2015 May » You Can Sleep When You're Dead: Blog by Colleen Miniuk

Behind the Image: NAU Guest Blogger – Stevie Deale

May 022015

“Packaged Deale” photo copyright Stevie Deale

“Packaged Deale”
I have this tendency, when I photograph, to not want to force anything. I’ll be doing something with a friend or on a hike and I will see the image in my head; I will see the moment as an image. So, when I photograph, I end up taking images of moments that are happening and not going out with the specific intent to take images, which has a very polarizing effect for the people viewing my images.

In the instance of this image, entitled “Packaged Deale,” I was hiking with my brothers, Ryan and Adam Deale, in the Seattle area, Snowqualmie Falls to be specific, when I turned back around to say something to them and I saw that the way waterfall was representative of them and how the surroundings were framing them. I told them to stop and since they happen to be willing to model for me, for which I am very grateful, they did and I captured this image of them in front of this waterfall, which they now have hanging in their apartment.

However, even though I took this image in a moment of inspiration does not mean that I do not have something to say with the image in mind as I’m taking it. I saw this waterfall, with one side being slightly larger and more forceful than the other before they join into one pool, and I immediately thought that it was representative of my brothers and of the people in our society as a whole. While one of my brothers is more forceful and larger than the other, they still end up coming together and joining in the ‘pool of friendship’ as I’m calling it (cheesy, I know, but you get the idea), or (as a less cheesy option), you could say that they’re a packaged deal(e). Despite the fact that some people in this world are more forceful and stronger, it doesn’t mean that we aren’t all humans and that we all can’t come together to create a movement or create a community that supports all life (like a river, get it?).

Anyway, now I’m sure you’re wondering about the logistics of this particular image! I took this image on a Canon Rebel T3i with an 18-55mm kit lens. My ISO was 400 to capture the speed of the waterfall, my aperture was at f/4.5 with a shutter speed of 1/60 of a second. I am using a shallower depth of field so that my brothers would be the main focus while allowing the waterfall to fade into the background and not take up the majority of the focus in the image.

This image really makes me realize the beauty of our world and how we are all similar despite our insistence otherwise. I hope this image is making you stop and think about our world in a new way or that it is a reminder that we are all human.

About the Photographer:
My name is Stevie Deale. I have grown up in California, but in the last two years, I have worked in various places, such as Flagstaff, Arizona, multiple locations in California, England and Madrid, Spain. I have studied photography since I was 13 and I still enjoy the practice of taking images. I take self-portraits and I explore the intricacies of the human experience through my work. My goal is to capture the unexpected and simple moments in life, such as a person in a coffee shop, or out in nature, just enjoying life.

Steviedeale.weebly.com

http://riversandroadstowardsgrowth.tumblr.com/

To read more about the Northern Arizona University “Behind the Image: Guest Blogger” project on our blog, please read the introduction at http://youcansleepwhenyouredead.com/wordpress/3rd-annual-northern-arizona-university-behind-the-image-guest-blogger-project/. Please take a minute to leave your insights and constructive comments in the Comment section below – the student would love to hear from you!

Behind the Image: NAU Guest Blogger – Angel Rangel

Guest Blogger, Making the Image No Responses »

May 022015

Photo copyright Angel Rangel

When I take photos, my first instinct is to take a photo of something colorful out in nature. However, this is a photo that I am proud of that is not colorful. I took this while I was in Sedona for spring break. My girlfriend and her family spend a few days out of the year in Sedona, at a place next to a creek. I am from the desert so I was beyond excited when I received an invitation to go with them.

While at the creek I took many photos. I got some of the ducks. This was difficult because they only want to approach you if you have food. I took photos of flowers and of my girlfriend. Generally, when I am out in nature, I take photos of cute little birds and ladybugs. However, my favorite photo from the trip is one that I took of a mushroom.

Initially, I had not noticed this little mushroom. It was tiny and blended right in with the tree that it was sitting on. This little guy looked like it was all alone and very old. I felt something for the mushroom, so I wanted to take a picture of it. Maybe the mushroom reflects my fears. I can’t say for sure why I like the mushroom, but it just made me feel something. I took the photo of the mushroom and then moved on, looking for other things to capture.

After spring break, I looked over my photos. I was scrolling through all of them in Lightroom, when I stopped at the mushroom photos. I scrolled through them. I picked the best one and decided that I would like it to be a photo that I can display.

While in Sedona, I had my 18-55mm lens. For this photo, my lens was at about 48mm. I set my camera to ISO 200, because I was in the shade, but it was still fairly sunny outside. My aperture was at 5.6 because the mushroom was very small and I wanted to make sure to really make that mushroom stand out. I also decided to take the exposure compensation down a little bit, because the mushroom and the tree that the mushroom were on contained both bright highlights and low shadows. I wanted to make sure that the shadows on the mushroom stood out.

About the Photographer:
My name is Angel Rangel and I am from Chandler, Arizona. I am currently a photo student attending Northern Arizona University. I began taking photos about 1 year when I was in a photojournalism class. I learned that I loved the photo, but wanted to drop the journalism.

I have a little experience in drawing, graphic design, interior design and writing. I like to dabble in many art forms and learn as much as possible. I prefer to shoot things that are nature related. I think I just have a very strong love of nature, which is why I am attending school in the mountains.

I one day hope to one day have a successful photography business.

Behind the Image: NAU Guest Blogger – Ryan Wesson

Guest Blogger, Making the Image No Responses »

May 012015

Photo copyright Ryan Wesson

Growing up I loved to capture daily life motions. I first picked up a Coolpix freshman year of high school. Even if it was a simple portrait I liked to spice it up. I would either put an odd prop in with the subject or capture an abnormal facial expression. The creative aspect in photography kept me hungry to find my style. I kept on taking my camera out for these past six years. I was introduced to Canon and immediately was instilled with inspiration to capture as much as I could. I think I finally figured out what I like. I love to tell a story. By telling a story I also love to explore the angles of my subject. Portraits are probably my favorite genre at this point. One thing I can say about the difference between my work and others is that I love weird-different captures. It’s a good tool to really test creativity. When I walk around I’m constantly thinking of new ideas for photos. I love looking at work as well to see what others are doing. It drives me to get out like other photographers and shoot. As I was told the ones who want to be good will utilize every opportunity you can handle. It’s not an easy time learning what you like to photograph, but the practice is worth every second. Photography is a lifestyle I plan to live in for a while. I wanted to capture a strong motion in black and white. Black and white filters have evoked new ideas, which is why I chose to put the filter on my image. Recently I have been extremely excited about black and white photography. The image’s purpose is to inspire the viewer. Opportunities are endless with hard work. Focus on the goals we choose to pursue.

I used a Canon EOS 70D. I was shooting with the kit lens 55mm. My shutter speed was at 1/400 of a second. I set my F-stop to 11. I had the ISO at 400 which I should’ve changed to 100. I also was experimenting with my flash unit. I cropped the image a little bit on the right side because of a sun ray. I gave it some nice contrast and applied the black and white filter. Then I messed with the color section to pop my subject out.

About the Photographer:
My name is Ryan James. I first discovered photography through my friends Flickr account. It was in the beginning of my freshman year. I ended up picking up my first camera at the end of freshman year. I kept progressing in photography and decided to pursue it as a major in college. In high school I didn’t do a lot with photography it was more of a hobby, during my high school career I was filming more than I photographed. Once I attended Northern Arizona University I joined The Lumberjack and I have been affiliated with Red Bull getting my photos published. On the side I’ve been experimenting with numerous genres of photography through my photo classes. I love to shoot portraits and location. When I shoot portraits I don’t just put a subject in front of my camera. I want to express who they are. Most people I shoot have a weird presence about them in which I like to capture natural shots of their daily motions. It creates a new perspective of someone in my opinion. I also love location because when you explore a location there are numerous angles you can capture of the location. You may end up finding something no one has thought to click and shoot. My favorite technique I utilize right now is Flash. Manipulating light has shown great importance to my work. My work varies away from others because I have a weird style to my work. I capture scenes that are abnormal and creative to the viewer. As an artist I want aspire to reveal my work around the world. I want to create a positive presence to show that we are all radically great in our own way. I plan to utilize photo journalism within this dream I have. I’m inspired greatly by people I run into. Chris Cunningham for instance one of my teachers who has been shooting photography has impacted my work. He always told me think outside the box. Instead of taking a cliché shot how can you produce it within your own style.

Behind the Image: NAU Guest Blogger – Garrett Creswell

Guest Blogger, Making the Image No Responses »

May 012015

Photo copyright Garrett Creswell

I took this image last semester for a different photography class however it has been one of my favorite images that I have taken since I started my photography pursuit at NAU. The assignment for the class at the time was to take a split-tone photo, and I had always seen split-tone images as something with little movement and one general main point of focus. One afternoon I decided to head to downtown Flagstaff and to find something that would make a good prominent subject for a split-tone photo. I was walking around downtown for about 45 minutes or so trying to find a subject to shoot that would make a great photo. I had been there for sometime trying to find the perfect picture, I had taken about 40 photos at this point and nothing was really standing out to me until I noticed this clock. As I was walking down San Francisco street towards the clock I could see there were no cars coming for some time so I decided to stop and take a couple photos to see how they turned out. I took about 10 different photos from a couple of different angles, with varying F-stops aperture and ISO settings as well as having to wait a few different times for cars to go by between some of the photos. After moving on from this spot and looking back at the photos I had captured I saw this image, which really stood out to me because it seemed to be very calm with the least amount of background activity, which is exactly what I was trying to capture in this photo. One I started the post processing of the photo I decided to try and calm it down more by adding a sepia tone to the photo, because the bright vibrant colors seemed very active and too overpowering. The camera I used to capture the image was a Nikon D3200 DSLR with an 18 to 55 mm lens. The F-stop of the camera was at 20, with 1/30 of a second shutter speed, and a 320 ISO setting. This photo has been a favorite of mine for some time now and I’m not quite sure how to explain why but for whatever reason the photo just really stands out to me.

About the Photographer:
My name is Garrett Creswell and I haven’t been a photographer for very long. I recently became much more involved in college after taking my first photo class. Before coming to college all of my free time was spent playing sports so I didn’t really have the free time for photography. However my past in sports has had a huge impact on me as a photographer because I like to take pictures of sporting events and action sports such as snowboarding and eventually hope to take photos while sky diving. These subjects are a lot more interesting to me because I love being out photographing the things that I love to do in my free time. My goals are different from other photographers because I am just taking photos for the fun of photography not to try and make any money, my inspiration is all about the love for the subjects that I like to photograph not money or fame driven aspirations.

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