Don't worry, it's not nearly this complicated

I’ve been getting lots of questions from friends and readers about how I created my light writing images, so I’ve decided to share my knowledge.  I’m doing this for a couple reasons:  I wanted to help other experimental photographers out there with creating new art, I spent far too many sleepless nights taking pictures and learning what works best, and because when I first started looking for information on how to do light writing the best advice I could find was something along the lines of “set your camera on a timer and then use some lights to draw stuff.”  I’m going to go a bit more in-depth for you.

I took my pictures with a Canon Rebel xsi and I generally used the same settings on my camera for each picture.  Here are my settings and why I used them:

I decided to start experimenting with light writing.  For those of you who don’t know, light writing is made possible through the use of long exposure on your camera and bright lights.  When you set your camera to a long exposure and then use lights to draw or write, the image becomes over-exposed in those areas and your drawing appears above what would normally be seen.  To give you a better idea, here are some of the pictures I have created.

Follow me on Twitter! http://twitter.com/quilnib

If you liked these pictures you may like to read my new How To post for lightwriting!

Here is a recently designed typography calendar I created for my Graphic Design class.  Enjoy!

 

Follow me on Twitter! http://twitter.com/quilnib

In order to get anything in life one must possess a certain set of skills.  One of these skills is known as the art of negotiating.  Sadly, being able to properly negotiate is one skill most people lack.  I’ve recently broken down a list of some of the most important nuances of negotiation along with a few exercises you can use to improve your skills.  I’m going to turn this into several posts, but here is something to start you off.

First things first, Confidence.  Confidence alone will usually get you what you want.  There are a few greats ways to increase your confidence.  If you want to imporve your ability to make decisions confidently try these two exercises out for two days each.

Exercise1:Every time someone asks you a question such as “what movie do you want to watch” or “what would you like to eat” do not reply with an “I don’t know, what do you want.”  Instead make a decision right then and there.  Don’t worry about the other person being unhappy with your decision, if they actually have an opinion contrary to yours they will let you know and you can decide on something else.

Exercise2:When you are walking down the sidewalk, the hallway of a building, or wherever there are people, try to make eye contact with someone and do your best to not be the one who breaks it first.  Don’t be creepy about it either, just give them a smile or a nod and you’ll be fine, but do your best to keep the eye contact until they break it.

I’ve seen people become immensely more confident in themselves with these two exercises alone within a matter of weeks.  They really work great.

Simply asking for what it is you want is a highly successful tool.  Most people are too afraid to ask, so they are never able to get what they want.

Follow me on Twitter! http://twitter.com/quilnib

I was able to boost my confidence, become a more outgoing individual, and make a ton of new friends in as little as a week.  It was actually a lot easier than it sounds.  All I had to do was follow this simple piece of advice, “Do one thing everyday that scares you.”  The one thing that holds most people back is themselves and the fears they possess.  Whether those fears are irrational or not makes no difference.  Forcing yourself to confront them is the best way to get over them.  Once you start to question some of your fears the rest of them seem less scary than they once were.  Here is an example:

You stop at a local coffee shop on your way to work at the same time everyday.  Everyday you see the same girl going in to get coffee as well (ladies, imagine it’s a guy, you can be outgoing too!).  You always hope that some sort of crazy situation will come about where you two are forced to start a conversation with each other and just hit it off right away.  This of course never happens, and you never do anything about it, because you are afraid of how you will be received by this other person.  So everyday you see this “unattainable” person and you get a case of the “what ifs.”  That’s no way to live your life.  Here is a plan this individual can use the next time they are getting coffee.  Go up to the girl while she is still in line for her coffee and be completely honest.  Say “Hi, my name is _______.  I see you in here almost every day and I would really like to buy you your coffee this morning.”  That’s really all you need to do.  Most people will be so flattered by the offer and your honesty that they will be instantly impressed with you.  Yeah, it’s scary, but that’s the point.  Once you’ve done it you realize that it doesn’t need to be scary.

You can repeat this process as much as you want for as many different things as you can think of.  Figure out what scares you, and do it.

Here are a few of the things that I have done to scare myself and the rewards they have created: (S for scare, R for reward)

S: Walked over to the arts building on my campus and knocked on professor’s doors until I found one willing to help me create a minor I’ve had in mind for a while.             R: I now have a Graphic Design minor

S: Attempted to get on the roof of my dorm building through irregular means.             R: While I didn’t get to the roof, I’ve got some great stories of my attempts and made a few friends along the way.

S: Local television channel had open interviews for jobs (some on-air) and I decided to go.                                                                                                                         R: Not only did I end up getting a job, but while I was there I met an absolutely gorgeous girl (who was also there for the interviews) and scared myself again that day by asking her for her phone number.  I should hopefully be getting coffee with her sometime this week!

Go ahead and write about something you did that scared you, and the rewards it brought in the comments below.

Follow me on Twitter! http://twitter.com/quilnib

When most people think of college food they think of Ramen Noodles.  An extremely cheap food enjoyed by most of us in the college community.  I’m here to tell you the easiest way to prepare Ramen in your dorm room.

The easiest and best way to cook Ramen has been something I have been working on for a long time, and I can finally say that I have discovered the perfect process.  There are only two things necessary for accomplishing all of your Ramen cooking needs.  First, an electric water kettle.  Electric water kettles are probably one of the most useful items you could ever have in a dorm room, and I’ll discuss further uses for them in a moment.  One of the best things about an electric water kettle is that because of how they work most dorms do not have rules against having them in your room, another great thing is that you can usually buy them for between $15-25.  I bought mine (same as pictured) for about $20 at Target.  The second item you will need for your Tamen is a Ziploc Twist ‘n Lock tupperware container.  These can usually be found for about $3.50 or so at your local grocery store.  I have included pictures of each of these items to ensure clarity.

Here are the 5 simple steps to cook your Ramen:

1. Flip the switch on the electric water kettle to begin the boiling process (it should only take a couple of minutes)

2. Break the Ramen into quarters and place in Ziplock container (I recommend doing this in the container to reduce mess)

3. When Water kettle is finished pour your now boiling water into Ziplock container until Ramen barely begins to float off the bottom

4. Screw cap on tightly and wait until noodles are cooked to desired amount.

5. Stir in desired flavor packet and your done.

The screw on cap of the Ziplock container traps the heat and cooks your food with the hot water and excess steam.  The container is also extremely easy to clean afterward.  This process can be used to cook many different types of food including oatmeal and mac ‘n cheese.  Along with cooking food, your electric water kettle can be used for making hot beverages such as tea, and hot chocolate.  It can also be used for purposes of cleaning, where hot water can be extremely useful.

Don’t forget to follow me on Twitter!  http://twitter.com/quilnib

It has been a long standing tradition in my family for each individual to make their choice of cookies at Christmas time.  Sadly, the only one who still does this is my younger sister, but thankfully she always made the best cookies anyway.  I’ve decided to be generous this year and share the recipe for these amazing cookies.

Probalby the most amazing cookies ever!

Ingredients:

2 cups of butter or margarine softened (4 sticks)

2 cups powdered sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla

1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)

4 1/2  cups flour

1 12oz. package semisweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup chopped pecans (optional)

1 cup maraschino cherries, drained and cut into four pieces each

In a large bowl, cream the butter (slice up the sticks of butter to go faster).  Mix in powdered sugar, and beat in vanilla and salt.  Gradually add flour, mixing until well blended–this isn’t easy because the batter gets stiff.  Mix in chocolate chips, pecans and cherries (cut the cherries with scissors, it is easier than chopping).  Again, dough will be stiff!  Create teaspoon sized balls of dough and place then on an ungreased cookie sheet.  Slightly flatten and bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.  Makes 4-5 dozen cookies.

Special thanks to Pamela Kellow for her amazing cookie recipe and also my Sister for being so kind and actually making them for us each year.

Don’t forget to follow me on Twitter!  http://twitter.com/quilnib

The subject of morning breath is something we are all familiar with, it’s in television, it’s in books, it’s even in your girlfriends mouth.  I recently discovered a “cure” for morning breath that is so simple you could almost call it cheating.  My nightly regiment used to consist of brushing my teeth with my Crest pro-health toothpaste followed by a quick rinse of Orajel mouthwash. 

“If you don’t go to church, you are going to hell.”

When I first heard those words, I assumed the accuser was joking.  That is, until I realized I was the only one laughing.  Immediately I questioned him “Why would I got to hell for not going to church?”  With a tone in his voice as if I should know better, he answered “Because God gave you the choice to worship him, and if you don’t then you will go to hell.”  Taken aback by his response I immediately brought to the front of my mind all the knowledge I had acquired about religion.  Three things struck me as important. 

You can squeeze yourself silly before solving your problems

Have you ever been presented with a problem on a Friday that you could not do anything about until the next Monday?  There is a good chance it ruined your weekend because you worried about it the whole time.  I have a question for you.  Why?  Why did it ruin your weekend?  I’m going to guess your response will be something like “there wasn’t anything I could do about it so it just kept bothering me until it was taken care of” or “I tried all weekend to come up with a way to solve it, but couldn’t think of anything.”  Did you ever try not worrying about it?  It is much more effective than you think.