I've Returned

I've been on hiatus the last couple of weeks. I went to Pennsylvania to visit family for Christmas. We didn't get snow, but we did get ice. Hope everyone's Christmas was nice. Happy New Year!

Gregory Heisler

Gregory Heisler is amazing! His work is incredible! I had the opportunity to listen to him in an interview today; it was inspiring. He's down to earth, humble, honest/blunt, and gracious. He was even kind enough to take a photo with me. Gregory came to Gwinnett Tech to do an interview for the Photography Network. Check out their site. Their ambition is to create a TV channel all about photography. The interview was incredible, and amateur and professional photographers alike would benefit from programming including shows like the interview done today. Thank you Gregory Heisler for coming and Dennis Reggie for making this amazing day a reality!

Dennis Reggie

Dennis Reggie came to our school yesterday. He and Joe Buissink toured our classroom, Mac labs, darkroom and studios. Tomorrow, the Photography Network (of which Dennis Reggie and Joe Buissink are co-founders) will be coming to our school to interview Gregory Heisler. The interview will be recorded and then pitched as a pilot for a TV show. The Photography Network is aiming to have a photography channel. Their movie explaining the concept gets me really excited. It would be a wonderful asset. I hope the powers-that-be like the pilot. I'm looking forward to the interview myself. I'll be there early so I get a seat up front.

Executive Portraits

Here's the final print for my executive portrait. Sally is a professor of radiologic technology at Gwinnett Tech. She was a pleasure to work with. Thanks Sally!

Red Hat Society Movie

Here's the photojournalism movie I made about the Red Hatters. It was a lot of fun hanging out with these ladies. Enjoy the show!

Red Hatters

I went to tea with the red hatters today. It was enjoyable and I got some great photographs too.

Environmental Portrait

This is one of the photographs I took for my environmental portrait assignment. This team of DOT guys have been working along Lawrenceville Hwy for over a year. They are all really nice and didn't mind being the subjects of my photographs.

Awesome Car!

This is the coolest engine I have ever seen. It's hand-crafted and designed to run on bio fuel. Rock on!

Photoshop Tutorial

Here's a quick video on how to sharpen using high pass, how to dodge and burn, and how to make a quick vignette.

Abandoned House

I shot my fantasy photos at an abandoned house in Atlanta. While I was there, I took the opportunity to take a few shots of the house itself. They're pretty creepy.

Coming Soon!

This is the photograph I'm going to use as an example in my video.

Ever since I took photoshop 3 over the summer, I've had a leg up on some of my classmates. We learned some simple tricks that I would like to pass on to those photoshop users who haven't yet taken photoshop 3. My video will cover a simple sharpening technique, how to dodge and burn without bruising pixel information, and how to do a quick vignette. Look for it soon.

My Adorable Cat

My kitty was curled up in a ball on my kitchen table this morning. I couldn't resist taking a picture. 

Photoshop Before and After

After Before

This is a photo I edited for my Photoshop class I took last quarter. I demonstrated how to use masks effectively, how to add contrast, how to smooth out skin,reduce wrinkles and dark circles under your eyes, how to make a selective color change, and how to add makeup.

Fantasy Photo Shoot

We have a Fashion/Fantasy/Glamor assignment for our Advanced Portraiture class. I went out to shoot for it today. Unfortunately it was raining, so I had to make do with the little ambient light I had and my off camera flash. The building I was shooting in did not have electricity so I couldn't use Photogenics, but in the future, when I have more than one off camera flash, it would be cool to go back and see how creative I can get.

Christmas Preparations

My family put up our Christmas tree today. Mom and I cleaned the house and my brother put on the lights. We even had a cinnamon broom. All that was missing was the Christmas music. Happy holidays!

Happy Thanksgiving!

My mom and I spent all day yesterday baking in preparation for breakfast and dinner on Thanksgiving. We made baked french toast (2 different recipes), 3 pumpkin pies, a pecan pie, 2 batches of cranberry sauce and fudge. At one point, the praline topping on our french toast boiled over and burned at the bottom of the oven. While the french toast itself was really yummy, when my mom opened the oven, a lot of smoke came out. In the sunlight, it was actually really pretty. Happy Thanksgiving!

Gwinnett Tech Photo Program

Check out this fun video my classmates and I made. It's a mock tour of the photography program we are all in.

More Holiday Portraits

I took Holiday Portraits again today. It's the last day for this season and we were really busy. My family also came to get their portrait done. It was fun to partake of something my classmates and I worked so hard to create. I can't wait to see what the first year students do with Holiday Portraits next year.

Executive Portraits

We shot executive portraits today for our advanced portraiture class. We drew names and then took our lights to shoot whoever we picked. We had a lot of fun playing with props in our subjects natural environment. 

Holiday Portraits

This past Saturday, not only did I shoot a wedding, I shot Holiday Portraits! A family friend came to get portraits of her daughter and my grandparents came to get a portrait as well. We stayed busy all day which is wonderful!

The Red Hatters

For my final project in my photojournalism class I'm shooting the Red Hatters, members of the Red Hat Society. It's a social group of sorts for older women, so they can get together and have fun. They are characterized by their red hats and purple clothes. The idea is that they no longer care about fashion and societal norms and have fun wearing outrageous and silly hats. In fact, the Red Hat Society encourages fun, silliness, creativity, and friendship amongst its members. I've gone to a card game and out on the town with a Red Hat group this past week. They are a wonderful group of women and I enjoyed photographing them. Thank you ladies.

Wedding

I shot my very first wedding today. I was talking with a friend, and she mentioned a wedding at her church and I pounced, asking if I could photograph it. It was a low budget wedding and they hadn't hired a photographer so they were happy to have me. I called in some friends for back-up (thank you Katie and Amanda!!) and we took lots of photos and had a great time. Everyone was really nice, and the bride had a beautiful smile. It was a great first wedding.

New Font Color

original header with black font

So I made a minor change to my header; I changed the font color. Sometimes a small change makes a big difference. Do you agree that the light purple font is better?

Low Key

We had a photo shoot for Advanced Portraiture in which you could shoot high key (white on white) or low key (black on black). I chose to shoot low key. This is my friend Janet Kelley. She was willing to let me shoot her as a French Madame, sad and alone at the end of her life. Kind of creepy isn't it?

Mac Lab

replacement of 2 of our iMac screens (because of discoloration)

awesome computers!

We have 2 Mac labs, each with 24 brand new 24 inch iMacs. I'm very spoiled now, but greatly appreciate the advantage of being able to edit on a 24 inch screen. Yay!

Interview With Sarah Paulsen

This is an interview I did on November 18th. I answered questions about my school, our portfolio show and my career plans.

Reflections

On sun shiny, relaxed afternoons, there is nothing better than a walk. Whether it's in the city or in the mountains, there is something beautiful to look at and take photographs of. Recently, I was wandering around the streets of Atlanta. While I took photographs of many things, this rippled reflection of a nearby building is my favorite.

Photoshop CS4

It seems as though the moment I begin to feel somewhat comfortable with Photoshop, the "new and improved" version comes out. I don't know about you, but it's going to be a while before I get my hands on Adobe's new Photoshop CS4. However, that doesn't mean I can't read up on it. So far the most interesting feature I've found is the way adjustments will now be applied to photographs. Adobe claims that adjustments such as Curves, Levels, and Hue/Saturation will be applied in a non-destructive manner, much like Adobe Camera Raw does now. If this is true, CS4 will have a supporter in me. To read more about what's new in CS4 click here. Don't forget about the Free Trials!

Environmental Portrait

Duncan Shirah practicing his rock climbing

I will be shooting an environmental portrait for my journalism class this quarter. I'm thinking about doing a market of sorts. I've done an environmental portrait once before, in my beginning portraiture class, and it will be interesting to compare them.

Game Night

Guitar Hero Tournament

Ticket Taker

My church choir is raising funds to go on tour to New York this summer. Tonight we had a game night at the church. We had video game tournaments, bingo, team trivia, board games and good food. I had to work at 7:00, so I went to church at 4:00 to help set up instead. I also took some photos while I was there. It allowed me to practice using my flash and also meant that the choir now has photos to advertise with for the next game night. I'm sorry I missed it, but I know everyone had a lot of fun.

New Header

This is the original background photo for my header.

I've decided to change up my blog. I started with my header, then switched my template, and then moved on to editing html. I have never editing html before. Before I took my multimedia class I had never viewed html format. So today I played a lot. Basically I would insert something into the html, then refresh the page and see what had changed. It hasn't been a quick process, but I'm beginning to see things in the html code. For anyone who hasn't edited html before, I would suggest taking some time to play.

Interview With Janet Kelley

This is an interview that I recorded with a friend and classmate of mine, Janet Kelley. We discussed her career and how she became a photographer. Enjoy listening!

Climie & Co

photograph by Marc Climie
(gallery "Addie & Eric" photo 31)

Marc Climie is a very talented photographer. He graduated from Gwinnett Technical College at the top of his photography class, attaining the Best Portfolio award. He has been a professional photographer for 13 years and his skills vary from commercial and journalistic photography to architectural photography. As a wedding photojournalist, he brings his varied and valuable experience to each wedding he photographs.
The Commercial Photography Program Director at Gwinnett Tech, Ms. Harkins, brought Marc Climie to my attention shortly after I started taking photography. I was amazed by his photographs then and now I really respect him and his personal style. He has some wonderful photographs on his website. Click Here to see them.

Kitty Cat Returns

Earlier this week I posted a color photo of this cat. I had been practicing with my new flash, and had produced some great shots of my friend's cats. When I looked through the photos, I made a mental note to go back and see how the cats looked in black and white. This cat's green eyes were so striking that I felt the photo should add to that element, not distract from it. I really enjoyed playing with this photograph and I like the way it turned out.

Holiday Portraits

Today we made the final adjustments to the lighting on our Holiday Portrait set. We have a main light that is in front and above the subject, and two fill lights to illuminate the trees that surround the subject. We have two strobes on the ground, behind the subject, that light a couple trees so that our forest had dimensionality. And finally, we have two more strobes, gelled blue, to light our background with. We also added a light dusting of snow to make it feel like a true Atlanta Christmas.
We start shooting Holiday Portraits tomorrow! I must admit that I'm glad I'm not shooting tomorrow. Instead of worrying about what might happen, like something getting knocked over or photographing a child that's crying, I'm just going to go into the studio tomorrow and get comfortable with the equipment. I'm going to think through my work flow and give myself a checklist, and then I'm just going to have fun.

Urban Fill Flash

I had an absolute blast shooting in Atlanta. I shot from the 17th Street Bridge over I85. While the photographs that I have probably don't fit the definition of "fill flash," they are definitely cool. I took mostly 2.5 second exposures, bringing in the city lights, and flashed my subject with my 580. The effect was an image reminiscent of a double exposure. Since the subject was only lit for a split second, the ambient light (that I exposed for with my shutter speed) filled the space where my subject had been, rendering a ghostlike image. Check out the rest of my images on Flickr.

More Fill Flash

I'm planning to go to Atlanta tomorrow night and shoot some more with my flash. I'd really like to get the night time skyline in the background with the subject lit partially by street lamps and then use the fill flash to bring in some of the foreground. It would also be fun to play around in a well-lit parking garage. If my subject is smoking, I can fill flash the subject and the smoke will curl during a long exposure and look really cool. The idea is to just have fun and learn more about my new flash. I'll be sure to bring my tripod and lots of extra AA batteries for my flash.

Fill Flash

I have a fill flash assignment this week. I just got my Canon 580 on Friday, and I went out today at dusk to shoot with a friend. I got some good shots and also some fun shots and really enjoyed myself.

Kitty Cats!

I just got my Canon Speedlite 580EX II Flash. I'm so excited. I've never had an off camera flash before and I have so much to learn, but I had a great time today taking photos of my friend's cats. I just kind of played around with bouncing the flash of the walls and the ceiling. The ceiling seems to offer a softer light, while bouncing off the wall leaves a sharp shadow behind to subject. I'm going to play around with my flash again tomorrow. I mean, why not? It's fun and I learn!

SCAD Student Art Show

The students at the Savannah College of Art and Design Atlanta Campus are having an art show on November 13th. I went to visit a few friends of mine and they showed me around the fifth floor where all the art is being stored until the show. There are a lot of really talented artists at SCAD, so I had a great time looking at the students' work. If you live in the Atlanta area you should really check it out!
SCAD-Atlanta Open Studio Night
Thursday Nov. 13 , 7 p.m. Click here for more information.

Autumn

Don't you just love autumn colors? It makes me yearn for the mountains and a weekend of hiking on the Appalachian Trail. While I was out taking photos for my "day after the election" assignment, I came across a tree with beautiful golden leaves. Behind the tree was an American flag. As it was a very patriotic day, I felt it was a perfect shot. Hope your weather is as lovely as ours has been here in Atlanta.

Holiday Portrait Set Surprise!

Today we replaced the rubber mulch on our Holiday Portrait set with real mulch. The rubber mulch had had a chemical smell that we couldn't get rid of even with air purifiers. The real mulch, however, had a surprise of it's own; salamanders! Tiny little salamanders are living in our mulch. It's a funny conundrum. Before today, I had never successfully caught a salamander. Now I have!

The Day AFTER the Election

The only thing I could think about while Obama gave his acceptance speech, was that I wanted to be there in Chicago taking photographs. Alas, I was not. So when my photojournalism teacher told us to get a photograph illustrating "the day after the election," I hit the streets. What I found was Jelesc Newsom, with his "Obama 2008" sticker still adorning his right shoulder and his "I'm a Georgia Voter" sticker perched on his left shoulder. I couldn't have imagined a better subject.

Wedding Photojournalism

photograph by Quin Cheung

As a student, my main focus these last 4 quarters has been to learn everything I can. Now I'm in my 5th quarter and it suddenly seems like I need to start developing a style, or at least decide what direction I want to move in. The problem for me is that I feel like I've only just scratched the surface, and I'm not ready to dive in on my own. While I've found photojournalism to be a real challenge, I do like the photojournalistic style. I'd like to try my hand at shooting a wedding. It's terrifying in a way to think that you're supposed to document such an important day for someone, but I think I'd really enjoy it. There always seems to be so much to think about, no matter what you're shooting, so I'm looking to other wedding photographers for their experience. If you're interested in wedding photojournalism, check out this article on how to get creative with wedding portraits.

New Header

Old Header

I've changed the header for my blog. I think I liked the old one better. Thoughts? I'd love some feedback.

HDR Photography

A few quarters back, the topic of High Dynamic Range photography came up in class. Why? The obstacle we all face as photographers are situations where there is high dynamic range. What's the solution? To take separate photographs, each exposing for a different range (highlights, midtones, or shadows), and then combine them in photoshop. Recently, I came across this video, which explains and illustrates the technique. 

Canon Dedicated Flashes

As I'm taking photojournalism this quarter, and as my many experiences shooting indoors and in other low-light situations have persuaded me, I'm going to purchase a flash. Because I shoot with Canon and I have the 5D, my search for a flash hasn't been a confusing one. Everywhere I turn, people suggest the 580EX with TTL. A lot of people have also suggested that I buy a cheep Vivitar. While I appreciate the logic behind getting a cheep flash now, and saving for the higher-end dedicated flash in the mean-time, I've been saving for a while and I'd like to make this purchase really last. So I've been checking out the 580. Here's a review I read comparing the newer 580EX with it's predecessor, the 550EX.

Passing out Business Cards at the Polls

This morning I arrived at school at 7:05; not to go to class, but to hand out business cards with information about our Holiday Portraits. Gwinnett Tech is a polling location. As such, all the people who live in the immediate area come to vote there. What better opportunity to spread the word is there?

Holiday Portraits Advertising

We also printed a few hundred business cards today. They have all the information about Holiday Portraits and are very pretty. Tomorrow, during the election, we're going to tag-team the line and pass out business cards to all the voters. Our school is a polling place, so we just informed the police about our intentions. They know we're not trying to persuade people at the polls, so they're going to let us pass them out. It should be fun and it will also allow us the opportunity to get everyone in the immediate area involved with Holiday Portraits.

Holiday Portraits

I worked on Holiday Portraits again today. We painted the corner molding black and put down black sheets behind the set so you don't see the white floor tile. We also placed some pretty, low-growing bushes along the back of the set to add dimensionality. Today we also wired our street lamp, so it glows. We've repainted the background too. It's really coming along.