Week 8 EOC: The Bang Bang Club

The Bang Bang Club, from what was shown, was quite phenomenal.  If I could relate to anyone it would be Greg.  A problem I would face is that I would not be able to help anyone with what was going on which is a huge concern of mine.

“As a photographer, you feel helpless. Around you are medics, security personnel, people doing good work. It can be agonisingly painful to think that all you're doing is taking pictures.” –Adam Ferguson

The problem with what happens is that you cannot get involved otherwise you are lebeled with a side.  Once a side has been chosen your life then becomes more in danger than previously shown.  Another quarrel with this is that your life is in danger just for being there.

“They made us lie in the dirt, put guns to us. We were pleading for our lives.” -Lynsey Addario

The looming threat of death will always hang when in conflict, documenting it is something that needs to be done so the world can really see what is going on.  Images are some of the most powerful forms of documentation and being able to see what is really happening is always an eye opener for the world. 

“I always ask myself, "Why do I do this job?' And the answer is: I want to show the best and worst face of humankind. Every time you go to a conflict, you see the worst. We need to see what we do to be able to show future generations the mistakes we make.” -Alvaro Ybarra Zavala

This is something everyday that I would have troubles with.  The idea of documenting things so horrid that it’s hard for many to fathom, but in the end somebody has to do it.

Week 7 Challenge: Gentleman's Relish

Week 7 EOC:

Week 6 Challenge: Collage

Week 6 EOC: How has Art Changed You?

Art has played a role in my life throughout its entirety thus far.  When I was younger I would do a lot more with drawing and painting.  As I progressed on through middle school and started to focus more on my schooling the drawing had started to subside.  Going into high school it had started to come back and then I had started to take more classes pertaining to the arts.  During this time I was venturing into things I had not done before such as sculpting.  When doing art I am at ease, be it something simple as doodling into something more time consuming as painting.  During the past year I had developed anxiety and lost my artistic side whilst working and going to school, time was something that I did not have.  I started to make more time for art and set aside a certain amount of time a week.  Doing this truly helped me in finding my calm and helped to set my anxiety at ease.  While it is still persistent and comes in at random times the anxiety still persists.  I then quit my job to focus more on my schooling, which in turn has me doing more art.  By doing this I keep focusing more on the things I am doing in my photographic career and am spending less time worrying about my health.  Ultimately, I am hoping that focusing on this will lower my over all levels of stress, as it has done for me before, and can get me back to the person that I used to be.  One year ago when I lost art I started to lose myself.  Now that I am getting it back I am getting my life back.  That is how art has and will influence and change me.

Week 5 Challenge: You Editing a Photo

When editing photos I do a few different things.  The first step in my process is the easy editing.  This is typically done in bridge or lightroom and consists of color balancing, exposure setting and some light spot removal.  When I do this I use my main computer monitor since I have it calibrated for the color.  My main computer monitor is the one that you can see me staring into in the photo. The second part of my editing technique plays into the heavy editing.  I typically do this when looking at my television which I have connected to my computer as a second monitor.  The reason I do this for the heavy editing is because the screen is much bigger which allows me to see everything much easier.  The television can be seen at the white box behind me with the image inside.  The heavy editing takes place when I have to mask out an area or do more than just spot healing.  Anything that has a very fine detail in it is done using my television so I can see everything much easier without having to strain my eyes.

This image was shot at an ISO of 800 at an aperture of 2.8 and a shutter speed of 1/80.  I had three light sources in this image, the computer monitor, the television and then a lamp which is not visible in the image.  I did a slight color correction on the image seeing as there were three different light sources which means there are three different temperatures making color changes from all directions of the photo.

Week 5 EOC: Quote from Business Plan

“The number one thing is to always be properly equipped.  In these events at the very least there should be one camera, two lenses and a flash.  This would be considered a good starting point.  For the more prestigious photographer in the industry one would be looking at two bodies, each equipped with a different lens and a flash as well.  During concerts the general rule is during the first three songs the photographer can use the flash all they want, after that it must be put away.  That being said, one body should be able to go into high ISO without a lot of grain and the lens should have a fairly decent aperture range.”

“Photography continues to grow in every aspect of the craft.  As of now, living in the digital age where all information can be accessed through a computer, we tend to keep the trend going in that direction.  With digital images we are able to produce more at a faster pace.  We are able to see what we have created on the spot but the split second rapid fire is what we need the majority of the time to get that one shot that will sell the whole show.  Not only does going digital allow a photographer more ease of access it also makes post production even faster.  In event photography we won’t be focusing on heavy edits but enough of the simple editing for lighting and color correction which will make the turnaround for these projects fast and painless.”

Week 4 Challenge: You in a Photo Store

I tend to do about ninety percent of all of my shopping, be it photo equipment or clothes, all online.  My interpretation of me in a photo store is that in my store of choice.  As you can see from the image, my store of choice is B&H Photo.  I first heard about B&H when I first started to get into photography roughly two years ago.  Ever since then I had scoured their website for deals and spent numerous amounts of time reading up on different items and reviews by the professionals.  B&H had become not only a store to me but also a resource in helping me get the equipment needed to help expand my photo arsenal.  My first big purchase from B&H was my 580 EX II.  The thing that surprised me the most about the online retailer was how fast the item had gotten to my door step.  Based out of New York, I believe, it got to me in Nevada in roughly 2 to 3 business days.  I have never had any troubles through ordering online through B&H and would highly recommend them to any photographer.

The image was shot at 400 ISO with aperture of 2.0 and a shutter speed of 1/80.  I had intended to use the monitor as my light source and tried to shroud everything else around so it seemed as if I were immersed in the online store itself.  The only post production done in the image is a bit of an adjustment to exposure and a little adjustment to the color setting as well.  In RAW I was very blue to I pushed it a little to give some life back into me.