Finally....

I finally decided on a collage that I was comfortable with; finally! This is the piece I decided on after many painfull attempts. I would have liked to have done a collage incorporating my favourite bands, but I chose to settle on one that involved the cd or band that first introduced me into the genre of music I listen to. Thanks to Underoath about 4 years ago I have got into all kinds of screamo, hardcore, metal, etc...Anyway here's the final product.....(I'm also gonna try to put up some links on the side to some bands I really dig right now, maybe some live stuff or videos)

Collage Update

Well I haven't posted in my blog since before the reading week so it's about time I give a little update on how my collage assignment went. It was certainly a struggle to complete since I couldn't decide on one that I liked. I actually ended up completing (from start to finish!) seven collages. I actually worked on them over the break and only a couple of days ago did I finally decide on one that I thouoght was o.k. I wanted to do something along the lines of an album art collage of my favourite bands like the example below, but I thought that idea was a little played out and not very original. Then I thought about creating one like the other example with the photos of some of the trips I've taken, photos of good times, even photos of bad times maybe. But this idea was also not very original.

Photoshop Self Portrait

Here's the before and after photos of my self portrait. I hope I can create something a little more complex in the collage assignment since I really felt I didn't use Photoshop to its full abilities. The title is "Moving for the Sake of Motion." I'm not going to explain the meaning of the photo, I'll leave that up to someone's imagination.

Sam Bassett

I have a new influence for my photoshop project. I took an idea from Sam Bassett, a photographer who makes some seamingly simple photographs and makes them look pretty interesting. Here are some examples of his work.

Most of his work is portraits of celebrities, important figures in society, and the ocassional landscape photo. He sometimes takes them out of their elements and portrays them in unusual ways.

Basics of Photoshop

Here's a preview of the work I have been doing in new media 2020d. This was done by using the layers function in adobe photoshop. I made a path and removed the person in the picture and layered him on top of a background found on photodisc.com. I then tranformed the background to fit my selection and decreased the opacity of the figure. I also added effects to make the photo a little more interesting.

Self Portrait Update

Well, I have completely changed my idea for my self-portrait, but Im having a few issues with the organization of the project. I was going to do something on the lines of me being in the background of other people or a city setting of some sort but stumbled along a photo that totally made sense to base my portrait around. However, I saved the photo but didn't record who the photographer was and I can't find it in any photodisc search I do. I just stunmbled across it while searching for city skylines but of course can't find it again. I apologize to the inspiring photographer, but in my project for New Media at the U of L I will have to say my main influence on this assignment will have to remain anonymous! I don't think thats very professional artistic research, but hey I'm new at this.

About Me

Bio:
My name is Dave Peltier and am in my 3rd year of post-secondary education but this is my 1st at the U of L. Im from Medicine Hat, just 1 1/2 hrs down scenic Hwy 3! I am 22 years old and enjoy playing hockey, golf, and the odd poker game outside of school. I enjoy metal/hardcore/screamo music, whatever you want to call it, and of course I like to hang out with friends and put a couple back on a saturday night!

Aspirations:
I received a diploma in accounting from the Medicine Hat College and chose to work for a couple years before attending the U of L. I only came here since it's close to home and affordable to live here. I have changed my major to finance but the classes are basically identical for an accounting or finance degree. Of course I chose this path because it interests me but there is an underlying motive to pursueing a career in finance. With a professional designation of some sort I can work in the United States without becoming a citizen. I really would like to live and work in the U.S. but also have the flexibilty to come back here whenever I like. I would like to get into investments, possiblly a funds manager or something, we'll see when Im done at the U.
In this new media course I really just wanted to become familiar with the programs we'll be using, and hopefully use them in the future.

Technical Skills:
I have used basic photo editiing programs and made a web page, but never used any of the programs like photoshop and dreamweaver and I do have a digital camera.

Favourites:
Some things that top my list right now
MP3s:
1. All That Remains - The Air That I Breathe
2. The Bled - I Don't Keep With Liars Anymore
3. Every Time I Die - The New Black
4. From Autumn to Ashes - The After Dinner Payback
5. Alexisonfire - This Could Be Anywhere In The World
6. Atreyu - My Fork In The In The Road (Your Knife In My Back)
7. Underoath - Moving For The Sake of Motion
8. The Haunted - All Against All
9. The Gorgeous - Mistresses and Marriages
10. From Autumn to Ashes - Where Do You Draw The Line

Websites:
1. purevolume.com - a music site where signed/unsigned artists upload music for listeners
2. smartpunk.com - place to buy music and merch
3. pickuphockey.com - my Medicine Hat hockey pool
4. sports.yahoo.com/hockey - my Lethbridge hockey pool
5. tsn.ca - sports news, stats, schedules, etc.

Films:
1. Casino
2. Goodfellas
3. Waiting

Books:
Sorry, I haven't read an actual novel since grade 12, maybe George Orwell's 1984, that was o.k.

Magazines:
1. The Hockey News
2. Maxim
3. StereoKiller

Here's a little self portrait of myself