The Calm of the Blue Ridge Parkway

Transitioning from film to digital photography means the opportunity for film scans. It was pretty insane scanning my first negative on the school’s scanner that is worth tens of thousands of dollars. The quality is unbelievable, and you just cannot compare digital to film. This is a photo I took last winter for portfolio. We went to visit my brother, sister, sister-in-law, and brother-in-law in Boone and went for a hike on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Eddie and I lived in Boone for 5 years and miss it more than anything, so we visit as often as possible. This is one of the quietest photos I’ve taken. Although it was about -5 degrees outside with a wind chill of who knows what, we had a simple moment of serenity walking through Moses Cone (as fleeting as it was).

Nothing like some flash bounce

It’s been exciting times in Small Format lab this week. The flash has come out and it’s bouncin’. We’ve learned how to bounce off the ceiling, wall, use a bounce card, make a home-made SNOOT, and in the mean time learn a bunch of what-not-to-do’s with bouncing flash. My fellow classmate and I spent all afternoon working on the bouncing skillzzzz. I’d say we are pretty baller bouncers now. Here is one of the zillions of photos that came out of today’s lab.

Self-portrait

My second small format assignment involved my camera’s self-timer, lots of running, and poison ivy. Here is the end result after 2.5 hours of fighting timing, focus, and the hot, hot sun. I’d be lying if I said I did not feel awkward taking photos of myself and ignoring the cars slowing down/stopping for a few minutes trying to figure out what I was doing running in circles alone. It was a fun challenge.

Addendum: I am perpetually embarrassed by this photo and laugh every time I look at it– but for the sake of not retreating after posting this and trying to be a photography blogger in its purest form (yeah) I will just continue to laugh at myself and get over it.

Asheboro Carnival

I began my photography school endeavor last fall, and I have been learning a ridiculous amount, including how to find my way in small, dark spaces. After two semesters living in the darkroom and working with medium format and large format black and white film, we are diving into the digital realm. One of our first digital assignments last semester was a gray-scale assignment where we took a color photograph and converted it into black and white. I gravitated toward the spinning, neon lights set up in the Asheboro mall. The carnival came into town (Asheboro’s main attraction other than the zoo). I love the small world of color that the carnival creates and the fun and excitement that pops from its overwhelming saturation.