Studio Portraits

This experience was a lot of fun for me. I stayed behind the whole camera the whole time, which was kind of a relief for me, but I have been in plenty of portraits for various different things. When I am more familiar with the individual shooting me I am much more comfortable being in front of the camera. I don't know any of my classmates particularly well so standing in front of their lens' would have been difficult for me. 

I recently got an internship with a photographer here in town who focuses mainly on portrait photography. This experience in class was a great warm-up for what is to come in my internship. 

This assignment helped me to learn how to capture the individual in their element rather than directing them and creating unreal depictions of who they are. 

Shooting Tight

I chose to shoot the relationship between a cosmetologist and a client for my shooting tight assignment. As I considered shooting tight I decided that tight, compressed photos illustrate a more intimate relationship - the type of relationship that is generally found between cosmetologist and client. 

As I took these photos I realized how difficult it is to shoot tight sometimes. I found myself moving around a lot to get the angle I wanted because I couldn't just zoom out and frame up differently. Shooting tight forced me to pay closer attention to the frame because I knew there really wouldn't be a whole lot of room to crop the photo to my desired frame afterwards. 

  

One thing I did enjoy about shooting tight is that I didn't have to be right up next to my subjects in order to capture a scene. By staying away from my subjects it allowed them to be natural and for me to capture more candid photos than if I would have been right up next to them, making them feel nervous. 

Shooting Wide

I recently moved in with my brother - due to my sister (previous roommate) getting married, and of course, cheaper rent. While living with my sister we lived down town so moving into a newly developing part of town has been a bit of a transition for me. 

Every day as I drive home or look out of my window I am able to see the various different stages that the economy is in. 

The first photo is of a home that was bought and to my knowledge, never really lived in. It sits daily with a for sale sign, just waiting to be bought.

The second photo captures the vacant, for-sale house along with the construction of a new house with an empty lot that is for sale in the back of the frame.

The third photo captures three houses that are lived in daily, as well as the corner (the fresh grass) of a newly constructed, un-sold home. In the distance of this photo you can also see more homes being built as well as an LDS church to accommodate the culture of this area. 

This last photo shows the different stages of progress in the building of a house. In the foreground we see the pile of dirt that sits where eventually a home will be built. To the right, back of the dirt pile we see a framed building, with an almost completed house to its side.

It is interesting to see so many different stages in a mere two blocks. It fascinates me to watch these houses be built, but what is most intriguing to me is watching what happens to them once the construction is completed. 

Spot News

While working a couple of nights ago an ambulance driver and his crew decided to come get drinks. 

Drinks weren't all they got - they got stuck. 

Eventually they got unstuck and were able to assess the damage of both the ambulance and the building.  

The police had to come and fill out an accident report and make sure everything was okay and damages were being dealt with properly. 

These photos were shot with my iPhone and from the only angles I could get while still continuing to work. This incident may not have been extreme, but it did teach me that being in the right place at the right time is a large part of journalism.