My Favorite Images So Far, Plus a New Website

I have gone on a very fun, exciting, eye opening, and educational photographic adventure this semester. I’ve learned so much in the classroom, from my classmates, from other photographers and even from myself, which was surprising! I’m definitely walking away with more confidence as photographer. I know that I, just like anyone else, am capable of capturing beautiful moments, all I need is a vision, some patience, and my camera.

Here you can see my top 10 favorite images that I have taken over the past several months. If you like what you see go check out my new website! You can find it at floresolution.22slides.com. I’ll keep updating both my website and blog with fresh new content, including some video work I’ve done. Stay tuned for more!

Portraits at CSUSM

I had the opportunity to practice portrait photography with some friends of mine at Cal State San Marcos. The campus offered some beautiful imagery to photograph in front of. My goal is to improve my portraits through the use of interesting light, body posture, and interesting backgrounds. Enjoy!

And thank you to by beautiful friends for being my models 🙂

 

Portraits of a Friend

Earlier this week I asked my friend if he would let me take his picture and he kindly agreed. This was my first attempt at portrait photography. In a previous post I mentioned the great portrait photographer, Dan Winters. I was really intrigued with his lighting technique and I wanted to try to replicate that to some degree. Some of my photos were shot indoor in front of a plain background; for these pictures I used a single light source. The end result was a photo in half light and half shadow. In the future I would definitely like to experiment more with light. The rest of the photos were taken outdoor for a brighter look. I was interested in shooting this particular friend because I have always thought he has a unique style; I tried to capture that in my photographs. As always, enjoy!

 

 

Dan Winters: A Great Portrait Photographer

Dan Winters

Different photographers will inherently look for different things in their portrait photography. To each his own, that’s what makes photography, and art in general, so great. All photographers will approach a subject through their own lens and apply their subjective values, creative ideas, perspective, and style to their own work. In fact, the greatest photographers are recognized by their unique styles of photography, one such photographer is Dan Winters.

I am usually drawn to black and white portraits because I just find them so beautiful. The contrast between light and shadow in black and white portraits can be manipulate in so many ways to make for really interesting photographs. That being said, I was drawn to Dan Winters portrait work because of his unique lighting style. Dan shoots in color but he there is still contrast between light and dark. He doesn’t just produce pretty images, he produces masterpieces of light. I absolutely love his color palette as well, his portraits are all very cool toned. The cool colors he uses mix very well with his lighting technique. Dan Winters and his photography are great examples of how to “brand” your work through your own unique style. It’s great to experiment, but as photographers we all have our own personalities and preferences, it’s okay to allow that to translate into our work. How great would it be if audiences were able to recognize your work? Creating a “brand” image for your work is a great way to be recognized and maintain consistency or connection throughout your many projects. Below are a few of my favorite Dan Winters images, enjoy!

 

 

 

A Panoramic View of an Abandoned Yard

My task for this week was to take panoramic shots, something I’ve never experimented with before, aside from with my iPhone. I knew that if I was going to take panoramic shots I wanted the space to be filled with interesting imagery so a viewing eye could wander the entire image. I decided to shoot an abandoned yard filled with forestry, shrub, and the occasional random item here and there. As I was taking my photographs I felt there was something quite haunting about this yard. It almost felt as if a human hadn’t been there in years, and so I made the creative decision to edit these images in black and white. Now I can see the beauty in the haunting mess I once saw in that backyard. Enjoy!

Mug Shot Grid

In my previous post I mentioned my plans to organize my mug shots into a grid. Here it is!

 

Mug Shoots: A Photoshoot With my iPhone

This week’s photoshoot was a little different for me, instead of shooting with my trusty DSLR camera I shot with my iPhone. There are certain advantages and disadvantages to shooting with either a DSLR or your smartphone. I personally find that I enjoy taking pictures with my DSLR camera a lot more than I do taking pictures with my phone. With my camera I am in full control, I can adjust the settings to suit my needs whether they be technical or creative needs. Shooting with my phone I felt more limited in what I could capture. The colors kept shifting on me and the focus just wasn’t as precise as I wanted it to be. Granted, these are things I can fix in post but it’s still a little frustrating not being able to capture the shots you want. That being said, camera phones are definitely changing the way people take pictures. Our phones are so portable and almost always at hand which allows us to take quick snapshots on the fly. There is no setup or bulky camera to be carrying around. I make use of my iPhone camera when I’m out with friends and want to capture random little moments, but when I have a project in mind I would prefer to pull out my DSLR and get some really crisp images.

It’s good to experiment with different shooting styles and equipment, how else will you learn what you like or what works under certain situations? Not to mention, we amazing editing software available to enhance our images, even those from our smartphones. So here are some mug shots I took with my iPhone, they are intended to be placed together in a grid. I knew I wanted to shoot something with a consistent pattern and shape that would be compatible next to each other in a grid and I thought these cute little mugs would work.

The Farmer’s Eyes: Anna Mia Davidson

Anna Mia Davidson

Anna Mia Davidson is on of those photographers that uses her images to set off a chain reaction, in her case she seeks change to our farming culture here in the United States. Whether or not you’re into farming or sustainability I think Anna Mia Davidson and her work can inspire you to photograph with a purpose. What I am taking away from Anna Mia Davidson’s work is the power that images have to create change; images affect us in very real ways. Photographs can open up our eyes to what is right in front of us; sometimes we miss the answers we’re seeking for because we are not looking in the right places.

Not only as an amateur photographer, but also as a regular human being, I find the connections we make to people, places, animals, and times are so special. When we really try to connect with something or someone we can get a better understanding of all that encompasses that being. Through understanding we can feel empathy, and through empathy we may find the courage to seek change. That is what Anna Mia Davidson has learned from her photographic journey in Cuba which she has now brought to the farming community in the United States. What kind of images are powerful enough to create change? I think we’ll know it when we see it, and if we’re luck enough we will capture them.

 

Makeup Art Photoshoot

A few days ago I was flipping through a magazine and I came upon some interesting images in the “beauty” section; there were images of de-potted makeup smeared and crushed across a canvas to create what looked like beautiful pieces of art. I had a pending photoshoot to complete this week and I was immediately inspired by the images I had seen and so I created my own “makeup art” using some good old products I had at home.

For this photoshoot I focused on shooting indoors with artificial lighting ( three-point lighting setup). I used a 50mm lens and shot at the widest aperture to let in the most light. Because I was using a 50mm lens and because the pieces of art I created were rather small I also had to concentrate on composition and how to get the best shot with limited space. It was a bit of a challenge but the process was fun and it’s always exciting to see what you’re capable of producing when you get your creative juices flowing.

Long Exposure Shots @ The Beach

So we all know that long exposure shots are ideal for low light settings… Well I decided to try long exposure photography at the beach, in bright daylight. Granted I had an ND filter at hand and I wanted to give it a try. While the ND filter helped A LOT, I would probably still suggest shooting long exposure under low light conditions.

That being said I think I was still able to get some interesting and unique long exposure shots during daylight hours. I focused my attention to where there was movement and tried to capture the flow of that movement. Enjoy!