We have had three assignments thus far and each have been worthy in their own right.  He doesn’t get too philosophical about our assignments, even though he is a thoughtful artist in his own approach to his skill.  The first task was to shoot pictures that demonstrated our understanding of ‘depth of field’–easy peasy.  The second assignment was creating a series of photographs by shooting an overall pic and then dissecting it with four more photographs to demonstrate our ability to perfectly expose and meter.  I chose a old train yard and opted to go a more abstract route with my photos.

Here is an example of depth of field, which when played with can create a type of distortion as you see in this photo.

Sorry–for whatever reason, I can’t get my train shots to upload–I will try later again.

The third assignment was to utilize the HDR software (high dynamic range) to our photos.  At first, I wasn’t convinced HDR was for me, but as I used it with admitted moderation, I found it an interesting way to bring out details that otherwise wouldn’t be seen.  I selected two landscape photographs and three portraits for my HDR critique.  I was pleased and thought the comments in the critique were helpful and something to keep in mind for future shots.  I guess what surprised me was when the teacher said “Your portraits are amazing–they make me want to see more of your work.” I acted all cool, but wanted to jump and down .

Of course, they aren’t wanting to upload either–gah.

He briefed us on our final project, which we will work on while we are still doing other assignments.  We will be creating a slideshow of our photographs set and relevant to music.  This means that I will need to have a ton of quality pictures–about 1 pic for every 3-4 seconds of the song.  I just spent the morning listening to some of my favorite artists and I hate to admit that I took notice of the length of the songs!  I also know that I don’t want to do photos that are too literal of the song, rather ones that bring the song and photos together in more of a montage spirit.  I have created a short list of Tracy Chapman, Josh Radin and a new musician, Sergey Lazarev.  Sergey has a gorgeous song that is relatively unknown called “Your beautiful”.  I was thinking about putting together a collection of photography of all the women in my life, young, middle age and mature, but still thinking on this one.

Imagine watching an event like this through a set of binoculars and that is pretty much what it feels like to photograph it.  While it allows you to see details, and catch the more raw expressions than without those super lens, it also keeps you from sometimes seeing the bigger picture.  There were a couple of other photographers so, they were ok with me following them around to catch the best angles and shots.  There we were, three of us with our heads buried in our cameras when the race went awry and in an instant we were in the middle of the race.  Some wild riders went wide on the turn and came onto the dirt and of course, there we stood, frozen like statues while a stampede of bicycles rode inches from our sides.  I must admit my heart raced as I realized my predicament…as you can imagine I hauled my ass as quickly as I safely could out of what had turned out to be a danger zone. Next time I will likely remain a resident of the sidewalk.

So, the above picture (of Jason, my son) is my first picture choice for my first assignment of this semester.  The assignment was to take two photos showing full depth of field and one without meaning full clarity of the entire picture and one where only the forefront has clarity…as you can see in this picture the clarity remains fairly strong from the bicycle tire in the front of the picture to Staples in the rear (which is probably a mile+ away).  I chose this picture, not only because it is of my son, but I love the shadow the bicycle shadow as well as the expression on his face–the face of a tough rider in a tough race.  I opted to convert it to black and white because the colors were so beautiful that I felt it took away from the ruggedness of the actual event.

This picture (above) is an example of Depth of Field (dof) that has chosen to provide more intense focus on the foreground.  You can see that the further you look into the photo, the more blurry it becomes.  This is a choice, not a mistake.  Personally, these are my favorite type of photographs because they put the focus on the subject versus the incidental surroundings and/or backgrounds.  In this photograph, I don’t know the riders, but I really liked their expressiveness, the multitude of bicycle shadows and the intense clustering of the bicycles themselves.

On a different note, it was fun to see a Jason’s friend win the highly competitive race–way to go Jon….

Just a couple of more “arty” photos that I thought turned out interesting…

and

Hahaha…couldn’t resist the sun kissed cacti….yes, they are still beautiful too.

I knew I probably shouldn’t have accepted the invitation to shoot my friend’s wedding…really now, I have only been studying photography at any level of seriousness for about 5 months.  A wedding?  I still have buttons on my fancy, schmancy camera that I don’t know what the hell they do….Well, you know I couldn’t say no and I figured it would be a good experience.  Of course, I am sure my father who now resides in heaven as a retired Southern Baptist Minister has enjoyed the irony of his little girl taking on photography, much less than it was a Mormon wedding at the Temple…it is pretty funny.

The beautiful bride

Lesson One that I learned was that it is a good idea to have a secondary photographer…Thank you Austin!  Four days before the wedding my back went wacko and with enough heavy, medications I was able to function, but barely.  I couldn’t believe the timing of my achy bones. The value of knowing there was someone to back up my photos was almost as much relief as the muscle relaxers!

Sometimes, it is just the right moment to click

Lesson Two was that camera gels are very important and I was glad my back up photographer had some in his nifty backpack.  Why would a reception hall ever think that yellow lighting is a good idea?  Good grief. Be prepared for bizarre lighting and of course, remember that lighting means everything in a picture.

Sneaking a kiss at the reception

Lesson Three was that 6 hours of taking pictures is damn hard work.  I won’t scare anyone with a picture of myself–between the half of vicodan and muscle relaxer…oh my the haggard work of a beginning photographer.

Lesson Four was that weddings are about the dress…the bride and maybe even a little bit of the groom!  I have begun to think that the groom is the prop for the elaborate headwear, dresses, shoes and flowers or maybe it is that I just like to take pictures of well adorned and beautiful women!

Lesson Four was that I need to figure out how to manage this many pictures and to limit my promises to what I can really handle…we took over 1400 shots and ended up with 750 worthy ones. After burning more cd’s than I care to admit to protect the megapixels, I know there has to be an easier way.  I will figure that one out by the next wedding.

Lesson Five was that while it is important to catch all of the bride and groom ‘wish’ photos…take a few that are just for you, the photographer…the art of it.

and

The Dance

In the end, I am so glad I took the challenge.  The bride was stunning and the groom, handsome…capturing those moments for them and their lifetime together was an honor. I was happy to make this my gift to them and their future together. Not half bad for a rookie ya think?

This was Fred’s first time at the ocean.  He sniffed, rolled in the sand and ran from the tide….it was pretty hilarious.  He looked at the sea as if it was a huge playground and he ran until he was exhausted.  It was a blast shooting these pics.

Fred was running so happily (see all four paws are off the ground) with Jason (my son).  We thought he might freak a bit with the sand, but oh no he was one happy camper.

Jason’s footprint in the sand next to Fred’s paw print…pretty cute eh?

Reflection, Shadow and Self #1

Each picture you take with this method takes time and set up and definitely an extra set of hands…so, all in all we only took 15 shots. Generally to find that one perfect shot, sometimes you take hundreds…we should have bought a lottery ticket given our luck with so few shots.

Photo #2

Self, Reflection and Shadows #2

And finally, the last worthy shot.

Photo #3

Self, Reflection and Shadow #3

Thank you Randy for your thoughtfulness…love the flowers and you too

Shot #2

Photo one

Photo 2

photo 3

Photo 4

I was surprised at how much I enjoyed watching the race–the tenacity–the will—the drive was inspiring.  I loved seeing the crowds of supports with signs, bells and whatever it took to cheer on their friends and family who were taking on this challenge. It is nearly impossible to really capture the experience accurately, but I found that my best shots were at the finish line.  The pride, joy and relief were evident as many crossed that symbol of accomplishment.  Melissa, Jon and I found ourselves cheering for everyone. Of course, the cheering was even more energetic when it was Jason and then Randy! I am SO SO proud of them…way to go guys!

My favorite Tour de Tucson shot…

I love this one…

And this one….

And Jason…

This one was my attempt at a more artistic expression…

and thanks to Jon we have a current family photo…

Randy, Jason and I headed back to Tempe after a long, tough (well them) day.  The next morning I really wanted to attempt some shots at the Arizona Triathalon (in Tempe).  So, believe or not Randy and I hopped on our cruisers and headed to downtown Tempe.  Yes, I must have been inspired to do this, especially on a Sunday morning.  Again, the energy was amazing.  We left the tri late morning and decided to return later to watch the finish.  Here are a couple of photos that I think have promise.

This photo is of the women’s tri champion as she was approaching the finish line.  I think  this photo is interesting as it captures her finish both in person and on the screen above as well as her shadow on the fence…anyways, a different kind of perspective with the clapping hands in the foreground etc.

And…this next photo is of a gal we met while watching the bike portion of the race.  She and her husband were from British Columbia and had come into town for the event.  I happen to catch her backside while she was cheering him on lap two of three of the bicycle portion.  Ironically, when we returned later that day she was again next to us and we joined her in celebrating her husband as he approached the finish line.  I like this photo as well because it tells a story of not only the athlete, but of the people who support them…we all need cheerleaders don’t we?I love inspiration and I found both of these events to be just that…motivating.  While the Ironman almost seems like an extended act of cruelty…if it ‘floats their boat’ then, I admire their willingness to endure such an extreme challenge.  For me, the practical application is to determine what my new challenge will be whether that is in the form of a bicycle or something else…Way to go riders, runners and swimmers!

The petals, the stem, the various parts continue to captivate me.  My mom was a china painter and her favorite flower was a rose…it makes me chuckle that I love to take rose photos.

Here you go…

and…

and

a couple more

last oneah…one more

Another angle…

And…