Operation

My photography professor had a lot of wonderful project ideas for us. This particular one was to make a book out of our photographs taken with a theme in mind. My theme was based on a computer learning tool I had as a child called "The Way Things Work."  I set out to take pictures of objects far away then reveal how parts of them work with close-up pictures. In high school I made many deconstruction books. Basically you mutilate a book-tear out some pages and glue the remaining ones together-then insert pictures, artwork, paint, words, etc. until it's all pretty again. This is what I did for my Operation book. These photos are what made up the inside pages.

Pinhole Camera

Do you know where cameras originated? Way back in the day (between 470 and 390 BC), a Chinese dude named Mozi discovered this thing known as "camera obscura." Basically, they figured out that if a room is pitch black and has naught but a small hole in the side, whatever is outside will be projected upside-down and backwards on the wall opposite the hole. In more modern times, super smart scientist people learned how to capture that image. They started making pinhole cameras which eventually evolved into the high tech devices we have today. In our photography class we made our own pinhole cameras. We used a thumb tack to make a hole in a box and covered that with chipboard. I found that using a Toms shoe box works beautifully. I opened the "shutter" (I exposed the thumb tack hole) for about 30 seconds while a piece of light sensitive photo paper was inside, and this is the result. The top picture is the original, and the bottom one is the negative created in the darkroom.

The Photographer Stance

Have you seen those Canon "Inspired" commercials recently? They show a bunch of people in hilarious situations or positions trying to take that perfect shot. All of their amazing photos are displayed at the end. People always seem to make fun of art students and photographers for the way they get some of their shots. And you know what? They're right. I would literally bend over backwards if it meant the shot would be incredible. All I gotta say is: don't be jealous of true talent. You know we're legit.

Las Vegas

Now I know I mentioned Vegas in the architecture post, but now you get a full post just for Vegas. It is that great of a city. Or is it? Anyway, I went there with my family in early 2011, and these pictures are the result of that trip. We went to visit my brother while he was stationed at Nellis AFB, and since we were near the city, we went to the strip a couple times. It was better in the daylight, 'cause people actually had clothes on. I fell in love with the Bellagio, and the Venetian was a close second in my book. Each new building had something else to offer. I'm glad I got to go once, even if it provided its fair share of awkward moments.

Double Exposure

I love tinkering with my camera settings. For my film photography class in college we were assigned to take pictures in a unique way. I chose double exposures. With film, it's interesting to see the combinations in the end. It's unpredictable, and it may take several rolls of film to find a good shot. However, the good ones are really good. The way the emulsion works with the two prints is fascinating. If you're not willing to risk the unknown, you can still create double exposures digitally. There are settings on cameras that help you accomplish this, and playing around with Photoshop is also fun. Some of these pictures are straight from the camera, and some have been tinkered with.

Architecture

I took a couple architectural history classes my junior year of college. They were the most difficult classes I have ever taken, and yet I learned so much from each one. Not only that, but I also remember most of what I learned. It's been fun going on road trips ever since those classes. I've always liked road trips, but now I can point out features on homes and find buildings I studied. That's what made our trip to Las Vegas so great. I'm not big into partying and I don't care for half-naked people, but the architecture was amazing. In conclusion, I've found a new appreciation for architecture and love taking photos of my favorite works of art.