Honor

I'm sure you can tell, but I did not upload a photo from New Zealand today. Instead, I put up the video that I edited for the Honor Council to use during NSO (new student orientation) week at CC. Simply put, I joined the Honor Council half-way through sophomore year because I wanted more things to do. I spent freshman year doing the same thing everyday; it got boring and eventually had negative effects on my happiness. So, sophomore year I was determined to join groups that would fill my time with things that I loved to do. The Honor Council was one of them. I had an Honor Code at my high school, but no one followed it and hardly anyone ever got in trouble. It frustrated the hell out of me and definitely helped form a negative opinion of my high school. When I got to CC, people also seemed to take for granted the privileges that come with an Honor Code, which again frustrated me; by the time I got around to sophomore year, I wanted to try to change that. After being at a school that doesn't have an Honor Code for half of a semester, I feel even more dedicated to the cause. At AU (University of Auckland), everything is so formal. You have to fill out everything correctly and the lecturers walk up and down the aisle watching everyone. That stresses me out ten times more than my actual test. I feel like I am guilty until proven innocent. It also made me grateful to be at CC with professors who trust their students enough to have the integrity to do the right thing. When I try to explain our Honor System to students here I usually get the same reaction, "What's keeping you from cheating?" I at first I was shocked at the question, now I just think, "Why would you want to cheat?" To me an A is not worth losing all of what CC has given me, I'd rather add my own thoughts and explore my own mind than lose the respect of my professors and possibly be kicked out of the only school at which I've ever actually wanted to learn. They put so much into us, why can we not put effort into our work for them? I guess I'm just an idealist, but cheating to get a grade just doesn't seem worth it to me.... Then again, I want to be a filmmaker and therefore will end up living in cardboard box, so maybe it doesn't even matter if I get the grade...

Against The Grain

Though it's not an amazing photo, I really like the simplicity of this photograph and all of the different textures - rough rock against smooth skin. I took this in Garden of the Gods, Colorado Springs a year ago.


While you prepare for celebrations on the 4th, don't forget about those still fighting for their freedom in Iran: Iran Cartoon

A Path

I took this photograph while on Block Break from CC. My parents were out in Colorado Springs for a week, part of which fell over my break. We took a road trip to see the leaves change. This was taken on a hike to Maroon Bells.

Peeking

I took this in a student theater at CC. Do you remember the light graffiti image I posted awhile ago (here)? I took this image the same night while we were setting up for the light image. I had picked out my color of gel and was waiting for others to pick out their colors. I saw the light coming out of the door and the obstacles in the way... so I decided to practice shutter speeds and apertures, this is what I came up with.

Just Chillin

I took this photo on a geology field trip freshman year. We camped for a week outside of Moab,UT and spent time in Arches National Park as well as Canyonlands National Park. This was taken when we hiked up to Delicate Arch right before sunset, the two guys in the photograph were in my class. It wasn't staged, they just chose a good spot to rest for a bit.

Beautiful Rise

I'm missing CC a good bit today, so I decided to post an image of an amazing site that I get to see everyday I am at CC: Pikes Peak. I took this image during a sunrise from a high rise in downtown Colorado Springs.

Light Graffiti

I took this photo for a project that I was involved in this fall. This was supposed to be the ending freeze frame to the video we were making about student life at Colorado College (to show the Board of Trustees). However, we never used the image. I still think it is a great photograph, there are 7 people in the image and we took it in the back of a theater. We used gels to cover flashlights to create the color and I put the shutter on a timer (the exposure is 30 seconds). Overall, it took us 14 shots to get this image (the first 4 we were deciding what to make).

This is one of my favorite collections of light graffiti: http://abduzeedo.com/awesome-light-graffiti-pictures

Music Is Soul

Unlike the other two photos I have posted, this one is from the beginning of my time at CC. It is actually from the first weekend of freshman year. I am not completely sure who is in the picture, but I just love the feeling that this photograph gives me. Even though we cannot see his face and there is no sound to go along with the picture, I can feel the beat and imagine the movement. Maybe it was because I was there (although, I can't say that I remember this moment so it must not have been that spectacular), but perhaps there is something more. I guess you can let me know what you think or feel.