April - Architecture [Aaron]

Architecture.

My journey to Columbus, Ohio.

March - Poem [Aaron]

Trees

by Joyce Kilmer

I think that I shall never see

A poem lovely as a tree. 

A tree whose hungry mouth is prest 

Against the earth's sweet flowering breast;

A tree that looks at God all day

And lifts her leafy arms to pray;

A tree that may in summer wear

A nest of robins in her hair;

Upon whose bosom snow has lain;

Who intimately lives with rain.

Poems are made by fools like me, 

But only God can make a tree.

Personal Project - 'Picture This' Series [Aaron]

Spring is finally here!

It's definitely been a long winter;

I hope these pictures get you excited to be outside.

Can I get a hallelujah for green grass please?

March - Poem [Rebekah]

Winter: A Dirge 

by Robert Burns

The wintry west extends his blast,

  And hail and rain does blaw;

Or the stormy north sends driving forth

  The blinding sleet and snaw:

While, tumbling brown, the burn comes down,

  And roars frae bank to brae;

And bird and beast in covert rest,

  And pass the heartless day.

“The sweeping blast, the sky o’ercast,”

  The joyless winter day

Let others fear, to me more dear

  Than all the pride of May:

The tempest’s howl, it soothes my soul,

  My griefs it seems to join;

The leafless trees my fancy please,

  Their fate resembles mine!

Thou Power Supreme, whose mighty scheme

  These woes of mine fulfil,

Here firm I rest; they must be best,

  Because they are Thy will!

Then all I want—O do Thou grant

  This one request of mine!—

Since to enjoy Thou dost deny,

  Assist me to resign.

February - Advertisement, The Jaguar Coat [Parker]

There are few coats which have accrued as many names as this. The Carpet Coat. The Rug Coat. The Useless Coat. The Ugly Coat. The How Many Times Am I Going To Have To Tell You To Get Rid Of That Coat. Before today few knew its true nomenclature and even fewer knew the story behind this great jacket.

It all started when a man named David went to college armed with a knock-off Hard Rock Cafe Chicago sweatshirt. At this point in time the Jaguar coat was in the possession of the man who was to be David's roommate. Upon seeing the knock-off Hard Rock Cafe Chicago sweatshirt David's roommate was filled with envy and desired it greatly. David was a shrewd businessman and as such he determined an exchange was in order. For some unknown reason David determined this coat, which was nearly as ugly then as it is today, would make for a fair trade. Despite many complaints from the woman who would become David's wife, this coat has stuck around and it has been passed down to me.

There are many practical uses for this coat. For one, it has gigantic pockets. I am not exaggerating. Those things are huge. I can fit my iPad into them.

Secondly, this coat gives the appearance of warmth and comfort. Who would not want to wrap themselves up in a carpet when trekking through a frozen tundra? Simply look at the many colorful fibers that go into this coat and you will know that it is something to be greatly desired. (Disclaimer: The Jaguar Coat does not keep one remarkably warm)

A third, although slightly less practical, feature is that it is unique. When wearing The Jaguar Coat one can be almost certain that there is not another one within a hundred miles. Putting on The Jaguar Coat instantly graces any man with a very... distinct style.

So stop by your nearest random thrift store which mostly has a lot of junk to get a Jaguar Coat for yourself today! You will (most likely) not regret it! 
(Second disclaimer: The author of this post does not take any responsibility for the thoughts of horror which are thought by family members, friends, and complete strangers upon seeing a man wear a Jaguar Coat.)

I am aware that this post is half a month late. However, as no one else has posted their projects, I am currently infinitely earlier than they.

Personal Project- Sir Edwin's Adventure in the Arctic [Rebekah]

In the middle of January, I found myself in a plane, landing on a huge expanse of whiteness that is commonly known as Antarctica. Sir Edwin chose this as our first adventure because (I think) he wanted to wear the huge fluffy hat the Queen got him for his birthday. He won't admit it, but I'm pretty sure that's the reason. Anyway, the vast icy land of Antarctica is incredible enough to want to visit even without a huge fluffy hat.

When Sir Edwin told me that Antarctica was to be our first destination, I thought of a big cold place where it's really cold and people wear lots of clothes because if they didn't, it would be really cold and being cold isn't cool (well, actually it is if you look at the world from a literal perspective), and because everyone wants to be cool (except not us literally), we wear lots of clothes. Did you get my point? I didn't think so. Basically, the stereotype thinking of Antarctica is that it's big and cold. Beyond that, we don't really care about it. It's way down there at the bottom of the world, what's so cool about that (besides the temperature)? The truth is, Antarctica is cool for multiple reasons, not just that it is literally cold. And this is perhaps the secondary reason Sir Edwin chose Antarctica as our first adventure- to show you all ( and me) that Antarctica really is pretty sweet!

Here's Sir Edwin stuck in the snow. He just sank right in, right up to his chest. And look at his face! Cheerful as ever. Admirable man.

We hired a helicopter to get a couple of the overhead shots. The pure white snow and bright blue sky of the arctic really is beautiful from all angles. Everywhere, the snow shimmered in the sun, and the reflected light was almost blinding. I loved soaring above the great expanse of the arctic. It's something I never imagined myself doing. Something about being in a helicopter makes me warm inside. Maybe it's the fact that the helicopter had heat.

Looking forward to many more great adventures with Sir Edwin!

-Rebekah

Personal Project - 'Picture This' Series [Aaron]

After being encouraged to post personal projects along with the regular monthly projects here at the Visualization Project, I decided to invent the Picture This series as another way to creatively share my photography. My goal in this series is to transform ordinary pictures into special portraits of people and landscapes through capturing the shot inside a simple frame. I've only just started working on this, but hope to have many good ideas to share with you guys. 

My first take in the Picture This series was in effort to capture the silhouette of a barren tree with the reflection of a sunset in the glassy ice that had frozen in an open country field. Even in the midst of the lifeless season of winter, this shot shows that God still shows us beauty through a sunset's glorious array of colors. 

In my second take of the series I decided to take some serious snowfall pictures. Since there is so much of it here in the Midwest and it's so beautiful I thought, "why not?". I immediately fell in love with the bokeh that was created in the background thanks to my wonderful 50mm lens, and continued to capture as many shots as I could. 

As I conclude this post I'd like to thank both of my amazing sisters for assisting me in creating these pictures; and I'd also like to thank all of you who are following the blog for stopping by and showing your support through all your comments. Thank you again, and I hope to share many more pictures in the Picture This series with you all this year here at the Visualization Project.

Personal Project- The Adventures of Sir Edwin [Rebekah]

When the famous Sir Edwin contacted me about being his personal adventure photographer, I was pretty excited.

For those of you who aren't up on international news, let me introduce him to you. Sir Edwin Crittenden started out his exciting life (so he wasn't "Sir" yet at this point)by moving from his nice little home in the great city of London to an aviation base as a young plane mechanic for the RAF during WWII. Sir Edwin personally tightened every nut and bolt in Mr. Winston Churchill's official private plane, making sure that the Prime Minister wouldn't have to inconveniently land in the middle of hostile Germany (we can't imagine that would have ended well). After the end of the war, Sir Edwin went back to his house in London, but realized its bricks were no more- it had been tragically bombed by the Luftwaffe in the Battle of Britain. Without a home to be tied down to, Sir Edwin began to have the itch for adventure. So, one of the first things Sir Edwin decided to do was to be the first man to ever climb the famous mountain, Mount Everbusy, with nothing but his trusty wrench (the same wrench he used on Mr. Churchill's plane, of course). This daring feat gave him his fame and knighthood (he was knighted by the late King George VI himself! He's still pretty excited about that), and he's been traveling ever since.

Sir Edwin is really a lovely man. He is as cheerful as he looks, and speaks with the most charming English accent. His funny little mustache is always immaculate, and the way he handles his wrench is something to behold. He's a little yellow from serving his King and Country by breathing in plane fumes, but please don't tease him about it...it's actually one of the few things he gets offended about. Anyway, Sir Edwin has a true love of adventure and exploration, and his greatest desire is to share his excursions to new destinations with others, opening people's eyes to the great wild place that is Everywhere.

There are several adventures in the works for this year, with one already completed (you'll see it soon!). If all of them are anything like this first adventure, they will turn out splendidly. We're both very excited to see what the future holds.

We did a portrait shoot to introduce Sir Edwin to you before we whisk you off to a foreign land.

Meet Sir Edwin, everybody!

January - Self Portrait [Aaron]

Hello all! 

My name is Aaron and this will be my second year here at the Visualization Project. I am very excited to share my photos with you guys this year as we progress throughout the months, and am happy to hear feedback from you all as you view my work! 

Before I share a little bit about myself, I'd like to apologize in advance for my tardiness in posting January's self-portrait project. Last month I had an unfortunate incident where my camera fell, causing the lens to somehow become stuck. So right now I have my recent Christmas gift, Canon's 50mm lens, firmly fixated to my camera, which definitely made self-portrait difficult. Thankfully I was still able to use it to take some pictures though. So again, sorry about that; I hope you enjoy the following posts I have this year!

This is me.

I have a strong appreciation for photography, and the endless styles in which a plain image can be transformed into a masterpiece of art. 

Capturing an image is like freezing time. It's taking a moment of the present and pausing it to reflect on for the rest of time. 

This is perhaps one of my favorite things about photography.

I also love finding the perfect lighting to capture a moment you can remember forever. 

Basketball is another creative outlet that I enjoy. Although I have never played competitive basketball before, I am now in my second year of playing on Monclova Christian Academy's varsity basketball team, and have decided that I will definitely be staying for the rest of my high school career.  

Music is also one of my passions. For over seven years I have played the piano, and enjoy playing in my youth group service every Wednesday, as well as playing at local and state-wide competitions. 

 Lastly, I'd like to give all the glory of everything I am capable of doing to God. Although I love many things this world has to offer, nothing comes close to how much I love the Bible and my Savior, Jesus Christ. Without Him I would be nothing, and I am proud to be able to do everything I can for Him and His glory.