Out of the Blue

by The Dream Team

Thence when the nights began.

Cold, once over the snow leopards ran.

Old men felled stumps lost in darkness.

How fenced felt the widowed tin can.

The sun bakes the earth, 

dry dust Engulfs the hearth.

Coals crackle as stories float;

the boat floats on the sea, warm Wind stings the skin.

Eye eat out of a trashed bin.

Thinlenced icicles drip from the frost.

Colder rooms doth till thence lost.

Mocked, yet frosted Snickery Snow;

leaped from the Penguin's slippery sauce.

Fire leaps and singes at the toes;

blistering heat destroys His foes.

Souls burn due To their sinful deeds. 

The boat floats on the lake,

let us not be Fake.

Binged heat thothed from the frozen Shoe.

The ice burned as He flew.

Mixed Intermingles dropped psychotically sane.

The Red Elephant appeared out of the Blue.

Adventures with the Holga by Makenzie + KK

by Makenzie

The Holga is a plastic film camera, made in Hong Kong, known for its simple aesthetic. The Holga's simple construction and lens create many unexpected distortions on a photograph - such as light leaks, vignette, and accidental multiple exposures. The Holga creates beautiful imperfections on a photograph, leaving it unique and interesting.

by KK

by Makenzie

In Photo IV, we were given the opportunity to work with the Holga. As many of us have only had experience with DSLR cameras (digital), we were very nervous to be working with film! Unlike DSLR, when someone takes a photo with the Holga very little adjustments can be made in regards to settings and you can't see what the photo looks like until the film is developed weeks later. Even though this seemed very difficult to us, we learned that this is essential to learning photography. Many photographers have become far too reliant on camera settings and are not as aware of their surroundings. With the Holga, one has to be completely aware of the light and backgrounds to ensure a successful shot. By not being able to see the image before being developed, a photo cannot be corrected, and so we had to pay special attention to ensure that no shot is wasted, since we only had 48 frames.

by Makenzie 

by KK

This experience forced the Photo IV girls to get out of our comfort zone! By doing this, we learned the importance of being aware of our surroundings. This process translates into our DSLR and allows us to improve our photography, even though we many have been uncomfortable or nervous!

by KK

Fine Arts Fiesta Announcement

SAVE THE DATE!!!

April 23rd from 4-8pm

Fine Arts Fiesta

SACS Student Life Center

!all proceeds benefit summer missions!

$10 gets you:

- Treat from the Missions table

- 1 cascarone

- Admission to the talent show

What will there be??

-Food truck

-Missions treat table

-Video booth

-Art making stations

-Art viewing

-Talent show (6-8)

High School students welcome to try out for the talent show during lunch April 7-10th

Photo Update by Abi and Katherine

Coming back from spring break this week everyone in photography is working on their newest projects. Coach Folley came and modeled for our Photo 3 and Photo 5 who are practicing maternity pictures. We will continue maternity portraits next week with Mrs. Martinez!

Photo 4 girls are planning their newest projects to take on this quarter.

Portrait Photography by Hannah and Keegan

This week in advanced photography, we practiced taking senior portraits. Our model, Lauren Rathbun, brought two outfits and modeled for photo 3 and photo 5 as we practiced our portrait photography skills. Here are some important things to remember when taking portraits:

1. Watch your focal length. If you’re not careful, your image can appear distorted. 
2. Light conditions play a very important role especially in outdoor portrait photography. Make sure to watch to be sure you don’t have any unwanted shadows!
3. Be mindful of your background. The background of an image can dramatically alter the feeling of an image and can potentially take away from the subject if its too busy. 
4. When taking portraits, put your aperture on the lowest possible number. A shallow depth of field makes for the best portraits. 

Hailee editing her photographs

 Some of the photo girls on editing day

Hannah's portrait of Lauren

Overall, the shoot was a complete success and we were all able to capture some great shots all while having fun and sharing tons of laughs! 

Food Photography by Taylor and Mandy

                                             

              

The Photo III girls had a blast last week while photographing food. They took pictures of coffee beans, french bread, chocolates, nuts, and kitchen staples such as jars and bowls. Creative Hailee created a design with the coffee beans and took pictures of it (which turned out amazing). The girls had fun and enjoyed taking pictures of the food, as well as eating it after they finished photographing. Overall, the shoot was a success and all the girls walked away with several excellent pictures of their subjects.

- photos: Taylor
- story: Mandy

Hi guys!

Today I wanted to share with you the creative approach I took in composing this clay art piece, as well as a few tips and tricks to ensure your process is as enjoyable as possible.

When brainstorming, I find it helpful to consider a few vital aspects of your art piece. First, make sure the media you've chosen to pursue is one you will enjoy working with! For me, clay was an ideal choice because of its flexibility and texture. Of course, as with any time consuming art piece, working with a single type of media can become tedious. Thus, to to prevent a psychological meltdown, choose a media that you find most agreeable. Also remember that it's okay to take breaks! If you find yourself frustrated with working with a certain media day after day, make sure you allow yourself time to work on other small projects. This will not only provide an outlet for the stress that a major project can cause, but also helps to keep your creative juices flowing.

Another thing to consider is what you are creating. This may seem silly, but often times we get so caught up in the process that we forget what goal we are trying to accomplish. Personally, I enjoy using animals for subject matter, because I find they create both aesthetically pleasing and personal art. What I'm trying to relate is this: if you pursue a subject or idea you find truly beautiful or interesting, it will be easier and more enjoyable to create. Although it was difficult to create the form of my Antelope piece, I felt more motivated to form it accurately in order to do its justice. The end result it much more rewarding when you can appreciate the beauty of the subject matter you have created.

Lastly, don't be afraid to make mistakes and take your time. I'll be super cliché for a moment, but Rome wasn't built in a day. Although often times we have to make deadlines for ourselves, sometimes its best to let the art decide when it's done. Only, you can decide when something truly satisfies your expectations. Don't be scared to challenge yourself, even if it means your art will be more time consuming. Furthermore, mistakes are unavoidable. No one goes through the creative process with out flubbing one way or another. What really matters is how you let those mistakes shape your art and effect your overall outcome. Often times, mistakes can actually play to your benefit and help you to view your art in a different light. In my circumstances, I am not even able to express to you  the frustration of watching the antlers tumble to the floor repeatedly, but in the end, I felt that the form I created satisfied the goal I aimed to accomplish. Remember, as the wise Bob Ross once said, "there are no mistakes, just happy accidents".

I hope these suggestions will help guide you on your next major art project! 

- Maddie Malone

Photo Class Update by Kamerin

Here is what's been going on in Photo!

Photo 2 has been doing Scanography and famous painting remakes:

 Natalie working hard designing her Scanograph

Completed Scanograph by Adisyn

Beth reenacting "Loie Fuller in La danse blanche" by Taber

Reese reenacting "Man in a Red Turban" by Jan van Eyck

Photo 3 girls have been taking photos of product like jewelry, clothing, makeup, etc.:

Keegan choosing photos to edit for her product project

Photo 4 girls have been working on individual projects like mixed media and multiple exposure:

Double exposure displayed in classroom by Makenzie

KK showing off her second mixed media project in progress

Edgar

Edgar

A Prequel to Red Elephant

By Grant Leslie

Days grew still,

as the winter grew unfixed.

O how the mornings felt,

whenst the dew remained mixed.

Edgar followed,

never stirred.

This mammal was superb,

to put such in a word.

Eye never heard

of such a marvelous disturb.

Of word.

Absurd!

What an elephant,

the crowd incurred.

Thenst how?

Why now?

A mammal of an herb!

How could they,

partake in such a preferred good word?

Eye'll tell you this.  

I'll tell you now.

Edgar no more.

A dish of caramel brown.

Why this?

Such is this,

cold winters;

whenst the dew remained mixed.

Red Elephant

Red Elephant

By Josh Montgomery 

& Grant Leslie

As we plunge,

art, imagination. 

Dreams, but wonder; 

fanciful imagery. 

Red Elephant

Clay cakes our fingers

graphite coats our toenails

our mind is painted on the canvas 

of the universe

Red Elephant

Pencils fly

the room of mind's eye

mind I, mind thy

mind trust, mind us.

Red Elephant

Time bends, time swells

I can't even tell

where I, eye belong

lets pitch a tent

Red Elephant

Whisper soft melodies.

Title the script of the soul.

Red exclaims he,

Elephant yells another.

Red Elephant

The oceans of imagination

engulf our very being.

we wild 

party on young flower child 

let thy soul fly free 

Red Elephant

Achoo. Achoo.

Train of laughter softens

the reign of Elizabeth.

Oppression.

Not here.

Red Elephant

Hear ye Hear ye

the king has spoken

have some tea

lets pitch a tent

Red Elephant

Slay the dragon of insecurity.

Guard the gold of trust.

Liquidate all uncertain fingers

Let them choose the brush

Let them choose the brush

Red Elephant

Some nights the stars burn.

Other nights they kiss the earth.

The universe bends at our will.

Don't eat the window sill,

The earth doth he till. 

Plants will grow,

Tonight we dine.

Let us pitch a tent.

Red Elephant.

A letter from the authors:

"As one can presume this was a collaborative piece.  we tried to capture the ambiguity of life using the limited vocabulary of our ancestors.  Our inspiration came from the common people who view life through a different lens. This said lens sees the world with wonder,  imagination, and fanciful imagery. We incorporated a day in art class. A class of these described beings, all gathered in a 'tent' of 'mind's eye'."

- Grant Leslie & Josh Montgomery

How To: Photograph in the Gym by Allison

Have you ever found yourself in the middle of a basketball game, praying you can find a random camera setting that will help your blurriness problem? When I first started taking pictures in a gym, that was me! Because the lighting is so awful in a gym, here are a few tips I've learned throughout my journey of finding the perfect camera settings.

First of all, I usually set my camera on Manual mode for sports. If you feel more comfortable with shooting in Shutter Speed Priority mode (TV for Canon/S for Nikon) then that works as well!

You DO NOT want to have a shutter speed slower than 1/200. This is simply because of the rapid movement that happens in most sports in the gym.

Here's an example of what can happen when you have a shutter speed lower than 1/200. The ball is blurry, as well as the player's feet. This particular photo was taken at 1/160 with the ISO at 1600 and the exposure meter set to +2.

The photo on the top was taken at 1/320 and the one on the bottom was taken at 1/500 with the ISO at 5000 for both. As you can see, the players are completely in focus and their movement is stopped midair.

When your camera is on the right settings, the blurriness is nonexistent, and the lighting is great! Of course to get these kinds of shots, the photographer should stand to the side of the net, and keep their focus on the player. It is also important to set your AF Mode to AI Servo. This helps track the players as they move to make sure your photo is in focus. Another helpful tip is to evaluate the kind of lighting in your gym. This gym, for example, has fluorescent lighting. Even though the Auto White Balance (AWB) is great for most lighting, it does not do a great job balancing in fluorescent lighting. To fix this, I simply set my white balance to Fluorescent.

Finally, I would like to add that your image size should be set to RAW if you are taking professional quality photos. However, if you do this, make sure you have a version of Photoshop to edit and process them into JPEG format later. To add my own personal touch, I set these final two photos' Camera Profile to "Camera Faithful". While the difference between Adobe Standard and Camera Faithful are slight, I love the warmness that this profile brings to the photo. Also, I set a -17 vignette to sort of tie the entire photo together. I hope these tips help when you take pictures in a gym!

HAPPY PHOTOGRAPHING!!!

all photographs by Allison

Haiti by Joanna

Monday, January 12th marked the five year anniversary of the 7.0 earthquake that devastated Haiti in 2010. The epicenter of the earthquake was about 5 miles from Neply, where San Antonio Christian sends a team each summer. Aside from the obvious negative economic impact of the earthquake, the effects to the people were heartbreaking. Haiti has no formal adoption system. The Haitian government developed a child-slave system in hopes to feed and shelter many of the now parentless and hungry children. In exchange for food, shelter, and education, the kids are expected to work for their new "parents". In many situations, that is not the case. An estimated 200,000 lives were lost and left hundreds of thousands injured, homeless and struggling to find the necessities to survive.

Haiti is a land that has been prone to natural disasters in the past. It could be expected for Haiti to be perceived as a hopeless nation. Surprisingly, Haitians have extreme pride in their country. They spread hope among each other in many ways such as Haitian street art.

God's hand is still evident in Haiti, despite the widespread poverty. Haiti is home to some of the most clear blue waters in the world. His love is evident through the innocent smiles and tender hearts of the children who, although lack so much, have limitless love to give. Please remember the families who lost loved ones in your prayers today. Also, pray that God's mighty works would continue to be present there and continue to restore and rebuild hope in Haiti.

"'Though the mountains be shaken

 and the hills be removed, 

yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken 

nor my covenant of peace be removed,' 

says the Lord, who has compassion on you." 

Isaiah 54:10

all photographs by Joanna