Inspirational Photoblogs

When searching around for photoblogs I felt as if I were in heaven. There is not much else that I love more than looking at photos, especially very good photography. Although I must have looked at fifteen or so blogs the one I found myself looking at most was www.archerfoto.com.  I must have looked at this for an hour at the least. I was completely captured by the photos. There are many reasons that I loved it so much, but one of the biggest reasons was the fact that it felt as if her style was much like mine, or at least the way I would like mine to be. I found that she started the blog when she moved to Sweden as a way to keep her family updated on her photography. She still uses it currently. I also loved the fact that the majority of her subjects are macro flowers, travel locations, and portrait photography. The best part of her portraits is they all have such personality. I love looking at this blog because it gives me such good ideas for photos I want to take. I hope you enjoy it as well.

http://www.archerfoto.com/photoblog/index.php

Thanksgiving Traditions

Over Thanksgiving we were told to take pictures of what the holiday meant to us. I took many pictures of the traditional preparations of the turkey, family around the table and the lovely table spread filled with color from the food; however, I knew that was not the picture that I thought would be unique enough for me. I was taking pictures of my grandparents preparing the lovely meal in their kitchen and I turned to get out of the way because it is a very small kitchen. Then suddenly I saw this little sign I had seen many times and I knew this was what embodied thanksgiving and family to me. Both my mother and grandmother are wonderful cooks and every time I go to my grandparents house I am spoiled by wonderful food and love. This is what Thanksgiving is about: spending time with the family and simply enjoying the time relaxing together.  

Iconic Presentation

Dorothea Lange

This photo is known as photographer Dorothea Lange's most iconic picture. Most of her photographs consisted of showing the true pain that occurred during the Great Depression. This woman is in her early thirty's but looks much older because of the stress put on her. Lange was well known for capturing the true emotions of those she photographed. 

Photo Essay

This is my photo essay of Radnor Lake.

Radnor Lake is the best in the fall because you get twice the color when the lake reflects a perfect image.

Radnor Lake is in the middle of the hustle and bustle of Green Hills and Brentwood in a very unexpected place.

It is the perfect place to take a brisk walk with friends. There are even some pretty great hiking trails.

I was so excited to find turtles just sitting on a log. There was a baby in a photo I took right before this, but I loved the ripples from it jumping into the water.

One should always be prepared to see wildlife at Radnor Lake.

One of my favorite things about walking at Radnor is the road that goes halfway around the lake. It is simply beautiful.

Sometimes when it has been a while since the last rain the lake becomes covered in a green scum sort of thing. 

Everyone that visits Nashville should enjoy this hidden beauty that is placed right in between two fairly busy town areas.

Macro Photography

Macro Photography can consist of anything that is taken within a close range to the subject. So, more simply said it is just close up photography. I found this project to be very fun for me because I love macro photography and have gotten close to buying a macro lens many times. This first picture has a story behind it. I was huddling under a tree because of the rain, so I decided to take pictures of the bark of the tree. I was just taking pictures to take pictures then I saw them; at least thirty ladybugs were just sitting on this tree. I would have totally missed them if I was just taking pictures like I normally do. 

I love this shot because of the framing of the center of interest, which is the rain drop.  The fall colors make taking pictures even more enjoyable for me. The rainy and cloudy days are my favorite time to take pictures because the colors that come out are so brilliant!

All the photos in this particular post are without editing. The colors are true. The contrast of the green and red in this picture make it one of my favorite shots I have ever taken. (The raindrops are just an added bonus!)

Proof of Ben Rector Concert

Ben Rector plays not only the piano....

...but also the guitar.

He even asked for audience participation, asked for a subject, and made up lyrics to one of his previous songs about that subject. This time it was about Facebook. 

We even got to meet him after the concert was over. 

Breaking the Rules

Our assignment for this week was to take pictures that break the rules of normal photography. Often some of the best pictures that are taken are the ones that are taken completely breaking all the rules. So when a picture is blurry and not completely clear then it might add more intrigue instead of just laying the whole thing out for the viewer to figure out. Also lack of perspective gives that vibe as well, and that is how I decided to go about posting this picture. Without a description hardly anyone knows what this is a picture of, but when I told people they all saw it. It is the embers coming out of a fire. So I basically cut off the bottom of the fire and only showed the top. I love the way this turned out and I am sure that it will be going into my portfolio!

I also tried the tactic of taking pictures out of a moving vehicle and panning as we went by to keep just one thing in focus. 

All these pictures were taken in the mountains this past weekend, and I just decided to post this one because I simply love it!

Portrait Photography

Although portrait photography is very difficult, it is one of my favorite things to do. I love that the shot depends on so much more than just the photographer. It makes getting a really great shot all the more difficult. This is where my story comes into play. I had originally planned on taking pictures of my roommate because she loves fashion and has thought seriously about being a model; however, she had a very busy and hectic schedule this week. So I preceded to ask multiple other people if they could pose for me and most, as I thought, said no because they felt awkward. So I found one person and they said they would do it, but when the time came for us to meet up she said that she had a paper to write and she just couldn't. So in my limited time frame I scrambled to find a replacement. Then I remembered one of my friends has strikingly beautiful eyes, and it was perfect because she said she would love to do it. After all my ups and downs with this assignment, I still love portrait photography. Hopefully I will continue for a long while with portrait, because I do love it so much. 

Found Words

This weekend our assignment was to find letters from nature around us to create words or phrases. I struggled a bit with this exercise, but overall I am very happy with the result. So, decided to base my assignment around my favorite Bible passage.

"I will praise the Lord at all times. I will constantly speak His praises. I will boast only in the Lord; let all who are helpless take heart. Come let us tell of the Lord's greatness; let us exalt His name together.

I prayed to the Lord, and He answered me. He freed me from all my fears. Those who look to Him for help will be radiant with joy; no shadow of shame will darken their faces. In my desperation I prayed, and the Lord listened; He saved me from all my troubles. For the angel of the Lord is a guard; He surrounds and defends all who fear Him."

Psalm 34

From Above

I am very grateful for the weekly assignments that I receive for this seminar class. It is helping me to grow as a photographer and forcing me to shoot outside of what I would normally take pictures of, and in the process I am taking some pretty good photographs. The assignment for this week was to post two pictures which have been taken "from above." The first was to come from a timed on campus event. As far as campus goes I, as a lifer feel as if I know most of the areas that a person would go to take pictures; therefore, I decided it was time to try something different. I went to the parking garage next to the boys high rise dorm. The picture that I ended up selecting to post is interesting because it shows a part of campus that is not regularly shown. Lipscomb University i shown for it's clean campus, but this pile of trash hidden at the bottom of this garage would make it seem otherwise.

For my second shot I selected one of the many pictures I took on my weekend trip to Charlotte North Carolina. I have to admit I thought it would be easy to find a "from above" shot in the middle of a large city, but what I did not take into account was the fact that all of the large buildings require some sort of ID to get to any floor other than the lobby. I found myself wishing on several occasions that the assignment was to take photos of things looking up. We eventually stumbled upon a parking garage that had a very interesting perspective and I am very happy with my results. It took many hours to find the right shot, but I believe it is worth it.

Timeless

Our project for this week was to take shots that are "timeless." Timeless photography should pictures in which the viewer is not able to distinguish what period of time it was taken. So the shots could have been taken in the 40's or in current time, and they also need to be in black and white. The ironic element of the project was that all the pictures we took were supposed to be taken within the time limit of one hour. Time limits can be both a blessing and a curse in that you have to just take what you get. I decided to take pictures of nature, and because nature is one of my favorite things to take pictures of I fully enjoyed this project. Unfortunately, the fact that I like taking pictures of nature so much meant that I had a very difficult time attempting to narrow it down to one picture. Therefore, these are the two shots that I ended up with.

This picture was not one that I was really meaning to capture. It was simply a nice morning and I was looking at how green the grass looked at that moment, but I did not even see at the beginning that the grass still had some dew left over from the early morning. I really enjoy the overall composition of this shot. 

This picture is one that I love for a lot or reasons. It reminds me of the little fuzzy caterpillars that I played with as a kid. I love the simplicity of this shot, and that the focal point does not have to fight for the attention of the viewer.  

Take a Glimpse

A "Glimpse Photograph" is defined as:

"A type of photograph consisting of a glimpse, a frame, and a background scene. There may also be a foreground.  That area of a photograph which is partially or completely surrounded by the frame and offers a view of the background scene." (information from Take a Glimpse, blogspot.com)

Photos which are classified as glimpses are very interesting to look at because they do not always show the entirety of the object, which is the focus of the photograph. They can be something that makes a person wish they were there when the photographer was taking the picture in order to see what they were thinking while taking the picture. My experience of taking glimpse pictures was something that I think will help me become a better photographer in general. When I went out to shoot I realized that I was paying more attention to what I was doing instead of taking pictures of what I thought was a pretty picture. It required me to look more closely and really see objects in a new way.

This picture is a new way to look at a very familiar object to any Lipscomb University student. The fact that it only shows a small part of the sign for the Alumni Auditorium means that a person would have to look more closely to figure out what prominent building this is.

This photo was one of the last shots that I just took in passing. I saw that Starbucks cup in the trash and I liked the contrasting colors; however, I think the meaning of the pictures could be so much more. This Starbucks cup, just like so many identical cups, was simply thrown away like any other day without a second thought. I hear a statistic not too long ago that says, "You will spend more money on coffee this month than it would take to save a child's life." What does that say about our culture? What does it say about how my life needs to change?

Silhouettes

This photograph was taken at my church's fall retreat and it was a completely planned shot. I knew that inevitably there would be hands lifted in praise to God; I knew it needed to be captured that moment in time. This was the result.

This photo on the other hand was not planned. My friend was just watching the sunset, and I realized how powerful of a shot this could be. I feel as if the hands raised and the tree both in silhouettes bring much interest to the shot to make it more dynamic.

Franklin, TN

True Color: This photo, taken in Whole Foods Market, was a great way to show true color, because it is not just one vibrant color; it shows the depth by the color which, in turn, makes it an interesting picture to look at. 

Base: I felt that this was a good description of a photo with base because it has a foreground to make it more interesting, but the trees further away ground the photo and give it something to stand on. 

New Perspectives

I decided to take pictures of my common black Converse shoes. These shoes have seen things like mission trips, the Grand Canyon, and my first days of college.  The different angles that I photographed show the wear and tear from over the years, which is the reason I love these shoes. Mud on the side of my shoes reminds me of the beautiful rainy days of recent , and the heart, drawn by a close friend, reminds me that they are never very far from me. When I look at my shoes I am reminded that they are not just another pair of old shoes; they are a bundle of memories that have the potential to be with me for years of adventures, which at the moment, I can only imagine.  

Barriers to Seeing

“Good seeing doesn’t ensure good photographs, but good photographic expression is impossible without it.”

       This specific quote from the barriers of seeing chapter reminds me why I love photography. I love the fact that people always see things differently and can take completely different pictures of the same subject. Photography is so much more than simply pointing a camera in the direction of something pretty and saying it is art. It is about what the photographer can say through his or her photo. Feelings bring a whole new level to what photography can express; depending on the mood of the photographer, they can express extreme sadness, joy, or even brokenness. I like to think that photography can bridge a gap of which words do not come easily for me.           

“A third major barrier is the labeling that results from familiarity. It was Monet, the painter, who said that in order to see we must forget the name of the things we are looking at.”

       I believe that this quote from Monet is so insightful. A major problem that photographers, my self included, struggle with is they become too wrapped up in what they are actually looking at, as opposed to what it could be with out the label that so many place on it. I think Monet hit the nail on the head with this statement. I also believe that in order for my photography progress to the next level, I need to change my perspective on most of what I see. Moving beyond preconceived notions can be something that a person works for a lifetime to achieve, but in order to get photos worth looking at, one must move beyond it.