Gwon Osang

There's so much to say about the trip, but my photos are currently being developed and my words alone couldn't possibly do justice to the experience. Since a picture is worth a thousand words (or so they say), I'll wait until I get my negatives back before I try to take on the week in Jackson.

In the meantime, these are the creations of Gwon Osang, a sculptor/photographer who creates life-size three-dimensional objects out of pictures. Wicked.

Greetings from Mississippi

Boston feels like a million miles away right now.

Weebles Wobble, But They Don't Fall Down

Heading Down South

Here Comes the Sun

Every muscle in my body is sore, my voice is shot, and I was so exhausted that I fell asleep watching "Lost" and missed who died in the end. It was worth every second, though, to see the brand new crop of Matherites and to be a part of the first group to welcome them into the house. All the sweat, blood, and tears paid off.

As much fun as it was, let it be known that I'd be stoked to do the Mather video next year and have absolutely no other administrative duties. Heading up Housing Day nearly sucked my soul Dementor-style, and an average two hours of sleep a night for an entire week is enough to drive a person crazy.

Housing Day is over, and spring break has begun. Bring on the sun.

HOUSING DAY!

Not a photograph I took, but it's tough to show your house spirit from behind the camera. Besides, a blog isn't truly scandalous until you've posted at least one picture of yourself in a bikini.

I'm so stoked. Mather 2011 won't know what hit them.

Bring on the Chai

At the end of the review session for tomorrow's computer programming midterm, the teaching fellow said to us, "It will be hard for you not to panic when you see this exam, but try not to."

Awesome.

Just Like the Movies

The Mather Video is finally up! The freshmen will find out this week which house they'll live in for the next three years, and we made this video to let them know about ours.

Baby Steps

Babies are amazing creatures. I can't remember a time that they didn't fascinate me. They're these teeny, tiny human beings seeing the world for the first time... Miniature versions of full-grown adults.

For the first three months, infants supposedly lack the filter that reduces the amount of sensory information processed by the brain, so they experience the world in ways we couldn't even imagine. Brilliant colors and incredible sound... With enough going on, it can be so intense that an infant's brain has to temporarily shut down. It would so cool to see the world through the eyes of a baby.

Grandbob

I only saw my grandparents twice a year growing up, but one of my strongest childhood memories is of my grandfather taking pictures with his 35mm camera. He took photos of my cousins and I playing in the pool, my parents laughing over dinner conversation, my mom and grandmother playing double solitaire... Records of the everyday, but the kind of photos you couldn't imagine not having years down the road. When I was very young, I didn't understand why he never asked us to smile at the camera or say "cheese" before he snapped a photo. As I got older, I didn't understand why he wouldn't buy a digital camera and catch up with the evolving world. Now, I use a 35mm camera, and it finally makes sense to me: feeling the weight of a real camera, manipulating the shutter speed and aperture, holding the negatives up to the light to get a miniature preview of your work... It's manual and time-consuming, but there's something magical about it that makes me never want to use a digital camera again. Using an old school camera makes me feel almost like a part to his generation, and using a camera so similar to my grandfather's makes me feel closer to him.

Gray Clouds/Silver Lining

It's all fun and games until everyone is mad at you.

There have been redeeming moments. An intense session with the Office of Career Services produced a list of potential summer internships with indie film companies in NYC. Multiple half-crazed e-mails to a high school friend produced potential housing and a roommate. My external hard drive was turned in to the photography department, so I won't have to buy a new one and all my work has not been lost. The rain eventually stopped; the sun peeked out for a bit.

Still, I'll be glad when this week is over.

Too Much, Too Soon

Brand New Colony

I'll be the fire escape that's bolted to the ancient brick
where you will sit and contemplate your day.

- The Postal Service, "Brand New Colony"

Cycle Tracks Will Abound in Utopia

I don't know what it is about bicycles, but I love photographing them. They're so peaceful, so idyllic. It's hard not to love the way sunlight catches the metal just the right way. When I head out with my camera, no matter what I originally intend to shoot, I always end up with at least five or six pictures of bicycles.

This photograph is one of my favorites. The early morning light was so beautiful that day that you'd never guess from the prints that my fingers nearly froze off taking them. When my photography professor saw the picture, he said, "What piece of manmade technology has caused less damage in the world?" I couldn't agree with that sentiment more.

I Call It Art

Me Too, Weiqi, Me Too.

It's four in the morning and I'm on my fourth cup of coffee, writing a function for my computer programming class. I had a functional program more than two hours ago, and since then, I've been working to add commands more advanced than the assignment requires to make my program more practical. In high school, I was required to do science and math, and I stayed up late working on art projects for fun. Now, I'm required to do art, and I stay up late doing math and science for fun.

If you'd told me before college that I would give up pre-med to pursue an art major, I would have laughed in your face. And yet, here I am. I spent two years at a school of science and math only to discover that I despise science and math. But you know what? I'm happy with the way my life is turning out... even if I eventually end up a starving artist living in a cardboard box.

I'm sleepy. Maybe crazy. It's probably time to call it a night.

Snowstorms and Thunderstorms

Waking up to the rain yesterday was so comforting. After a long winter of silent snow, it was a relief to hear that familiar pitter-pattering again.

It's hard to believe that this photograph was taken just last week. During the past few months, I thought it would be winter forever, but the snowstorms ended almost overnight. Today feels like the first real day of spring, but winter is already starting to fade from my memory.

Better When It's Free

The Artist Formerly Known as Anonymous Henchwoman #1

I submitted this design anonymously for our house t-shirt contest, and now that voting is over, I guess I can unveil my identity. It's probably important to note that I live in Mather House, named after Mr. Increase himself.





It's hard to be too bummed when the t-shirt that won is obviously smokin' hot.

A More Proper Introduction

Hello, World.

Slow down for a minute. Relax. Breathe. When you're running too fast, you can't see where you're going.

Sometimes I go to the airport hours before my flight to watch people sprint through the terminal--men in business suits, soldiers, housewives, college students, newlyweds, all with expressions of panic and their rolling luggage practically flying behind them.

Maybe that's what I love about photography. In this nonstop, chaotic world, you can capture a fraction of a second with a single click, in a single frame. By taking this photograph, that business man will be stuck in mid-sprint forever. It's crazy, right? I froze time for eternity.

I suck at introductory posts.