Wide-Angle Wednesday: Be Prepared

Corina Scoggins Wk4 PH124- Nature Theme
Evening Cardinal March 2014

Good Day Fellow Students and Faculty!

The sun has risen in the Midwest and despite the crazy weather we have experienced throughout this winter, all is well and I have stayed on task. The past two days we have had beautiful sunny skies and temperatures in the mid 70’s. 

I continue to work on the four themes in course PH124; nature, macro, reflection, and historical. The themes are basic, and can easily be interpreted in different ways. In the beginning of each course, we’re to read the expectations and announcements. We post our acknowledgements and proceed to week one lectures and assignments. For my current course in “Digital Image Management-PH124”, students were asked to select four themes, and submit forty images, ten per theme in week one. Sounds fairly easy to select four themes then shoot to complete the first week of assignments.

Corina Scoggins Wk3 PH124- Historical Theme
ST Louis Arch, MO  March 2014

Our lives are busy outside the classroom but no matter our personal schedules, assignments due dates are in stone for the most part. Scheduling time to work on assignments is easier said than done. Some assignments can be very detailed in formatting requirements, in addition to shooting images and making post-editing adjustments. I personally prepare myself by reading through all 5.5 weeks worth of assignments the first day I have access to the course classroom. I pay attention to how many images may be needed for each assignment and start to brainstorm subject ideas. This played a big role in what themes I chose for my current course. In addition I made sure I had time in the schedule to complete assignments within a day or two before the deadlines. This is good practice because you never know when something will come up in which may prevent you from making the deadline. After I reviewed the assignments, I realized I would need to submit a total of 240 images; 60 images per theme by the end of the course. I know for myself that means I will be clicking that shutter button at least 1000 times by course end, in order to have a wide selection of images for submission.

Corina Scoggins Wk3 PH124- Macro Theme
Ice Gauge March 2014

I also take into consideration of planning around the weather conditions. Not all will have that flexibility in their schedule, but if you do, try to pick the days in which the lighting is just right for your subject. A week ago I ran into a problem that was weather related. I live on a hill where travel is limited during increment weather to vehicles with four-wheeled drive. Knowing the husband would need the truck to get to work during the ice/snow storm, I would be stuck up on the hill until the road cleared enough to use our non four wheel drive vehicle. This posed an issue in completing the upcoming assignment, even though I prepared myself in advance by shooting the day prior to the storm, I wasn’t able to wrap up the assignment as a whole. Luckily the storm was not as expected, and I was able to get out and complete the assignment on time. I had originally scheduled myself to shoot three days prior to the due date of the assignment. If this storm would have been as predicted, I would have lost two days of my buffer zone. During this time, I kept in contact with my instructor, even though the issue didn’t develop fully. 

When we start a course we are reminded to be prepared in many ways. First and fore most we must have access to the Internet, and a computer. In addition each course has an equipment, book, and program requirements. I highly recommend each student to review course requirements far in advance of being scheduled. Don’t rely solely on the Campus Common to inform you of upcoming scheduled courses. Contact your academic advisor and discuss your schedule of future courses. After all, equipment for Photography is not cheap, and if you’re like me, purchasing equipment needs to be budgeted far in advance.

AIPOD Course Listing example for BS in Photography

AIPOD Course Catalog-Click Here

AIPOD has an awesome smartphone application in which you can access the classroom and post discussions. The app is very helpful when out in the field shooting for an assignment as a reference to assignment guidelines. The app is a great asset if you have no access to the Internet or a computer but don’t rely on it as a backup. The app was designed for the on the go mobile access to the Campus Common and Classroom. If the assignment calls for a file to be uploaded or written discussion to be in MLA format, the app will be of no use. Though the app has a lot of great features and I do recommend student’s to use it. 

 The Art Institutes Mobile App-Click Here

2014 The Art Institutes Mobile App

Something I never thought about in regards to having a backup computer was a computer that has both Microsoft Office and more importantly Adobe Creative Suite. From the beginning I had a back up computer and Internet, but in reality I would have been up the creek without a paddle because the backups didn’t have the Adobe Creative Suite. I recently upgraded to an iMac desktop because the laptop was just bogged down, and running extremely slow. When I installed the Adobe Creative Suite on the laptop, it took over 12 hours to install. Now that I have a beautiful iMac, I realized I needed to figure out how to install the programs for this new computer. I contacted my academic advisor who let me know that I could install the registered programs on up to two computers. He helped me retrieve the activation and program keys needed for a second installation. Unlike my laptop, the iMac installed both Microsoft Office and Adobe Creative Suite in less than thirty minutes. I have since had the laptop cleaned up and it’s my backup just in case my primary goes down or I have a loss of Internet. Don’t forget to backup your files on an external drive for easy access, no matter the computer you are using.

Corina Scoggins Wk4 PH124- Reflection Theme
Roubidoux Spring Waynesville, MO March 2014

One can only be as prepared as you choose to be 

The late Stephen Covey has a great 90/10 Principal that goes hand in hand with being prepared.

“10% of life is made up of what happens to you…the 90% of life is decided by how you react.” 

–Stephen Covey

 I’m not a fan of the saying “hope for the best, and expect the worst”. Rather I’m doing my best because I prepared for the worst. In the end, being prepared will help in your success even with things are out of your control.

What are you doing to "Be Prepared"

Share your stories, suggestions, or comments below. 

Let us know how you’re prepared to tackle issues when they arise?

Lifetime Member in Scouting!
Today Girl Scouts of USA celebrates 112yrs of Scouting. It wasn't until I finished writing the blog, that I realized what today was. I guess my subconscious was speaking to me. 

Your Wednesday Student Ambassador,

Corina