We are starting. We have been kicked off campus and now are holding our final meetings under a bridge in a park to take shelter from a Colorado afternoon storm.
We done all the prep that we can. Ready or not. GO.

Hey Everyone,

Its been a pretty stressful day getting everything taken care of. We are now officially locked out of the campus all doors were locked at 10 pm tonight. Downtown was more like a maximum security prison today than anything. Fences and gates everywhere, and plenty of patrol cars. Today was the first day the Pepsi Center was open to the public where tours were given all day to see how the sports arena was transformed. I sent a fotog. Its is almost like an alternate reality this whole thing. Well prepared or not, get ready cuz there is no stopping this monster! Here is a link to our newspaper blog. Photos, video and writing updated all week! http://metrostudentmedia.blogspot.com/

The Different Worlds

Two weeks in. Three classes down. And I'm asking myself why. This is my last semester at Metro and I have already completed all my major courses, all I have left are nine credits (three classes) for my minor.
I am minoring in Speech Communication. Now that I look back, not really the best minor, but its really late to go back and start over again. If I had the chance, I would change it to a Digital Media Minor, but I was misled by my "academic advisor" and told I could not minor in Digital Media if I was majoring in Photo J. Really, I should not get started on the adviser thing, as it is not really the topic of this blog, but really, why do they even have them??? Students wait in line for literally HOURS to talk to the high and mighty advisers. We sit down i their office (them having no idea who we are. They look at our papers and ask us what class we want. At one point I went in and asked my advisers if my year of Sign Language would count for part of my language requirement I need for my Journalism degree. What did she do? Called the Journalism department. She was not very good at getting my message across and told me no, according to the department, I had to take 4 semesters of the same language.
So I enrolled in a summer of Spanish. Not that I am complaining too much, I got a guy out of the deal so ya know, it was not all THAT bad. Then I enrolled in Spanish 3 for last fall. Sat down in class the first day and it was like I had never taken Spanish at all. I could barely understand what my professor was telling us to do. I stuck it out for about 5 weeks, and after getting "Fs" and "Ds" on all my tests (with hard studying to accompany all) I went to the head of the Photo J department and asked him what I should do. He pulls up my transcript and says "Cora, you already have 4 semesters to meet the foreign language requirement, 2 in Spanish and 2 in Sign." Well, I was relieved but had to roll my eyes. Those advisers are anything but. They are just there to push the "register" button on the computer, which any Metro student can do for themselves by registering online.
Now to the point of my story (I don't have to write in journalistic style here!) On Friday, I spent the day at school helping with the Met Report (The student News Cast) auditions that happen at the beginning of every semester. TV is a totally different ball game that I have never been very interested in. It is to sensational and too much depends on your looks. That is what I enjoy about the dying print journalism. You could be the ugliest person on the planet but dang do you take AWESOME photos. You would not be turned away. However (and I've seen it with my own eyes) People can be turned down, even if they are amazing, if they do not hold that presence on TV or do not look as good as the person before, they will not make the job. And that, to me is a sick thing. A person cannot help how they look. Talent is talent.
So, though I have strong opinions I have found myself in my last semester taking three classes all related to the TV industry. Yeah. I'm crazy, and sadly part of it is because that is the way the industry is going, toward moving pictures. So I must follow suit and having TV production classes on my transcript will help me out immensely. I am also looking into becoming one of their photographers. I know the gang well because Eric is a sports anchor and I usually am around anyway. Though I've noticed the sports industry is much more laid back (though Eric owns more make-up than I do - it is only for when he is on desk, and my occasional need for cover up - But the guys tend to care less and there is not as much drama.

Accidents are Best

For those of you who have worried about me, no, I have yet to be arrested. They have not upped the security to that extreme... Plus I think they are worried that if they begin arresting before next week they are not going to have room for all the protesters during the actual convention! One of the best - but also most frustrating - things about photography is that your best picture can be totally unintentional. Its great, the majority of the time, when I am photographing my best photos are the ones that I just clicked and it happened. Either the light was just right, the angle was perfect or the subject was caught in the best moment. The frustrating thing about this phenomenon is that it makes the ability to recreate the photo almost impossible. And that is what I love. Sure, its another basketball game with the same starters and the same coach ... maybe even the same opposing team. But that moment that you froze will never happen again. I think about this upcoming week, how "history is being made" and this will never happen again. That happens every day of our lives. Why is it the big events that we stop and think about it? And its this time where we will never see this again in our lives, yet many are trying to get history to repeat itself with Recreate '68. I tell you, being an observer of the human condition and human race, we have no idea what we want. This is just a funny photo, I have a ton, but this is actually pretty interesting with the shadows. This is what my camera sees when I am not using it. It usually happens when walking to class after an assignment because I forget to turn off my camera.