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Behind the Image: NAU Guest Blogger – Natalie Smith

May 112015

Photo copyright Natalie Smith

I am a lover of the arts in every form. I love when things are executed cleanly and detailed. The reason that I chose my water drop photo is because it represents the detailed style of photography I enjoy shooting. For some time now I’ve wanted to capture motion of water drops in a creative way. I enjoy shooting photos like this because I can set them up in different ways to create unique shots. Taking images of small details is fun for me because I can tweak little aspects of the shot to change the entire look of the image. This allows me to have fun playing with my subjects with endless possibilities. I was trying to communicate a simple shot with different colors blending in the water. When I was taking this series of photos I ended up with many shots with the drop or multiple drops before they hit the water. I chose this particular image because I liked the way the colors in the water blended, and how still the surrounding water is. I was happy with the turnout of this image because it is clean and crisp shot of motion. I am constantly striving to meld my passion for art with my passion for photography. By using my watercolor paints in the water I was able to achieve some sort of unity with my passions. I added drops of different liquid colors in the middle of the bowl for the water drop to blend together. I think this photo conveys a serene feeling with the cool colors and still water around the area where the drop landed. I made the background simple to keep any distractions away from the individual drop. I used my trigger so I could add paint in between each drop of water landing. The camera that I shot this photo was my Nikon d3100. The ISO was at 400, the aperture was at 5.6, and the shutter speed was at 1/200. In post processing I cleaned up some specks of water that were distracting in the background. I also boosted the clarity a tad around the crown of the water drop.

About the Photographer:
My name is Natalie Smith and I am a sophomore at Northern Arizona University. Last year I took my first photography class with no intention on pursuing it as a minor. I found all the classes very fun and informative therefore I decided to make photography my minor. My background has definitely led me to taking photos and shapes the style I shoot. My whole life I grew up as a dancer and have always loved painting and drawing. These passions are reflected in my most favorable shoots. I love taking pictures of dancers and love incorporating art in any way possible. I feel truly lucky to be attending NAU and expanding upon my passions in ways I never imagined. I have come to realize my love for capturing details within my photography. I am looking forward to seeing what other wonderful things will come from my passions and future education with photography.

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!

Behind the Image: NAU Guest Blogger – Erin Twarogal

Guest Blogger, Making the Image No Responses »

Apr 282015

Photo copyright Erin Twarogal

When my Photography instructor told my class and me that our next photo assignment was a focus on High-Speed Liquid, I was super excited to get started on the shot. I love to experiment with new techniques that improve my photography skills without needing fancy camera equipment that I do not own already. Mainly, I really enjoy creative and motion photography.

I had several different ideas for the assignment but I had some limitations. I was required to use dropper to drop liquid to forming a splash or whirlpool but I was able to utilize one of my ideas. I went to the home décor aisle at a department store to find anything I could hold water in and I was lucky enough to find an interesting dish with a mirror-like bubble pattern. I love the dish with its “bubble wrap” reflections. I filled the dish with water and then I tested the droplets to see how it looks in a picture. The result was very neat.

For this image, I have my Nikon D3200 camera and I used 50 mm lenses. I set up white poster around the dish to optimize the reflections then I hung a Ziploc bag of water above the dish. I used a pin to poke a hole for water to come out, drop by drop. I also used a few color gels with my off-flash shoes. I set my camera on my tripod and zoom focused at the dish, where the droplet is. My camera set in 1/200 shutter speed, aperture in 11 stop, and I used low ISO. I had the set in dimmed light room, to avoid capturing random reflections.

After took many shots, I used many different color gel in my hot shoe but I used green tone gel most. I really like the color most in my picture than any other colors. I tried to use gold tone but it was look very alike honeycomb. The picture has one droplet that hit at the one of patterns, in the dish, as it made look like its burst. I thought the picture was very interesting and this was very exciting experience with the assignment.

About the Photographer:
Howdy folks, my name is Erin Twarogal. I am half Illinoisan and half Arizonian. I love both cornfield and desert. Therefore, I am undergraduate student of Northern Arizona University and will receive Bachelor of Science degree in Photography and minor in Anthropology. When I was very young, I was holding my mom’s old film camera for the first time and I really loved how I could capture any moment in a forever image. In addition, I like to share pictures with my family and friends and they love my work. My photography goal is to capture moment of memory for people to treasure forever. emt842.wix.com/erinsnakedeyes