Light

My Thoughts

Longing

We yearn for light.

Find it.

Hidden

Self-Portraits/Thoughts

TOLD

I took these pictures at the old Superior High School in Superior Arizona.

Sometimes, I like to hide.

As if I were like an element observing a chemical reaction, I am afraid to join in should I skew the result. Because as a photographer that is what I am here to capture.

When people see a camera, they feel uncomfortable. Sometimes they freeze up, and their story isn't told right.

You have to stand back and soak in what you see. Tell the story you see with your eyes, and pray that your eyes can see accurately.

This is a collection of hidden self-portraits. Typically, I don't include my camera in my self-portraits. But I chose to include it in order to further pronounce the message I want to share.

Framed 

Friend

Broken Peace

Eyes

Gold

Color

My Thoughts

Split

I took this picture in a basement while on vacation in Salt Lake City Utah.

Not too long ago, I watched the movie Hugo for the second or third time as part of my filmmaking class. The first time I watched it in 2011, I didn't appreciate the color of it. Now, and after the first few weeks of the Filmmaking class I'm in, I definitely see the beauty in it. Below is just one example of the gorgeous lighting present throughout the movie. 

After seeing the wonderful coloring in it again, I decided I wanted to try it myself. The picture I've titled Split is the completely unedited result. 

Alan Perlis said, "Fools ignore complexity. Pragmatics suffer it. Some can avoid it. Geniuses remove it." One of the genus beauties in both film and photography is how lighting and color can be used together as a median to show in simple terms the complex sides of the human existence. Different lighting's alone could be used to highlight important ideas, persons, objects, or moods, as used in Orson Well's film, Citizen Kane, but that's for another post.

Humans are complex beings with many different sides to them. Color is one way to represent that, and it truly is awesome.

Limits

My Thoughts

Wintercast

I took this picture while I was out in my backyard.

I recently borrowed a 50 mm Nikon lens from a friend to take some family portraits. Over the course of a few days, it has quickly become my favorite, and I can't wait to get my own. While I was outside trying out the lens, a plane flew overhead, and I captured it, wishing I had a zoom lens. Later, when I was looking through the pictures I took. I decided I really liked the one shot I took of that plane that flew above me.

I will admit that the above picture is a bit edited, but the feeling it invokes is what I felt when I saw the original. I view editing pictures much like re-writing an essay or a journal entry; you re-write it for clarity. As the photographer, I know how I felt when I took the picture, but as a viewer I can't grasp the full context. The photographer may edit and emphasize to explain the full story.

The picture above isn't like most of the pictures I've taken. But it proves to me the subjectivity of art. I can't think of a rule in photography that Wintercast does follow. Not rule of thirds. Not filling the frame (I literally couldn't zoom in). Not symmetry. What this picture does follow is the limits of our human experience. Maybe that is why I like it so much. It reminds me that I'm kinda stuck here, with all my imperfections. But knowing that also gives me a sense of freedom.

Perhaps my favorite part about the 50 mm lens is that because it is so limiting, it allows me to have more freedom in expression. By this I mean that I am forced to move around more, and to see things differently. Things instantly become more "real" because the 50 mm lens is the closest in width to what our human eyes perceive; a person 20 feet away will take up the same amount of space in my field of vision as it would fill up in the frame of a 50 mm lens.

Overall, I have to say that the 50 mm lens is my favorite. It has opened my eyes to new aspects of photography. Such as the picture I took above. From something as simple as a borrowed lens, I've learned a lot more about myself, discovered something more, and learned something new.

I thought I'd share that with you.

Moments

My Final in Photography

[Summery of this post for my final:] The message that goes along with this post is actually the title (surprise), it's Moments. In this collection, I wanted to capture special moments that happen in life. In order to capture this I decided to take a number of Self-Portraits. Self-Portraits present many challenges. Since I can't be behind the camera and in front of it, I can't adjust the frame, focus, or any of the settings. This means that you have to know exactly what you want before you step into the frame. This means that you must adjust for everything in your frame, and imagine where you are to be. I had a host of fun shooting these, and tried a number of different techniques, I explain what I did specifically below. 

[Note: All of these photos have been edited slightly. Mostly cropping, and adjusting the lighting slightly. However, I'm sure these pictures could still be taken the same way without editing if I were to change the setting of where I took it, and if I had a camera where I could adjust things further.]

For simplicity, all of these photos were taken in my house in Chandler, Az or in one of the few nearby parks within 2 miles of my house. 

 Waking Up

Yes, I'm starting this post with Waking Up. I think this is a moment we often take for granted. It's only on the day after a memorable event that we wake up in the morning and realize that event is now  past. I ended up shooting this scene (I'll call it that) twice on separate days so I could get the framing right enough to demonstrate the Rule of Thirds. [Lighting and cropping were changed in this photo.]

Transcended

I took this picture on a new running route I found. When I first ran into it (haha, pun) I was quite surprised with the feeling that seemed to overtake me. Just, it was something that gave me a sense of adventure, happiness and intrigue. The Picture explains it better than I. Again, the rule of thirds is present along with leading lines. [Only cropping was done on this photo.]

Up Early

Getting up at 4 or 5 am to study for finals is all too happily common for me. I wanted this picture to convey that feeling you have where you might not particularly like something in the moment, but afterwards you are very happy you stuck to it and can be proud of yourself for doing so. I like this picture because it presents a unique perspective but is one that everyone with a computer can instantly grasp. [Only cropping was done on this photo.]

Jar Full of Wonder

I wanted this picture to represent the moment when we get a wonderful idea (like I had to take this photo) and it just feels right. I used asymmetry on this photo to somewhat represent that the idea has not been acted on yet. [Cropping and changing the color of my bracelet were the only edits of this photo.]

Image to Reality

This picture is that moment when you act upon your idea, but you aren't completely sure where to go with it. It's unfinished, but you still like it. Frankly, I really like the balance in this photo and the irony that I am taking a self-portrait of myself taking a self-portrait. [Changes in lighting and cropping were done on this photo.] 

Thus Far

As the name suggests, this is the moment of the journey thus far. The plateau of time when what it is now is work, and a lot of it. The reward comes after this step. I used asymmetry again to show the incompletedness (I'll make that a word) of this moment of time. It's a moment we generally brush aside, but is hugely important. [Changes in lighting and size of the photo were done.]

Development

This is the moment when we change as a result of what we have done to act on what we've learned. We can grow as a result of reflection and of action. This photo was created to capture that. I used leading lines to lead the viewer to the subject. [Lighting and cropping were done to this photo.]

Bubbles

This is the moment of mundane life. In all reality, it is doing the simple things that we gain new ideas and decide to change as a result of what we've discovered. I used a unique perspective in this photo of me washing the dishes to represent finding something new in the mundane. [Only cropping was done to this photo.]

Reflected

This is the end of the day when you reflect back on what's happened and document it or otherwise keep it for remembrance. I decided to tilt this photo to draw the viewer in more and (hopefully) cause them to realize that simple, daily things, really are more special than they appear. [Only cropping was done on this photo. I left it yellow to add to the reality of the moment.]

Ended

This is the moment after the one you would oft remember. When your special date is over, and you are left back within the confines of reality. I decided to shoot myself straight on to give off the idea of how blunt and brutal life can be at times. [Lighting and cropping were changed in this photo. I had a really high ISO which adds to the grainy feel of the photo.]

Hope (Javert) 

This is my one highly edited photo. I wanted to represent the feeling of hope from the depths of despair. Our un-surety, and wanting to find something more. Our Javert moment. The Picture explains it much better than I. [I'll just say a LOT of editing was done on this photo.] 

Project 10

Photo Manipulation

Created

This photo was taken at a friends house in Gilbert AZ.

In this picture, I essentially merged the two pictures below so as to have the shadow and some of the art in focus, while having the rest be blurred. Interestingly enough, I didn't have the idea to merge them until after I took the two and compared them. Of all the photos I edited, this was definitely the hardest to create.

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Filtered

This picture was taken on a hike to the Wind Caves in Mesa AZ.

For this landscape, I decided to alter one of my prior photos to have more feeling by enhancing the colors to be "too good to be true." For Arizona, the above picture definitely is too good to be true, but I think there are definitely some places where you can get this coloration. The original photo (below) is pretty washed out because it was taken at midday. 

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Square One

This picture was taken at a park in Gilbert AZ.

In this particular shot, I really wanted to get the feeling of it being a still frame from a movie. (All of the edited pictures in this project are cropped to fit in a widescreen shot.) I decided to make this photo more realistic and engaging by editing out some minor distractions I failed to notice when I took the picture. Mainly, this was cropping to let the viewer fill in their own story, and eliminating some very annoying distractions in the picture such as the highlight under and on the umbrella.

Project 9

Candid Photography

Island

I took this picture while on a hike to the Wind Caves in Mesa Az.

In this picture, I like how real it looks. Because it's candid, their expressions are spot on accurate. I also don't think that having them pose that way would turn out with the same result.

Turning

This picture was taken in the same location as listed above.

With candid pictures, the body language is always totally accurate and always matches the expression and thoughts of the subject. I think this picture demonstrates that. 

Dull Wonder

This picture was taken in the same place as all of the above. 

I like this picture because it really creates a specific feeling for me. Just one of the things I love about candid photography. I had tried to utilize the rule of thirds for this picture, but after several attempts, I found that it just didn't give off the same feeling. 

Perspective

I thought to include this one as I did take some landscape shots as well. This was definitely my favorite.