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Behind the Image: NAU Guest Blogger – Grant Masters

Apr 272013

Photograph copyright Grant Masters

Under the Pier
I have found that I get my very best images while on vacation, when my photographic abilities are at their peak. Traveling brings about so many new opportunities to explore places never seen before that have truly complimented my photographic “eye.” While living in Arizona continues to provide beautiful opportunities to capture landscapes from vast desert to the snowy San Francisco Peaks, there is something exciting about a change of venue.

One thing that I love about my country, besides freedom, Star Wars, and cheeseburgers, just to name a few, is the amazing scenery from coast to coast. I can begin a road trip in the deserts of Phoenix and end up climbing sand dunes in California or exploring the fall colors in the rolling hills of Virginia. I certainly never have, nor will, say, “Well I guess I’ve seen every pretty landscape in America. I can quit now.” Regardless of where my journey takes me, the new locations will always provide a fresh perspective and usually some wonderful images.

As my point and shoot photography matured into a serious hobby, I began watching other photographers for inspiration. I noticed that there were myriads of people with the same shot of the Golden Gate Bridge or the Grand Canyon, often taken 100 feet from the tourist parking lot. While these can very often end up being stunning images, I was most impressed with the photographers that found a way to make these striking locations totally unique. While photographing on a road trip along the California coast, I attempted to make this method a reality. Everyone and their mother’s brother have taken a picture of a pier on a beach at sunset so how would my photograph be any different? While walking the crowd-less Newport Beach in the wee hours of the morning, I had a notion to deviate from the beaten path and see if anything looked cool from beneath the pier. Much to my luck, this particular pier had a wonderful abstract quality that completely took me in. “Under the Pier,” as shown below, is the result. The image certainly wasn’t the most difficult to capture but it reminds me to find a different way to look at things.

I shot this photograph using my Nikon D3000, zoomed out at an 18mm. The dim early light under the pier caused me to shoot at an aperture of f/5 and a shutter speed of 1/100 sec.

About the Photographer:
My name is Grant Masters and I am a mechanical engineering student at Northern Arizona University. A love for photography developed quickly which inspired me to also complete a photography minor. While often seeming out of place to my comrades in thermal/fluids analysis, I am very appreciative of my passion. My love lies with fine art photography, including local wildlife, landscapes, and what pops of abstract color I may find. I also greatly enjoy creating portraits of others. My goal is to create images that my friends, family, and strangers can simply enjoy. For more examples of my work please see www.grantmastersphotography.weebly.com

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 – Alyssa Burkett

Guest Blogger, Making the Image No Responses »

Apr 262013

Photograph copyright Alyssa Burkett

We Were There
My favorite part of being a photographer is the people I get to know and when I am given the ability to portray them within a single frame. Throughout my college career I have learned what I’m good at and have tried to improve in that area. Event photography and band photography is what I plan on pursuing. The photo that I chose to display here is an example of a photo-shoot I had with a band recently. They go by “We Were There” and describe themselves as ‘PeopleCore’ with many punk rock influences. They’re overall a happy group of young guys and try to let people know it right off the bat. Through this photo I tried to capture their lightheartedness and togetherness. I added contrast to the photo because of their grungy and colorful outlook as a musical group.

When I was taking the photo I had a few problems with the lighting because it was mid day and I had very little to work with. By trying to get them all into the shadows of this abandoned building the lighting situation improved. In order to capture the image with my Canon Rebel T2i, I used my 18 mm kit lens with a shutter speed of 1/800 of a sec and an f-stop of 4.5. I was using a UV protection filter and a darkening filter. I didn’t use any special post processing techniques other than playing with the contrast and lighting.

I am studying Photojournalism and Documentary Studies at NAU. I hope to capture thought provoking images of actions and events. I also have a passion for live music which plays into my photography as well. As a photographer I have done everything from Wedding Photos to Portraits and Concerts. I have been part of the Campus Paper as the A&E Photo Editor and I have documented events for the Campus Radio Station.

My favorite subjects to capture are usually musicians when they are not always playing music. Creative people tend to have a spark that’s easy to capture on camera and are a lot of fun to be around. I try not to use too much equipment when I’m taking candid or event photos because it takes away from the moment. I have started to enjoy using a flash though.

I would say my work is different from others because of the style. It’s not always clean and occasionally this makes people dislike a photo but I see it as being truthful. One of my goals as a photographer is to only ever display the truth in an image. My inspirations are limitless. Family, friends, famous photographers. There are countless people that play a role in what I do but I think my biggest inspiration is the music that I listen to.

Behind the Image: NAU Guest Blogger – James Dean

Guest Blogger, Making the Image 1 Response »

Apr 262013

Photograph copyright James Dean

Of all the images that I have taken so far as a photographer “The Lights Above” is one of my most loved ones. What I mean is that this image is one of the few that almost everyone I know absolutely loves. Many people seem to love star trail photography, it’s always intrigued me as well. It’s something about creating a beautiful image out of tiny specks in the sky that don’t appear to be moving at all that really draws me to star trail photography. While this image is my first foray into star trails I will certainly be doing more because of my experience taking this image.

I captured the “The Lights Above” in Flagstaff Arizona in October 2012 out in the middle of nowhere far away from the lights of the city that muddle up many star trail images. I am an active National Geographic reader and I got the inspiration to create star trail images from an issue of the magazine. In an issue from 2011 there was an article talking about star trail images and how to go about creating them. Since then I have been fascinated with star trails but I never had a real chance to create such an image. Previously, I lived in Tucson, Arizona and I never had a chance to create a good star trail image because of the light pollution that fills the sky above Tucson. But upon moving to Flagstaff my curiosity and fascination with star trail photography came back. Flagstaff has a clear, beautiful sky with almost no light pollution due to the small size of the city and the special lights that allows Lowell Observatory (located near Flagstaff) to conduct research unhindered by light.

When capturing “The Lights Above” I didn’t really have a clear message in mind, I tend to not do that when I am capturing an image for my own enjoyment. I do have a message in mind when I have an assignment but normally without an assignment or a purpose I tend to not think about a message behind an image, I go out and capture it. I went far out of Flagstaff to capture this image, I drove out to a clearing just south of the base of Humphrey’s peak and set up my gear and started to capture images. I had my camera attached to a large tripod angled just above the horizon through a patch of trees that were in front of the area where I set up. I used a remote trigger to set the camera off to eliminate camera shake that might occur when I set off the shutter normally. The camera that I used is a Canon Rebel XS DSLR with a 15-55mm lens with the focal length at 21mm. My exposure time was a very long 10 minutes and 40 seconds, I set it for this long because the stars in the sky that night were not very bright and I wanted the spiraling star effect to be more pronounced on the final image. Beyond the exposure time I shot this image with an f-stop of 8 and an ISO of 200, I used a large aperture because I didn’t want the image to seem compressed and I wanted the trees in the foreground to be more silhouette like and not a main focus of the image. After about 80 shots and the frustration of dealing with a dying remote trigger I finally got this one shot that I absolutely love. After my first successful foray into star trail photography I can say that it isn’t easy at all, it takes a great deal of patience and hope that something doesn’t fly into your frame and mess up the circle that the stars are slowly making.

Technical Info: Canon Rebel XS, 15-55mm at 21mm, ISO 200, f/8 @ 10 minutes 40 seconds, triggered by remote trigger, basic post-processing.

About the Photographer:
My name is James Dean, I am a photography major at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, Arizona and I have been fascinated with photography ever since I was a young child. Throughout high school I studied photography and in my senior year I placed 4^th in the Arizona Skills USA photography competition. I prefer to photograph mainly nature because I can control the subject better and my work differs from others is by my use of light and how I manipulate it in my images. My goal as an artist is to one-day work for National Geographic as a field photographer.

Behind the Image: NAU Guest Blogger – Quinn Tucker

Guest Blogger, Making the Image 1 Response »

Apr 252013

Photograph copyright Quinn Tucker

To me, this photograph says it all. It carries with it a profound message that I have come to hold dear over the years. Let me explain: In the eighth grade, I had the opportunity to attend a youth leadership camp sponsored by my middle school. The purpose of the camp was to promote tolerance, equality, social awareness, and unity. It had a noticeable impact on many of my friends and peers, but for me, the experience was life changing. I would go on to be a highly active member of Anytown Arizona, the group that facilitated the camp and countless others like it at schools and campsites around the state. To this day, I continue to volunteer as a youth leader in hopes that I may allow others the same opportunity I was so fortunate to receive.

This photo depicts a close friend and mentor of mine named Donald. He and I have worked together at a number of Anytown camps since I first became active, and I consider him one of my biggest role models. In all honesty, there wasn’t much preemptive thought on my part in order to capture this image. I simply happened to be walking around with my camera, snapping candid shots of the dozens of eighth graders, the high school and college level counseling staff, and the handful of educators serving as advisors. Suddenly Donald, the director (or head honcho) of the camp, called for the group’s attention just before gearing everyone up for the next camp activity. It was a simple gesture, really—one that occurred numerous times throughout the weekend-long camp located in the pines of Prescott, Arizona: the universal peace sign, at camp used to gather the other campers and ask for quiet in a friendly manner. I was fortunate enough to capture this seemingly routine moment and preserve it. As I previously stated, the image says it all. Personally, Donald’s all-too-familiar pose epitomizes everything I have worked for and grown to love over the past seven years of my life. In this simple moment, I witnessed not only my own inner growth, but the growth of the thousands of young adults I have had the pleasure of working with towards a common goal: a better world for all of its inhabitants.

For this shot, I used a Nikon D3000 DSLR with a 50-200mm zoom lens at a focal length of 105mm. The shutter speed was set at 1/200s and the aperture at f/8 with a speed rating of ISO 100. The final image is slightly warmer than the original file. Also, I adjusted the contrast and clarity a bit.

About the Photographer:
Quinn Tucker is a Phoenix native currently attending Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff. He is majoring in Electronic Media and Film with minors in Spanish and Photography. He has taken photos for several of his friends’ live music shows around Flagstaff and has done some freelance work for the IDEA Research Lab on campus. He likes to shoot live music, as well as abstract, macro, fine art, and street photography; often using shallow depth of field and bokeh to enhance his images. As an artist, Quinn is inspired by nature, people, travel, and cinema. He aspires to be a both a successful film writer-director and photographer.

Behind the Image: NAU Guest Blogger – Amanda Ray

Guest Blogger, Making the Image 2 Responses »

Apr 252013

Photograph copyright Amanda Ray

Since last August I just moved to Flagstaff, AZ and I experienced many seasons so far here. When winter started to deplete and spring started to arrive I began to enjoy the warmth and blue skies that are full of big clouds. Currently I work for Northern Arizona University’s (NAU) newspaper, the Lumberjack, and one afternoon I took pictures for the women’s tennis team for their game against Idaho State University and I couldn’t help but appreciate the clouds this day. So as I was leaving the match with my sports editor, who was writing the story about the tennis match, he took a wrong turn down the road. Yet I told him and myself this must be fate because I was blown away by the magnificent view of the sky and the suburbs down below. I immediately told my sports editor to pull over on the side of the road so I could try and capture an image for myself.

Recently in my Introduction to Digital Photo Workflow class we are learning new ways to edit our photos. I have become fascinated with High-dynamic range (HDR) imaging. When I noticed the clouds that afternoon I couldn’t help but think this is perfect for a HDR photo, this way I could capture every detail to create one photo. The camera I used was a Canon 60D and one of the features this camera has is the exposure compensation meter where I moved the meter two stops down and two stops up, thus giving me three images; a very dark image, a very bright image and a properly exposed image.

As soon as I started my edit I was excited to see all of these images come together. When I saw the results I was incredibly happy with the outcome, the clouds were highlighted with dark undertones and the detail in the trees and houses were brightened up to still give great detail. Once I combined the photos together I wanted to pick a setting in Photoshop called, surrealistic, that helped me give even more detail and highlights over the image. Once I chose the surrealistic setting I only had one thing in the image that was distracting me and it was a power cord running across the middle lapping over trees and some of the houses. The power cord was such a distraction from the image I decided to take it out through Photoshop. I clone stamped over the power cord and removed it from the image.

From this experience I learned to always go with my gut. I took this photo because I was admiring the clouds and the weather all day and I knew I had to capture an image that day.

Technical Info: Canon 60D, 85mm fixed, ISO 200, Using exposure compensation f/4.5 and f/8 @ 1/125, 1/500, and 1/2000 of a second for the three images, HDR processing.

About the Photographer:
My name is Amanda Ray and I am a student as Northern Arizona University. My major is photography with a minor in photojournalism and I am a staff photographer for NAU’s newspaper, the Lumberjack. I have been taking photos for five years and this past year I have been in favor of candid photos. Working for the Lumberjack has helped me appreciate candid images. I prefer to take images of people they are my biggest inspiration; I love interaction and emotion through body language. As an artist my goal in life is to gear towards newspaper work, documentaries work and any other candid photography.

Behind the Image: NAU Guest Blogger – Emily Larsen

Guest Blogger, Making the Image 1 Response »

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.

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.

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