Feeling the black and white love

I haven't updated in forever! I finished up the semester with all A's thank you very much! During the break between Spring and Summer I practiced a lot with my camera and photography/photoshop skills. I was able to get a lot done and learn a few editing things and also really solidify my knowledge of manual settings. I started summer school last week and its awesome! I decided to not take any nursing classes as I couldn't hack Anatomy and Physiology in an intense setting such as Summer I provides. So I chose a photography class!!!

Its a black and white 35mm film class. So far we have learned how to develop film and make prints. Our first assignment were these photograms which were awesome. We go into the dark room with light sensitive paper and use a machine called a "developer" to make prints of anything we put onto the light sensitive paper. I experimented with sea shells and some "texas sand" from a well known theme park's dinosaur excavation play station. The park will remain unnamed! I don't want to get in trouble for thieving it!! My kids filled up a water bottle of this stuff. I had no clue until we got home! So I am playing hookie from the nursing department curriculum and taking this film class. I am also taking the intermediate one next month! [insert evil laugh here].

In just two weeks I have learned how to use a developer in the darkroom, make cool pics on light sensitive paper, unroll and wind up a roll of 35mm black and white, non c41 process film onto a reel in complete darkness, wash it with chemicals and water to process it, dry the film, cut them for the negative sleeves and then make contact sheets from the negatives. We also are doing tons and tons of "test strips" to see what duration of light we need to expose our items at. Today I spent almost 6 hours in the dark room making prints from my film. It was awesome.

Other things, we now are a family of 2 adults, 2 kids, 3 cats, 1 hamster and 3 chickens. Yes, I said chickens. Rosie, Henrietta, and Sally. Meet "The Ladies" as dh calls them:

Rosie



Henrietta

Sally (the Black)

The kids are enjoying the 100 degree weather, we are spending a lot of time indoors or outside in the water. Saturday we went to the local splash park and the kids had a blast. They have this zero depth playground with colorful structures that spit and spray water while the kids run through it.

I decided that by the end of this summer I wanted #1 to have a good handle on reading... so we are making great efforts to encourage this. Even #2 wants to know how to spell and offers to tell us how to spell things. So precious. I think #1 might be a math girl, she loves numbers and loves to count, more so than read.

The garden that the kids and hubby planted is doing well, we have spouts on some of the plants. I will need to update more when I know exactly what is going on out there. This class I am taking really takes up alot of my time, its from 3:30-6pm but then you can stay late to work in the lab which I have been doing for the last few nights. As a result I get nothing done during the day t home and have no idea what is going on outside with the garden! I need to ask hubby.