Weekend Warrior

Weekends are by far my favorite time of the week. For me they are a time for adventure, exploration, and fanatical photography formulation. This weekend I was lucky enough to have the chance to visit a concrete plant for a shoot. This definitely brought me out of my comfort zone but I welcomed the challenge.

This shoot was an exciting chance to work with a whole new subject matter that I had not previously touched upon in my art. Although my day job consists of producing product photography, the inorganic shapes I worked with on this particular shoot made me pay particular attention to how they interacted with their environment.

Another thing I don't often work with is black and white. This is an area that I have been pushing myself in recently. A photo can taken a whole different mood or meaning when taken in black and white. This can be a challenge because it's not as simple as slapping a black and white filter onto your image. Anyway, here is the outcome of some of my work from this shoot. A little mix of industrial grunge with a splash of black and white practice.

 

M + J Engagement Shoot

For every shoot I do, I like to learn as much as I can about the person or people I am photographing. This is only natural of course. By understanding your subject you as a photographer are able to gain a bit of insight into their life to better capture their essence and beauty in your image.

As soon as they began to tell me about their relationship I was instantly inspired. Being an active and outdoorsy couple, I could easily relate to their appreciation of nature. When it was mentioned that the two of them loved water, my mind began to race with ideas for possible shots to do. A few locations were recommended to me but a waterfall was a must. I scouted out the different shooting locations before deciding on the perfect spot for them.

But as with all things, the shoot did not go completely as planned. When I arrived, as the sun was rising, I took a quick walk through the park once more to test the lighting in each area. Unfortunately the beautiful waterfall that I specifically picked this particular location for was not currently flowing. The water was very low that day which surprised me because of all the rain we had received that week. It was also a bit of a surprise because I had just been there a few days before when it was flowing perfectly. 

Even with this small setback we as artists must do our best to achieve our vision. I wanted this shoot to go well for this adorable couple so I went to work with what we were given. I am pleased with the outcome even if it wasn’t as I had initially intended it. I believe that this is not only an important part of being an artist but also just as human beings in general. We must learn to go with the flow (no pun intended) and tackle challenges head on.  

Click Here to see the full shoot.

How Much I Love Photo Editing

I'm just going to say that it's a lot. I really do have a passion for photography and photo editing. Below I have added some photos that I needed to edit for class that I had a really good time doing. These were intended as practice with editing photos in Photoshop and Camera Raw (so they were not taken by me just edited). You can never get enough practice. There is just something about the creativity you have, not only while taking a photo but with the post processing as well, that I just love.

Photo Credit: Scott Kelby (pre-edit behind)

This photo was an example of edits with white balance, that is the photos color temperature. New cameras these days have so many settings when it comes to white balance. You can allow your camera to do the work for you and use its little camera brain to determine the best balance for your photo or you can access the lighting yourself and let the camera know how it should balance it. Our eyes have a way of balancing the colors in different lighting so it may be difficult at times to understand why your pictures comes out with a particular hue to it and what white balance setting to use. 

In this case the original photo came out very blue and cold (this may be how you wanted the photo to come out, and that's fine, its all artistic opinion). A blue hue is usually caused by fluorescent lights. This can be combated in post by changing the white balance to the fluorescent setting and by making some adjustments of your own as well.

Not Necessarily To Be Taken Literally

"Not Necessarily To Be Taken Literally". This was the name of my latest photography assignment. And I sure had fun with it! My professor assigned me 22 things to take photos of ranging from my biggest fear to something I don't understand. The best part of this crazy list was, you guessed it, they didn't need to be taken literally. This allowed me to stretch my imagination and really push the boundaries of my own creativity.

Bellow are just a few of my favorites that I took for this project. Enjoy!

"Your best friend"

There's something about these games that has really stuck with my throughout my life. They are something solid I can always turn to and rely on. Although they are not literally a friend of mine, I think are pretty dang close for being inanimate objects. I know that I can turn to this simple game when I'm feeling down and it will brighten my mood. In some ways Pokemon is as real to me as you or I.

"A fleeting moment"

I can't think of anything more fleeting than the last few moments of a leaf's life in the fall season. As a side note, the sky in this photo isn't edited. We had some amazing coloration in the sky that afternoon and I just had to capture it. (Nature is freakin' cool!)

"Something timeless"

 Classic books. The value and culture locked within the pages of these masterpieces will forever remain a wonder and pleasure to read. Reading is one of my favorites hobbies and reading a classic piece is always a thrill.

"Your favorite place"

My favorite place has to be the outdoors. There is so much peace and tranquility you can find stepping out into nature. The fresh air is such a relief in contrast with my stuffy dorm room.

"Somewhere you've never been"

This photo was actually taken at an arts festival. The gondola represents Venice of course, someplace I've never been. I would actually love to see Europe. It's one of my dreams for the future.  



In no way an I a professional photographer but I feel like with each new assignment I am gaining a little bit more skill. I already feel like I have a good grasp on composition and lighting. I want to keep pushing myself to get better at this. Next semester (my last semester of college) I will be taking a photo editing class. Hopefully this will help with the quality of my photos. Who knows, maybe I can even find a career in it if I'm lucky!

Photography

There's something about photography that really gets me excited. It's hard to explain the thrill that I get when composing an eye catching composition right before taking a picture. I can definitely say that it is a passion of mine.

I have always been a fan of taking pictures ever since I was a little kid. I would beg my mom to let me borrow her camera and I would go outside and take pictures of the trees and flowers and bugs in our yard. To me, it's one of the most relaxing things to do (besides yoga).

This year I am taking a semester of advanced digital photography. Even though I'm the only person in my class (besides the professor of course) I couldn't be more excited. I really hope that I can hone my skills and produce an impressive portfolio.

With the completion of my degree I will have a Bachelors in Arts with a concentration in video game art and design. I am not entirely sure what I want to do with my life when I get out of school but with an arts degree I feel as though my choices are wide open.

My current internship is with branded digital entertainment. I'm a designer with a little app company. Although this is a great job, I can't see myself doing it for the rest of my life. I used to get scared about finishing school. I was always worried that I wouldn't be able to get a good job and that I wouldn't be successful in a career. No longer do I feel that way. I just remind myself every day that I should stay positive because I'm a hard worker, a quick learner, and have great organizational skills. Those are all great skills every employer is looking for. Not only that, I have some really amazing people in my life who will support me no matter where I am.

I'm ready for what ever experiences life has to throw at me. Some will be great and others not so much, but in the end I know that it is through these challenges that I will better understand myself and learn to appreciate the good times even more.

So if you ever find yourself in a situation where you are afraid like I was, just take a minute to write a list of all the things you're good at. This can be anything from being a good listener to being a reliable friend. You'll be surprised that even the simplest skill can be turned into something astoundingly helpful in your future.