Street photography

There is a lot of magic in analog photography, but that all happens in the dark room. It's that moment when your image magically appears on the paper. It's frustrating at times, not knowing the immediate result. At the end of the day, I enjoyed that class, but digital is the way to go. You can take a picture and see the immediate results. I am currently in a digital photography class and for my last project, I originally wanted to do street portraits. I wanted to go out there and ask people to take their picture. I was inspired by Clay Enos from a youtube video my brother showed me. 

It was an experience. I'm too scared to ask people, so I got my assistant to go with me haha. Joe was amazing. He asked the people, and I shot the photos. It was not a good day to go out. It was drizzling and super windy on Michigan Ave. It was also very cold. Nobody wanted to stop and get their picture taken. A lot of them said no. The photo below was of someone who agreed. He called himself a space scientist director or something. He was an interesting character to say the least. After all the NOs, the day was well worth it after this man agreed. Here is one of the photos I am almost done editing. 

Who inspires you to shoot? Who are your favorite photographers?

Statement Necklaces!

I've been trying to find the perfect statement necklace for my dress. It's not just any dress, it's the dress. So the necklace has to be perfect! Those who know me, know my obsession for jewelry that has been around since I was 13. I feel like this necklace has to be fantastic, but more importantly, unique. Here are some necklaces that I love, but just aren't quite the one. I haven't given up though! The truth is, the necklace I fell in love with is by Vera Wang and is no longer available. It's probably better for my pocket this way. haha!

Necklace from Ebay!  

This is so pretty and super affordable!

This is a necklace you can rent, and then buy if you love it! 

How awesome is that! It isn't that affordable, but is by the designer Kenneth Jay Lane. 

www.bagborroworsteal.com

I kind of liked this one. I'm not so sure anymore. 

http://dramatic-jewels.com/products/crystal-bridal-necklace-on-multi-strand-collar

This one is no longer available. 

It isn't exactly what I would want for a wedding.

It is a fantastic necklace though. I want it! 

Versace Necklace

This one isn't available anymore, 

but you can look on amazon for some great prices on jewelry.

Amazon!

This is a dream necklace. Tom Binns is a fantastic designer. 

For those who really want a statement and some color, this one is a dream!

Tom Binns

I'm so sorry for the screenshots. It wouldn't let me copy the images.

These two necklaces are fantastic. I've never purchased anything from this

website but their jewelry is simply amazing. I love the second piece for incorporating 

black into their Designer inspired statement necklace. It is stunning. I'm considering this one for a rehearsal dinner or something. The prices are super affordable. 

www.happilyeverafterjewelry.net/#!designer-celebrity-inspired/productsstackergallery3=20

Those are all the necklaces that I love. The one's that I love the most, I can't share just in case Joe stumbles on this blog! 

What statement necklaces are you in love with? 

melissaisaiphotography.com

Artist?

I always feel funny calling myself an artist. As a graphic design major, you would think I would be completely comfortable with the title. I am not though. I feel like calling myself an artist puts a
sort of expectation on me to be someone as great as Warhol, Winogrand, or Maholy Nagy (those were
just the first names that popped into my head haha). So what should I call myself?

On another note...Here is the work that I've recently done for class.

Photography. Earlier I posted my first project. Below is my second project. I always thought thrift stores were interesting. You always find the weirdest stuff, and some stuff is just sad. So I went and explored a few different stores. I tried to pick stuff that was weird or that triggered some sort of emotion. I could go on and on, but I'll just post the images. I'm not sure how successful this project was, and some images are better then the rest. :)

The photos below are from the third and most recent project. The assignment was appropriation. I decided to copy famous abstract paintings from the past. I took them from online and traced over them in Illustrator. I think copying or appropriation is kind of silly. Sherri Levine directly copied other's work and reprinted them. I think that is outrageous. So I wanted to start a similar conversation. On the other hand, as a student, It can be very beneficial. By appropriating you can learn about another artist's style and technique. The following before are from 3 different artists. Throughout the process of copying and drawing them out. I started off thinking it was their work, and then I started calling it my work. It took time to draw and then print it all out. Funny how appropriation works. Again, I could ramble, but I'll show the images below along with the original artist. 

It wouldn't let me upload the images. I am not quite sure why. I don't know how to make it work! For now, here is a screen shot of my? work. There is more, but these are the ones I presented. 

Surprise from the fiance!

Joe came to my job on Saturday. It was the sweetest thing. My manager asked me to go help the guy 'cuz she knew those weren't for her. I turned around to see Joe holding flowers and a Starbucks coffee. It was amazing. I blushed. I took the flowers from him and put it away. I came back and told him to follow me. I gave him a quick kiss and my car keys. He wanted to get my oil changed. How sweet!

He later told me that he got those flowers from Dominick's. He asked them to arrange something for me. He knows that I am considering Dominick's for my flower arrangements for our wedding. They did a great job! They are beautiful and the arrangement is fantastic! I approve! 

Engaged - How Joe purposed to me.

I wrote this shortly after the engagement. I thought I'd share it her on my new blog.



I just got engaged on Saturday, the 8th of January.

It was the best night of my life.

We went out to celebrate our anniversary. He gave me a hint and said we were going
to see an iphoneography exhibit. I got ready and wore something nice. I realize
now why my mom told me to get a little bit more dressed up. haha. He picked me up
and we got Starbucks. because I really had a taste for a hot drink. We arrived at
the gallery when he told me to close my eyes. He ran inside (to make sure everything
was perfect and kick the others out). He came back and let me out of the car when
everything was ready. I walked up to the door and he pointed out a sign he made. 
It said Iphoneography by Melissa Alicea. I was happy to know he went out of his
way to do such a thing as put up my photos in a gallery. We walked inside, said hi to the owners, and walked around. We viewed my pictures on the dividers and on the wall.
We talked about each one and he asked me questions on where/when/and how I took/
edited each photo. It was a very romantic moment. He skipped over one that was on
a stand, and said it was the best one. When we were finished we went back to the frame
that was covered with a black blanket. He told me to close my eyes. Music played in
the background. I opened my eyes when he was ready to see a huge collage of pictures.
There were pictures of me and him throughout the past couple of years. Written in
large red letters was, "Will you marry me?" I was in shock. It took me about 5 minutes 
to read it and understand what the question was. haha. Joe later told me he had
what he was going to say all planned out, but kind of lost it because I took so long. haha.
I turned around to see him on one knee with a tiny black box with a beautiful 
ring inside. He asked me to marry him and told me how much I mean to him. I honestly
can't remember his speech. I was in shock. I started crying and asked him like 10
times, "Really?!?!" It was so unreal to me. I nodded yes while tears poured down my 
face. He started to put the ring on my finger as I laughed and told him he was 
putting it on the wrong hand. He took the other hand and pushed it up my finger. It
was a perfect fit. It was gorgeous. I couldn't actually see the ring right away because I 
was crying so much. I could see it sparkle though, and boy did it sparkle!  We hugged for a minute and he spun me around the room a couple of times. haha. He got a phone call
and said one word. His family and close friends (Roman and Karla) came in. They gave us
both hugs and congratulated us. I couldn't talk, because when they came in I started to
cry really hard again. I cried once more when my family all came through the door. My mom said later that I was shaking like a leaf. I was in "engagementcoma" as Gabi puts it.
It was the happiest moment of my life. A couple more people joined us and we toasted with Champagne.

Afterwards Me and Joe, Roman, Karla, Nikisha, Dyamond, and Fey went out to dinner at a nearby Italian resteraunt. It was really good food and service. We relaxed and spent
time with good friends. After that Joe and I went to his house for an hour just to talk about what happened and laugh.

I am still in disbelief at times when I look at my ring. I can't wait to spend the rest 
of my life with this man. 

Bye Bye Minor in Business...

Ahh. How I love October. There is nothing better then wearing jackets, hoodies, and boots as the leaves start to change and the cool air blows in. I love it!

What I don't love is school. I decided to minor in business this semester. I am enrolled in 5 classes total, two of which are business. The minor is Managerial skills. The class I thought I was doing well in, I ended up getting a horrible grade on the test. I have been extremely stressed ever since. I literally have no idea why I did so bad. I had the notes in front of me. I have been trying to decide if I should drop the business classes. I want to. I would be stress free and then I could actually have time to focus on my other graphic design classes. I just feel like such a failure. I have never had this feeling before. Then again, I've also never done this poorly on a test. Maybe in high school, but high school doesn't matter.

I've e-mailed a counselor and I am waiting for her reply. What a horrible feeling.

Have any of you ever had a drop a class so late into the semester?
Do minors even make a difference?


On another note. I have decided to get a  little bit more serious in my goal to start up my own Etsy shop. I want to make invites, posters, and jewelry. I took a photo of a necklace I am working on. I wanted to show my Fiancé, so I took a photo at work (thus the name tag). Haha. Don't worry, there were no customers in the store. It needs some work, but I LOVE IT! I can't wait to wear it again. When It is finished, I might show how I made it on here.

business failure & jewelry maker,

Melissa

School!

School has been super overwhelming. I'm taking five classes which is no big deal. It's the two management classes that are killing me. I've decided, for now, to have a business minor in managerial skills. I've struggled with this decision and almost dropped those two classes. I decided to keep with it this semester and see how it goes. For now, I have a full load. If I'm not at school, I'm doing homework. If I'm not doing homework, I'm at at work. Its only the beginning of week four, and I'm already a little overwhelmed. Thank God for Sundays. It is literally my only day of rest.

Here is a preview of my work so far...

This was for my Digital Photography II class. The assignment was abstraction. I chose abstraction through architecture as my inspiration.

I didn't turn this series in, but it was also for abstraction. 

The following posters are for Graphic Design IV. This is a work in process... so don't judge me. haha. It needs a lot of work, but why not post it? The project was to go out and take pictures of letters! A type scavenger hunt. I edited the photos and then made the following posters. I wasn't able to upload them, but here is a screen shot of my work in progress in Illustrator. 

School is taking over my life, just as I thought It would. I am sooo happy I accomplished so much for the wedding before school started. I have done very little when it comes to the wedding. The only thing I've done regarding the wedding is jewelry research. I fell in love with a Vera Wang necklace. That comes with a hefty price tag. It'd not affordable for me, but I'm hoping to make the necklace. How cool would it be to say I'm wearing my own necklace inspired by Vera Wang on my wedding day?!?! Love it!

What do you all think about my work? Would you try to make your own jewelry if you couldn't afford it? 

Venue Reviews - Galleria Unico & 22thirty9

There were multiple venues we visited when searching for the right one. We have a guest list of 130-165 so the following two venues would have been suitable for a cocktail reception. Perhaps smaller parties of 60/70 could actually have a sit down dinner.


Galleria Unico is located at 1936 West Division in Chicago. The space is located on the second floor. It isn't very big, so again, a cocktail reception would be ideal. I'll talk about this space more under each photograph.

The pictures above are from the back exit which is a balcony. We thought that when it's all cleaned up, it would be a great place for people to take a break from the party to go outside for a minute to chill. Some Christmas lights around the balcony would give it some sparkle and would provide light once the sun sets. 

Skylight where the stairs are at.

Galleria Unico is located on the second floor. The photo above is the staircase. I think this would be a great photo op. The planner who showed us the space suggested up lighting from below to give it a magical touch once the sun sets. 

The large room breaks off into this smaller space and is divided by large window walls (I'm sure there is a name for that, I just can't recall what that name is haha).

Everything shown above is included with the rental of the space. I LOVED the sofas and the lamps from Ikea. I thought they were fabulous.

You can kind of see the window walls here. I LOVED the large windows and how they let in all that natural light. The hardwood floors where exactly what I was looking for. 

When you are in that little room and look the right, this door is there. It's where they store chairs that available for you to use at no extra cost. 

This is your view when you look down. Nothing special.

Sorry for the horrible pictures. My camera on my phone was all scratched up! This is the main room. The bright windows are where the stairs are. 

As you can see on the right, there are little rooms. There are three to be exact. 

View from inside the room out. They aren't very big. We thought about having one for the photo booth, one for the food, and the other? I'm not so sure. A bridal suite perhaps? 

This is where the bar is. I thought it was a cool little space. 

View from outside to the first floor.

Looking above from outside. 

Another picture of a little room. 

The door. haha

This place was one we really considered. Why? Well here are the pros:

1. The price. A Saturday night is only $1,500. The only "hidden cost" is the requirement to hire security after you pass up 75 people on your guest list. 
2. It is close enough to downtown which is a benefit for all those downtown pictures I want. 
3. They have preferred vendors, but from what I can remember, they are not required. 
4. There are no rules when it comes to the bartender. They don't have to be licensed. This means you don't have to hire somebody with their crazy fees. 
5. The extra rooms where kind of cute. 
6. Joe loved the fact that they had a balcony. 

Cons:

1. The place is small. If we did want a seated dinner the maximum capacity is 70 people. (Cocktail is 175. )
2. Unlike Kitchen Chicago, this room definitely called for decoration. Up lighting would look great in this place and is often used. How would it look? Take a peek at their website and you can see!
3. The small rooms. Although they are cute are they really practical? Wouldn't it be better for a larger, more open space? 
4. I think the drive was a little far. I remember Joe and I hitting traffic on the way back. That was no fun and it took us a little while to get there.

Overall we liked this place. I give it 4 out of 5 stars.

To get a better idea of how this place can truly be transformed, take a peek at the photos I took from their website.

22thirty9 was a trendy little place located at 2239 North Michigan Ave. 

This is the main room. (sorry again for the horrible pictures). 

This place felt a little bit bigger then Galleria Unico. 

When you walk in this is your view to the left. 

When you walk in and continue all the way to the back it opens into another smaller room where the bar is, a place to the lounge, and a couple bathrooms. Large windows are here. 

Those are couches below the windows. 

Here are the couches. I thought they were cute.

The fireplace is cute. The TV? Not so much. Maybe a picture slide show could be displayed? 

The bar! 

I loved this painting. And the brick!

The bar again. This was the best part of the whole place. It was so beautiful. 

Bathroom. (the others were locked)

Bar stool for the first room.

Ok. I lied. This is the best part of the room! 

Imagine the pictures that can be taken here?!

In that mirror/window is where the DJ would go. They have their own equipment. 

View from the outside.

Lots of parking!

I can't remember the price of this place, but I think it was around $3000 ( There is a huge possibility it's less though). 

Pros?

1. The bar
2. The windows. I loved all that natural lighting. 
3. I believe we could bring in our own catering.
4. Parking! Lots of it. There is a lot to the right of it. It would be cool to have access to that for more pictures...maybe a ceremony? 
5. She did show me another room on another floor where I could get away and freshen up/get ready if I wanted to. That was nice. It also had some great photo ops. 
6. Close to downtown.

Cons?

1. BAR! You have to go through their bartender and pay a per person fee. She estimated around $20. She was a little unprofessional and didn't know cost. When we asked her about kids she stuttered. How do you not know this information? She told us she would send it in an e-mail and never did. I don't think they have very many parties there. This was enough to rule out 22thirty9 as our venue. Think about it. 20x130=2600 on drinks! That is more then I want to spend. That's assuming it's a flat $20 a person rate for the night...and most venues do not work that way.
2. The two rooms, although not divided by a door, seemed a little too separate. I'd hate for my guests to be divided on a day where everyone should come together! 
3. Apparently the Chicago mob used to operate in that building. There were killings and supposedly ghosts. When they moved in they had to call "ghost busters". Yes, the lady actually told us that. It's not a con for me, but it may be for the superstitious.  Haha.
4. They didn't have the air conditioning on when we went to view the space. It was hot. That kind of annoyed me. haha. 

Overall, it was a nice place. The bar is beautiful and the large windows stole my heart. The one bathroom we saw was also nice. The cost of alcohol, a bartender, along with a confused planner who never e-mailed me (my biggest pet peeve) gives it 4 out of 5 stars. Perhaps the drink menu could be talked down and worked with. I didn't try it, but I recommend that you do!

Photos from the website. 

melissaisaiphotography.com