Things don’t always go according to plan. Like when you were little and you wanted a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for lunch but your mom packed turkey. Or in high school when your secret crush doesn’t ask you to prom and you end up going with that nice but nerdy boy from math class. Or in college when you are trying to fly back to school after Spring break but the airline involuntarily bumps you from your flight so you miss a day of classes. I’ve flown quite a bit these past 4 years but that was a new one for me. In hindsight, it really wasn’t that big of a deal, and it was wonderful to have an extra evening with Jake and my fam. It just could have come at a little bit more convenient time, that’s all.

On top of regular classes and homework, my senior show is due in a week and a half. EEK. (I just had a mini panic attack). So this is a head’s up that, once again, my posts might not be as frequent. I’ll definitely be posting as often as I can, but this month is gonna be cuh-razy! But the show must go on. So yeah. Heads up.

On a slightly random note, I’ve been quite impressed with the food provided by airports these days. This might have been one of the best tuna sandwiches I’ve ever had. (I went to a sit-down place before my flight home because I had some time to kill. And I was hungry.) It was seriously legit. The fruit was delicious too. Mmmm. Now if they would just charge normal instead of jacked up travel pricing…

One of the classes I’m taking this semester is called Contemporary Photography, a class where we learn lots of alternative printing processes (same class I made Mr. Pinhole for). Well, I was recently assigned to teach and give the class a demonstration on the Salted Paper Process, or salt prints. I figured, why not share this information with all of you? (So, you might read through this and think that it’s totally boring, and that’s ok. I just thought there might be someone out there who is interested in alternative printing processes and would find it useful. I won’t be offended if you don’t read through the whole thing ;) haha) It’s actually quite simple, and something you can do from your own home! All it takes is a little table salt and a few chemicals…

First Step: Making the Salt Solution. You’ll need Sodium Chloride (aka table salt), distilled water, a glass rod, some sort of heating tray, containers for the measuring and mixing the solution, a tray or pan to pour the finished solution into, and the paper you will be printing on.

• Fill the hot tray with water and turn the heat on.
• Measure out 500 mL of distilled water and 10.0 g of Sodium Chloride.
• When water is near boiling, put a container into the water and pour the water and Sodium Chloride in.
• Mix together your distilled water and Sodium Chloride with a glass rod.
• After the salt has completely dissolved, pour it into a tray.
• Totally submerse the paper into the tray, flipping it over several times until its completely wet.
• Hang to dry.

Second Step: The Silver Nitrate Solution. You’ll need Silver Nitrate, distilled Water, a glass rod, heating tray, containers, an eye dropper, the dried/coated salt paper from Step 1, a glass plate, tape, and scissors.

SAFETY PRECAUTIONS: Silver Nitrate is a really dangerous chemical. Don’t do this where kids could get into it, and be sure to take protective measures. Seriously, if you’re not careful, it could blind you or burn your skin. I’m not telling you this to scare you, because as long as you are careful and respect the chemical for what it can do, you’ll be just fine. But you should really use gloves and goggles during this part, and avoid contact with eyes and skin. (This is my cheese face.)

• Measure out 10 g of Silver Nitrate and 100 mL of distilled water.
• Warm the water in the heating tray like before.
• This next part is the tricky part. From here on out, you need to do the rest in the dark, or if you have a red light, a place where the paper will not be exposed.
• When water is warm, GO INTO THE DARK. It is imperative that from this point on you do everything in the dark, as the solution you are making will be light sensitive.
• Once in your darkroom, mix water and Silver Nitrate together with a glass rod until dissolved.
• After your solution has been made, take your fully dried and coated salt paper, and tape it to the glass plate on all four corners. (This doesn’t have to be done in the dark, as long as the solution stays in the dark).
• Take your paper, the glass plate, and the eye dropper into the darkroom.
• Get some solution in the eye dropper, and make a line across the top of the paper with it.
• Immediately, use the glass rod to softly run the solution over the entire piece of paper.
• Switch directions and continue as necessary, applying more solution if needed.
• Another option is to use a foam brush, which will give your picture a textured look from the brushstrokes, as opposed to smooth from the glass rod.
• Once the paper is evenly coated, lay it out to dry, still keeping it in the dark.

Third Step: Exposing the Paper. You will need your coated paper from Step 2, the negative you a planning to use, a glass plate, sunshine or another strong UV light source, and tape and scissors. (Sorry I don’t have any pictures for this section, as I did mine all in the dark…)

• There are actually several options for exposing your paper, including UV lights and actual sun exposure.
• I used a UV bed that we have my school, but direct sunlight works the best.
• Take your completely dried paper, and place it onto the glass, coated side up.
• Place the negative on top of the paper, emulsion side -the duller side- down (making it emulsion to emulsion).
• If desired, you can tape them into place to ensure proper registration.
• Once secured, take your materials outside into the sunlight or to whatever light source you are planning on using.
• Exposure times will probably never be exactly the same. Different factors (strength of light, contrast of negative, etc.) make it difficult to know exact times. You will have to experiment.
• But a good way to know it’s done is when it becomes difficult to see the image, because of the darks of the negative (where the sun is not shining through as much) and the darks on the paper (where the sun hit and the final image will be dark).
• Also, keep in mind that you will need to expose the print to look much darker than how you want the final product, because it will lighten significantly during washing and fixing.

Fourth Step: Rinsing and Fixing. You will need Sodium Thiosulfate, Sodium Bicarbonate or Ammonia, distilled water, and a few trays. (I would actually suggest mixing up these solutions while you wait for your paper to dry after Steps 1 or 2).

• Mix together 1000 mL of distilled water, 100 g of Sodium Thiosulfate, and either 2 g of Sodium Bicarbonate or 2 mL of Ammonia. (I used Ammonia). This makes your fix. Pour it into a tray.
• Once the fix is made and in a tray, fill two more trays with water.
• After the print is exposed, put it into the first tray of water for about 15 mins. This is to get rid of all the unexposed silver. You will actually be able to see the extra silver coming off.
• After the initial rinse, move your print over to the fix. Only leave it in for about a minute. This is enough to fix it, and the longer you leave it in the lighter the picture becomes.
• Finally, move your print to the third tray of water and leave it for about half an hour, to wash off any and all extra chemicals.
• Hang it to dry.
• You’re all done!

That probably seems like a lot. But I promise it’s really easier to do than it is to read. And that was just the most basic form of salt printing. You can also size the paper (dipping it into a gelatin solution before the salt solution) and that will give your picture a lot more contrast. You can tone your images, too, which will give them a different coloring than just a regular salt print. If you’re interested, here are a few common recipes…

A few alternative salting options: Gelatin Salting- Mix together 8 g gelatin, 18 g sodium citrate, 20 g ammonium chloride, 1000 mL distilled water. Fauver’s Gelatin Salting Formula- Mix together 20 g citric acid, 20 g, Kosher salt, 4 g Knox gelatin, 1000 mL distilled water. Both of those include sizing and salting in one, so you technically skip a step and have nice and contrasty pictures!

A few toning options: Gold-Borax Toner (warm/reddish color)- Mix together 800 mL distilled water at 100 degrees, 6 g borax, 12 mL 1% gold chloride solution. Palladium Toner (reddish-brown to slate gray)- Mix together 450 mL distilled water, 2.5 mL sodium chloropalladite (15% solution), 2.5 g sodium chloride, 2.5 g citric acid, Distilled water to make 500 mL. Platinum Toner (warm brown/gray/yellow)- Mix together 450 mL distilled water, 1.5 mL potassium chloroplatinite, 2.5 g citric acid, 2.5 g sodium chloride, Distilled water to make 500 mL.

So there you have it! Here is the print I will be turning in. I sized it and salted it separately, and used a gold toner on it. (Although scanning never does it justice..) Fun stuff :)

Sometimes I talk to myself. You know, just little comments here and there. Such as That cupcake was delicious! Or Carissa you should probably hit the gym now because you just ate that cupcake. Things like that. Today it was.. A week?? Really Carissa?! A whole week without blogging?? I know guys. I’m sorry. I’m disappointed in myself. Big choke. All I can say is that the past week has been insane. I was running around, basically like a chicken with my head cut off, trying to get things done before my spring break. Good news, I made it! And who was waiting for me when I got home?

That’s right, my little puppers, Frisky. He was waiting for me, like he always does, tail wagging exuberantly and tongue ready for attack. Even though I’ve jumped right into wedding plans since getting back and I haven’t actually been home that much, he still gets just as excited to see me every time I walk in the door. That is unless he’s sleeping and doesn’t hear me come in. He will always be my little puppy, but he  is definitely getting old. He lays around and sleeps most of the time. I’m actually kind of jealous. What a great life… getting treats, pets on the head, and sleeping whenever you want. Not a bad life at all. It’s a dog’s life.

First I just want to say THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU to everyone who entered! Reading all of your encouraging words was so uplifting, and I thoroughly enjoyed listening to everyone’s song choices! I really can’t say thank you enough for all of the support and love. Makes me feel so blessed :) I must admit, I’m sooo glad that I made this a random drawing, because it was hard enough picking a name out of a hat! It would have been extremely difficult to choose just one of you and your songs to win. Honestly, I wish all of you could have won. (I will say, though, that Mark Kimble just might have won with his song choice… so precious!)

However, there could only be one winner, so I sat down and wrote out everyone’s name, folded the papers, and put them in one of my baseball caps. I was actually really nervous haha. But I managed to pull a name out, and I am happy to announce the winner of my Valentine’s Day Contest “In the Name of Love” is:

EMILY DRUDGE!!!

Congratulations Emily!!! I’m so excited to work with you!! Be sure to check your email to get the details :) Also, if you remember, I mentioned that the person with the most referrals would receive a 5 x 7 Italy print, and the winner of that is Leah Englebert-Fenton!!! Thank you Leah, for spreading the love!! You’re so great! Lastly, it has come to my attention that some people were wanting to purchase Italy prints on their own, and if you interested in that, feel free to click here to see the full gallery and pricing. Thank you, again, to everyone who entered! I had a ton of fun doing this, so keep your eyes peeled because I might just have to hold another contest later this year :) Have a wonderful Monday!

You may remember a few months ago when I blogged about my cousin Allie’s bridal shower. Well, February 6, 2010, Allie and Neil were officially named man and wife!!! A beautiful, crisp Saturday morning at the Bolingbrook Golf Club became a ridiculously fun evening of partying and dancing the night away. It was SOO much fun to be all together as family, enjoying life and celebrating love. I know I know, I sound like a broken record when I say this, but seriously, I lurrrrve my family!!! Can’t get enough of them. It was an amazing day.

Allie and Neil chose the extremely talented Jessica Rifis of Passions Productions Co to be their photographer for the big day. She did an incredible job and I can’t wait to see her pictures! However, I couldn’t attend such a monumental event (first Fine cousin to get married- it’s a big deal lol) without snapping a few myself ;) Allie asked me to take some pictures of her and her bridal party getting ready, which I was honored to do. And of course, I couldn’t stop myself from taking a few pictures during the reception! I love dance parties :) Here are some of my favorites from the day. Enjoy!

The curly-headed bride!

Some finishing touches.

Stunning.

And oh yeah. The cookies. Mmmm.

I was obsessed with these little Coke bottles. Seriously, I drank one even though I wasn’t thirsty, just to say that I drank one.

These next two shots were taken with my Composer.

Dress detail.

Every princess deserves a crown. Or a tiara. Either way.

The rings! (And yes, the Coke bottle).

Becoming even more beautiful.

Gawgeous.

I love this one for some reason.

Ready to put the dress on and loving life!!

The Maid of Honor, Allie’s sister Emily!

Another Composer shot.

Getting ready for a wedding takes a lot of work! But it’s fun work :)

Emily’s hair turned out awesome!

See? Amazing!

As my mom always says, better safe than sorry! Haha.

Last but definitely not least, the mother of the bride, my aunt Jeanette!

Aunt J, you look lovely :)

We enjoyed laughs and a few tears during a stunning ceremony… and then it was party time! And what was waiting for us at our tables? None other than… more cookies!! (I’m not complaining).

Check out that cake!

Come on. If you know me, you know there was going to be pictures of the food.

Let’s just not even talk about how amazing this was…

These are my parents, still so in love. I’m blessed.

Mother and Grandpa of the bride.

Allie and Neil breaking it down!

Hahaha. Yes, I am related to these two…

The Father of the bride showing us how it’s done!

Love these shots. If only there was audio so you could hear the laughter…

Get it Uncle Lou!!!

Line Dancing. Everybody clap your hands!

I’ll end with a picture of the cake :) (If you’re wondering, it tasted even better than it looks.) Love you Allie and Neil!!!!

Things I’ve done recently:

Just now- almost burnt some pasta.

This morning- did my laundry, complete with folding and putting away.

Yesterday- edited some pictures, which I will be blogging soon.

A few days ago- watched The Devil Wears Prada for the first time. By myself. And I enjoyed it.

Last week- MADE my own camera. Out of a BOX.

Yes folks. Last week, I made what is known as a pinhole camera. Technically, you aren’t limited to creating a pinhole camera out of a box. You could make it out of almost anything that can close off light. For instance, this guy made a pinhole camera out of a Volkswagen van. Are you kidding me?! Doesn’t get much cooler than that! Unfortunately, my box is not that cool. But still, I’ve actually grown quite fond of the little guy. If you want to make your own pinhole camera, it’s easy-peasy. There are lots of websites that give great instructions. Seriously, just Google it. I’m pretty sure you can even order a pinhole camera kit from Amazon. (But I wouldn’t recommend it. I mean, that’s slightly cheating. Plus, creating the camera from scratch is half the fun!) I’ll just give some really basic guidelines.

First, you need some sort of container that has a lid, so that it can close off light. Cut a hole into one side of it, trying to make it as centered as possible. Next, take a piece of tinfoil, part of a soda can, or any other type of thin metal, and gently poke a needle through it, making it as small of a hole is you can. Or use a pin. (Hence the name pinhole. Ha.) Then glue, tape, or otherwise adhere the metal inside of your container, trying to center the pinhole in the center of the hole you cut out of the container. Once you’ve got that in place, make a shutter, which can be as simple as a flap of tape that you lift up and close over the hole. Get some pins to load the film (basically just pin the film into the side opposite the pinhole, and, of course, load in complete darkness), and start experimenting!

Like I said, that was super general, and there are many, many ways to make pinhole cameras crazily high-tech and efficient.  I just wanted to share the simplicity of the process because it fascinates me that box with a hole in it can create a picture! Isn’t that seriously awesome?? Well, I think it is… so humor me and my nerdiness, just this once. Thanks :)

Here is Mr. Pinhole. (Yes, I named him Mr. Pinhole. I’m so original.)

I added black felt around the inside, to help block out any light leaks, and I put a wall halfway into the box to load the film onto, because I didn’t want it to be extremely panoramic. (The farther the film is from the whole, the wider the image you will get.)

Here is my collection of pins for loading the film. (There are other ways than pinning the film, too. That is probably just the quickest solution.)

The pinhole, from the inside. If you tape it, make sure you use black tape to prevent light leaks.

And from the front. You can see the pencil marks I drew from the corners of the box to make sure the hole was in the center.

Last but not least, the shutter. I got a box that had a handy little frame around the hole, so that I could just slide my shutter up an down accordingly. I made it out of card stock with some black tape around it. Simple, but it works.

And there your have it! That’s my pinhole camera. I went out and shot with it two different days. The first day, it was really sunny, so the pictures were very contrasty. The second day, it was snowing and really bleak, which made for some slightly dull images. But I’m still satisfied with how it came out.

Here are the successes of my two-day attempts.

Day #1:

Day #2:

Unfortunately, I was under a bit of a time crunch and I wasn’t able to spend the amount of hours I would have liked to on this project, but I fully plan on doing more experimenting, and I’ll be sure to post the images when I do :)

One last thing… Thank you to everyone who has entered the Valentine’s Day contest so far!! I’ve listened to each and every song you guys picked, and I’ve been loving it. You guys are awesome!! Stay tuned for the winner. And if you haven’t entered yet, it’s not too late! It’s open for 4 more days, so be sure and leave a comment :) Happy Wednesday!!

This morning I woke up and I thought I was in a garden. A luscious, beautifully smelling garden of roses. A garden where the birds chirp and the honeybees buzz along happily, and the sun pours through the trees like golden rays of joy…

Alright, maybe I didn’t actually think those words, but it definitely smelled good when I woke up. All thanks to the b-e-a-utiful bouquet of roses that Jake sent me! As I sat munching on my bowl of cereal this morning, enjoying the pretty flowers next to my desk and sun shining through the window, I wondered why I wasn’t sad. After all, this will be the 4th year in a row that I haven’t been able to spend Valentine’s Day with my valentine. As I thought about it, I realized two things. First, this will be the.very.last time ever that Jake and I will be apart on Valentine’s Day. And that is definitely something to be happy about.

Second, I really just love LOVE. Even if I can’t be with the one I love today, it seriously makes me happy to look around and see everyone else so smitten and loving life. Slightly jealous, maybe, but mostly happy. I truly believe that love is the most moving, the most powerful, and the most beautiful thing in the world. I’m not just talking about romantic love, either. The love between a child and a parent, between friends that become family, shoot even between man and man’s best friend. If there is one day a year for you to put aside your differences, come together and share some love, today is that day.

So, in the name of love, I’ve decided to hold my  first ever contest!!! Woo hooooo get excited!! Here are the details:

How to enter: Super easy!! All you have to do is leave a comment on this post stating what you consider to be the best love song ever. Just make sure to fill in your name and your email address (PLEASE make sure you type this in correctly because if you don’t I won’t have any way of contacting you!) and we’ll be good to go. Bring on the love!

The Prize: There are actually two prizes you can choose from! Awesome, right? First is a FREE PHOTO SHOOT :) for you and someone you love. Whether you just got engaged or you’ve been married 50 years, whether you want a mother/daughter shoot or pictures with your best friend, as long as its you and someone you love, you will receive a free shoot with a disc of the digital negatives. Score! Second option, if we are unable to meet up due to distance, timing, or any other unfortunate circumstances, don’t lose heart! You will recieve a FREE 8 x 10 PRINT of any of my Italy pictures! You can choose one from over 100 pictures from my time in Florence and Venice last year.

The Rules: There aren’t really any rules, except that you can only enter once. This contest will end in one week, February 21st, at midnight. On the 22nd I will randomly select from all the entries and announce the winner  :)  (A little extra incentive: if you refer people to this post and have them mention you when they enter, the person with the most referrals will also recieve a 5 x 7 Italy print :) So share the love!)

Alright I think that’s everything. Can’t wait to hear what songs you guys come up with! Here a few of my favorites from Italy, in case you hadn’t seen them… HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY!!!!!

(Best cappuccino I’ve ever tasted…)

This week was rough. Not doing a lick of homework at all last weekend definitely caught up with me during the week. But it was totally worth it :) Being with my entire family for 3 days straight… nothin’ better! I’m just thankful it’s the weekend again. Oh, and cherry on top, I got $15 to iTunes today! They were giving them out to students if they were willing to take this academic test. Basically it was to rate the school system or something like that. It took me longer than I thought it would, but again, totally worth it for the iTunes certificate. Now the only question is… what songs to buy? I’d love some suggestions. If you have any faves, feel free leave me a comment! Alright, onto the facts. I’ll start with the obvious.

Fact #1: Taking a test for an hour and 15 minutes to get a giftcard to iTunes = no brainer. Awesome.

Fact #2: I might have discovered what could possibly be the most amazing dessert ever. I will let you know as soon as I try it. (Which will be soon).

Fact #3: Snow is only fun when you live somewhere that you are able to utilize it. (In other words, the flatlands of Indiana make me dislike snow. And miss Park City.)

Fact #4: Pasta Roni is legit comfort food.

Fact #5: Starting a research paper the night before it’s due is just plain stupid. Doing this = little to no sleep, finishing 20 min. before its due, and arriving unshowered and smelly to class.

Fact #6: Hold on to your hats for this one… caramel and cheese officially go together. I wouldn’t have believed it either, but I tried it last weekend. And it’s true.

Fact #7: The Blackberry Pearl is officially on my hate (ok, strongly dislike) list. Last night it deleted all of my text messages and call history, and I can no longer receive texts and I am not notified if I miss a call. This is what we call no bueno.

Fact #8: When in Rome is a lame chick flick. Hate to break it to you. I mean, I’m pretty easy to please and even I thought it was lame. So that’s saying something.

Fact #9: Cookies are always in style.

These are some cookies from my cousin’s winter wedding last weekend. They were delicious :)

Happy Friday!!!

(Sorry I don’t know why it’s doing the double picture thing! :/ I’m annoyed.)

Rewind to about 7 years ago. It was Carl’s freshman year at Trinity International University. Sure he was excited for new classes, new friends, and dorm life. But deep down, he was there for one reason, and one reason only: to play basketball. This passion had started almost as soon as he could walk. Basketball was his dream, his love, his life.

That is of course, until he saw her. Across the weight room that freshman year, he spotted Summer, a varsity player on the women’s basketball team. Naturally, Summer wanted nothing to do with him at first. She was focused on basketball and schoolwork, and was unconcerned with her new admirer. However, his persistence, humorous attitude, not to mention his good looks (which he gets from me), finally won her over, and she never looked back.

Fast-forward 7 years. Summer is now the head women’s basketball coach at TUI, and Carl, now playing for a semi-pro team in Kankakee, is by her side every game  and every practice as an assistant coach. Through thick and thin, school and work, being streets away or states away, they’ve stayed together. You might call it love. But I call it love and basketball.

Carl and Sum, I could not be more excited for you guys!! Thank you for being such awesome role models in my life. I love you both very much and can’t wait to be able to officially call Summer my sister :) Oh and p.s. thank you for introducing me to Garrett’s Popcorn. I will never be the same.

I’ll start with this series, because it makes me smile. I now know firsthand why they call Chicago the Windy City!! For real.

So much laughing, it was awesome.

Ballin!!

Summer, you are so beautiful. Seriously.

And then we decided to go to Antarctica for a few pictures. Haha. But it was honestly so cold I thought we were going to get frostbite! INTENSE.

I found this street of trees and I was hooked.

I’ll end with my favorite, a shot from the bridge…

We finally finished our Save the Dates!!! I found a template from the blog of the Wedding Chicks (SUCH a great resource for wedding ideas and vendors!), and then edited it a bit to work for me and Jake. It was a lot more work than I had anticipated, but I’m pretty happy with the outcome! Next time, though (as if there will be a next time lol), I think I’d just go with someone else working and designing them!

Anyways. I sort of have this problem. With my attention span. Movies and TV shows have a tendency to suck me in. When I am watching something, it has my full attention. I don’t really mean to, but it’s bad. I just can’t help it. Like, even during commercials. For some reason, I am mesmerized. Jake claims when we have kids and we’re all sitting around watching a Disney movie together that I’ll be enjoying it more than the kids will. Sad thing is, he might be right. (Lion King forever!).

Either way, I kind of enjoy being able to escape reality. It helps me relax, take a break, and breathe, even if it’s only for a few moments during the day. Take right now, for instance. I should most definitely be doing homework, but I’m thinking I might have to take a break and catch up on ABC’s LOST. I just lurrrve this show. I can’t get enough. I will say, it’s not quite as good as Alias. That will forever be the best action series produced on TV! But, LOST comes pretty stinking close. Will they ever get off the island? Will Jack and Kate finally realize their undying love for each other? And seriously, where did Claire go?! All these questions and more will be answered in the final season of… LOST. Haha there you go I should be in TV advertisement. Or maybe I’ll just stick to being a viewer.  Either way. :)

(Image courtesy of starpulse.com)