Note to Self
Alih Rosa
Once Upon a Chicago Boat Ride
Sunset on the water in Chicago, 2025, by Alih Rosa, licensed under CC BY 4.0
Waiting In line for the boat ride, 2025 by Alih Rosa, licensed under CC BY 4.0
I took this photo during a trip to Chicago in May of last year. No matter what time of day I walked past the river, there were always architecture boat tours taking place. The original photo captures many aspects of the city, including the river, buildings, boat tours, and the setting sun. In the cropped version, I chose to emphasize one of the boat tours. Cropping the photo shifts the narrative from a general city landscape to a personal city experience by focusing on the line of people waiting to board. Details, like the flowers on the boat and people taking a stroll, become more focal and tell a more individual story.
A Day at the Record Store
Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
Record stores are one of those places where time travel and instant teleportation are possible. Exploring the global section (my favorite section) and finding music, artists, and songs I’ve never heard of before is just like going on a journey. My mind fills with questions: What is this artist doing now? Are they even still alive? Did they ever think their song would reach someone in the United States fifty years after its release?
While the photo Standing In Line on Record Store Day 2014 (Explored) by Seth Anderson was taken around 10 years ago, the black and white editing made it appear more vintage. Once I looked closer, I could clearly see the photo’s modernity by the posters (I see you Coldplay) and contemporary fashion. I decided to go along with the perceived “vintage” theme anyway and chose the funky rock song “Wah Game Loop” by Kevin MacLeod, imagining the music sounding through the speakers as patrons browsed the record store.
Terms of Use: “A Day at the Record Store” by Alih Rosa is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.
Is This Thing On?
Can everyone hear me? Yes? Okay great! Hi, my name is Alih Rosa and I am super excited to be taking Digital Media Concepts and Production with you all this semester.
I grew up in New Jersey and moved to Florida in 2013. I graduated with a Bachelor’s in Communication Sciences from USF, and I am currently in the second semester of my Master’s in Information at FSU.
I currently work at the USF library as a Digital Scholarship Support Coordinator for the Ornithology Archive, a cool collection of journals documenting the study of birds in North America over the past century. One time, I read a journal entry about someone observing a crow take a shower. He said he had been watching crows ever since he was a kid, but this was the first time in his life he’d seen the bird do that. He was so endearing expressing how even at 90 years old, you can still experience something new that it almost moved me to tears (dramatic but true)! That feeling I get from accidentally finding an inspiring book or text is what draws me to the serendipitous nature of libraries (and maybe I’ve been let down one too many times by book-tok – but hey, now I know better than to take book recommendations from an algorithm).
When I’m not working or studying, I’m checking out new coffee spots, watching movies, or capturing moments on my camera. Recordkeeping is something I enjoy in both my librarianship work and hobbies, and my personal recordkeeping practices have covered a wide range of ground. Whether it’s filming daily vlogs, taking photos, or creating super specific music playlists, I love all the fun ways I can capture memories. Admittedly, I take a very DIY approach to these personal projects, and don’t always look into the “right way” to do things. For example, I am terrible with audio, and rarely plan for videos (I mostly go off of vibes).
I’d like to be more thoughtful about recordkeeping so I have better quality memories to look back on. I’m looking forward to learning foundational digital media techniques when it comes to documentation practices in my library work and personal life!