Summer Nights

School was let out and my not-so-chill summer started without warning.  From basketball, to YoungLife Camp, to Colorado with friends, this summer has been hands down the busiest of them all.  Also, when everyone said the summer before senior year is the craziest time for getting ready for college, they weren't lying.  So here are some photos in chronological order of how my summer has been so far.  Not gonna lie, it's been pretty great! I hope to do some more in-detail posts on the more key aspects of the past few months, but for now this is all I've got!

A lovely tradition at MHS is that for the last week of school, the incoming seniors dress up each day.  This day's theme was "señoritas".  We thought the color coordination for the rainbow effect was a nice touch.

Another theme day of that week was "country club".  This has nothing to do with the fact of being the new seniors, but it's just how Memorial does it; with a little preppy style.

And end of the school year pool parties are a must.  They just start off the summer on a good note.

And a summer just wouldn't be the same without a few selfies with some of my closest friends!

Then come the bitter-sweet grad parties where we bid our older friends goodbye.  This one was for my good friend Melanie.  We are all going to miss her so much!

My mom and I went on a quick road trip to some of my favorite possible colleges.  This one included Dallas for SMU and Fort Worth for TCU.  Both schools were so amazing!

A great Father's Day with the family!

 

 
 
One of my most recent adventures(literally) was with YoungLife to Wilderness Ranch in the San Juan Mountains of Colorado.  I spent the week in the wilderness, with 12 girls, my leaders, an extra change of clothes, and God on my side.  It was definitely the most difficult week of my life, but at the same time the most incredible and rewarding.  More to come about that week later! I promise!

 
 
 
 
I spent the 4th of July with some good friends and their family in Colorado.  We went on some good hikes and saw the amazing Darius Rucker in concert!  Coming back to the Houston heat and humidity was tough, but it's nice to be back with my family and in my own home.  I'm surprised to say, I missed it here in H-town!

Photo Essay

Today in photojournalism, my class was given an assignment; to create a photo essay over the next couple of weeks.  Having no idea what to expect or what a photo essay even is, I did some research.  Turns out, it's pretty self explanatory.  A photo essay is a series of photos, usually including supplementary text, meant to tell a story and portray certain emotions to the viewer.  Photo essays, usually show emotions.  The photos are meant to be shown in a certain order, symbolizing the sequence of events.
For my photo essay I will be taking pictures of an organization I volunteer for on Sundays.  Its called The Challenger Buddy Program, and it is to help children with disabilities play baseball.  It is an incredible experience, and I hope to portray the joyful emotions and the idea that everyone should have the opportunity to be involved with sports.

B&W Plus One

Long time no blog!  Its been a while, I know.  I've been taking pictures for the J1 issue of the newspaper and learning new things to do on photoshop, but finally our class got assigned another blog post!  The most recent thing we have learned how to do in photo shop is taking a photo; making it black and white and picking one color to stand out.  The assignment was called black & white plus one(for obvious reasons). Adding this technique to my list of skills on photoshop was an exciting one because I have always wanted to know how to do this.  This was so fun and actually a lot simpler than I expected it to be!  I chose the picture below of fellow blogger, Stephanie Hillin (http://ilovephotoj.blogspot.com), because I loved the look of her denim shirt against the black and white.  It was a nice pop of color and her smile is so big, it's impossible not to smile when I look at it!  I hope you enjoy this picture as much as I do.
~Thanks for reading!!~

{I love this picture of Stephanie.  It is so happy and the bright pop of color in her denim shirt made this the perfect picture to use my new technique on}

Iconic Photo

Hello bloggers! My class has been busy learning about iconic photos and their impact on the world.  For this assignment, each student randomly picked an iconic photo from Life Magazine and was given the task to learn about the photographer, the location, the subjects, and why it is considered iconic.  As you may have guessed, the photo above is the one I was given.  From this assignment I learned about the Birmingham Protest for Civil Rights and African American rights.  The subjects in this photo are high school kids who were involved in the protesting and are being hit with a high pressure water hose.  The use of a water hose as a weapon in symbolic of dispersing and ridding the area of the African Americans.  This photo was taken by Charles Moore in 1963.  After all this happened and this photo was released, the municipal government was pressured into changing the city's discrimination laws into being more fail and equal.  This photo is considered iconic because it showed people the unfair treatment of African Americans and people started believing it needed to stop.  Each student did a presentation on their photo.  Some other photos that really stood out to me and opened by eyes included the photo of the 6 soldiers raising the flag at the battle of Iwo Jima, the Afghan Girl photo, and photo taken by Kevin Carter of the famine struck child next to the bird.  

I had already seen this photo before many times, but learning more about it was so interesting and eye-opening.  It is such an incredible picture capturing the strength of America and the courage of our soldiers.  This photo definitely deserves to be called an iconic photo.

I had never seen this photo before, but it was so interesting to learn of the story behind those incredible eyes.  This is a 12 year old Afghan girl.  This photo is a symbol of the conflict going on during the war in Afghanistan.  

This photo is very famous for the controversy with hunger and the starvation of children.  This photo was taken by Kevin Carter in 1993 and really sparked a lot of conflict on why he did not do anything to help the child get to the food and water only a short distance away.  This photo is very emotional and is known to be very ethically controversial.  

Top Ten Tips (7-10)

Finally! Today we learned the final 4 tips and techniques for photography.  These were all pretty basic tips, but definitely good ones to know.  Below are what I thought were some good examples of these tips, so without further adieu...here are the last 4 techniques!
*Move it from the middle-This technique was one I was already familiar with.  It pretty much the same concept as the rule of thirds technique.  The idea behind this is just to move your subject, object, or focal point slightly to the right or left.  This is a good way to show the viewer a new perspective.
*Know your flash's range-This is something that is very important to know about your camera.  Different cameras have different flash capabilities and this can determine ultimately how the photo turns out.  It is good to know the distance that your flash is able to produce light so your subject is able to be bright and defined.
*Watch the light-This is a tip for making sure another objects shadow doesn't affect something in your photo.  It is important to be aware of your surroundings so that your photo isn't dark or in the shadows.
*Be a picture director-A photographer should always arrange the subjects in the photo to what pleases them and what looks the best.  Rather than just having a group of people stand in a line, have them bunch together or stand on different levels.  This will overall create a less boring picture and give you what you want.

{This picture is an example of moving your subject from the middle.  My subject, McKenna, is walking into the frame and by putting her to the right shows what she is walking towards.}

{This photo of morgan is an example of knowing your flash's range.  By getting closer to him, the flash lit up his face and caused all shadows to go away.}

{This is an example of how to watch the lighting of the photo.  I had to move the subjects out from under the overhang before taking this photo.  Before their faces were too dark and had to many shadows.}

{This picture is an example of being a picture director.  Rather than them standing in a straight line, I moved my subjects closer together.  This overall made the photo more compact and more interesting.}

Top Ten Tips (4-6)

Continuing on from the last post! This week my class began to learn of 3 new techniques.  We went on another couple of photo walks and tried capturing new things with new techniques.  Below are my examples...and now for techniques and their definitions:
*Move in close/Fill the frame-This technique is pretty much the same as the fill the frame technique in my past blog post.  This is to get rid of any excess background and focus in on one subject or object.  Move your feet to get as close as possible to your subject, then(if necessary) use the lens to focus in closer.
*Blur the Background - This is another technique used to focus in on one main subject.  Blurring the background gets rid of any distractions and leads the eyes of the viewer to what you want to be the focal point.  This can be done by focusing on an object to the right or left of the subject and then moving the lens back to what you want to be the focus.  This will provide a cool effect and direct the eyes of the viewer to your subject.
*Horizontal-This is a good technique to use when you are trying to capture a tall or long subject.  Sometimes just the simple rotation of your camera can create a different perspective for the viewer.  Just rotate your camera to be horizontal and it may give the picture a new meaning.

{This picture of Carter is an example of filling the frame and moving in close.}

{This is an example of blurring the background.  By blurring the background the color of the rose really pops and stands out to the eye.}

{This picture of Hannah Hays is an example of taking a photo horizontally.  By taking this horizontally I was able to get her feet in the picture rather than cutting her in half at the waist.}

Top Ten Tips (1-3)

Recently my class began learning of some very important ways to take our pictures to the next level.  Over the next couple of weeks we will be adding onto this list of tips and taking photos of our surroundings, either at home or school or etc., to provide evidence of our understanding and show how to use these tips.  Slowly but surely, over time I will have learned and blogged about all ten tips that every photographer should know and try to incorporate in their photography.  I will be defining all ten tips here as time passes and will be sharing the examples and photos I have taken(the three pictures below).  So here's the first three:

*Eye Level- by getting down the the subjects eye level makes the picture sharper and makes a more personal feeling.  This also adds a new perspective for the viewer to take in.
*Use Plain Background- try to find a less distracting background that isn't cluttered or busy. This means no trees or poles sticking out from people's heads.  This focuses in on the subject of the photo. *TIP: Blurring the background may be useful.
*Use Flash Outdoors- there are three things to consider when you use flash outdoors, 1. use when the subject is in a shadow, 2. use when the subject is backlit, 3. ask yourself "will your flash reach the subject?". The outcome of the photo depends on the time of day.  Sometimes this can brighten your photo and create a better picture over all!

{This lovely picture of Shelby Hoyt is an example of the eye level technique.  Although it took me laying on the ground in blue hall, it ended up creating a better picture than if it were taken from above.}

{This photo of Madison Miller is an example of using a plain background.   Instead of a busy background, there is a solid colored wall behind her, which focuses the viewer's eyes on the subject.}

{Molly Neyland was a fantastic model for my "using flash outdoors" photo.  Without the flash there were dark shadows on her face.  Taking this photo with flash ultimately brightened the features of her face and eyes.}