Photo 1 Portfolio--Kody

Kody, a photo by TheLouisianaJackhammer on Flickr.

Oh Kody...

Photo 1 Portfolio--Doren

Doren, a photo by TheLouisianaJackhammer on Flickr.

This guy is getting married pretty soon. That's a big deal.

Photo 1 Portfolio--Kara

Kara, a photo by TheLouisianaJackhammer on Flickr.

She was pretty tired of the camera being in her face by this point.

Photo 1 Portfolio--Ty

Ty, a photo by TheLouisianaJackhammer on Flickr.

Since I mentioned my Photo 1 class last week, I thought it only appropriate to present some images from my final portfolio and let the masses decide what I could do to improve.

Perhaps my instructor thought my subject matter, people, to be a bit blasé, a lot of students in the class chose to use people as their theme, and there is no doubt that numerous students in classes past have photographed people as their theme. I had a lot of work to do to distinguish myself from those who have set the precedent. My instructor thought that I would choose to present texture shots and photos of strange objects, abstractions of sorts. But I've shot those photos too many times to count. It is no longer a challenge to capture an interesting image of an abstract texture or object. I wanted to shoot people to gain experience in that subject matter. And despite receiving an unsatisfactory grade in that class, I learned more about portrait shooting than I have anywhere else, an invaluable lesson.

So there you have it kids—the classes you learn the most in are the ones you also get the worst grade in. School sucks.

Big Rock Candy Mountain

In anticipation of the weekend, I've conjured up some original audio-magic.  Enjoy MarvinBaker87's rendition of Harry McClintock's Big Rock Candy Mountain!

If you're not overly offended or disgusted, you can check out some other tunes at Bandcamp.

On a Walk Around the House

On a Walk Around the House, a photo by TheLouisianaJackhammer on Flickr.

I realized that I had been missing the heart, the passion that made me want to start shooting in the first place. I remembered the first few outings with my camera, the way I saw the world, how much I learned, and it just made me happy to walk around and shoot some photos.

And most of my first shoots were from long walks I would take in and around the hometown. These photos are in the same vain, shots from a long walk around the house.

1/400s at f/5.0 ISO 400

Follow this link to view the rest of the photos.

On a Walk Around the House

On a Walk Around the House, a photo by TheLouisianaJackhammer on Flickr.

After receiving the grade for the class, I emailed my teacher to get some feedback on my work. He told me the grade was based mostly on my final portfolio and he suggested shooting more photos to improve.

So I did just that.

1/320 at f/5.6 ISO 400

On a Walk Around the House

On a Walk Around the House, a photo by TheLouisianaJackhammer on Flickr.

I didn't do as well in my Photo 1 class as I had hoped to. That's not very good for me, especially for this thing I'm going to school for, this thing I'm supposed to be good at. And maybe I could blame it on my instructor, say some mean things about him, and maybe I could blame it on missing one too many class periods, or maybe I could even blame it on overdeveloping my film the entire semester but thinking my ISO button was messed up. Sure, I could blame it on any one of those things. But I'll be the bigger man, I'll take the responsibility for my grade. I didn't really put my heart into it, and frankly, if we're being honest here, I've never had to put my heart into any school work to get an A. That's another story for another day...

1/640s at f/5.6 ISO 400

On a Walk Around the House

On a Walk Around the House, a photo by TheLouisianaJackhammer on Flickr.

9 June, 2011

Big day tomorrow. Big days usually throw my sleep schedule off. It's summer and I've been staying up late and sleeping in. Hard to adjust to normal-people-sleep. Tack jet lag onto that, you got yourself a sleep catastrophe. I won't be able to sleep tonight. Too much pressure to get a good night's sleep. I'm leaving f or Uganda tomorrow. Gonna be a long day. Been before, doesn't seem real 'til you're about to leave. And then you can't sleep. It's 7 o' clock. I probably woke up at 11. Can't remember, busy day, been packing. Uganda in a few short hours. I wish I felt more prepared. Does anyone feel prepared? Can you? I think it's best to be prepared for the unexpected. Is that the same as being unprepared? I hope I didn't forget to pack anything. Shouldn't have waited 'til the day before. I'm not gonna be able to sleep. Need to expend some energy. Maybe I'll take a walk to clear my head...

1/1600s at f/1.8 ISO 400

Not Forgotten: Journalism and Self Expression in Uganda

Not Forgotten: Journalism and Self Expression in Uganda, a photo by TheLouisianaJackhammer on Flickr.

So that's a couple of the things I learned while I was in Uganda.

1/160s at f/1.8 ISO 1600

You can go here to view the rest of my Uganda photos.

Also, extra special video footage...

...from the children of Lingira...

...and a sample of the Ugandan Worship experience.

Not Forgotten: Journalism and Self Expression in Uganda

Not Forgotten: Journalism and Self Expression in Uganda, a photo by TheLouisianaJackhammer on Flickr.

But something as simple as the resources to complete a self portrait can really bring a sense of vitality to a person's life. These children were thrilled just to see the image of their own faces—a simple, but obvious, individual distinction. It was a simple exercise, cheap, not overly profound. You may wonder if it really mattered, if it really had an effect. It does—this small form of self expression is a way to encourage a beautiful people and to let them know they have not been forgotten.

1/40s at f/2.8 ISO 1600

Not Forgotten: Journalism and Self Expression in Uganda

Not Forgotten: Journalism and Self Expression in Uganda, a photo by TheLouisianaJackhammer on Flickr.

It is important for people to express themselves. Perhaps we've forgotten this in the west, we have so many opportunities and avenues to express ourselves, we can hardly imagine a place where you wouldn't be able to. In fact, its so easy to express ourselves, maybe we don't even realize we're doing it! In America, we have so many choices to define who we are—what am I going to wear, how will I cut my hair, what will I study in school, what will my hobbies be. We have jobs that don't exist in other parts of the world. Children have many opportunities growing up in school as well—so many, in fact, that few would be grateful for just a crayon and a piece of paper. The combination of these factors makes us individuals, for better or for worse. We are each set apart from everyone else, and our choices are an outlet for that distinction. When you don't have options it becomes increasingly harder to distinguish yourself. When you can't choose what to wear, or you have few options for school or career, of if you spend most of your time fighting to survive, you become lost in the population. You become just another cog in the machine and you don't really care if you live or die.

1/400s at f/3.5 ISO 100

Remembering September 11

I shot and cut together this video for the Missouri State Standard.

I'll talk more about it later on...

Enjoy for now, compatriots!

Not Forgotten: Journalism and Self Expression in Uganda

Not Forgotten: Journalism and Self Expression in Uganda, a photo by TheLouisianaJackhammer on Flickr.

Photography changed the way the news business worked, bringing back images from wars and riots—things that might people might not have believed if they hadn't seen it with their own two eyes. And not all news is bad news. Uganda is an encouraging place. Despite the extreme poverty in this third world country in East Africa, the Ugandans are joyous and grateful people. As Americans, we may look at their lives and wonder what they have to be thankful for, but to the Christ followers of Uganda it is very obvious. God loves them and has provided for them what little they have to make it through the day.

1/25s at f/4.0 ISO 1600

Not Forgotten: Journalism and Self Expression in Uganda

Not Forgotten: Journalism and Self Expression in Uganda, a photo by TheLouisianaJackhammer on Flickr.

I told the story of my first trip to Uganda in my COM115 speech class. It was a how-to or procedural speech that incorporated a visual aid. I did “how to survive your trip to Uganda”. It had been a few years since the trip and, as I was looking through the photos and compiling my presentation, it astounded me how the images brought back the memories and how accurately I could tell the story from the pictures. The visual image has the power to speak to people that words cannot. As the old saying goes, a picture says a thousand words. Think about commercials on TV that have few, if any, spoken words, but instead are entirely visual imagery. Advertisers know to best persuade people, show them what they want (and associate with a product).

1/400s at f/3.5 ISO 200

The Dandelion's Mission and Studio Photography

The Dandelion's Mission and Studio Photography, a photo by TheLouisianaJackhammer on Flickr.

fin

I posted some other shots of the dandelion

1/500s at f/4.0 ISO 800

The Dandelion's Mission and Studio Photography

The Dandelion's Mission and Studio Photography, a photo by TheLouisianaJackhammer on Flickr.

This image was created as a logo for Kinesis Church, a church plant I'm part of in Willard, MO. The pastor, Todd Wallace, used the image of a dandelion germination its seeds as a visual metaphor for the new church. He explains the concept :

A dandelion has the potential for exponential reproduction. However, as long as the seeds remain on the flower, its potential is never realized. When the wind blows, individual seeds are scattered wherever the wind takes them. The individual seeds then grow into dandelions and start the process all over again. One dandelion may produce dozens of new dandelions. In turn, each of the new dandelions produces dozens of dandelions.

In the same way, the church has the potential for rapid multiplication. As long as individual Christians are content to remain safe in their gatherings, the church’s potential will never be realized. But, when the Spirit of God blows freely over a church and individuals are sent out on mission, then one church can become many churches that start many more. This is what Kinesis wants to be about.

I decided to surprise him with a Kinesis original dandelion for his birthday. And this is what he got.

The Dandelion's Mission and Studio Photography

The Dandelion's Mission and Studio Photography a video by TheLouisianaJackhammer on Flickr.

We faced a couple of problems. First, it was difficult to get the sharpness we wanted given the light we had available. More, and brighter, lights would have helped. Flash wasn't really an option since I was shooting at the highest frame-rate I could and would not be able to give the flash ample time to recharge. The image could probably be underexposed as well, there was so much darkness from the background, the light meter probably wanted to let in more light than was needed. Because of the need of a wide aperture to obtain a fast shutter speed and the close proximity of the subject, depth of field was affected—parts of the dandelion and seeds are not in focus.

Overall, it was a pretty good first attempt.

The Dandelin's Mission and Studio Photography

The dandelion setup was pretty easy: We picked a bunch of dandelions and used a clothespin to hold them in place against a shirt that served as black background. A couple work lights were were put on it. The first attempts we tried blowing the seed directly off the dandelion, but was unsuccessful—the force of air pushed the dandelion out of the scene and the seeds flew too fast to be caught sharp with our shutter speed. We realized, because of that process, we had accumulated a pile of seeds below our subject. We dropped those seeds in front of the camera and fired away. They fell slower and we got more seeds in the shot this way. After checking out our catch during post, we found that we did not have a perfect photo. Instead, we composited a couple images in Photoshop to get the desired effect.

Thanks to Kara for the photos and being my assistant!

The Dandelion's Mission and Studio Photography

The Dandelion's Mission and Studio Photography, a photo by TheLouisianaJackhammer on Flickr.

Event photography can be stressful. The pressure is on the shooter to adapt to a strange and, in most cases, non-ideal situation—whether the lighting is atrocious, the people difficult to work with, too much green, too much red. The photographer must be quick to change settings, knowing what controls will best capture the scene. And often times the photographer must simply choose the best among a set of photos instead of having the time to shoot the best photos.

Then there's studio photography.

Pretty simple: set up your subjects, light them appropriately, shoot until you get the image you want, make millions. You can take your time when you're working in a studio setting.

And I love taking my time.

Composite Image 1/400s at f/3.2 ISO 800

The Golden Hour at the Top of Murchison Falls

The Golden Hour at the Top of Murchison Falls, a photo by TheLouisianaJackhammer on Flickr.

Photographers often speak of that magical hour that occurs during sunset and sunrise, when the sunlight strikes the subject from the side, casting pleasant shadows and giving the subject a certain warmth. The light is also diffused in the evening sky, eliminating the harshness of midday light and creating softer tones. This can make a big difference and is a great time to get out and shoot.

Here's more info than you need to know

1/320s at f/5.0 ISO 100

An Umbrella and A Semester in Branson

An Umbrella and A Semester in Branson, a photo by TheLouisianaJackhammer on Flickr.

fin

1/4000s f/2.0 ISO 800