The Year-End

It is New Year's Eve and it is time to reflect back upon the year and to anticipate the new one. Most of us wish for something to better themselves with, and others don't. I want all of you readers out there to comment on what your New Year's resolution is so to give an idea as to what others hope for in a new year.
-Simply Complicated

The Foil

Conditions for snow kiting was unfavorable. So, not only was I unable to go out, but I couldn't get good shots either. Hopefully tomorrow will be better...
-Simply Complicated

The Eyes

For whatever reason, my younger cousin went sugar crazy and got me and my camera and had me use my flash and shot it directly into his eyes; why he wanted to do that, I will never know. He did enjoy looking into the lights and seeing red when looking into the lights. Sugar does crazy things to children ... well really people in general.
-Simply Complicated

The Snowshoe

Renting snowshoes can be a cheap and easy way to go hiking in the winter. You can find good deals and you can make it a family event. Shooting should be very easy and laid-back. You can take as many shots as you may like, and although I took man good shots of people, I have not made any object/scenery shots my photo of the day for sometime. So I just liked this one, not terribly great though.
-Simply Complicated

The Sledding

Sledding is a lot of fun with friends and family, and it can be a great photo opportunity as well. You can get great action shots, but the only problem is that you need to be sure that you are in focus. I got plenty of great looking photos, but some of the better ones were out of focus, which really upset me, but the apple juice is already spilled.
-Simply Complicated

The Tender Moments

Sunday is a day of rest, my family on the other hand did that to an extent. We sat with each other for moments at a time; we had laughs, some shed tears, and although today was pretty low key, we still had a good time. The only disruption to our moments were from my camera with its big new flash that blinded everyone. I did get yelled at, but I didn't care. My family did make a valid point though: with the flash, it not only produced magnificent photos, but it also produced the feeling of observation. Photography , in a way, is supposed to be about giving the audience a feeling of being there while the subjects don't give any notice to the camera and sometimes the photographer. It is be a difficult profession, but that is the price one chooses to take when delving into it.
-Simply Complicated

The Christmas Day

Merry Christmas everyone! It was a low-key day, but the photo opp. was immense. On a holiday that is especially for the children, it would be difficult not to get a good shot. The key is to have a dedicated flash, that way you can get fast shots while at the same time getting great lighting. Once you find the best way to use your flash, you shots are bound to be great.
-Simply Complicated

The Eve

It is Christmas eve and things can get stressful. Before we got stressed out, we went skiing and had a blast! Now it is time to be "Santa's little helpers" and wrap presents. With at least 5 wrappers here, the job is sure to get done.
-Simply Complicated

The Diffuser

Today I made a diffuser for my pop-up flash. For those who do not know what a diffuser is, a diffuser is a device on a flash that makes the light coming from a flash not so harsh. Furthermore, the diffuser I made reflected the light from the flash onto the ceiling and back onto the subject. Although the process sounds complicated, it can (if done correctly) give great results. You don't even need to buy one, you can make them yourself, but it will take some experimentation to get it right.
-Simply Complicated

The Sister

For most of us, we can recall a time where our siblings were mean to us. For me, it was locking me in small dark rooms, being shut in the freezer, ridiculed, and so on. It was pretty terrifying, but that is (mostly) over now. Today, I got to spend most of my day with my sister. Just quality one-on-one time to talk and hang out. We won't get the chance to hang out alone with each other for quite some time, so I was glad to get it done. Hopefully everybody feels the same way about their siblings as I do and cherish every moment you can get with them.
-Simply Complicated

The Action-Reaction

This morning, my aunt and I ran about the entire city area doing errands for this time. That is a terribly long and unrelated story to this post. Afterwards, there was nothing to do: it was dark, the older kids were out, and I was just babysitting; I went into sleepy mode. My little cousin was very easy to babysit, she just stood in front of the television watching the sponge "who lives in a pineapple under the sea" and it was great but slightly boring.
-Simply Complicated

The Brawl

I have been babysitting for the most-part of the day and at times my little cousins would go on a all out brawl, whether it be by fighting for peace and quiet or by getting photos it was almost always a struggle. In the end, I was happy about the shots I got at the end.
-Simply Complicated

The Cake

Today I went with my cousins to their friends house. The girl there has an upcoming birthday where she had a small get together with family, but her real party, which happens to be her "Sweet 16", will be tomorrow. I am slightly jealous because I never had a "Sweet 16". Mostly my birthday celebrations consist of just dinner at a restaurant. Sometimes I wish my birthdays would be a little more eventful, but that is jut some wishful thinking, sometimes I just wonder...
-Simply Complicated

The (Tele)Vision

Watching T.V. can kill a lot of time, especially if you are stuck inside on a windy and rainy day. However, sitting on your butt all day is not really fun. Sure it can be entertaining, but there is more you can do with your day, and some people just do not realize that.
-Simply Complicated

The Helping

I have been doing my best to help my relatives in anyway possible, so for the most-part I have been babysitting. I don't mind it, my cousins are plenty fun, but can be deceptively evil. Hopefully I can last all this time, but I don't mind, I want to help out in whatever way I can.
-Simply Complicated

The Broken

I escaped Idaho in a total run of eight hours. The car I rode in kept turning off while driving! We had zero elecrticity in that car and it was very terrifying riding through downtown Salt Lake, we couldn't stop at lights, we had no headlights, and we were lucky to get the hazard lights to work. To putit short, I was scared out of my mind, but I am alive (barely).
-Simply Complicated

The Final

Finals are pretty much over now and even though the sesester has been long, classes are over! I cannot wait to leave school tomorrow.
-Simply Complicated

The Sleepy

My last Dia Del Diablo was today and all I have wanted to do is sleep. I have become so sleepy that I am unable to properly function right now. So, I'm planning on going to sleep early and getting in a ton of studying tomorrow.
-Simply Complicated

The Confusion

It is finals week and I have been feeling very confused at this time. Not only have I been studying my butt off, but classes have been cancelled last minute and I have remembered to do things last minute. I was just glad for today to be over. Hopefully tomorrow will be better.
-Simply Complicated

The Twister

As I was hanging with my friends next door, I was surprised to find one giving the other a ti-ti twister. However this lasted for a few minutes and even though it got kind of weird, the twister was still a little funny mainly due to the fact that the pictures I got were more humorous than the action itself.

-Simply Complicated

The Ice

As I walked around campus today in my sandals, I noticed some ice that had crystallized in a strange way. I found it to be quite interesting due to the running water beneath the ice. I was just glad that I could go walk outside in sandals.
-Simply Complicated

The Cleaning

We have clean checks tomorrow. Not terribly fun, but rooms are getting to be really clean. There was a small four fight in the hall, which did make a small setback, but I'm sure that it will all work out.
-Simply Complicated

The Welding

I had unfortunately slept in this morning. I was very upset, even though I did not miss much, I just absolutely hate missing a class. However, whilst on my way to the next class, I felt compelled to bring along my camera and I am sure glad I did. I found some of the construction workers welding. After seeing some of the shots, I got really excited. After editing the top image, I could not hold back my excitement.
-Simply Complicated

The Fence

Sometimes, I don't like fences . In this case, I really hate fences. There is a fence outside my dorm that cut off a short cut to get to classes. I am upset about it, but there isn't anything I can really do ... that is, there isn't anything I can do about it that won't get me kicked out of school. Almost a week to go, then I'm out of here!
-Simply Complicated

The Fog

It is really amazing, I have had a really tough day, but now that it is over I am really pumped. My photo opp. today was actually in the morning. Usually in the morning I feel fogged up and tired, but I was really energetic. It was foggy this morning (kind of ironic), but there was a lot to shoot but little time to shoot with. As I strolled campus with my camera in hand, I found a storm grate spewing out steam, so it was really exciting to get shots of people passing by on their way to classes. Later in photo, people were complaining about not being able to shoot due to the fog, I just giggled.
-Simply Complicated

The Cookie

At Family Home Evening, our activity was to decorate sugar cookies. It was a lot of fun and we all socialized a lot, but it was difficult to not go into a sugar coma. A lot of my FHE sisters did not want their photo taken, but they all wanted pictures of their creations. After I finished the photo, I realized that is very Twilight-esque. It’s a loose interpretation of the word ‘photo’, I’ll admit.
-Simply Complicated

The Tree

Every Sunday afternoon, I have a standing dinner appointment with my only connection to a family in this town. Today, we put up the decorations for their Christmas tree.  It was fun, and I really got in the Christmas spirit during it. Afterwards, I decided to try well out of focus abstract photography. I really enjoyed the results.
-Simply Complicated

The Chill

Temperature is a key ingredient on my photo-taking options, that and the people who I'm with. Today, most of the people I normally hang out with were playing video games. I studied and looked outside constantly. This was the extent of my viewing capabilities.
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The Computer

I hate my laptop. I hate it with a passion, so much that I wish that I could throw it out my window ... but I won't be doing that. However, I will have to wait for my semester to be over in order to do what I need, but as of now, my current computer will no longer be able to use the internet. Every time my computer doesn't work, I simply yell, "COME ON!"
-Simply Complicated

The Call

Another friend of mine got a mission call. He is to go to the Philippines for his mission. I am very excited for him and I feel he will really enjoy himself there. It is a very rare opportunity to see someone so happily emotional in life. There are few times in one's life that a person gets to experience this, so it is crucial to hold on to the feeling, because you never know when you will get that experience again. I'm just glad I was there to capture the moment for him.
-Simply Complicated

The Icicle

As I was walking back to my dorm, I saw a great-looking icicle hanging off a car. I figured that the driver would not care too much, so I took it. When I was editing, I was going to make it completely black and white, however, I noticed that the icicle was reflecting a different than normal color. This got me thinking. Then I thought, "Well pure snow usually has a blue shadow, so why don't I show and better expose the two." Nature can be a very remarkable thing, if you don't stop and look around once in a while, you just might miss it.
-Simply Complicated

The Weary

Doing a bunch of exercising on my Dia Del Diablo make it that much more exhausting. When the day was over, all I could do was sit at my desk and study some more for finals.
-Simply Complicated

The Plane

The way back to school was not too bad. I got a fantastic run in, I had delicious Indian food, ran into my neighbor from school, and got back to school safely. It was a good day, but the plane ride was very irritating. I sat next to a family with loud and unbehaved children. Needless to say, I have never wanted to punch a five-year-old boy more than ever before in my life.

-Simply Complicated

The Twilight

As I approach the finish of my Thanksgiving break, I begin to reflect on the events of the past week and I would have to say that the only thing I regret is that I wish I could have done more activities. Although, there is the matter of my limited time and energy, I felt that I did not get everything done that I wanted to. I will miss my family, but I'll see them soon. Until then,
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The Climbing

We finally figured out a great spot to go climb at Joshua Tree today. I got a lot of shots (like I always do) and I got in some climbing as well. We would have stayed longer, but we unfortunately had other obligations. Overall, I had a blast at Joshua Tree, but one thing I wish to improve on in the future: get in so many activities that I won't be able to move a week after I'm done!
-Simply Complicated

The Wondering

Joshua Tree is a big place. We did know what to do with some of these rocks with our gear, but wondered where we were to go for our level. So, we spent much of our day wandering about and exploring. Knowing of our limited time here, we realized that this trip is more of a sample of Joshua Tree, rather than a hopeful second trip that is sure to provide the full experience.
-Simply Complicated

The Traveling

A family outing/trip never goes as planned. Generally speaking, when we say that we will leave at the "crack of dawn", we leave around noon. So the most part of the time spent today was getting ready to go to the rock climbing mecca, Joshua Tree
-Simply Complicated

The Scenic Route

I took the scenic route today. When I woke up, I drove to a trail and did a relaxing long run. Afterwards, my sister wanted to run as well, so I gave her a head start and I rode my bike and took shots of any wildlife along the way. Taking the scenic route is fun, and you see lots of things you would not notice if you were to drive a car instead. In fact, had I been fully concentrated on riding my bike, I would not have even gotten this shot! I had a lot of fun taking the scenic route but I have become really sore.
-Simply Complicated

The Bird

I was like one of my birds today. Normally I am, in a way, caged up, but now I'm free and I have been doing one thing after another. It has been constant today, and tomorrow will have even more fun-filled joys.
-Simply Complicated

The Wishing

I had been sitting and waiting for this day to come, but when it came, I was wishing for the catastrophe to end! I will not go into detail, but it was not completely a good day. I did finally make it home and I got a new lens, so that did make up for it. I am so glad to be home for the week and I dread the day I have to go back to school. At the airport, our flight was delayed and the whole time I was wishing that it would come sooner. I just really wanted to get out of the land of ho's.
-Simply Complicated

The Waiting

I have been waiting for this long weekend to end and I can go home! Since everybody on my floor has left, I have felt invisible, non-existent, and lonely. Salt on the wound: my sister told me today that she would have paid the extra fare to have gotten me out of here on Friday! Obviously, that did not happen. However, the day is over and I look forward to an eventful tomorrow.
-Simply Complicated

The Sitting

I'm pretty much all alone now. There was not much to do because it was snowing all day. I have just been sitting in the dark doing nothing. At this point I think that it will take much longer than it usually seems for Monday to come.
-Simply Complicated

The Boredom

I have been studying all day for a test that I am to take tomorrow. I hated being stuck inside, I even fell asleep while studying. When I woke up, the fist thing I saw was an image from the textbook, but it didn't look quite like an image. What I saw was a combination of colored dots that make up the image, making it look like something very different. It is in this perspective that boggled my mind, how much of the things we see and how much of the things we perceive are the same. Completely mind-boggling.
-Simply Complicated

The Observation

In a psychology class the teacher will usually go over observational studies and how they don't always work because the subject will act differently when conscious of being observed. The same concept applies to when people are making a documentary or getting their photo taken: they act differently. However, after a certain amount of time, the subject will not notice being observed. Although this takes some time, it can work and you can capture a natural subject. Here, the subjects learned to ignore the camera and the sound it makes, but one of the subjects brought in their own camera, and he experienced a subject acting as they would when being observed, and that is a term psychologists call discrimination.
-Simply Complicated

The Search

Recently, I have been looking for many things. I have been searching for the perfect pictures for a photo competition. I have been searching for a way to fix a lens I have. I have been searching for cameras with cheap awesome lenses. I have been searching through my notes to get in good effective studying. I have been searching for what photos I will use for my photo projects. And I constantly search for the photo of the day. I have continually been searching for something, it is a chronic condition that has become a norm. Most photographers suffer the same disease, because all of them are looking for their next best shot and some are willing to get that at any cost. It is stressful, and sometimes you will want to break down and sit in a corner, but any serious photographer will persevere and continue through the rough times. That is the real challenge, perseverance, and once you can continue on even when you do not want to, you have the potential to be successful.
-Simply Complicated

The Lens

I rented a lens from the school photo department today, and I would have to say that it is probably my favorite lens I have used so far. It has a wide aperture with and it is auto focus which makes things much easier. This lens has made me want to take much more pictures now. I am excited, and the result speaks for itself.
-Simply Complicated

The Mustache

At a small restaurant near my school there was a mustache competition. Many of people alike come together: boys who may be losing their girfriends and girls who (if their facial hair is real) can't even get a boy. Even though most did not come for the competition, they do come for the free food and get the chance to have fun during the school week. While at the restaurant, I was showing some people how to properly shoot with a DSLR camera and while showing them how it works, I happened to get a few random shot that I happen to like. Now all I need to do is fix one of my lenses and I am in business.
-Simply Complicated

The Steps

Having dinner with my only tie with family at school is very enjoyable and relaxing. As we were eating, it began to snow very hard, it was very cool to look at. Watching snow fall can be relaxing and this scene just looks awesome when you look at it with falling snow.
-Simply Complicated

The Cold Night

Things seemed to warm up here, but when night rolled in, we were chillingly mistaken. As a group of college kids, we had to huddle together for warmth (no homo) and feelings were shared. We were eventually rescued by a very kind woman, unfortunately, we got pulled over by a cop who scared away all but two of us. To put it briefly, the night was eventful in it's own way. I just glad the the kind woman was not penalized by the pesky po-po.

-Simply Complicated

The Meeting

There was a meeting that I was on my way to, when I saw the sun for once in a few days. I needed to remember that moment for only an instant. Even though sunset pictures are very cliché, sunsets do make me think of going home, and I count the days for that to happen. What image makes you think of home? Write about it in the comment area, and I anticipate reading your comments.
-Simply Complicated