Magazines Part II

For the earliest magazine covers, it is said that they are modeled after the covers of books.  This in itself is an attribute (at least to me, because books are amazing).  They're informational, in place of the visual appealing-ness of more modern magazines.  For the Poster Covers, they're appealing because the pictures on them are very good at portraying a story or emotional without having to use words.  It's very simple, and makes the magazine seem like it wouldn't be cluttered with useless information.  For Pictures Married to Type, the background of the photo suits the subject/portrait of the photo almost perfectly.  It's appealing, and makes the magazine seem like it would be neat and organized on the inside, too.  The way something is always overlapping the title of the magazine is somehow extremely visually appealing (I honestly think having the magazine title over the subject isn't as appealing as the former).  For the Forest of Words...well, it doesn't look very visually appealing at all.  It makes the whole cover seem really scattered and cluttered, and it wouldn't compel me to pick up the magazine and spend my money on it.

My Favorite Cover

1).

Favorite

2).  Wired, September 2014, Edward Snowden

"Edward Snowden didn't want to be photographed. He wanted his actions--leaking classified NSA files--to be the focus of any story, not his face. But. But. Being shot by Platon, who has photographed world leaders like Dick Cheney, George Bush (both of them), and Vladimir Putin, puts him on the same level as those subjects, elevating his message. So out of complicated motivations comes a tense and compelling photograph. As Snowden holds the flag, his face and his hands convey both respect and hurt--a flickering combination of protectiveness and vulnerability. Words would tip the reader toward a single interpretation. So. No design. No cover lines. Just an image, however you choose to look at it." - See more at: http://www.magazine.org/asme/magazine-cover-contest/past-winners-finalists/2015-winners-finalists#sthash.ikvN7wmy.dpuf/

3). The lighting of the portrait in this magazine cover is...great.  It adds nicely to the mood of the portrait, which is somewhat sad, yet hopeful in a way.  The pose of the actor portrays how he feels about the flag--he's protective of it, hugging it to his chest in a way that shows how much he respects it.  The simplicity of the picture adds to the mood of the photo, along with the light of the background.  It gives a feeling of solidarity, the one single light right behind his head.  The magazine cover, as a whole, would definitely draw my attention if I were to walk by it in a store, and I would be compelled to look through it (I'm already curious as to what's inside this magazine).

Best Magazine Covers 2015

formal- 1.  The Advocate, December 2014/January 2015, Person of the Year
formal- 2.  Wired, September 2014, Edward Snowden
informal- 3.  OUT, August 2014, Michael Sam
informal- 4.  Harper's Bazaar, March 2014, Lady Gaga
environmental- 5.  ESPN The Magazine, July 21, 2014, Venus Williams
formal- 6.  New York, February 17–24, Spring Fashion
environmental- 7.  FamilyFun, August 2014, Road Trip
formal- 8.  The New York Times Magazine, September 14, 2014, The Culture Issue
informal- 9.  Harper's Bazaar, September 2014, Emma Ferrer
formal- 10.  Vanity Fair, November 2014, Jennifer Lawrence
formal- 11.  Variety, October 14, 2014, Bill Murray
informal- 12.  New York, June 9-15, 2014, Health
informal- 13.  Men's Health, November 2014, The Ultimate Men's Health Guy
formal- 14.  Bloomberg Businessweek, April 21-27, 2014, Freeze Your Eggs, Free Your Career
environmental- 15.  Golf Digest, June 2014, Jimmy Fallon
environmental- 16.  Kinfolk, Spring 2014, The Home Issue
informal- 17.  ESPN The Magazine, October 13, 2014, Derek Jeter
informal- 18.  The Atlantic, November 2014, Why Kids Sext

Magazine Tips

1)  Familiar recognition from issue to issue (brand)

2)  Emotionally irresistible (image's appeal)

3)  Arousing curiosity (something to pull the readers in)

4)  Intellectually stimulating, interesting (promise of benefits from reading)

5)  Worth the investment of money and time ("What's in it for me?")

Prompt Shoot #2

"Purple."

"Electric."

"Cold."

Current Event 4.3

1.  The five things you need to know about the Zika virus are that the virus is in Travis county, it's linked to birth defects, it has been found active in saliva and urine, pregnant women are at risk, and there's no vaccine for it (which is alarming).

2.  They're doing a project in order to save money, and they're seeing whether the weather can help them shave off their 1.3 billion dollar annual bill.  They have 132 acres of solar panels to help them out with this new project.

3.  The three top jobs that do not require a bachelor's degree are a licensed practical nurse, an electrician, and a construction and building inspector.

4.  The Denver Broncos defeated the Carolina Panthers with a score of 24-10.

5.  #nofilter was the most interesting story there, sadly enough.

6.  My favorite photo out of all of them is "A Beacon on the Plains."  It has beautiful colors in it (the colors that appeal to me, personally, the most), and it's very simple.  I also love sun (in photos - no so much in person), and it's placed perfectly.
     The photo that had the most interesting stuff going on is "Battling the Blaze."  It's a great picture and somewhat mesmerizing, which kind of makes me sad, because it seems like something terrible is happening (pshh, seems like).
     The most boring photo is "Counted by Hand."  It's a table and a woman's hands messing with post-it notes, and I'm having trouble understanding why it's one of the biggest pictures.
     "Flight of the Angel" had the most interesting subject.  This woman is wearing a beautiful, intricately designed dress and an interesting headdress.  Her smile is radiant, and the people in the crowd seem to be enjoying themselves almost as much as she is.  Also, she's gorgeous, so..

Free Write Day

Prompt #13

The most intelligent person I ever knew would never let himself believe in anything.  On his best of days, his first words about magic and myths would spiral off into long rants about why they just couldn't exist.  On the worst of his days, he became bitter about the most wonderful of things--true love, hope.

     Nobody, not even I, could bring him back from his deeply cynical nature.  If he had already started, it was impossible to stop him.  There were only two solutions to this problem, one of which was so far-fetched it hurt to think about.

     The easier of the two, obviously, was to keep him from thinking these things in the first place.  if anyone started getting close to the topic of love or magic, I would immediately steer him away.  That particular part was extremely difficult, because--you know that seven books about that wizard that are totally not popular at all?--I was a huge fan of them.  Those wondrous creations, however, had absolutely no influence on the fact that I firmly believed in magic; I always had.

     Which brings me to the second solution: I had to get him to believe in magic.

     And he, being the person he was, would need proof.

     And I, of-freaking-course, did not have any.

     And I, unfortunately, had no idea how I would get it.

     Rest assured, though, I would get it.

     I was determined.

***

In this experience, I learned that I would stop at a whopping number of absolutely nothing if I thought it would help my friends.  Burning flora and buzzing, panicking fauna did not deter me, but I was under no delusion it wouldn't deter my best friend.  I kept my grip on his arm tight as we trudged through the deep forest, knowing with perfect familiarity that the tension wracking the limb meant he would take any given opportunity to sprint in the opposite direction.

     "This grass is burning!" he squawked heatedly.  "Do you know how dry southern-Texas forests are?"

     I merely continued to pick my way through the forest with care.  When I didn't respond, he burst out, "Very!  That's how dry they are!  One infinitesimal, dying ember could burn this whole forest down!"

     "You're being dramatic," I said with an eye roll.  Despite his IQ being at the level of Einstein's, he could be a drama queen.

     "I am not," he said defensively.  "Haven't you hear about the--"

     "Shh!  Did you hear that?"  I held up a hand, as if it would actually keep him from talking.

     "What, the sound of our impending deaths?  Because--"

     "No, it sounded like a growl.  Or some sort of deep...warbling?"

     He looked at me incredulously, as if he were questioning my sanity.  "No, I certainly did not hear a 'growl' or a 'deep warbling.'  Which, by the way, would not sound--"

     "You didn't hear it because you were talking, idiot."

     "Idiot?  That is the most inaccurate--"

     "Shh!" I hissed again.  He made a childish face at me, and we started moving again.

    As we moved deeper into the forest, the growling became more evident.  After another half-hour of hissing at each other for stupid reasons and making our way through the burning trees, we came into a large clearing with a gigantic boulder sitting in the middle of it.

     "Great," he said to me, blatantly sarcastic.  "You've found a giant boulder.  Now can we leave?"

     "No."

     "Why are we out here, anyway?  You still haven't told me."

     "Be quiet."

     "You've said those words--or some variation of them--to me a total of twenty-eight times in the last hour."

     "And you still haven't gotten the message?"

     He started to sputter, "Of course I've--AAAAAAAGGHHH!"

     Out of thin air, it seemed, a ball of fire came flying straight at us.  Even as we dropped to the floor and it passed over our heads, my best friend still continued to scream at an offensively high pitch.  I put my hand over his mouth and looked up to where the fireball had supposedly come from, and--

     Sweet mother of Dumbledore--"Oh my God!"

     A grey dragon the size of a Redwood had unfurled its wings, creating the most menacing and fascinating sight I had even seen in my fifteen years on this earth.

     "And you thought dragons didn't exist!" I bragged at him.  He was still frozen in shock, pressed against the dry grass to which we had dropped.

     I think I found the proof.

     The dragon's jaw opened and heat blazed inside, which could only mean one thing.

     "Take cover!" I screamed.  I dropped behind what I hoped was a real boulder, while my friend sprinted to a nearby tree and hid himself behind it, which--seriously?  You get nothing below a 95 in your classes, and you hide behind a tree?  

     We ended up having to wait it out, after he moved to take cover behind the boulder with me.  After years and years and years and years of waiting for the dragon to calm down and go back to sleep, dammit, I finally turned to my best friend and exhaled, "Do you believe now?"

     "I'll never doubt anything, ever again."