Jan. 29, 2013
Here is the project report ouline that I made a couple of days ago. As you can see, there is a lot to write about!
project_report_outline.docx | |
File Size: | 22 kb |
File Type: | docx |
Jan. 26, 2013
Dropped off my book to the library, sent off other books to the mayors, and finished the Project Report Outline. Also, started the actual Project Report. Hoping to have it done early- maybe even by the end of the week- so I can get as many people to look over it as possible. Here is the back of the book- what I've been looking at all weekend as I was just waiting to hand it in. :)
Jan. 15, 2013
Today I got an email from Ms. Chapin, (of the library) and she said she would love a copy of my book. I'm planning to bring it in to her after exams are over. Exported the movie- it looks great! I'm also planning to send off some of my books this week, and get that out of the way before the project report gets started. Just a quick post about how everything's going.
Jan. 11, 2013
Great news- my computer virus was removed and my personal project movie is fine! I'm going to export it asap- probably as soon as I can get home. Today is the due date for physical evidence of the project, and as there is a picture of the books below that could count but I'm not 100% sure. I emailed my supervisor and asked if I should also bring a book in two weeks from now, as next week is all exams. I'm also emailing the Mulgrave library and asking if they would want a copy of my book! More to come.
Jan. 7, 2013 (cont.)
I just wanted to say that the books came and I'm very happy about them! They look amazing, I was very worried about using this website as it's so new to me but it came through. I'm telling my family to switch to Mixbook for making albums as its simpler, more user-friendly, and more customizable than Shutterfly. Eight copies received and one problem solved!
Jan. 7, 2013
Unfortunetly, I've hit my first two real road bumps in the project. The smaller one is that I haven't received the books yet, although I'm hardly worried as the mail service has been slow lately. My bigger worry is actually about the movie I'm making about the project. Before I went away for break, I forgot to export the movie. This wouldn't be a big deal usually... except I got a virus. Now without going into it so much that it becomes boring, this virus (which was actually in the news a while ago) was set to hit North America in January 2013. I got it on December. 29th, 2012. Lucky me, early! Anyways, what it does is it tells you that you're computer is being blocked by the FBI and you have to pay $300 to unlock it or they'll arrest you for your 'crimes'. This is called malware software that hold your computer ransom until you pay. Luckily I knew it was a virus from my mom reading about it last November, so I have not given anyone money. Unfortunetly though, my computer is still blocked unless I go into safe mode. This is where the personal project related problem comes in.
With Windows Live Movie Maker, each clip that you use comes from a specific place, or 'address'. In order to edit the clips, the addresses must always be the same as they were inputted, or the clips will not play. Because my regular computer settings and everything else on my computer is blocked, the only way in to save my files, (personal project movie included) is through safe mode. Safe mode is essentially the basic computer programs minus any Windows 7 programs or program updates. This is the problem- I can't export my movie on the computer because safe mode doesn't support Windows Live Movie Maker. It literally will not open. My next solution would be to put all clips and the unprocessed movie onto a USB and transfer to another computer for export, which I tried. What I soon realized is because the clips on the USB are simply a copy of the original clips, the addresses of the clips were changed. What this essentially means is that if I try to export on another computer, none of the clips will play and I'll be left with a blank screen.
Here is my solution to the problem: I had already emailed Mr. Lo about the issue before I realized this problem, and I sent him another just now asking if there was a way around this issue. I'm awaiting his email to hopefully help me fix the problem! Until then, we wait for the books and a reply.
With Windows Live Movie Maker, each clip that you use comes from a specific place, or 'address'. In order to edit the clips, the addresses must always be the same as they were inputted, or the clips will not play. Because my regular computer settings and everything else on my computer is blocked, the only way in to save my files, (personal project movie included) is through safe mode. Safe mode is essentially the basic computer programs minus any Windows 7 programs or program updates. This is the problem- I can't export my movie on the computer because safe mode doesn't support Windows Live Movie Maker. It literally will not open. My next solution would be to put all clips and the unprocessed movie onto a USB and transfer to another computer for export, which I tried. What I soon realized is because the clips on the USB are simply a copy of the original clips, the addresses of the clips were changed. What this essentially means is that if I try to export on another computer, none of the clips will play and I'll be left with a blank screen.
Here is my solution to the problem: I had already emailed Mr. Lo about the issue before I realized this problem, and I sent him another just now asking if there was a way around this issue. I'm awaiting his email to hopefully help me fix the problem! Until then, we wait for the books and a reply.
Dec. 26, 2012
Just sent off the order! The whole process was very easy. I chose a 12" x 12" harcover version, and ordered EIGHT copies. Five for the mayors (one extra in case I get a reply from Mayor Robertson), one for me, one of my aunt/uncle/cousin who want a copy, and one for the school. Looking forward to receiving on Jan. 7th, 2013!
Dec. 23, 2012
I'm very, very close to sending off my book! I'm, totally on schedule, my map and bibliogrpahy are basically done and my movie is coming along nicely. I'm looking forward to finishing everything and sending it off three days from now; on boxing day. Because I will be away from Dec. 27th- Jan.5th, there will probably not be as many posts on here as my wifi will be sketchy. Just as a note, when I get back I'll write a lot if the book is back my then! I've gotten positive responses from 4/5 mayors, which is amazing as we didn't expect any replies or at the least only a fraction of what we got. I debated this week on whether a bibliography would really be worth adding to the book, but in the end I decided to keep it just because it seems more professional. It should be noted that I left out one source that was just a picture I used on this blog and not in the actual book. I made room on the same page as the afterword for it. I'll post again, hopefully, before the 27th!
Dec. 14, 2012
This week I finished off all of the captions and afterword for the book, finished ordering and cropping clips for the movie, and had several conversations with the mayors of the five municipalities I took pictures in. I got positive responses from the mayors of West Vancouver, North Vancouver, Burnaby and Richmond, all saying that they would love a copy of Perspectives! Still waiting on word from Mayor Robertson of the City of Vancouver, but I expected that as he is the mayor of the largest municipality and probably has other things to attend to first. I informed the mayors that their books would probably arrive in January or February of 2013, as I'm unsure about the mailing system at that time. My initial and recent goals have been met so far, and I'm hoping they're continually met thorughout the rest of this project! As it gets closer to the holidays I realize how much this project has progressed, and I'm happy with its success.
Dec. 10, 2012
I just wanted to write a really quick post about some exciting news: of the 5 emails/letters I sent out yesterday, TWO MAYORS have already responded saying that they want the book!! This is beyond exciting for me. Michael Smith, West Vancouver, and Darrell Mussatto, North Vancouver have both responded to me saying that they want the book to display in public. Once even said they'd pay for it, which of course I'm going to decline! I'm just very flattered that they would even think of that in this case as they haven't even seen the book yet. Thats all for now! Just a quick update.
Dec. 9, 2012
In terms of being on schedule, I'm very happy with my progress this week. I've finished everything for this week on the chart except for sending off my letters/emails which I'll hopefully do today! I'm starting to realize that in terms of difficulty, the book is going to be a bit more than the video. The video is easy enough, considering that its a smaller part of the project and that I have lots of experience with that kind of thing before. As for the book, its going well too but I'm a little on edge about the map, which I think I might start a couple of days early if I get the chance! Other than that, everything is going smoothly.
Dec. 2, 2012
Here is a tiny snippet of what my book could look like. This is the icon I see whenever I log onto MixBook to edit the project! Today and yesterday I spent a couple of solid hours on the video and the book itself, so far I have finished adding and started cropping all my clips (for the video) and editing the book up to the end of Richmond. Now all that's left to edit of the book is the City of Vancouver, the map, (which will take some time) an afterword, a bibliography, and all of the captions/information I'll be adding. I may also have to factor in a final editing day just to go over everything and make sure it looks perfect. I also have to send off my letters/emails (see below) fairly soon, so I decided to take care of that next weekend. Since I have almost four weeks left, I've made a schedule which I'll post above for what I will be doing each week. Amazingly, there have been no issues in the editing process so far! I feel like my project is a bit boring to read as everything gone so smoothly! Not jinxing it or anything, I love that I've had no problems.
Nov. 30, 2012
I've written a draft letter for the mayors of each municipality I will be sending an email and letter to, as well as finding the information I need for each mayor in terms of emails and addresses.
The contact information:
City of Vancouver
Mayor Gregor Robertson
Email: [email protected]
Address:
3rd Floor, City Hall
453 West 12th Ave
Vancouver, British Columbia
V5Y 1V4 Canada
West Vancouver
Mayor Michael Smith
Email: [email protected]
Address:
750 - 17 Street
West Vancouver, British Columbia
V7V 3T3 Canada
North Vancouver
Mayor Darrell Mussatto
Email: [email protected]
Address:
141 West 14th Street
North Vancouver, British Columbia
V7M 1H9 Canada
Burnaby
Mayor Derek Corrigan
Email: [email protected]
Address:
4949 Canada Way
Burnaby, British Columbia
V5G 1M2 Canada
Richmond
Mayor Malcolm Brodie
Email: [email protected]
Address:
City of Richmond
Mayor's Office
6911 No. 3 Road
Richmond, British Columbia
V6Y 2C1 Canada
Letter:
Dear name of mayor,
My name is Lauren Forster, and I’m a grade ten student from Mulgrave School, West Vancouver. As a school project this year, I made a book of pictures about parts of Greater Vancouver that most people, (tourists and locals included) usually don’t get to see. This book includes your respective municipality, name of municipality. The book’s content mainly shows sites around Greater Vancouver that I found interesting and that most people wouldn’t normally get to learn about or see. I was just wondering if you would like a copy! This could be for yourself or for public display, if you so desire. Unfortunately the book cannot be put in a library as it does not have an ISBN code, but it could be displayed for people to look through without being formally in the collection of the library or wherever it was placed. Of course, this book would be a gift to you and your municipality. I’ve also sent you an email/letter copy of this message just in case one does not end up getting through. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at my school email [email protected]. Thank you for reading!
Sincerely,
*signature*
Lauren Forster
Grade 10
Mulgrave School
The contact information:
City of Vancouver
Mayor Gregor Robertson
Email: [email protected]
Address:
3rd Floor, City Hall
453 West 12th Ave
Vancouver, British Columbia
V5Y 1V4 Canada
West Vancouver
Mayor Michael Smith
Email: [email protected]
Address:
750 - 17 Street
West Vancouver, British Columbia
V7V 3T3 Canada
North Vancouver
Mayor Darrell Mussatto
Email: [email protected]
Address:
141 West 14th Street
North Vancouver, British Columbia
V7M 1H9 Canada
Burnaby
Mayor Derek Corrigan
Email: [email protected]
Address:
4949 Canada Way
Burnaby, British Columbia
V5G 1M2 Canada
Richmond
Mayor Malcolm Brodie
Email: [email protected]
Address:
City of Richmond
Mayor's Office
6911 No. 3 Road
Richmond, British Columbia
V6Y 2C1 Canada
Letter:
Dear name of mayor,
My name is Lauren Forster, and I’m a grade ten student from Mulgrave School, West Vancouver. As a school project this year, I made a book of pictures about parts of Greater Vancouver that most people, (tourists and locals included) usually don’t get to see. This book includes your respective municipality, name of municipality. The book’s content mainly shows sites around Greater Vancouver that I found interesting and that most people wouldn’t normally get to learn about or see. I was just wondering if you would like a copy! This could be for yourself or for public display, if you so desire. Unfortunately the book cannot be put in a library as it does not have an ISBN code, but it could be displayed for people to look through without being formally in the collection of the library or wherever it was placed. Of course, this book would be a gift to you and your municipality. I’ve also sent you an email/letter copy of this message just in case one does not end up getting through. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at my school email [email protected]. Thank you for reading!
Sincerely,
*signature*
Lauren Forster
Grade 10
Mulgrave School
Nov. 24, 2012
Today and yesterday I did some editing on the Mixbook website, and I ended up finishing West Vancouver and North Vancouver as well as the cover and introduction in one weekend! Tomorrow will be my break :) Not to spoil my introduction, but I'll just say that I talked a lot about the project as a whole and my experience with it. The editing has been very interesting so far because I've had to focus on the tiny details- like font and font size consistency and how many millimeters each picture is from each other. Next week I'll be focusing on Burnaby and Richmond, and the week after will be the City of Vancouver. Then I'll have to add captions to some pages, do a bibliography of my sources, make a map of all the sites I went to, and do final touches and well as make my video, which I haven't started on yet to send off for sometime around Dec. 26th! An ambitious project, but one that I'm sure I can accomplish. I think I spent about three hours so far editing the book, although I haven't been timing. I spent around an hour just learning the website last week, and I'm assuming I'll spend much more time in the future on the website as I edit together my book as well as the short movie.
Nov. 17, 2012
Its finally time to start editing my project! Today I decided on my editing software, Mixbook. I initially narrowed it down to Mixbook and Shutterfly, the others "rejected" for various reasons such as pricing and layout options. The reason I chose Mixbook over Shutterfly was mainly because of editing ability. Even though my family has experience with Shutterfly, Mixbook was just a little more user-friendly and customizable.
The first step was to choose what type of book I wanted. Although I was leaning towards soft cover, I realized that this book may go through some wear and tear and decided on hardcover. As I want to showcase my photos to the best of my ability I chose a 12 x 12" book for editing, I'm very excited as to how the photos will look blown up! Then I chose a main design for my book- I chose a white background because white complements any colour that may be present in my photos. I then took a tutorial to learn how to use the website and created an account; I am very excited to begin adding in my pictures and experimenting with fonts, layout, etc. next weekend!
As a side note, I decided to organize the book by municipality and in this order: West Vancouver, North Vancouver, Burnaby, Richmond, City of Vancouver. To get this I focused on details like: weather in each municipality, number of sites, and relative closeness to each other. I started with West Van because its my home municipality and ended with City of Vancouver because of the multitude of sites there.
The first step was to choose what type of book I wanted. Although I was leaning towards soft cover, I realized that this book may go through some wear and tear and decided on hardcover. As I want to showcase my photos to the best of my ability I chose a 12 x 12" book for editing, I'm very excited as to how the photos will look blown up! Then I chose a main design for my book- I chose a white background because white complements any colour that may be present in my photos. I then took a tutorial to learn how to use the website and created an account; I am very excited to begin adding in my pictures and experimenting with fonts, layout, etc. next weekend!
As a side note, I decided to organize the book by municipality and in this order: West Vancouver, North Vancouver, Burnaby, Richmond, City of Vancouver. To get this I focused on details like: weather in each municipality, number of sites, and relative closeness to each other. I started with West Van because its my home municipality and ended with City of Vancouver because of the multitude of sites there.
Nov. 10, 2012
Sites: 5
Time photographing: 3 hours 30 mins
Time Editing: 50 mins
Today was our last day of shooting, (sadly) and we went to a total of FIVE sites! Three were in Richmond, one of my more lacking areas as to number of sites, and two in the city of Vancouver, an area that had much more room to explore. I am very excited about these sites, especially the last one which I have included a picture of here. It was a really cool community garden in Vancouver, very mismatched and ecclectic. Today was a great day to end the picture taking section of the project because it was super sunny, (as opposed to late's raininess) and we had no problems! Literally, the whole day went suspiciously well. I thought there would be some disaster at any given time to make up for the great conditions, but no such unluck! I'm a little sad the photography portion is over, but I'm equally excited for the editing process. This week my goal is to choose an editing software for the book (see list from Sept. 23rd of possibilities) and learn how to use it. Next week I'll begin the editing!
As a side note, I was thinking about how that my editing time in relation to how many sites I went to/pictures I took that day/time photographing differs a lot. For instance, today I went to 5 sites, (50 finished pictures) and spent the better part of an hour editing. Yet on Oct. 27th I had four sites (40 finished pictures) and it took me a whole hour to edit, and we were only out for 2 hours 20 mins opposed to today's one more site and 3 1/2 hours photographing.
I'm attributing this to:
- traffic patterns
- time of day I photographed
- distance between sites
- whether I knew of the sites or not beforehand
- whether my computer was glitching
- how tired I was that day
- how many pictures I took in total
Just thought I'd make a note of that so I can remember it for my Project Report later!
Time photographing: 3 hours 30 mins
Time Editing: 50 mins
Today was our last day of shooting, (sadly) and we went to a total of FIVE sites! Three were in Richmond, one of my more lacking areas as to number of sites, and two in the city of Vancouver, an area that had much more room to explore. I am very excited about these sites, especially the last one which I have included a picture of here. It was a really cool community garden in Vancouver, very mismatched and ecclectic. Today was a great day to end the picture taking section of the project because it was super sunny, (as opposed to late's raininess) and we had no problems! Literally, the whole day went suspiciously well. I thought there would be some disaster at any given time to make up for the great conditions, but no such unluck! I'm a little sad the photography portion is over, but I'm equally excited for the editing process. This week my goal is to choose an editing software for the book (see list from Sept. 23rd of possibilities) and learn how to use it. Next week I'll begin the editing!
As a side note, I was thinking about how that my editing time in relation to how many sites I went to/pictures I took that day/time photographing differs a lot. For instance, today I went to 5 sites, (50 finished pictures) and spent the better part of an hour editing. Yet on Oct. 27th I had four sites (40 finished pictures) and it took me a whole hour to edit, and we were only out for 2 hours 20 mins opposed to today's one more site and 3 1/2 hours photographing.
I'm attributing this to:
- traffic patterns
- time of day I photographed
- distance between sites
- whether I knew of the sites or not beforehand
- whether my computer was glitching
- how tired I was that day
- how many pictures I took in total
Just thought I'd make a note of that so I can remember it for my Project Report later!
Nov. 3, 2012
Sites:4
Time photographing: 3 hours 20 mins
Time editing: 40 mins
The shoot today was based in the City of Vancouver, lasting a little over 3 hours from 1:10pm to 4:30pm. I didn't get as many pictures as usual because it was POURING, not exactly photography weather! It was so rainy that you can see the rain in some of my pictures! We went to four sites including one that Mr. OC suggested; Mole Hill. The only problem we had was that we wanted to do a site further west, nearer to the UBC area, but time and space restrictions kept us from it. Maybe we'll do that next weekend, the weekend where we don't have a plan as to where we're going. I'm looking forward to editing the actual book and movie!
Just to clarify, the pictures below were from last weekend. They just look like this because I couldn't add a title to them.
Time photographing: 3 hours 20 mins
Time editing: 40 mins
The shoot today was based in the City of Vancouver, lasting a little over 3 hours from 1:10pm to 4:30pm. I didn't get as many pictures as usual because it was POURING, not exactly photography weather! It was so rainy that you can see the rain in some of my pictures! We went to four sites including one that Mr. OC suggested; Mole Hill. The only problem we had was that we wanted to do a site further west, nearer to the UBC area, but time and space restrictions kept us from it. Maybe we'll do that next weekend, the weekend where we don't have a plan as to where we're going. I'm looking forward to editing the actual book and movie!
Just to clarify, the pictures below were from last weekend. They just look like this because I couldn't add a title to them.
Oct. 27, 2012
Sites:4
Time photographing: 2 hours 20 mins
Time editing:1 hr
Today I took another 147 pictures around West Vancouver. The day was pretty cool because it transitioned between heavy fog/rain and light fog/rain. This gave for really cool affects in the lens and in person, luckily fog is something that looks really good on camera! Although the fog was pretty, it was a slight problem as it made it hard for us to drive very far without getting lost up in the hills. One other small problem we had was that some sites we were thinking about going to were blocked off because of various reasons including the bad weather, like construction sites for instance. But we found other sites so all's well that ends well. We went to two little trails off roads, the power lines up on Cypress, and a bridge. The funny thing is, I can't think of anything that I want to improve on right now! Everythings going well... I guess I could say maybe knowing where we're going first so that we don't waste as much fuel. I'm also starting the video editing probably in the next couple of weeks, so I have my clips all ready in a file on this computer.
This entry I'd like to talk a little about the limitations and values of my bibliographical sources. I'll be making bullet points for each 'type' of source.
Print (eg books)
Values:
- important information only (no 'fluff', usually very factual)
- easy to find bibliographical info (author, date, publisher...)
- amount of info not limiter (no word count)
Limitations:
- can be bias depending on the author/ time period
- can be hard to find the info I need
- usually only one opinion on a subject, not a variety
Web (eg websites on the internet)
Values:
- great for information (lots of it)
- many different angles and opinions on topics
- easy to find info
Limitations:
- quality is not always reliable
- can be bias depending on the writer/time period
- can have a lot of 'fluff'
Periodical (eg section of a magazine)
Values:
- easy to find bibliographical info (author, date, publisher...)
- good amount of 'fluff' and substance
- not very easy to misinterpret
Limitations:
- can be bias depending on the author/ time period
- info could be angled towards a certain genre of people
- amount of info could be limited (because of word count)
Interview (eg my interview with Jaqueline Windh)
Values:
- very personalized (to my project and to the rest of my life)
- personal stories
- easy to get info for bibliography
Limitations:
- information is not always applicable/hard to understand (wording...)
- more 'fluff' than substance, sometimes
- can be bias depending on person/time period
Film (eg Youtube video)
Values:
- easy to understand information (very visual)
- personal stories (different approches)
- usually good balance of substance/'fluff'
Limitations:
- nothing is written, so easy to misinterpret
- can be bias depending on speaker/time period
- dificult to find bibiographical info (director, date, publisher, actors...)
Time photographing: 2 hours 20 mins
Time editing:1 hr
Today I took another 147 pictures around West Vancouver. The day was pretty cool because it transitioned between heavy fog/rain and light fog/rain. This gave for really cool affects in the lens and in person, luckily fog is something that looks really good on camera! Although the fog was pretty, it was a slight problem as it made it hard for us to drive very far without getting lost up in the hills. One other small problem we had was that some sites we were thinking about going to were blocked off because of various reasons including the bad weather, like construction sites for instance. But we found other sites so all's well that ends well. We went to two little trails off roads, the power lines up on Cypress, and a bridge. The funny thing is, I can't think of anything that I want to improve on right now! Everythings going well... I guess I could say maybe knowing where we're going first so that we don't waste as much fuel. I'm also starting the video editing probably in the next couple of weeks, so I have my clips all ready in a file on this computer.
This entry I'd like to talk a little about the limitations and values of my bibliographical sources. I'll be making bullet points for each 'type' of source.
Print (eg books)
Values:
- important information only (no 'fluff', usually very factual)
- easy to find bibliographical info (author, date, publisher...)
- amount of info not limiter (no word count)
Limitations:
- can be bias depending on the author/ time period
- can be hard to find the info I need
- usually only one opinion on a subject, not a variety
Web (eg websites on the internet)
Values:
- great for information (lots of it)
- many different angles and opinions on topics
- easy to find info
Limitations:
- quality is not always reliable
- can be bias depending on the writer/time period
- can have a lot of 'fluff'
Periodical (eg section of a magazine)
Values:
- easy to find bibliographical info (author, date, publisher...)
- good amount of 'fluff' and substance
- not very easy to misinterpret
Limitations:
- can be bias depending on the author/ time period
- info could be angled towards a certain genre of people
- amount of info could be limited (because of word count)
Interview (eg my interview with Jaqueline Windh)
Values:
- very personalized (to my project and to the rest of my life)
- personal stories
- easy to get info for bibliography
Limitations:
- information is not always applicable/hard to understand (wording...)
- more 'fluff' than substance, sometimes
- can be bias depending on person/time period
Film (eg Youtube video)
Values:
- easy to understand information (very visual)
- personal stories (different approches)
- usually good balance of substance/'fluff'
Limitations:
- nothing is written, so easy to misinterpret
- can be bias depending on speaker/time period
- dificult to find bibiographical info (director, date, publisher, actors...)
Oct. 26, 2012
Conversation with Mr. OC about more sites to consider in Downtown Vancouver:
- Mole Hill (Harrow and Barkely) quiet lane
- West End
- Seaplane Terminal (seawall) Main and Alexander
- Background areas of Chinatown
- Waterfront near Granville Bridge (seawall)
- Mole Hill (Harrow and Barkely) quiet lane
- West End
- Seaplane Terminal (seawall) Main and Alexander
- Background areas of Chinatown
- Waterfront near Granville Bridge (seawall)
Oct. 25, 2012
Here is my schedule-of-the-moment for my personal project's beginnings. I haven't included anything after sending off the book because I don't want to plan that far in the future, in case something changes. Not sure why its not completely in focus, must be my scanner. :/
Oct. 20, 2012
Sites: 4
Time photographing: 3 hours
Time editing: 45 mins
I went to Burnaby for my pictures today! I got 168 pictures in a total of four sites including a park, a creek, a backyard (of course I got permission from the owner who we know), and a cemetary. I got some more good video footage as well, and I think I may start the video editing soon. A challenge today was lighitng and weather. The weather today was pretty irregular, as it is getting into autumn and the weather is changing. The day started out warm and sunny, but by the time we went out to shoot it was cloudy. Later it started on-and-off raining, and by the end of the day it was very cold and windy as well! This made the lighting slightly irregular, but I think it didn't affect my photos too much. It did affect us though! Shooting in the cold, windy rain is not my favourite conditions. Something I'd like to improve on overall would be organization of timing- in this case a sort of schedule of my project. I'll post one of these later this week.
An update: I was thinking that instead of just sending each municipality, (probably through it's mayor) one of my books, I'll send them a letter first asking if they even WANT it. Of course this will be a professional letter, and I'll probably put a copy on the blog as well. The one thing I can't decide on is email vs. an actual letter. I'm wondering which one will get to the actual mayor, (vs. a secretary who might throw it out thinking its spam). I'll talk to Mr. OC about this.*
Time photographing: 3 hours
Time editing: 45 mins
I went to Burnaby for my pictures today! I got 168 pictures in a total of four sites including a park, a creek, a backyard (of course I got permission from the owner who we know), and a cemetary. I got some more good video footage as well, and I think I may start the video editing soon. A challenge today was lighitng and weather. The weather today was pretty irregular, as it is getting into autumn and the weather is changing. The day started out warm and sunny, but by the time we went out to shoot it was cloudy. Later it started on-and-off raining, and by the end of the day it was very cold and windy as well! This made the lighting slightly irregular, but I think it didn't affect my photos too much. It did affect us though! Shooting in the cold, windy rain is not my favourite conditions. Something I'd like to improve on overall would be organization of timing- in this case a sort of schedule of my project. I'll post one of these later this week.
An update: I was thinking that instead of just sending each municipality, (probably through it's mayor) one of my books, I'll send them a letter first asking if they even WANT it. Of course this will be a professional letter, and I'll probably put a copy on the blog as well. The one thing I can't decide on is email vs. an actual letter. I'm wondering which one will get to the actual mayor, (vs. a secretary who might throw it out thinking its spam). I'll talk to Mr. OC about this.*
Oct. 19, 2012
Today I went to a train track bridge close to my house and took pictures there! It was only one site, but I spent about forty minutes taking pictures and thirty minutes editing them. I took 99 pictures! If only I'd taken one more... and I got some video footage of me talking about the project for the video about the project. This is a picture I took today after editing. One challenge I had this week was planning my weekend, as my parents were supposed to be away and so rides to sites would be less structured. Luckily for me but unluckily for them, my parent's flight was cancelled and they stayed in Vancouver. Rides won't be a problem, and that will give me more time to worry about other things like my Nov. 1st deadline for research! My hope is to have around 10 sources by then, and I think I will continue researching after if something comes up that would be useful to my project.
This week I also asked Mr. Cawkell and Mr. OC if the "physical evidence" due Jan. 9th could be my book online instead of the actual book, and both said yes! This gives me a lot more time for editing the book/movie and taking pictures/going to sites! Also got back my first interview (with Jacqueline Windh) which is posted under the Research section in two parts. Sent out my second interview questions, hopefully those will be back by the 22nd! Everything is going smoothly. Tomorrow I'll be going out to Burnaby for more sites, so keep reading for more pictures and updates!
I just wanted to take a minute to talk about my project outline, as well. Basically this outlines how I'll use my research in my project . Below is a little question/answer section I did about this.
How am I going to use my research to:
Create my product?
I'll be using my research on each book creating website, as well as some information from my interviews, to help me create the actual products, the book and movie. I'll also be using the great advice I'm getting from my interviews in reference to the tangible pictures themselves to help me. So far the research has helped me a lot!
Develop techniques to carry out the product?
This is where I'll be using the research I did on photography (mainly works cited 1) to take the pictures for the final product. The whole of both of my interviews will also be used here to help me when taking the pictures themselves. The advice I'm getting from real photographers is really helping as well, as the things I'm hearing are always in the back of my mind when I'm photographing.
Support and develop my AOI?
All of my research helps me add to my portrayal of my AOI, Community and Service. Through the research I'm doing, I'm learning so much about my city and I'm very excited to share it with others! Through my book and movie, my school community and hopefully my local community as well will learn about Vancouver just like I did through my research. The research that most applies to this area is that of the specific sites, which I did a couple of notes on. I'll be building on it as I go to more and more sites.
This week I also asked Mr. Cawkell and Mr. OC if the "physical evidence" due Jan. 9th could be my book online instead of the actual book, and both said yes! This gives me a lot more time for editing the book/movie and taking pictures/going to sites! Also got back my first interview (with Jacqueline Windh) which is posted under the Research section in two parts. Sent out my second interview questions, hopefully those will be back by the 22nd! Everything is going smoothly. Tomorrow I'll be going out to Burnaby for more sites, so keep reading for more pictures and updates!
I just wanted to take a minute to talk about my project outline, as well. Basically this outlines how I'll use my research in my project . Below is a little question/answer section I did about this.
How am I going to use my research to:
Create my product?
I'll be using my research on each book creating website, as well as some information from my interviews, to help me create the actual products, the book and movie. I'll also be using the great advice I'm getting from my interviews in reference to the tangible pictures themselves to help me. So far the research has helped me a lot!
Develop techniques to carry out the product?
This is where I'll be using the research I did on photography (mainly works cited 1) to take the pictures for the final product. The whole of both of my interviews will also be used here to help me when taking the pictures themselves. The advice I'm getting from real photographers is really helping as well, as the things I'm hearing are always in the back of my mind when I'm photographing.
Support and develop my AOI?
All of my research helps me add to my portrayal of my AOI, Community and Service. Through the research I'm doing, I'm learning so much about my city and I'm very excited to share it with others! Through my book and movie, my school community and hopefully my local community as well will learn about Vancouver just like I did through my research. The research that most applies to this area is that of the specific sites, which I did a couple of notes on. I'll be building on it as I go to more and more sites.
Oct. 14, 2012
Sites: 1
Time photographing: 1 1/2 hours
Time editing: 30 mins
We just went out quickly to a site my mom knew of called Maplewood Flats Conservatory. I took 166 pictures and we saw some deer! Successful day without any issues, also emailed my interview out to my family friend Jackie, hopefully I'll get the answers by mid-week.
Time photographing: 1 1/2 hours
Time editing: 30 mins
We just went out quickly to a site my mom knew of called Maplewood Flats Conservatory. I took 166 pictures and we saw some deer! Successful day without any issues, also emailed my interview out to my family friend Jackie, hopefully I'll get the answers by mid-week.
Oct. 13, 2012
Sites: 5
Time photographing: 3 hours (2pm-5pm)
Time editing: 1 hour
Today we went to five sites! They were all in Vancouver City, mostly alleys because that was what I was looking for. We also went to an abandonned/run down warehouse! That was really cool. When we were walking between alleys I actually saw Blood Alley (a famous Vancouver alley) and down the alley a little ways was a bride and groom doing their wedding pictures! It really inspired me to keep working, just seeing real photographers in action. The challenge we faced this time was just finding places to go. I had an idea in my mind of the type of alley I wanted, and my lovely parents drove around until we found ones "up to my standard". It did add onto time though, which is why we were out for so long. The goals of my project are being met so far, and I've decided to go out about 4 or 5 more times and then get down to making the actual book and movie. Hopefully I can be done editing by around Dec. 15th or so, so I can send in the book to be made, but I want to ask also about "physical evidence" (due Jan. 9th). I'm hoping that "physical evidence" could be just showing the layout of the book online, as that would give me so much more time to photograph and edit! I'll ask on in the coming week. I'm also making questions this weekend- because I've got an interview set up! My good family friend Jackie is willing to interview, so I need to email my questions by Monday or so. I'll be researching as well, tomorrow.
Time photographing: 3 hours (2pm-5pm)
Time editing: 1 hour
Today we went to five sites! They were all in Vancouver City, mostly alleys because that was what I was looking for. We also went to an abandonned/run down warehouse! That was really cool. When we were walking between alleys I actually saw Blood Alley (a famous Vancouver alley) and down the alley a little ways was a bride and groom doing their wedding pictures! It really inspired me to keep working, just seeing real photographers in action. The challenge we faced this time was just finding places to go. I had an idea in my mind of the type of alley I wanted, and my lovely parents drove around until we found ones "up to my standard". It did add onto time though, which is why we were out for so long. The goals of my project are being met so far, and I've decided to go out about 4 or 5 more times and then get down to making the actual book and movie. Hopefully I can be done editing by around Dec. 15th or so, so I can send in the book to be made, but I want to ask also about "physical evidence" (due Jan. 9th). I'm hoping that "physical evidence" could be just showing the layout of the book online, as that would give me so much more time to photograph and edit! I'll ask on in the coming week. I'm also making questions this weekend- because I've got an interview set up! My good family friend Jackie is willing to interview, so I need to email my questions by Monday or so. I'll be researching as well, tomorrow.
Oct. 8, 2012
Sites:3
Time photographing: 2 hours (4pm-6pm)
Time editing: 40 mins
Today we went to three sites, all in North Vancouver. We first went to the sawdust mill/piles, and then an abandoned yard full of metal structures and pieces, and finally a little bridge in Lynn Valley. The only real challenge we had was timing, as we really wanted to shoot during the two hours before sunset. We did manage to get it all done though, so no real problem. Today was more about finding sites randomly, as we just drove around until we found something suitable for my goals and project success. Its starting to become more apparent as to what I need to improve upon for this project to go smoothly, and it seems so far that the only thing is timing. What I mean by this is that I need to figure out how much longer I have to shoot/edit, and when I need to start editing the actual book (which means I need to choose a publisher as well!). I also want to figure out when I need to send in the book so as to get it back by Jan. 9th, the due date for project evidence.
Time photographing: 2 hours (4pm-6pm)
Time editing: 40 mins
Today we went to three sites, all in North Vancouver. We first went to the sawdust mill/piles, and then an abandoned yard full of metal structures and pieces, and finally a little bridge in Lynn Valley. The only real challenge we had was timing, as we really wanted to shoot during the two hours before sunset. We did manage to get it all done though, so no real problem. Today was more about finding sites randomly, as we just drove around until we found something suitable for my goals and project success. Its starting to become more apparent as to what I need to improve upon for this project to go smoothly, and it seems so far that the only thing is timing. What I mean by this is that I need to figure out how much longer I have to shoot/edit, and when I need to start editing the actual book (which means I need to choose a publisher as well!). I also want to figure out when I need to send in the book so as to get it back by Jan. 9th, the due date for project evidence.
Oct. 6, 2012
Yesterday we went to four sites and took 125 pictures. We went to Richmond for 3 of the 4 sites, Steveston Harbour, a pumpkin patch, and the London Park Dyke Trail. On our way back to Vancouver, we found a construction site in Downtown Vancouver and I took a couple of pictures for another site. We were actually out for about 3 and a half hours due to traffic and travel time, plus the amount of sites and I edited today for around an hour and a half. I also took some video clips for my project video if I'm going to make one. Editing and narrowing down is still going well, all on track and no issues so far. The only problem we really faced was traffic which held us back a lot. We could have cut down the time by about an hour I think if the traffic was better, but we got all the work done without rushing too much so it went well in my opinion. I've added two more tabs to the top bar: a Research tab for all of my research and a Working Works Cited tab for the citations I need. It really helps that this week we got another tutorial on MLA! The project is on track.
Oct. 1, 2012
Yesterday I organized, narrowed down, and edited my pictures. The picture here is a teaser for the Thunderbird Marina site! I organized my pictures into files based on date and site, and then narrowed down the large selection to 10 a site. I know I won't be using all 10 for each, but because I don't know for sure how many I'm going to use yet I thought "better safe than sorry" and chose 10. I also decided to do some mild editing on all of my pictures for this project, mainly just chanigng things like sharpness and brightness but I may make some pictures black and white or sepia, seeing how it goes. I think I did about 45 mins of editing.
There were a couple of difficulties this week but not many, as the project is just beginning! First of all, I would have loved the weather to be a bit better for the pictures, as it was fairly cloudy and chilly. After looking back on the pictures though, I think the clouds added a nice light to the pictures so it wasn't really a problem. I want to experiment going out to my different places at all times of the day; especially 2 hours before sunset/after sunrise. The light at these times is amazing! Another problem I faced was not being able to focus my camera while on the ocean because the waves were fairly big and made the boat dip a lot. This forced me to find a solution, which I did by asking my parents to stop the boat and using my tripod to steady the camera. A last challenge I faced was getting close to the industrial parts and Sulpher piles, as it isn't very easy to by boat or on foot. Luckily we were allowed to get close enough to take good pictures like this one.
For this week, I'm on time with my goals and succeeding in them. If the rest of the project goes as smoothly as this, I should be able to put out a great product! The next week will be about research on people who've done this kind of thing before, to get a comparison for my project. I'll be posting the links and any relevant information here. I haven't used any resources yet so I might just have a working bibliography in another tab at the top, as well.
There were a couple of difficulties this week but not many, as the project is just beginning! First of all, I would have loved the weather to be a bit better for the pictures, as it was fairly cloudy and chilly. After looking back on the pictures though, I think the clouds added a nice light to the pictures so it wasn't really a problem. I want to experiment going out to my different places at all times of the day; especially 2 hours before sunset/after sunrise. The light at these times is amazing! Another problem I faced was not being able to focus my camera while on the ocean because the waves were fairly big and made the boat dip a lot. This forced me to find a solution, which I did by asking my parents to stop the boat and using my tripod to steady the camera. A last challenge I faced was getting close to the industrial parts and Sulpher piles, as it isn't very easy to by boat or on foot. Luckily we were allowed to get close enough to take good pictures like this one.
For this week, I'm on time with my goals and succeeding in them. If the rest of the project goes as smoothly as this, I should be able to put out a great product! The next week will be about research on people who've done this kind of thing before, to get a comparison for my project. I'll be posting the links and any relevant information here. I haven't used any resources yet so I might just have a working bibliography in another tab at the top, as well.
Sept. 29, 2012
Sept. 23, 2012
List of possible photo book making companies:
- Shutterfly http://www.shutterfly.com/?escFlag=1
- Snap Mylife Creations http://www.snapmylifecreations.com/StylesAndPricing?gclid=CN7ogv6MzbICFQWCQgodQQ4Ajw
- Blurb Bookify http://www.blurb.ca/make/bookify
- Mixbook http://www.mixbook.com/photo-books?mbt_medium=cpc&mbt_source=google&mbt_keyword=photo%20book&mbt_content=7337879560&mbt_campaign=Books%20Search%20Exact%20CA&mbt_match&mbt_adgroup=Photo%20Book-photo%20book&gclid=CIn6kYH6zLICFeeDQgodKkkAwA
- Shutterfly http://www.shutterfly.com/?escFlag=1
- Snap Mylife Creations http://www.snapmylifecreations.com/StylesAndPricing?gclid=CN7ogv6MzbICFQWCQgodQQ4Ajw
- Blurb Bookify http://www.blurb.ca/make/bookify
- Mixbook http://www.mixbook.com/photo-books?mbt_medium=cpc&mbt_source=google&mbt_keyword=photo%20book&mbt_content=7337879560&mbt_campaign=Books%20Search%20Exact%20CA&mbt_match&mbt_adgroup=Photo%20Book-photo%20book&gclid=CIn6kYH6zLICFeeDQgodKkkAwA
Sept. 21, 2012
My second blog here. After I'm done brainstorming today, I'll change my URL, blog title, and blog description to what my project is about!
After talking it over with my parents, I think I want to go with the last idea! I could also write a bit about each site I go to... as a bit of history added to the project. I'll make a Shutterfly album of the pictures in the end. The only thing is I want to add more to the project involving donation or giving to people.
Possible ways to give back:
- Sell the book and donate the money to charity
- Ask to show the pictures on the Mulgrave Lobby monitors?
- Give the book to the Mulgrave Library
- Donate the book to anywhere I took pictures
- Donate the book to each of the MUNICIPALITIES I took pictures in (libraries?)
I actually like most of these ideas, but simply because of time I'll probably go with 2, 3, and 5. I'll need to quickly research how long it takes to get my Shutterfly book back after sending it away... I need "physical evidence" of it by Jan. 9th. That may mean I need to send it away in early December! More notes on that to come.
Buzz words for my project name:
- Everyday
- Greater Vancouver
- Lower Mainland
- The Glass City
- Beyond
- Not touristic
- Not cliche
- Perspective
- Sites
- Uncommon
- Unusual
The name can be in two parts... I think I'll do that so I can really let people know what my project is about clearly. I want both parts to include a sort of spacial place name (eg Greater Vancouver) and both to include something about my actual project (eg not cliche). Using the buzz words above, I'll come back with a name soon.
* * * * *
I tried different combinations of the buzz words for about ten minutes, and I decided on Perspectives of the Glass City; Greater Vancouver Beyond the Tourist Sites. I think it sounds really good! I'll now change my blog URL, description on the home screen, and blog title to revolve around my project. After that I'll go fill out the Statement of Intent for my due date; Monday, Sept. 24, 2012.
I know these first blogs are long, but they'll get more focused once I've got a teacher spervisor and I know what I'm doing!
After talking it over with my parents, I think I want to go with the last idea! I could also write a bit about each site I go to... as a bit of history added to the project. I'll make a Shutterfly album of the pictures in the end. The only thing is I want to add more to the project involving donation or giving to people.
Possible ways to give back:
- Sell the book and donate the money to charity
- Ask to show the pictures on the Mulgrave Lobby monitors?
- Give the book to the Mulgrave Library
- Donate the book to anywhere I took pictures
- Donate the book to each of the MUNICIPALITIES I took pictures in (libraries?)
I actually like most of these ideas, but simply because of time I'll probably go with 2, 3, and 5. I'll need to quickly research how long it takes to get my Shutterfly book back after sending it away... I need "physical evidence" of it by Jan. 9th. That may mean I need to send it away in early December! More notes on that to come.
Buzz words for my project name:
- Everyday
- Greater Vancouver
- Lower Mainland
- The Glass City
- Beyond
- Not touristic
- Not cliche
- Perspective
- Sites
- Uncommon
- Unusual
The name can be in two parts... I think I'll do that so I can really let people know what my project is about clearly. I want both parts to include a sort of spacial place name (eg Greater Vancouver) and both to include something about my actual project (eg not cliche). Using the buzz words above, I'll come back with a name soon.
* * * * *
I tried different combinations of the buzz words for about ten minutes, and I decided on Perspectives of the Glass City; Greater Vancouver Beyond the Tourist Sites. I think it sounds really good! I'll now change my blog URL, description on the home screen, and blog title to revolve around my project. After that I'll go fill out the Statement of Intent for my due date; Monday, Sept. 24, 2012.
I know these first blogs are long, but they'll get more focused once I've got a teacher spervisor and I know what I'm doing!
Sept. 18, 2012
First Blog! Today I'll be brainstorming my project.
Lets start with my Area of Interaction. The AOI I want to use is Community and Service.
This is because:
- I want to share my passions with others
- I think I could easily choose a project in this area
I think I want my focus to be photography, because I've always loved it and I want to pursue it further. I do it in my spare time because I enjoy it, so it would be a natural extension for me to utilise my experience in my Personal Project. This would also be easy to share with people, as my love for it would hopefully come through in my pictures.
So I want to do photography. But what should I take pictures of? I think I want to show my community, so maybe Vancouver? Or specifically Mulgrave? I could make it a bigger range and do Greater Vancouver instead. I want to teach people about something here... so maybe I should teach a bit of history or background story in my project.
Ideas:
- pictures of people from around Greater Vancouver (get their stories?)
- pictures of historial monuments (and their history) in Vancouver
- pictures of popular tourist destinations from a different angle or perspective
- pictures of NON popular tourist destinations- showing the behind the scenes of Greater Vancouver
I'll brainstorm more in my next entry, which I'll post later this week!
-Lauren
Lets start with my Area of Interaction. The AOI I want to use is Community and Service.
This is because:
- I want to share my passions with others
- I think I could easily choose a project in this area
I think I want my focus to be photography, because I've always loved it and I want to pursue it further. I do it in my spare time because I enjoy it, so it would be a natural extension for me to utilise my experience in my Personal Project. This would also be easy to share with people, as my love for it would hopefully come through in my pictures.
So I want to do photography. But what should I take pictures of? I think I want to show my community, so maybe Vancouver? Or specifically Mulgrave? I could make it a bigger range and do Greater Vancouver instead. I want to teach people about something here... so maybe I should teach a bit of history or background story in my project.
Ideas:
- pictures of people from around Greater Vancouver (get their stories?)
- pictures of historial monuments (and their history) in Vancouver
- pictures of popular tourist destinations from a different angle or perspective
- pictures of NON popular tourist destinations- showing the behind the scenes of Greater Vancouver
I'll brainstorm more in my next entry, which I'll post later this week!
-Lauren