Thursday, April 28, 2011

Finals! and a Commercial Ad

Hey everyone! Hope you're all well!

So sorry I missed our "date" last week, but I was immersed in the study of photojournalism during the Vietnam war, as well as, research on James Nachtwey. Sadly, I completely forgot it was Thursday!


Well, I am about to start working on finals, so I may be MIA for a couple weeks, but I'll try my best not to be.

My final projects include LOTS of photography work and quite a bit of studying: A Nutrition Final, PJ project on a Chicago Neighborhood, another Vintage Still Life shoot for Studio, a paper on James Nachtwey, and a paper on Photojournalists during the Vietnam War - PHEW! Man! it is going to be a LONG couple of weeks, but I'll push through!

Keep me in your prayers!

Here's a project that was due last night, in Studio 2 - Copying a Commercial Ad -

LOTS of Photoshop, that's all I'm going to say....

What do y'all think?

Thursday, April 14, 2011

Bare Truths: Baffled

I just received 120 multi-colored tulips, a dozen long stemmed red roses, and 3 mini bunches of yellow roses and pink Peruvian lilies, and all the delivery man said was that they were, "from the Lord."

I am baffled. I have been walking around, shaking my head, and racking my brain, trying to figure out who would send them, who would send so many, who could afford so many? I have no idea who, what, where, when, or most importantly, WHY? I can't figure out what I did do to deserve such a beautiful act of kindness? Why me?

I really don't feel like I did anything to deserve it. Actually, I think I've done more stupid, selfish, and arrogant things in the past week than I have done good! Still, somehow I was blessed. I don't understand it.
 
Whoever it was, Thank You for listening to the voice of God! I am truly blessed beyond belief and I hope I am able to bless you in someway sometime soon.

Saturday, April 9, 2011

Unveiled: Day in the Life of Alaina Moore

As promised, here is my second post of the week!

The beautiful, theatrical, Alaina Moore agreed to let me follow her around for 5days. This was a Photojournalistic induced stalking - Steve Liss's way of making us better photojournalists. After having seen the results, I am very grateful for having this assignment. It's still not finished, though. Steve still wants to go over it and make it more cohesive, so here is just a small snippet - a couple of favorites :








Thursday, April 7, 2011

Unveiled: Accessories

Today I wanted to share with you the project I spent all of last weekend working on - my Studio 2 Midterm. I wanted to create a diverse set of images which didn't look too staged and definitely didn't look over-lit and studio-ish.

I have a small confession, though... I am not the most confident person in the studio. I prefer to use natural light along with found objects/scenarios and studio is, pretty much, the direct opposite of all of that. Studio is more about creation than capture. So, you might be wondering, why in the world would she take studio classes then? Oh, I was wondering the same thing at first too, believe me, but then I learned; it's because I need  to become more diversified in the type of work I am able to do, as well as to be prepared for anything a client could/would ask for...(Ok, but really, it's because it's required in the Columbia Photography BA program...but the other fluff definitely helps motivation!)

 In order to make the work I had to do with studio lighting more enjoyable, I decided that I would recreate scenes which gave the feeling of natural light, more specifically window light. I would make images using the idea that I was capturing a bride's special day. I would make images that a bride and her mom could look back on and be proud to display. In the end, while I was only fabricating this scenario, I was doing the job I love to do! Oh, and I did it with a vintage twist! *LOVE*

Beginning this project was a challenge. I started in the studio itself, driving myself absolutely nuts with a lack of "homey" stuff to create mood. I was trying to do too many things at once, and I lost so much time trying to figure out how to create a window light feel while incorporating a faux window in the shot. Well, I quickly learned that faux never looks real, especially when it's in full focus.

So, I was stumped, stuck, frustrated, lost, and distraught. I went home hating the pictures I had taken; I didn't know what to do; and it wasn't until I was forced, through a series of events and a nude workshop, to bring lights home and figure it out. This is what I came up with: 
 
 
 
 
 
 
I am really happy with the outcome, but what do you think? Did I accomplish what I had set out to?

Inspiration for these images:  Well, as you may have guessed, weddings(of course!) I read a myriad of Wedding blogs, and I surf Pintrest(a new fav inspiration website) I was also inspired, very heavily by my absolute favorite eye candy catalog, Anthropologie, as well as, Free People. Who doesn't love an Anthroplolgie catalog, or a Free People catalog, for that matter?!?!

P.S. Please stop back on Saturday for a sneak peak of the "Day in the Life" Photojournalism series that I have been working on!! I'm really excited to finally be sharing it!