Family Portraits

Mother

Brother

Love and Marriage

Climbing Trees

Family Photo

Puppy Love

Cheesy Cheeks

The Power of a Mother's Comfort

Shine

Fourteen...My Teenage Brother

Focus Abbie

Running Free

My Family

Reality

Mood Lighting

Samantha is lit with top and under lighting.
Nicolette and the tree are back lit by the natural sun light.

Nicolette

Krystal and Nicolette

Roaring River: Hiking

Roaring River: Fishing

Katie and I at the Festival

Pumpkin Festival 2008

My Question for Denise

Me: "What do you find is your biggest challenge when taking the kind of photographs you do?"

Denise said that there are a lot of challenges but one of the hardest is dealing with the emotional situations.  Also, she says she gets "cultural whiplash".  Being able to live in a impoverished and unhealthy environment makes her really appreciate what she has when she comes home.

Roots 'N Blues Fesitval

This past weekend was the Roots 'N Blues festival in down town Columbia so I walked around that morning to take some pictures and people watch.

This first picture I thought was interesting because all the pink balloons.  I tried to lower the shutter speed on the camera so that they wouldn't look as well defined but lighter and sort of blending in to one another. I think it's interesting how the way the balloons are set apart from each other is how the light reflects off each one.

The saxophone player was standing under an awning which put him in a shadow and made it hard to get a clear picture.  I tried to open the aperture to let in more light but i feel the picture is still too dark.

Mostly what I liked best in this picture is how the "bleu" sign sticks and is what the eye is drawn to.  None of the people are looking into to the camera to attract attention which allows the sign to fully be the focal point. Also, since the blue sign is what stands out but it is behind other objects that are also in focus, this picture has a deep depth of field.

On a side note, i just really like how this sign represents all three meanings of the word blue...the festival, the food, and the color. It's just cute.

Edited Pictures

Word Association

I feel that the picture with the yellow bug in it is the best out of these three.  I really like how the car adds to the composition in color and frame.  It also gives it a feel of being somewhere else than Columbia Missouri.  But the picture in the middle my favorite picture in terms of framing because you can see what is behind the entrance, giving it depth, and what the road leads to.

Framing an Object

I think that there are strong points to each of these photos.  The one I like the best is the one where you can see both the flower and the light pole.  I just think it is an interesting perspective.  But the framing of the one where the flower is in the corner is interesting too since there is so much contrast between the pink and green and your eye is just drawn to it.  But the flower framed in the center I feel is also beautiful I think especially in the way the light is shining on it.  Basically I was just very attracted to photographing this flower because on this entire green plant, there was only one flower and that made it feel important to me.