Christmas in the Gartin house is more than just a holiday, it’s a two month long event. For as long as I can remember we have started decorating the day after Halloween. It’s more than just a Christmas tree; it’s trees in every room. The scented candles come out. Our dishes we eat on now have Santas on them. A life size Santa Clause stands at our front door. Even our sheets were Christmas themed. Our house, top to bottom inside and out, becomes a winter wonderland.

Food is a major part of the Gartin family culture, but even more so during Christmas. The one Christmas food that is the most iconic in our house though, is a sweet breakfast treat called “Sticky Buns”.

Every Christmas morning after we have opened presents, my Mom puts the sticky buns in the oven, which she has prepared the night before. Their aroma of pecans and cinnamon fills the house shortly after, and attracts all members of the family to the kitchen to stuff our faces with the warm gooey pastry. Sticky Buns and their genuine aroma are apart of every Christmas I can remember, and without them the holiday would not be complete.

Mom’s Pecan Sticky Buns

1 pkg. frozen Rhodes dinner rolls

1  4oz. pkg. reg. butterscotch pudding(notinstant)

½-3/4 cup brown sugar

¾ cup chopped pecans

1 tsp. grd. Cinnamon

¾ cup melted butter

Mix pudding, sugar and cinnamon  together.

Dip the rolls in the melted butter and roll in the pudding mix.  Layer, with the pecans in a well-greased Bundt pan. Refrigerate overnight, and in the AM Christmas morning, bake 20-25 minutes @ 350degrees.  Flip upside down onto your favorite Christmas platter and serve.

Christmas Eve 1999. Dad Carving the turkey, a Family Tradition.

Christmas Eve 2011. Dad still carves the turkey every year.

Tahoe 2010

1998. Me standing in front of our Christmas Tree

1998. My little brother Dexter and I stand in front of my moms Christmas Village she constructs every year.

My Mom made this a year after I was born using my baby food jars.

Homemade Pumpkin Pie

Dining Room table center piece

One of the wreaths my Mom has made. They go on our doors every year.

Dining Room table decorations.

More Decorations

Christmas in the Gartin House:

Does your family take Christmas to the level that mine does? What Family Traditions does your family have?

Please leave comments and photos below describing Christmas Traditions in your family.

DIY:

You can create a step-by-step visual recipe of one of your favorite baked goods from Christmas in a simple 5 Step process, and heres how…

Step 1:

Gather all the ingredients and cooking hardware  you will need for the recipe and photograph them.

Step 2:

Photograph the initial mixing of your ingredients.

 

Step 3:

Take a picture of your ingredients after they have been properly combined.

 

Step 4:

Photograph your product before it goes in the oven.

 

Step 5:

Photograph the finished product after its out of the oven.

 

Dead Troops Talk

            Jeffery Wall is a 66 year old Canadian artist who was born in Vancouver on September 29, 1946. Growing up in Vancouver, he often uses the cities many industrial and urban characteristics as the backdrop of his photos. He attended the University of British Columbia, as well as Courtauld Institute of Art in London. While at the art institute in London, Wall studied art history with T.J. Clark, a Manet expert. This art history background plays a role in his works.

Wall is best known for his gigantic back-lit photographs using a technique called Cibachrome, in which film transparencies are reproduced onto photographic paper using positive-to-positive dye destruction. Cibachrome uses 13 layers of dyes that are then sealed into polyester based paper. Polyester allows the colors to be more stable, and to resist fading and discoloration longer than traditional paper.

While Wall was an undergraduate at the University of British Columbia he began experimenting with conceptual art. However, it wasn’t until 1977 that he produced the first of his cinematographic photographs for which he is most known. He staged most of his photographs for the purpose of conveying specific messages, mostly referring to philosophical issues and the history of art.

In the 1990’s Wall stopped solely staging his photographs and began implementing digital manipulation. Dead Troops Talk (1992), is one of Wall’s first photographs using this technique, and is also one of the most influential. What sets this image apart from his previous works is the use of digital manipulation. He frequently used actors, staged sets, and productions crews to create his “one-frame-cinematic productions”.  Giving actors detailed background on the characters they were portraying. In the case of this image, actors were photographed in individual sections and then digitally assembled to simulate the outdoor scene. This was cutting edge technology at the time.

 

Dead Troops Talk shows 13 wounded Soviet soldiers, who have just been killed, lying in a trench. The scene showing gore and dismembered body parts is incredibly detailed, realistic, and disturbing. The sub-title reads, “A Vision After an Ambush of a Red Army Patrol, Near Moquor, Afghanistan, Winter 1986”. What makes the image unique is that all the soldiers are re-animated, conversing in what Wall calls, “dialogue of the dead”. Each soldier is displaying a different reaction and emotion to his fate. One soldier looks on in terror at his surroundings, not noticing that his fingers and the top of his head have been blown off. Another recruit playfully rides one of his comrades piggyback, while a third dangles a piece of flesh in front of them. This combination of ultra realism and dark humor illustrates how everyone reacts to situations differently, no matter what situation it is.

This image does not directly refer to a historical event, but to something deeper. It speaks about the destructiveness of violence and war and shows an uncensored glimpse into the horrors of warfare. Dead Troops Talk is Wall’s commentary on war photography in the media. Showing the “real” thing (being his piece), versus what the media shows. It tells how censored and misleading the media can be. Depicting war in a light that genuine documentary war photography cannot.

Each soldier’s expression could represent the many different opinions and stances people have on war. The pained and horrified soldiers could resemble anit-war. Some soldiers appear apathetic to their fate, resembling parties that do not care about how gruesome war is. Another possible interpretation is that these are the actors taking a break between takes, although this is unlikely. With the amount of detail shown, one would assume that Wall would have included a stage light or camera in the photo.

This piece is influenced by past wars fought and by documentary war photography. These influences are reflected in the positions of the soldiers, their expressions, and by what one takes away after viewing the photo. That war is hell and how awkward it is to find it humorous.

I found this piece very powerful. The brutal honesty of depicting what war really looks like stopped me in my tracks. The photo causes the viewers to bring their own emotions into play when analyzing it, and that’s what makes it powerful. The viewer will instantly be able to relate in some way because of the multiple emotions shown. The dark humor that is included makes the piece much more digestible. It contrasts with the graphic violence causing both aspects to be better understood.

This pieces inclusion of digital manipulation is a positive thing in my opinion. It allowed for Jeff Wall to position each person is the exact way he wanted with the exact expression needed to properly depict the scene he imagined. It works perfectly and conveys a strong message, while still leaving room for interpretation.

Last weekend I went up to San Francisco to visit one of my buddies. As we were walking around the city we passed by a lot of homeless and people asking for money. I did what most of us probably do, ignored and looked past them. Always wondering if I gave them money if they would use it to help themselves, or for a quick fix of some sort. A common way people help is by joining a cause so they know their money and efforts are being put to use and directly helping the situation.The organization that I support and recommend is Habitat for Humanity.

Facts about Habitat for Humanity

• About 1.6 million live in substandard housing, and 100 million are homeless.
• Non-Profit, Christian housing ministry
• Goal is to eliminate poverty housing and homelessness from the world
• Houses are built through volunteer labor and donations of money and materials
• Homeowners selected by their need for housing and their willingness to work in partnership with Habitat
• Homeowners monthly mortgage payments are used to build more homes

More facts on Homelessness:

Homeless Youth in America

Coalition for the Homeless

Rates of families entering the shelter system are rising. With less room in shelters there is no better time to get involved and help create more places for these people to go.

Top 5 Reasons to Choose Habitat for Humanity

1. Proper housing increases educational and job projects for children exponentially
2. Homeless shelters are filling
3. Clean housing is essential for prevention of HIV/AIDS
4. Housing construction creates jobs and stimulates the creation of small businesses
5. Catalyst for civic activism as well as community based organizations.

Sources:

http://www.coalitionforthehomeless.org/pages/basic-facts

http://www.habitat.org

http://homelessinsf.com/

http://www.behance.net/gallery/Homeless-Youth-Infographic/1154207

The reason I took this class is that Im interested in social change. I recognize that society is changing, as well as media and the way we view our media. People are constantly connected to the internet making the viewing of photographs easy and accessible. Im interested in learning how much media really does effect our culture. Also how to analyze photos and how to recognize when they have been tampered with.

As far as Photography goes, I am not a photographer myself but love viewing pictures and look forward to analyzing them in class.