The Nygard Shoot

I signed up for the Nygard shoot abit reluctant, even if it was optional. I thought, why would I give up one of my few evenings off to shoot a clothing show when I really have no interest in clothing shows. But I signed up. When I arrived I handed in the wavier, picked up the ID tag and proceeded to sniff out my surroundings. I chatted with a few fellow classmates, got an opinion on some settings and went to talk with the Nygard Sr. photographer John. He gave me the scoop on the best spots to shoot from and told me the pathway the models were going to take. I staked out a great spot where I could sit or crouch, and where I could catch the models coming from both directions. I found it was really easy to shoot during the show. I became totally focused on the next model coming down the aisle. Because of where I was crouching I had to look at the eyes of the guests as they sat in their chairs to see when the next model was about to walk around the corner and past me. This resulted in great shots at close range. When the show was over I went home, downloaded my images into Lightroom and was rather disappointed. Out of over 300 images I only had about 30 I liked. I did have some good ones but most of the shots had too much blur. I KNOW it was my lack of ability with manual settings at this point, likely combined with me using my kit lenses and internal flash, that caused so many great composition shots to be so blurry. Nevertheless, I have a few good images that I have no problem sending to John at Nygard. I came away from the experience with another lesson tucked under my belt.

CI 1.3 Working the Subject -again and again and again - 100 creative ways!

Choose your objects wisely for this assignment! Of course I had to choose three Nice Natural Neutral objects of shell, stone and wood, positioned on a cedar wood deck. These choices created a rather interesting challenge with minimal contrast. Nevertheless I was pleasantly surprised to find I had a rather difficult choice in editing my 100 shots down to five favorites. My first round of cuts produced 27 favorites, the second round 16; by round three I had enlisted my husband's opinion to pick his favorite five, mark the back of the image, put them back into the mix and see if his final five matched my final five. We had a match of three. Next came the brutal critique ... why did I like the images, did they follow basic rules of composition, how did the placement of the three objects within the group of objects inter-relate to the overall composition, and so on. In conclusion I have to say I rather enjoyed the challenge. Like all PrairieView assignments to date, as I slowly get a handle on the technical processes, I have more time to express my creativity. This is the beginning of week four ... I can only imagine where the next 34 weeks of learning will take me!

Joyce Mazur DT2.1JMLines Digital Techniques Group A

Here it is. I still have my training wheels attached to my MAC and I still have my learners status.

I almost got this done on my own, then had Ally rescue me by completing the final steps. Thank you Ally.

Talk about Pressure

I am learning how to blog with a deadline. I chose this photo because I see myself sitting down, half shadow, half broken concrete. Hum ...

Backing up abit, I gravitate towards actually shooting nature photography, but also enjoy hunting through old vernacular photography. I have an old box of photographs a relative gave me years ago. When you have no idea who the people are in a photograph, the joy comes from appreciating the era, the architecture, the costume, and the composition, among other elements.

I have begun this journey as a PV student of photography so I can capture what I see into an image that becomes three dimensitional. I expect to achieve this skill by the time I graduate.

My best photography-related memory is capturing the images of my son as he grew up and capturing the many wonderful adventures I have taken with my husband over the years.

First Day of this Journey

While I have taken many photographs over my lifetime, today, here, now, I have begun this journey.