Caleb's Creative Chronicles | Week 10 (11/25 - 12/1)

Hey there, welcome back to my Creative Chronicles blog!

I hope that you had a great Thanksgiving and were able to relax while stuffing your face with all kinds of amazing food. I know I did, with lots of mac n cheese and mashed potatoes. Never really been a stuffing kind of guy, but that's a topic for another day (I'm sorry if you really love stuffing).

With it being a break and all, I was able to focus on creative things that weren't school-related for once and really get into the spirit of the Christmas season. I went to a Christmas parade, walked through an incredible local light show, saw friends and family, and dealt with the impending doom of a snowstorm. It was a busy week, but oh so much fun! Here's what I created!

Lapses

It's status quo now to include some lapses from the past week. This app is honestly just amazing and I can't recommend it enough for a free option that produces retro photos in just a couple of hours. And you can download and post them? There's no reason not to have it. Anyway, here they are.

Found a Liminal Space

At the YMCA I go to there is a pool with a large water slide, which I feel is pretty standard for YMCA's. On my way down the stairs from a workout, I noticed that the whole waterpark/pool area was empty. It reminded me of all the "dreamcore" TikToks that have been popping up on my for you page recently so I tried to make my own version.

These Dreamcore photos I'm referring to look pretty similar to this. Closed-in areas with slides that come from and lead to nowhere, and the most important part is that no one is there.

Writing Reel

This week I was able to create another reel that I uploaded on TikTok and Instagram. It showcases the struggle of wanting to be a writer, but as a young adult who still is trying to figure out who they really are.

Walking the Lights

You may remember from one of the earliest weeks that I made a video of my girlfriend and I at Gull Meadow Farms checking out all the fun fall stuff they had going on. For Christmas, they set up a ton of light decorations in order to capitalize on the season but also spread Christmas cheer. I definitely felt the Christmas cheer entering my soul while walking through their tunnels of trees and the field of light statues.

November on Film Series

With every month, I want to make a series of what I can capture within the month. So now that we're entering December, November 2024 is wrapped up and posted to my socials in its full form. The reason I'm calling these "films" is because I'm editing them to the point that I think it looks like film. The grain, haze, soft lighting, color filters, and other stuff are being meticulously edited to turn digital photos into film.

To see the whole series you can check out my Instagram or TikTok!

Anthology for Class

Over break I had to finish my role as an Ordering and Layout participant for my Capstone class' book of student works. Basically, each of us in this class created a piece of work (poetry/article/story/etc.) about identity. Mine was a script for a video essay, for example. I and another student were tasked with coming up with an order for all the stories and placing them into a book digitally.

We finally got that wrapped up and now are waiting for the go-ahead to print from our professor. What did I learn? I learned that Canva is literally the best software of all time. I don't understand how something as user-friendly and creative can be a free application. Anyway, I'm excited for the printed version to come out next week and for me to show you all!

Photo of the Week

And this week's winner is...

Hey look, it's the image from the thumbnail!

This photo wasn't actually taken by me but instead a team effort between my friend, Klayton, and me. So the story is that we were walking back from a local bar to home base with a couple of our other friends. We were leading the back, huffing and puffing as we trotted through the snowy sidewalk with occasional cars passing by. Then, we were passing this Marathon gas station which was one of the only buildings in between the bar and my friend's house.

I immediately knew it'd make an interesting photo so I sprinted towards one of the many empty pumps trying not to fail epically from the ice hidden beneath the snow under me. I made it and shouted "Klay, take a pic of me!" and this photo was born.

Not only does it feel peaceful with the snow, soft lights from the bulbs above, and my nonchalant walk through it all, but it's surreal and empty as well. This photo is odd, yet makes sense. It's weird and stupid, but pretty and cozy.

Closing

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog for this week! It was a nice break with some fun new additions to my creative collection. I hope you were able to relax and have an amazing time seeing loved ones and eating delicious food.

It's back to the grind now as I'm entering my last week of classes before exams, technically projects, but mostly everyone else has exams so I'll stick with that. Good luck to you this week and stay creative!

See ya next week!