Lay Me Down

I have spent a good part of the year traveling with two people creating a visually appealing story to go along with music. I couldn't have been paired with two more creative or talented people. Patrick is a Syracusian musician who spends all his time and energy into his passion of music. Marina Zarina, the videographer, I met through SU. She was one of those ghosts that you's see in class and you might catch wandering the halls every once in a while; but most of the time she'd spend hidden in a notebook, doodling endless ideas, working at a computer, or editing. The girl didn't stop, and that's what working with her was like. I got an incredible insight on how to go about working with a client and the whole process of shooting a video start to finish. Her process is sort of crazy but the end projects are beautiful.  

Patrick just released his newest song which has SUCH a good vibe to it. It just feels good to my soul. Patrick also asked me to photograph him for the release of the new song. It's been quite a year and I feel blessed being a part of this crew.

Photographs by Kristina Videography by Marina and Kristina Video Editing by Marina ZARINA!

Music by Patrick Breen. CHECK HIM OUT.

http://youtu.be/JHNXsDdd6kw

The Family at 22.

Tonight I had the opportunity to photograph an old friend from high school and her little family. We went to a local park and enjoyed the subtle sunset, the gorgeous fall leaves, talking to trees, and trying to sidestep the mud puddles. It was a lovely evening which reminded me of my love for photography. I've been  working so much taking photographs for school pictures which requires little thought and no knowledge of a camera. It pays bills but it is not the artistic outlet for me. Tonight capturing Xiao's little actions and expressions had me smiling all evening. I was glad to get my love back, just in time for Xiao to invite me over for dinner at house 22. He warmed my heart.

"Xiao, how old are you?"

"FIVE!"

Rein's senior shoot

I often find it difficult to create senior portraits for young men. The photos always come out cheesy and goofy. I was happy to have to opportunity to explore a little with my cousin, Reiner. I used to babysit this guy and he's more like a little brother than a cousin. The benefits to this being we had amazing communication on the shoot, me asking him if this was a stupid pose, him taking a few risks and climbing up the old dilapidated building that we shot at. It was fun and the photographs were HIM. He was so excited when he saw the site I brought him to, which was a really cool feeling for finding the perfect location.  

So, here are my favorites from the shoot. I'd be happy to take your senior photos as well and make them fit your personality. I'm loving these new challenges and explorations with my camera.

Maternity shoot

Lately, I am willing to make money any way I can with my camera. I have a rekindled love for photography and I am eager to make a living with it. So this weekend I brought my camera out to Buffalo to photograph some old friends getting ready for a new addition to the family. I was a little nervous and kept spouting off questions about names, babies, what it felt like... I've never done a maternity shoot before and a lot of my research was studio photography. So it was a little different photographing the couple outside in the public and being able to show the beauty of pregnancy under the different clothes. (A lot of shoots have nudity to show off the pregnant body). Not to mention the weather was pretty gray, so it made things a little unpredictable. Of course once we got to shooting, everything seemed normal. I scared my boyfriend into thinking I wanted babies right this moment. I witnessed the beautiful moments of Mark helping Nécole cross over the little streams. It was so simple and so sweet and it made me appreciate the little actions that make a difference instead of the grand gestures. I love the feeling of these photos which seemed to capture the sweet gestures of these soon to be parents. It was a good evening.

July 4th

Happy Fourth of July! It's been a busy few weeks and I have actually been involved in a few music video shoots. I'm hoping to fill my Summer with more photo shoots along the way.  

Just wanted to share some photos from yesterday's holiday for my own enjoyment. I am still in awe of my d600 and the capabilities. I definitely chose the right camera. I'm super excited for my new iphone 5 and the camera on it as well. No judgement, a camera is only a tool and a photograph is only as good as the person behind the camera.

Jo's first sparklers.

Thanks for sticking by me, if you're reading this.

ps Working on a Liberia video as well, I know this has been dragging on and on, but it should be worth the wait. fingers crossed.

That day I met Joe McNally

I know I've mentioned the fact that I'm in grad school, and I'm sure I've bragged where I'm learning all these amazing storytelling/photography skills because it is the top journalism school in the country and it's the first time I've been proud of my school. I applied to Newhouse and only Newhouse. I thought if God wanted me in grad school, he'd get me in, and if not, it wasn't meant to be. I ended up getting in. One of the main reasons I was drawn to this school was the long list of amazing alumni, but none more prominent than Joe McNally. This is a world famous National Geographic photographer who has mastered lighting and has traveled around the world shooting some of the most gorgeous photos my eyes have ever had the glory to see. Google him, you won't be disappointed.

This week, he came to my school to speak and I was lucky enough to be invited to an intimate barbeque where the grad students could meet and chat with Joe. I was fangirling just getting the email. A few days later, the former chair of photography at Newhouse invited us to bring some work and get some advice from Joe. I jumped to bring my little portfolio and get another set of eyes at it.

Professor Mike Davis gets a better view for photos and for listening to Joe McNally speak to the students.

I wasn't disappointed. First of all, Joe talked to us telling stories and answering questions. His quick wit and sass won us all over. He's a smart and thoughtful man. He told us how things were like, we can't expect to be given photo assignments. You have to work and fight for them. At times it almost seemed discouraging, and he even asked us if this was a depressing fact. However, we've always been told photography has to be a passion not a hobby.

Not a lot of people had brought work to show, which ended up being a good thing because Joe had had a long day. I was able to show him my 20 photos. He said I had some good photos but that I needed to dig deeper to get farther into the story. He said, my portfolio is a good group of photos but it didn't move him. This might be disappointing except with the criticism he gave me advice on my final masters project. Seriously, how amazing is that? He sparked my creativity which has been dead the last few weeks.

Photo by professor Deb Pang Davis.

He ended his trip with a lecture hall filled of all kinds of people going through his photographs and telling the stories and all about his trials and tribulations. He made us all laugh, (I might admit to a tear or two when he showed the last photograph he ever took of his mother) and he inspired a ton of people to be tenacious photographers. I am sincerely grateful for his review and inspiration. I felt like I met a hero and he exceeded my expectations of him. I'm sorry this is corny. It's been a rough few months and I'm getting to love my camera again.

I'll end this with a quote I wrote down from him, "I'm a photographer. Sometimes I get it, most times I miss it. We work hard at this. If we miss it, we just have to be comfortable with this."

Oh! And, "available light is the best light.

...and by available light I mean any god damn light that's available."

Mr and Mrs Frisino

I am finally back to Syracuse. Excited to be back to routine and scared of what comes next; but I'm ready.   Christmas break was an intense time and I spent the majority of it in a camera shop helping my boss and coworkers. I had projects galore, and I was finally able to finish the wedding photos from this fall.   Now, no offense to my other clients, but this past wedding was one of my favorites. Everything fit the bride and groom. It was a relaxing and beautiful wedding for them. They had one of their best friends marry them, their vows were catered to them, and their love was palpable. I think I loved this wedding because it made me feel... at home. I stayed at the grooms parents house because it was a few hours commute to the wedding. The house had such a nostalgic feel to it. It was gorgeous and open and at night there was a perfect view of the stars.   I also had a feeling this wedding would happen like this because I photographed them for an "engagement" shoot.

It was a way to get to know them and for them to see my work a little more. It was also a way to get to know the groom more. I had been friends with the bride, Tegan for a couple of years and we had been in a few classes together. Eric was still a mystery. I love getting to know people and feeling comfortable around them, and these two made it easy for that to happen.

So a big thank you to this couple and their families for making me feel at home.

And the ceremony.

Felted flowers.

Ridiculous resolution and retina

So, I have mentioned before that I am currently in Africa. Monrovia, Liberia to be exact. It's been a little over a week and I feel as I am just getting the rhythm of life over here. On this trip, my school, who I'm doing this through/with, let us borrow some equipment to be able to work over here. We each got a Nikon d800 and some audio equipment. I was a little disgusted with the size of the RAW images that the d800 takes. (I'm not even sure if I was disgusted in a good or bad way) For example, I think one file for the d800 at the highest resolution was 75 mb. I suppose if you have the space, it doesn't really matter. So I was sorting through my photographs today and I came across this photo of this little boy Kwaku with a beautiful reflection in his eyes. I was in Lightroom, so I zoomed in 1:1. It was a crisp and clear reflection of myself. I zoomed in farther, 3:1 and was astounded at the clarity of the reflection. There I could see myself, my classmates, Jim and Jess, and my professor sitting in a chair. See for yourself.

The clarity is astounding and I was pleased for an example to give people who are thinking about investing in a d800. They are incredible studio cameras with the ability to blow up for large scale prints. I believe the image size for a tiff I was working on was 170 inches by 95 inches, and I know they can be much much larger in size as well. Once again, I agree with the statement that d800's make spectacular studio cameras. They might not be ideal for travel because they are heavier and slower that the d600 but I'm appreciating the full frame on this trip!

I would also like to take a moment and say I recently bought a new macbook this past fall. I was using one from 2007, a computer that wouldn't update nor would it run Final Cut X or some other programs. I kept having to borrow a macbook pro and I felt guilty always taking their computer. So this year I decided to invest. I researched the hell out of the regular macs vs the retina, the ibook vs the MacBooks, etc. It was a long process, but after looking at my blog, side to side, one with the retina and one without I realized I needed the one with. After all it's probably the most useful for people like myself who work on images, photos, or designs. This new MacBook Pro uses 2880x1800, which equals a more than 5 Megapixel image. In terms of sharpness, it figures out to almost 221 pixels per inch. It's ridiculously sharp. I can only describe it by saying my photos are so vivid and sharp they almost look wet on the screen. If you're a photographer, it's worth the extra money to see your photos on the retina screen, in my opinion. Maybe I'm just trying to justify this decision, but I'm happy with the one I made.

Anyways, I am in Monrovia until Friday just trying to soak all of this in until then. Internet here is like it was in 1999, so I haven't been able to upload large amounts of photographs. I encourage you to be patient until my return. These photos and stories are worth the wait. Hope everyone is enjoying their new year. It's a clean slate, so try and make your life a positive one! Happy New Year everyone.

A breath of Liberia

This place is amazing. Sitting on the second floor and it's completely open, like a treehouse. A breeze is blowing and you can hear the buzz of commotion below as people commute to work. A sign says feel free to read, offering books and there are games too. To my left, I look to a rooftop where a young man helps his mother hang the wash on the line. The sun is bright so it won't take long for the clothes to dry.

It's a quiet time. I'm not rushed to lug my back around the city following Mae and her stories. I'm not running to ingest images that I've taken of the day. Right now, time is paused and I am enjoying my cup of coffee in a grown up tree fort.

D800 vs D600: Scott Kelbys Opinion

I wanted to post an article I found written by Scott Kelby. I've been thinking about upgrading my camera and I still don't know if I should be looking into the Nikon d600 or the d800.

After finding this article, I finally understand the differences and I'm excited I have an answer to this debacle.

Do you?

http://scottkelby.com/2012/the-nikon-d800-vs-the-d600-which-one-is-the-right-one-for-you/

"I’ve had a lot of people asking me in the past few weeks about whether they should get a Nikon D600 or Nikon D800.  In fact just this week a buddy of mine sent me an email asking that very question and I thought I would share with you pretty much what I told him.

Now before I do this I just want let you know that this is strictly my own opinion. I’m not DP Review and this is not a lab report. I’m certainly not speaking for Nikon here (in fact they would probably prefer I wasn’t speaking about this topic at all) but just know that this is a strictly how I see these two cameras after having shot with both of them (I actually own a D800) so at least I can share from using both in different shooting situations.

Is the D800 the D700′s replacement?

I think one of the big things that people thought when it first came out was that the D800 was the successor to the D700 and that makes sense because the number 800 comes after 700, and that’s pretty much the way Nikon has done product intros up to this point (the D200′s replacement was the D300. The D3′s replacement was the D4 and so on). However in my opinion I don’t think the D800 is a replacement for the D700 at all—it is completely different camera with a completely different customer in mind and here’s how to determine if you’re a potential D800 customer (again just from my experience and point of view):

The D800 is for you if you would be a medium format customer, but don’t want to pay $25,000 (or more) to enter that rarified air (in other words you need a very, very high resolution image file and that’s the most important thing but you’re not a full-time commercial photographer or a rich surgeon). So, who really needs a very very high resolution image file? Well, first off people who are shooting things where they need to capture a tremendous amount of detail, like commercial photographers shooting products. Though the D800 is also attractive if you are a landscape photographer or you primarily shoot cityscapes where keeping every little last bit of detail is of the utmost importance, then the D800 certainly fits that part of the bill.

But there more to it than just image file size

I don’t think that’s the main determining factor on whether you should get a D800. I think the main determining factor is actually “how large do you need to make your final images.” If you only show your images on the web, you’re pretty much wasting your money because the D800 hundred’s biggest feature is the ability to make very large prints which look very, very sharp. I’m not talking 16″ x 20″ prints — I’m talking about where 30″ x 40″ prints would be a small size print for you — I’m talking huge posters, backlit signs in the airport, billboards, and large output of that nature, and if that’s really what you’re doing, the D800 may be perfect for you because it has that 36-megapixel resolution that you really need to make sharp prints at huge sizes.

So, is it a Medium format camera in a DSLR body?

Now, while the D800 has a resolution that is similar to some medium format cameras, I don’t want you to think the D800 is a complete replacement for a medium format digital camera (or a digital back), because while it has a similar resolution, medium format cameras definitely have their own trademark look. There’s something special about the look of a medium format image that it unique to it. So while the D800 has incredible crispness, sharpness and all the stuff that is indicative of a medium format camera, the medium format cameras still have their own trademark look and feel. Some D800s would argue this point and say that their D800 files look better than a medium format. I’m not saying the Medium Format’s look is better. I’m just saying it has its own look (and some folks might like that look better).

So what’s the downside of a D800?

While for some folks the resolution is the best feature, for others it’s the biggest drawback. For example — I don’t think it makes a really great camera for travel photography.  For example if you shoot a simple five-frame HDR photo and you open that image in Photoshop —  those five images open on screen at one time is about six hundred megabytes. That’s 6/10 of a gig for one single HDR image (whew!).  Now imagine you’re stitching a pano with 14 frames. Something like that just really clogs up your pipeline in huge way (you’ll be stitching that pano for an hour). I know from first-hand experience because I took a D800 to Cuba and to Paris and while the images were sharp and crisp, the file sizes were just tremendous, and storage space really becomes an issue. You eat up memory cards like nobody’s business and you eat up your hard drive space like it going out of style, and your entire workflow is much slower because working with such huge files. Again, if you need files this big—no problem—perfectly understandable and you’re cool with all the extra headaches those file sizes bring, it’s great, but for most of us—working with those super high-resolution files will really be more trouble than they’re worth.

Contrast this with the old D700

I wouldn’t use the D800 for sports — the resolution is just too high to make it practical, and the frames per second rate is just too slow, and I’m sure Nikon would be the first ones to tell you it was never designed as a sports camera. In contrast, the D700 actually was pretty decent for sports, especially if you added the battery grip which pumped it up to eight frames per second, and I used it as my 2nd body on a number of occasions and it rocked.  Both cameras are great for portraits (though you might have to do some extra retouching with the D800 files because they pick up everything, and I mean everything), but again — if most of your images will be seen mostly on the web, I would have a hard time recommending that you by a D800.

The Nikon D600 is an entirely different story

I do see this camera as the upgraded replacement for the D700 (even though the model number is lower). Its file size is still pretty high (24 megapixels) but lower than the D800s 36-megapixels; it’s easier to work with its smaller files, it’s faster all around, and it’s got great video features.  That’s really how I see the D600 — a better D700. Take that great D700, then add great video features, and a few extra tweaks and updates and you’ve got the D600.

You can use it for travel and it works wonderfully well. You can shoot landscapes and it’s great for that too (and the images are still sharp and crisp), and you can shoot sports with it (I actually shot an NFL game with the D600 as my second body it while was a little slow, it took beautiful shots overall and I’d use it again).  I think this is a camera that will work for almost anything that you wanted to shoot and while it’s just an evolutionary step (where many would argue that the D800 was a revolutionary step because of its high resolution and sharpness at that price point) it’s a very good step in its evolution and an improvement over the D700, which is all we ever wanted, right — a better version of what we had. So, if you wanted to replace your D700 with something newer and better along the same lines (but with HD video), I think the D600 is that camera (and it’s about $1,000 cheaper than the D800).

So, which one takes better pictures?

Well, here’s the thing and its the big tiebreaker: where will you images be seen? If your images are seen on the web, I don’t think anyone will really be able to tell you, at web resolution, which shot was taken with the D800 or the D600 — even large sized images on the Web will look pretty much about the same (if not identical). However the one place where these two images will really hit that fork in the road is when you print really large images. At 13″ x 19″,  I think they would probably look very close to the naked eye if not identical.  At 30 x 40 , you’ll probably see a visible difference. As you get larger in size, the D800 images will really pull away from the D600s (or the D4′s for that matter), but you’ll have to go fairly big to start to see a real difference. So, honestly, unless you’re printing really large files, I’d have a hard time telling you to choose anything other than the D600 — it’s just that right camera at the right price with the right features for most of us.

Now, I know that since I’ve written this I will immediately hear from some photographers who’ll say “Scott, I have the D800 and it’s a wonderful travel photography camera” and then from someone else who uses it for sports and it’s perfect for them, and that’s fine— if you’re happy with your camera choice that’s great. Just remember this: loads of folks bought the D800 when it first came out, and I talked to a number of folks who bought it thinking it was the upgraded D700. That being said, it’s very, very, very rare to read anyone ever admit “I bought the wrong camera.” In fact, I’m not sure I’ve ever seen that sentence written online ever. As photographers, our job is to defend our purchase, and never admit we might have jumped the gun a bit, and I’m fully aware of that (and I hope you are, too). So, if you bought the D800 just to shoot Facebook profile photos for your clients, I fully expect you to tell my why you made the right choice. It’s OK. If you’re happy, that’s really all that matters.

They both have their Strengths and Differences

I shot with both cameras and they both have their strengths and weaknesses.  I think the reason why there are two separate cameras — the  D600 and D800 is because they were created for two very different customers and that’s a good thing because instead of just having just a D700 and D3 (like we used to have — just those two choices), now we’ve got this other camera in between (the D800) that I think actually replaces the very expensive D3x but at a fraction of the price, and I think that’s a great thing. The D3x was aimed at commercial photographers, and that’s who I think the D800 probably works best for, though those high res files may also appeal to some of us landscape and portrait photographers, too.

The bottom-line

There is nothing I hate more than reading a shootout review or article in a magazine comparing two or more cameras and at the end, the writer really doesn’t choose one or the other, they just kind of leave you with “Well, it depends on what you’re needs are, they’re both great cameras.” Well, duh. Every purchase we make depends on what our needs are. Well, I don’t want to leave you with that either, so I’m going to tell you what I told my friend. Get the D600.

I hope that helps you somewhat if you’re in that same “on the fence” situation between these two great cameras, and I hope it helps you make your decision that much easier. Cheers."

related: Photo Gear, Photography143

Posted by Scott Kelby

Editor and Publisher of Photoshop User Magazine, training director and instructor for the Adobe Photoshop Seminar Tour, President National Association of Photoshop Professionals (NAPP), CEO of Kelby Media Group, author of a string of bestselling technology books. Conference Technical Chair for the Photoshop World Conference & Expo, author of numerous Photoshop training DVDs and online courses, and co-host of PhotoshopTV, and "The Grid."

Finally published this year.

This is the first time I have ever had my words and photos published this year. I just wanted to say something about the experience. It's a very confusing experience to go out and work on a story and have less than 24 hours to come up with words that will impact someone. I am not always on time in my life, but this was important to me and I specifically spent the majority of my Sunday evening working on my article after I finished photographing a story on a clown named Coco. After several edits and forcing a lot of friends to read my article, I smiled as I submitted it three minutes before the deadline: a first.

Weeks went by and I waited anxiously for it to come out. I couldn't wait to see my name printed, my words on the pages surrounded by my photos. When it finally was published and placed around the school, I excitedly picked up an issue and leafed through it looking for Coco's story. I came across the one page of words. It seemed short, but I kept reading. The farther I read the more I realized that these really weren't my words. I mean the shell of the article was my words by the fluff, the wonderfully charming quotes and heartwarming jokes that Coco was full of was missing.

I closed the magazine and pouted on my way home.

...I mentioned how anticlimactic it all was. I mean here I went and put my personal feelings in this story (which wasn't even a serious topic) and my words were just notes to whomever actually wrote my article. Later on I found that my witty remarks were cut and taken as the captions of the the photos on the second page. They were still there, but there were too many in a row, it was too much in my opinion.

And so I am here to offer my real story of Coco. I've had a lot of different kinds of people tell me different things. "Those aren't your words! You need to talk to them." "This isn't that big of a deal, editors do those things." "These kind of things happen in the business." etc. I'm not really sure what to do at this point. I wasn't paid. The changes were not run by me, not that I am naive enough to believe they would do that.

Please read and enjoy. Let me know what you think of the article or the situation. And lastly, thank you for always accepting my words just the way they are. I'm not the best writer, but that's all part of who I am and it should be embraced by my readers.

Coco

By Kristina Subsara

Syracuse has succumbed to the changing colors that are brought when Fall arrives. Walking into Liverpool’s local Farmer Market I am greeted by the smell of warm apple cider and popcorn mingling with the laughter and small cries of joy from kids.  The sun peeks out of the clouds enough to remind people it’s only the beginning of the fall season. The market has horse rides, face painting, a haunted house, a maze, and even a clown named Coco.

Judging by the line that meanders through the greenhouse, Coco is the star. She has an easy smile that goes well with her little red nose. She stands smiling at the kids asking them what kind of balloon they would like. The shy kids break into grins quickly as they watch her create all different kinds of animals.

Coco’s wearing striped stockings, large shoes, and feathers that billow in her hair; enough to indicate she’s a clown but she’s not intimidating at all as she cocks her feet out and strikes a pose before asking the kids what balloon she can make for them. Once they tell her, she pumps a balloon and starts twisting it in concise movements. It’s clear she knows what she’s doing. After all, she’s been perfecting her art for 25 years now. Coco taught herself at first, then started going to clowning conventions and eventually enrolled in clown school. “They call us ‘Ba-lunatics’ when we get together.” Original balloon ideas win prizes and this inspires her to create new things.

The most popular balloons she creates are simple swords, asking boys if they are pirates or Knights of the Round Table. Finishing a knight’s sword gives her the opportunity to bestow her blessing on the brave lad. Laughing, she cries out “hold your horses” if they reach for it before she finishes.

Coco even keeps her calm when disaster strikes and a balloon pops. Taking the pieces she says the balloon is still under warranty. She hands the new balloon back, warning them not to name it Buster. “My favorite part is watching their face light up when I hand them their balloon.”

Clowning is indeed an art that she has perfected; however it’s her people skills that get her the jobs as she smiles and gestures “Thank You” in sign language to a small boy.

Her act comes to an end and I can’t help but look around and see everyone she has made an impression on. The memories will last much longer than the balloons, but like Coco said, “They don’t call it ‘Pop Art’ for nothing.”

Last Day of Mexico

I suppose I should wrap up this trip. I'm not really sure why it has taken me so long to post the last day. Maybe I dont want to give it up. Deep down I didn't want to go back home. For the first time ever I stepped out of my comfort zone and had an adventure. I succeeded. I won. I made friends, good and kind people! (a rarity for me). I felt beautiful inside and out when I was there. Going back home meant I was surrounded by others who could take photos or speak spanish way better than me. On the plus side, I was going home taking away this incredible experience. I have made plans to travel with Esme in Africa. I have an incredible friend and partner whom I can work with in the future, Oscar. I have talented kind people in my life I now call friends and have proven to be the same kind people in the few months that have slipped passed since this trip. It seems silly to think a two and a half week trip could change someone so much but it's as silly as a summer love. Those who experience it understand, and the others just think the rest of us are silly fools.

So on the last day we made a hardcore decision to actually drag our butts out of bed to make it to breakfast. We got dressed and walked out of Maria Jose's apartment making a right and walking by some new shops enjoying the rare rays of sunshine. We had walked about half a mile when someone realized that we were supposed to make a left outside of the apartment. We were almost double the distance we needed to be and on a time schedule of -minus 20 minutes until breakfast was over. We hailed a cab and hauled ass, because lets be honest, this was important.

Breakfast was a buffet of yogurt, fresh fruit, and granola. We all got different kinds of things including chocolate caliente!, hotcakes, omelets with interesting dips, and waffles. I'm pretty sure this breakfast made all the other missed ones worth it. Afterwards we went onto the roof of the restaurant where there was a bar and a big open seat that all four of us could lay on. We settled down there laying in the gorgeous sunshine while Melissa sipped on some sparkling drink and enjoying these last few carefree moments with each other before we separated.

© 2012 Esme Brandon

It took a little while to get motivated to move from this, but spot eventually we started making our way into a part of Mexico city that had a archeology museum surrounded by a park. We ended up walking there and taking photos and of course getting stared at. Walking through the park it was filled with families and kids, people selling things, face painters, vendors selling food. It was amazing. We decided to try something that looked like paper. It actually tasted a little like paper to. I can also describe it as a wafer like the host in church. Not surprising that I liked it.

We also decided to get fake eye lashes and wore those around as if we didn't stand out enough. They were incredibly fun and bizarre to feel your eyelids be touched every time you blinked. It started sprinkling and we made a run for the museum. Of course it happened to be free for all people that day because in Mexico the stars aligned for us. So we explored various areas. Some signs were only in Spanish but I got the gist of things. Mostly I missed Oscar and got really tired. (It wasn't the right day for a museum for me. Somehow everything we experienced these last two weeks were way better than statues and things that are in a building). But Esme and Melissa had a good time because their dad is into those things.

© 2012 Esme Brandon

© 2012 Esme Brandon

© 2012 Esme Brandon

© 2012 Esme Brandon

© 2012 Esme Brandon

© 2012 Esme Brandon

© 2012 Esme Brandon

© 2012 Esme Brandon

© 2012 Esme Brandon

We decided to skip some clothes shopping and hit up the market and get some souvenirs since that was going to close soon and I technically had nothing physical to show from this trip. We got to the market just as most of the shops were closing and the things I really wanted were outrageously priced. But that's okay because I ended up finding these incredible green blue square shot glasses. They are lined on my windowsill as we speak and I want to fill them with some decorative tall grass when that comes in season. (Go ahead and laugh that I'm not using them to take a shot of tequila. Maybe I'll save one to drink out of).

After losing Esme shortly, we ended up walking out and going to show her the big square and the church that Sarah and Melissa and I had already seen. We walked around photographing these graffiti walls and figuring out where we wanted to go for dinner. We settled on a place around the corner and I had my first ever TAPAS!

Tapas are like hour devours made into meals. So instead of having this giant meal and only getting to taste one thing from the menu you order a couple of small things and share. We also ordered drinks and watched this restaurant get progressively more awkward as they brought out a random DJ and like expected everyone to start dancing? We didnt stay there long because believe it or not it was a really freaking long day and we were still recovering from the past few days.

We went back to the apartment to freshen up and see if we could find a party. Now we had taken a cab back to the apartment and as we got out a guy was getting into the cab and just happened to invite us to his birthday party. We got his number and told him we might. (Like I said, anything we needed Mexico provided for us!). We sat on MJ's porch sipping wine and just listening to the city. We all sort of decided to stay in and relax and watch a movie instead of go out. Esme and I needed to be up early the next day for our flight. So we got popcorn and drinks and I'm not sure who mentioned 'Just Friends' was a great movie but we ended up watching that movie. (Okay, it was me. but Ryan Reynolds is a babe, can you blame me I look past the crap in that movie?).

Anyways there was laughter and I remember looking around the room trying to soak everything up. I was ready for this trip to be over because at this point I didn't anything to come up and spoil a perfect trip.

Goodbyes that next morning were so hard. We hugged for a long time promising to stay in touch and to do great things. Sarah was off to explore the rest of the world starting in South America, Melissa had a few free weeks before the chains of grad school held her down, and Esme had less than 24 hours until she was due back at work. As for me I had a few weeks before I started my last semester at grad school.

As you know it is November now. I am working on my capstone project. My topic is Mexico and I am looking to go back there sometime around March and work on a video and really show people why the four of us fell in love with this place and the people we met. My project will be part of a kickstarter that will raise money for the organization down there, FAI.

A lot has changed in the few months that I have been back. I really think I am a different person. There were a few weeks that I couldn't stand people bitching about their jobs when all I could think about were the 3 year old kids selling gum to the tourists. It's sort of hard to feel bad about the trivial things. I've had my friends tell me I am a more outgoing person now and that I don't complain so much. That's a personal goal achieved. I even have my next travel plans coming up in about six weeks. I can't get over the doors that this trip opened (really the doors that my school, S.I. Newhouse school of Communication have opened). I really feel like this is what I might want to do with my life.

However nothing is for certain. All we can do is live our lives to the fullest, take advantage of the time we are spending here, and understand how similar we all are. I think more people need to travel and understand that. Maybe there would be more empathy out there. Anyways I want to thank anyone who has stuck by this little travel section.

Keep checking in, I officially head to Liberia at the end of December. For now, ¡hasta luego.

Designing a new name logo

So I have been unintentionally avoiding getting ready for the rest of my life because truth be told, it terrifies me. I have no idea where I am going to be in one year, in 6 months, in 3 months. I have an idea of what I want to do but life for me is up in the air. I've been trying to come up with a logo and because I haven't been inspired, I have used not having a logo, not having a newly designed resume as an excuse.

Well, no more! I've created a design and am exploring different typefaces. I would appreciate anyones opinion. Let me know what you think, give me some advice!

Thank you.

PS the reason I am redoing my resume is because I read an article. I am ashamed to say I am a recovered zapfino user. Don't judge. It's being remedied. Here you go: 7 fonts (typefaces)  no one should ever use. http://page1branding.wordpress.com/2012/10/01/fonts-no-one-should-ever-use-ever/

Day Dieciséis

Today is the last day at Cerecaly and with the kids. It's a bittersweet day. All of us are exhausted yet so amped for the kids to see their hard work. As you know, last "night" ended around 5am. We awoke in the early morning light with no electricity, a noon deadline, and the men missing because they were off in town getting gasoline. We stumbled out of bed and quickly went downstairs to set up our stuff. The generator was hooked up and we went to work. While I worked on the video, Oscar took the musician outside to record the music for our movie. Esme was upstairs vigorously cleaning the area we had spent the last two weeks teaching the kids. It was filled with posters, markers, and our teaching outlines. She set to making the place presentable for the kids and their families. Melissa was helping set things up as well. However, she was also running into our work area asking if we needed anything, bringing us breakfast (hotcakes!), coffee, tea, anything we needed she was willing to get us so we didn't have to get up. It was truly lifesaving.

© Esme Brandon

©Esme Brandon

Sarah was putting the ending touches on her video. At around 9 some of the kids came. They surrounded around our work area and were a huge distraction. They were chatting to me, which I really don't speak Spanish still. They were talking to Oscar who was my main helper at this point with last minute touches and listening to the audio. His job was putting it into the movie. Melissa grabbed the kids and put them to work putting out the red carpet. Meanwhile I went outside in the rain to make some sound effects for the movie. We needed a sharp crack and a scream. I ended up wetting a towel and pistol-whipping the side of Cerecaly until it cracked. The scream wasn't going to happen because I was losing my voice, but we were pretty sure we could find something in a group of default sound effects.

© Esme Brandon

The time flew by really quickly, and the closer it got to noon, more and more people were showing up, coming into our room, chatting with us, and marveling at the fact we weren't done. For once in my life, I wasn't worried. It wasn't like we were slacking off at any point. The power going out was a freak accident, and we started working as soon as we possibly could once we got electricity. I know some of the others were getting frazzled but we all kept telling each other to keep going! I know I mentioned this before but this was such a positive place to be in. There were so many things that went wrong, but in the end, no one freaked out, everyone got everything done, and we were all really mature despite the circumstances. I can't tell people enough how great this group was.

Around noon, people were asking us to give them a time. This is the hardest part, in my opinion. I've had renders take hours, I've had them take minutes. There are a lot of factors that decide the fate of time. As Oscar looked over the other groups and finished checking our movie, I finally hopped in the shower and dressed up in my "formal dress." Oscar showered after me and I worked on credits, which was actually really hard. All the kids had four names, and the spellings were all different from what i'm used to, I was using a mac that has spanish symbols and the keys are slightly different. I didn't even finish half of the cast when Oscar came back and took over this as well. Sarah went to shower and dress up then, which left Oscar and I to export.

We put the Akosia bumpers in the video and did a few final touches. I think I reexported the video at least four times due to little things I had to add into the other teams video. FINALLY we were exporting.

© Esme Brandon

Meanwhile upstairs, Esme and Melissa were entertaining maybe 60 people that had turned up to watch the movies. It was past noon at this time, they had already had people talking, musicians playing, maybe some jokes, etc. Everyone came downstairs to eat as we were working on putting the exported videos through one more program to get them ready for the tv. The two sisters were incredible at keeping everyone entertained and in good spirits. I applaud them because that isn't easy to do.

After everyone finished with their snacks, we all went back upstairs to watch the movies. We handed out papers so the audience could vote on their favorite actors, movies, directors, props, etc. Some people stood up and talked and introduced us all, and then we started watching the other groups film. I filmed the audience reactions while watching. I think everyone was just surprised at everything the kids had accomplished. They did it all. They learned about storytelling, started creating stories and characters, storyboarding, casting everyone, directing, acting, videographers, makeup artists, location scouts, everything. I am still in awe of everything they accomplished and it was incredible seeing the audience's reactions to the first video. There was a roar of cheers and we brought that group up and introduced the characters and everyone's roles.

© Esme Brandon

Next was Oscar and my video. I stood in the back so I could stand next to him and soak up the moment. I swelled with pride at everything we had accomplished. I couldn't help but feel so blessed to have met Oscar and for him to be a part of this project. I learned so much from him, we all did. We stood as we watched our video play and the audience was horrified when the murders happened and laughed at some other parts. It was SO successful and so emotional to have it finally finished. We gave everyone a chance to fill out their votes and collected the papers to tally up.

The five of us went into the bedroom to get the "oscars" we made to hand out to the award winners and tally up the votes. About 15 minutes later we emerged. We told everyone we were so incredibly proud to work with these talented kids. Then we gave everyone a certificate for participating in everything. This came with a handshake of all the kids and a photo with each one. Some of the older guys came up and kissed us on the cheek, which got a lot of the kids in the audience hollering for their moxy. A few of us got emotional, not saying any names but it rhymes with jezme...and me of course.

© Esme Brandon

We finally got really for the other awards. We called out a lot of the specific roles from Esme and Sarah's group. They showed the most knowledge of the techniques and equipment. It was incredible watching the growth from those who really were interested in their roles. Although their team had most of those specific roles from their groups, our horror movie won most of the movie awards. Our main actor was the best actor, niño padré, and we also won best picture. It was so amazing seeing the kids' faces light up once they won their awards. At the very end we were thanked by FAI and we were presented with these wonderful presents. They were baskets with fans, some homemade remedies from Chuy, some amazing soap that has lavender in it, and a pen. It was so sweet of them to put something together like this to help us remember (though I don't think we'll forget their kindness soon).

And suddenly, it's over. We're filing downstairs outside and waving goodbye. We stopped to take some photos. Most of the little girls wanted a photo with me. I switched from being photographed to photographing and filming as much as I could. I wanted to stop time and have a second to talk to each of them, encourage them to keep creating, hug them, photograph everyone. Unfortunately, time doesn't work that way. I had a tough time saying goodbye. We promised them we'd stay in touch, and then they were gone.

© Esme Brandon

© Esme Brandon

  © Esme Brandon

The people of Cerecaly called us in for lunch and we met people from FAI and friends of Mauricios. But mostly, us five stayed together talking and laughing. We knew there wasn't much time left and there was finally no pressure of lesson plans, spanish lessons, or video editing. (I'd like to add that the power came on around this time, of course). We ate Chuy's delicious food and I was sure to give a lot of love to my love, Orpheus.

© Esme Brandon

© Esme Brandon

After "lunch" we all went up to our rooms to pack. People kept coming in and saying goodbye to us. Mauricio came by before he left and we said a really hard goodbye to him.

© Esme Brandon

About an hour later, Oscar came in to say goodbye. We all said how grateful we were to have met him and got to know him. I think it's safe to say I was the closest to him during this trip. I couldn't stop the tears because I knew it would be a long time until I got to see him again. He just cocked his head to one side, smiled, and said "Don't cry, we'll see each other soon." One last hug and he left.

© Esme Brandon

The rest of this post I want to just say I was depressed. Esme hugged me and slipped me some tissues and I didn't even want to think about saying goodbye to these incredible woman, although I'm more confident my future holds more adventures with them.

We finally had everything packed and we packed up the car. I chased Andrea around and hugged her. We found Aender, napping, and said a sad goodbye to him. We went to Chuy to tell her how much she meant to us and how important she was to us. I wish I could have communicated it better.

© Esme Brandon

© Esme Brandon

It was probably 5 when we left to go back to Maria Jose's apartment in Mexico City. For some reason, I wasn't that tired so I offered to start driving. We grabbed snacks and started our way trading everyones ipods to listen to their top 25 songs. The view was just as gorgeous as the ride down here. As always you can look around and see at least one massive rainstorm in the distant mountains. I am still in awe of Mexico's beauty. Probably 2-3 hours into me driving, I started getting REALLY tired. We waited in a toll line and Melissa and I quickly jumped out of the car to switch and she drove. It wasn't long after the switch that I hardcore passed out. I fell asleep for the rest of the car ride in the best sleep possible. Melissa safely (and impressively) got us back to the apartment and this time it didn't take 8 hours!

We got into the apartment, grabbed water, and pretty much went to bed. It had been such a long day and a long week, all we could really do was sleep.

Day Quince

I have to apologize, I have no photos from this day. I'm ashamed. I wish someone had taken some, it was just a very busy, stressful day. It is a crazy adventure, so please read!  

Thursday: The last day to film, the last day to edit, and by far the craziest day we have experienced so far.

I hate reminding everyone this, but it's important to the day, so I wanted to say I barely slept the night before because of my stomach. I was still sick. I woke up in the morning and felt completely awful. I couldn't stomach anything and as the morning progressed I was in complete pain. Esme and Melissa told me a trick that helps their stomachs: boiling rice and drinking the rice water. So they asked Chuy if she could make this and she did for me.

Esme and Sarah started the day talking to the kids to motivate them while I sat there doing anything I could to help; which was designing some things that Melissa would make for the kids. When it was time to start filming, Oscar and I had our work cut out for us. We were to film the ending, refilm some of the middle parts, reshoot a few of the green screened shots, and have all the kids' parts organized so we could write out the credits. Not only did we have a lot of work to do with the kids, but we also needed to work with Mauricio's friend who was the musician and record and let him know the kind of music both movies needed.

So as we started to film the ending of the movie, our cameramen decided they didn't really feel like working. We convinced them to stick around and shoot a few things, other times, Oscar took the camera and did a few shots. However, as I sat to the side going over the shots we needed to do, Oscar was doing some of the shooting, most of the direction, communicating with the actors, and still making sure I was alive. It was ridiculously stressful as kids would walk in on the scene, or not feel like working. We understood that it was the last day and everyone was just ready to be done, but we needed to get through today. We got to the ending just as our ghost decided he didn't want to be our ghost anymore. So we quickly recast someone from Esme and Sarah's group. Then we had to reshoot all of the other ghost scenes with the new actor, which took up more time.

Chuy later made some herbal tea for me. She had told us around the first day that she knew about herbs and natural cures. It was amazing to see her figure out the problem and procure a solution to my stomach. Although I didn't eat lunch, the pain stopped, so I was somewhat happy. Around three we finished filming everything. Exhausted, but so proud we dismissed the kids and told them to get ready for the big debut of their videos tomorrow. We had so much to do and on top of everything else everyone at Ceracaly wanted to throw us one last hurah. So we had to plan food, a time for the party, people to invite, as well as finish the movies tonight.

I knew we had a lot to do and I also knew we'd be up most of the night so I went to catch an hour nap before the craziness began. When I woke up I found Oscar and we started working on our video. Sarah was working on hers, Esme went back and forth between helping Sarah and Melissa.

We worked for a few hours as people started to head over to the party. Around 9 we decided to pack up our things and head over. The drive was about a mile down the road to the place where we swam in the natural springs and as we slowly drove down that dirt road, insane lightning lit up the sky. It was highlighting the dark night in every direction and we were in the perfect place to watch. When we arrived, we greeted everyone that we had come to know and love during those two weeks. It reminded me of those movies where the main character meets everyone they had met throughout their journey. There were also new people, friends of Mauricios there to help celebrate. Food was being cooked on this MASSIVE grill, beers were given out, and everyone laughed and talked with one another.

The storms prevented us from having a pool party when we arrived, but after a little while, the water was turned on and they set to filling the great tub up with water. I believe they got it a third of the way full, and had some people swimming in it before the water was turned off due to the storm. It was a shame we couldn't stay and swim, but we were all also aware of all the things we needed to do for the films. Dinner was incredible grilled meat with guacamole, and cheese. At this point, I was running low on energy from lack of food, and it was the last night there, so I sort of just ate and enjoyed it. I'm so glad I did, because the memory still makes my mouth water. It wasn't long after eating that I wanted to get back to editing. I thought since I wasn't drinking and I was done eating, I might as well start while the others enjoy themselves. I set up in the dining room and Sarah joined me soon after. She was working on some cool effects for her movie  and needed Oscar to help her. So I set to color correcting the entire film, working on audio levels, and working on completing the story.

We worked like that for a few hours, looking up every once in a while at the party, smiling and laughing at everyone having a good time. Some people thought we were working too hard, Julio brought us some grapes to snack on and told us to come back to the party. The house was open, so it's not as if we were isolated from the party, just in the next room. I made sure to throw limes to the dogs and enjoy their company as well.

Around 1 I knew I didn't have a lot left to do without the help of Oscar or the internet, I wanted to work on the title page and browse some typefaces, and Oscar still had work to do with aftereffects. So I decided to pack it up and go back to Ceracaly to use the internet. Now for those of you who have never worked with video, you don't know how long it takes to pack everything up. We have to save files, safely eject the hard drive, wrap cords, unplug from outlets, close down computers, pack them into bags...the works. Not to mention we had to say goodbye and express our gratitude to everyone who came.

It was around 1:45 when we got back to Ceracaly. We got inside only to realize that the electricity was out once again. It was extremely frustrating and a little ironic that we started and ended this trip with the power out. We huddled into the kitchen to talk about our options. I could work on the computer for a little while but the battery in my mac was funky and it would be no time at all before it just died. Then someone got the generator up and running! So we set up shop just off the kitchen, unpacking everything, and plugging things into the generator. The room was lit by candlelight and we set to work. If you've never worked off a generator, let me tell you, it's loud, it smells like gas (because that's what it runs off of), and it's a little hard to work on audio stuff when it's blaring in your ears.

Either way, twenty minutes later the generator shut off. There wasn't enough gas in the tank to keep going. So we started packing up again and discussing our options. Sarah and I decided to go back to the place where the party was and check to see if there was electricity. We were pretty sure there was because it didn't go off when we were there for the party. So everyone went up to our room and we started packing overnight things. I knew I wanted warmer clothes, maybe a blanket to nap while the video rendered, etc. We went into the car, drove the mile down the road and saw the house lit up with lights. We went up to the door, with Mauricio close by and stood in the pouring rain as we knocked. The guy who hosted the party had had a little too much fun and was most likely sleeping it off. So we banged on the window, called his name, I even did my terribly loud whistle. We waited to see if anything would happen. After standing in the rain for 15 minutes, we gave up and drove back to Ceracaly. At this point we didn't know what to do. The men of the group, after much discussion, decided they were going to try and siphon gas out of the gas tank to put into the generator. I think everyone tried, but for some stubborn reason, no one could get it to work.

So here we are, it is 5 in the morning, we have no power to work on our movies, a massive amount of work ahead of us, and we were all extremely exhausted. I don't know who finally came to the conclusion, but no one argued with them. It was decided we would sleep for two hours and at 7 someone would drive to the gas station to get some fuel for the generator.

I collapsed in my bed, I'm pretty sure I was fully clothed and passed out for the few hours we were allowed. Such is the life of a filmmaker.

Day Catorce

Today was a busy day and I was actually able to eat a little. We jumped right into work, Sarah and Esme actually took some of the kids who always arrive early and reshot some scenes while Oscar and I waited for our whole team to arrive. The kids started doing makeup again and as soon as we could wrangle them all up we started shooting for the day.

Now, it was mentioned that the other team had most of the older kids in it. They were amazing at their jobs and worked really well with one another. One of the challenges we had was in storyboarding our piece. It was really well drawn but there seemed to be some parts missing. So Oscar and I had sat down the night before trying to fix some of the problems. It worked out in the end but it also gave us more work to do.

The scenes we were shooting today were some murders and the green screening of the ghost. For that we brought out a blue table clothe and we took it outside in the brightest light we could find. We got a few kids (and myself) holding it taut against the wall as the ghost was filmed doing all sorts of things. (Later on in post-produciton Oscar would drop him into a scene that was already filmed using aftereffects.) This inspired me to take an aftereffects class this fall!

So the point of today was to get as much filming done as possible. The day involved sewing a head back on, helping the kids remember different camera angles, scratching dogs' ears, and filming, Filming, FILMING galore. It was at the end of this day with that kids that I was starting to see everyones capabilities for this project. Sarah and Esme worked with their group efficiently and confidently. They communicated with the kids well considering their spanish wasn't perfect. Their kids are really starting to get into their roles and the director is realizing that her job is more than just saying cut and action.

As for our group, I am continually in awe of Oscar. He's incredible at giving direction. The way he communicates is amazing because he knows what he's talking about but it's the way he talks with the kids and laughs with them that inspires me. Sometimes I feel useless because I can't speak and I'm still so new to all of this video stuff; but then Oscar gives me the reins and I make a few decisions. His confidence in my abilities moves me to be confident in myself. We continue working with one another and learning from everyone. I am still amazed at this experience. I'm writing this now, and it's been a month since we've been home and I am still enthralled.

After the kids left, we all had work to do. Melissa continues to do the paperwork each night, writing down our successes and stories for the day. The rest of us had editing to do. However, today we were to take a day trip to San Miguel de Allende. We were also supposed to meet with a member of FAI to discuss our experience working with their members.

Note: FAI is an organization that promotes sustainable development of water and natural resources focused on the active participation of those children. FAI and Akosia worked together to make this project a success.

We had to leave early to meet with the people from FAI. We got into the city around 4 and looked for a parking space. Oscar drove separately because he was taking Mauricio's friend in with him and there wasn't enough space in our little car. We decided to meet him somewhere in the town. While looking for a parking space, we pulled over to ask someone where we could park. Sarah rolled down her window, spoke the best spanish she could muster, AND... was pleasantly ignored. While we were laughing, a woman came out of a shop and told us that she owns apartments down the road and that we could park there. She then ran back into the store, grabbed her bags and then hopped into our car so she could show us (and she wouldn't have to walk back in the drizzle). This kind of thing happened to us where ever we went. We always randomly met people who somehow were able to fill our needs.

We walked around the town and found ourselves in this square. The square was filled with people, things being sold, and an interesting twist to a well known snack. There was a snack stand that was selling a bag of doritos, opened, with mayo, butter, corn, hot sauce all mixed in; it is eaten with a spoon then. It was such an odd mixture we spent a lot of time marveling at this concoction. We met with Oscar then who was with the two woman from FAI. After a quick cup of coffee we walked to the FAI offices and they basically asked us about the people at Ceracaly and any suggestions for the future. We talked about how accommodating everyone is. There wasn't really anything we could complain about.

We didn't stay there long, and afterwards we needed to find a place with internet so that we could start editing our videos, which was going to take a lot of time. We found a place that had a restaurant on the roof. So we walked upstairs, turned a corner, and saw the most amazing view. It literally might be the most beautiful scenery I've ever seen. The one wall most mostly just glass, it looked down some mountains and on them was the city of San Miguel. To the right was a giant golden church; and to make it even more beautiful a storm was rolling in on the left of the scene as the twilight sky changed colors. I stared at it in awe as massive lightning bolts struck and I watched the rain downpour across the valley while the sky stayed dry above us. Everyone else was checking facebook, emailing, and Sarah had even started editing, but I just couldn't take my eyes off that scene.

Eventually I did get to work. I watched, still in amazement, as Oscar zigzagged around in AfterEffects trying out different things and creating the "ghost" in our movie. It was really amazing watching it transform and I was thankful to be able to watch someone who confidently navigated that program.

Much later the woman who let us park in her apartment area came to the restaurant we were at and introduced us to her husband and chatted with us for a while. They asked if we were staying in the town and offered us a room with them. We told them we were driving back, (I was driving and had passed on a drink). It's sort of funny but they kept pushing us to stay, they didn't think it was safe to drive at night. Of course we were perfectly fine and we had to go back to Ceracaly to teach the ninos in the morning.

We thanked them for their generosity and then made our way back. Everyone here seems anxious to drive at night, but we don't understand why. When we got back Oscar and I planned what we needed to shoot the next day and then we all went to bed.

Day Trece

Today we were back with the kids. It was a day we had planned to be full of filming, and since we were behind schedule from Friday we decided there should be no english lesson. Once everyone came, we split into the two groups and instructed everyone to finish storyboards, handing out roles, sorting out props, and location scouting. Things got really chaotic with people running to the bathroom, girls changing their outfits for the films, kids running around looking for places to film. It was nuts.

Around 11 everyone was mostly ready to shoot, and all of us coaches were very eager to start shooting because we know how long it really takes. Esme and I talked about working with both groups and basically having Sarah and I switch back and forth with Oscar and Esme so we would always be with someone who spoke Spanish really well. In the end, Oscar and I went with the group doing the horror movie. Once we got working with this group however it was really hard to switch to the other groups. We knew what things needed to be shot and we knew the story really well. Therefore Oscar and I became the producers of the terror movie and Sarah and Esme worked with the kids on the drama movie.

It took a little bit of time to get started shooting because we were working with a much younger age group. They had shorter attention spans and a lot of the young girls wanted to draw on the white boards or wander off. Eventually we set up a policy that if they weren't directly active with the movie scene, they were to go help Melissa with the signs and CD cover drawings.

The first day we actually got a lot of shooting done, as in 9 scenes. It was amazing doing the very first scene though. With the silent films, they kids pretty much shot each scene once. However, with these films, we did the first scene once. Then we did it again at a different angle. If something was off, we did it again. It the acting wasn't perfect we shot it again. I think the kids appreciated the amount of work that goes into filming that first day.

We finished with the kids on time and sent them home. We went to eat and I believe I went to go take a nap. I hadn't slept the night before. Today was the day we were supposed to go horseback riding. Unfortunately I talked to Fernando at lunch and he told Oscar and I that the only horses available were race horses, therefore we wouldn't be able to ride them.

Which ended up being a good thing because I was still sick.

There were some things that we needed from town, so the girls went out. I stayed in. Esme and Sarah's group needed a time lapse of the sunset and there was no guarantee I'd make it back in time so I stayed, set my camera on a chair overlooking the countryside and did a time lapse. I'm actually mad that I didn't do this sooner, or for more days. By the time we thought of it, I really only had one night to do it and sometimes it can be hard to guess what area is going to have the best lighting, clouds, colors, etc. It was such a beautiful 'moment,' the sunset. I'm glad I captured a piece of that night.

(Photos with myself in them were taken by Sarah Wann © 2012)

Post Script, I'll post the time lapse when I get a computer that can edit video, which should be soon!

Day Doce

Today we woke up around noon again because of the late night the others had. The girls were CRAVING breakfast, so we tried to head out early enough to eat breakfast somewhere. Melissa kept calling restaurants asking them to just serve us breakfast because we're special. Basically it didn't work and we ended up in the village square sitting outside with a wonderful view for people watching. I ordered a sandwich and Oscar had ordered as well. For some reason, Esme, Melissa, and Sarah didn't order their food until our food came (probably because they were on the internet); but we spent a lot of time just sitting and relaxing at this restaurant. Now, if you've never traveled around, you might not know that in other cultures there is a variety of different people doing odd things to try and make money. Mexico was no different. It was filled with old and young people alike that were trying to sell things. Kids trying to sell little squares of gum, old men selling 'zarapes', and women selling baked goods. Now when I say kids, I don't necessarily mean teens. I mean small children ranging from ages 4 to 16. I witnessed a really heartwarming scene while we were having lunch. A handful of people had approached our table offering their items and one little boy said something quick to Oscar. Oscar quietly said something to him. About twenty seconds later Oscar grabbed a roll off our table and quickly handed it to the kid who ran off with it.

Here we are, blessed to have whatever we want in the restaurant while all around us people are struggling to survive. This isn't just about Mexico. People all over the world work so hard for such little rewards. I think sometimes people forget to be thankful for the small blessings like a full belly or the freedom of playing with your friends instead of having to work when you're just a kid. This was one of my favorite moments. I asked Oscar what he had said and he told me the boy had asked for a roll. Oscar replied it wasn't a good idea to do it right under the waiters' nose. So he waited for him to step into the restaurant and gave this kid food.  This moment absolutely made my day.

We sat there awhile looking over things to do, chatting with each other and relaxing. My stomach was still freaking out. I think I ate a fourth of a sandwich and was done. After lunch we walked around the city some more looking for more information on the film festival. Melissa was trying to get ahold of Sebastian to see if we could do something with him. In the end we walked around and went into a theatre that was showing some of the films. One was a really beautiful short with incredible lighting. The story was of a ballerina whose grandmother danced too. She talks about her passion for dancing and how her grandmother would have been proud of her. In the end, you find out that she is blind. Other films were great, if not for their content then for the fact that they encouraged me to start entering film festivals.

Unfortunately I had to leave one of the films because of being sick. I stood on the porch to this gorgeous theatre and looked around me. Mountains curled around the city and the sun was setting behind them. It was a beautiful moment locked in my memory.

We waited for everyone to finish the movie we were in and come outside. The girls picked up snacks and we went on our way back to Ceracaly.

We got back home just as it was dark. I made a bowl of pasta, which was pretty much all that I ate the whole day. Shortly after I came to the conclusion that I wasn't sick unless I ate. So I'm fine if I don't want to live...

We planned for the rest of the night.

Sunset photos taken by Oscar Campos © 2012

Day Once

Today I technically went to bed around 6 am. And technically we had to leave the house before noon. So I didn't get a lot of sleep last night. My stomach had started to hurt around the early hours and it didn't get better. I figured I had just had too much fun the night before and what I needed was water and a nice meal. We went to a restaurant in the square and sat out in the sunshine to eat. I decided to take it easy and have a coffee and a large bowl of fruit for lunch (and some bread that came on the table).

It was a really nice long lunch. We talked about what we wanted to do for the rest of our time there. We were supposed to go to Leon which is a city famous for leather, but Guanajuato seemed to have caught the eyes of the ladies and they were eager to explore this city. Oscar and I said we would think about splitting up and maybe visiting Leon for a few hours.

 (photo by Esme Brandon ©)

After lunch, we started walking around a little bit. We saw an alley that is famous because of a story. Basically the story is about forbidden love. A girl and boy meet. They live across the street from one another and the street is so narrow they could kiss across is while standing on their balconies. So they fall in love and the father of the girl catches them up there and tells the girl she'll kill her if he catches them together again. Kill…his own daughter. Anyways, he catches them again and does kill her. The end. It was really awesome seeing the place and hearing the story from Oscar.

(photo by Esme Brandon ©)

(photo by Esme Brandon ©)

(The rest of these photos are Esme's and Sarah's because I wasn't strong enough to keep lifting my camera. pathetic, but look how beautiful this city is)

Thankfully Oscar took my camera as we walked a little further. After a bit more shopping, I was feeling awful, and I thought if I went back to the car I might be able to rest a little and feel better. I walked through the tunnels to reach the car (which took about 45 minutes. there's a vast amount of tunnels and the car was farther than we thought.

Once we got to the car, my stomach started being incredibly talented and it was break dancing. I swear I felt like I was in the movie Alien and at any moment something would tear right through my stomach lining. I promptly fell asleep while poor Oscar charged his phone and basically waited patiently for me. We drove back to the house to take a nap before dinner while the girls continued to take in the city. They had an incredible time walking through markets and eating on the rooftops that overlooked the entire city.

I slept some more and woke up close to dinner time feeling somewhat okay. We were to go to the fanciest restaurant in the city (Remember how I said earlier that most of our meals were around 100 pesos, well this place's most expensive dinner was 260 pesos). Even the most fancy place was barely $25 and it had incredible food.

Melissa had been talking to one of the photographers from the night before who said he could get us into a movie premier and after party, after dinner. I decided to just see how dinner went before I planned the rest of my night. Oscar was still napping and opted for sleep, so for dinner it was just us four girls. We went just as the sun was setting, it was a gorgeous view from above as we looked down on the city that was littered with a dark blue from the sky and twinkling lights. The inside was softly lit and had really elegant soft jazz. Sarah and Melissa ordered the steaks, Esme ordered this fancy pork stew, and I got a small dinner salad. They also had cactus appetizers, wine, and a cornbread dessert. Everything was delicious.

I decided to go home after that, because I was still super sick. We cabbed it back to the house where I found Oscar still sleeping, and he decided the continue to sleep than go with the girls. I almost watched a movie, but it wasn't long before I was curling up in the fetal position and trying to sleep.

NOTE: This was the end of my night… However I probably missed one of the coolest things. The girls got into another VIP party where Melissa was hanging out with one of the top Mexican Actors (his name might be sebastian zurita?). Esme and Sarah were dancing around with other men. They ended up staying out until 6 am and coming back into the house loud and happy. It was a disappointment to miss, but I couldn't even be mad because there was no way I could have gone out.

Day Diez

Friday! We had a lot to do today, but the reward is getting the weekend to ourselves and enjoying a small mexican road trip for the weekend. Today was the day where we actually split the group into two separate groups and they were to pick a story, storyboard, and maybe even start filming. A couple of the kids actually brought in stories they had written, and surprisingly they were incredible.

First we showed the kids their silent films from last night. We talked about the importance of storyboarding because if you don't then the editors don't know exactly what you want with your movie and it might come out completely different. Luckily, Oscar and I were pretty spot on with the stories.

new friend who wasn't sure what to think about 32 kids.

There was a lot of disorganization with the kids today and one girl ended up having a panic attack when she wasn't being heard in her group. Esme got her and Mauricio, and they sat her down and got her a cup of hot water and a warm taco to put on her chest. That's what she said her mom does for her because she's had heart problems before.

We ended up voting on the genre of movies and had one group consisting of mostly older kids who wanted to do a drama and a huge group of younger kids who wanted to do a horror movie. Then we made the groups get together and decide on a story. This took forever. Pretty much the rest of the day was filled with discussions on how to create a story (who was the main character? what was the problem they had to overcome? what was the resolution? and so on).

During all of this, Melissa came upstairs and told me that there had been a shooting in the US. She said it had been in the midnight premier of Batman but she couldn't remember which city or state it was in. Since my boyfriend was at the midnight premier, I was freaked out and I went to go check the news, email my family, and check in on everyone.

Thankfully, no one in my family was hurt, despite me having cousins in Colorado. Unfortunately, I was pretty distracted by the news.

So we ended the day with the group having a story and asking the kids to work on storyboards at home.

The five of us had lunch, packed, and then jumped into the car to drive to Guanajuato! Basically we had to drive up and down a mountain. It was narrow roads, sharp curves, crazy people passing us, and the most beautiful views.

We arrived in the city about 50 minutes later and drove through it. It's a gorgeous city built on and around a cluster of mountains. The city is famous but it's amazing because it doesn't look touristy at all. Theres a Starbucks and a dominoes pizza, but they are sort of hidden, there are no traffic lights, and no neon signs. It's gorgeous and colorful. We drove to Oscar's cousins house which houses travelers. It was small, but we didn't need anything extravagant.

We settled in and Esme and I explored a little with our cameras. Then we got all dressed up and went out for a night on the town. Melissa, Sarah, and Oscar discovered that the Guanajuato International Film Festival was this weekend which was pretty amazing, and also there was a tunnel party that we HAD to check out.

We went to a place that had loud music in a populated square and ordered some drinks and small things to share. I had a piña colada and a blue hawaiian. The drinks tasted okay, but the food was like ballpark nachos. It was really crappy. Later we learned that this place had awful food that was really cheap and it was the sort of place for extreme tourists.

It didn't matter, it was late when we finally left there, so we started towards the tunnel party. We met a ton of people that Oscar went to school with, and we left him to wait for more as we went into the party. It was a tunnel that went through the mountain and cars drive through, but a portion of it was closed down for this massive party. There were so many people in there and there were bars set up. It was an awesome party. There were flashing lights in all different colors, loud music, and a ton of people staring at us. We danced for a little while and then Esme decided to go back with Sarah to the house and sleep (they hadn't gotten much sleep and were exhausted). I wanted to stay a little more with Melissa.

We got some refreshments and kept our eyes open for Oscar or his friends. A couple of people stopped and talked to us. We also saw a really famous Mexican actor. We kept being approached by these photographers who kept taking our photos and talking to us a bit. They offered to get us into the VIP area. He gave Melissa a bracelet and then I just walked in. I was stopped, but I took some of my acting skills, made my eyes really big and acted like I had no idea why I couldn't be let in. Eventually they said "oh she doesn't speak spanish" "what harm could be done?" "She's fine" and I got in. Drinks were free here, the people were classy, and we were feeling good.

We danced and attracted the same photographers who were over eager to talk to us and lead us around. Finally we found Oscar and acted like we hadn't seen him in a while so we could go talk to him. It took about four attempts to get away from the photographers and hang out with Oscars friends and just dance alone. We stayed for a few hours and then left around 5 am. It was crazy and so much fun. I'm not really a party person at home, so I probably appreciate a night out more than the regular kid.

Both Melissa and i were given flowers on the walk home by boys and she even was given a pair of sunglasses and was told to drink a shot for this random dude and think of him. I can't emphasize how nice and accepting everyone here is. At no point do I feel like I'm in danger or scared. I feel safe with the group of girls and even more so with Oscar. Mexico keeps getting more and more beautiful and amazing.