Africa!

Hard to believe its been a year since I was in Africa with Kara and Dani! Even harder to believe I haven't shared more of my images with everyone! My self imposed assignment for the week will be to post some of my favorite moments from the trip. The image above makes me really happy. It reminds me that I should always remain as thankful for the opportunity to pursue an education as the students I met everywhere in Uganda were.

Dennis

Apologies for an absent presence on the blog last week. I ended up going last minute to photograph the Channel Islands. It was a great experience, I can't wait to post some of the stuff soon enough.

The image above is from an old contact sheet that I found. Its one of the first assignments I shot for my first black and white class. (notice the fixer spots) Its also cool to see the snow coming down in the photo. Many who might know Provo will likely recognize Dennis, he could be seen almost daily walking University avenue from River Woods almost down to Town Center. Every time I would see him I'd stop and give him a granola bar and chat for a little while. Perhaps thats why he finally let me take his picture! He has some great stories to tell.

The many looks of Emily.

My good friend Emily is always changing her look. This, as well as her outgoing personality makes her always a great subject. If you look back over my blog I am sure you'll see more of her!

Peru

I recently got to do some photography in Peru. We hiked the Salkantay Pass 4 days till Matchu Pitchu. I fell in love with the light in the Andies. The clouds continually rolled through and the light bounced all over the mountains giving me the problem of having too much good light! I don't know if I have ever taken so many landscape shots during daylight hours! This is our Peruvian guide Joel at the top of the Salkantay pass. The mountain behind him had just erupted with several avalanches and made for a spectacular backdrop. I used my 580EXII and diffuser as a fill flash on him. Many more posts from Peru Photography coming soon!

Singapore Portrait

While shooting around the harbor one night I had the opportunity to take a picture of my friend Alvin. He is a producing student at the Chapman campus in Singapore. He was one of the many gracious hosts who showed us around and helped on the documentaries we shot.

Graffiti, old and new friends

This is crew 071. (minus one member) Last summer in Brazil this graffiti crew took part in a documentary that I was working on called "Sou Da Bahia". In a very short amount of time we became good friends and learned so much from each other. It was difficult leaving them, unsure if we would ever cross paths again. Strange that a year has passed. More recently, however, I have made some amazing local friends - despite that my days in Provo are numbered few. At times it makes me sad to meet such wonderful people and leave so soon afterward. Was the investment worth it? Become attached only to leave? The answer is yes. Every day is absolutely worth it.

Uganda and more fun with juxtapositions.

I had overlooked these two portraits for sometime now, until i randomly saw them side by side. Something struck me about them. I think it is more than just their confidence, but that both of their countenances radiate total honesty. They hide nothing and exude no shame. I hope that one day I can embody similar traits to such an extent.

Now for something a little different...

Lately I have been posting only Uganda and Night photography. I felt like it  was time to throw in a random portrait. This is without a doubt editorial in style. Perhaps a pseudo old school Annie Leibowitz with a bit of Diane Arbus thrown into the mix for good measure...and what better subject than the defunct ex-poster boy of Provo's counter culture movement: Byron. 

Student Portraits

We taught the kids in this small Lugazi school how to play the game hangman on the chalkboard. I really enjoyed the energy in the room against the beautiful texture of the wall.

I shot this on my Dad's old 135 prime lens for his Pentex. Vintage lens = very cool. This is one of those magic candid shots that isn't perfect in the technical sense, but has some nice light and a very interesting feel. I have a few more good shots from this day that I will have to add to this post in the coming days.

This picture was taken at a small school on the top of a hill about 30 min from Lugazi. I had just gotten stung from a strange African bee on my thumb. Of course my natural reaction was to get out my camera and shoot until I forgot about the pain, not to mention thoughts that my thumb might fall off. Again, I framed this photo up candid and waited until the second the boy noticed me and snapped before he could react.

Uganda Portraits

Another in my portrait series. The night I spent with the kids at Gulu I was impressed by their firm focus on religion. Their time in the Lord's Resistance Army seems to have been quite coupled with very interesting beliefs. I have heard stories were soldiers were conditioned to think that holy water could make them impervious to bullets or that they could throw rocks that would function as grenades. I saw a much less fanatical version of them, I was invited to sing songs of worship and pray with them before we slept.

Gulu Portraits

Out of all my experiences in Uganda, the time I spent in Gulu was my favorite. We spent the weekend with formerly abducted child soldiers at the Laro boarding school. I was invited to spend the night in one of the boy's dormitories. The kids shared experiences of the atrocities that they have witnessed and were forced to take part in. I shot portraits of them with the physical objects that they treasure the most. The boy above said his most prized possession was his Bed - his only personal space.

Portait Series Final

For the last assignment in my portrait photography class we had to do a series of portraits around a person. (my person happened to be a fantastic makeup artist) I really wanted to shoot some classic Hollywood style monsters in very enobling ways. This is what I came up with.

Portrait of Laurel

I'm sad that my friends Laurel and Nate are moving...However I was excited to get the chance to take Laurel's portrait before she left! They are one of the few married couples my age that I can genuinely hang with (perhaps because I was good friends with them separately before I knew them together!) Laurel is an actress and singer!

Location Portrait: Mike and Mouse

I took this picture with location lights at mike's firestation. Mouse was getting tired when we took it so he was a little restless.

Low key Portrait

I took this picture of my friend Raphael for a Low Key portrait assignment. My goal was to make it look like an old film noir image.

Mid-Key Character portrait

For my most recent portrait photography class I decided to shoot an extreme self portrait. My bro's good friend Brad did a fantastic job with the tattoos on the neck. The hair was tricky too!

Bridal Portraits

The first assignment for my portrait photography class is to shoot a full length bridal. Kelsae was nice enough to model for me. Again there are one or two more I will post soon...

High Key Headshot

My last portrait assignment was to take a High-Key Headshot for an actor. I asked my friends Natalie and Matt from Divine Comedy to sit for me.

Interpretive Self Portraits

The first day of my black and white photography class a year ago I was asked what superpower I would love to have. I chose to be able to handle fire without being burned. This week's assignment in digital photography was to shoot an "interpretive" self portrait. I felt the fire accurately describes my stress at the moment and my hopes to withstand it without being charred. 

Images from the Darkroom