Mugs by Mooks

This weekend JP and I drove to Milligan College near Johnson City, Tennessee for JP's brother Michael's senior photography show.  If you remember, Michael is an awesome photographer.

Unfortunately, I had class on Saturday so JP and I had to leave around 1:30 Saturday afternoon to make the 6 hour drive in the very rainy and windy weather.  We stretched the drive out with our stop in Knoxville at "Ye Olde Steak House."  JP and I my Dad had seen this on tv once while watching a Tennessee game and have both really wanted to eat there ever since.  We were already planning on stopping in Knoxville for dinner, and my Dad reminded us of this place.  So we drove through Knoxville until we found this pretty cool restaurant.  We shared a 20oz Porterhouse and JP got mushrooms and I got potatoes.

While we were traveling and eating steak, everyone else was at Milligan preparing for the Sunday show by hanging 21 photos.

The show on Sunday was great! Not only did we get to enjoy Michael's awesome work but so did about 200 other people.

Michael was excited to share his work with other people.  We got to meet a lot of his friends and teachers as well.

I obviously married in to this family.  JP says I need a stool.

 

We were all hungry after cleaning up the show, we were all super hungry so we went to this place Fatz for dinner.  The food was good, and the waiter liked us so much he gave us two free desserts which, as JP said, "left us all feeling Fatz."

 

 Some other notable things we experienced while in the Johnson City area included:

This restaurant called Pal's.  It probably was the most humorous looking place I have ever purchased food, and I'm pretty sure it came right out of this old school Nickelodeon cartoon.

Max the 210lb dog.  He deserves a blogpost devoted completely to himself, and he will get such a post sometime soon.

Michael Kaal Photography

 Meet Michael, my brother-in-law

Michael has a passion for photography which has resulted in awesome photos.  His favorite subject is landscapes and nature.  This summer Michael would drive all over Arizona, sleeping in his car, so he could get some awesome shots.  He has so many cool stories from his trips that include an encounter with a rattlesnake.

Michael doesn't just take nature shots, he is an excellent portrait photographer too!  He took JP and my engagement pictures, and I loved them!  He is getting into the wedding industry and has done an excellent job of documenting such special days.

Check out some of his pictures.  These are just a few.  You can find more on his website and if you are really smart you will follow his blog.

 Michael graduates from Milligan College this spring, and as a photography major he is required to have a show of his work.  Michael will be sharing photos from this summer in Arizona.

Basic Photography Class Photos: Week 4

I'm a little behind on posting but our assignment for last week's class was Still Life. Unfortunately, my MBA classes were particularly busy that week i.e. a Finance test, and I totally procrastinated and did my shots probably 30 minutes before class which is why I only have 4 instead of 5. JP had my computer at Whole Foods studying so I tried to upload my pics to his baby computer, and it didn't work. So, I rushed to Samford and uploaded them in the computer lab. I was only 3 minutes late for class.

Basic Photography Class Photos: Week 3

This week our assignment was to submit 5 photos showing that we knew how to use aperture to enhance the appearance of the photo.

For those of you who know nothing about photography, aperture is directly related to the amount of light that enters the camera. The larger the number the smaller the opening.

Additionally, the smaller the number/the bigger the opening, the less the photo is in focus. Therefore, the blur the background of a photo, use a smaller aperture.

Overall my teacher was had positive things to say about my photos. The only negative things was the lighting on the cupcake photo (which I knew before I even submitted it). He did comment on the DVD picture stating that this was quite the collection! I informed him this was taken at a friend's house, but he was definitely amused by the number of DVD's in the photo. Personally, the number of DVD's seemed quite normal to me.

I will say the DVD photo is my favorite! Which one is yours?

Basic Photography Class Photos: Week 2

This week our assignment was to submit pictures that follow the "rule of thirds". The "rule of thirds" states that the main subject of the photo falls on one of the four main power points which are formed at the intersection of the lines that divide the photo both horizontally and vertically.

I was super busy, and it was SO cold this week that it was hard to get out and take pictures! I did go to Samford and take some pictures Sunday afternoon; however, I didn't get my final photos until about 45 minutes before class. Our teacher uses a Yahoo group for us to all upload our pictures. Because I uploaded at the last minute, I did not have a chance to double check my folder. I know I uploaded 5 but when my teacher pulled up my folder only three were there.

My teacher was pleased with all the three of the photos that uploaded stating that they were excellent or cool shots.

These are the two pictures that for some reason did not upload so I was unable to get my teacher's response.

Basic Photography Class Photos: Week 1

Each week of my photography class, each student brings in 5 pictures and during the last half of class, we discuss them. Each week I will post here the pictures that I submited as well as the comments they received.

Our first assignment was to bring in our 5 best pictures. Well, I really don't have 5 "best" pictures yet. Since I have had my camera I haven't taken a lot of pictures for a couple of reasons, 1) I don't really know how to use all of the fancy things my camera can do (hence the class) and 2) I haven't had a whole lot of time. When I do take pictures, I have tried to do more complicated things than just looking at composition. I had a photography class in high school and feel I have a pretty good grasp on composition. Anyway all this to say I knew all of the pictures I submitted weren't really "best" quality. I was really only confident in two of my pictures.

PHOTO ONE

I took this picture while I was in Arizona over Christmas. I had never attempted a silhouette shot so thought I would give it a shot.
Teacher comment: It's nice. Just a silhouette. (My take was he wasn't very impressed)

PHOTO TWO

I took this picture when I was in Central Park this summer. I really don't think it was that great of a photograph but it was one of the first pictures I took on my own (without Michael's help) in which the foreground was in focus and the background was not.
Teacher response: Eh.

PHOTO THREE

This is another photo I took while I was in Arizona over Christmas. I took it because I liked the way the grasses overlapped the water.
Teacher comment: Not a good subject.

Now for the only two photos I have that deserve a "best" label. These were the two I was confident about.

PHOTO FOUR

I shot this in Times Square. I love this picture, but I can't really take a lot of credit for it. Yes I did press the button but Michael set everything up so it would look like this. But still, it is my picture so it is one of my BEST. Hopefully I will learn how to repeat this picture without any help!
Teacher comment: This is a very nice shot. Excellent composition.

PHOTO FIVE

I took this picture in a waterfront park in New Jersey. This is what I consider my BEST picture because I did it completely on my own.
Teacher comment: Pefect composition. Excellent. Very well done.

Next week our assignment is to submit 5 photos that use the rule of thirds. I better get shooting!

Classes

My family always jokes that my job should be being a full time student. Honestly, I wouldn't mind that at all as I've always enjoyed learning. I suppose the next best thing to being paid to be a full time student is having someone pay for you to go to school part time. One of the awesome benefits to my job at UAB is the fact that they will pay for me to take 18 hours a year. Not only that, but unlike many places require you to pay and then reimburse you, UAB pays upfront so the only money I have to fork out is for books and a few fees. As long as they are writing the check in the thousands, and I'm writing one for a few hundred, I'm happy. Oh, and I forgot to add another sweet part of this... they will my for JP to take 18 hours a year too! This is going to come in handy because once he passes the CPA exam he will have to take two grad classes and will possibly get his masters in accountancy.

Currently, I am working on getting my MBA. I started last spring, and I should finish in the spring or summer of next year. Once I get my MBA, depending on what career opportunities I have, I may get my masters in Health Administration which is a two year program.

This semester I am taking three classes:
Corporate Finance: Finance and accounting classes are definitely my favorite. This class meets on Monday nights from 7:15-9:45pm. Hopefully I don't fall asleep!

Managerial Behaviors: This is an online class that involves a lot of reading and posting on discussion boards. According to the syallabus you are supposed to draw a lot on relationships and circumstances you have experienced in your career.

Management Information Systems: This class meets one Saturday a month from 8:30-4:30. It really wasn't too bad! We spend the entire class discussing current events that involve technology and business.

In addition to these MBA classes, I am taking a photography class at Samford. It is part of their Samford After Sundown program and will meet Tuesday for 2 hours for 6 weeks. I have a friend at work who just got a digital SLR camera, and if you recall from this post, I got a digital SLR for my birthday. We both really want to learn how to take awesome pictures so we are taking the class together. I am very excited!