Around the House...

With Halloween approaching, I channeled my inner love for scary movies. Not crappy scary movies like "Scream" or "Hostel", but classics like "The Shining" and "Psycho". I wanted to create an image that looked like a film still from one of these movies. So, I decided to turn out all the lights except for the one at the end of the hall. I set my camera up on a tripod at the far end and would turn on the lights to focus. Then I clicked the timer and ran to the other side of the hall and waited as still as I possibly could. I had to experiment with something I HATE doing for this picture. My model, also my roomate, decided to spend the night in Boston and I really wanted to produce this image right after I thought about it. Therefore, I was forced to do a self portrait. I hate self portraits. Actually, I only hate my self portraits. Anyway, it took me hours to get this shot, and an uncountable number of exposures. I swear I got a workout running back and forth from my camera to my "model spot". I really wanted the lines on the wood floor and the imperfections in the wall to show a lot of detail. The biggest challenge, though, was staying still for this long exposure and trying to get myself in focus. My neighbors must have thought I was crazy because the lights in my apartment were constantly going on and off. I would turn the lights on to readjust my lens or try a new composition, and then I would shut them off and run to the other end of the hall. This was not an easy exposure to make, but I had an image in my head of exactly what it should look like. I kept trying until I got it, and I appreciate the outcome more because I know I put so much work into this one image. Happy Halloween everyone! Watch some scary movies for me. I was on a role of taking pictures in my apartment. I usually stick to outdoor
images and natural light, but I liked the image above so much that I continued photographing things I would never think of for hours. This bottle of wine was given to me for my birthday and I cannnot bring myself to drink it because it matches my room so perfectly. Someone told me to drink it and then turn it into a vase, but that is beside the point. Anyway, this windowsill is a bit dirty because we just took out our air conditioners and leaves ventured in with them. I was trying to experiment with colors, using the red in the wine and the red in the reflection of the pillow. I was also using the blinds to my advantage to try and create an opposing angle to the windowsill. This is another image that was taken many, many times. The building outside this window was shining a bright light in through the window which was creating a blown-out and distracting spot. I was trying different things to get rid of it like taking the picture from a lower angle looking up, or, like in this image, using the bottle to block the light. This was a very experimental image, and it is very unlike me. It is practically a still life which is something I have NEVER done and never been interested in doing. This image kind of sparks my interest in creating more still lifes. We will see, I guess; this semester has definitely not had a focus in what I have been photographing.

My Worcester Neighborhood

This image was taken in front of my next door neighbor's house. This house is the brightest blue you have ever seen. It is also loaded with flowers and wind catchers all around it. It is a three family house but every floor occupies different groups of the same families. They spend so much time outside fixing up their yard and repainting the house. I also see them building things a lot in their garage. They have parties in their driveway every time the weather is nice. They sit out there blasting Latin music and drinking a beer while their kids ride around on bicycles. This house represents hard work and liveliness to me, but this image shows a different side. Being located in Main South, Worcester they obviously feel that they must lock the gate to their driveway. The house looks so homey but its surroundings are not.
After being yelled at by numerous neighbors for taking pictures of their property I was very nervous to be taking pictures of this dog. The first time I approached the fence he ran up and started barking franticly. He was pretty small but I could tell he had the napoleon complex. He thought he was the toughest dog on the block. I started to get scared that his owners would come out to see what all the commotion was and would think I was taunting him. So, I walked down the street looking for other things to photograph. I walked by the house again on my way home and the dog did not move. He remained calm on the porch. I used this opportunity to snap a picture of this calm dog behind a "Beware of the Dog" sign. I wanted him to be slightly unnoticeable at first glance so I kept him out of focus. He wasn't all that scary after all!

Lyman Orchards

I had a horrible day of photographing this past weekend. I went to one of my favorite places in the world, Lyman Orchards, and did some apple picking with friends. For an October day it was incredibly hot out. The sun was shining to brightly that I could barely open my eyes wide enough to see through the viewfinder. I actually tried to take pictures with my sunglasses on. Not to sound like a big complainer or anything, but this miserably hot day resulted in many crappy pictures. These are the only pictures I liked out of a FULL card of images. It's funny because none of these images were the ones that I thought would be good when I took them. I don't think any are spectacular but I do enjoy the black and white image of my friend Hallie. I think it works, and I am especially a fan of in focus portraits with out of focus backgrounds. You can pretty much put money on it that none of these images will end up in my midterm; I promise to have some better stuff next week!

Bristol, Rhode Island

I was assigned to take a fall picture for my photo class, so I drove down to my boyfriend's school in Rhode Island. His school is in Bristol which is an old New England town on the water. When I think of fall I think of New England and foliage. This image i took in Colt State Park. The trees were this very vibrant yellow. The sky was a little gray and it was raining on and off. At first, I was upset that I chose such a crappy day to go out and take my pictures, but in the end it all worked. It probably worked even better than it would have if I chose a nice sunny day.
I have my boyfriend to thank for pointing out this awesome rock. I love all of the colors; it looks kind of like an abstract painting. I could not see a lot of these colors when I was taking the picture because the image was coming out a bit dark. Photoshop managed to fix that, though. I am very happy with this image because it is completely different than my other work.
This is another one of my fall images (if you could not tell). This tree was so old and so dead looking, but it was so completely beautiful. I loved the rusty orange colors of the leaves and decided to just focus on this one. I love to way the branches look in the background against the gray sky.
There were these two lion statues in front of the gate to a castle in the middle of this park. I found it very interesting that the faces of these lions were actually different. At first, I tried to capture that but they were so far apart that it was not working. Then, somehow I came upon this picture and really loved it. The lion in the foreground almost looks like he is staring at his reflection which is out of focus. I am also a fan of the teal green in the statue against the forest green in the background.
I really love old houses. They have so much history to them and they are so much more intricate than the houses we build today. I especially love them when they are a bit broken down, like this one. I trespassed on someone's property to get pictures of this balcony in shambles. The different shades of white are what I think make this image really work.
These roses were so red, and on this rainy day they stood out like a sore thumb. They were also dripping with water which added to their beauty. I think this image is very simple: some flowers in the foreground with an out of focus background. I don't care though, because those flowers are stunning.

babysitting

I was babysitting my boss's children the other day and I brought my camera. I made them go outside even though they wanted to play on the computer and we played tag for a bit. I was surprised at how they were not at all phased by my camera. Their mom told me that was because she is constantly taking pictures of them. This particular picture of Sam (6) was taken in the boy's little hideout between the bushes on the side of their house. Sam picked up a stick and was sticking it into the ground. I took this same picture about twenty times to try and get one sharpened one (it was pretty dark under there), and I was successful. To me this represents childhood imagination. He looks like he is in his own little world. It kind of reminds me of the Jungle Book too...
This is Sam's brother, Mason (3). I took this picture as he was trying to put his helmet on. He was so puzzled by this object, and I just loved the concentration on his face. I thought this image was very representative of who he is; an adult in a little three year olds' body. It also highlights his fat cheeks and the little smirk on his mouth. Even though it was not exactly what I was going for, it is a pretty adorable image.