gather: a stop-motion video & how-to

A short stop-motion video about ephemeral art. I went to Utah Lake, walked around the shore for 45 minutes listening to an Iron and Wine playlist. Every time the word "the" was sung I would pick something up. This composition documents what I gathered during the process of performance that day.
[Song: Generator (Second Floor) by Freelance Whales].

and now for the how-to, if you ever want to make a stop-motion video yourself:

{for mac users only}

1. decide upon a simple idea first

2. take stills of an object that you slowly move/add unto/take away from. {best if the camera is in the same position, so use a tripod!} take a picture for each frame, start to finish. for example, if you wanted to capture a toy moving from one place to another, take a picture of it, move it a small amount, take another picture, move it, take a picture, and so on until you are done.

3. upload photos to iphoto {edit accordingly}.

4. quit iphoto and open imovie. create a new project. 

5. on the right hand side of the timeline there will be an icon of a camera, click on it. select the pictures you want to use, they should already be in the order you uploaded them in. drag and drop them into the box of your new project. {on my screen it is the upper half section of imovie, above the timeline}. 

6. now that all your stills are there you can adjust the speed you want the photos to appear. hover your mouse over the first still and you will be able to change the settings of the clip. change the number of seconds. you also have the option to apply that time frame to all slides. 

7. to add music, select the music icon on the right side of the timeline and you can pick a song from your itunes. drag and drop that into the space as well. 

and voilá! if you want to edit it more complexly just look up tutorials online, there are lots of them! 

if you have any questions, you can ask me but i won't guarantee i know the answer. 

enjoy! 

land art.

remember this post about the land artist richard long, and all those previous posts with pictures from deer creek reservoir? well i did an artist presentation on him in my contemporary art class and also had to do some work in response as a part of it. so that's why i drove all the way over there after general conference on saturday, and i am so glad i did. it was a beautiful day and there was no one in sight. 

so these are my quick little attempts i have to share. resulting in at least three splinters from the grass, and a car full of bugs from the bark i brought home. worth it.

check out richard long's work here. 

 tried to make a line with grass where the water meets the shore. unsuccessful. still have the marks to prove it.

happy end of classes! 

now go listen to some dirty projectors, arcade fire, beirut, and local natives. 

far from home, all alone, but so happy.

lately i can only describe my motives in one word: wanderlust. kind of perfectly cheesy right? i don't know why but i continually have this overwhelming yearning to be on top of something- a hill, a mountain, a tree. this usually results in at least two impulse drives a day. {i think the greatest blessing in my life is a car, without it i would surely go insane}. i have been discovering the most interesting of places too. full of magic. i like these solitary little adventures, it gives me time to be alone with my music and my thoughts. but company would be lovely too sometimes, so if you ever want to join me, let me know. really do, because then i can go certain places i won't by myself. i guess i draw the line at darkening mountain filled with strange creatures and possibly strange humans}. 

and there i was driving one sunday, trying to get to the top of something, anything, so i stepped out of my car, looked up at a hill, looked at my shoes, then at the setting sun, sighed, got back in the car and drove home. i am going to miss these majestic canyons when i go home to florida in ten days. i wish i could stay a little longer and go camping. oh how i just long to go camping {and get lost in the woods}. {guess it will just have to wait for our family reunion in oregon this summer. goonies never say die}.

Herman Melville said it best: "I am tormented with an everlasting itch for things remote."

{locations: deer creek reservoir & provo canyon}

{cameras used: nikon d50, iphone}

while others are thinking about finals and focusing on studying, i am just sitting here looking at the remains of my orange wishing it would've lasted longer. {i don't have to study for ANY finals}. and as justin bieber plays in my apartment, i am sure glad that it is almost over, because i am not certain how much longer i can last without cracking. 

{title: an allusion to "from finner" by of monsters and men. they are trying to make it into my top 5, and they are doing a really good job of it}.

the blue sky series. {love note to spring ii}

i find myself gazing up a lot these days. after all, up is the best place to look. 

thank you spring for coming earlier than expected. and thank you for being beautiful.

{all photos taken at deer creek reservoir}

and while you're at it, please go listen to the beatles. 

they can brighten any day. 

artist || richard long

richard long creates art using nature and he walks all over the world to do it.
here is an excerpt from his website: 

"In the nature of things:

Art about mobility, lightness and freedom.

Simple creative acts of walking and marking

about place, locality, time, distance and measurement.

Works using raw materials and my human scale

in the reality of landscapes.

The music of stones, paths of shared footmarks,

sleeping by the river's roar."

all the leaves are brown and the sky is grey...

For my photo class we were assigned to shoot photos with design elements. You wouldn't think there is anywhere to take good pictures in Provo, but going downtown and to Utah Lake turned out to be perfect. At some points I actually felt like I was in the country, not to mention the gorgeous horses :)