The Floor

On Wednesday Ally, Ze and I installed the wood floor. Painfully slow, and just pain filled process. It was tons o' fun though! We have a set to build on!

-Photo : Jenni Green

Characters

This is my new weekly(hopefully) post.  In a previous post I said that one of my favorite things to photograph was random eccentric people.  So every week I will post a picture of the most random and eccentric person I found that week.

This is not from this week but, this is one of my favorite random guys.  We meet this guy in Little Five Points.  He is a really nice guy and we talked to him for a while.  He has had some misfortunes, but is still this upbeat and bubbly man.  I wish I could remember his name.

Digital Work

One of the first things I did in photography was Digital Art.  I was into vectors, and layers and tons of photoshop.  I have slowly learned that if your going to do something digital, you should go BIG.  Once I start something on the digital end of photography, my brain flows and I am constantly getting new ideas.  Check out my best digital stuff on Flickr. 

Click the picture.

Apple Festival

The only reason I enjoy fall is for the festivals.  I hate the cold, and I hate that everything dies.  But festivals make all of the bad go POOF.  Well, almost.  I recently went to the Apple Festival in Ellijay GA.  Homemade root beer and gyros!  I also love all of the crafts.  Not to buy, just to photograph.

North GA State Fair

Recently I went to the North GA State Fair.  It was tons of fun! I think the llama was my favorite thing there.  Too bad I didn't get any pictures of it.  But I did use this pretty cool filter that shoots light out in patterns. 

LOVE LOUD

This Sunday I went to Love Loud with Joel, Christen, Hayley, and even Brit stopped by.  It was nice to be out in the sunshine :D

The band New Song played, here is an AMAZING musician who apparently plays 4 different instruments in one song.

Holiday Portraits

Holiday Portraits are getting closer and closer, and I am getting less and less sleep. :D

It will all be worth it though.  

Today we got a lot done.  Things that were still not decided were taken care of and once we get tape it will take half an hour to put the floor down. I am super excited about that.

I'll keep you posted, and come out to get your picture taken!

How to Photograph Sharks

When I first started photography I wanted to be strictly a marine photographer. So this article was pretty awesome.

How To Photograph Sharks

Here are the "rules."

1. Pick a Novice-Friendly Site : you don't want to be eaten.

2. Book With Pros : you want to find the sharks.

3. Shoot Near The Surface : sharks don't like flash, shoot without closer to the sun.

4. Use A Wide-Angle Lens : you don't want to cut the shark in half.

5. Keep Both Eyes Open : again, you don't want to be eaten.

Photography in 2060

I though this article What Photography Will Look Like In 2060 was very interesting.  It is also probably very true.  It says that with a blink of the eye you can snap a picture.  Pointing your 'photo glove' at something will give you a closer look on what's happening.  It goes on to say the advances in photo editing software and 3D imaging will take on new forms, and it will be like editing what actually happened.

Extreme ART!

I don't care what anyone thinks. This is AMAZING! The time, and training that went into this alone, makes it my favorite video of the week. Extreme Sheep herding. Looks like so much fun!

Scott Lowden

I stumbled across an awesome photographer Scott Lowden. He does some pretty cool travel photography. The kind I would do.

He will be showing at Young Blood Gallery and Boutique. Check out his work.

Reza

I think I've found one of my favorite images of all time. I found it on National Geographic. It was taken in Conakry, Guinea in April 1984. The photo entitled "Look, you can erase dictatorship" is of a young boy 'erasing' Ahmed Sekou Toure's face. He was not a very popular guy in Guinea for over 25 years. He finally died and the people celebrated. Photo -Reza

I want this!

If you know me really well, then you know I don't remember ANYTHING. Like, NOTHING. So when I saw this I decided that I need it. This camera was made for people with Alzheimer's in the UK. It can take pictures at intervals of 30 seconds or more. It has sensors that can tell when a person enters a new room. It can store 30,000 images on 1GB, so the quality is probably horrible, but it is still a new product. Costing around $800 dollars. Pretty neat!

Canon D1 Mark IV

Get ready folks, because here comes the new and improved Canon D1 Mark IV.

With the release of Nikons DS3 last week, Canon also stepped up releasing its newest camera, which boasts an impressive 45 selectable auto-focus points, full HD movie, 100 - 12,800 ISO, three raw modes, and is completely weather resistant. Price is set at $4,999.

Click here for more details.

Media Ban Lifted in Afganistan

Just to fill everyone in, my previous post about the media ban on photographing and filming military casualties has been lifted. The ban which lasted less than a month was lifted this week due to media and other scrutiny.

Full story here.

High Key

This morning in Advanced Portraiture we either had to do a high key or low key portrait. I choose high key because I like a challenge. This is not exactly what I had in mind but it was still awesome. My friend Roxanne was my model, and an excellent model she was. No matter what I did, from the make up, to the weird cloths, she was up for it. And the pictures turned out Great! Thanks Roxanne!!

To see my other shots from this shoot and some other work click here.

My observations

Recently I went to the North GA State Fair. A friend and I were on the ferris wheel, I was just clicking away for fun. Not expecting to really get anything worth value. And I didn't. Except for this gem.

Just somethings that I saw.

Box Building

In Advanced Portraiture this semester, I am the team leader for set construction. So when we decided we wanted an interactive set, I set to work. This morning we built a box. It is going to look like a present box, so it will flow with the rest of our set. It has a swinging door, and an overlapping lid. There were some minor issues, and of course we will blame Buddy. This is Buddy doing some cleaning.

Oh, and I was going to put up a picture of Buddy INSIDE the box.. but SOMEONE dropped my camera onto the concrete floor breaking my lens. After that, I didn't feel much like taking pictures. :(

Car Fire

In photojournalism class we get extra credit for spot news. I regret I didn't leave my school ten minutes early, and got this when the car was still on fire. So this is what I got. The firemen were awesome and pretty funny too!

New Rule Bans Some Afghanistan Casualty Photos

Wait. WHAT? No, thats correct.

A ground rules document issued in September states: "Media will not be allowed to photograph or record video of U.S. personnel killed in action."

So what are we suppose to photograph?

I understand if it were out of respect for the troops, it is a heavy thing to see, however some of the most compelling photos from war are the people, and what inevitable happens to them.

If we want to show the realities of war, and not what "Big Brother" wants us to see, we must show this unfortunate and very real happening.

The reason for this rule is a AP photographer captured a rare moment, a photo taken Aug 14, of a Marine hit by a rocket propelled grenade.

That is what the photojournalist is there for. Thats why the follow the troops. Thats the job. To document. I understand not publishing the photos for everyone to see and asking permission of the family if the photo is published. But this is something that needs to be done. Its not something that can be left out of history.

Do they think that if that soldier had said "Hey, if something happens do not take pictures of it." that the photographer would? I'm just saying, its not all black and white, and right and wrong have no place in war. Its all wrong, and someone has to document it.

Full Story Here.

The Color Green

The color green. It is pretty much everywhere. One of my favorite colors. The variety of photographs that can be taken with primarily green is awesome.

Valleys in Kansas' Texaco Hill --Jim Richardson
Japanese tea farmer -- George Mobley
Bike sharing in Hoi An, Vietnam -- Justin Guariglia
Rare white alligator in New Orleans -- Joel Sartore

Eccentric

I think that I have a photography thing for eccentric characters. The old, crazy and homeless have always been a favorite subject of mine. I also think some of my favorite photographers have the same little photo obsession.

Surf - Dustin Humphrey

One of my favorite surf photographers Dustin Humphrey is known for being a man of mind, or he really likes to think outside the box.  So when asked to do a promo for a surf company Insight51, he loaded up the gear and headed to Bali.  These are not photoshopped images.

Dove Real Beauty

I think this is awesome.  Mostly because of what you can make a person look like with photoshop.  Its amazing what good lighting, makeup and hair, and photoshop can do.

Click here.

Child Portraits

Today we shot child portraits.  So of course I chose Dylan.  It was a little rough because there were a lot of strange people, and in a strange place.  There were tears and there was laughter. LOL!

Over all it went OK.  I love this:

                                        Mom, the ULTIMATE distraction.

                       This is what we do when there is nothing else to do!  

JAPANFEST

As some of you may know, I lived in Japan before I came to Georgia. I consider Okinawa my home. The Japanese culture has many fascinating aspects. Recently JAPANFEST came to the Gwinnett Center and I was able to photograph some awesome events. Like this Japanese dancer, straight off of the plane. This amazing bonzi tree. Finally, Phil Fung. Phil Fung is an amazing artist, water color, cartoon, etc.

Check out his site to support the arts!

Phil Fung

Sports Shoot

"Kids do the darndest things..."

For Photojournalism this quarter we had to shoot a sports assignment, which was not as easy as it looked. My first attempt at sports was a Cherokee High School football game, where I would have 'on field' access. However my 5.6 18-135 lens was not able to capture anything for a number of reasons. So I found a kids league to shoot. They are much more entertaining anyway. There is some of the stuff I got.

Animal Shoot

In the Advanced Portraiture course we shot an animal of our choice. I picked something I knew would be challenging but also very different. So meet Edgemere;

I thought someone might have to physically hold him, but as it was, he really really enjoys pockets... and chewing. So it worked quite well.

First Post

Done :D