My father showing his true passion of being a cowboy, looking through the round-pen, where he trains horses, at his farm, 4/13/09

In this photograph is my father. I wanted to capture the side of him that is truly devoted to his passion of the west, or being a cowboy. My father has trained horses, been on them and even kicked off of them through his life. He was bucked off of a horse only a few months ago and broke his collarbone. Yet he still gets right back up on the rowdy creature. His passion for the equestrian livelihood is shown by him wearing his cowboy hat, leaning against the round-pen, and the saddle with the lasso sitting on top of the round-pen. He is actually even wearing his cowboy boots and a gun strapped around his waist. The bullets on the belt can slightly be seen under the bottom brim of his coat. His face is framed by the two pieces of wood of the round-pen going across the page at a diagonal slant. The pieces of wood create lines as well through the photograph. A use of curves or circles is also used in the photo from the lasso. There is contrast between the sky, wood, saddle and lasso, and his clothing. And it was a early, cloudy morning which gave just enough lighting to highlight the curves of his face, which gives it a more ambient lighted appearance. The color of the photo is a mix between black and white and sepia. I wanted to give it the older feel to it, like the old west time.

A hand with a ring on the finger showing marriage, and a cross on the hand as well, 4/5/09

This is the final image for my little series, showing marriage.  Once again, the image shows more emotion in black and white.  The light shining down on the hand caused there to be circular light shines on the ring and the cross, giving a neat effect to the photo.  What I like most, though, is that the shines make the pieces of jewelry much more interesting, even though all the details are blurred out on them.  Also, the exposure used, causing the background to be black, allows there to be no distractions that take you away from the main meaning of the image, which are the pieces of jewelry.

A kiss mark on a picture frame of two people, with a rose in front, 4/4/09

For this photo, the blur works really well, because it hides the identity of the faces yet still gives you enough information to let you know what message is being portrayed.  I like how I had the rose reoccur throughout some of the photos.  It gives more of a connection.  Like before, this photo works really well in black and white, and the angle that it is taken at really makes it dynamic.

Myself touching a rose and being reflected in the mirror, in my room, 4/4/09

I really like how this photo turned out.  I taped a rose to a mirror, and reached out to it.  I like how it looks when being reflected in the mirror.  It kind of turns you around for a second, making you try and figure out what is going on.  I also like how the eyes are shadowed.  It really gives emotion to the picture, like a ‘mysterious’ love of some sort.  I had also desaturated the picture, because the colors were too distracting at full color.  I tried the image in black and white, but that seemed to make it a bit too dull.

Myself holding a rose in my mouth at home, 4/3/09

For this photo, I wanted to show a sign that is shown for a romantic feel in many things.  I am holding a rose in my teeth, and I actually have vampire fangs on, for vampires are something that many people think are romantic and charming.  I made the photo black and white, because some things are just meant to be this way, for if I left it in color, it would have been too distracting and taken away from the true meaning of the photo.  This gives it more feeling and emotion.

Hands creating a heart shape in front of a hoodie to create a colored background, in my dorm, 4/2/09

For this I wanted to show a commonly known shape for love.  Love is what I chose to use for my theme in my blurred images.  So I used my hands to create the shape and put it in front of a colorful hoodie.  I made the rest black and white and added black to the top and bottom to seperate the image better, and I left just the heart part in color.  By making it black and white and leaving only the heart part in color, it makes the image more emotional and catching to the eye.

Dusk shot of some buildings on WSU campus, 3/28/09

For this shot, I knew exactly where I wanted to take it.  I waited for the right moment and stood outside, taking multiple shots until I found the right one.  At first, I took a straight on shot of this alleyway between the buildings, but it seemed a bit dull and a light was shining in on the side that created a light shine through the side.  I wasn’t pleased.  Then I tought about changing the way I took the shot, angling the camera up.  After this minor change, it made a big difference, at least in my opinion.  It gave it more of a dynamic feel to it, the buildings feeling a bit taller.  I used a tripod to make sure that there would be no blur, and I set it on a timer so I made sure I wouldn’t shake the camera while pressing the shutter button.  The lights and the sky even out nicely, giving a orange tint to the lights and a nice blue tint to the sky.

A little curious girl holding the muzzle of the moose at the Mall of America, 3/28/09

I was in the Mall of America with my camera, taking shots of different people and things.  I’m a bit on the nervous side when it comes to taking pictures of people I don’t know in public.  It is a fear I’m still trying to overcome, and this was my first step.  The side light is somewhat noticeable.  You can tell a bit by the shading on her shirt and arm.  But the lighting is dulled and diffused by the other lights that are in the building and by the  bounce of the floor.  So contrast among the light and shadows is very dull, giving it low contrast.  But I like how this shot creates a lot of emotion between the girls curiousity with the moose.

Alainna Krzyanowski under a blanket in the dorm, 3/28/09

For this shot, my intent was to take a shot that used only ONE light and used contrast to give the photo a dramatic look.  Overall, I believe I achieved this.  I used just a booklight shined up towards her face, which caused the background to be underexposed and black.  The side light of the booklight causes a bright shine on her face, but casts a harsh shadow on her nose and upper eyelid.  The contrast between the light and shadows is very obvious.  All of the dramatic lighting gives her face an eery look.  I like the overall look of this shot.

Flowers in a row in my dorm, 3/29/09

For this, I had a box with ‘fake’ flowers in it… none the less they are pretty.  The sun was shining through the curtains, so I set the box on the table next to the window, letting the little sun rays, that were peaking through, to run along the petals.  The rest of the light was diffused by the curtains that are hanging over the windows.  Originally, the sun casted a harsh shadow under the petals of the flower.  So I brought in a white piece of paper, placing it underneath the petals of the flowers, bouncing the light back up to give it less shadows.  It really made a difference.  I like how it brightened up the bottom, making more of the flower pop.