Subtleties & huge effects.

      This is such an odd story, but it really affected me. Here goes:
I was watching an episode of Spongebob Squarepants: Survival of the Idiots. I wasn't too into it, so I got up to pour myself a cup of coffee. I could still hear the TV from the kitchen, but I wasn't paying much attention. Then all of a sudden, Spongebob and Patrick walked into Sandy's tree dome to find a snowy wonderland, and I heard a beautiful melody:

Mantovani's "Skater's Waltz"

I froze.
It was the song my mother hummed whenever we danced around the kitchen. She always said she couldn't remember the name of the song, but she thought it was pretty. We would spin in circles and hum this song, and every time at the very end, she would adorably squeak the word "Dip!" and dipped me like we were waltzing, then said "Kiss!" and we'd hug kiss each other on the cheek, and then we'd part ways wearing smiles on our faces.

      Never having known what the song was called, and never having heard it outside my mother's beautiful voice, I was overwhelmed, wondering if I could ever hear it again. I opened my laptop and searched for the episode's transcript to find that the song is called "Skater's Waltz" by Mantovani. I listened to it online and immediately sobbed. Being a good photographer, I also opened the Photo Booth application on my laptop and captured my face just as my mascara smudged.

kiss kiss | hug hug | love love

I am a clone.

       You may have already seen my previous post, My other half. Upon seeing it, my mom's best friend told me that photo of me was strikingly similar to something from my mom's modeling days. Today, I opened an album with some of her old modeling photos, and on the first page was a photo that was strikingly similar.

      We have the same eyes, mouth, nose, eyebrows, jawline, and the same neck and shoulders. Our hair was even styled alike, with the top curled back. I could stare at these forever.

                 To mommy,
                    * kiss kiss | hug hug | love love *
                                                                love, your wee one

THANK YOU.

      I bought both of my parents the obligatory college T-shirt for Christmas last year. This morning, I asked my dad whatever happened to the one I bought for my mom, and tonight I found it neatly folded on my bed.
She never got to wear it.

©Krista Carpenetti

      I pulled it on to find that it fit me perfectly, so now I have yet another way to stay connected with her here on earth.

      I feel like every moment I spend without her, the farther apart we become. I feel like she's fading from me, and I can't grasp her any tighter. I depicted this by using a flash combined with a long shutter speed to make the shirt translucent. I also did not crop the photo to show how small I feel sometimes. I'm surrounded by clutter and craziness and nothing makes any sense, and I just fade right into it, unable to separate myself and pick myself up.  The shadow from my chest down is another faded version of myself doubled over with my hands on my face. This represents the side of me that few people see anymore. It can burst out at the most awkward of times, and it's moments like these that I am grateful for understanding friends.
     That being said, all of those words you see written on my walls, the words I'm melting into, are words written by people I love. There are inside jokes, "I love you"s, Bible verses, and plenty of memories scribbled on all four walls in my beloved bedroom. If it wasn't for people like them, I wouldn't be functioning right now.

Without further ado, I'd like to extend a huge

t h a n k   y o u

to everyone who has embraced me, held me up when my knees gave out, dried my tears, sat with me in silence, let me cry on their shoulders until their arms fell asleep, told me I'll be okay, prayed for me, reminisced with me about her, bought me chocolate, told me stories until I fell asleep, cuddled with me, sent me thoughtful letters/texts/Facebook messages/blog comments, took pictures with me, bought me colorful balloons and cake for a surprise early birthday party, listened to me blubber, empathized with me, sat in my car with me late at night while I cried my heart out and calmed me down with the most loving words I've ever heard, brought me homemade muffins, wrote "I ♥ Krista" on the window behind me then ran, let me borrow treasured stuffed animals, sent me surprise presents in the mail, ran from who-knows-where just to deliver a much-needed hug, stayed up with me until the wee hours of the morning, let me curl up in their beds while they do homework just so I could have some company, and gently kissed me on the forehead. 

I remember all of you and everything you did for me, and I will never ever forget. I am forever grateful for every ounce of healing power you bestowed upon me, and I would never have made it without each of you. I love you.

My other half.

My friend Nailea, with whom I was reunited in Fried Chicken, Seagulls, and a Bathrobe, came up to RIT with me for a few days. Today we went to the studios and created art like the good photo students we are. We played off opposites of light and dark for this image. 

© 2011

Congratulations to the happy couple! 11/11/11

      I photographed a wedding for the first time on Friday, November 11, 2011. I took 580 photos and kindly narrowed it down to 518 (haha) when I burned them on CDs for the bride and groom. I asked the bride if I could use some of my favorites for a blog post and my portfolio. She agreed, so here is a sample of my wedding photography!

Accidents are the best.

      I think it's safe to say every photographer has taken a photo with a certain intention (or maybe no specific intention at all) and ended up with a photo that impressed them more than they expected. Well, this is one of those moments in my experience as a photo student. I was testing a portable strobe setup (see the second image) in my kitchen, using myself as the subject until I could use a model. I took dozens of photos of myself, just standing there, waiting for the 10-second self-timer to end. In this photo, I was initially looking into the camera lens, but at the millisecond the shutter opened, I shifted my gaze to look out the window to my right. The final image resulted with my eyes having an extremely glazed over appearance. My odd appearance is also complemented by the note I had written on the fridge earlier. Needless to say, I fell in love with this photo, and decided to share it with you. 

"Craziness has taken over the better portion of my nearly-liquified brain."

This is the setup I used... only in the living room instead of the kitchen.

The other face.

      The goal of advertising is to convey a message in two to three seconds. For my Elements of Advertising Photography class, we were required to create a still-life in the studio with about ten objects that illustrates a point. I chose to depict superficial beauty by creating a visage with only the makeup I had in my bathroom (plus fake eyelashes I bought for Halloween).

© Krista Carpenetti

Although I must say that it was slightly awkward kissing the paper.

My favorite summer photo shoot.

      This past August, I worked my first shoot with actual models rather than my super-attractive friends as I usually find myself doing. I kept a folder filled with the beautiful shots, and handed off a copy to the female model, Rebecca, for her portfolio. I came across them in my heaps of folders on my Mac, and I decided to edit a few to share.

© Krista Carpenetti

© Krista Carpenetti

Models: Rebecca Karwoski, Josh Sibio

Popsicle sticks in flight.

My roommates Cole and Mark were making adhesive-free structures made solely of popsicle sticks that "explode" when pressure is applied in the right area. Thankfully, they support my photography addiction and made some especially for me to photograph as they detonated.

My first camera obscura.

I've always wanted to try making my own camera obscura. In my History & Aesthetics of Photography class, the professor explained how to create one and told us to make our own as a final project. I wanted to practice before I made one to be graded, and this is the result.

Herbz McGurbz.

      For a little less than a year now, I've been pondering adopting a bunny rabbit. I really needed something to snuggle and love and fill this void I have in my heart. I decided early on that I would name him Herbie. I'm not sure why that name struck me, but it did, and it turns out someone close to me also had a pet named Herbie when she was younger. Taking this as a sign, I kept turning over the idea in my head, thinking about whether I would have time to care for another life, and where I would even keep it, since I reside in a different place every year or so. Over the summer, some close family-friends offered me a free bunny cage--which happens to be the most expensive part of buying a bunny--another good sign. I graciously accepted it and brought it to college with me just in case. It's a good thing I did, because after months of deliberation, I went to the pet store yesterday and allowed my heart to be melted by this little fur-ball:

Say hello to little baby Herbie.
He says hi back.
He poops everywhere, but we're working on it.

The learning process.

Krista Carpenetti © 2011

       I had never used Photoshop® before I attended RIT. So needless to say, my brain is constantly overwhelmed with all of the fabulous new ways I can manipulate my precious images. After some one-on-one instructing and a quite a few Internet tutorials, this is what I have done with a picture of my friend Zach that I took last week. It took about six hours, and I'll probably add more to it as I learn about new methods and tools. For now, it shall serve as my newest masterpiece.

Morning.

I shot and edited this video this morning. Don't ask me how I managed it.

Abrupt.

This is what happens when I learn how to use professional video and audio equipment paired with professional editing software. The goal was to create a rhythm, but I got kind of carried away in the end. I recommend watching it twice just to get a feel for the beat.
PS: That's my hand flicking the lighter. I had some trouble.
And yes, that's my maniacal laughter in the end.

I miss you.

That is all.

The face.

      So, I went on my first outing to a club. Never having been a part of that scene, I was glad to find out that my friends and I were headed to a gay club, where heterosexual and "grabby" men would not typically thrive (so I hoped). Well, about twenty minutes into our adventure, after we got the "under 21" X's on our hands and inched our way past the bar and to the dance floor, I encountered an unpleasant surprise. A man about half my height, twice my age and three times my width attempted to dance with me. I thought, "Heck, this is awkward for me, and instead of pushing him away and running, I'll try to make this awkward for both of us. From the moment he pulled me in, I made this face and DID NOT STOP:

I, with my exceeding amount of image manipulation skills, attempted to recreate the lighting and overall visual atmosphere (as well as an accurate viewing angle) for the moment this stranger and I shared.

      As I mercilessly glared at him like this, he stood on tip-toe and yelled in my ear, "You're so beautiful." I slightly faltered at this, and said "Thank you?" with a question-like tone. Apparently he wasn't getting the message. So when he raised my hand and backed up insinuating that I twirl or whatever, I started doing the robot. I didn't even stop when he came closer. I just twitched and glitched and shifted mechanically (still with this face, mind you) and slowly began to slide away. I exited his vicinity and then made a run for it. 

And so goes the recreational life of Krista Carpenetti.

Shake your bon bon.

      Whenever I'm in the studio, I like to do a self-portrait just to document my life. I was listening to a few of my favorite songs, and I guess I got carried away in the moment. The best part was that my professor found these on my camera. 

A Tribute To You.

      I recently learned how to use different types of software to make movies, so I thought I'd give stop motion animation yet another try. This is one of the most emotional pieces I've produced. I feel like explaining it all to you would take away from its suspenseful and distressing theme, so all I will say is that every frame of it was produced with my mom in mind.

Dear mommy, 
I love you, 
I miss you, and
I hope you like this. 
I know you'll understand every bit of it.
This is my tribute to you.
kiss kiss hug hug love love
Love,
Your wee one,
Krista May <3

I am so sorry about the quality. It's actually a very large file, but I guess Blogger compressed it a lot, so even the sound is cruddy... I'm pretty disappointed, but I wanted to share this.

More stop motion!

Forgive the less-than-presentable stick figure and choppy ending. My expertise is behind a camera lens, not with paper and scissors.

Music by 
Mumford and Sons: Little Lion Man

"Smoked" salmon.

      My friend Emma and I wanted to cook all fancy-like, so we whipped up some salmon, mashed potatoes, sauteed vegetables, and salad. In the process, a little too much oil was added to the pan used to cook the salmon, and an adventure ensued. For the first time this year, Emma managed to set off the fire alarm, and consequently the entire building evacuated until security and the fire department appeared. All I can say is that I am very proud of my Emma, and I look forward to our many adventures to come.

Those things are louder than any man-made object I've ever heard.

The crispy culprit.

Emma applying her recently learned lesson and being extra careful.

The finished colorful dish.