2016 June » You Can Sleep When You're Dead: Blog by Colleen Miniuk

I Hope You Dance (Like Nobody’s Watching)

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Jun 272016

“High Alpine Serendipity” || A colorful sunset reflects into a high alpine lake on the Aquarius Plateau in southern Utah, USA (Prints available – click on the photo to order yours)

Last week, I headed to the high country of southern Utah to escape a heat wave in Phoenix (where temperatures soared to a scorching 118 degrees F). Camping at nearly 11,000 feet next to an alpine lake with mid-day temperatures in the 60’s felt almost heavenly…even with the swarms of mosquitoes (a small price to pay for such a welcomed respite from summer’s wrath in the desert…).

Sometimes when I’m exploring and photographing a gorgeous scene–one that speaks to me deeply–I’ll get so excited about it, I’ll spontaneously bust out into song or even start to dance (or both) while I’m shooting. As William Purkey once suggested, “You’ve gotta dance like there’s nobody watching.” What’s life (and photography) if not a little fun, right? Right!

While shooting sunset at our small watering hole, I decided to pause for a minute to celebrate the beautiful moment with an impromptu retire (pronounced “reh-tur-a”, also sometimes referred to as a passe as well) ballet pose while I stood on a submerged rock. My friend caught me in the act and snapped this picture of me:

I know many of you have heard me say, “Keep Shooting!!” once or twice before, but sometimes you just gotta stop shooting to do a little dance of joy…as outdoor photographers, we are so fortunate to witness some of Mother Nature’s greatest moments. Oftentimes, though, we forget to take a minute to soak everything in and truly appreciate the scene unfolding in front of us. Instead, we have our nose stuck to the back of the LCD and an eyeball peering through the viewfinder while panicking about things like “What aperture I should use?” “Is my depth of field broad enough?” “Is my frame even in focus??!” We see the sunrise or sunset or the decisive moment through a lens, but not with our own eyes…

I’m excited I brought home an image from that evening (above), but it’s merely an artifact of the magical experience I had watching the day come to a beautiful, serene end in a beautiful, serene (and cool!) place.

So like the Lee Ann Womack song goes, “I hope YOU dance” too even for just a second or two when you connect with the landscape in a personal way and enjoy what the Great Outdoors has to offer.

Go ahead, no one’s watching…

Winter in Acadia Photo Retreat Guest Blogger: Amy Minton

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Jun 222016

Amy Minton was one of three students on the “Winter in Acadia: A Creative Photography Retreat” held on the scenic Schoodic Peninsula in Acadia National Park, Maine, from February 7-13, 2016. This blog post features her thoughts and images from her experience. If you have enjoyed seeing Acadia through her eyes, please leave her a comment on her post! More of Amy’s work can be viewed on her website at www.amymintonphotography.com.

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Winter is a beautiful time of the year and offers many opportunities for outdoor photo shoots. My camera, however, hibernates in winter. Well, at least that was the case before I participated in Colleen’s workshop, “Winter in Acadia: A Creative Photography Retreat,” this past February. By the end of the workshop, I was very happy that I took my camera out of hibernation and returned to Acadia National Park. Now, not only do I possess confidence to shoot outdoors in winter (and in fact have done so – post-workshop), but also I learned about the creative process and its influence on my photography as well as history, geology, and wildlife within and around Acadia National Park.

Blueberry Hill

This image was made on a very chilly morning (-17 wind chill), which may be the reason why I wanted to create an image with this lone tree located near the Blueberry Hill Parking Area. To me, loneliness feels “cold,” and at the time, despite being appropriately dressed for the winter conditions, I was cold. So, while standing there, I imagined that this tree was also feeling alone during the cold sunrise as it looked out toward the other trees on Schoodic Island. I wondered if the tree longed to join the other trees on the island, or maybe it wanted to invite the trees to join him on Schoodic Peninsula, a.k.a. “the quiet side of Acadia.”

Otter Cliff

Face of Otter Cliff. I usually don’t think of a title for an image when at a location, but while at Boulder Beach (Acadia National Park, Mount Desert Island) the snow and ice coating the rocks at Otter Cliff appeared to reveal a face. At time, I wondered if it was only during the winter season that the face is exposed. If so, then add it to one more experience of the unique beauty of Acadia National Park in winter.

Wildlife

The harbor seals in this image were spotted resting, presumably on a rocky outcropping exposed at low tide, in Wonsquak Harbor. I am sharing this image because it represents one of the many forms of wildlife that was seen during my photo adventure. In addition to the harbor seals, I watched a seagull drop, while in flight, drop a mussel onto the road in order to crack the protective shell, and then, gain access to the mussel inside (I had never seen that before). There were also a variety of mammal and bird tracks in the snow, but the “coolest” tracks, in my opinion, were the river otter tracks. Despite not actually seeing the river otter(s) (unlike the workshop participants the week before my group), I thought it was amazing to see the paw prints in the snow and then see where the otter slid on it’s belly on top of the snow. It still makes me smile when I think about that river otter running along the snow and then sliding on its belly before he reached the waters edge and began to forage for food. I suspect the river otter made a game of it along his way.

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Would you like to experience and photograph Acadia in the winter while learning how to express yourself more creatively? Join Colleen on her next “Winter in Acadia: A Creative Photography Retreat” from February 12-18, 2017! Learn more and register for this unforgettable, small group (max 6) workshop at cms-photo.com/Workshops/2017WinterinAcadia.html.

Winter in Acadia Photo Retreat Guest Blogger: Dixie Pearson

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Jun 222016

Dixie Pearson was one of three students on the “Winter in Acadia: A Creative Photography Retreat” held on the scenic Schoodic Peninsula in Acadia National Park, Maine, from February 7-13, 2016. This blog post features her thoughts and images from her experience. If you have enjoyed seeing Acadia through her eyes, please leave her a comment on her post! More of Dixie’s work can be viewed on her website at dixiegirl.smugmug.com.

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Winter in Acadia gave me the opportunity to be truly alone with the landscape. Through Colleen’s excellent guidance, I was able to “turn off” my thoughts, and listen to my surroundings.

I learned to make mindful observations of the landscape. Here are just a few of my observations:

The crashing of the waves and the whistling of the wind during our first day of shooting at Schoodic Point.
The snow and ice forming “ice pillows” over rocks at Duck Brook.
The myriad ice formations, rising and breaking around us at West Pond Cove.
The sound of the pebbles, like tiny bamboo xylophones, tumbling in the surf as each wave recedes at Boulder Beach.

Here are 3 of my images, with accompanying haikus, from our trip:

the icy brook flows
forever echoing change
possibilities

Duck Brook

tree on craggy shore
arms raised in supplication
granite sky warning

Boulder Beach

veiled light revealing
the sun’s fickle winter gaze
how I see has changed

Sunrise, Blueberry Hill

What an incredible opportunity it was to capture such an amazing place in winter. I can truly say that it was well worth braving the elements~just dress warmly and enjoy!

Thank you!

Dixie Pearson

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Winter in Acadia Photo Retreat Guest Blogger: Rebecca Wilks

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Jun 202016

Rebecca Wilks was one of three students on the “Winter in Acadia: A Creative Photography Retreat” held on the scenic Schoodic Peninsula in Acadia National Park, Maine, from February 7-13, 2016. This blog post features her thoughts and images from her experience. If you have enjoyed seeing Acadia through her eyes, please leave her a comment on her post! More of Rebecca’s work can be viewed on her website www.skylineimages.net and her blog at theviewfromtheskyline.blogspot.com.

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Another fabulous workshop with Colleen Miniuk-Sperry has come to an end too soon. I’d been to (and Around) Acadia National Park with her twice before, but never in the winter. Of course our little group knew we couldn’t predict what the weather would bring in February for safe travels or for photography. We were fortunate. Temps were well above freezing the week before and after our time there, but we saw wind chill temps below minus 20. Yes, we were slow-moving, sometimes uncomfortable and occasionally whiny. We were fortunate though, since the colder temps are much more conducive to photographing snow and ice, which we did with joy.

Colleen has asked each of us to contribute a few favorite images with our thoughts.

One morning along East Schoodic Drive I was following the trail of a fox in the deep snow. I looked up and was struck by the graphic quality of evergreen trees with ice plastered to their trunks on one side. As Colleen often encourages students to do, I pondered what attracted me to the scene. There’s a literal narrative here about the strength of the storm the night before, but also universal truths about perseverance and the fresh start that comes with the dawn. Oh, and I think it’s pretty.

We drove twice to Mount Desert Island, where the larger and more visited (though not so much in the winter) part of the park lies. My favorite shots there were at Duck Brook, where fanciful ice formations resembling pillows, chandeliers, and sea creatures had formed above a retreating flood. The texture of the ice fascinates me still.

Somehow on this trip, I often found myself shooting in the opposite direction from my friends. Here’s an example along Park Loop Road. They were making lovely images of a snow-covered Boulder Beach, but I was captivated by the coast in the other direction with their curves echoed by the high tide line and mountains as well as the sense of power in the waves.

I can’t wait for a chance to do it again.

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Rafting Lava Falls in the Grand Canyon

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Jun 162016

“Of Glory and Beauty” || Cliffs along the Colorado River near mile 54 (just south of Nankoweap ruins) soak up the day’s last light in the Grand Canyon, Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona, USA (Prints available – click on photo to order yours!)

My mom and I recently had the fortunate chance to spend eight days rafting the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon for the first time while on a private trip with 14 dear and new friends with Hatch River Expeditions. Commonly used words to describe the trip like “epic,” “best trip of my life,” and “life-changing” all fall short of how I feel about my time in the canyon’s warm (literally and figuratively!!) embrace. I’m not exaggerating when I say it was so far beyond epic! I loved it so much, I’ve already booked another trip down for May 2017!

I have 4000+ images and ~128GB of GoPro video footage to sort through, plus pages and pages of notes I scribbled in my journal, from our trip so more pics and stories are sure to follow as I start to shake the sand out of everything.

However, to give you a taste of how exhilarating–and at times, downright hilarious–our trip was, I put together this three-minute video of our run through the famous Lava Falls, the river’s most difficult rapid (albeit short). It’s rated a Class 10 on a scale from 1-10, with 10 being the most difficult and dangerous.

In the short clip, Wendy Gunn, her son Troy, and I are riding in the “bathtub” (the front of the motorized raft), so we had front-row seats as the action unfolded. Boy, did we get a mouthful! And man, did we have a blast!

Take a peek at the video below to experience (and for those who have been down the river, perhaps re-live your ride) Lava Falls without getting wet like we did!

(Note: we spewed a few expletives during the ride, so you may not want to play this at full volume at work…)

That’s a Wrap! Final Thoughts on the 4th Annual NAU “Behind the Image: Guest Blogger” Project

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Jun 032016

Congratulations to the 48 NAU intermediate photographing students who participated as Guest Bloggers on this blog starting in early-May (their photographs appearing in alphabetical order here):
First row (left to right): Miguel Alvarez, Erika Berry, Matthew Carlin, David Carballido-Jeans, Erica Colegrove, Cassandra Coyle, Mariah Doka, Faouzi Eletel
Second row (left to right):Kyle Erwin, Emily Frankel, Emily Gaudet, Darian Gibbs, Riah Grams, Nikki Hand, Jake Herbig, Kendra Horsfield
Third row (left to right): Erika I’Anson, Kaylee Johnson, Laura Jones, Francesca Kent, Danny Kimball, Cole King, Amelia Krieg, Jeff Kunkel
Fourth row (left to right): Nick Laessig, Hannah Laurie, Kelly Lienhard, Maxim Mascolo, Wendel Navenma, Andrew Ormonde, Michelle Raigoza, Ramon Ramirez
Fifth row (left to right): Jacquelyn Reimer, Ariana Ruiz, Katie Sawyer, Carissa Schattke, Ashlee Shifflet, Taylor Slevin, Kiely Sutton, Alyssa Tavison
Sixth row (left to right): Jessie Tofaute, Sydney Troxell, Jessica Vazquez, Megan Vey, Tyler Walker, Siobhan Webb, Jarrick Wenslow, Dakota Wolfe

And that’s a wrap!

Over the last four weeks, you’ve had the opportunity to view photographs and the behind-the-scenes stories from 48 Northern Arizona University (NAU) intermediate photography students. Let’s give the participating students a big round of applause for sharing their images and thoughts with us in this year’s “Behind the Image: Guest Blogger” project.

I was impressed to see how incorporating each of your individual backgrounds and unique approaches yielded a personally meaningful photograph and in many cases, personal discovery and growth. No matter where photography or life takes you, always remember that creativity lives within you if you tap into your individual backgrounds and passions – whether it be travel, beloved pets, people who inspire, moving natural scenes, or intimate details of the world around them – to present your visual messages. Follow your curiosities, learn new things, and be confident in your own voice. Keep up the great work, NAU photographers! I wish you the very best in your journey ahead!

I am also so grateful for NAU Photography Instructor, Amy Horn, who helped coordinate this real-world assignment with her class flawlessly once again. I’m honored and excited to work with someone so dedicated to her students and to facilitating the learning process in photography. Thank you, Amy, for not only your help, but also for what you do to influence lives and the future of photography.

To those of you who left comments on the photographs and stories, many thanks to you as well! If you haven’t had the chance to review all of them (and would like to), find the 48 “Behind the Image” write-ups by clicking on the “Guest Blogger” or the “Making the Images” Categories box on the right-most column on your screen. Then, feel free to add your thoughts in the Comments section below anytime that’s convenient for you.

Finally, what did you think of this year’s project? Leave us a comment about your thoughts!

To the 48 photographers: What did you think of your blogging experience here? Was it as scary or exciting as you thought? Would you do it again? Would you do anything differently in hindsight now that you’ve completed your assignment? What new ideas did you get for your future photography work?

To the readers: What did you like about the photography as a whole? What new ideas did you get to influence your photography? What new things might you try now? I look forward to hearing from you!

Thanks again, everyone! Until next year’s project!

Colleen

Behind the Image: NAU Guest Blogger – Nikki Hand

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Jun 022016

Photo copyright Nikki Hand

When my friends and I decided to go camping near Winslow, AZ I remembered a photo I had been wanting to take for awhile. I wanted to capture all of my good friends sitting around a campfire under the stars. I have tried long exposures before, but this was my first real attempt at it. I wanted the photo to capture the essence of what camping is with all the people you care about. At first I was asking everyone to try their best to stay still. I started to think it looked too posed, so I stopped directing them and let them do their own thing. I really like this image because it captured everyone in their realist form and showed some movement. I thought about using flash but I loved the orange glow from the camp fire. As my friends were enjoying the campfire, I was standing a few feet away shivering while trying to capture this photo. Every now and then one of my friends would come by and ask what I was doing. I would show them and they thought it was the coolest thing ever! That motivated me even more to get this shot.

I was using my Canon 5D MK III and my Canon 16-35mm and tripod. My focal length was 16mm with my ISO at 1000. I left my shutter open for 5 seconds with my f stop at 2.8. I wanted to get some stars without blowing out the campfire. I took this same photo so many different times. Each time the photo looked completely different because people would be walking or moving around. I moved around a bunch worried that the stars would be out of focus if I kept moving. It was really hard to tell on my tiny screen of the stars were sharp or not, so I zoomed up really close to see. I kept at it and eventually got this shot. I cropped a bit and edited to make the stars more viable in post processing. I really love how the image came out and it captured exactly what I wanted. I was proud of my first real attempt at long exposure photography. I like the fact that people are moving around and you can’t make out any faces. It makes me think about a great night camping we all had playing games, sharing stories, laughs and s’mores of course.

About the Photographer:

Nikki Hand is a landscape and outdoor lifestyle photographer from Southern California. She is currently a photography student at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, Arizona. With a deep passion for the outside world, she is always in search of remote destinations to capture. She is inspired by rich landscapes and loves to experience new places, people, and cultures. Her photographs capture blissful moments of soothing landscapes. As she explores, she has the ability to execute creative compositions. With the great outdoors as her muse, she continues to search for places to photograph that remain wild.

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/4th-annual-northern-arizona-university-behind-the-image-guest-blogger-project. Please take a minute to leave your thoughts and constructive comments in the Comment section below – Nikki would love to hear from you!

Behind the Image: NAU Guest Blogger – Francesca Kent

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Jun 022016

Photo copyright Francesca Kent

After viewing some incredible water drop photos in my photography class, I decided that when I got home that day I would research different types of water movement photos. I saw some really interesting ones but there was one that really caught my eye – an object dropping into a wine glass. So I went to the photography studio on campus and decided to try this out for myself.

The first problem I encountered was that I would need help from another person: having them drop the object into the water as I took the photo. So I asked one of my photography classmates to assist me on this photo, it ended up working out really well!

First, I set up my station; a plain black table pushed up against the wall in the photography studio, a clear wine glass filled ¾ of the way with water, two flashes, two different coloured gels, a flat coloured glass rock for bottom of the glass (to prevent the glass from breaking when the object was dropped), and a screw.

After many trial and errors, I settled on two different gels – pink and blue – with the flash brightness in-between the lowest and middle brightness. I then made sure to have all the lights off so that the only source of light would be coming from my two flashes. I then set up my camera (Canon Rebel T3) with the 18-55mm lens with ISO 100, f/8, and shutter speed 1/250. ISO 100 because my flash power was strong enough that I didn’t need a high ISO to be able to see the photo and the shutter speed at its fastest in order to capture both the screw being dropped and the water movement occurring.

Once all these settings were set, taking the photo was more or less easy, I had a shutter clicker attached to my camera so I wouldn’t have to be right behind my camera to take the photo, my partner and I would then count to three, once we reached three, he would drop the screw and I would snap the shot.

Overall, this shoot was extremely fun! I loved being able to see something online and be able to recapture it myself but by adding my own touch to the photo. I think that I may continue to do more shoots like this because I really enjoyed it; although it was very time consuming, the ending result was worth it!

About the Photographer:

My name is Francesca Kent and I am a Marketing major at Northern Arizona University with a minor in Photography. I have always been in love with photography since I was 15 and have always just taken photos for fun, whether it be getting a group of friends together or just taking photos of my family. It wasn’t until I met my best friend Victoria where I started getting more serious with photography, we both started off with taking senior photos, which then moved to couple/engagement photos. I love being able to capture memories for people to keep forever and being able to create something new with photography. I want to make every photo different with the use of a creative eye and constantly looking at the world through the eyes of a photographer. I hope to pursue a career in advertising and be able to use my photography skills and I can’t wait to see what’s in store for my future!

Behind the Image: NAU Guest Blogger – Jessie Tofaute

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Jun 012016

Photo copyright Jessie Tofaute

I am in awe of the natural beauty around me. Capturing the unique elements within a single image is what inspires my daily life as a photographer. My subject for this picture is a Night Blooming Cereus, which I believe is one of the most interesting desert plants in Phoenix, Arizona. What is so intriguing about this plant is, like its name, the flower only blooms in the darkness of night, and after it blooms, it only survives a day before it begins to wither and die. A life so precious, yet so fleeting is worth capturing on a camera. So, when I just happened to be home from NAU on March 25, my mom told me to grab my camera because the neighbor’s Night Blooming Cereus was in full bloom. I am happy I was home that weekend for the opportunity to take a picture of such a spectacular flower that tells such a unique story about life and death. The Night Blooming Cereus’ elegance accurately illustrates how life is so full and animated, and yet so short and sweet all at the same time.

In any nature shot that I take, I always aim for simple, pure, and colorful image. I believe this to be my style. For this photo in particular, I chose a shallow depth of field (f/2) because of where the flower blossomed and the angle I needed to take the picture. I attempted to minimize distractions from the rocks and background the best I could given the photographic circumstances. To get this angle, I laid on the ground as my 8-year-old brother assisted me (and complained the whole time as 8-year-olds do) in holding an off-camera flash to my left to fill in a minimal amount of the shadows the plant casted on the petals of the flower and the rocks below. I like the look and sense of depth that the remaining shadows add to the image so I chose to leave those in the shot. I captured this image with an ISO of 100, 1/4000 sec and f/2 close to noon on a cloudless day in sunny Gilbert, Arizona. Captured on a Nikon D3100 with a Nikon 35 mm f/1.8 lens. Simple post processing edits consist of small adjustments to the brightness, contrast, and hue/saturation of the image. I applied a blue filter to the image to cool down the overall tone slightly. The original orange and red colors in the rocks took away attention from the flower before I made this adjustment in Photoshop. Overall, this image closely resembles the original shot in its natural form before post processing occurred.

About the Photographer:

My name is Jessie Tofaute, and I’m a photography major at NAU. I have been perusing my love for photography since my freshmen year of high school when I took my first introduction to photography class. It has been my favorite pastime ever since and is something I see myself doing all my life as a career and a hobby. I enjoy capturing memories for myself and others while learning all I can about the art. I love documenting my travels through photographs. I equally enjoy taking portraits of special occasions for clients as seen on my business website: jessietofaute.wix.com/photography.

Behind the Image: NAU Guest Blogger – Miguel Alvarez

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Jun 012016

Photo copyright Miguel Alvarez

The image portrayed is mainly told through its candid imagery. A girl sits by her window looking outside with a towel wrapped around her head after she sips her warm coffee. I didn’t want to stage her emotion, I wanted it to feel natural as if the image was a mere freeze frame of her motion through her hands and face. It had been a cold day outside, thus the desaturated overall illustration of inside the apartment complimented the weather outside. Also the heightened highlights juxtapose the sunlight that’s trying to pierce through the clouds on the outside. With all of this in mind, I wanted the scenery to be a calm one by not overcomplicating what was in the frame and just be a simple shot of the girl and the window as the main subjects.

I love human interaction and their emotions to their surroundings. This image represents a piece of life, and with the natural lighting it develops a raw scene that surrounds the girl, the window, and her thoughts. Simple human interactions are easily relatable. And with this image, what isn’t so relatable about having a sip of coffee while in a deep state of mind? When I’m trying to come up with a story for one of my film projects, I limit distractions and only spend time with my imagination. Having that deep state of mind, she could be thinking about anything, about a positive or negative thought. She’s neither smiling nor directly frowning, which opens the wide range of emotions. She opens her mind by looking out the window to expose her mindset in broad way because of how the open world incites different feelings and thoughts.

I shot this image on a Canon 70D, 1/200 shutter speed, 3.5 aperture, 18 mm lens, and an ISO of 800. I’m also big on filmmaking and I typically use the same lens and camera, and the only difference from past images and this one was that I usually increase the saturation for photos and with film I color grade by desaturating the image. In effect, I desaturated this image as if to resemble a freeze frame of a film locked in a drama genre. I would also include a letterbox (the black bars on the top and bottom of the frame) but that would be too close in mended as a part of a film. This image should stand on its own with the possibility of being part of a film but still framed up as a standalone.

About the Photographer:

Raised in the suburbs of San Bernardino, California, I completed many AP and Honors courses and graduated at the top ten-percent of my class. As a result of this, I’ve been too deep into my classwork to prove my worth. I always enjoyed drawing and storytelling through comics that got me into becoming passionate with filmmaking half way into my middle school career. During my second year of college, I took my first photography class. With filmmaking, there’s an expanded way of storytelling, whereas photography you must capture an entire world and its backstory within one image. The fact that I love storytelling allowed me explore the subjects that I want to tell stories from. I’ve grown to know that human experiences/interactions is what intrigues me the most. That’s what inspires me: to tell others’ stories, including my own. What separates me from others is that I enjoy both bright and dark themes. I’ve come to know that both contrasting emotions sparks one another and they can’t simply live or portray without the other being present.