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.
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!