdly, while I do agree that March Madness is much more entertaining than football, if we are speaking of what the month brings with it in its wake then it is important to keep in mind that October marks the beginning of "Holiday Madness" with the inclusion of Halloween that is shortly followed by Thanksgiving, Christmas and the New Year all in one brief period.

Upon my rebuttal, Eliot refused to give in. "Yes," he says, "but people start heading to the beach in March; and they bringing out their winter clothes in October."

No, no, I scoffed. Students on Spring Break go to the beach in March, yes. However, we all know that May through August are the prime beach vacationing months (and as I so diligently pointed out before, we are no longer students so the "beach in March" argument is annulled).

Eliot then attempted to convince me that October is always cold, but once I reminded him that I had worn a tank top for at least the past three Halloweens, he quickly switched gears and stated that "weather aside,  I am always excited about March for many reasons...and am rarely excited for the coming of October."

"To each his own," I stated, and the discussion ended there.

Before I go any further with this post, however, I would like to verify that I find beauty in all seasons (with the exception of winter - just go away). And while I am sincerely attracted to the autumn season, Eliot's birthday is in March so we both hold our personal biases.

Please do not misunderstand, I cannot wait for the warmer weather that March will inevitably bring, but I do feel entitled to brag; the first week of March has been nothing but rain and drab in my little niche of the world. 

So this means, Emmy: 1 point; Eliot: 0.

On to the next one.

One of my new year's resolutions is to be content in the now; to not constantly be looking forward to the next phase of my life because that of the current does not necessarily meet all of my standards or prior expectations. I have been having a problem with this since the latter part of my college years and am determined to successfully find my happy medium. It has to exist, it just has to.

I will be the first to admit, however, that I have not been doing well in this endeavor thus far. In fact, I have been failing miserably. One of the reasons I attribute this lack of success to is the weather. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy snow as much as the next person; cuddling next to a warm fire, watching movie after movie, drinking hot chocolate. Yes, I enjoy all of those things...in December...with perhaps a twinkling Christmas Tree and decorated stockings neatly placed all around. But once the holiday season ends I'd just as rather it become warm again. I dread January and February and all of the bitter and biting cold that the months bring with them.

What I am trying to say is that it is difficult to concentrate on finding the pleasantness in the now when all I can think about is warmth and the future. 

Sundresses, flip flops, road trips and travel, green trees, drinks on the patio, walking outside without packing on the layers, sunshine, air conditioning with the car windows rolled down, pools and sandy beaches, barefoot, tan lines, night outings with friends sans freezing in between venues...

OH, Spring! Hurry, hurry, hurry!

Sweet summer night, and I'm stripped to my sheets.

And in the midst of my self proclaimed "pool day," as the butterfly decided to repeatedly settle on the tips of my toes, it in that moment finally felt like summer.

Welcome good season, so glad to have at last been graced by your presence.

Spring has Sprung!

What I'm loving today:

the beautiful spring weather and all of the interesting sights that can be seen across UT's campus as students interact with the refreshing, warmer climate.

(Please do not take.)

And a Spring time playlist to go along with today's Nashville bound roadtrip:

Spring Break.

It's spring time in Knoxville and the motorized scooters are back in action!

____________________

I have been M.I.A. this past week because it has been the start of my spring break- the event that I have been hardcore referring to in my last couple of posts.

So far it has been fantastic.

The first three days I worked at Mimi's and made a solid $300 to spend on the coming week.

 Eliot and I have been relaxing and spending a great couple of days together just he and I.

We've watched movies, cooked yummy food, enjoyed the sunshine, and have enjoyed our alone time together.

 

 

 Tomorrow morning Eliot and I are leaving for New Orleans. We initially went into this break with absolutely NO plans. We were going to play everything by ear until I finally decided that we needed to take advantage of this break. It could possibly be our last one together as students without grown-up jobs so we need to make it memorable!

Since Eliot has never ventured down to the bayou I thought that it would be a great idea to show him a little of where I came from. We're going to stay Thursday, Friday, and Saturday night and come back on Sunday.

It's going to be short, but oh so sweet. My mom and dad have been phoning me non-stop with all of their inputs as to what we should do while we're down there. I'm excited, and I think that Eliot is really going to enjoy it.

It's a spontaneous trip, but I think it is going to be a lot of fun, and I can't wait to post pictures! 

Weather Feature.

Due to the feedback that I have gotten this semester in my Advanced Photojournalism course, I have finally begun to think of myself as a decent photographer- that is to say, a decent photojouranlist.

Photojournalism is quite different from art photography, which is very important to note. With art photography, the sky is the limit in terms of the subject, editing, time, etc.

Photojournalism, however, requires a specific subject or event that you must capture within an alotted amount of time.

And trust me, the subjects are not always the most aesthetically pleasing to photograph.

What is so challenging is the fact that you as the photographer must become very personable and outgoing. You really have to connect with the subject in a very small amount of time.

The photographs have to be very realistic as well. They are, after all, subject to potentially being included in a news or feature story in some sort of print media or on the internet. Therefore, the public must be able to distinguish what the photograph is of, and they must believe it.

I love the challenge of taking pictures of ordinary objects, events, and people as creatively as I possibily can, but still keeping it simple and realistic.

Here are some examples of the projects we have had thus far.

This first group of pictures was a portrait assignment. We had the option of shooting an athlete or an artist because they tend to be very passionate about their crafts. I called up one of my friends from high school named Laura, who is a very talented painter. I hadn't talked to her in years so this is where my personable people skills had to come into play.

To me, shooting a group of portraits was more than capturing her with her paintbrush pretending to paint on a canvas.

I wanted to show an interaction between her and her craft, and here are some of the things we came up with collectively.

 

 

The next series of photos was for a weather feature- not just taking pictures of scenic mountains with snow on them, or rain.

We had to try to capture human interaction with the weather, and I tried to do it as creatively as I could.

 

 

 

This last photo is a bit of a stretch and is borderline scenic. He wanted human interaction, and I was a bit too abstract. I liked the fact that the plant was still green and living within the dead of winter. He wasn't as keen on the idea, but as a whole my professor liked my shots.