Final Photos

Capturing Motion

Soccer on the Mission Field

Water Drops from Above

Life in Motion

Butterflies

For this project, I could not decide what I wanted to use as a subject for my motion assignment.  I had some ideas, but wasn't sure if they would work out.  I wanted to photograph something that captured the season, whether it be the April showers that have been frequenting Russellville, blowing leaves that have recently budded on the trees, a twirling umbrella- I wasn't sure.  So one nice afternoon this April, I was out shooting still lifes of the spring flowers which were blooming all around.  The lush, new leaf greens provided a gorgeous backdrop for the velvety pink, yellow and purple flowers which blanketed the forest floor.  As  I captured the simple yet beautifully detailed texture of the velvet flowers, a male Pipevine Swallowtail Butterfly flitted by, stopping to visit the flowers as well.  The gorgeous metallic blues, oranges, and whites pop against the green hues of the woodland undergrowth, drawing the eye to the focal point of the image.  The slight blur from the fast movement of the butterflies wings conveys a sense of motion, and though it is subtle, adds more dimension, movement, and interest to the subject.  It brings the image to life.  It shows new life of spring.  The sunspots in the background, created from the leaves reflecting the bright ambient light of the sunshine in mid-afternoon also add a fresh feeling to the image.  By using the rule of thirds and placing the butterfly in the upper left hand corner of the image, it creates interest through spacing.  The lines of the flowers, pointing down toward the butterfly, draw the eye toward the focal point.  Even though I wasn't looking and searching for the butterfly to come, it came right to me, stopping at the exact flowers I was photographing, and staying just long enough for me to capture the series of photos I wanted for this assignment. As I watched the butterfly flit away to another part of the woods, I realized that life is sometimes just like this photograph experience.  In life, we sometimes want to have a concrete plan, for each and every aspect of our lives, from the classes we will take, to the jobs we get to the people we marry, to the places we live.  We get ahead of God and instead of waiting for Him, we frantically run around, trying to make all these decisions, and make things happen on our own.  When sometimes all we really need to do is wait, and He will send a butterfly.  

Portraits

Portraits.

Portrait pictures, when done right, capture more than just a face or a moment.  They capture a story, a piece of someone's inner spirit.  They draw a connection and a bond between the subject and photographer, they allow a tiny glimpse into the person's soul, their thoughts and feelings.  These pictures, to me, do just that.  They allow the viewer a glimpse into the lives of these young children, who, despite living in an impoverished neighborhood in Mexico, display a joy and a hope that touches all who come into contact with them, whether directly in person in Tijuana or through the eyes of the camera half way around the world.  Despite all they have gone through in their young lives, they display a resilience, a joy, and a hope far greater than their current circumstances or situation, for true joy, true hope, come from the inner spirit.  By capturing their eyes, their spirits of resilience, I hope to inspire others, to look not at people's situations or backgrounds, but to look up from the phones and technology that so often crowd our vision, and look at people's eyes.  For therein, lies the picture of people's inner beings.

Keep on the Sunny Side

Sunset at Mt. Nebo a few weeks ago...reminds me of the song "Keep on the Sunny Side."

Keep on the sunny side, always on the sunny side

Keep on the sunny side of life

It will help us every day, it will brighten all the way

If we keep on the sunny side of life.

Still Lifes

Sea Shells

Still life photography has always inspired me in capturing details, whether it be in nature or in everyday life.  It inspires me to take notice in the details of nature or the everyday and the mundane, and reminds me that the items and details we sometimes take for granted will not always be around.  In the case of flowers, such beautiful textures and colors that will slowly fade and shrivel up and be forever gone from physicality, only remembered by a simple photograph. Others may not find this photo of a flower particularly interesting or important in the history of the world, but to me, because I know their story, I received them for Valentine's Day, they and the picture are special to me.

  In the case of seashells, I collected these while on the beach for vacation over Christmas break.  Had I not collected them, washed them, and displayed them as a memento of my vacation, the beautiful and unique seashells, once home to various creatures deep under the sea, would be forgotten on the beach, discarded by their former owners of the ocean.  They would wash back and forth with the waves of the sea, and slowly break down into the tiny grains of sand, no beautiful to the unaided eye.  Instead, they would be perceived as a tiny speak of sand.  But when looked at through the lens of a microscope, they are no less beautiful, just smaller, microscopic versions of their former selves.

  In many ways, I think that people have these same perceptions of others, especially older people...they may perceive them as old and shriveled, broken down and discarded by the world, when in reality, they each have a story, one must only take the time to "look through the microscope," take the time to listen and talk with them, hear their stories from days of old, and not take them for granted.  Life is short for flowers, for seashells, and even for people.  But by taking the time to reflect, document, and preserve the memories, the mementos and the stories behind them, they will not be forgotten.

Bokeh

The word Bokeh, is a Japanese word for mental haze, from which comes bokeh photography, or the blurring of background highlights into shapes.  I very much enjoyed taking these photos and creating the bokeh effect by manipulating my camera settings.  While I like how all my images turned out, my favorite of the three is the first horizontal image of the cactus figure.  To my mind, the image evokes a sense of a desert night.  The viewer is up on hill overlooking a desert valley, with the cactus in the foreground light by the light of the moon.  In the background, the beige carpet seems to represent the sandy desert landscape, with the lights on the floor symbolizing a small desert town, the lights the many windows of the homes and buildings below in the desert oasis.  Furthermore, the lights hanging in the background seem to symbolize the millions of stars one may see on a clear desert night.  So while this is simply still life photography with bokeh, the image represents for me a much greater sense of a calm desert night under the stars.

Still Lifes

Spring

Glorious Skies

Psalm 19:1- The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands."

Aperture Comparison

 When comparing these two images, the image on the left has a smaller aperture of 10, allowing the bouquet of flowers in the background have distinctive separation between flowers and stems.  On the other hand, the image to the right has a greater aperture, meaning the depth of field is more shallow, bringing the focus more upon the flowers in the foreground of the image while greatly blurring the bouquet in the background.

Settings: Shutter Speed 1/80, f10, ISO 400

Settings: Shutter Speed 1/80, f4.2 ISO 400

Landscape and Light

Landscape photography has always been one of my favorites, as I love to travel, see new sights and take in the beautiful creation of the world around me.  One of my favorite quotes is "To live is the rarest thing in the world.  Most people exist, that is all."  I think that landscape photography in itself is the ability to capture those moments you feel the most alive, when you feel like you are truly living, the most in awe of God's breath-taking creation.  It enables a person to capture a single moment or place to which they wish to return.  It enables us to share these experiences with others.  And most importantly, it enables us to say "Look at what my God created- isn't it amazing?"

The above images are ones which I have taken this semester.  The images below are landscape photos I have taken over the last few years that I wanted to share with you.