Can I just go to Africa right now?

          So today during photography Christena Dowsett came to our class to talk and share her amazing experiences. She lived in Africa for a year as a photojournalist for a Humanitarian Aid organization which I happen to find so super cool. She started off by showing us all her stuff from Texarkana when she worked for the Gazette which was all really good, but when she got to her stuff about Africa, well that's just a whole new story. I have always wanted to go to Africa. Like really badly. And I'm pretty sure it is in God's plan for me to go in one point in my life even if it is short term. When Christena showed her pictures from Africa, I'm pretty sure my eyes got a little watery more than once, and all I wanted was to be over there. I am so thankful for getting to listen to her talk and see some of her work. It is all so moving and so inspiring. I mean, it made me want to be across the ocean, haha, but for real, that was a very cool experience to get to have her come to our class.
          One of the things Christena said was that you don't have to be the best, you just have to be different. I really liked that and would agree with her completely. She also talked a lot about how networking is so important. I need to start working on my networking skills, because right now I don't know that they are that great. Another thing Christena talked about that I really liked was her technique to not make someone feel uncomfortable. She said if there's one person she is trying to get, she will usually take like a group shot first and then close-ups of several people so they don't feel left out and the one person isn't uncomfortable. I am definitely going to have to try that tactic out.
          Smith, thank you for bringing Christena here to talk with us. I greatly enjoyed every minute of it and wish our class was longer but I am still grateful for the little time we did get. I want to go to Africa so badly but am having to learn to trust God and his timing and realize that He'll have me there when he wants me there. All I can do is take it one step at a time. God likes to work on my trust by only revealing to me one step instead of where I may be 10 steps down the road. Anyways, thank you for bringing her in. The entire class enjoyed it. :)

Varsity Softball

ISO: 800  f/4.0  shutter speed: 1/250

ISO: 800  f/4.0  shutter speed: 1/400

ISO: 800  f/4.0  shutter speed: 1/800

          I shot the varsity softball game the other day and it started with some daylight which was really nice. It started getting dark while I was there so I was constantly having to change my settings, but it wasn't that big of a deal. This game was very boring and there was not very much going on, so it was hard to get much action. I really like the last picture especially since Michaela is very sharp and the ball is in the picture. The first picture is of Michaela as well, and I have decided that she is easier to get good pictures of rather than the other players. In the first one, I really liked that you can see the ball still in the frame and it was at a time that she actually hit the ball. And if you look really closely, you can see one of her eyes which I like since she has a helmet on and that's hard to get. And the 2nd picture I really like except for the stupid fact that Erin is in focus and not Molly (the girl that you can see her face). Agh. It makes me so mad. I was using a 70-200mm lens at this game and no flash and the 7D.

Track Meet

ISO: 400 f/2.8 shutter speed: 1/2500

ISO: 320  f/4.0  shutter speed: 1/2500

          These were taken a couple weeks ago at the Watty Meyers Track meet that i shot. It was very very cold that day and I ran out of card space very fast. :(  I like these two pictures since they are clear and in sharp focus. A lot of my other pictures from this meet that were really really good were out of focus and it was beyond irritating. For the first picture I was using a 17-50mm lens and the second one a 70-200mm lens. I liked having 2 different lenses to use and I kept switching but it would have been really nice if I had something like a 17-200mm f/2.8. That would have been glorious. (I don't even know if there is such a thing as a lens like that and if there is I'm sure it rather expensive) Every time I switched lenses I would need the other one for some reason. I had a hard time deciding what one to use when and I felt like I always chose the wrong one. The last picture I really wish the bus and truck were not in the background, or they could at least be bokahy or somehting. But they are really distracting which is super annoying. Ugh.

Blogs are important

          So, over spring break I went to Samford to talk to some professors and things of that nature. I was talking to the person in charge of photography there and realized that I didn't bring my portfolio so I pulled up my blog and suddenly realized why they are so important and was very disappointed with my lack of updating. It was a very frustrating moment and what's even worse (I don't know why I am admitting this right now to you) is that currently I know that updating my blog is important but I still am not motivated to do so. I don't know why. What is happening to me. I am in desperate need of motivation. I have senioritis. (btw, that word makes no sense cause I am not having inflammation of a senior {myself?}) Anyways, I have taken plenty of pictures. I have plenty to update this thing with. I have lots to do. I just need to actually do it. Gahhh, Caroline just do it. (Fun fact of the day: in middle school for every essay we wrote we had to include a quote and I used "Just do it" for EVERY single essay I wrote from 6th-8th grade which is a lot) Yea, sorry I keep distracting myself. But the point of this blog is to let you know that I understand now why you take them seriously. Blogs are serious business. haha. but for real, they are.