Thunderbirds 2016

Now that I work in Colorado Springs, I get to watch the Thunderbirds when they do their practice and flyover for the Air Force Academy graduation. Here's a few photos from this year's graduation.

And a few from last year.

Assignment #4

Assignment # 4 focuses on still life. We were instructed to go out to Google and search for images to inspire us. We were told to select any subject that interests us and turn in 3 of the best shots. Goal here is not to use window or door light unless it was diffused and directional. So...I chose to use artificial light.

For my subject I shot some champagne flutes I have on a mirror I borrowed from a neighbor. I'll be sure to post revisions once I have them as two have a line in the image itself where my background is resting against the mirror. I couldn't find a satisfactory way to get rid of that line without it being obvious, so once my instructor demonstrates how I might go about that (he asked me to leave as is for class) I will fix and re-post.

Single glass partial reflection

Two glasses, partial reflection

Single glass full reflection

I think the last one is my favorite. I wish the mirror I had been using had been bigger so I could have fit the full reflection in the second image also, but oh well. Sometimes you make do with what you have access to, right? In the second image I like the repetition of lines in the glasses when looking through them. I wanted to do 3 or 4, but there is a slight bend to the glass in the sides that becomes very obvious when more than 2 are stacked.

Assignment #3

Assignment # 3 focused more on area and presentation of the photo. It included lessons on cropping, lens selection (demonstrating compression of lens at various photo lengths) and format choice (vertical vs. horizontal).

Cropping - For this section we were to take one photo of a subject and create one with minimal or no cropping. The second photo was supposed to be made from the first photo but cropped in to non-standard dimensions.

I had gone to the ice festival and Cripple Creek a couple weeks before this assignment, and had found something that I thought I could use eventually in an assignment. Lucky for me, I had just the thing for this part of the assignment. One of the 30 pound blocks of ice used in the ice carving had a flaw in it. Think of an ice cube and the star burst that sometimes appears in the middle of them. For this one to increase the contrast I did play with colors. The photo itself (outside of the color filters) is untouched from what I shot with my camera. This turned out kind of abstract but I really like how it came out.

Not cropped

Cropped

Lens selection - This part of the assignment we were to find a subject to photograph at multiple focal lengths. One at the widest focal length, one at medium focal length (35-70mm) and one at our longest focal length.

I immediately knew what I would photograph for this. I went to Castlewood Canyon park and shot images down the canyon looking at the bridge there. I had initially wanted to get under the bridge and shoot it from the side (showing the pillars underneath which would be nice repetitive image). Unfortunately the trail that leads there was closed for the season so I had no choice but to shoot from the angle demonstrated below.

18mm

38mm

105mm

Format choice - For this portion of the assignment, we needed to shoot a subject that would best be shot in horizontal format and one that would best be shot in vertical format.

I think I did pretty good with this one. The reflection image was taken in Castlewood Canyon. The other was a wagon found on the road home.

Vertical format

Horizontal format

Assignment #2

Assignment # 2 covered lessons on color of light, quality of light, color vs. black and white, and accent.

Color of light - We were to produce a photo where the center of interest was one of warm colors (reds, oranges, yellows) on a cool background (blues, greens, purples).

As it happened, I attended a dog show with a friend during the time that I was working on this photography assignment. Red dogs lend themselves quite nicely to the type of photo I needed. I ended up with a photo of a Pharaoh Hound on the blue floor covering in the final ring.

Color of light (warm subject on cool background)

 Quality of light - For this part of the assignment we needed to shoot one subject lit by specular light (direct light such as sunlight), and also an image of that same subject lit in diffuse light (think cloudy or foggy conditions).

I wasn't as happy with this portion of the assignment, but really didn't have a lot of inspiration for this part of it. I spent so much time hoping that the dog show would provide that I didn't spend enough time on this portion. My own fault. Live and learn I guess. On the plus side, the iridescent feathers on the mallard's head does show the difference in light quite well as do the shadows in the specular light shot.

Specular light

Diffuse light

Color vs. black & white - This part of the assignment was to demonstrate the potential for subjects being displayed in color vs. black & white. Think of something like an image of flames in black & white or in color. Color makes you almost feel the heat whereas black & white doesn't have that effect.

Okay I admit I "cheated" for this one and used an image I had from a while back. I have kind of presented a personal challenge for myself for this class to try to use images created specifically as part of the assignment. I'll try harder from this point on. Honest! For these two photos, notice the warmth in the color image and how the texture of the chipmunk's fur is more noticeable in the black & white.

Color

Black & white

Accent - This portion of the assignment was designed for us to find a subject that was predominately one color with just a little accent of another color that makes you notice that accent.

For this portion, I used my cat Nikita as my subject. Initially I turned it in with the color cranked up on her eyes, but per the request of my instructor I revised it and toned her eyes down and made the rest of the image black & white. I think I like the last one the best. It looks more like my cat anyway.

Initial accent photo

Revised accent photo

Assignment # 1

Assignment #1 covers lessons on light direction, brightness, contrast and silhouettes. For this assignment it took me quite a while to find my inspiration. Once I did find inspiration though, I think I did pretty well.

Direction of light - The object of this portion of the lesson was to photograph one object or scene using 3 different directions of light. Specifically, front (light coming from behind camera), side (light coming from right or left of camera) and back (light coming from behind the subject but not shining into the camera lens).

This statute was found in a very small cemetery near a monastery not far from my house. I love both the image itself and the message the statue presents. My favorite of the three is the side lit shot. The images below appear in order of the description above for direction of light. Front lit, side lit and back lit.

Front lighting

Side lighting

Back lighting

 Brightness, contrast and silhouette - This portion of the assignment was for high key (a photo with whites to mid-grey tones but no black tones), low key (a photo with blacks to mid-grey tones but no white tones) and silhouette (or semi-silhouette) and finally contrast where the subject is clearly defined against its backdrop.

I was particularly pleased with how my high key photo came out and the contrast photo. The high key photo I felt was okay at best and silhouette I think I could have done better on, but simply ran out of time before the assignment was due.

High key

Low key

Silhouette

Contrast

Overall, I was pretty pleased with the outcome and felt I did a decent job for only having about 2 weeks to get the shots I needed. I welcome any critiques!

Obedience Training For Your Camera

I realize I haven't posted in quite some time, so this is my effort to continue showing my work as it develops.

This year I decided to enroll in a photography class to help me develop and hone my skills. As the year goes on,  I will share the photos I have taken for my assignments for this class. I'll describe the assignment and identify what aspect of the assignment each photo meets.

Without further ado, I bring you assignment # 1 of Obedience Training For Your Camera.

New Life

A pair of birds decided to make a nest in the ground in our back yard. I narrowly avoided mowing over the  nest, and would never have known of its existence had I not seen the parent fly away at the last possible moment. After making special efforts to go around the nest, I had to see what all the fuss was about. A few days later, this is what greeted me.