melissa grace kreider

Ciao, ragazzi! Voting for my Florentine giveaway has begun from today, April 5th until Friday, April 13th! The picture with the most likes on the MGK Photography fanpage wins.

Like away!

-m.

One of the classes I'm taking here is Intro to Fashion Photography. As I've mentioned before, Palazzi (my host school) really puts you into the real-world so you can apply and experience what you're learning. This Thursday I had the immense privilege of taking part in a campaign shoot for Luisa via Roma. Luisa via Roma is a huge company in Europe that carries a wide range of high-end designer clothing and accessories. 

My class and I were taken through all of the steps of putting together a

campaign. From the ground up, we put together the concept, made tearsheets,

inspiration boards, styled the looks and finally got to photograph on the day of

the shoot. It was a hands-on, collaborative process that gave me fabulous

insight to "How Things Are Done." 

The day of the shoot: We arrived at the Digital Imaging building and the models soon after. Hair and makeup began and finally the clothes showed up. Oh my God, the clothes. I was in the presence of Fendi, Alexander McQueen, Balmain, and so much more. I'm pretty sure I can die happy. Not to mention we picked out some of the clothes ourselves; it was lovely to see them in person rather than through a screen.

Viktor & Rolf dress, Balmain (white) jacket, Fendi shoes and A-Morir sunglasses.The jacket of my dreams for the low, low price of 4, 293 euro!!! We finally began photographing around noon. The models were completely gorgeous and perfect for the story were were trying to tell. We actually took some IN my school (below). My professor, Jerry Lee Ingram, would get the pictures he needed for Luisa and then give us time to shoot as well while we were hooked up to the strobes; rapid fire!

The models in the stairway of Florence University of the Arts.  The locations we traveled to were the definition of fantastic. We took a taxi to a beautiful, expensive, massive villa in Oltrarno (the "other" side of the river) where the models changed and we kept on working on the campaign. Obviously the shoes weren't ours, so when photographing in the garden, the models had to be carried inside to outside and back to protect the shoes from getting scuffed on the gravel.

My professor carrying the model and saving the Valentino! We finished up at the villa around 4:30, packed up all the lights, and drove up, up, up to the Palace Hotel where we began photographing the last scenes of our campaign. 

The Palace Hotel Courtyard

Our stylist getting the model ready for the final shots (dress by Vivienne Westwood)!        The entire day took roughly eight hours. All of the clothes had to be returned to Luisa via Roma by 7pm, and our professor took care of that. We finished up around 6:30 and my classmates and I walked down, down, down back into the city and into our respective apartments. It wasn't until I was sitting in my apartment that I realized how exhausted I was and how much nothing I had eaten! I hadn't noticed because of the constant flurry of activity around me. 

         I loved every single second of the day of the shoot. The waiting, the planning, the adjusting, the shooting. I learned so much just by watching!

I'm so excited to see what comes next. :]

Ciao for now :]

-m.

Inside of the villa in Oltrarno; and myself.

 The name of the Vineyard we visited- Castello di Meleto!

Two weekends ago my program took us on a Wine Tasting in the Chinati countryside. It made me appreciate wine as an art and not just as...well, wine!

We were treated to a spread of cheeses, meats, bruschetta, and many other Tuscan treats.

Thank you to my roommate Becca for this photo!

After eating a bit, we were given the oppurtunity to try three different wines. One white and two reds. They were decently sized glasses of wine; some of the other kids from our program got a little tipsy...it was definitely entertaining to watch. ;]

I'm sorry to tell you this, but I know nothing about what they were called or what was in them. All I know is that they were absolutely fantastic and full flavored wines that I would never be able to afford on my own! I'm a little disappointed that I don't remember what exactly was special in each glass. I would love to go on another tasting, though, and this time actually REMEMBER!

Chianti countryside-absolutely breathtaking.

Can you imagine?!

My parents are avid wine-lovers, so I bought them a bottle of Chianti Classico and shipped it to them-I expect them to go crazy over it! As you might assume, the drinking age here is 16. It's going to be so disappointing to go back to the States and be unable to waltz into a store and buy my own wine. I really am starting to appreciate it and love to drink a glass after my longest day of classes. Egads, what ever will I do?! I'll deal with that issue later....

Stay posted! Lot's of interesting posts to come...

Ciao for now!

The countryside, wine and I :]

-m.

The time has come to tackle the subject of sQuola! In relation to Palazzi (my host school), sQuola is the Center for Contemporary Italian Studies. Or to me, where I take my Italian Language class. When you take Itailan through Palazzi, it is not just a normal language course. Included are Service Learning and Conversation Exchange components. 

For beginner classes like mine, 15 hours of Service Learning, or what can best be decribed as Community Service are mandatory for completion by each student every semester. For intermediate and advanced level classes, students are assigned a partner and instructed to meet with them every once in awhile to help their Italian partner learn English, and to practice their own Italian!

Daunting, no? The greatest part about the Service Learning Component is that sQuola works with you to choose an organization that you are genuinely interested in for your 15 hours of work. Students meet and listen to a short presentation given by their top three choices of organizations from the Italian community, make their final decision, and finally schedule their hours accordingly. Organizations range from volunteering in soup kitchens, working with the elderly, lending a hand in ambulances or helping promote animal rights. I, of course, chose to dedicate my time to promoting animal rights and visiting dog and cat shelters. A perfect match for me.

Today was my first day of volunteer work. Nervous, I spent last night going over my Italian notes and worrying about not being able to communicate; being unable to get your point across is hard. Thankfully, my first three hours of service went wonderfully. The organization, LIDA, set up in a pet store and was accepting donations for food to feed the dogs and cats they help house at various shelters in Florence. 

"Vuole fare uno offerta per cani o gati per la L.I.D.A.?" (or "Would you like to make a donation for dogs and cats for L.I.D.A.?") is the sentence I had to memorize, and all went well. We got a lot of donations and food for the animals that are currently homeless.

I was surprised that I was able to understand almost everything that was said to and around me; I just can't really answer yet! I've got a long way to go, but volunteering is honestly the best way I could hope to learn a language. Sometimes you have to be thrown into something in order to adapt. I am excited for whatever is to come next week from my service learning.

What sQuola is doing within the Italian community and with their students is rather lovely, in my opinion. They are taking their American students and giving them a key to learn the language, interact with the community, learn cultural customs and give something back at the same time. As with the rest of my classes at Palazzi, I'm actually getting the chance to apply the skills I learn in the classroom, Italian style. I am so grateful for these oppurtunities and continue to have to remind myself that this is actually my life right now.

Oh, and it could be yours too. Did I mention that you should study abroad? No? Well you should.

Ciao for now!

-m.

Interested in Palazzi? View their website  here.

   The Eiffel Tower

Spring Break has come and gone, and readjusting to getting up early and being productive has led me to neglect this blog! I'm sorry! Update: My life has been marching along to the beat of something like this: class, class, darkroom, class, darkroom, avert thine eyes in the sunlight, sleep, repeat. 

       I was lucky enough to travel to Paris for four days during Spring Break. My parents paid for my hostel and my flight (both were extremely afforable-being a student in Europe has immense perks) for my birthday-and I'm eternally grateful!! I was torn between Paris and Florence when I was choosing where to study abroad. I now know that they are incomparable because they are two cities with completely different vibes. Personally I prefer large cities complete with pavement and a metro system, and Paris is just that: vast, overwhelming, bustling and fast-paced. I felt very "in-my-element" while I was there.

Florence, however, is beautiful and it is my home. I missed the familiarity of it while I was trotting around France; I like the slower pace that Italians take. It's much easier to take everything in; but perhaps I am biased because I live here. I have time to take it all in.

Warning: Paris cannot be seen in four days! My travel companion and I sure as hell tried, though. We jumped on the metro at 9am each morning and were constantly on and off all day until at least 10pm. In one day, we saw The Eiffel Tower, The Catacombs of Paris Museum, Notre Dame, Moulin Rouge and the Arc of Triumph. After that long, neverending day we grabbed dinner crepes and met up with some friends studying there. Talk about exhausting!! 

The Catacombs of Paris We had good reason to shove all of that into one day, I promise. Why? The next day we spent six hours in the Louvre. I can not even begin to explain to you all of the beauty and history I witnessed in such a short amount of time. If there is one single thing you should see before you call it quits, view the Louvre. As much of it as you have time for. I of course saw the Mona Lisa, but what got me was Vermeer's The Lacemaker.

The Lacemaker I really appreciate the way Vermeer painted light. Fun fact: this painting is eensy weensy teeny tiny. Even smaller than the Mona Lisa (which isn't THAT small-not as small as everyone says). 

The Louvre! Everytime I turned the corner in Paris there was couture beauty everywhere. Extravagent, old, classic but over-the-top and all wrought iron. My experience with Paris was fabulous, but my experience with the French police? Less than satisfactory. 

Oh you know, just hanging out in line at the Police Station...in Paris.

      You read that right. The French police. In the hostel where we were staying, we shared a room with about six other students studying abroad and on break/vacation from around Europe. I came back one day to find that everyone had gotten something stolen from them: valuable things. My room was towards the back of the apartment and after I heard the news I hurried to check to see if my passport had been stolen. Luckily, it hadn't, and the culprit swiped SIX ROLLS OF MY KODAK PORTA PROFESSIONAL 160. Who does that?! It was new, not exposed. Those of you who are photo major know how expensive that can get. Regardless, the next morning we went to make a report to the police to get reimbursement via traveler's insurance. The French police laughed at me. They heckled my report because it was just film. They refused to speak English to me and I had to put together some strange mix of Italian, French and Spanish in order to get my report and after I left, they laughed at me some more to my other roommates. 

You try paying mass euros for each roll of color film and see if you're not going to try to get your money back. Just saying. 

Let's not dwell on the bad! Paris is beautiful, I had a wonderful time, and I wish I could return to explore more! 

Ciao for now!!

-m.

The view from my hostel.

The fountain that Andy throws her phone into in The Devil Wears Prada (and I!)