2014 May » You Can Sleep When You're Dead: Blog by Colleen Miniuk

Behind the Image: NAU Guest Blogger – Chris Martin

May 022014

Photo copyright Chris Martin

The inspiration for this image comes from the emotion behind the place where it was taken. Alcatraz Island, “The Rock”, is known in history for being a prison that is escape proof, and was home to the most dangerous criminals in history. As I walked around the island, I couldn’t help but feel an overwhelming sense of sadness with undertones of loneliness and isolation even though there were hundreds of people there. Around the perimeter of the island were numerous photo opportunities, but as I came upon this scene where the above photo was taken I sensed something different and a sense of happiness and freedom began to take over me; with the green plants and a ferryboat representing a way of escape, yet still staying true to the history of the island with an old run down building as my main focus point. This opposition of emotion all in one picture made it a very popular spot for other photographers there and gave me one of my favorite photos from the whole island tour.

I approached the spot of the image with my initial intent to take a horizontal picture, but no composition was quite right, and nothing captured the emotion that I felt as I stood there. I began to walk away, but in my head I told myself that I had to stay and figure it out. After a few moments I had the idea to flip my camera vertical and take a photo and the first one I captured was the image seen, and I loved it.

For the photo I am using a very small aperture of f/11, because I wanted as much in focus as possible. My ISO is at 125 at 1/40^th of a second.

As I took the image into Lightroom, there weren’t many changes that I wanted to make. I cropped the image to get rid of some clutter on the right side, I boosted the shadows and brought down the highlights in order to get the most contrast out of the image. Lastly, I increased saturation to give the greenery some nice punch and that’s it.

About the Photographer:
My name is Chris Martin, I’ve been interested in filmmaking for quite sometime, but just recently started to get into photography, and I’m slowly learning all of the subtle differences between the two when it comes to framing and composition. The type of photography that I enjoy most is landscape and astrophotography, although I’m still learning the latter. Also, almost every single photo I take I touch up in some kind of way in Lightroom for minor stuff, or Photoshop for more intense photo editing. To me post processing is an artistic choice that only you as the artist can produce and even if two photographers took very similar photos, they can look vastly different depending on the post work done. This ties in with my main goal as a photographer and that is to be different and set myself apart from the crowd.

To read more about the Northern Arizona University “Behind the Image: Guest Blogger” project on our blog, please read the introduction at youcansleepwhenyouredead.com/wordpress/its-back-the-2014-nau-photography-students-behind-the-image-guest-blogger-project/.

Behind the Image: NAU Guest Blogger – Daniel Riebe

Guest Blogger, Making the Image 3 Responses »

May 012014

Photo copyright Daniel Riebe

Every image captivates a story. Whether significant or not, each story brings the audience closer to the photograph. The story told through this image allows the audience to understand more about the person and the specific background. Along with the story behind the image I want to present the man’s story as well. His name is Caveman. He’s a homeless man from Flagstaff, Arizona with a life that incorporates a very particular mindset of thoughts.

This story began with a downtown Flagstaff exploration while I looked for that image that would leave me in peace. I shot a couple photos of strangers while I explained to them my reason to why their photo had been taken that day, I had yet to take a photo which would allow for the completion of the portrait shot.

A couple of relationship shots, teenagers that had hung out together that day and of course the employee shot of a hard days work simply had not been the type of image I had in mind. I had been on the look for a different perspective of how individuals see the world. The day had slowly started to come to an end and I had been disappointed in the shots I found, to say the least. As I walked back to my vehicle I had felt defeated, with the mindset of the day to be over.

Suddenly, an individual that I had not seen earlier was perched directly in front of me with a very peculiar name, Caveman. His stern look seemed questionable whether to go talk to him or not but he had hand written signs that intrigued me. I walked up to this man, introduced myself and started a conversation that went further then I had expected.

One of the most kind, gentle and extremely enthusiastic individuals I had ever met in my life, Caveman told me stories I would have never believed I would ever had heard. The best part of this individual had been to learn about his ideas that a majority in the world would believe are insane. This man had a life with a house and a job to pay for it and one day had been tired of it all and dedicated himself to be on his own with his old life left as memories. He had a different ideology on the behalf of illegal substances, which he now had revolved most of his life around.

This however had been the most intriguing part about him. The belief that one-day he would be taken up, by what he called “the weed fairies”, which allowed him to be in a different world. This photo represents a different perspective on life. The story applies a specific outlook for people to look back on there own life.

On the mechanical side I used a Canon 70d and an 18-55mm lens. The black and white photo emphasizes contrast which provides more emotion to the photo.

About the Photographer:
I have personally found that the ability to capture a fleeting scene in order to depict its story is why photography has become so important to me. It is also humbling to think that each and every moment, which I choose to capture, is an image that testifies to my interests and passions. If you would like to know what I enjoy, cherish, and respect, look at my work, what I document, and choose to share for others to see.

My work consists of proposal and engagement photos while being able to sell my photographs to those who show interest. I prefer subjects that are not going to move around. Subjects that sit still and have me move to the specific angle I need for the perfect photograph.

Have you ever stopped and stared at something for a considerable amount of time; wishing that you could physically hold on to the image that you are currently tantalized with? The beauty of photography is that it allows an artist to express those moments that would otherwise remain nothing more than a memory for any who were there to witness it.

It is my goal to continue on this path, and further my ability to express myself. Truthfully, it is astounding to think that a hobby I have has also become my voice and my way to display how I see our world!

Behind the Image: NAU Guest Blogger – Wuke Zhou

Guest Blogger, Making the Image 2 Responses »

May 012014

Photo copyright Wuke Zhou

Little Orange Juice (my cat) came to me on a Friday night. Since then, he occupied every inch of my apartment. At first, he was so into the computer. He could not stop watching my girlfriend typing her paper. However, one day, little Orange Juice found a new world.

It was a dark day, and I was alone in the living room. I created a small studio for my photo class assignment and was ready to shoot. Little Orange Juice was sleeping on a chair behind me. The moment I hit the trigger, I also woke up Orange Juice because of the light from the flash. I did not notice him until he “meowed”. He looked at me on the other side of the table, very still. I hesitated only for a second and took the shoot. At that special moment, I didn’t think twice or adjust my camera settings. It came to me that I wouldn’t have a second chance to take the shot. I believed that Orange Juice inspired me to create this image. As a matter of fact, he encouraged me to do so. I hardly ever have a chance to photograph him because he is so naughty. Also, animals don’t pose for photographers. Therefore, I knew I had to take the shot.

As I mentioned before, it was the trigger that drew Orange’s attention. When I took the shot, the flash fired as well. Thus, I got a very clear shot of him, full of details. I was surprised that the flash turned out to be perfect. It came from the side and added stunning shadows on Orange Juice’s face. Meanwhile, since I didn’t have time to change the setting or camera lens, the data for this photo is kind of interesting. Using my Canon 5D Mark III, Canon Macro Lens 100mm, ISO 320, 1/20 sec at f 10, at roughly half powered light from an off camera flash.

These settings actually worked well. Low ISO number means overly high quality of the image. Compared with the dark environment, 1/20 second might seem too slow. I didn’t recall if I used a tripod or not, but there is no sign of movement. Thus, I supposed that I did use a tripod, which makes 1/20 second good enough for this image. On the other hand, slow shutter speed ensures enough light. As a matter of fact, we can still notice a little bit more high light in this image. A very large aperture makes sure a deep depth of filed in this image as well.

During the post-processing of this image, the first important thing is to crop the image. I only used Lightroom to edit this image. On the original photo, Orange Juice’s head was in the center but only took about 1/6 of the image. I cropped it a lot because I didn’t want any distractions. Then, I applied 10 clarity, sharpness and contrast on the whole photo. I focused on the details next. I decreased highlights and shadows on his face to make him look soft and bright. I added some clarity on his nose and eyes. I increased the orange and red in this photo too. Therefore, he looked cuter. That’s all I have done for this image.

About the Photographer:
As a future commercial photographer, my initial goal is fulfilling my clients satisfaction in the shortest time possible. In order to achieve my goal, I will learn all the camera equipment that I need to handle and be creative during post-production process. I believe what makes me differ from other photographers is that I understand the difference between creating fine art and starting a business. My art piece will always show both the profession of skills and artistic values that my clients can appreciate.

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