More Wings

Why the continued angel theme you are probably wondering? Honestly Im not quite sure- For some reason I just got pretty attached to these wings... There is so much you can do with them whether it be silly or serious. So why not? I recommend going out and buying your own pair of wings and seeing what you come up with, then let me know how it goes. After class yesterday Alyse and I hiked out angeles canyon with the 4x5 and digital cameras. The wings were tied to the back of Alyses backpack offering a good laugh to any passing hikers. Two guys tromped by with there fishing poles in hand, caught site of us and chuckled "nice wings". We found a beautiful spot up the stream to shoot some photos- to get there we had to walk through the water in our bare feet. It sounded like a fun idea, but as soon as we stepped into the water we realized it was icy cold and our feet soon went numb as we carefully made our way to the riverbank. Once we made it we dropped our packs, angelfied Alyse (yes I just made up that word), and shot some pictures! It was a great afternoon, poison oak and all (don't ask).

Angels

In some of my past posts I've talked about the large format 4x5 camera that I have been shooting with recently. Well... yesterday I got the chance to shoot with an 8x10 camera- which means the negative is actually 8 inches by 10 inches. Pretty damn amazing, and intimidating. This kind of camera is worth about $20000 so the fear of doing anything to hurt it was great. Once it was set up the fun began. Sarah brought a garbage bag full of costumes that we could use while shooting. Right away the angel wings were the object of choice and we decided to have a constant theme with all of our images. Alyse was my model and I ended up making two images to show the angel vs. bad ass. Enjoy!

I love fashion... Some people could care less about it, but I really do appreciate it. Im not exactly a fashionista, although sometimes I try, but I do enjoy a good outfit when I see one. Where am I going with this? Well I love combining fashion with photography...Yes, some people would call that Fashion Photography, ha. Im not sure if thats where I want to end up going with my work, but Im definitely interested in it. Part of the thrill for me is putting it all together- The outfits, hair, makeup, I like to do it all. Am I good at it all? Well not particularly, but again I try! Over winter break I had an idea for a shoot and luckily had 3 amazing and beautiful girls at my disposal. Teased hair, intense makeup, and some good outfits... Here are a few shots I came away with.

Pirates

The best part about having visitors, other then their wonderful company, is that it is a new face to photograph. I have been photographing Jenna for years and she is extremely patient with me. This afternoon we headed to long beach to play on a pirate ship (Sarah was shooting an environmental portrait of her cousin who lives on a big sailboat, you know pirate ship, same thing). It was an amazing afternoon and a beautiful day for pirate ships and pictures- Here are a few I came away with.

Miette Turns One!

I am a lucky lady- I have some pretty cool neighbors with the most wonderful baby in all of California. No joke- She is absolutely amazing! Other than being a beauty, she has the greatest personality. Happy, curious, and just a complete joy to be around. On Wednesday Miette (which means little crumb in French) turns one. Some relatives were in town so an early birthday celebration was had and I got called over to take some pictures. In her yellow party dress and brand new shoes, Miette looked like a little lady and I couldn't stop smiling! So really... I am a lucky lucky girl to have these people in my life.

Jdub

Jdub, better known as Jenna (my cousin/sister) is in town visiting! She is one of my favorite people and I can't be happier that she is here- I have a week of silliness and laughing to look forward too. We began the visit with vietnamese food and frozen yogurt from Pink Berry. Meet Jenna ya'll!

New Camera!

I got a new camera! I have been searching for a 4x5 field camera so I can be more mobile when I shoot. When I started shooting large format a few months ago I did not like it. It seemed so complicated and on top of that I had to put a black cloth over my head to even see through the ground glass to compose a picture. Soon enough I was comfortable with how to use it, the swing, tilt, rise, and fall all made perfect sense. I could do a wrap around focus, or have everything in focus- So many options and so much fun! I fell in love *sigh*. The one downfall with the camera I am renting is that it is a Studio camera which means it is heavy and hard to lug around. So that is why I have been searching for the perfect field camera- A smaller version of the studio camera that folds up and weighs next to nothing. The camera I found is made out of a beautiful cherry wood and is in wonderful shape. It came with three lenses and I got a great deal on it. Unfortunately I haven't had the chance to go adventuring with it yet but as soon as I do I will post the outcome. Here are a few pictures- Christie helped me take some of me and the camera, and yes they are supposed to be making fun of all those cheesy shots of photographers and their cameras.

Self-Portraits

Our next assignment in Fine Art is to create three self-portraits. One must involve photographing your own self/body. The second must address a misperception that people have of you. The third must reveal something about you that people do not usually see. I never knew self-portraits were so hard! It was difficult coming up with three images but somehow I did. I ended up taking two of the images in a more humorous direction which obviously says a lot about me- I mean I do love to laugh!


1. Self/Body - Battle wounds and such!



2. Misperception - Just because Im tall...Does NOT mean I play basketball. I mean commme on enough already. Man!



3. Secret - Ok stop making that face- It really is good. Don't knock it til you try it!

Poppies

Sundays are meant for road trips and adventures- We don't have much time for any of that here at Art Center but we managed to squeeze a little much needed adventuring in. Christie, Alyse, and I headed back to Riverside to find some more abandoned houses and interesting landscapes to shoot. As we were cruising down the 15 headed towards San Diego we suddenly saw bright orange scattered across the green hills. As we got closer we figured out that the bright orange was from poppies, already in full bloom. If you didn't know, the poppy is the California state flower annnnd apparently it is illegal to pick/or kill one. If you do you may be hunted down or perhaps even shot down. Ok maybe not, but you never know. The closer we got to the poppy fields the more we wanted to run through them. We got off at the next exit in Lake Elsinor and found our way to the flowers. I have never seen anything like it. The color- No really, THE COLOR- spectacular!
(Click on the images to see them bigger)

Morning Surprise

I woke up this morning to an overcast rainy sky. I walked outside in my whale pajama shorts ( yes whales ) and sweatshirt to test the temperature. A little chilly, for California that is, and drizzly. I saw a red flower spotted with water droplets that was just asking, no begging, for its picture to be taken. I ran inside and grabbed my camera with the macro lens I had rented the day before from Calumet. I started shooting the little flower trying to capture the detail of the water sitting on the petals. I saw something brownish, and figuring it was just a dead leaf went to flick it off. Right before I went into a full flick I stopped and realized that the leaf had little antenna type things. A Slug! What a wonderful little morning gift to photograph. I made friends with the slug and took a few pictures.