Shoot Tight

Shoot Tight

When deciding what to shoot for this assignment, I decided to tell the story of the the return of spring. The first two shots were close ups of a tree that was just beginning to blossom. I chose this picture because I had never seen a blossoming purple tree/bush in nature before. I assume it doesn't stay purple year round so I was excited to capture it that spring afternoon. Farther up the trail the dry creek bed began to began to fill with water and was even flowing over some parts. Usually the creek bed is dry so it was just another sign that the winter snow melt was happening. You can also see the newly sprouting tree leaves behind the running water. In all of these pictures I completely zoomed in with my 18-55mm lens.

Shoot Wide

Shoot Wide

When shooting each of these pictures I made sure to keep my 18-55mm lens all the way open so I could get the widest shot possible. I decided to take these pictures because of the story it tells. Since it is now springtime, things are beginning to blossom and grow again. The once try creek bed is now slowly filling with water. I like the first picture of the tree because it is growing on a pile of rocks in a sandy riverbed where is it prone to flash flooding. It amazes me that through the years, the tree has been able to grow as large as it has without being washed away from yearly storms. It shows me how brutal and beautiful nature can be. The will to grow and adapted by the trees determination to live in such a hostile spot is amazing to me.

Bracketing

Bracketing

Here are the photos from my Bracketing series. I shot them with a NIKON D3200 with an 18-55mm lens. I set up at a place called,"Hell Hole Canyon" near Keyenta. It was a little bit dark but I managed to play around and get the exposure I wanted. It started off super bright so I decided to take down my shutter speed. I started at 1.6 and gradually brought it down to 1/2. I also brought my F/Stop down from F/11 to F/5.6.

DSC_0163
F/11
1/6
ISO-100

 DSC_0164
F/11
1/4
ISO-100

 DSC_0165
F/11
1/2
ISO-100

DSC_0166
F/5.6
1/2
ISO-100

Yannis Behrakis

An opposition supporter with his face painted with the colors of the Egyptian flag rests inside a burnt out van at Tahrir Square in Cairo 

     First off, I just wanted to say it was hard trying to decide which picture to write about. Yannis Behrakis takes some amazing pictures. I chose this picture because I love the contrast and texture. It also gives me a sense of determination/pride. This is a picture of a man that is protesting the Egyptian government and has painted the colors of his nations flag on his face. Its powerful because it takes a lot of courage to stand against the government because they have all the resources necessary to resist an uprising. As you can tell, things all around him have been destroyed and yet he still has a look of determination and pride.
    Concerning Yannis Behrakis struggle with emotional involvement, I think it is best to try and not get emotionally involved but, you have to stay somewhat emotionally involved in order to get the right shot. You have to be emotionally engaged so you con tell where the tragedy or beauty  lies in the story. However, it would be hard not to let not to let emotion control you.