NEW SCHOOL YEAR!

Hello my friends. I know several of you and am extremely excited to have the opportunity to work with you. I think we have a couple new faces as well, which is tremendous! I've bailed on you for the first couple weeks of class as I've been finishing up a series of photo shoots throughout the Pacific Northwest. I'm so sorry for that. I hope in the meantime you've had a great time and pushed yourselves like only Heartlife students do.

We are going to have a great time here. Art, photography, design, creativity, etc is about turning the mundane into something beautiful. My goal for you this year is that you'll discover your own creative voices. Each of you are creative and artistic, no matter what you believe or what anyone else has ever told you. Like any other skill you learn, you must practice, practice, practice in order to improve and find out just good you are in this constantly moving world. I'm currently not a great hand artist/painter, stick figures are my specialty. I'm confident, however, that if I devote the time and have the desire to become better I can become a tremendous artist/painter.

The one request I have from you is that you always try before settling. If you are out taking photographs, and you find a beautiful subject in a gorgeous environment, vow to yourself that you'll take an extra two minutes walking around and viewing the scene from different angles before shooting. How is the subject portrayed differently by looking at it from different heights, angles, etc. Why will someone want to look at your piece over someone else who has shot the identical subject and scene?

Basically what I'm getting at is to KEEP AN OPEN MIND! Always be willing to adjust your views and opinions and learn from those around you. Your greatest resources are those sitting next to you in this room and myself. Ask questions, and when you run out of questions think of more and ask those.

Here's what I want for next week:

1. If you don't currently have a blog, create one here: Blogger

2. On that blog, in a new post write for me a 3-4 paragraph statement on what your creative interests are. Do you like birds, cars, people, flowers, textures, specific colors, backgrounds, sky's, beaches? There are millions of things to choose from. Tell me what you like and dislike. It's important to be able to articulate both. What things make you happy? What things make you sad/mad?

3. In that same post (not including the 3-4 paragraphs!), write for me what you hope to learn throughout this year. Are your interests more in Design? Photography? Light? Write out a list of three specific things you would like to focus on as projects. This is your opportunity to have input in our lesson planning for the year! BE SPECIFIC! Do you want to learn how to take portraits of people? Composite images? Do timelapse sequences? Landscapes? Cityscapes? Nightlife? Again, many many options out there for you to choose from.

Email me at jonny@verylongmedia.com if you have any questions what so ever! We're going to have a good time!