After much deliberation and posting my top thirty on Facebook for my friends to vote on, here are my top ten.
"Rodent". 4/2/09, 2:41 pm.
San Simeon, California. f/3.8. 1/640 - Nikon D60. No edits.
This was taken while on a field trip with my department in California. My teacher had been there before and liked to stop at this particular pullout on the ocean and feed the rodents, so we decided to get in on the action. A friend of mine was feeding the rodent peanuts so that I could get some shots. This one was the most fun.
"Dandy". 5/18/09, 5:17 pm. Pole Line Road, Rexburg, ID. f/4.0. 1/3200 - Nikon D60. No edits.
I spent a lot of time on Pole Line Road last summer doing a "Monet" project for my color photography class. After getting the shot of my Monet spot, I was still looking for something interesting to shoot for another assignment, color harmonies. I liked the analogous colors of the dandelion and grass, but it wasn't an interesting shot until I got down on the ground and changed my perspective. I also entered this picture in a Photographics Society competition, "Up Close and Personal", and won second place. :)
"Hosta". 6/3/09, 6:03 pm. Portland International Rose Garden, Portland, OR. f/5.6. 1/100 - Nikon D60. No edits.
Another assignment, but sweet success. I was looking for something abstract. When I saw the back lighting on this Hosta leaf I knew it would work.
"Ghost in the Graveyard". 6/16/09, 9:39 PM. Sugar City Cemetery, ID. f/20. 30 second exposure - Nikon D60. The light on the headstone is from the headlights on my car. Tripod. No edits.
By using a long exposure I was able to get the blurred "ghost"; my husband walked back and forth slowly behind the grave to get the blur. This is his great grandfathers grave.
"Broken Snowball". 6/28/09, 9:00 pm. Trejo Street, Rexburg, ID. f/5.6. 1/40 - Nikon D60. No edits.
This image was one in a series of weeds. As a student of horticulture I naturally tend to take pictures of flowers and plants. Most people see weeds as a nuisance, but my objective was to show that they can also be beautiful.
"Young Love". 5/10/10, 7:39 pm. Idaho Falls, ID. f/5.6. 1/50 - Nikon D60. Slight recovery in RAW.
This is my brother-in-law, Alan, and his wife Rhonda. I took it along with many others for their engagement pictures. I focused on the ring and placed it in a sweet spot because it was important to them that she had a particular setting, and this is it. I also saw a picture with this kind of styling a few months earlier, and wanted to see if I could pull it off. I was laying on the ground. I love that their noses are just touching, it's so cute.
"Like the Old Days". 5/25/10, 7:40 pm. BYU-Idaho Gardens, Rexburg, ID. f/4.8. 1/250 - Nikon D60. No edits.
This is a professor of mine in the Horticulture department and his wife. He was doing me a favor because I needed to take a picture of a group of five or more. I first took a few pictures of the whole family but the five kids were getting restless, so we let them run free. This picture is the favorite that I got of Daniel and Lindsey while the kids were getting their wiggles out. When I showed it to Lindsey, she gasped and said, "It's just like the good old days! Like we're taking our engagements again!"
"Give me Attitude". 6/16/10, 4:34 pm. McKay Library, Rexburg, ID. f/16. 1/125 - Nikon D60. Main, fill, hair, and background auxiliary lights, tripod. No edits.
This is Kaylee. She thankfully let me take pictures of her MULTIPLE times last semester for my Studio Lighting and Photojournalism classes. I think her eyes are stunning. I had just told her to give me some attitude and this is her attempt at a glare. Beautiful.
"Metal". 7/2/10, 1:02 pm. Romney Studio, Rexburg, ID. f/10. 1/125 - Nikon D60. Main and fill auxiliary lights and tripod. Aside from cropping there are no edits.
Until I was presented with the challenge, I had no idea that photographing a reflective metal subject could be such an ordeal. To get this shot I had to make a "tent" of white plastic around the table that would still let the lights through. By doing so the shots look clean and there are no crazy reflections on the flatware. I also used brand new silverware, right out of the box, and polished them all with a soft cloth before taking any shots. Aside from removing reflections of other objects in the room, getting the reflection of the lights to align with my lens took time.
"Texture". 7/16/10, 6:00 pm. Romney Studio, Rexburg, ID. f/14. 1/125 - Nikon D60. Main and fill auxiliary lights and tripod. Aside from cropping there are no edits.
For my Studio Lighting portfolio I needed to wow my professor with six shots; which were 40% of my final grade. The other five I figured out what to shoot long before the due date, but I could not for the life of me figure out what to shoot for the concept of texture. It wasn't until four days before my portfolio was due that I received my inspiration. This fly.
He had spent most of an afternoon buzzing around my apartment, driving me crazy. Once I'd had enough, I got my trusty flyswatter and ended his annoying reign. Maybe I'm weird, but I wanted to see how he looked up close, so I carefully brought the squished specimen close to my face and it was perfect. He stuck to the flyswatter perfectly, wedged in between the holes, and his guts were squished and exposed. I rushed to the studio, praying that it wouldn't be in use, toting my dead fly along with me. Thankfully the studio was empty and I had exactly fifteen minutes to set up, shoot, and clean up before it closed. My main light was positioned underneath the flyswatter, which I taped to a pole, and I had a fill light directly to the right of the fly. I think that sometimes a crazy idea can be real genius. Thank heavens for the concept of Art.
"Cozy Cosmo". 9/26/10, 7:26 PM. Cut flower gardens, Thomas E. Ricks demonstration gardens, Rexburg, ID. f/5. 1/40 sec. - Nikon D60. Tripod, silver reflector card--which gives the warmth in the petals. For this image I also created an adjustment layer and changed the exposure, offset and gamma to brighten and then masked everything back in except the main flower at about 50%. I then came back with a 100% mask in the corners to create a slight vignette.
"Sun Ladies". 9/26/10, 7:31 PM. Cut flower gardens, Thomas E. Ricks demonstration gardens, Rexburg, ID. f/5.6. 1/40 sec. - Nikon D60. No edits.
"Veronica Tea". 9/27/10, 10:46 AM. Thomas E. Ricks demonstration gardens, Rexburg, ID. f/8. 1/200 sec. - Nikon D60. I cropped the image slightly and also created an adjustment layer and changed the exposure, offset and gamma to brighten; then I masked back in the corners slightly.
"In the Nasturtiums". 9/27/10, 10:55 AM. Thomas E. Ricks demonstration gardens, Rexburg, ID. f/5.6. 1/125 sec. - Nikon D60. I cropped and rotated the image and again created an adjustment layer and changed the exposure, offset and gamma to brighten (it's kinda my favorite); then I masked back everywhere but where the grasshopper is.
