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Behind the Image: NAU Guest Blogger – Emily Larsen

Apr 242013

Photograph copyright Emily Larsen

I created these images, and put them together to represent one theme. I asked each model to tell me their favorite and least favorite physical feature. I then photographed these features and stacked them on top of each other to create one final image. I was very inspired by the portrait photographers that we learned about in my first semester and really wanted to give it a go. I used to be a sociology major, so I was interested in the sociological stand point I could get from photographing these students. I wanted these students to see the photographs I took and see that their “worst” feature could be beautiful as well as their “best” feature. I put these images as high contrast and black & white because I feel like it captured the right emotions for the theme I was going for. I wanted the features to almost be abstracted because I think that is the best way to see uniqueness and beauty in something.

This particular set is of my best friend. He has struggled with body image and “fitting in” his whole life. When I thought of doing this project, I immediately thought of him. I thought that maybe I could help out, even in a small way. When I asked him what his best feature was, he had a hard time coming up with one; especially one that was unique and interesting to photograph. (His words, not mine). I eventually had to help him come up with a few ideas, all of which I photographed. I ended up showing him all the images, and he chose the one depicted here; his shoulders. I did mention the tan line to him, and he said that it reminded him of the fun he had over the summer, so I should leave it in there (even though it was the next spring, and the tan line had not yet faded). After settling on the best features image, we brainstormed the feature that he was most self-conscious of. I was surprised when the first thing he said was that he disliked his elbows the most. I had known him for a long time and known that he was self-conscious about many things, and he never mentioned his elbows before. I decided to only photograph this feature because it was something that surprised me and I had never photographed that part of the body before. In the end, he was very happy with the images, and I think I even may have helped him improve his self-esteem, even if it was just a little bit.

To shoot this, I used a Nikon D5000 DSLR camera with an 18-55mm lens. I used a black backdrop in the studio, with one hot light to create a strong side light. To illuminate the unlit side, I had a friend hold a white piece of cardboard as a reflector. I used 200 ISO, f/5.6, and a shutter speed of 1/250.

About the Photographer:
My name is Emily Larsen and I am a sophomore at Northern Arizona University studying a major in Visual Communications and a minor in Photography. I attended East Valley Institute of Technology in Mesa, AZ where I earned my cosmetology license and high school diploma at the same time. One day, I plan on doing hair and makeup fulltime, and designing and photographing my own work. I prefer to shoot detail and portrait photography, mostly in the artistic setting. I like to work with people and use creative light and techniques, like HDR, in my photography. I am inspired by macro and black and white photographers, and hope to one day be featured in a fashion/beauty magazine.

To read more about the Northern Arizona University “Behind the Image: Guest Blogger” project on our blog, please read the introduction on our April 15 post at youcansleepwhenyouredead.com/wordpress/introducing-the-nau-photography-students-behind-the-image-guest-blogger-project.

Behind the Image: NAU Guest Blogger – Takashi Okuda

Guest Blogger, Making the Image 3 Responses »

Apr 232013

Photograph copyright Takashi Okuda

Many people take the images of rocks reflecting the light from the setting sun in the Grand Canyon. However, I have not seen a good picture of the Grand Canyon with the red sky at sunset. I wanted to photograph the Grand Canyon with a beautiful sunset.

When you photograph nature, preparations are important. To see a good sunset, I check the weather forecast everyday throughout the week. According to the forecast, Thursday would be sunny and Friday would be a little cloudy. Actually, you cannot see the good sunset on sunny days. The cloud reflects red color light and people can see that. I decided to go to the Grand Canyon on Friday. I arrived at the Grandview Point in Grand Canyon one hour before the sunset. There was a thin cloud in the sky. It was the best cloud to make a red sky at sunset.When I arrived, the sunlight was shining on the rocks. The color of the rocks was getting red as the sun set. Many visitors left after they took pictures of the red rocks. However, I knew the time to photograph had not come. Twenty minutes after the sunset, the sky changed to deep red and orange.The gradation of orange, red, purple and blue colors and the magnificent view of the Grand Canyon made me excited. I started taking pictures.

I decided to use HDR to capture the ground and sky. The sky was too bright compared to the ground during the sunset. I also wanted to make a panorama picture to express the magnificence of the Grand Canyon. I fixed my camera on my tripod vertically and set my camera to manual mode. I used f/18 to get a deep depth of field and to make an HDR image and set the camera to the bracketing mode. The basic shutter speed was 1/1.3 seconds and I took five pictures with different shutter speeds. They were 1/1.3, 1/5, 1/2, 1.6 and 3 seconds. I rotated my tripod head horizontally to make the panoramic picture. I took picture six different pictures to make the panorama. Therefore, I got thirty pictures to make one overall image. After I did that twice, the sky got dark. I just had two chances to photograph the beautiful sunset. Then, I got back to my room to edit my pictures. I used the software, Photomatix to process the HDR. I wanted pictures with high saturation. After I made one HDR picture, I saved the setting to apply it to the other pictures. As a result, I got six HDR pictures with the same brightness and saturation. I merged the six pictures in Photoshop. I cropped the picture to the rectangular shape and finally, I put the unsharp mask on the picture.

About the Photographer:
I am Takashi Okuda. I am a university student of Northern Arizona University. I am from Hiroshima, Japan. I studied film in the vocational school in Tokyo.At the time, some of my friends took photography. This promoted my start in photography. After I started studying in the U.S., I changed my major to Artand Photography. I like to take landscape images. Especially, I am working on HDR and Panorama pictures. They are new techniques in the photography world. That makes my pictures different. I would like to introduce beautiful views in the United States and Japan to many people.

Behind the Image: NAU Guest Blogger – Tom Heger

Guest Blogger, Making the Image 2 Responses »

Apr 232013

Photograph copyright Tom Heger

When you grow up in Southern California hanging out at the beach is one of those things that just become a part of life. California kids take the beach for granted I guess. I never realized this until I came to school in Flagstaff, Arizona. I have people all the time ask me “Why did you leave there to come here?” I just tell them I wanted a change in scenery for a little while but I’ll probably go back after I graduate. I’m not really a typical Southern California kid anyways. I’m a terrible surfer and I don’t ride dirt bikes. I prefer lake fishing, driving my pick up or hiking in the mountains. I’m a bit redneck I guess you could say.

When I have the chance, I do go back though. You wouldn’t know it by looking at it but this image was taken in Oceanside, California about a rocks throw from the ocean. Well, if I had an arm like Brett Favre maybe, but you catch my drift. Anyways, this last spring I went home for spring break to see my family and hang out with old friends. My buddies and I decided we were going to hang out at the beach for the day so I brought my camera along like I do when I go to a lot of places. I took all kinds of typical beach photos of palm trees, water, surfers and VW bugs. Yet as we walked back to the car at the end of the day I took this image by the train tracks.

For this image I used my Canon Rebel that I purchased about 4 years ago. It has been a great camera for me so far. It was a lot less expensive than some of the others and the quality is just as good. It’s pretty durable too. I’ve smacked it against rocks and even dropped it in a foot of snow before. Anyways, enough about how much I like my camera. Let me tell you how I took the image. I got down low on one knee because I wanted to get a different angle than what people are used to looking at. I like looking at things from different angles. Gives you a different perspective on life. I used my 18-55mm lens at 1/100^th of a second with an f-stop of 10. I had my camera set for manual white balance but it was in postproduction that I gave it the look that I did. I turned it black and white just to see what it would look like and I liked it. Then I thought it would be neat to keep the red parts red so they would stand out. Using the brush tool in Lightroom I did just that and really liked the feel of it.

Most people that have seen the image think it’s by the tracks here in Flagstaff and are surprised to hear that I took it where I did. Out of all the images I took that day I’m still not exactly sure why I chose this one. Maybe I chose it because it isn’t of the ocean or a typical beach scene but it still reminds me of a day at the beach with my friends.

About the Photographer:
My name is Tom Heger and I’m from Temecula, California. I lived there almost my whole life until I decided to go to college. I started going to Northern Arizona University about four years ago. Yeah I know I should’ve graduated already by I like to say I’m taking my victory lap and staying for an extra semester. I’m majoring in Business Management and minoring in Photography. My freshman year I decided to take a photography class just for fun. Turns out I wasn’t too bad at it and my professor suggested I minor in it. I needed a minor anyways so I figured I would choose something I enjoy doing. I really enjoy night photography but I’ve recently become interested in macro photography as well. I’m not sure if I want to pursue a career with photography so for now it’s just a hobby.

Behind the Image: NAU Guest Blogger – Daniel Garcia

Guest Blogger, Making the Image 2 Responses »

Apr 222013

Photograph copyright Daniel Garcia

I took this image as an assignment in my PHO 282 at NAU. The assignment was to recreate the work of a famous photographer by either mimicking one of their pictures or just using a similar technique. The photographer I chose was Jim Brandenburg. His wildlife and nature photography fascinated me and that is what I want to do with photography. So I set out to try to find a good subject. Flagstaff is a beautiful place to live and an excellent place to find wildlife. The problem was, just like anywhere else, most animals aren’t too keen on somebody sneaking up on them. The even bigger problem was that the only lens I had was an 18-55 mm which, for those of you not familiar, is a very basic lens that is severely lacking in the some department. This meant that I had to get within a few feet of my intended subject to get a decent photograph.

So I set out wandering around to try to some ideas, then I saw a tree covered in bird feeders and swarming with little finches and nuthatches. I slowly approached taking painstaking precautions not to disturb the little denizens of the tree. I was almost under the branches when a little call of alarm erupted from one of the little birds and in seconds the tree was vacant of all life. I took this time to find a good place to stand and I began messing with my camera settings. After a few minutes had passed a few birds began to cautiously land in the upper branches and before long the tree was repopulated. Every time I snapped off a photo or tried to get in a better position the birds would all fly away and the whole process would start over. After standing almost motionless in the same place for about an hour and a half this little finch with a bright yellow belly caught my eye. I took his picture but it was too small. So I slowly extended my camera as close to my subject as I possibly could, I couldn’t even see through the view finder. Snap! The shutter blinked and I captured this one image. My camera was less than 2 feet from this little creature! To this day it is one of my favorite photographs I have taken.

I learned that day that wildlife photography is a tedious activity and that if I don’t want to drive myself absolutely insane I need to invest in a telephoto lens… maybe one day after I graduate I’ll finally be able to afford it! This image will forever stay with me because it showed me that if I just take my time, have patience, and just enjoy the place I’m at, the perfect opportunity will come.

About the Photographer:
My name is Daniel Garcia; I’m a college student and Northern Arizona University. I’m studying biology with an emphasis in zoology and I’m minoring in photography and chemistry. My dream would to be able to work with exotic animals and I figured if I could take cool photos of them why not? I prefer to take wildlife and nature photography because that’s always been my passion. I have to deal with people every day so it’s nice to just get away sometimes and enjoy the beauty in this world that is so easy to take for granted. I currently use a Nikon D3000 with a Nikon 18-55 mm lens.

Behind the Image: NAU Guest Blogger – Alex Gaynor

Guest Blogger, Making the Image 1 Response »

Apr 222013

Photograph copyright Alex Gaynor

One happy Tuesday my partner-in-crime Rosie and I elected the super scenic route. Our voyage began early morning in Flagstaff and took us through the windy desert back roads of California until an eventual connection with our un-pre-discovered destination in Joshua Tree Village. We set out to explore, get lost, find the one known as Kelsie, and avoid any direct route to the afore-mentioned destination. Upon arrival in Joshua Tree village, after 8 hours of lengthy lost getting, we stumbled upon a sunset roof recording of beautiful music. While we immersed ourselves in the quite appreciation of this music and warmth upon the roof, I took the opportunity to bathe in the photographically perfect circumstances.

As long-time friends reunited on this roof in the setting sun,I recorded the moment. Rosie’s hand blurs depicting her enthusiasm. This photo depicts the active love. Love dominates the air on this roof. The love is made from appreciating each other, life, and music.I have captured connection. Rosie (left) has engulfed Kelsie (right) in her dress bringing the two separate forms together as one. This one new form synergistically makes a greater whole than the two separate people.

The roof belongs to a house known as the Palm Vista Love Shack; a house that vibrates with music, warmth and connection. The residents, which make music as ‘The Collective’, synergize beautifully to create more than the parts.

Guitars, sunset, and beautiful voices serenaded us as I shot. I felt the setting influence my decisions in the editing room. This brought me full circle to display connection, emotion, and enthusiasm. I have captured a glimpse of the human condition.

I used a Canon T3i with a 50mm at f2.8, ISO 100, and shutter speed of 1/80 sec and shot with the setting sun to my back.Upon editing I altered the temperature warmer, applied a subtle vignette, and added a little clarity and contrast. I also cropped in a bit bringing the subject closer to the viewer. All these decisions further the vision and feeling of love, warmth, and connection. I dropped the saturation ever so slightly to take the edge of the red and further encourage a focus on the connection. The editing choices all set a distinct mood of warmth.

About the Photographer:
I am inspired by the outdoors, natural beauty, the human form, personality, ecology, and culture. I actively participate in culture through skiing, ultimate Frisbee, travelling, couch surfing, gardening, and cooking with other people. I prefer to shoot people above all; people are fascinating.

I shoot exclusively with my DSLR usually set in black and white in raw with a 50mm prime. I limit myself to specific equipment so I can fully explore and learn without gear distractions.

I aspire to tell stories that matter with my camera. The stories I hope will inspire others as I am inspired by the stories and artistry of others.

My work can be seen on my website.

Behind the Image: NAU Guest Blogger – McKenna Edwards

Guest Blogger, Making the Image No Responses »

Apr 212013

Photograph copyright McKenna Edwards

When I first found out that I would need to choose a photo to feature on this blog, I never imagined myself spending hours shooting landscapes. Normally, I tend to shy away from these types of shots because I don’t consider myself to be particularly good at them, but this photo reminds me that it pays to step out of your comfort zone every now and again.

Over spring break I was lucky enough to spend a weekend in a beautiful ranch house in Sedona with an unobstructed view of Cathedral rock, and a less than five minute walk to a great spot on the creek. As soon as we drove up I was blown away and couldn’t resist wandering off to take advantage of the situation and capture every moment I could.

Over the two and half days that I was in Sedona I got a lot of great pictures of Cathedral rock, Oak Creek, and everything in between, but I think out of the close to 1000 pictures that I took this photograph really showcases my viewpoint as a photographer. Usually my goal is to portray subjects in a different way than they are usually seen. This photo evolved from the classic shot of Cathedral rock that included a reflection in a small pool near the creek, but I wanted to step away from this and find a more unique image.

This image was taken on the second day of my trip, and this allowed me to get more familiar with my surroundings and really recognize what was working and what needed work. Even though the weather was fantastic, which was an appreciated break from the strong winds and cold temperatures of Flagstaff, the main problem I had when shooting was the sun. It was so bright and was reflecting off the surface of the rocks and the water which kept washing out all my images.I usually keep my ISO at 200, but because it was so bright I was able to lower it to ISO 100. This filtered out some of the light that was giving me difficulty, as well as improved the quality of my image.I had made some adjustments, but luckily this day a scattered layer of puffy white clouds moved in to diffuse the light as well as add interest to the sky. I also sacrificed some relaxation time to make the trek down to the creek just before sunset to capture the golden light shining on Cathedral Rock. Because it was later in the day I ended up using a shutter speed of 1/25to let some more light in, as well as opening my aperture from about f/20 to f/11 to do the same while still maintaining a larger depth of field. In post production I mostly just increased the blacks and saturated the reds, oranges, and blues in addition to some minimal sharpening and exposure adjustments.

As I mentioned before I was originally shooting the rocks and their reflections, but then I started thinking about what would happen if you took away the context of the image and only shot the reflections. This proved to be interesting because in the images that followed that thought I found that the rocks seemed to stand out more because the view wasn’t overwhelming. This perspective made it possible to simplify a seemingly complex composition, the task that usually drives me away from photographing landscapes. In this image one side of the rock isn’t visible, but it gets the point across that this is Sedona and it is beautiful.

On this trip I was also lucky enough to be with a friend who is a photographer as well, and part of the fun was looking through each other’s photos and seeing the differences in what we found interesting, as well as sharing tips and advice on how to better achieve the photos we wanted.

Overall this trip opened my eyes to some unexpected subjects that I normally wouldn’t spend too much time shooting, and it paid off with a lot of photographs and many lessons learned!

About the Photographer:
My name is McKenna Edwards and I am currently a junior studying photography and studio art at Northern Arizona University. I am originally from Seattle, but I love the small town feel and relaxed pace of Flagstaff, and plan to stay after graduation. I specialize in portraits and fine art photography, but I will never turn down an opportunity to shoot other subjects and improve my skills. I also love to dabble in mixed media, combining my photography with more graphic elements in paint or ink and text. To see more of my photos or to contact me please visit my Flickr page at http://www.flickr.com/photos/mckennaedwards/

Behind the Image: NAU Guest Blogger – Heather Brick

Guest Blogger, Making the Image 2 Responses »

Apr 212013

Photograph copyright Heather Brick

I took this photo to be used for a “stock photo” photography assignment for one of my classes at Northern Arizona University (NAU). This picture could be used for the art industry, possibly for a magazine for up and coming artists. The model in the picture is a very passionate artist who specializes in painting; I wanted to capture her love of art while creating an artsy atmosphere within the piece. I purposefully created interesting lines and space within the picture to allow for text to be placed, if the image were to be used for advertising. I also realized the importance of capturing the catch light in her eyes while taking the image. Another interesting factor about this image is the models eyes and where her eye contact is, this allows the audience to either be directed to text on the image or to create curiosity as to what the model is thinking or looking at. I want this picture to speak to creative people and inspire them to tap in to their artsy abilities.

I took this photo in a studio at Northern Arizona University. I used two soft lights in this image, one of which was a soft box (which can be seen on the right side of the picture) the other light which can be seen in the left side of the image was harsher than the soft box, so I used a scrim to lessen the strength of the light source. In post processing, I converted this image into black and white and then used selective color techniques in Picasa to bring back the color of the painting. I also used a softening effect on the models skin during post processing, which created a very smooth looking surface and appearance. My exposure for this image is f/5.6, 1/60, 500 ISO.

About the Photographer:
My name is Heather Brick and I am a senior at Northern Arizona University. I am majoring in advertising and double minoring in photography and graphic design. Photography is a passion of mine that I have recently developed in the last couple of years. I would love the opportunity to work in the field of photography and to travel and take pictures would be a dream come true. Within my galleries of images I have a wide range of techniques and styles that I use. I love taking images of details, historic architecture, and fashion. In the future I hope to develop a larger collection of images and create a larger clientele list. If you are interested in looking at some of my other images you can go to www.brickrh.wix.com/photography.

Thank you very much for taking your time to read about my image, and I am very grateful for the exposure and experience that this opportunity has given me.

Behind the Image: NAU Guest Blogger – Jessica Silvius

Guest Blogger, Making the Image 5 Responses »

Apr 202013

Photograph copyright Jessica Silvius

It was a gorgeous week on the central coast in California. My very last spring break as a college student was here and I was soaking up every wonderful minute of it. Staying in my hometown of Paso Robles, I was busy making the thirty-minute trip to the local beaches, downtown San Luis Obispo and the backcountry roads that led to some amazing wine tasting venues. It was during a wine tasting trip that I brought my camera along. After spending time with some friends at Tobin James Winery, my boyfriend and I hopped into his truck and took the back roads on our way home.

Paso Robles literally means, “pass of the oaks” and the hilly vineyards are dotted with gorgeous oak trees. This time of the year the grass is a gorgeous bright green and the grape vines are just beginning to bud. We pulled over on the side of the road and I jumped out of the truck with my Canon DSLR in hand and went to work. I spent sometime taking macros of barbed wire fences, laying down in the grass for varying perspectives of the sky and landscape, and creating interesting lines in the frame with the vineyard rows. Then I looked up the road and saw this majestic oak tree in an opening between vineyards. Luckily it was unobstructed by a fence or a no trespassing sign and I was able to walk around to capture the best perspective. I always shoot at an ISO of 100, only adjusting for very extreme lighting areas. I played around with the depth of field, finally deciding to set my camera to f/10. I then manually adjusted my shutter speed while glancing at the histogram to get the desired exposure. I ended up shooting at 1/250 second and using the kit lens, adjusted to 37mm.

Once back in Flagstaff for the rest of spring semester at Northern Arizona University, I imported my images into Lightroom and began editing. For this image I brightened it, and using a VSCO preset toolkit, I added fill light, cooled the highlights, and faded the image to give it a softer look. The colors were perfect. The soft pastels of the blue sky with the brighter green grasses and soft gray tones of the bark on the oaktree go perfectly together. This image enhances my love for nature and its beautiful gifts.

About the Photographer:
Photography has always been integrated into my life. As a child I was fascinated by cameras and enthusiastically captured every moment of family camping vacations. Inspired early on by nature and frequent trips to Yosemite National Park instilled a love of the outdoors and capturing its beauty. With a minor in photography, I now capture landscapes and close-ups of nature’s gems every chance I get. In portrait photography, I love to work my clients into gorgeous outdoor areas. Capturing the beauty and personality of my clients and integrating their surroundings is important to me. My work has an understated, natural feel, timeless and romantic. I plan on continuing my photography path by growing my boutique business, Jessica Silvius Photography.

Behind the Image: NAU Guest Blogger – Tracy Valgento

Guest Blogger, Making the Image, Photography Tips & Tricks 3 Responses »

Apr 202013

Photograph copyright Tracy Valgento

Hello! First off I wanted to say how happy I am to be featured on You Can Sleep When You’re Dead! My name is Tracy Valgento and I wanted to share with you a tutorial that puts a new spin on art photography.

This is an HDR (High Dynamic Range) image of a bronze fire sculpture. (Don’t know what that is? Click here for a great instructional page on HDRs http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials/high-dynamic-range.htm) While HDRs are traditionally used for sunsets and landscapes, I wanted something unique. I was inspired to take this image after seeing an HDR of a bronze Buddha in a Thai temple. It was so beautiful that it sent me into a creative tailspin!

The art of metal working is something I have never had an interest in doing, but that I admire greatly. For this image I wanted to portray the ‘grit’ of welding that gives metal sculptures their character. Additionally, I wanted an abstract effect when I shot the image, hence the tight crop that allows for the flames to be visible, but still left open for viewer interpretation.

My method: This picture was taken with a Canon 30D and the 18-55mm lens. This is an HDR image, which means that it is a compilation of three images at three different exposures mushed together in post-production. Before taking the picture, I set my camera up on a tripod (you want to make sure to have exactly the same picture 3x over to avoid “ghosting”, which happens when everything isn’t lined up). I then set the camera to the “drive” setting on my camera and set up the exposure bracketing. I set the camera to take pictures at three stops so that one was overexposed (too bright), one was normally exposed and one was under exposed(too dark). (You can set it to include the half stops as well to equal five, but this is not crucial to the effect.) Then I hit the shutter. In one click I had all the shots I needed to go home and make an HDR!

For post-production I usually default to Lightroom, but in this case Photoshop is really the best tool. I uploaded the images to Lightroom and merged them into one stack, this makes for easy transfer to Photoshop via the “edit in” function. Once the images were in Photoshop I began the HDR magic!

Open the “Merge to HDR” tool, found under “File> Automate” in the top menu, and click “OK” to compile the images. It will take a while to process depending on how fast your computer processor is butonce the image has compressed, you will see a combined histogram for your HDR with a variety of adjustment tools. For this image, I adjusted the detail extensively to show off the previously mentioned welding marks, and then boosted the black contrast on the image (a matter of personal preference). Once this is done, you want to make sure and compress the layers in Photoshop before you export and save!

About the Photographer:
I’ve always considered myself a creative person: I love to craft, cook, and sew, but most of all I love photography. My focus is on wedding, portrait, and lifestyle photography because it gives me so much joy to capture special moments in people’s lives.

Contact me at tracyvalgentophotography@gmail.com. Or if you are interested in my work, or would like to know more about me and my photography please check out the following:

My Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Tracy-Valgento-Photograpy/319808464800098?fref=ts

I also Pinterest, follow me there to get photo tips and tricks or see what inspires me: http://pinterest.com/tracyvphoto/photography

My blog: http://tracyvalgentophotography.blogspot.com (This is currently under review, but should be up and running soon!)

Behind the Image: NAU Guest Blogger – Mark Goodger

Guest Blogger, Making the Image 6 Responses »

Apr 192013

Photography copyright Mark Goodger

I took this shot with both the intention and the goal of capturing candid emotion and intent. Prior to actually taking out my camera and shooting I conceptualized what results I wanted as well as observing the pool tables and available light. This allowed me to figure out camera settings and the best place to shoot from. By doing this I was ready before asking the strangers if I could shoot thereby allowing me to capture what I had previously envisioned and planned. While taking this shot there were some challenges that I encountered including the lighting, capturing the best angle, and asking strangers for their photograph. These challenges existed but were perhaps minimalized by my planning.

The lighting was as expected inadequate in general. There were also many areas of harsh shadows. By watching the pool players and observing the area I found areas where both adequate light and acceptable shadows existed. Learning where acceptable lighting existed helped me choose a spot to shoot.

Another challenge I faced was choosing camera settings that would both allow for enough light and maintain an acceptable depth of field. I decided to raise the ISO in order maintain depth of field and enable me to use a slightly faster shutter speed to eliminate camera shake and freeze motion.

The challenges I faced from the lighting and camera settings were difficult; asking the subject for permission was my biggest and most difficult challenge. I have mainly shot landscape and architecture scenes; the shots of people that I have taken have been family members or acquaintances. While checking out the lighting and working on my camera I also observed who was playing pool and was able to determine who would be most comfortable being photographed. Watching and interacting helped me feel more comfortable and less anxious about explaining what I would like to do and ask for permission to do it.

For this shot I used my Nikon J1 mirror-less camera. Although it has fewer megapixels its very compact size enabled me to be less obtrusive and thereby capture a more natural image; my original goal and intent. I chose to shoot this image in black and white for its simplicity. I also feel that black and white conveys the feelings of the actual pool player as well as the entire scene more effectively.

About the Photographer:
My love and passion for photography developed at a young age. My father worked for Eastman Kodak Company and had a passion for both the art and science of creating and capturing images, which he passed along to me.

Since my first camera and photography classes at the Rochester Museum and Science Center my yearning to learn and try new things in photography has continued to grow. Presently, I am living in Flagstaff, Arizona where I am studying photography at Northern Arizona University.

Today I am just as excited to learn new concepts, try new things, and share my photography, as I was when I got my first camera or experimented with a pinhole camera in class. As I continue to learn more, my curiosity continues to grow as well. My desire and curiosity has allowed me to and will continue to drive me to experiment and learn as I create and produce photographic images.

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