January - Self-portrait [Madeleine]

Hello!
I’m new to this project, so allow me to tell you a little about myself.
I am Madeleine Jade Drees, and I attend Monclova Christian Academy as a senior.
I spend a lot of time doing homework and writing papers.  I work at a small café and enjoy talking with the elderly “regulars” who frequent the restaurant. In my spare time I like to run, read books (usually the same several over and over), and draw pencil portraits. My two-year-old twin sisters are a highlight of my life. I run long distance track and field, and I tend to be competitive. Green tea and water are my beverages of choice—so much so that I drink about a hundred ounces of each a day. I like to research the nutritional values of foods, and I want to study dietetics in college next year. Finally, and most importantly, I am a believer and follower of Jesus Christ, and in all that I do I want Him to be glorified.

I am just stepping into the world of photography, so bear with me as I learn how to use this handy camera of mine!

January - Self-portrait [Jeannette]

Hello.

My name is Jeannette. Jeannette Marie Beerbower, specifically.

This is a good description of me. Jeannette means "God is gracious," Marie means "bitter" (which is appropriate, but how is a story for another time-basically a sweet aroma of sacrifice, describing my desire to live for Christ), and I am a Beerbower, and love being one.

I am a reader (like I said, I'm a Beerbower) and a bibliofile (if you don't know that word, look it up-I'm a logophile too),

and I am a writer.

I am kind of old-fashioned in thought and less than modern in dress. (I love that line.)

My hair is curly,

and I have freckles marching over the bridge of my cute nose, as my older sister would say. I would debate that. (That it is cute, not that I have freckles. I know I do, and I do not mind my freckles.)

I always look over the top of my glasses. Maybe that's why I look like a teacher or an old maid. Plus rocking in an old chair with a soft blanket around me sounds appealing, though I'd rather be rocking a baby or reading than knitting. I prefer crocheting anyway.

I am a sister and I have a lot of siblings. I love it. I considered adding a picture of some of my siblings and my two siblings-to-be because I love it so much, but I already have so many pictures Rebekah will probably yell at me...

I enjoy doing the dishes because I can think and I can sing, two things I do constantly.

I would have posted a picture of me singing, but I don't like pictures of myself. Generally. Yes, even though I agreed to do a self-portrait post, and this isn't the first time I've taken self-portraits. Sometimes, you're your most available and cooperative subject.

 And, in case you wondered, I like photography.

Nice to meet you.

January - Self-Portrait [Parker]

Welcome back to the Visualization Project, everyone! We are all excited to bring you many new pictures in the year 2014. With the increased amount of time we have for each project I know that I was able to take better pictures and I trust others will have higher quality photographs as well. But as my dissertation on the new year of this collaborative project is not what you came here for I hereby present to you the pictures which I hope accurately capture my "Self-Portrait".

For those of you who desire a literary version of my self-portrait, please read on. All others, skip the following paragraphs and you can go right to the rest of the images. Now that is service tailored for the individual if I ever did see it.

I recently moved to the state of Delaware to work as a youth leader and pastoral intern for the next two years at East Gate Presbyterian Church. I have wanted to be a pastor since I started college and the work I have done here so far has only increased that desire. I am a follower of Jesus and this influences every other aspect of my "self-portrait."

I also am a musician, although I cannot claim the same level of musical merit as Rebekah can. I have played violin for several years and I greatly enjoy playing along with other instruments. I am able to play a certain amount of the mandolin and I understand the very basics of a couple other instruments. 

Other activities of which I partake include reading and (clearly) photography. However, near the top of the list of favorite activities would be time spent with people from church. My brothers and sisters in Christ (including those to whom I am related by blood) have influenced me more than I can imagine and I nearly included a picture or two of them in this post.

I hope that I have been able to give you a glimpse of myself in this post. I look forward to bringing you more photographs throughout the year.

January- Self Portrait [Rebekah]

Hello people!

In case you can't tell from the title of this post, I'm Rebekah. I'm really excited for this year and The Visualization Project.

I actually turned eighteen this past friday, the 17th. It's interesting that the Self-Portrait project happened so soon around it. Why? Because the goal of the Self-Portrait project is to capture who your personality, who you are. And turning eighteen, becoming an official adult, has made me think of who I am and how many things about me will stick with me until I die. It's a little scary.

So, who am I?

The pictures will explain. (And no, I'm not Jean Valjean. I already explained, I'm Rebekah, remember?)

In case you want a long, boring, and worded essay of who I am, here you go. I wonder how many of these things will still be true when I turn 50. Odd thought, isn't it?

I'm generally pretty happy. I find enjoyment in many small things. I'm not easily depressed, and I'm not a moody person.

I'm a musician. It all started when I was five. My parents decided my brothers and I should take piano lessons. From there, everything else came into being. About 3 years ago, I decided I needed to learn a second instrument. So, I took up mandolin. I started to play in The Everlasting Word Band, which is the band of Christ The Word Church. The next thing that happened was, one Christmas season Sunday I got to church just as the band began to practice. Suddenly, I heard them exclaim, "Oh no! We don't have a glockenspiel player, and we have a song that absolutely needs a glockenspiel!" (Ok, so they didn't exactly say that, but that was the essence of it.) They cast their eyes around for a solution, and they alighted on me. So I played glockenspiel that Sunday, and most Christmas Sundays after that. I only play glockenspiel around Christmas, so it's not like I'm amazing at it or anything. But it's a pretty cute little instrument. The fourth thing that happened was that I started to sing. I'd always liked singing, but I was rather surprised how much people liked my voice the first time I sang for church. All I can say is, praise God. The fifth thing is that I've started playing around with my brother's guitar. It's pretty fun.

I'm not yo' average reader. The Hunger Games, alright. Eragon, meh. Twilight, I hope I never have to touch it. I prefer heftier reading.

I'm a lover of history and geography. Maps are so exciting. I love hearing minute details about famous historical figures. For example, did you know that Winston Churchill got clobbered by a car in New York City because he looked left before he crossed a street instead of right? I did.
If there is confusion regarding Winston Churchill's accident in your head, let Wikipedia explain here.

I am a photographer. That should be pretty obvious due to the fact that I am on The Visualization Project. As a photographer, I enjoy looking for the way light hits. I like interesting colors. I'm always on the search for textures. And after actually taking the pictures, I love editing them. There's so many different ways you can go with editing.

Last on this list, but not least, I am a child of God. My desire is that you would see it through my posts here on the blog, and that I would use any talents I have for His glory.

So there's my first post for 2014. May there be many more to come!

January - Self-Portrait

No, we're not magalomaniacs or popinjays, generally. Yes, I used those words because there's a good likelihood that you don't know what they mean. In other words, we aren't particularly egotistical people. (If you don't know what that means, well, you should and you were already looking up megalomaniac, right?)

Still, our first project is entitled Self-Portrait.

But don't expect to see a big photo of someone smiling dorkily at the camera. By portrait, we really mean a portrait. As in the definition, "a verbal description or picture, especially of a person's character." Of course, we will focus on the picture aspect. Our intention is to capture something meaningful about the person we are photographing. In this case, ourselves.

So you won't just see a smiling face in a studio shot. You'll see serious faces, busy fingers, maybe even some feet. You might even see some pictures without someone in them at all. Our goal, though, is to give someone looking at these pictures all together an idea of who we are in character and personality, even if they never met us before.

Note: Here at the Visualization Project, our goal is to improve our photography skills. Part of this is encouraging each other and sharing ideas. However, each person will post their own work. This will include taking our own self-portraits. Still, for this particular assignment, other people's hands may be used, as long as the photographer is the one designing and directing the photograph. Nevertheless, creative tripod and timer use is encouraged.

We hope you find this an appropriate introduction to the members of the Visualization Project.

A New Visualization

Hello, friends!

We are excited to let you know that The Visualization Project is getting a few new changes for the new year!

Perhaps one of the most exciting changes is that we are adding another member, Madeleine Drees! Maddie is a talented artist with a unique eye, but as the realm of photographic art is new to her, we're all excited to see how The Visualization Project grows her strength in this area. Welcome to the blog, Maddie!

The next change in The Visualization Project is that we will only be posting once a month. Before you howl in dismay, let us explain. Last year, while we started out strong, we got bogged down by the weekly assignments, as you can see by the lack of posts in November and December. This year, we will be doing one project, not word, a month. These projects vary, but they will be like the Summer Movie Visualization that Rebekah did last year. One project is a movie; another is replicating a famous work of art. They will require a bit more thought and effort, but since there is only one a month, we will have more time to prepare. And, not being bogged down by missing previous weeks, we will have more energy for completing our tasks well and with creativity instead of scrambling to find pictures that only slightly work for the word, simply so we can be done with it.

In addition to the monthly project, each photographer may post individual projects throughout the month. These projects are whatever the photographers wish. We might post some pictures that perfectly portray a certain word, similar to last year. We might post about the colors of spring, or a new concept in photography we've been working at, or anything at all on which we've been inspired. Thus, there will be more going on at The Visualization Project than just the monthly projects.

We hope that these new changes here at the blog will encourage us to persevere by giving us a little more freedom. We also hope you find much enjoyment in our productions. If they are something that you enjoy, let us know! Visit each month and comment to tell us which is your favorite photo, or what you would have done for that project, or how surprised you were by someone's take on it. Tell us what we could have improved. Share our work with others. Post it on your Facebook page. Knowing that people are enjoying our work is a great encouragement to us to continue and to do our best!

We're looking forward to this new year, 2014!

The Photographers at The Visualization Project