Friends as Family
Alyssa Mitchinson
Desert Lollipop
I took the original photo (left) last year while on a trip to Utah. We were driving to the Salt Flats and had plenty of time to kill during the long car ride. I spent a decent portion of that time borrowing my younger brother’s camera and messing around with the different settings. For many pictures, I used my lollipop as a subject.
For the revision of the photo (right), I decided to crop the photo to un-center the lollipop using the rule of thirds. I feel like this actually serves to highlight the lollipop as the subject, even though it’s no longer in the middle. An additional benefit is that it crops out unnecessary details and simplifies the background by getting rid of most of the car window frame in the original picture’s right bottom corner. I also brightened the picture just the tiniest bit. Overall, I think the new photo is much clearer.
Original: “Lollipop Test Image” by Alyssa Mitchinson licensed by CC BY-NC 4.0.
Derivative: “Desert Lollipop” by Alyssa Mitchinson licensed by CC BY-NC 4.0.
Railroad Blues
Railroads and trains have always felt nostalgic to me, so I gravitated towards images of them for this assignment. Where I grew up, we had to cross a set of railroad tracks to get onto the highway, so crossing them always felt like a sign of an adventure. Now, I see them most often whenever I have to cross through the seemingly-empty middle of Florida to visit my family on the other coast, which are trips filled with both solitude and nice music. Railroads always reminded me of travel, and now I associate them with my long-distance driving playlist of folk, blues, and indie music. So, I decided to combine the picture of railroad tracks with a blues song by Kevin MacLeod (though the song was trimmed in order for it to be uploaded). Now you can feel like you’re along for the ride with me!
For this derivative work use: “Railroad Blues” by Alyssa Mitchinson is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
Hello class!
My name is Alyssa and I live over on the Space Coast of Florida in a small city called Rockledge. I’m in my second year of the MIS program at FSU, where I’m studying for a career in librarianship. Going hang-in-hand with that, I currently work part-time with Brevard Public Libraries doing circulation. I’ve only been working there for a few months but it’s already been an incredible experience.
I’m not one for professional photos, but I love my digicam and preserving memories. The picture to the right was taken when my friends and I were visiting Austin’s Coffee in Orlando on their Jazz Night. On the left is my best friend Jojo and I’m on the right. I used to live in Orlando while getting my undergraduate degrees from UCF. I got a BA in English (creative writing) and a BS in psychology. Creative writing is one of my biggest hobbies, and one of my lifelong dreams is to become a published fiction author. In my spare time, I also enjoy walking around my local park, and doing various arts & crafts activities like painting, sewing, and wood-burning.
Like many others in this field, I also love reading. At any given time, I always have a book I’m working through, and I won’t be stopping anytime soon, especially since working in a library has doubled my TBR list. Right now, I’m reading a novel called Good Spirits at the recommendation of one of my coworkers. My friends and I also have a book club to keep each other accountable on our reading goals and to discuss books.
My knowledge is a bit limited when it comes to computers, editing, or digital media. That being said, I find editing photos to be interesting (it goes hand-in-hand with photography, after all) and I’ve dabbled in it on occasion. I’m hoping this class will help me improve my skills and to hopefully have fun in the process!