The Nikon D5000 in Review

Because I Totally have one... I've been doing research to see whether I want to keep or sell this camera.  It seems pretty cool.  I've always been opposed to Nikon.  Unfortunately, when you are given and $900 camera/lens set you will open you mind the the world of Nikon.

Bill was telling us that in the industry, if you know Canon and Nikon you will have a better shot the job compared to a single user.  So... the question is do I culture myself to expand my horizons?  I'll give it a week or so!

So far, I'm attracted to the ISO range of 100-6400.  I'm also happy this camera has video.  I'm not happy with 12mp and 4fps, as my 50D has 15mp and 7.5fps.

We'll see!

The Results are in!

In the Air!  Me and Deed!

The closing ceremonies were last night.  They ran super late!  The organizers decided somehow that Gwinnett Tech. categories wouldn't be called up the last 3rd! Man.  Anywho, Gwinnett Tech got 2 medals.  Gold in Preschool/early childhood development AND Bronze in PHOTOGRAPHY! Yeah, that was me.  They called my name and I was so relieved.  I had already counted myself out.  Great attitude right!  I just assumed I'd made way to many mistake.  1st and 2nd place went to 2 girl.  I was actually sandwiched between the both of them during competition.  It was their second year here.  Last year, the got 8th and 9th.  I happy for them!  I didn't get 1st, but I did place! That's all that matters in this situation.  The gifts for 1st - 3rd were the same thing!  With an exception to 1st, they got a Nikon D90 rather than a Nikon D5000.  Oh yeah, the prizes were absolutely amazing:

$10,000 scholarship to CDIA Boston University

Nikon D5000 (I'm a Canon guy... buuut I may make an exception b/c this thing does video!)

$75 to MAC on Campus

Adobe Software... (photoshop for sure, but it's all coming in the mail)

A MAC White balancing card

A Skooba - Gravity Camera Bag Strap

TONS AND TONS OF GIVEAWAYS!

Overall, the week has been amazing!  I met the most amazing people!  I hope to be friends with these guys for years to come!  Mr. Adkins, Kelly, Parnell, Ben, Laura, DEED, Skylar, Sean, and so many more!  Being able to come out here not to just compete, but to have a blast has been awesome!

I haven't decided if I would like to do this next year.  I afraid I'll stuck with a crappy group... We'll see, you never know!

To top it off, for $49 I was ab, le to upgrade of 1st Class!!! Comfortable seats, amazing company! Flying high for sure!  Smile is and will be on my face for a while.

man... so glad I didn't come back empty handed.  Bronze sure, but I feel like a gold medalist right now!

btw, my plane has wifi. word.

De-briefing.

Today was the debriefing.  They announced best of show for the prints, and best of show for the conceptual portion.  I didn't win either one unfortunately. It is what it is though.  Oh well, I hope for the best at the award ceremony tonight!  Heading out in about 30 minutes.

The Story Behind the Eyes.

Steve Mcurry's The Afghan Girl is one of the most famous photos.  Published in 1985, this photo has haunted the world of decades.  The fear and anger in the young girl's hazel eyes cut right through you.  You can see her whole story but still want more!  I decided to do some reasearch on the photo.  I found that in 2002 Discovery Channel did a documentary and set out to find the girl. They found her, and she told her story.  She also let Steve McCurry take another photo of her.  I was amazed when they said she had never seen the photo before.  I'm going to hulu the documentary.

Why Not!?

Chicken & Waffles!!! Jealous...? (yeah, those are mashed potatoes)

Some of the competition.  This photo was on the Skills USA Facebook.

I been published...? :)

Last night, Ben, Died, Laura, and me went downtown to hang out.  We've been hearing so much about this spot called Power & Light.  This was amazing!  It's a district much like Downtown Buckhead.  We ate at a steak house called Maker's Mark.  I've heard of them and didn't realize how good they were!  It's super ritzy.  I ordered Chicken & Waffles.  Wow!  It was like a $30 plate but it was the best fried chicken I've ever had!  The Georgia in us came out.  We were passing out plates around the table for everyone to taste.

After dinner we heard crazy ruckus outside.  So we left out the back and there it was!  An outdoor Arena!  Multiple stories of bars and restaurants!  It was absolutely amazing!  There was also a HUGE concert going on!  The guys name was Chuck Wicks or something.  He was on Dancing With the Stars.  His girlfriend is hottie Jullian Huff.  He was pretty good.  After that we went upstairs to the PBR bar.  That's where I'll stop my story... :|

Today I've got debriefing at 1.  They will be handing out prizes and awarding best of show.

After that, We will have the award ceremony.  That starts at 6 and it online as well.  http://www.skillsusa.org/events/nlscvideo.shtml

The Award Ceremony will be followed by our Georgia Banquet,

Today was THE day!

Contact sheet from field shoot.  "Emotion & Motion"

Conceptual Design

Commercial Shoot

There were several different portions of the competition. 

On location shoot: We had 2 hours to shoot the festival out front and capture emotion and motion.

Commercial shoot:  We had do a product shot of an eye-one color corrector.  It was a white box on a black background.  This had very specific rules.  The box had to be at a 25 degree angle and the camera had to see the front, left side, and top of the box.  Not done... The front had to be light at an f22 with the main light.  The top had to be light at an f11 with the fill light, and the side had to be light at an f8 with a bounce card.  We had 25 minutes and only four shots.  I wish I would've had 5 more minutes, but I gave it my all!

Contact sheet: We had to make a contact sheet using photoshop's automate option.  It had to be an 8x10 and our 4 best un-editied images from the field shoot.

Conceptual Design:  We had to make a "fine art" work with the 4 images we chose.  We had to use at least 3 of the photos, and we had pretty much all day to work on it.

Interview:  This was a professional business interview conducted by some old guy.  I dropped that I volunteered for the PPA IPC last week and his little ears poked up!  Overall, this went well.  But... I forgot to swallow my gum. :(

Written Test:  This was a general knowledge exam.  It covered things from photo history to photoshop.  I was pretty confident with this one.  It was 50 questions, and 15 were about photoshop.  Anyone know who the official photographer of the Invasion of Normandy?

Troubleshooting:  There was 10 prints laid out on a table with letters.  We had a clip board with a problem and we had to walk around and match the photo to the issue.  Term like blooming, jpeg artifacts, and ashing... or something like that.

Photoimaging:  This was very specific!  We were given a reference photo and 2 stock photos.  We had to take a bottle with blue fluid in it and remove it from the back ground, impose it on a background we had to create.  Give the bottle a reflection.  We also had to make a skillsUSA label for the bottle.  The placement of everything was so exact, 1/4" from the left side and a 1/2" down...etc.  We were given 30 minutes to do this.  You could have given me 5 minutes and I wouldn't have known the difference!  I wasn't able to finish.  I gave a presentable image, but I wasn't able to warp the label and add the gradient to it.  What I did finish though was flawlessly down.  I noticed most people using the eraser tool rather than layer mask and what not.  I hope my cleanliness is taken into consideration.

We were also asked to turn in 4 of our personal photos for a slide show they will be putting together and showing us tomorrow.

Today was great.  The competition is over, and there's noting else I could've done.  I hope for the best,  but if I don't win I wont be upset.  I stayed true to myself and met some amazing people/friends while I've been here.  I've already won.

A little bit of competition

I hate this hallway... but the prints are amazing

Today we met in the competition area at 9am sharp.  All the prints from all of the contestants were up.  We got to walk around and check them out.  There is some great stuff!

We started the day with a hello for Bill.  He then told us that rather than busing us out to a location, our "On-location" shoot is going to be where we were!  He wanted us to shoot the festival that was going on outside.  The rules were 2 hours, shoot jpeg, not communication with the other competitors, not contact with advisers and anyone outside the festival.  We were also not allowed to travel outside the block... :(  OH! The theme was: Motion and Emotion.

Shooting such a "small" event will so many people was painful!  I'd get composed for a shot, and another student would walk up and shoot the same thing I was!  I'd walk away without taking my shot out of anger.

I spent a lot of time at intersections, flags, and with the live band.  They were actually members of the Army, but they rocked it.  I also met a small group for teens just goofing off and asked if I could observe the for a couple minutes.  They agreed and I think I got an image I could use.  I was able to hand out a few business cards.  I enjoyed my time, and took my time.  It was over 100 degrees so rushing was not a good idea.

After the outdoor shoot, we went back in and turned in our memory cards.  We were then given a brief overview of the lights we'd be using for the commercial shoot.  We were then given a boxed lunch.  YIKES AND YIKES. 

After lunch, the high schoolers were asked to leave and the college..ers... began the dreaded commercial shoot.  Unfortunately, I can't go much into it because the high school level will be doing this tomorrow.

The college group is a great group of people!  They are very friendly.

Once we were dismissed, I walked a couple blocks for about 1-2 hours.  I took about 2GBs of photos.  When I got back to the hotel I attempted to download the images to my computer.  In the process of downloading, the computer froze.  I restarted the computer.  When I pulled up my memory card, it had somehow been formatted after only transferring 9 of my images!  Needless to say, I was very upset.  Trying to find the bright side,  I came on the conclusion that I would get to walk the streets again and see things I may have missed or wish i would've shot! :)

Me and D met in the lobby around 5.  WE hung for about an hour before Mr. Adkins came down.  Ben and his girlfriend rented a car for the week and drove us out to a BBQ pit.  WOW! There is honestly nothing better than Kansas City BBQ! We walk in, and the lady started screaming at us, HELLO! HOW CAN I HELP YOU!  I settled on a BBQ sandwich and fries. DELICIOUS.

After dinner,  Ben swung me by the store.  The guy settling my out realized I was from Georgia and developed a mocking-like country accent.  Kinda funny... :\

On the way home, we got to see a Kansas City Storm Roll in!  The lightning was phenomenal!  By the time I got up to D's room with my camera and tripod it had rolled over.  I got a couple photos of the storm, but nothing worth National Geographic. 

Today was amazing.  We are all hitting the sack early because we have to wake up around 6 to be downtown at 8.  I hate 6am.  But, I gotta do it!

Goodnight everyone.

CURVEBALL

The leaders... or whatever they are called.

Dedrick and Me at the Opening Ceremony

The Kemper Area is an Amazing piece of work

Amazing inside as well

Annd the Casino

Tuesday afternoon we had our orientation.  There, we met Bill Chamay...(SP)  He is the director for the Skills USA Photography competition.  What a nice guy.  I've been very fortunate thus far to be surround by such positive and welcoming leaders.  The orientation was just an overview about that the competition would be like.  It was also a a session full of redundant rhetorical Q & A.  I've never heard so many questions and the same answer about dress code.  Those people (you know who you are) ,I'm sure, could hear my sighs and feel the rolling of my eyes! grr!

Anywho, since day one I've (as well as everyone) been under the impression that one round will be a portrait shoot.  I've practiced communication with the model, light patterns, ratios, etc!  Well, yesterday, to my dismay, Bill announced that this year the portrait portion will be scratched and we will be doing a commercial shoot in place!  WTF, was my initial thought.  I wasn't going to outwardly sweat it though, I didn't want my competition to see me faultier.

Once the orientation resigned, I immediately sent the Harkinator an email.  She called me shortly after.  She had a quick lesson over the phone with me on commercial shoot.  Rules on shooting plastic, glass, texture, etc.  This definitely was useful, and helped me a lot!  Thank you Mrs. Harkins!  You really came through on this one!

We then met in the lobby and were bused over to the Kember Arena for the opening ceremony.  It was another Pep Rally.  The show was opened by a personalize video from Mike Rowe of Dirty Jobs.  He sent us his best and wished up luck.  The night was full of surprises!  The had a the SkillsUSA NASCAR Driver come out and have a few words.  Later in the show they had a host from the Speed Channel speak with us.  They also had the winner of Oprah's Big Give speak with us.  He was very motivating and inspiration.  Overall, through all the cheese, the show sent a great message.  It was also live cast over the Internet.  I had my parents and friends on text message for cometary. 

The night wasn't over.  My friend Dedrick and I went don't to the lobby bar after changing clothes.  On my way down,  I met my new friend Skylar on the elevator.  Skylar happened to be from Georgia as well.  We talked for a minute and I asked him if he wanted to come down for a beer.  He then proceeded to talk about going to a casino and somehow he got the hotel to shuttle us out there for free!  The casino was absolutely dead.  We met some interesting people though and actually had a blast!  We returned to the hotel around 1:30.

Whatever, I can have fun while I'm up here.  Jealous?

DINNER TIME!

Food run! Check back in a couple of hours for all of today festivities!  The good, the bad, and the HEAT!

A night at ISO3200

Last night we had the opening ceremonies.  Then, my friends Dedrick, Skylar and me went to some Casino... :\  Anywho, running super late.  I'll talk about it later today!

A few photos from our venture downtown today.

The buildings downtown are absolutely breathtaking!  I've been told Kansas is know for the fountains.  I will attempt to find a few while I am here.  Starbucks + Bar in lobby of hotel = danger.

Check me out!

Here is the link for the live streaming video for the Opening and Closing ceremonies.  The opening will be live at 6pm.  or 7... IDK i don't do times.

http://www.skillsusa.org/events/nlscvideo.shtml

Day 2: Tuesday

To we met for breakfast at 9am.  After breakfast, we took trip downtown to explore the convention center.  We got a see where we needed to be and everything!  On the bus ride of (10mins or so) I seen many places I would like to go shoot.  I don't really want to venture to far, but there is a ton of stuff within walking distance.  I may run down there this afternoon and snap a few.  On the agenda tonight is my orientation from 3-4 and then from 7-...idk,  we will have the opening ceremony.  Rumor has it (my blogging mom) says that the opening ceremony and closing ceremony will be cast live over the internet!  I'll try and get a link for you guys!  Oh, and it's hot here, like really hot.  We are right across the street from the Kansas City Chiefs Stadium and as well as another stadium.  I'm going to try and sneak onto the roof of my hotel tonight and snap some pics.  WHAT WHAT.

Day 1: Monday

Monday we caught a flight.  This flight was long, and the seats were small.  What a terrible experience.  I did however, get to meet the other competitors from Gwinnett Tech as well as my roommate, Parnell.  When we arrived in Kansas, I was floored at how small the airport was!  Also, flying in and looking out the window I realized that this was going to be a HUGE citynot.  All fields and pastures.  It's all good though.  We got to our rooms, got settled and then we had to go to the ball room for the Georgia welcome meeting.  We cheered and chanted.  It was a pep-rally.  WEEE READY... FOR YALL seem to be the them.  Anywho,  After the peping the advisers were asked to leave and we were given the SkillsUSA knowledge exam.  This is going to be graded and only taken into account should there be a tie in any specific competition.  I was under the impression the exam would be over the handbook... which i didn't read.  It was actually over Interpersonal Relations and Professional Development.  Luckily for me, I got a A in that class.  We went up to Mr. Adkins room where he shared his pizza and gave us a quick overview of how the week would go.  Back to my room, Jon & Kate, and then bed.

WiFi!!!

I got it! Well, for 24 hours... My friend purchased it and I'm linked off his connection. Woot woot!

the journey begins!

YAWN. I don't have to leave my house until noon, but i decided it'd be a great idea to wake up crazy early! I haven't packed yet... I hope to be finished packing by 8. Then, I'm going to run to Fry's to get some memory cards, and then swing by Ally's and drop of a cd with PPA videos. Hey Ally, check under you welcome mat!...maybe... :) well, off to pack!

Day 5

In conclusion!  Today was the last day of the International Print Competition.  What a sad day it was.  

We began the first 2 rounds spinning loan prints.  This went by sooo fast!  After lunch, we went into the ASP room and observed as they fired through 200 prints!  They narrowed the 200 down to about 30, then down to about 10.  THEEEN they narrowed that down to 4.  At this point, the watchers were asked to leave the judging room as the "fight" is to be behind closed doors.  

The Best of show print ended up being a photo of a bird landing on the water.  My group was fortunate enough to handle this print when it went through the loan process.  My friend Amanda kept saying that she hates animal photos, but she was in love with this photo.  Little did she know... :)

Following this, Mrs. Harkins and Ms. Finch pulled the students aside.  They told us how much they appreciate or work and they couldn't be happier.  The people we've met, the friends we've made, the knowledge we've gained, no Mrs. Harkins and Ms. Finch, THANK YOU! This is something we will all remember for the rest of our lives!  Thank you so much for opening this door!  We couldn't have done it with you YA'LL'! :)

On a lighter side, we totally got John!

And to the PPA,

THANK YOU SOO MUCH! THIS WAS AMAZING! CAN'T WAAAIT TO SEE YOU IN NASHVILLE!!!

In rebutt...

Just when we thought The Finchinator turned a new leaf, this happens! John, you better watch your back! :) What a blast this week has been!

Papa's Got a Brand New Bag!

Surprise as anyone, I discovered Best Buy sell Lowepro bags! The selection isn't very large, but they do have they CompuDaypack for only $80!!! It's $100 through Lowepro.com. This bag has a place for my camera and several lenses, laptop, and school books. What a great investment! I'm stoked.

Day 4... Finch Sees the Light!

Once again, today was absolutely amazing! We started the day out with a gigantic group photo taken by graduate Jenn Kolb. This was an experience all in it's own! Watching 50 Master Photographers get their picture taken together was a sight to see! Then, Finch saw the Light and it was captured on film! What the photo dosen't show is the stink eye Finch gave someone immediately following the "seeing of the light." I guess that light dimmed, flickerd, and burned out preeety quick. :)

anywhoo...

My group was able to grab a room and hold onto it all four rounds! We were in the Loan room. The first three rounds were so slow it was almost painful! Buut, the last round we were able to fire through more prints than we did in the first three rounds combined! Tommorow should be even better! They will be judging the ASP Loan photos and deciding on BEST OF SHOOOW!!! I can't wait!

Day 3

Today things got a little heated. Most of the prints which were merited yesterday were up for loan/book judgment today. Being behind the scenes during this procedure is absolutely amazing! Prints begin to pile up! The pace is insane! This is was what I was waiting for!!! My group got to do this one round. One round we were able to sort print and observe the loan prints/books. We came across a loan book which chronicled the journey of a breast cancer survivor. Each photo had hand written captions by the breast cancer survivor. It was amazing and one of the most heart wrenching thing I've seen in this competition. Most of the rounds we were misfitted and had to observe... I learn a ton from observing, but there's nothing like being able to handle the prints. Maybe tomorrow will be more hands on!

Day Two.

"...Not a Merritt...Not a Merritt... This is a Merritt Print!... CHALLENGE!..." This phrase will forever haunt my dreams! :) Today, we were able to handle prints! My first job was to haul prints ,which had already been critiqued, from room to room and then across the school to another room where they were to be sorted. THHEEEN we had to opportunity to load prints onto the spinning display & then read the title for critique, remove the print, and then sort once again. I've learned sooo much from today. I am already looking at my photos differently! I am honored to have had this oppurtunity. ANND A BONUS!!! The PPA granted all of the student volunteers complimentary memberships! How amazing is that!

p.s.

Amanda, Ally, Lauren, Gabriel, and Evelyn are great teammates!

Day one of the PPA International Print Competition!

Unfortunately... I wasn't there. BUUUUT my good friend Ally Pinder will tell you all about it!

The Itinerary is in!

I received my itinerary today!!! I'll be flying AirTran and will being staying at the Sheraton Sports Club... or something like that. Being able to see my flight schedule and hotel has got me beyond stoked!!! I'm rooming with the gold medalist from cabinet making. Can't wait to meet him, can't wait to see Kansas, can't wait to compete! AHHHHH! I want to go immediately.

Interview time!

While doing my research, I discovered this video. It's an interview with Bill Chenaille, the Technical Chairman of the Skills USA Photography competition. He seems really cool, and I can't wait to meet him. Actually being able to "peek" in and see what the setup of the competition area is going to look like makes me even more excited!

I LEAVE IN 15 DAYS!

I will be getting on a flight to Kansas City in exactly 15 days! I cannot wait! I can't believe it's almost here. I've got so much to do before then. I will try and focus on the task at hand though. This week, work, work, work, work, and work. Next week, is the PPA International Print Competition, and the following week... it's time! I've been doing all the research I can and preparation recommended, and I feel 100 times more comfortable than I did a couple days ago.

Professional Photographers of America

June 14-17, my school has been given the honor of hosting the International Print Competition for the PPA! Also, I have been honored with the opportunity to help with the competition! I'm not sure that I'll be doing, but anything would be awesome! Anyone need coffee? :) I am extremely excited and cannot wait!

Hoooow creepy.

This is the final image I worked on for my photo imaging final. Super creepy yet hilarious.

Manda Lisa!

UPDATED PREVIOUS POST. I went further with the composit of my friend Amanda as The Mona Lisa. To know that Da Vinci created butterfly lighting with a candle absolutely blows my mind!