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Behind the Image: NAU Guest Blogger – Dakota Wolfe

May 192016

“Broken Connections” || Photo copyright Dakota Wolfe

“Broken Connections”

Isn’t it funny how many people feel alone when there are so many other people in this world? Most of society can feel alone in their personal situations, but the truth is that there are so many others who feel the same way. Interactions have become almost scripted because people have this dire need to feel secure. Not very often does a person say how they truly feel because of what someone may think. For me personally, when someone asks me “how are you”, I usually have an automated response that in no way reflects how I am actually doing. I believe society has created this wall between people, where it would not be socially acceptable to fully poor out how you’re actually doing to another person. It’s ironic that everyone wants to create this façade, because most of the time others are feeling the same way. I chose to do a portrait because it reelected my favorite style.

Emotion inspired me to capture this image. It reveals a hidden feeling that I think most try to bury. It is rare to see someone in a social environment look this way. In my case, I smile all of the time even when I am stressed out or sad, or really any kind of negative emotion because I want people to think I am okay. I am trying to communicate the truth behind what some people try to hide. I purposefully wanted this darker feeling, therefore I adjusted the lighting to reflect the emotional seriousness. Overall, I wanted the audience to get a sense of truth. I wanted the audience to connect to this photo personally. I wanted to evoke people to think, “I am feeling this same way.”

For this image I used a 16-35mm lens in a photo studio. I shoot with a Cannon Rebel T5i because I feel most comfortable using this brand of camera. My focal length was 24 mm, and my exposure of 1/60sec at f/5.6. My ISO was 1600 because of the soft lighting I used. For the lighting effect, I posed the subject about five feet away from the wall behind him. I used a soft box in order to get a cool and soft light that highlighted the face. Originally, I thought about using an off camera flash, but it was too harsh.

About the Photographer:

Hi, my name is Dakota Wolfe. I am a senior at Northern Arizona University and I am studying Strategic Communications with an Emphasis in Public Relations. I am also minoring in Photography. I have been very interested in photography and cameras for about six years and have only recently began taking it seriously. Photography is an escape from my daily routine and stresses. I began taking pictures for fun and wanted to get better so I added the minor in order to get better and more experienced. I like taking portraits and stylizing them to get a unique photograph.

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 – Dakota would love to hear from you!

Behind the Image: NAU Guest Blogger – Michelle Raigoza

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May 182016

Photo copyright Michelle Raigoza

I captured this photo around spring break. During this time I always find myself around the beach because it’s one of my favorite places to go to. However, this time I wanted to do something different. I know I wanted the beach to be very present in the image but I did not want it to be my subject. I have trouble taking images of people so I took this opportunity to challenge myself and take a step outside my comfort zone. I decided to take a picture of a different subject but still having the ocean play a huge role in the image. I told a friend to gear up in his soccer attire and get ready for a photo shoot. My overall goal after the photo shoot would benefit me since I have never really challenged myself or taken much risk with my photography.

I took the image during twilight, which is how and why you see the blue glow in the beach. However, I wanted to make sure the subject in my photo was not colored in blue. I used a red tone filter on my flash to add some color back into my subject. Since it was twilight, I was very aware of the amount of time that I had with light. I prepared before hand and made proper adjustments to my settings. For instance, my ISO was 250 based on the amount of light I saw. I made sure I had a fast shutter speed due to the waves I wanted to catch in the background and the movement of my subject. I enjoy taking images of the ocean and I want the ocean to stand out in the image as much as possible. I then changed my white balance to tungsten so that my camera would automatically take yellow or red hues from the sun to blue hue.

Overall I am pleased with the results of my photo shoot. For someone who considers herself a landscape photographer-taking images of people can be intimidating. But by taking risks you learn new styles, techniques, and tricks that you can apply to better your photography.

About the Photographer:

My name is Michelle Raigoza and I was born in Compton, California. My background plays a major role in my life and drives me to give my all. Being close to the ocean has always inspired my work. As well as bring me creativity by finding different angles to show people how the ocean makes me feel. This also inspired me to being a landscape photographer. I am very attached to the location of where I am from and I hope to make that known throughout my work.

Behind the Image: NAU Guest Blogger – Erika I’Anson

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May 182016

Photo copyright Erika I’Anson

I shot this photo in a tunnel at a park back home in Phoenix. My younger brother, my neighbor, and I were exploring, looking for fun places to shoot. We came across this tunnel and suddenly we knew this was the perfect spot. So first I took pictures of Hannah, my neighbor. After about 20 minutes, we switched and I started taking photos of Nicholas, my brother. I was pretty happy with the shots we got, but I knew we could get something more fun. My brother and I have known Hannah her whole life – our parents have been friends since high school.

I turned to them and said “I know this might sound extremely awkward… but can you give Hannah a piggyback ride?” They both looked at me like a was crazy. I practically had to beg the two of them to at least pretend they would pose for me, which I just kept getting responses like “No, she’s like my sister!” Finally, after promising to buy them food after, they were willing to pose for me. Many of the results were truly posed, smiling and looking straight into the camera. This is one of the few shots that was just capturing the moment. They were making silly faces, and I think it shows their true personalities. That is why I love this photo so much.

The technical aspects behind this image were: Nikon D3300, 18mm, f/5.0 and at a shutter speed of 1/250. I bumped up the ISO to 800, because I like the grainier feel of photography that I tend to use as my style. There was a shoot-through umbrella at eye level about 3 feet in front of them. They were also backlit by the light coming through the end of the tunnel. In post processing, I messed with the white balance to achieve this blue-green base color, which matches my brother’s eyes and makes them pop a bit so you are instantly drawn to them. I also boosted up the contrast and clarity, to give it even more of that grainy street type of look. Other than that, I got cleaned up a few blemishes, but mostly left the skin untouched.

This is not only one of my favorite photos, but theirs as well. Portraits are what I shoot the most, and being able to have fun with it and give it a creative twist is what I love most about it. Although many don’t like the grain that comes along with a high ISO, I actually like it and don’t mind the criticism that comes along with using this style. I feel like it makes the image feel more real, and doesn’t make it seem like I went crazy with the airbrush tool. My style is unique, but it is what makes my portraits different from all the others.

About the Photographer:

My name is Erika I’Anson and I am a photography major at NAU. My passion for photography truly began my freshman year of high school when I took a Digital Communications class. I fell in love instantly with photography and graphic design while learning to use Photoshop and Illustrator. Coming to NAU, I made the decision to focus on photography and have since realized this is what I would like to do for the rest of my life. I mainly shoot portraits- in studio and on location- but I enjoy creative shots and landscapes as well. Oh, and my dog.

Behind the Image: NAU Guest Blogger – David Carballido-Jeans

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May 182016

Photo copyright David Carballido-Jeans

On a cold February morning, my friend and I ventured out towards the Winona area, about fifteen miles east of Flagstaff, Arizona, to go on a hike to a spot we had no idea where it exactly was. The reasoning behind this madness was for one photo and one photo only. A photograph by John Benner, a marvelous southwest photographer, taken in 2010 depicts a westbound freight train working up the eastern slope of the Arizona Divide as the morning sun silhouettes the train. The goal was to recreate this photo. After scrambling around the hillside, I finally found the location of Benner’s photo. Now we waited for a train to come and for the sun to rise. The radio scanner started sounding off, letting us know a train was approaching. Soon after, we began to see headlights off in the distance, yet the sun was still below the horizon. After about ten minutes, the train was finally in positon for me to take photos. Unfortunately, the sun did not peak over the horizon in time. As a result, no sunlight light was shining on the train, but the sky began to glow red with the sun rising.

With the sun not fully out, I really made my Canon 60D work for this shot. I had to find a perfect exposure of not an extremely high ISO, a fast shutter, and a good enough aperture setting. Shooting with Canon’s 70-200mm F/4L lens at 200mm, with no image stabilizer or tripod, I knew 1/400 was the lowest I could go without noticeable camera shake. Then, I set the aperture at f/7.1, figuring that would be wide enough to let a good amount of light in, as well as to give me some depth of field. Finally, I boosted my ISO to 1600. That high of an ISO results in some noise, but with Canon’s 60D as well with some post-processing; it would not be a huge issue. Also in post processing, I lightened up the photo since I underexpose it so preserve the colors and detail in the sky.

Weeks before I went out for this shot, I spent some time doing research for this shot. I studied the sun calculator to see when the best time to get this shot would be. Well, when I was looking for this shot, early February, the time for the shot had already past. The sun needs to be more towards the south, closer to the shortest day of the year the better, so it can illuminate the curve completely. Well, when I went out to shoot this photo, February 25, the sun would only be in position for the shot for only a few more days.

Another thing I did was to actually go out and find the spot for the shot. There are a couple of hills south of the railroad tracks at Winona that would offer a high vantage point to recreate John Benner’s shot. I hiked one of the hills a few weeks before and realized it was not the spot. I figured it would be the other hill. The following week, my friend and I made the hike up it before sunrise. Once we got to the top, we could not even see the railroad tracks since the brush was so tall. We started walking around looking for the vantage point at the tracks. After about twenty minutes of walking around, I finally found the spot.

The main objective with this photo was to recreate one of my favorite photos. John Benner’s work inspires me and I try to model my work after him. He photographs some of my favorite locations that I visit. The difference between him and me is that he is able to get photographs at spots that I would have never thought of. His work makes me challenge myself and produce photos that other people do not have. It is hard to capture new and interesting photos on a rail line visited heavily by other rail photographers. Just by studying John Benner’s work, I have learned that using a variety of lighting and weather conditions can turn a simple photo into an award winning one. In addition, I have learned to go out and hike hillsides to see shots that people do not normal go after. Since I have started modeling after John Benner, I have seen improvement with the quality of my work.

About the Photographer:

My name is David Carballido-Jeans (or C-Jeans to make it easier for everyone) and I am a sophomore at Northern Arizona University. Since the 8^th grade, I have been running around with a camera snapping pictures. I was born and raised in San Pedro, California, near the Port of Los Angeles. Since I was little, I have had an interest in trains and that has snowballed to this passion of railroad photography. Within the last six years, my photos have been published for articles, book covers, magazines, and personal use. My work was even featured by Trains Magazine in a part of their online blog, “The Next Generation Rail Photographers” series.

I prefer to photograph trains since many of my friends do the same. We share our shots with each other and go on road trips together. That makes it enjoyable. I also enjoy taking night photos; doesn’t matter what the subject is as long as it’s at night. With my photos, I try not to over process them; even though I do accidentally on occasion. I feel that your best shots are the ones that are straight out of the camera.

I consider my work somewhat unusual because the main focus is of a train, but at the same time I consider my photos as landscape photos. That’s because I try to capture the landscape and there just happens to be a train in it. Even though this is an uncommon subject to photograph, there a few others who do the same as me that inspire my work. James Belmont, John Benner, and Mike and Tom Danneman are the guys I study to help me improve my work.

I really enjoy this hobby of photographing trains. It has led me to meeting some amazing people who have taught me a lot about photography and railroading. I hope that these photos tell the story of how trains move so much of America’s goods from coast to coast and across spectacular landscapes.

Behind the Image: NAU Guest Blogger – Jarrick Wenslow

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May 172016

Photo copyright Jarrick Wenslow

Get Out and Shoot

Do you find yourself in the dumps about your photography at times? Do you find yourself lacking confidence with your work certain weeks? Yet, most people you know love your photos and say something similar to, “Oh my God! You are so talented, good job!” Well you aren’t alone. I am my worst critic, as I’m sure many of you relate to. I’m in an endless cycle in which sometimes I go out and photograph but don’t feel I’ve captured “the shot” of the day. I constantly feel as if I have missed some opportunity or just didn’t see it right in front of me. Constantly I nit pick at tiny details that, almost, no one is ever going notice. Those tiny details often ruin the image for me though. Well, if you find yourself in the same situation as I then continue reading.

For me, being my worst critic doesn’t just apply to photography. It follows me through my entire life constantly making me feel inadequate at moments. I have a simple four-word phrase to remind you how to alleviate this feeling. “Get out and Shoot”. It is truly that simple. Now some of you might say, “Well, if I don’t feel confident about my work why would I put myself in a situation where I can criticize myself more? My belief is that you are never going to fix the issue if you aren’t taking photos. You are going to criticize those photos whether or not you continue to shoot. If you “Get out and Shoot” at these times then you are simply allowing yourself the possibility of capturing an image that you are proud of. Think of it this way, if you were a chef at a restaurant but you weren’t confident in the food you were producing that day would you just stop cooking? No, of course not you would “Get in and Cook”. You can’t improve your outlook by avoiding the situation. I say, take the bull by the horns and do everything you can to change your outlook. Now when I say, “Get out and Shoot” I don’t mean go right outside your door and photograph. Here are three tools to use when you “Get out and Shoot”: make it an adventure, make it challenging, and make it yours.

Make it an adventure is an easy one to achieve. What I mean by make it an adventure is choose a location where you have never shot before. You can make it an adventure by going a little out of your way to a special spot, going to that spot you’ve always wanted to shoot at but haven’t yet, or my personal favorite simply driving down a road/highway until you see something that catches your eye. Make it an adventure and you will find that it’s easy to make it a challenge.

In order to successfully make a shoot a challenge try and photograph a subject or style you rarely try. For example, if you consider yourself a portrait photographer get out and try your hand at landscape or vice versa. Maybe you have never tried astro-photography, this would be the perfect time to get out and do it! Usually if you have made it an adventure and a challenge then you will more than likely be able to make it yours.

Making an image yours is the most daunting of the three tools. Often I feel as if my image has been done before. Think about it this way, you go on an adventurous shoot to Horseshoe Bend (Google it if you don’t know this location). If you know about Horseshoe Bend or looked it up than you probably noticed thousands of images look almost identical. A simple way to avoid this is by straying away from the obvious shot or as I like to say, the tourist shot. Simply by choosing a different viewpoint or many different viewpoints you can make an image yours.

Just this past week I was in the dumps about my photography. So what did I do? My friend Ryan Wesson (subject of the picture) and I departed Flagstaff heading east on Interstate 40. We had zero idea of where we were going and ended up getting off the freeway in Winslow, Arizona. From there we headed out to Clear Creek but we didn’t stop at the normal turn. We kept driving and found a different part of the creek, which wasn’t just off the highway. Now, I consider myself better at landscape photography, however, I chose to shoot him instead of the grand cliffs behind him because shooting the creek is what I would normally do. The product? I captured a photo of my best friend, which I love and am proud of when I lacked confidence.

About the Photographer:

Hi, I am Jarrick Wenslow; I am a sophomore and photography major at Northern Arizona University. I have been photographing for 5 years and counting and I love every single second of it. Photo fits perfectly into my life because I live a very active lifestyle going place to place. At the moment I am experimenting with every subject and style so that I can learn as much as possible and I can develop my own truly unique style. As an artist I believe it is my duty to never settle on how much I have learned and continue advancing.

Behind the Image: NAU Guest Blogger – Amelia Krieg

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May 162016

Photo copyright Amelia Krieg

Recently I fell into a slump and struggled with figuring out exactly what I enjoyed taking pictures of and what styles kept me excited for the next frame. It frustrated me a great deal that I started to dread taking pictures and receiving assignments when I used to love photography. I even dreaded doing the assignment that this photo relates to and, in all honesty, the picture that I first took was done in fifteen minutes and was all kinds of awful. The only good thing about it was how creepy and unsettling it was which, reflecting back, actually made me excited about it even though the technique I used was awful and the photo was poorly exposed. It inspired me to carry on with this style of photography.

And so that leads me to this photo. I was immensely grateful over the fact that I had a second shot at perfecting this and took the appropriate time and effort to ensure that I got a photo I was pleased with. This photo is the first photo to light a fire in me that I had not felt in a great deal of time. It comforted me to know that I still had it in me and the fact that I could pinpoint exactly what excited me about shooting this picture helped. It was creepy and experimental and hopefully off-putting for those that view it, which is why I love it. The overall affect that I intended for it was to make people stop and think about what the subject was and try and figure out what was happening. I enjoyed the element of mystery and hope that it translates well onto an audience.

I used the dragging shutter technique for this photograph with a flash in order to freeze two actions. Shutter drag can be used a multitude of ways but the specific idea that I wanted involved having the entire photo sharp rather than blurring certain aspects of the photo, which I believe makes it more creepy and unsettling. I used myself as the model and set the camera and flash on tripods around me. The only light source is the flash which was placed slightly below me to my left. I played around with timing of the shutter but this one ended up being six seconds long. The ISO was 100, the focal length was 34mm, and the aperture was f/10. The biggest thing I did in post-processing was remove the light from my flash trigger and made it black and white to add to the dramatic effect of the photo.

About the Photographer:

I am Amelia Krieg and I am a sophomore at Northern Arizona University. I am majoring in Visual Communication with an emphasis in Graphic Design and a minor in Photography. I started taking pictures with a point-and-shoot camera in junior high and then received a Nikon D40 in my first year of high school. In my second year of high school I took my first photography class which actually involved using a film SLR (I had a Minolta Maxxum 5000) and learning black and white photography and developing techniques. I adore film photography and hope to one day return to it, but for now I will continue to use my Nikon D5100 and take creepy pictures.

Behind the Image: NAU Guest Blogger – Emily Gaudet

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May 162016

Photo copyright Emily Gaudet

As I scrolled through ideas of high-speed liquid photography, an article caught my eye: “Forget pop art, this is DROP ART! Amateur photographer captures amazing images of artworks – and some cartoon favorites – captured in split-second splashes of water… Israeli policeman Arik Kfir makes incredible images in his kitchen using an IV bag and a glass of water”. Mr. Kfir captures everything from the Mona Lisa to Mickey Mouse in water droplets, and his backgrounds are beautifully out of focus. I was so impressed, and I thought yes! This is what I want to try!

The set up took me at least half an hour. I used the seat of a wooden chair to fasten a baggie full of a dripping water overtop my black plastic bowl, which was on the floor. I pulled out my large Frida Kahlo book that contains all of her works of art, chose an iconic self-portrait, turned the book upside down, and placed it behind the bowl resting on the legs of the chair. I was convinced I would capture her face in a water droplet. After shooting some pictures, I found my first problem: the book was too close to the bowl. To move the bowl farther away, I also had to move the water baggie. Consequently, I made my set up even more precarious. I got a long white board and set it up like a diving board off the chair. I used something heavy to anchor it and then I fastened the baggie of dripping water to the end of the plank, which gave me about 6 inches more of space between background and bowl. I set up my external flash on the lowest possible setting and aimed it at the book. I taped two gels to the flash, one-half teal and one-half red just for fun. I felt my regular tripod was too tall, and after attempting to use my bendy pocket tripod, I resorted to hand held. Because this assignment required manual focus, I had to place a pen across the center of the bowl to approximate where the drop would fall and adjust my lens focus there.

I could not capture what Arik Kfir captured. There were so many factors. My mind felt tired, and my body felt tired. It was not a good idea to set this up on the floor! After laying on my stomach trying to get the shot, my neck and back muscles were sore. The water droplets were nowhere near regular. The levels of the bowl versus the background image were off, so I would stack notebooks under the bowl to try to remedy the problem. There was more than one occasion where I would touch something wrong and my entire set up would collapse, splashing water on everything. The manual focus was slowing me and making it very hard to shoot more than a few pictures at a time. Finally, I gave up on Frida and I gave up on the baggie full of water. In addition, sadly, I gave up on capturing a face in a drop. My 18-55mm kit lens was not going to do it, so I focused my energies on just capturing high-speed liquid. I grabbed a dosing syringe and I chose my Gustav Klimt book, which like the Frida book has many large reproductions of his work. I chose The Kiss, because it has always been one of my favorite paintings. I remember seeing it in my parents’ bedroom growing up. The syringe gave me much more powerful drops, and I actually captured some water crowns. After about two and half hours, 600 images, having to clear my card multiple times, I took some images I love. I have amazing Frida Kahlo mess-ups.

The picture I am sharing has The Kiss in the background with a few droplets captured. My camera’s settings were 1/200, f /5.0, 42mm and ISO 3200. The Kiss shows a man and woman in an embrace, and despite both of them encapsulated in a gold shawl, circles cover the woman’s figure and rectangles cover the man’s figure, distinguishing the two. I think the two gels on my external flash echo the duality of the painting, half the light is warm tones and half is cool tones. The droplets split in visual halves: half painting, half water. Even though I did not achieve what I originally wanted, I learned so much and got some awesome pictures.

About the Photographer:

My name is Emily Gaudet, I am an Advertising student at NAU. I spent my entire life in Phoenix, AZ. My high school did not have photo courses, so I did not discover my love for photography until college. As an extremely right-brained person with looming student loan debt, I think photography is an excellent, marketable skill to have (and not to mention fun!). I use a Canon T5 and mainly edit on Lightroom. My goal is to create pieces that a wide variety of people will enjoy. Nature and cities interacting, humanity, and small coincidences inspire me.

Behind the Image: NAU Guest Blogger – Kiely Sutton

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May 152016

“Something Wicked Comes This Way” || Photo copyright Kiely Sutton

“Something Wicked This Way Comes “

The way the photo turned out was exactly how I pictured it in my head. When I heard of the assignment to produce a photo using off camera flash with a modifier, I was ecstatic. Knowing that I would need an off camera flash in order to be in the class, I previously decided to go all out and buy not one- but two off camera flashes as well as four umbrellas, two flash stands, and an awesome new camera bag to carry all of my equipment. Because I had all the equipment I needed handy, I gave my neighbor Noe a call to utilize her beautiful face (and first floor apartment). I wanted my photo to give the viewer a sense of mystery, something more than just the average portrait. In order to achieve this, I set up an off camera flash with an umbrella about four feet away from the window. I wanted the lighting on the subject to be completely different from the lighting outside the window. While I was trying to get the light on the subject how I wanted it, I started to notice that as I corrected the light in the foreground, the red hues in the background deepened. The eerie feel that the deep orange lights gave was the icing on the cake.

After setting up the flash outside the window, I set the flash to 1/125 so the flash did not overpower the photograph. I then set my Nikon d3100 on a tripod and adjusted my settings so the camera was at a shutter speed of 1/100 with an aperture of 7.1. I kept my ISO rather low at around 200 due to the crisp flash that would give light to the subject. I was at a focal length of 24 while using my 18-55mm lens; I did this so I could get enough of the background while still having a strong focus on the subject. After I finally captured this stunning image, it was time for the post processing. I used only Photoshop to edit the photo and because I shot in RAW, I was able to complete more advanced adjustments. I retouched the skin and decreased the saturation slightly while increasing the vibrancy slightly. There was not much to edit after that as I successfully captured the image with the right tones and clarity that I envisioned.

About the Photographer:

My love for photography sprouted when my father and I went on a road trip to Las Vegas when I was fourteen. He showed me around the strip; the lights at night, the beautiful people, everything excited me… And I took photos of it all. The photos that I took while in Vegas sparked my interest and from that moment on, I was a photographer. I took photos of anything and everything— whether that was people, landscapes, objects, whatever I could take a photo of, I did. I slowly started to develop a love of on location portraiture. This love has guided me to so many amazing experiences including interning with fashion photographers, shooting high school graduations, and most importantly working towards a Bachelor’s degree in Photography. Taking these photography classes has advanced my skills concerning post processing, camera operations, and much, much more. I am so grateful to be at NAU amongst these incredibly talented photographers.

Behind the Image: NAU Guest Blogger – Megan Vey

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May 152016

Photo copyright Megan Vey

“The Descending Sun”

Now, I know what you’re thinking “oh gosh, another photo of a sunset.” I do agree that photographs of sunsets are over done, but I also understand why they are so commonly viewed and photographed. There is just something so majestic about sunsets; maybe it’s the beautiful colors, or maybe it’s the feeling one gets from watching the sun sink below the horizon. Sunsets can provoke thoughts and memories within one’s self. Sunsets are often connected with relaxation because it is a time of day when everything starts winding down. I like to think of the sunset as more of a symbol. The sunset can be a couple different symbols; the ending of a day, the closing of a chapter, or the battle between good and evil (light and darkness). I enjoy finding symbolism in things; whether it is a book, a movie, or a piece of art. I love finding hidden meanings, even if the hidden meaning was not intended. It is kind of like unearthing another part of the story. Understanding a story without recognizing the symbols is possible; but knowing the symbols and their meaning makes the story that much more interesting. It is the same for a photograph. A photograph could be beautiful without a story or a meaning behind it. But, when a photograph tells a story or has a meaning it is just that much better. Of course not everyone feels that way and that is fine, that is just my opinion on things.

This photograph represents light and darkness. Observe the battle between light and darkness in the sunset and shadows, but also the clouds. Some of the clouds are white and some of them are dark grey. I have always enjoyed photographs that kind of play with the lighting. A photographer can create any mood by changing the lighting and playing with the shadows. This photograph could have turned out very different if I adjusted my exposure or added an additional light source in the foreground.

I took this photograph in Sedona, Arizona while I was off-roading with some of my friends. I am so glad we decided to go right before sunset, so I could capture this image. I shot this photograph with a Canon Rebel T3 using the normal kit lens. My aperture is a little higher so I could get a bit of a sunburst. In post processing, I enhanced the shadows to get a dark feeling from the photograph.

About the Photographer

My name is Megan Vey and I am a junior at Northern Arizona University. I am majoring in anthropology and minoring in museum studies and photography. One day, I would like to be a museum curator. I am minoring in photography because I do not remember a time when I did not love capturing a moment. I have always loved looking at photographs. My parents have framed posters size photographs of Yosemite National Park taken by Ansel Adams and I think those photographs play a role in why I love shooting landscapes. I also enjoy shooting wildlife and I occasionally dabble in studio portraiture. I think my love of adventure and traveling also play a role in why I shoot landscape photography. I like capturing what I see on my travels so when I print the images I remember what it feels like to be there. The photograph triggers a memory and I instantly relax with a smile on my face. That’s why I love photography; the freezing of a memory.

Behind the Image: NAU Guest Blogger – Darian Gibbs

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May 142016

Photo copyright Darian Gibbs

When I decided to take this photo, it was really just a spontaneous urge. I was waiting for my sister and her roommates to finish getting ready, since they wanted me to take their college senior photos for them. I was standing out in her dining room with my camera just taking pictures of items in her apartment to pass the time. I looked around and realized that the light coming in from the window next to the table was phenomenal and knew I had to use it for something, when my eyes fell on the cup I’d been using during my stay. This is actually the first shot I took of it, and I spent the next fifteen minutes trying different angles and exposures to see if I could capture something I liked better, but I couldn’t. This picture is a little bit different in composition than what I’ve taken in the past, in that it’s completely centered. I generally make an effort to remember the rule of thirds when I set up a shot, and usually end up finding that objects look better off to the side, but this one was different. I tried repeatedly to get a shot I liked better that involved the cup not centered, but not a single one looked quite right. I’m a big fan of simple yet elegant photos, which is often what I try to convey through my work, and it’s what I like to think I achieved through this shot.

The camera I used is a Canon Rebel XTi with an 18 – 55mm zoom lens. The room I was in at the time didn’t have any lights on, so the only light source was the natural light coming in from the windows in the apartment, which made getting the exposure for the picture a little difficult. I really wanted a shallow depth of field for the shot, so I got about a foot away from the top of the cup and had my camera at f/4.5. However, this left me with putting my ISO all the way up to 1600 and lowering my shutter speed to 1/15 sec in order to get the right exposure. As far as post-processing goes, I mostly brought up the contrast to get the wood of the table to pop more, and then brought up the highlights a bit. My favorite part of the picture was the nice, soft window light illuminating the cup, so I tried my best to focus on trying to accurately portray what I was seeing in person when I was applying anything to the photo.

About the Photographer:

I like to spend a lot of time outdoors, as I’m a decently active person, and I fell in love with landscapes initially as a result. Eventually what I realized that I liked about shooting landscapes was the feeling of serenity and simplicity I found in them. This led me to focusing a bit more on macro photography as well as landscape, since I find the same kind of mood created in simple, elegant shapes as it is in landscapes. I’m also a huge fan of using a shallow depth of field in my photography when shooting close up objects, because I like the sense of distance that it creates in a photo, and it’s how I imagine actually seeing something.

When I was younger, I never really envisioned myself getting very involved in photography, since it seemed to me that any good picture taken, had already been shot. How was I supposed to create something better? My outlook slowly started to change around my junior year of high school, after I’d taken a couple art classes. I began to start seeing all the beautiful sights around me, and had a ridiculously strong urge to capture them, but on paper. I wanted to draw everything I found beautiful so I could remember it. Obviously, that’s not really possible to do at any given moment, so I turned to photography as a means of preserving those beautiful moments for later when I would have a chance to recreate them, which is how I slowly got addicted to looking through a lens.

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