Well this week has been a really busy week I wasn't able to get a start on anything I did however choose something to start on its going to take a while but its something I have always wanted to do, and that is play the guitar. So I got a guitar and just need to get a string fixed and we are on our way I will keep you all posted!

SAY CHEESE!.. pinhole style...

So I am a photography major and I have been exploring alternative processes. One that is simple and cheap to do is Pinhole Photography. Basically pinhole photography is taking pictures on photo-paper without a viewfinder or way to frame the image before you take it. I started by making a pinhole camera which is really simple and easy to do you can make it out of pretty much anything, all you have to do is make it light tight. The images are pretty unpredictable which makes it exciting you never know if it is going to be sharp or fuzzy or how the much of the picture you wanted is actually exposed onto the page. Its always interesting to see what the camera catches.

It was really tricky trying to find the right exposure time (the amount of time you let light into your camera to expose the picture) luckily mine all worked out pretty much the first and second time I used them. Most of my exposures were 30-45 seconds. I did a lot of different shots and was really happy with the way some of them turned out. It was really interesting to see what would actually be captured in the shot and how it would turn out. Sometimes the shot didn't turn out anything like I wanted at all but it still looked really cool. I love the unpredictable art it creates and the fact that it is so simple and has been a way of taking pictures for a very long time and it still works today! Its really exciting.

So if you are interested google making a pinhole camera and get out there and start shooting see what kind of unpredictable photographs you can take.

Well I finished my car purchasing. I bought a Nissan Xterra 2000 this week for $4900. It is exactly what I was looking for, it covered the whole check list. I even caught a problem that the David Neilson extensive inspection missed. It all happened when I took it for a final test drive. The door ajar light was on and I was wondering why so I went around opening and closing all the doors only to find that the passenger door had a clunk in it. So decided to bring it up with the dealership. After we took a look inside and decided that it wasn't fixable right then and needed to go to a mechanic. Well 2 weeks later and $400 the problem was fixed and I had my new car. In total I saved $800. Half from the repairs (the dealership paid for that) and half from doing a taxable tow away. This is when you decide to take care the the registration and licensing, that way the dealership doesn't have to charge your for it and you don't have to worry about docking fees. Over all I learned a lot about buying a car, how to inspect it, finding the best price, financing, and everything else that goes with it. I just hope I don't have to go car shopping for a long time... ha ha. I hope you all learned something along the way with me.

Car Shopping!

So I recently was in a car accident that left me car-less as my Suzuki Grand Vitara was totaled from the accident, may it rest in peace. So, as I had no car and a check from the insurance agency for 5,000 dollars was on its way, I went shopping. Well in case you didn't know when buying a car 5,000 dollars is just a nice down payment, for me it was all I had to spend so this was a tricky situation, luckily, my father is a seasoned car shopper and took me under his wing and showed me the ways of used car shopping.

KSL.com became my new friend, I spent countless hours searching the classifieds for a car. The requirements:

-AWD or 4WD

-good gas milage

-low miles

-reliable

-fit my personality

-$5,000 or less

well I thought that this was a reasonable request, not to much to ask for, well for 5,000 dollars it was asking a lot. To my surprise nothing I liked was in my price range, and if it was well it had problems that would cost me some major dollars and cents down the road. So the question became should I get a clunker and save the money now or splurge a little and get the nicer car with less repairs. Well i chose the later of the two and continued my pursuit.

My process was simple search KSL then when I found a car that met the requirements take it to the books; NADA or Kelly Blue Book. These guides are the bible when it comes to used car shopping. They provide you with the cold hard facts about what the car is worth and when it comes to working on a price with your dealer/private seller they come in very handy. So after the car made it through the price machine I would call and set up a test drive. My dad and I test drove close to 15 cars putting each one through (as I affectionately like to call it) the David Neilson inspection. My dad and I would go through the car down to the last bolt making sure everything was in order we did everything, I even got down on all fours in a dress to look under the car with my dad. After the car went through this it was taken for a test drive to fully complete the inspection make sure no noises and clunks came up while we were driving. Most of the cars had a few hitches in the works they needed some work but that only furthered my frustration.

So now I have found a car and I am in the process of buying it. I will keep you posted on what happens next! Hopefully it will be done this week!

Cross your fingers