Ok, I'll admit it, I read Seriously, So Blessed! But can you really blame me?  It's hilarious...Anyway...She's doing a drawing for these adorable camera bags from Jo Totes and I want one!  This way I can carry around my camera stuff and my school stuff all at once...good plan right?

I Love My Pinhole Camera Part 2

Step One: Cover all your windows with black paper.  Make sure no light gets in!

Step Two:  Cut a small hole (Trace a nickle or something to make it round) Out of the black paper

Step Three: Turn off all the lights and enjoy watching the world around you, right on your living room walls!

The images are reversed and upside down...but it's still way cool.  It even looks 3D!

We had fun watching our neighbors walk around in the parking lot!

Ben, taking a nap under the trailer park.

Ben and I spent part of the afternoon "car" watching on our ceiling.

This was not projected on our walls...this is Julia.  My sister.  I took her picture with my new lens!  Beautiful? Yes.

I Love My Pinhole Camera

Here are the images with my pinhole camera.  I love how unpredictable they are :)

I built my first pinhole camera this past week and I think I have fallen in love all over again.  First of all, it's made out of an Ovaltine can...my favorite food ever.  Second, I missed being in the darkroom.  I spent about four hours in there on Saturday and I loved every minute.  It almost broke my heart when I had to leave.  I loved experimenting with different exposure times and finally discovering what worked.  Figuring out how to get the images focused was a problem at first, but in the end, the images are beautiful.  They are black and white of course, but who knew you could get such distinct values out of a little hole poked in the the bottom of a can.  I'm seriously considering doing this for my BFA...we'll see :)  Anyway, I have to scan the images later this week for a presentation...so you will see them soon.  Excited?

Having Julia up here with me at school has been one of the best things ever!  We had a Sister's Saturday this weekend and it was a blast.  We hung out, cut eachother's hair, had a photoshoot, and went to a play.  Here are some of Julia's pictures I took.  I had her dress up in a dance outfit and took her over to the auditorium.  She was so fun to photograph.

p.s...I hope these pictures look ok on here...they look great on Ben's computer but they look terrible on mine.

Sneek Peek

Here is a sneak peek at the book we have been working on this semester for our Documentary Photography class. The photos are organized chronologically starting with the earliest time of day to the latest.

Pretty much what I have come to realize from this project is that food controls our lives. We make money so that we can feed ourselves, we celebrate by eating food, we blame our problems on things that we eat. Even when we are trying to control our food intake, we still plan meals based on the rules that are set for us. How has food become such a significant part of our lives? Is it because it is so readily available? Is it because it's "fun"? How much food are we wasting by eating because we are bored? Do we take food for granted?

These are just a few of the many questions that have come up while doing this project. It's been a really great experience...but I'll be glad when my whole life doesn't revolve around watching people eat :)

Love,
Rachel Betts

Five Books

My friend Melissa wrote a blog about five of her favorite books, and it got me thinking about all the books I love.  Sooo, I thought I would share :)

1.  Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
The Best Book Ever.  Seriously.  Scarlet O'Hara is such a jerk but for some reason, I relate to her a lot.  Ever since reading this book, I have found myself saying "I'll think about it tomorrow" a whole lot more.  Scarlet is such a strong character who secretly loves Rhett Butler but is to prideful to say it.  Rhett Butler is another strong character who secretly loves Scarlett but is to prideful to say it.  Even when they are married they cannot admit their love for eachother.  It drives me crazy so much that I just can't stop talking about it sometimes.  Just ask my husband, I can relate anything back to this O'Hara/Butler relationship.

2.  To Destroy You Is No Loss - JoAn D. Criddle
The next best book ever.  Seriously.  But it will make you cry, and cringe, and be so grateful for this country we live in.  It follows the true escape of a upper-class family from communist Cambodia.  They do everything to keep themselves safe including playing dumb and swallowing jewels.  I have read this book over and over and it never gets boring!

3.  Watership Down - Richard Adams
I'll admit, I haven't read this book in years, but it was my favorite book all through high school.  I loved reading it when I needed a good cry because it is really emotional.  It's about rabbits...yup, rabbits...who find out that everyone in their little rabbit home is going to get killed if they don't leave right away!  Their adventure to find a new home is really suspensful actually.  There is superstition and plotting.  It might seem a little childish, but it's not at all.

4.  Poisonwood Bible - Barbara Kingsolver
Such a good book.  I read it twice in a row when I had foot surgery.  It's about a radical baptist minister who drags his family into the heart of Africa to convert the Africans to christianity.  The story is narrated by his four daughters and occasionally his wife.

5.  Dancing Skeletons: Life and Death in West Africa - Katherine Dettwyler
This is actually a documentary about Dettwyler herself.  She is an anthropologist working in Mali, Africa studying malnutrition in children and mothers.  The book explains her studies and interesting things that she discovers about people's eating habits and traditions.  This book has made me realize how grateful I am to live in a country where we have basic sanitary options, a variety of nutritional foods, and vaccinations against deadly diseases.  Mothers in Africa are used to losing many children to Malaria, malnutrition, polio, and so many other diseases that we consider to be extremely rare.  This book has opened my eyes, but beware, some parts can be pretty graphic when describing cultural traditions or symptoms of disease.

So there you have it...my five books.  Enjoy :)

Ummm, I just feel like posting something to avoid homework. This week has gone by so fast. Which is absolutly fine with me. I cannot wait for the three day weekend. I need this time to relax and rejuvinate myself. These past few weeks have been really hard. I've been dizzy almost everyday. I don't know how I lived before Ben. I remember days last semester when I would walk myself home while I was dizzy and would just pray that I wouldn't slip or accidently walk into the street. Ben is my hero. He takes me home, sets up the tv next to the bed, and tucks me in so that I'm nice and cozy. He brings me his laptop and glasses of water. I am so grateful for him.

While in the temple today, I read this scripture:

2 Nephi 2:2 "...thou knowest the greatness of God; and he shall consecrate thine afflictions for thy gain."

I know that the Lord has given me my trials for a reason and that somehow, they are actually a blessing. They have been consecrated for my gain. So, instead of being angry and dissapointed in myself when I get sick, I have decided to spend my time counting my blessings and thanking God for the strengths I have been given through this trial. I think that's a much more productive way to spend my time :)

<3 Rachel Betts p.s. Stevie Wonder is amazing!