they are the Class of, the Class of '13*

Home for four months!

Monday: My presentation day for Reconfigured. Initially I pinned my photos up in the classroom, but the pins wouldn't go all the way into the corkboard, which meant that the photos curled up and threatened to fall to the ground. I had a couple of friends helping me to put them up, and after a couple of close calls we decided to move the operation to the finishing room (which used to be NSCAD's colour darkroom, BTW) because that corkboard is thick enough that the pins will go all the way in (when using pushpins or thumbtacks to hold art in place, you position each pin so that the flat part is the only part of the pin that is in contact with the work--the pin itself doesn't go through the piece and make a hole). That crit was possibly my best/most thorough crit ever.

Tuesday: I finally mailed the photos that I shot for my piece for the WftA show. And I got my Graphics final printed (colour, double-sided, legal-size). Mom arrived in Halifax and called me when I made a quick stop at NSCAD to let SUNSCAD know that I wouldn't be at that evening's GA because I needed to pack (the union's resource coordinator, Tara, agreed that the meeting was poorly timed--if students weren't already headed home, they were prepping for the journey and doing their last finals. She told me to not worry about quorum, which the union had said was important for that GA.). Because it was such a nice day out, I took off my jacket for a few blocks--until the wind picked up again. We started packing shortly after I got home.

Wednesday: More packing and loading the car.

My crit for Graphics went well: although there were some mishaps with my project, I knew about them. When I folded my brochure/portfolio, I realized that the sides didn't line up and that I was short a bit of paper due to how the document was printed, which I didn't discover until I folded it Tuesday night (as everything was lined up perfectly in the InDesign file, I wouldn't have had any issues if it was printed properly). Other than that, the crit went extremely well.

Thursday: The Big Crit day. We started at the Port Campus, complete with potluck breakfast, and spent most of the day there. We moved over to Academy mid-afternoon and finished the crits there.

Afterward, I tried to track down Mom, which wasn't easy, as I had no idea where she was parked and thought she'd be able to pick me up around the area of the front door of Academy. After several calls on my cell, which ran out of minutes and a call on a classmate's cell, we eventually found each other--and I launched into a screaming fit. Not my finest moment. **cringe**

And yes, we continued packing.

Friday: We were a bit later leaving than we'd planned (by about a couple hours). Mom drove most of the way, with me taking over for the last hour or so--while discovering Eric Clapton (what rock have I been hiding under all these years?!). And yes, we stopped at a Big Stop along the way.

Saturday: I spent the day trying to be as lazy as possible while listening to Siegfried (not as awesome as Die Walküre).

Sunday: We unpacked the car. I also loaded the camera bag that I got for Christmas for the first time. I now have a camera bag for every camera (I did previously, but when I got the D7000, I was short a bag).

The section in the middle closest to the handle is where my camera goes. This bag is a backpack-style bag.

Monday: The beginning of Assessment Week at NBCCD--and the Class of '13's last week at the college. I have to admit that the fact that after this week the only people I'll know at NBCCD will be the faculty and staff makes me a bit sad. All my friends will have graduated and gone on to either careers (and paying off student loans) or more education at a different school (two or three students from the Photo studio are NSCAD-bound this fall).

This is a video of the Photo Studio's year-end, "last time we're going to be together as NBCCD students/thank you, teachers, for putting up with us for two years" party.


Video by James Walsh (Photo Class of '13).


CONGRATULATIONS, CLASS OF '13! And to those graduating from the Photo program, remember: once an NBCCD Photog, always an NBCCD Photog!

*A paraphrased version of a line from the title track from Green Day's album 21st Century Breakdown.

looking ahead

We're officially in Finals Mode.

Monday: Elections for the '13 - '14 SUNSCAD executive were that day, Tuesday and Wednesday. I voted on Monday.

We talked about our final projects for Reconfigured and Bob made some suggestions as to how we can take them even further.

Tuesday: My registration period opened at noon and I registered for my first course (Survey of Twentieth-Century Art, a mandatory 2000-level course) half an hour later. I also started the process of registering for Advanced Photo Critique (a.k.a. APC), which is a 4000-level course and, like Twentieth-Century Art, is mandatory. APC is an independent-study thesis course. I've been talking with a couple of friends who are taking it this semester, and I think I've finally wrapped my head around what's involved. Said independent project is a semester long, which is more time than I've ever had to work on a project (projects for Peter's courses were seven weeks long). I'm still so used to just having seven weeks to do a project that an entire semester almost feels like too much. But having an entire semester means that I have the time to do my very best.

I spent the day studying at NSCAD and doing prep for APC registration, which started with a stop at OSAS, then being directed to the administrative assistant, Joann. That's when I started to get a bit stressed: because I'm one history course (three credits) short of the nine required for that course, she doubted that I would be able to get permission and would have to do APC in a fourth semester. I'm hell-bent on finishing my degree in three semesters, so that was a bit scary. I also want to finish with as little debt as possible.

That evening, SUNSCAD held a meeting with the students, FUNSCAD and Friends of NSCAD in the student lounge to talk about what's next now that we don't have to worry about FUNSCAD going on strike (woot!).

Wednesday: I got an email late that morning telling me that the division chair, David Clark, would be in his office that day as well as Thursday. I immediately emailed back and called a cab. Once I got to the university I headed for Joann's office. She told me that David was in his, which was next door. After going over my audit sheet, chatting about New Brunswick (seriously, the world keeps getting smaller), discussing my history situation and what I covered at NBCCD, I filled out the APC form. David added a note saying that I'd be doing my last history credit concurrently and signed it. I took the form back to OSAS, filled out a course add/drop form, and then both were taken to the registrar's office. Done. One of the things I love about NSCAD is that as long as administration knows that you're going to take any missing prerequisites, you're good to go.

After all that excitement, I spent the rest of the day studying.

We presented our logos. I'm to redo mine for this week. Jeff introduced the final project, which is a portfolio of our work.

Thursday: We discussed two readings that were handed out a couple weeks ago.

Friday: More presentations--and this time the walk to school was uneventful. I presented this week. I'd spent the last few weeks doing a ton of research. Bob's suggestion: keep it personal. In other words, screw the research. We'll see what happens--I have two thousand words to play with, making this essay (which will be on humanity's relationship with technology, both the good and the bad) the longest one that I've ever written for school. I may or may not use some of the research.

I checked Facebook when I got to the Port Campus and found out that one of my friends got into NSCAD (although she's graduating from NBCCD with a diploma in photography this year, she's decided be an Interdisciplinary major at NSCAD). I was--and still am--ridiculously excited for her. It'll be wonderful to have another NBCCDer flitting around NSCAD, spreading her own brand of awesome. I love both schools, and I love having my alma mater represented at my second school.

That afternoon was the final presentation (on graffiti) for Writing for the Arts. Throughout the semester, each presentation group has had to come up with a post-presentation activity or writing topic. This time, newsprint had been wrapped between two posts, and we were allowed to draw or write anything we wanted on it. I wrote "NSCAD ROCKS!" As I said to a classmate, this is why I love art school.

I spent part of the evening working on my project for the show.

Saturday: I got an unbelievable amount of work done.

That evening my floor's RA and some friends observed Earth Hour. We played Pictionary in near-dark, using an (unplugged!) iPhone flashlight.

Sunday: I spent the afternoon at the Port Campus doing Graphics homework, and I'm just about finished.

Next weekend is Easter weekend, which means that I'll be staring six unstructured days in the face. I'll get to sleep in on Friday (wonderful!), and then, because Canada likes to squeeze an extra day out of that weekend in the form of Easter Monday (which I just found out is a religious holiday in Orthodox Christianity), I'll have yet another free day. I don't have class until Graphics on Wednesday evening. I plan to spend those days getting work done and relaxing--maybe even exploring Halifax some more, which I've missed doing and won't have time to do next semester (two words: eighteen credits). Sometimes I'm tempted to move here for a year or so to work and experience Halifax with only my latest photo project for homework.

break? what break?

This break wasn't so much a break as it was a week-long unstructured work period.

Monday: I spent much of the day being lazy--until I had to shovel a path from the garage to the road (not a long distance, but there was a lot of snow).

Tuesday: Mom and I went skiing. I planned on getting homework done, but ended up not having enough time.

Wednesday: Mom and I went to town, and then I finally got homework done.

Thursday: Mom and I went skiing again and this time the snow was a lot better. ...and I did more homework.

Friday: You guessed it: more homework. Mom and I also played Cat-opoly. She won, though not without landing on "Fleas" immediately after passing "Scat" several times (meaning that the $200 that she got for passing "scat" went to pay for the fleas, which also cost $200--that's some expensive flea medication), and howls of laughter from both of us.

Saturday: I did almost everything that I needed to do to apply for summer jobs, but because a few places have application forms and neither of us picked them up, I decided to wait and do all my job-hunting stuff when I come home for the summer. A lot of the places that I apply to every year are closed for the winter when I do the rounds during break, anyway.

Sunday: I spent much of the day on the road. This time the buses were on time for much of the trip.

I tried to get work done, but I think I'm just too tired.

Tomorrow is the beginning of NBCCD's mid-term assessment week and then they are on break the following week. No wonder the break snuck up on me this year.

back to (school) work

NSCAD kinda kicked my butt this week, but thankfully the homework is down to a dull roar at this point.

Monday: We spent part of the class looking at recent work. I showed my final projects for Intro and Beyond the Frame.

That evening, one of my former classmates had a show opening at the Economy Shoe Shop (which is actually a bar). Having seen her stress over the photos, which were her final for last semester's view camera course, I loved seeing them printed, matted and framed on the walls.

Tuesday: My day off--from classes, at least. I filled it with getting a few things straightened out with my account at the school where I'm staying (I'd received a note about my fees being overdue, but it had been sent in error, as I'd suspected--whew!), meeting with NSCAD's financial adviser and the assistant registrar to get things sorted out for my final semester (the loan and Advanced Photo Critique, which is a mandatory fourth-year course) and sending off my student loan papers. I also found out that I'm actually between the third and fourth years (I thought I was a fourth-year).

Wednesday: I spent the day finishing the reading for Obsolescence and doing little things around my room.

That evening I had my first evening class since FVA: Graphics for Artists and Craftspeople I. I think I'm going to like it. We'll be working with Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign.

Thursday: We met in the Photo Dept. computer lab and Bob went over a bunch of under-the-hood computer things and passed around an opened SATA hard drive.

After class SUNSCAD hosted a meeting between the students and FUNSCAD 1 and 2 (the faculty union--FUNSCAD 1 is the teachers and FUNSCAD 2 is the techs). As I mentioned before, there's a possibility of a strike next month, so FUNSCAD gave us an update on the situation. If there's a strike, it would likely happen in early-February (FUNSCAD 2) and late-February (FUNSCAD 1). As I wrote in an email to my parents, "the next few weeks are not going to be good for my nerves."

That day NBCCD had a ball hockey game in the courtyard between the main building and the Barracks. Two of the second-year Photo students (Class of '13) took photos and one shot a video. You can see the photos from one of the Photogs here, and here's the video. LET'S GO, PHOTO, LET'S GO!



The photos and video made me miss NBCCD, the Photo Studio and the faculty like crazy. As I wrote in a Facebook status update, "NSCAD may be awesome, but nothing can replace you [the Photo Studio, fellow students and faculty]. Nothing."

Friday: That day was one of those days where I wasn't happy about the fact that I had class all day.

Obsolescence was mostly devoted to discussing that week's reading.

Writing for the Arts met in the Granville Campus that day and Anna (our teacher) introduced us to the library and the Visual Resources Collection (VRC) and gave us the rundown of the assignment that's due next week, which is a scavenger hunt involving both places. We then went to two of the galleries that are in the same set of buildings as NSCAD: Gallery Page and Strange and the Anna Leonowens Gallery, which is one of NSCAD's three galleries. We also have to write a review (either on a body of work or on an individual piece), so we took notes for that.

That afternoon there was an Idle No More protest at the Halifax Grand Parade, and although I'd planned to go, by the time I was done class the protest was over. I spent part of the evening catching up on the meetings between Harper, Governor General David Johnston and the First Nations chiefs. The meetings weren't as successful as the chiefs would've liked, and Chief Theresa Spence will continue her hunger strike.

Saturday and Sunday: I spent much of the weekend doing homework as NSCAD doesn't take as easy an approach to homework as NBCCD does in the first couple weeks of the semester (NBCCD lets you slowly get into the groove of the semester over the course of the first three weeks).

On Saturday evening I stumbled across a video of the BSO from '08. I think I've seen this video before, but this time it really had an effect on me--so much so that it brought me to tears. I then decided to look up the entire piece. Here's the BSO's version. It's from an open dress rehearsal, so there are some mishaps, but there's still that take-charge, "let's-see-how-many-socks-we-can-knock-off" attitude toward their part from the violin section. There's no messing with those guys, which is one of the things I love about them--and why they make me proud to play that instrument. Brace yourself for awesomeness.


The Bangor Symphony Orchestra - Sneak Peak, January 31st, 2008 from Luke LaBree on Vimeo.

And here's a recording of the whole piece:

Letter to the FVAs: FINALS!

Dear FVAs:

It's almost the end of the year. And that means that it's time to bury your noses in your copies of Launching the Imagination in preparation for your 3D Design exam. I wouldn't be surprised if you're pulling your hair out about your final projects.

I wouldn't be surprised if even just the thought is freaking you out right now. But remember that we've got a really good support system here at the college. If you're having problems, you're really stressed out, etc., talk to your teacher.

At least you have your portfolios in. When I did FVA, the portfolios were due on the last day, which meant I was super-stressed. That's probably one of the reasons why the deadline was pushed back: the students had enough on their plates.

Because Spring finals can be brutal (I'm doing surprisingly well, considering how stressful the last two years have been), I will remind you to breathe. Force yourself to relax--even if it's while doing other work. Listen to your favourite music while you glue together Platonic solids (ah, fond memories). I remember listening to the Met's performance of Le Comte d'Ory during a particularly stressful weekend last year. I made sure to let the Met know how much that performance helped me.

So good luck, and although it may not feel like it right now, you will survive the stress, you will come out the other end of finals.

Love,
Annapurna
FVA Class of '10, Photography Diploma Class of '12, NSCAD Photography BFA Class of '13 (transfer)

March Break: we're thisclose to The End

I'm home for March Break--my last as an NBCCD student. For the last few weeks, the fact that the end of my time at the craft college isn't far away has started to become more real, and saying good-bye to the college is like saying good-bye to a good friend that I will never see again.

Monday: This week's class was almost completely devoted to critiquing the last assignment. Linda also handed out a reworked version of the course outline, and talked about what's next after March Break.

Tuesday: Photoshop was also devoted to critiques, as our independent-study projects were due. By that point, my card was looking really good, though there were still some improvements to be made, which I took care of. Drew also suggested (as an idea) that I make the card a vertical one, rather than a horizontal one. I'm seriously thinking of printing it at some point--maybe at Moo, as they produce gorgeous results (beautiful colour, their card-stock is about twice the thickness of normal card-stock, and it has a really smooth surface).

I totally failed to get Rod's assignment done, as the mic that we were to use was signed out again almost as soon as it was returned to the school on Monday. However, Rod was fully aware of the situation (the photo studio only has one of those mics), and he knew that I'd been trying to get the assignment done since Thursday. I plan to get 'er done ASAP when I get back from March Break. He'd originally planned to do assessments that afternoon, but because so few of us got that assignment done, he decided not to--which meant an unexpected free afternoon. I used it to get started on the first show review for Gallery as a Market Place. It's not due for several weeks, but I don't want to have to panic about it. I'm reviewing the college gallery's current show (which is coming down over break, so I made sure to take photos so that I could refer back to them).

Wednesday: That day, morning classes were cancelled for us diploma students, as we had PANEL ASSESSMENTS. Although the students did most of the critiquing, two of the teachers were there to facilitate and critique. Michael Côté and Karen Burk were in charge of my group. While mine was a good critique, it was one of those times where I got the feeling that I should have everything figured out by now. However, I realize that we all learn and figure things out at different points in our lives. I may know what I'm passionate about (photography, dance, music, politics), but until this past year, I didn't know what I wanted to do within the medium of photography. Now, I'm seriously considering dance photography: I'm passionate about dance, and so are a lot of other people (i.e., there's money in it). After we'd gone around the table, Karen asked us to "critique the critique." This is the second year that the college has done panel assessments for diploma students, so it's still rather new. My main issues were a. that my studio didn't get much info about the assessments--and therefore I didn't feel as prepared as I might have otherwise, even though I was as prepared as I could be given the circumstances, and b. that because everyone can benefit from a critique, I didn't like the fact that the first-year diploma students just had to show up: they weren't to actually bring anything and be critiqued like the first-years were last year.

Although most of us had presented our latest research projects, a couple hadn't, so they did their presentations this week. Drew asked us what else we wanted to research. For me, that's things like trying out the studio's new Einstein flashes, finding places in Maine and NB that do high-quality photo printing (I'm so done with Kodak kiosks) and researching Nikon and Canon cameras.

Thursday: All I had that day was a meeting with Peter in the afternoon. As he's done periodically this year, he asked me about my plans post-NBCCD. My answer this time around: apply for gallery shows, possibly teach at Sunbury Shores and eventually go into dance photography. He also asked if I'd heard back from NSCAD: nope. We then talked about my projects: a critique of the one that I just finished (he also asked if I plan to use it in real life. My answer: possibly.), and strategizing for my next project (two words: story-boards).

When I was done, I checked to see if Mom was there yet. I went out to the hall outside the studio--and there she was. As usual, I greeted her with a big hug. We then grabbed my stuff at the college (I showed her my photos for the show), grabbed my stuff at the residence, and drove home. There had been an accident on the highway that we usually take, so we had to take another route, which meant that we got home a little later than usual. I drove part-way. I don't know why, but we seem to discuss fairly heavy stuff (e.g., politics) on the way home. This time, I gave her the low-down on why I've never dated--and have no intentions of changing that. The answer: although I've had a few exceptions here and there, I've never been sexually or romantically attracted to other people, male or female. And I'm fine with that--I've got my family, friends (some of whom are extremely important to me) and cats, and that satisfies me. When I explained it to her on the way home, I thought it'd take me a long time to do so, but it didn't. I think I had it better figured out than I thought.

Friday: As usual, I wasn't fully unpacked until that day. I spent most of the afternoon in town, going to a massage appointment and then grocery-shopping afterward (with a stop at my favourite chocolatier). I'd hoped to skype with Helen that evening. She was feeling a bit under the weather, so she emailed me shortly before our usual chat time (6:30) saying that she couldn't skype that evening.

Saturday: I spent the day hanging out with Mom and Tom, and listening to opera (Aïda).

Sunday: Mom and I went skiing through the fields that afternoon, and then I spent the evening writing this post.

yay for productiveness!

Who knew it would be so difficult to get a copy of the poster version of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms? None of the government websites mention where it's available, and I had to do some serious hunting around before I found out where to contact. This is our constitution--hard copies should be easier to find.

Monday: That day, we didn't really have a class: just meet with Linda to talk about our current project. I used most of that time to finish off that week's blog post, as I'd finished the rough draft for my assignment and didn't want to go any further without talking with Linda first.

As I'd expected, she suggested that I use fewer colours (I went a little nuts and used six or so different colours in the first draft). She also suggested moving a couple of the elements around--and making sure everything was straight.

Tuesday: As of about noon, the important "if I lose these files, I'm screwed" parts of my external hard drive were officially backed up onto my school account. It took three hours--all of my Photoshop class--but it was worth it. Those parts are 1. my Olympus RAW Files, 2. the photos I took with Tom's Nikon (the original NEFs, plus multiple sets of DNGs in various stages of editing), and 3. my school assignments. So now I just need to remember to update every week or so. However, I won't do a Big One again: next time, I'll just transfer individual folders (assignments, etc.).

This week, Photoshop class was all about adding effects to video in that program. Photoshop isn't the most powerful video-editing software in the world, but when it comes to adding effects, it works really well.

That day, we didn't have Still to Motion: the first-year Photogs had a field-trip to Saint John, which meant a visit to Rod's studio. Rod usually has a full day of classes on Tuesdays, so because he didn't have his usual morning class with the first-years, he cancelled the afternoon class. Some of the other Photogs griped about that move, but although I was disappointed that I didn't have class, I could see his point.

But no matter how disappointed I am when class is cancelled, my second thought is always, "more time to do homework!" And that's exactly what I did that afternoon, after running around, trying to find out where I could get a copy of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. I tried Service Canada first, and then they referred me to Justice Canada. They didn't have any copies, but the librarian at the law library took down my contact info and said she would look into where I could get a copy. About an hour later, she emailed. The result: the Heritage Canada Foundation is the place to contact.

Wednesday: Happy eightieth birthday, John Williams! (Music to follow in a bit.)

That day, we had a guest come to our Gallery as a Market Place class: Sarah Petite, who has worked with CARFAC Maritimes almost since the beginning, and is about to retire. She talked about CARFAC, and the couple of organizations that are part of it, like the Copyright Collective. Among other things (like making sure galleries pay the artists who show there), CARFAC is a lobby group, and is currently fighting to have various parts of the Copyright Bill (Bill C-11) changed, to benefit artists (ever heard of "fair dealing", Harper?).

In the afternoon class, we talked about where we were in our current research projects. Drew also showed us some of his research techniques, including sites where he gets materials, ebooks, etc. He and I also talked about the Photoshop plug-ins that I was having problems with, and checked them in my computer. They were working without any problems, so I have no idea what was going on when I downloaded them and they didn't work. Hmm...

Thursday: I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm pretty much finished my current independent study project for Peter's class. That means I'm finished early by a couple of weeks. In our meeting, we talked about some of the improvements I could make, and he suggested that because I haven't really had anything to present to the class, due to the nature of my project, that I do the first ten minutes of the course that I've designed as a presentation/demo.

After my meeting with Peter, I met with Karen to go over the essay part of a scholarship that I'm applying for (the RBC scholarship). Tom and I wrote the answers together over Christmas break, and while Tom's a good writer (I know where I got my writing skills), it sounded more like him and the way he speaks, than it did me and the way I speak. I tried to make it sound more "me" a little while ago, but I failed, so I asked Karen for help as she's also a good writer.

I was wondering about how to make effects appear and disappear in the video I was editing for my Photoshop homework, so I asked Drew. This week, the Photo Studio has been crawling with FVAs, as they've been doing photograms (ah, fond memories). Drew was in charge of the whole thing, so he wasn't able to help me until around four that afternoon. Because he didn't know whether or not what I wanted to do was possible, it was a learning experience for both of us. But in the end, we got that effect to work.

That evening, I skyped with Helen. This time we talked about art, and I showed her the rough draft of my drawing homework.

Friday: For the last couple weeks, I've been noticing the change in the quality of sunlight that can only mean one thing: SPRING ISN'T FAR AWAY! I always get really excited when that happens--when the light becomes softer and colours start to look richer. My walk to school that afternoon was nothing short of wonderful, and I didn't put my gloves on once.

It was so nice out that I wanted to do my homework outside. But when I tried, the wind picked up and forced me back into the college. That day, I focused on doing the final draft for Imagery. As I was doing transfers, and the ink in the transfer pens stinks like you wouldn't believe (it's worse than Sharpies), I needed all the ventilation I could get. For the rough draft, I transferred the images onto paper from a sketchbook that I then glued onto cold-press watercolour paper using gel medium. But when I did the final version, I did the transfers directly onto stonehenge and then painted over it, using watercolours in a very nice shade of red.


Saturday: I managed to be out the door and on my way to the college before noon. The reason? The Met's broadcast this week was Götterdämmerung, which is the last opera in Der Ring des Nibelungen. That opera is probably the longest one I've ever heard, as it is a whopping six hours long, including two intermissions (so the actual run-time for Götterdämmerung is five hours). As a result, the broadcast started at one AST--an hour earlier than usual. Although I'm not the biggest Wagner fan (though I appreciate his music and respect him as a composer), the opera was worth it. And the ending was spectacular. I found out afterward that there were ninety-eight musicians in the pit. Wow (according to the BSO's roster page, the symphony maxes out at ninety). That number included ten French horns(!), and a larger-than-usual violin section (no numbers were provided).

Because I was at school about an hour-and-a-half earlier than usual, that meant that I was doing homework an hour-and-a-half earlier than usual. That meant that I was extremely productive, to the point that I hardly had anything to do today, homework-wise. My homework level was already fairly light to begin with.

Sunday: I spent today putzing around, watching a documentary, doing the last of my homework, thinking about going over to the college--and then deciding not to. I skyped with Mom and Tom, but none of us had anything to say.

And now for the music.







And the grand finale, conducted by the Bangor Symphony's conductor, Maestro Lucas Richman:



Because it's so awesome, I decided to toss in the finale from Götterdämmerung. The good stuff starts at the eight-minute mark. This is the Met's old production, which was designed by Otto Schenk. Go horns!

Letter to the FVAs: Finals Season

Dear FVAs:

I intended to write this over the weekend, but I was too busy dealing with final assignments. You know how it is: you're living it right now.

Mostly, I want to encourage you--I remember how brutal finals were when I was an FVA. I want you to know that even though it feels like it will never end, it will. You will come out the other end (known as Christmas Break). And you'll have three weeks in which to decompress, de-stress and prepare for next semester. Remember that when you're racing through the first third of Launching the Imagination in preparation for your 2D Design exam (which I believe is this week, yes?). Remember that when you're trying to remember colour facts for your Colour Theory exam. Remember that when you're trying to finish what feels like a couple thousand assignments, and are wondering whether you'll get them done on time (you will).

Congratulations on surviving the first semester. I strongly encourage you to come back for the second--and graduate in the spring. I know some of you won't make it to May--and that some of you have probably dropped out already--but I still recommend strongly that you stick around. And I'll let you know that the second semester is a lot easier than the first.

Good luck! And as my mom says, "remember to breathe!"

Love,
Annapurna
FVA Class of 2010, Photography Diploma Class of 2012

stress? what's that?

NBCCD has officially entered Finals Season. But for the first time ever, I'm not stressed. Usually by this point I'm stressed about final assignments, and (in the case of FVA) exams. But not this time. I know what I'm doing. And I don't have much homework.

Monday: This week, the overall feeling from the teachers was, "you've learned all I have to teach you for this course," and it was especially prevalent in the Monday classes. This weeks' assignments are to tweak the business plan and write an update on our mentors. Next week we'll hand in the final version of the B. plan, and by that point it should be good enough that we could walk down the street to somewhere like the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA), and apply for a loan.

In Output, our final assignment is to pick a wall in the NBCCD gallery and lay out a show on that wall. That includes a heck of a lot of measuring, and dealing with the fact that the floor in that gallery isn't even. I've done the assignment already (it isn't due until next week, a.k.a. the end of term), and it wasn't the evenness (or lack thereof) of the floor that drove me nuts--it was the amount of space between each photo. I wanted to get them exactly even, so I positioned the two end-photos--and then did battle with the ones in between, moving them back and forth and using the Ruler Tool to measure the distance between each one. Grrr... I finally got the measurements to be the same, and then started in on the distance between the floor and the photos, which only took a couple minutes.

One of the things I love about NBCCD is how much the college focuses on the "real world". If I apply for a show (and I will at some point), this is what I'm going to have to deal with.

Tuesday: That day was one of my laziest ever. I don't know how I did it, but somehow I managed to get off my butt at about five that evening and over to the college, where I did some work (starting the final report for my current independent study project, getting the last model release from Dance Fredericton, and starting the mentor update for the business class) before heading back to my dorm.

Wednesday: We're pretty much done in Photoshop, and I spent most of the three hours working on my independent study project for that class. We have another week in which to work on the projects, but I'm pretty much done. I'm going to show mine to Drew this week, and see if he has any suggestions on how to make it better. I admit that I'm loving this project--and it's a good way to put some of the anger that I feel towards the current government to use. And get school credit for it.

And we're pretty much done in Lighting, too. We spent part of the class having our work critiqued--and then Drew spent the rest of it untangling a box of cords and random stuff that's usually in the studio, and putting it all to rights.

Thursday: Thursdays and Fridays are usually my most productive days of the week, and this week was no different. Preparing for Professional Life homework: done. Output homework: done.

I also went to the first of two openings: Rooted/Uprooted by Linda Kelly, and Miramichi, 1953 by Rachael Flett. Both were in the Annex Gallery in the Playhouse, and both were amazing. Linda was my History Tutorial teacher in first semester FVA, and Rachael graduated from the photography program this past June. Rachael's now living in Calgary, AB, so she couldn't be at the opening. Karen and Peter spoke in the wing where Rachael's show is hanging. And then we all went across to the other wing, where Linda spoke about her work.

Friday: Another ridiculously productive day. I began preparing to print my independent study project, and stocked up on print credits and got a portfolio for the final photos.

And I did yet more homework.

And went to another opening. This one was at NBCCD's gallery. It's an alumni show, titled Illusion, and it's centred around fashion. Miniaturized fashion.

I also said good-bye to Tom's Nikon. I'm probably going to go with Canon for my next camera (better optics and sensor, and as I don't put my cameras through a lot, I don't need the best-sealed cam on the block), but I got a taste of life with a higher-quality camera than mine. And I loved it.

Saturday: The first Metropolitan Opera radio broadcast of the year! Which meant that I planned my entire day around the performance. And that meant that I had to be at the school by 1:30 PM (12:30 EST) at the latest. CBC's over-the-air reception is the pits here in NB, so I usually listen to the broadcast on my computer.

The first broadcast was Rodelinda by Handel, with Renée Fleming in the title role. I'm not the biggest fan of Baroque opera, but this one wasn't bad. I liked it a lot better than Orfeo ed Euridice (Gluck). Next week's opera is Faust, by Charles Gounod, which I'm really looking forward to.

And I found out that Maestro Levine will not be conducting some of the performances of the Ring Cycle this season, due to a fall while on vacation. He'll be back on the podium starting next month, but the Met's principal guest conductor, Maestro Fabio Luisi, was elevated to principal conductor and has taken on some of Maestro Levine's performances. Maestro Levine will conduct one performance of Götterdämmerung (April twenty-fourth), though he's conducting the other three Ring operas.

For those who don't know, James Levine has conducted every single performance of every single Ring opera since 1989. That's almost my entire life (I was born in '88)! He's conducted over 2,000 performances with the Met.

In amongst all this opera, I also managed to do a shoot for my last independent lighting assignment. This time, I worked with everything that I had yet to use. Or almost everything--as the Speedatrons and I are enemies right now (they still refuse to slave), and the snoot that the school's studio has is meant for that system, I wasn't able to try it out. However, even just turning on the modelling light taught me a lot: turns out, the snoot focuses the light on one spot.

Sunday: I'd hoped to print a test for my big independent project (the dance one) today, but the printer's loaded with matte paper, and I have no idea where the lustre paper's disappeared to. I've decided to move printing to Tuesday.

Right now, I don't have much homework, so I haven't done much that could pass for "productive" today. However, I went through the photos that I shot yesterday, and picked out the ten best. I'll probably put my notes in a Word document later this evening or tomorrow evening.

And I have to print off stuff for Preparing for Professional Life, which can be a minor pain when you're used to submitting everything digitally (thanks, Photo Studio!).

I can't believe tomorrow will be the last three-class day of the year. I love all three classes, but still--YIPPEEEEEE for the fact that tomorrow is the last time I have to slog through nine hours of classes this year!

class is cancelled. NNOOOOOOO!

Welcome to the homestretch. As of today, I only have SIX CLASS DAYS until Assessment Week, for a grand total of twelve school days when A. Week is included. Say whaaaa?! As I always end up asking at the end of every semester: where the heck did the time go?? I demand to know what you've done with it, NBCCD!

Monday: This week, two of my classes were cancelled due to teachers being sick, starting with Drawing. Although I like that class, I didn't mind the cancellation, as it gave me time to do some homework on a Monday for once.

Tuesday: That day was my last shoot at Dance Fredericton, and I went all-out. I'm really happy with the photos that I took that evening, and after spending Tuesday evenings there four times in the last five weeks, this coming Tuesday will feel really weird. I spent most of the day doing homework.

Wednesday: Drew handed out the final Photoshop assignment that day. It's also an independent-study project, but it's an even bigger one than the last one that we did. This one isn't due until Assessment Week. That, and it's worth a whopping twenty-five per cent of the final mark. There were several suggestions in the hand-out, and I decided to design three billboard ads, which was one of the suggestions. The ads could be on anything I wanted, and I chose Bill C-10. I've done two already (they still need some tweaking, and I'm not done masking Billboard #2), and I'm really happy with them.

That afternoon, we had the first major snowstorm of the season. I heard via Facebook status updates from some of my UNB friends that eight profs at the university cancelled class. Not so at NBCCD: we kept right on going as though white stuff wasn't falling from the sky as we worked.

Thursday: Class cancellation #2. This time it was Advanced Digital Projects--Peter was sick. And this time I got up early for no reason. Because Digital Projects is a morning class, I was up at my usual time (7:30/6:30 EST). As usual, I checked Facebook first thing--and there was a status update from one of my classmates, letting those of us who don't check our college email know that class was cancelled (I checked my email afterward). Well. There went my plans for the morning. But... I'm already up, I'm dressed--I'M GOING TO SCHOOL TO GET STUFF DONE! I took a bit longer to get from my back door (which, unlike the front door, opens directly onto the street that connects to the street that NBCCD's on) to campus because, due to a lack of classes and the first real snowfall of the year, I took a few photos on the way with my point 'n' shoot.

I spent the day getting homework done.

Friday: Another day of getting stuff done. And gritting my teeth at Black Friday, which I've hated for several years, and every year it seems to get worse (both B.F. and my hatred of it). Especially when Walmart is involved. I started to become aware of the problem in '08, when a thirtysomething Walmart employee was trampled to death when the store opened: people just wanted to get to the deals as fast as they could, and the life of the employee didn't matter. When he didn't get out of the way, they trampled him.

This year, Black Friday invaded Canada. I first noticed it in a SportChek.ca ad in the sidebar on Facebook, and on the day itself I saw that the Kings Place Mall had a sign outside, announcing the mall-wide sales. But that wasn't the worst of it. At a Walmart in L.A., a woman used pepper spray to disperse her fellow shoppers just so that she could get her hands on some electronics--the effects of the pepper spray could be felt throughout the store, and as usual Walmart employees did nothing. There was also a shooting at a Walmart in the San Francisco Bay Area.

What has this world come to? Is the acquisition of more "things" now more important than the lives of your fellow human beings? And what is it about Walmart that brings out the worst of the worst in us humans?

Yet more proof of how twisted our society is.

This year, I decided to make a point of participating in Buy Nothing Day (which includes buying local rather than from a big-box chain store, and paying with cash rather than with your debit/credit card--especially if you have an account at a big bank like RBC or ScotiaBank). Success.

I also went to NBCCD's craft sale and bought a couple things there. And I shot my second independent lighting project. This week, I focused on using the Speedatron lights because I don't have much experience with them. Until just a few weeks ago, I was scared to even touch the power pack, but after I went over the ins and outs of how to use it with Drew, I felt a lot less scared. And I don't want to lose that lack of fear. But although I'm no longer scared of the power pack, I am frustrated, as the slave mechanism for those things is finicky as heck.

I was doing fine until I switched lights. I started out using a Speedatron with an umbrella, plus a WhiteLightning with a grid (secondary light), but then wanted to switch to a Speedatron that had a giant softbox attached. When I switched to the softbox, the slave mechanism wouldn't work, and only the WhiteLightning fired. It still refused to work when I tried switching back to the light that I'd been using before. I tried several times to get it to work, but then gave up. I'm definitely more suited for lights like the AlienBees and WhiteLightnings: if the transmitter (which is battery-powered) doesn't work, just switch it out for a new one.

In case you're wondering what I mean when I talk about flashes being "slaved", here's the definition from Paul C. Buff (the company that makes the WhiteLightnings and AlienBees): "A flash unit is said to be a slave flash when it is set to fire by detecting the flash from another (master) flash unit in a multi-light setup. This allows multiple flash units to be operated with only one light synchronized (hardwired) to the camera. As many slaves as necessary can be used in a setup."

Black Friday 2011: The Violence Continues
Black Friday 2011: Shoppers Fight Over $2 Waffle Makers at Walmart [Video]

Saturday: Open-house day at NBCCD. On Wednesday I was approached by Barb (she used to be the studio tech for the Fashion Design studio, but she now works in administration, in marketing), who asked me if I'd be interested in guiding people around the studio and answering questions. I said yes, even though it meant that I'd have to get up early on Saturday.

However, the open house was a lot of fun, and worth getting up early for. And I thoroughly enjoyed giving tours. In between, I managed to get some homework done for my Photoshop project. Take that, Harper!

I was the only person in the studio until about two, when Drew showed up (he was leading some of the tours through the school that afternoon). I told him about my frustrations with the Speedatrons, and turns out that problems like mine aren't uncommon with those lights: they are finicky, period.

That night, I discovered a new piece of music--and immediately fell in love. Or in infatuation, which will probably turn into love. I'm currently working on choreography for it, and the music is challenging me to go beyond what I usually do, and to experiment, and I love it when that happens. The choreography is closer to modern dance than anything else (I dance a combination of ballet, jazz and modern, all rolled up into one). Check it out--The Ballad of Revolt, by Harald Saeverud (Trond's grandfather):

From my battles--er, I mean, shoot--with the Speedatron.

Sunday: Today's been a standard weekend day: I stayed up late on Saturday, so I slept in this morning. I did laundry and then headed over to the school. I printed stuff off for tomorrow, as well as my traditional check-list of all that I have to do between now and the end of term (with blank spaces, which will be filled in as Finals Season progresses) which will be taped to my dorm-room door when I get home. I also skyped with my parents and my mentor (we all have to have a mentor for business class), and edited photos for my independent study project for Peter's class (this week I've decided to focus on really whipping them into shape and fine-tuning the editing before I start printing next week).

retouching? no problem!

The Passamaquoddy Bay Symphony Orchestra performed in St. Andrews this afternoon. And once again, I had to miss the concert. That's one of the things that I don't like about having class on Mondays: I have to miss concerts by one of my favourite orchestras. But I'm sure the PBSO understands--when you're a college or university student, classes and homework are your life.

Monday: In Output, we're currently doing two assignments: one is a portfolio book, and the other is researching archiving strategies. My book is of photos from the last two-and-a-half years, telling the story of my years at NBCCD through the assignments, with an artist statement on the first page.

The archiving assignment is making me realize just how badly I need to come up with some sort of system--now. At least for my RAW photos: those are my most valuable and important files. If I lost them, I'd be in serious trouble. For that assignment, we're to research archiving techniques and come up with a system that costs no more than $5,000. And we are to also come up with an organizing system for our files, which I admit I could use. My school assignments are neatly organized into their own folders ("Photoshop", "Lighting", "Advanced Digital Projects", etc.), but my RAW files--and the corresponding XML files--are just sitting there in two folders: "ORF photos" and "NEF photos". Though I'm forced to do better than I have been because the DNG Converter forces me to sort each shoot into folders so that I process just those files, rather than every single NEF file over and over again because it does whatever is in a folder. Frustrating, but a good kick in the butt. Thanks, Adobe!

Tuesday: I spent most of the afternoon reworking the model release for my project. The mom of one of the dancers had contacted me with concerns regarding the release that I'd given the girls the week before, and I'd emailed her back several times, each time with more info. I also emailed with Karen, Peter and Rod, as they have more experience with releases. That day, I ditched the current release, and, after talking it through with Peter, put together a new release, tailoring it to fit my project and what I intended to do with the photos afterward.

Before heading over to the dance studio, I paid a surprise visit to Karen in her office. She commented on how professionally I'd handled the situation. As I said to her, I try to do that: I try to treat almost everyone--friends, relatives, teachers, etc., how I want to be treated. I say "almost" because I don't know if I could extend that sort of attitude to someone like Harper, Bush or Cheney--or even Finance Minister Flaherty.

In my emails, I'd offered to meet with the mom before pointe class on Tuesday. We met, talked, she signed the release, and I was happy--until I found out that she was the only parent who'd signed a release. AAARRRRGH!!! However, the dance mistress, Leslie, and I sent the rest of the girls home after class with copies of the new release, and Leslie told the girls to bring the signed forms back the next day.

Wednesday: We're each doing a two-week-long independent study project in Photoshop. Mine is on photo manipulation, like what you see in ads and fashion spreads. Yes, all that photoshopping distorts our sense of 'beauty' and how people (especially women) 'should' look, but to me, there's a beauty to the process. Retouching is an art, and to make the model look like she popped into the world looking like that (even though we know she didn't) takes skill. But I will give you a hint: the Liquify filter is your best friend when changing the shape of the face.

The original photo, from a homework folder for Photoshop.

The retouched version. I still want to do more work on it.

Thursday: Business class is starting to invade Advanced Digital Projects! YIKES! Not really. This is useful stuff--and has made me realize that I really am going to have to get a better camera ASAP (I've been thinking about it for a year or so, anyway, as I've outgrown my current camera). And nice known' ya, kit lenses--sadly, you're not professional. Just as a pro violinist wouldn't use a student-quality violin (which is what my current camera, my Baby, is equal to), as I'm slowly going pro, I really should upgrade my equipment. I decided that day that if I land a summer job, I'm putting most, if not all, the money toward a new camera, wireless remote (I'd get one for my Olympus, but I don't see the point because I'm going to replace it at the first chance that I get), extra battery, and at least one GOOD lens.

...and then I'll replace my computer a couple years after that. As for my iPod Nano (second generation, meaning it's four or five years old--about the same age as my laptop), I'll replace it when it starts to really show signs of age. It's slowly getting there, developing a few more quirks, so I wouldn't be surprised if I get a new computer and iPod at the same time.

As part of the business component of the class, each of us is calling (or, in the case of one of my victims who doesn't list her phone number, emailing) a photographer in F'ton and asking them about pricing. However, we're undercover, and Peter gave us all a story ("I have [event] coming up...", etc.). Because this is a public blog, I won't give any details on the story.

After my meeting with Peter, I went up to the UNB campus to hand in my dorm extension application (which allows me to stay past December seventh, which is when NBCC, NBCCD, UNB law and grad, and STU students have to be out of their dorms if they don't fill out a form and provide evidence, e.g., exam schedule, school's list of important dates--which is what I use--note from instructor, etc.) and pay a fee that was overdue.

Once I was back on the NBCCD campus, I threw myself into homework and didn't emerge until that evening.

Friday (Remembrance Day/Veterans' Day): Unlike last year and the year before, I didn't go to the service--I was just getting up at that point. However, I observed the minute of silence at 11:00, and listened to CBC Radio 2's morning classical music program, Tempo, which had a special Remembrance Day show that morning (click on 'Tempo' or the plus sign to see the playlist).

I did some homework that afternoon, and put together a playlist for a celebration this December. This year marks my twentieth year dancing (I started when I was three), and I want to celebrate in style over Christmas break. Bangor Symphony, Andé Rieu, Met Opera Orchestra, Green Day, Celtic Woman, Royal Philharmonic, Ronan Hardiman, Lynn Brubaker, Gene Nichols--oh, my!

Chinese Piece is just a nickname. Because I didn't keep the online program from that concert, I have no idea what the original title is. March is from The Nutcracker.

In order to be included in the playlist, each track had to have played an important role in my life (like The Medley, which is present at every personal celebration, big or small), or been a major turning point (like East Jesus Nowhere, which was my first time doing floor-work successfully).

Saturday: That afternoon, I met with a friend and shot my lighting assignment (creative portraiture). Because I hadn't used a hot light since last year, I decided to use the one that's in the photo studio classroom. Bonus: because it's already outside the studio and I was using it in the school, I didn't need to worry about signing it out. Which is a major perk on the weekend, when the faculty is nowhere to be seen.

Afterward, I finally started my independent study project.

Sunday: I finally made time to go over photos, and pick out a couple to edit and print for Sunbury Shores' Deck the Walls Christmas sale. I printed them that afternoon.

I also started work on the portfolio book for Output, and went over the marketing plan for Preparing for Professional Life one last time, printed it out and stapled it. Yay for not having to run around like a crazywoman this morning!

school = love; school politics = ugh

Yay, Trudy's back!

Monday: We spent most of the morning class getting caught up, and sorting out what had and hadn't been done, and where everyone was in the course.

Output was the shortest it's ever been: "here's your next assignment, please hand in almost everything that's due today (minus the draft website because Drew forgot that it was due this week. I told him, and he decided to let it go for now.)--now go do whatever you have to do for this, or any other class." I spent it doing and handing in the workflow assignment that was due that day, but that I'd forgotten about, and writing my critique of a classmate's business plan.

I got my marks back for my first two drawing assignments, and they are the best marks I've ever had in NBCCD drawing courses. We're talking at least an 82%. Nice--especially when you consider the fact that in FVA drawing, I finished with a C+ in the first semester, and a B- in the second semester.

Tuesday: That evening, I did the first shoot for my independent study project, which went well. I also handed out model releases for the girls to take home (they're all minors).

Wednesday: That morning, the server decided to give the school hell. No one could log on. However, Drew and the rest of the Photoshop class persevered, working on so-called 'local' (admin) accounts (if we hadn't brought our own laptops to class), and saving everything to external hard drives or jump drives.

Our assignment that day was to do photo essay montages: putting together multiple images on one "canvas" to tell a story. And because of Drew's battles with the server that morning, the in-class ones were about him 1. coming into the computer lab, finding out that he couldn't log on, taking a look at the server box in said computer lab; 2. taking the elevator down to the basement with the store manager; 3. walking down the hall to do some more work with the server in the basement; and finally, 4. doing that work. Homework was to shoot and put together one of our own.

Thursday: One of the nice things about having class with Peter is that because he's the studio head, and our academic adviser, our classes usually double as a group meeting with him. We not only discuss what we're working on, but also general school stuff, which is what we did this week: about a third of the morning session was taken up with discussing the fact that the administration was considering compensating the studios for the expenses of the haunted studio. And then in the next sentence, admin back-tracked, saying that that wasn't a good idea (this was all in an email sent out to the teachers). Ah, school politics...

That afternoon, I did my Photoshop homework, and submitted it, along with my lighting homework, which I'd shot the day before (congratulate me, guys--I'm no longer intimidated by the Speedatron power-pack). FYI, the image isn't of the same model that the school has--but it's no less intimidating.

And then who should show up, but Mom. I was originally supposed to go home this weekend, but because I'd made plans to go to the Occupy F'ton rally against Bill C-10, I wanted to stay in F'ton. Due to the fact that this is the last time that Mom will be in F'ton until she comes to get me for Christmas break, that means that I'll be here until December fifteenth.

Friday: That day, the realization of what my decision to stay in the city meant hit me full in the face, and I spent much of the afternoon crying, and feeling incredibly homesick. Eventually, I calmed down enough to go to school and do homework.

Saturday: RALLY DAY! However, due to a lack of interest, said rally didn't go. Which sucks, because I despise Bill C-10 about as much as I love my studio. I don't want my country to start giving people long prison sentences for minor offences. Canada is known for it's openness and kindness--or at least it was. Oh, and we don't need supersized prisons--even the US has started to abandon that tactic, and is now warning Canada that, hey, those things don't work. Bonus: the crime rate in Canada is at it's lowest since '73. It's lowest. Since 1973. Do I need to repeat that, Harper?

I did some homework: picking out photos for a portfolio book assignment, finishing off the drawing that's due tomorrow, and editing and fine-tuning the business plan critique.

This afternoon/evening, I'm going to start work on my next drawing assignment. The theme for this one is the future, and I'm going to do a city street, with skyscrapers going off into the distance and no trees whatsoever. I'll also have made-up news headlines about things like major population growth, the US defaulting, oil being insanely expensive, etc. As I wrote when I described my concept in an email to Mom, "although I'm reasonably confident about the future, there's also a part of me that's really scared."

I am the 99%

One independent study project is on the way out, another is about to begin...

Monday: That day I finally bought a portfolio (13" x 19") for my project, after planning to get one on Friday.

When I walked into the drawing studio, I took one look at the things that we were to draw, and made a face. This week, we were drawing cloth that was draped over chairs and stools, and it brought back memories of a similar assignment in FVA. For that assignment, we were just to draw fabric that was tacked to the walls so that it hung loosely. We used charcoal, and to do shading, we used a reductive technique, where we erased the sections that we wanted to be lighter. I ended up not finishing mine.

This time, however, I was determined to finish it (and this time I used my usual additive technique). And I did--while rocking out to Adam's iTunes. Let's just say that the guy has good taste. I worked on it until around nine that night. Good thing I didn't have class the next day. Later, we were to take that drawing and turn it into something else.

Tuesday: I spent the day running around, trying to get stuff done, and started the process of putting my project together in the portfolio.

Wednesday: Turns out, that day was Drew's birthday--we all wished him a happy birthday.

This week and next week, we're doing location lighting, which Drew said can be as simple as taking the studio flashes to another room in the college. He's happy as long as it isn't in the lighting studio. This week we're looking for locations where we might like to shoot, and taking photos of said locations. Next week we'll go back and actually shoot.

This week's Photoshop assignment brought back childhood memories: Drew gave us an illustration which we were to colour in in Photoshop. He said that to do the whole thing would probably take about four hours--he just wanted us to spend an hour on it. And he said that it would "probably succeed in making [the class] never want to be illustrators."

The assignment reminded me of when I was five or six, when I would happily "paint" in Photoshop for most of my allotted computer time (which I believe was fifteen minutes a day)--when I wasn't playing around with fonts and pictures in The Writing Center. This was one of those times where I couldn't believe that I was getting college credit for doing this: it was just too awesome.

After class, I visited Occupy Fredericton, which is camped outside City Hall. I probably spent an hour there, talking with the occupiers. Although I'm very aware and well-informed about the inequality in the world, the Occupy movement has really opened my eyes to how North America is run, and to how unequal and rigged our system is. While chatting with one of the protesters, I found out that NB's wealth is tied up in five families. Five families. How nuts is that?!

Not only that, but I've begun to find out just how much unethical and unacceptable stuff Canadian and American banks support: TD sponsored former VP Cheney's book tour in BC, which basically says that torture is perfectly acceptable (The Globe and Mail was also a sponsor--glad I only read that paper for a few months); and I just found out that RBC supports the Alberta tar sands. The tar sands--one of the most environmentally unfriendly things my species has created. I'm crying as I write this, because I have always seen my friendly local RBC branch as fairly benign: they wouldn't do anything that has the potential to ruin the earth, would they? But by supporting the tar sands, they are. I was fooled. We all have been. Wonder what Scotia Bank's track record is like--or BMO's or CIBC's, for that matter...

And don't get me started on the fact that the richest of the rich don't have to worry about taxes. In the US, they don't have to pay 'em (not unless Warren Buffett has his way--YIPPEE!), and in Canada, the so-called Economic Recovery favoured the 1% and left the 99% to fend for themselves. "Harper's economic 'recovery' favoured the extremely wealthy. Over 321,000 Canadians lost their jobs in 2008 and Canadians' average wages fell. Meanwhile Canada's 100 wealthiest persons became richer, reaching an average net worth of $1.7 billion each, up almost 5 per cent from 2008."--shitharperdid.com, with a link to an article in The Tyee

Sickening, isn't it? While you're at it, check out this infographic.

As one of the many slogans goes,

 "Dear 1%,
"We fell asleep for a while. Just woke up.
"Sincerely, The 99%"

Naturally, once the mainstream media finally realized what was going on, they painted the protest as violent and something that should be stopped, and the people as dirty, law-breaking, window-smashing, looting hippies who couldn't decide what they were protesting, and who didn't have a leader (all decisions, both at Occupy Wall St. and at Occupy F'ton, are made at general assemblies where all the Occupiers have a say in the decision-making). At OWS, the police have been more violent than the people--a certain Anthony Bologna comes to mind. For the few who don't know, Anthony pepper-sprayed two women, and his "punishment" is the loss of ten vacation days.

And then there was the time when the police kindly led the protesters onto the Brooklyn Bridge, and helped them out--and then turned around and arrested them for no reason at all.

Okay, I think I'm done.

Thursday: Back in the classroom. YYYYESSSS!!! Due to the fact that I had to do some stuff outside the school during class time in preparation for my next independent study project, Peter had me present my project first.

That "stuff" was a visit to Dance Fredericton, to ask the dance mistress about photographing some of the dancers there. She was totally cool with it, and even asked me to do some work with their logo. She also said that it was okay to bring flashes into the studio (the kids would love it). SA-WEEEET!!

By the time I got back to class, I had a huge grin on my face. As I took off my raincoat, I told Peter what had happened. I'd talked with him a couple of weeks prior, and he'd prepared me for the worst, due to parents not wanting their little kids photographed by a strange person (two words: MODEL RELEASES). So being prepared for the worst made me that much more excited. The giddiness didn't wear off until the next day.

Friday (FVA Panel Assessment Day): I wrote a letter to this year's crop of FVAs, which you can read here. It felt so weird not having the studio crawling with first-years.

I spent the first part of the afternoon running around, doing things for Preparing for Professional Life, and then settled down to work on my drawing that's due tomorrow.

Saturday: Major work-day: I finished the final report for the project that I'm currently working on, and wrote the proposal for the dance project. I also skyped with Mom, and drew. I finished the day by doing my Photoshop homework.

Sunday: Yet another major work-day. I spent most of the afternoon in the darkroom, developing the last three photos for the project. After I emerged from the semi-darkness (yay, safe-lights), I proofread the proposal and final report and emailed them to Peter (deadline: noon ADT/11:00 EDT tomorrow), put the finishing touches on the drawing, came home, did Kitchen Duty, and watched part of Hocus Pocus until this blog post started screaming my name.

work, work, work--with a bit of fun every now and then

Brace yourself: this is a long post.

It seems like the stress comes in waves this year: I think I'm doing okay, getting stuff done, handing it in--and then all of a sudden I realize that this, this, and this are due on this day and this day, and there's still work to be done on the majority of those assignments. And all of a sudden I feel like I'm hydroplaning, spinning out of control. That's what the last few days have been like for me--which is really frustrating when you consider that my time-management skills were really good last year...

Monday (Thanksgiving): I spent most of the day doing homework, and enjoying my last full day at home. 'Nuff said.

Tuesday: Mom and I drove back to F'ton, and I spent the better part of the afternoon putting stuff away. I planned to do homework, but didn't get around to it.

Wednesday: Back to Earth with a bUmP. This week's Photoshop class was all about animation and video: we made a short video that was shot by Drew--there were several to choose from, shot in various locations in the school--appear as though it were playing on a TV. Although there were several TVs to choose from in the homework folder, I wanted to find a photo of a TV like the one that my family used to have. The TV was a Sony cathode-ray tube (CRT) TV, which Tom's parents bought in '68. It was then passed down to my parents, and we had it until a few years ago--I can't remember when that thing bit the dust (the screen started going wonky, though I can't remember what it did--I keep confusing it with the TV that we got afterwards, which didn't live long). After much googling, I finally found a photo on Flickr. I think the TV in the photo is a few years older or younger: the RGB icon is in a different place than it was on my family's TV, and I seem to remember that the bars in the speaker grille were horizontal rather than vertical. But it was close enough, so I used it.

The video that I chose was one that Drew shot last year in the Design Studio. There were a couple shot in that studio, and of course I had to choose the one that had one of my projects in it.

At noon, the Student Representative Council (SRC) had a meet-and-greet in the Design Studio. I went, and let's just say that this year's going to be the best year ever: while NBCCD is one of the best art schools in Canada, for as long as I've been a student here, it's kinda sucked in terms of events and a feeling of community outside your own studio. Which really sucks if you're an FVA student: since you haven't yet chosen a studio, you don't have anywhere in the school to call home. Also, this year there will be several student-run committees, and each studio will have two student representatives, and each FVA group will have one rep (I think--I don't think it's two). As someone who's wanted to get involved in making her school awesome, but who's never had any interest in running for SRC, I think this is the best thing since art school. Some of the committees are: yearbook (yes, really--we're finally going to have a yearbook again!), student life, events (which I signed up for), and orientation, which won't truly take effect until next September--but we need to start planning now.

Orientation is another thing that NBCCD has kind of sucked at: while it's great to spend Orientation Day with your academic adviser (yay Adam and Blue Group '09!), that one day is all you get. Up to now, NBCCD's attitude has been, "here's where everything is, here's your academic adviser, here's the registrar, here's Endeavours ArtStuff, here's Read's Newsstand, here's some barbecue--now get to class!" Which isn't the most welcoming experience. Yes, it's welcoming to an extent, but it pales in comparison to UNB's Orientation Week! UNB takes a whole week to not only show freshmen around the campus, but to host events to make them feel welcome in the university community. Corn boils, and Shinerama, and Movie on the Hill--oh, my!

Thursday: As I said last week, I wasn't "to show my face in class." I spent all day in the darkroom (minus a meeting with Trudy in the morning) overdosing on opera--if that's possible--and cranking out the photos. And singing along in Italiano e/et Français. By the time I was done, I was hungry, my legs were protesting, and I was physically exhausted: once I got started after downing a couple of muffins for breakfast (I sipped my coffee throughout the morning), I hadn't stopped for one second that day. But my work was done.

That evening was the official opening of the college's new expansion in the Barracks. So just before the festivities began at seven (six EDT), I walked across the courtyard from the main building to the Barracks. As I walked over, my excitement and happiness welled up inside me, and I swallowed back a couple of big sobs: the Barracks was thisclose to being officially complete, after two-and-a-bit school years. While the building isn't totally finished, it's finished enough that students who don't have classes there can go over--for example, if they need to check something out of the college's library, which has moved from the room across from the Design Studio to the Barracks--I think it's on the third floor.

As with any snazzy event, there were speeches: F'ton Mayor Brad Woodside and UNB Art Education prof (and Mom's and my friend) Mary Blatherwick being the most notable. There were one or two others, but I can't remember their names. Of course, NBCCD's principle, Michael Maynard, was there. Picaroons Traditional Ales sponsored the event, so that meant free beer--Picaroons Blonde Ale, to be exact, which is similar in taste to a Keith's India Pale Ale, but with a bit more oomph and complexity. The school usually prohibits alcohol on campus, so this was an exception.

When we'd had enough of the loudness and the crowd, Karen and I and a couple of other people explored the rest of the building.

The view from the upper deck (third floor) of the Barracks, shot the day after the opening.

The upper deck (third floor) of the Barracks, and NBCCD, shot the day after the opening.

The crowd and I finished the evening in the new library, browsing the shelves, and admiring the library's impressive collection of National Film Board of Canada (NFB) videos and DVDs. When it was across from the Design Studio, the college's library was full beyond capacity. In it's current incarnation the library is full, yes, but there's lots of space for more books, DVDs, journals and magazines. The librarian, Julie McDonald, was at the opening, and when we all headed up to the library, she did, too, and while everyone was browsing and talking, she walked in and sat down behind her desk. She looked totally at home in the new location.

I eventually went back to the main building via the gallery, which also had a show opening that evening. Since the darkroom hadn't been cleaned up, I took care of it: dumping the developer, pouring the stop bath back in it's jug, pouring the first fix (fresh) into a jug, dumping the second (used once before), and washing the plastic tubs and the tongs. After doing homework for an hour or so, I started thinking about going home. Karen stopped by the studio, and offered me a ride back to my place since she was headed home, too--and it was pouring outside. After I packed up and turned off the studio lights, I met Karen downstairs (she had to lock up the gallery) and she drove me home.

And in case you're wondering, I pulled a twelve-hour day that day. **whew!** There's a reason why I don't have a job during the school year: school is a full-time job in itself, and I do a lot of overtime as well. Only thing is, I don't get paid in money--I get paid in credits, which count towards my diploma, and eventually will count toward my BFA.

Friday: I was back at it again that afternoon, doing everything from printing off my ticket for the simulcast, to profiling the printer--though I want to do it again, because I used Enhanced Matte paper, and I usually use Premium Luster when I print my photos--finishing my Photoshop homework, paying back Peter (when I did my darkroom blitz on Thursday, I ran out of paper and borrowed some from Peter, with a promise to pay him back when I bought a new pack of paper), and working on the business plan.

Saturday (Simulcast Day): I didn't get any homework done. Instead, I wrote part of this blog post (which I started on Friday, BTW), and got ready for the opera.

And this time I was actually well-rested: the night before both Turandot ('09) and Das Rheingold ('10), I was so excited that I barely slept the night before the opera. It might have had to do with the fact that I was completely exhausted after Friday's excitement.

This was my first time attending a performance with a friend: Liz, who is a fellow Met fan. This was her first simulcast, and I think she's hooked now.

We met up at the bus stop a few minutes from my place. I was way early, but after waiting for what felt like forever (excitement does that), I saw someone who looked like Liz coming from the direction of UNB. I didn't want to get excited, just in case it wasn't her, but as she got closer, I saw that it was her, and I started running towards her. She started running to me, and we almost crashed into each other, which turned into a gigantic hug. We chatted and filled each other in on our lives as we waited.

The buses in F'ton are fairly reliable: if they say that they're going to be at one of the bus stops at 12:15, they mean 12:15--not 12:14, not 12:16. So it surprised both of us when the bus was early. And because we were in the convenience store across from the bus stop at the time, it sped by without stopping. We both tore out of the store and ran for the next stop, but it was too late. There went the bus up the hill to the UNB campus--without us. So Liz called a cab, and we talked some more as we waited--again. Finally, the cab arrived and in a few minutes we were pulling up to the food court entrance of the Regent Mall.

Since we were going to an Italian opera, we both opted for Italian food. And we chatted some more as we waited for our food, and then chatted some more as we ate lunch.

Afterward, we walked to the Chapters store across from the theatre and spent a few minutes there, and then went to the movie theatre. And yes, we chatted even more as we waited for the transmission to start.

This simulcast was almost flawless: there were a couple of blips, but nothing like the issues that I experienced at my first simulcast (Turandot). As to the production itself, I both liked and disliked it. The whole thing (sets, costumes) is very dark, plain and drab, with the exception of some of Anne Boleyn's costumes--one of which is a beautiful deep red, almost maroon--and while I understand why producer David McVicar, set designer Robert Jones, costume designer Jenny Tiramani, and lighting designer Paule Constable did it that way--to set the mood, and also to recreate what people wore back then (a lot of dark clothes)--the production came off as boring.

However, the music was anything but. The role of Anna Bolena (Anne Boleyn) is one of the most difficult and demanding soprano roles: it requires the singer to sing--or, in Anna Netrebko's words, "shout"--in the lower register "for half the opera. [Donezetti] wants that nasty, chesty voice--he wants it to sound uncomfortable!" Here's an example, as sung by Beverly Sills. Watch out for the lines "manca solo a compire / il delitto d'Anna il sangue / e vesato sara," which Anna (the soprano) refers to in the article.

This performance was the first simulcast in Anna's home country of Russia.

And it was sold out at the opera house.

After the performance, Liz and I consulted the bus schedule and groaned about the fact that the next bus wouldn't arrive for over an hour. So since Liz's dad was in town for a conference, she called him for a ride and we got a ride back to our respective dorm/apartment, and I spent the rest of the evening writing this post in spurts.

This afternoon, after I take a shower, I'm going to the college to get some serious work done. I'm also going to skype with Mom and Tom at some point.

crazy-busy

I'm still adjusting to this year, which surprises me: I'm normally fairly well-adjusted by Week Three, but the last few weeks have been incredibly intense. And I need to work on my time management.

Monday: Although I was tired and could've done with an hour more of sleep, I was able to finish the day with more energy than the week before. Drawing class was also less intense than the week before, which was nice (thanks, Adam!).

I haven't said anything about my morning class (Preparing for Professional Life). I can sum up the entire class with, "NBCCD doesn't want you to be a starving artist post-graduation." And because I'm totally clueless about business stuff, I have a lot to learn.

My output class is as interesting as I expected it to be, which is good because from the moment I first heard about that class last year, I placed a high priority on it, because I want to be able to produce high-quality prints that will last a hundred years MINIMUM (which means that I'd better find an alternative to Kodak kiosks fast, because, as I found out this week, those prints only last about twenty years). By the way, did you know that when ink-jet photo printers first came on the market about two decades ago, the photos that they produced only lasted a few weeks--or just a few days if they were exposed to sunlight? Yikes. We've come a long way in twenty-five years.

Tuesday: I spent the day getting stuff done: editing photos from my Lighting homework, getting them ready to hand in and submitting them; shooting a roll of T-MAX for my independent study project; copying notes from my Monday morning class... It usually only takes me about half an hour to walk from my dorm to the college, but this time it took me about two hours because I was constantly looking for possible photos and then shooting them.

Wednesday: This week's Lighting assignment was to shoot using three flashes, and I got my assignment done right after class. Since the beginning of the semester, I've wanted to photograph the cameras that are just sitting on top of the lockers in the photo studio. I want to document them before I graduate next year because they're so quirky, clunky-looking and cool. I've always loved old stuff (I'm looking at you, Beethoven, Grieg, and Tchaikovsky), and cameras are no different--even if you can no longer get film for them.

Thursday: I finally crossed "say 'hi' to Rod" off of my to-do list for this semester. I still laugh when I think of the double-take he did when he saw me (knowing him, he was jesting). Ah, Rod and his sense of humour...

My independent study project has started to become more focused: this coming week, I'm going to shoot a couple rolls, and try to find "mates" (or, as Peter put it, "play match-maker"--ah, photo studio humour) for the photos from the first two rolls that I deem to be the best of the best.

That evening I listened to a live concert by Arcade Fire on CBC Radio 3, which was part of the POP Montreal festival. And yes, I sang along with my favourite songs.

Friday: And thus began my crazy-busy "weekend". I put it in quotation marks because it really wasn't much of a weekend because I was working my butt off all day, every day, for three days straight. That day I plowed through the readings for Output, worked on my homework for Drawing (a two-week project that's due tomorrow evening), got help with one of my Photoshop assignments (turns out, I had the layer order screwed up), copied the notes from my photo-shoot for my lighting assignment. ...and stayed at school until about eleven (ten EDT) that night (which is a record for me).

Saturday: Yesterday was Moving Planet (a worldwide event put on by 350.org), but I didn't attend the event here in F'ton due to my workload. However, I did manage to finish my drawing homework. And although I stayed at school late, I was outta there by about 9:30 (8:30 EDT), though I was absolutely wiped.

I also posted the letter that I wrote to Jack Layton a month ago. You can read it here.

Sunday: Today I finally took care of the business plan that's due tomorrow morning.

I planned to order tickets to Anna Bolena this weekend, but Empire Theatres isn't letting me: they say that there are no showtimes available for any of the simulcasts at the theatre here in Fredericton. I double-checked with the Met, and Empire Studio 10 Regent Mall is on the list for the 2011/2012 season, so something's screwy. I planned to call the theatre on Friday, but I was so busy that I didn't get around to it. I'll try to call them on Tuesday. Keep your fingers crossed, everyone!

This Polaroid camera usually just sits on top of one of the lockers in the NBCCD photography studio, looking pretty. Shot for this week's lighting assignment (three-light set-up).