Internship - Session 1

So today I had my first session with Dan Elliott (who I mentioned in my last entry) and I learned so much already!! It was fantastic :) 


Unfortunately, I was late due to a work thing so it didn't leave us with much time. I could only imagine what more I would have learned if I was there on time! ;) 


Anyways, Dan taught me about light today. How to properly use light to your advantage - and using the different kinds of light (artificial and natural) and then he showed me a quick overview of the behind the scenes editing (which I'll definitely need more work on, there's so much that goes into it!) 


I had an amazing time and Dan is a great teacher. I can not wait to learn more as we get into more sessions! 

This is the end result of the editing he showed me. :) (See, I told you I'd put it up, Dan :P ) 


Best regards,
Ryuohimesama

Another In Regards to Photography

I've had a sheer burst of blessings in the past couple of months, my friends. One of which I'm going to share with you guys, seeing as its a big highlight in my life right now and I'm so glad to have the opportunity. 


As y'all know, I love photography (according to the previous post with the same title) and I've been looking for a way to learn and experiment and grow. Well, I had contacted the man who had done my senior photos and my sisters maternity photos asking for a leg of advice. First, let me tell you a little bit about what I know about Dan Elliott. He is a magnificent photographer, a guy I really look up to. He has a personal relationship with God, he is a very loving and kind person. I loved having the opportunity to work with him on my senior photos. 


Well, now I get to work closer with him - as he is guiding me on an internship with him and his business. :) God has blessed me so much, y'all! 


Check out his photos and how talented this man is. And I get to work and learn from him :) (not that I'm bragging or anything)  I've linked his website at the bottom of the page. 




I hope your guys' dreams will come true as mine are coming true for me. 


God Bless,
Ryuohimesama


http://www.danelliottphotography.com



http://danelliottphotography.blogspot.com

Holiday Cheer

Here's some little thoughts into the Holidays. :) I wrote a Christmas article for the school newspaper this week, detailing all the fun Christmas traditions people love to do. I added a little humor into it, because that's what I do and I think it'll be a wonderful read. 


Listed in there are some great ideas to celebrate Christmas - such as baking and decorating gingerbread houses, caroling, decorating the tree and so on. Most of you might remember the best part about being a little kid during Christmas - waking up at 5 in the morning and proceeding to jump on your parents bed until they grumpily told you to go wait by the tree and not touch any of the presents. 


We never listened. See, my parents thought it was a great idea to prevent present peeking (say that 5 times fast) by writing code names that were different each year so we couldn't just pick up a present and say it was ours. They also never associated the code name to us specifically... meaning that they didn't put something I would recognize as being me or my sister and brother. There was one particular year, where I saw the color "Orange" and thought it was me because I hated the color Orange. It was in fact, my mother who had an indifference to the color in question. 


My step mom and I would make gingerbread houses every year, but she sprayed them with some kind of preserving spray and I was unable to take out a huge chunk of the gumdrop roof top. 


Make the Holiday's special this year, friends. :) May God bless you and your family. 


Best regards,
Ryuohimesama

Quotebook's

First, a quote book is something you keep for yourself, and write down quotes your friends or family says that you feel in necessary to remember. You can put in quotes from people you don't know or famous quotes, but where's the fun in that?

I have a quote book that I love very much. I don't have very many quotes in it, but I write them on both the front and the back of the page. I put mostly funny quotes in there from friends I hang out with, and there have been a couple of meaningful things that friends or family has said to me that I felt should go in there.

Its great to have a quote book, it lets you remember fun times and it's always great to look back on. You guys will have no idea what these mean, but I'll give you a few that I have in mine that are my favorites -

"You think men would be smarter since they have two heads instead of one, but they aren't. That only makes them stupider." - Sister-in-law (Joyce)

"From now until eternity I shall be known as Mr. Dangerously Large Dangling Genitals For Which He Uses For Sexual Purposes." - Zach (friend) 

"Women are perverts too! They're just better at hiding it." - Jason (friend)

"Sounds like someone is bipolar and I don't mean a polar bear that goes both ways." - Justin (ex and friend)

"Lorenzo won't go straight? Well, of course not! He's gay!" - Kayla (friend)  ... This was in regards to my car, which happened to be gay. ;) And I can't back up straight, so I blamed it on Lorenzo (the car)

"Why are you segregating your black tiles?" - Justin

"I don't consider calculus math. Its witchcraft." - Jaz (class mate)

I have a lot more than this, but it's fun to share. :) Go out and start a quote book. Pick up a notebook (I personally like the smaller ones) and bring it along with you when you hang out with some funny friends and jot down quotes. You'll love it, I promise.

Best regards,
Ryuohimesama

In Regards to Photography

I'll start off saying I LOVE photography. I really wish I would have started realizing my love of photography when I was taking some awesome pictures of the nature around my town a couple years back, totally would have gotten me a head start on that by now.

Anywho, I love taking pictures of nature and of people when they are just doing their thing. I don't own a DSLR camera or anything yet - I take pictures with my phone and my itty bitty $200 camera I bought from Best Buy. Poor thing died on me a couple months ago while I was camping (which really made me sad because the nature around the camp site was beautiful... and I managed to get a few shots in before it totally crapped out)

The problem with all this? I want to do it professionally now (or at least that's my current idea for a major) but none of the colleges around my town do Photography as a separate "Art" major. I would love to have a photography major, with maybe a minor in art as a whole. Yet, this town doesn't believe in photography as a separate profession. I would have to declare an Art major, and take drawing and sculpture - ceramics and printmaking as well.


And the one school that does Photography as a separate major - costs more than the University I'm going to now... and is located a state away. But it offers great housing.

Life makes things complicated, my friends. I have something I'm really interested in... and its not available.

Oh well :) I can just take photos of everything in hopes that it'll get me somewhere.

Best regards friends,
Ryuohimesama

Breast Cancer Awareness

I'll tell you honestly that I have no connection to breast cancer, meaning that no one in my family has had it on either side. However, its something that I'm very interested in - making people aware of breast cancer (even though I'm sure most everyone is by now!) and making them aware that they can help.

I have a friend on MSN who had this icon in front of his username and I finally asked him what it was for. He explained that the symbol had a specific link to it *komen - which donates 25 cents to Komen for the Cure Foundation for every conversation you hold. I've been using it for quite some time now, and I have got to say it has inspired me into doing more stuff for breast cancer awareness.

Look up on Google for local foundations that give part of their earnings to breast cancer research or foundations.  My local hospital does a race for breast cancer awareness in which we raised over $10,000 last year alone.

There is so much you can do to help, and it doesn't take much either.

Best Regards,
Ryuohimesama

Early Morning Debate

We all have been (or have known) those people who prefer to sleep in over getting up early. However, what is best for your health and what is just more enjoyable?

I've been on both sides of the track, personally. I was a teenager who would sleep all the time, and if I could sleep in past 7am on school days I most certainly would have. Yet most recently, I've been getting up at 6:30am to take my little brother to school. And I thought I was past that early morning routine!

You know what the doctors and health nuts say - how sleep is good for you and that you need to at least get 8 hours of sleep a night. Going to bed early (unless you're extremely tired) is just boring, and not getting up early means you're missing one of the best parts of the day (and the most important meal if you sleep in really late)

I've found that waking up at 6:30am can be enjoyable, when most of the world is just starting to wake up and its slightly dark outside still. Catching the sunrise is beautiful and the world is quiet. It's a little more frustrating when you wake up later in the morning and the world is already abuzz without you. However, sleeping in can also make you feel a little more rested (depending on what time you went to bed)

Share with me your thoughts on this subject - Early morning bird or Afternoon hawk?

Best regards,
Ryuohimesama

Election Day: Feel the Pressure?

Election day was today. I'm sure all of you have been bugged by automated telephone calls to vote for senate and vote yes/no/maybe for Measure 11 or 34. And you wonder why Senator John Thune is calling your business bumping up the ante for Kristi Noem.

Relax. Yeah, some of these are big decisions but its not going to do you good to rush through Election day and then feel slightly razzled afterward wondering what in the world you just did. Its normal to get that slight tingling sensation after you deposit that scary looking bubble ballot. Reminds you of those "scantron" days in High School where you would just doodle in your answers and pray you got it right, doesn't it?

Don't feel pressured by government figure heads and idols. If you aren't sure what you want to vote for, don't vote. If you feel the need to vote, refer back to lazy conversations in elevators or during lunch and recall what everyone else said they were voting for - and then do the opposite just to be different (especially if it makes you feel better)

Best Regards,
Ryuohimesama

Food for thought: Meaning of Ryuohimesama

Ryuohimesama - difficult to pronounce, but nice to look at. A name that no one has used before anywhere else - except for me so don't bother trying to steal the name from me. I've got it registered under most sites. :) 

Here comes the sad part about the name - where I got it from. My ex of about a year and a month. At the very beginning of our relationship he expressed his interest in the mythical creature of Dragons. He has a username that says Ryumejin which means Dragon Master. He called me his Dragon Princess which is where Ryuohimesama comes from. No, I am not still attached to my ex - I'm attached to the nickname. Its unique and I feel like it fits me quite well

"Dragon Princess" fitting someone - yeah right. To me, it's a sense of identity. Besides, what girl/woman doesn't dream of being a princess? 

The point of this blog, by the way, is to share my past experiences and my advice. My mind in a nutshell, my love and care for people on a simple blog. I hope you enjoy and any questions, please feel free to ask me. 

Best regards,

Dragon Princess