Rules
Firstly, this week is slightly different than the other weeks, in that there is a paragraph that each photographer has added to go with their photo. So please take your time with casting your vote! The photo comes first, followed by the writing. Pay attention =)
Ok..so,
Pick 2 PHOTOS ONLY, if you pick 3, we will make you pick 2, it's a pretty simple rule to understand. It is, however, acceptable to vote for 1 and only 1 photo. After this we will determine a top 5 and then vote again.
Post the number of the photo you are voting for (lower left).
DO NOT vote for your own.
Remember to click on the photo to get full colors.
VOTING WILL END AT 11:59 EST ON SUNDAY MAY 9th (Mothers Day!)
”Topic: ”Photojournalism”
1.
Some things we are looking at constantly,looking through constantly we never really see. March 12th, 2010 my friendJonny and I decided to combine our photographic skills. We spent about 3 hours browsingaround on flickr. Looking and looking, looking for something original,something that has never been dome before. This is what we didn’t find, theexisting eye macros were not nearly as close as we would like. This was our newproject; we borrowed our schools copy stand, macro extension tubes and studioflashes. We spend literally hours lying people on this tabletelling them to look up, down, left, right etc… Once we got the right locationwe fired on a 120 watt light (shrinking the iris) and then triggering and powerfulflash. This was extremely difficult. After about 5 hours of shooting we gotsome pronominal results. This is on of the better ones. Shot using a Nikon 60mm 1/1 macro lens and 3 macro extenders. For more you can Check me or Jonny's photo stream.
2.
A good portion of what I know now has come from a simple question asked over and over again: “Hey Dad, what’re you reading?” From his well worn post on the brightly lit side of the couch he would gladly put down the New Yorker, Harper’s, Malcolm Gladwell, Steven Hawking, nonfiction and fiction alike to answer his precocious prattling son. What those writers had to say was a mere irrelevance to me but what my Dad had to tell meant the world.
I always wanted was to know what was going on inside that distinguished balding head of his. Something about his happy contemplative eyes hidden behind the double-thick panes of his glasses let me know that the thoughts he had were worth much more than a penny. It was my childhood mission to pull every piece of available information out of him, so that I might, one day, share his erudition and maybe even beat him at a round of Jeopardy. He never got bothered by or bored with my questions or impatient with his explanations, even if it did take three hours for his 12 year old to understand the latest theories on the genesis of human civilization. While I should’ve been watching TV or chatting online with my friends I would sit on the arm of the couch posing query after query until my mind was full.
Now that I’m 3,000 miles away I can still imagine him sitting under the lamp on the left side of the couch reading while the rest of the world watches television and shuffles around the internet. I call him weekly, like picking up a trusted and spine-cracked encyclopedia, and I’m never disappointed to find that his entries keep accumulating. He’s smarter than me. I would never want it any other way.
3.
The Normandy American Cemetery, the burial ground for 9,387 American soldiers who died in the D-Day invasion, is a moving reminder of the ultimate price paid by our American forces.
I had always wanted to go to this cemetery because I knew that it was a photographer’s dream. Upon arrival, I felt ashamed; my motivation for visiting was out of artistic desire. I realized that this cemetery is so much more then any work of art. It is a memorial for the Americans who gave their lives to fight for freedom that they would never experience. The cemetery also filled me with a sense of awe. 9,387 white crosses aligned in perfect columns is an inspiring site.
Looking out over Omaha beach, I was struck be its serenity. It was difficult to imagine the brutal fighting that occurred there. It must have taken an incredible amount of bravery to run, unprotected, across a flat beach while being fired upon by enemies hidden in bunkers.
I will never forget my visit to the NAC. I hope that like me, other photographers looking for a great picture will be enlightened and inspired.
4.
Writing On The Wall
Ever since i was a little kid i have though of my attic as a place of mystery. Is there treasure hidden under the floorboards? Are there monsters hiding in the shadows? Do the ghosts of former owners still roam across the dusty floors? Who wrote the messages on the now cobweb covered walls? I looked around the dusty old papers my parents have from when they bought the house, but could find no way of contacting the previous owners. Its a shame that i have only gotten to see it as a place of storage for out of season items. While i still cant help trying to see through the Christmas ornaments and boxes of old winter coats, and think about what it would have looked like in its glory days. It seems to me that my investigation just added to the mystery of the attic. Although i was hungry for answers, i cant say i would want it any other way.
5.
22nd December, 2009
Masai Mara, Kenya.
The jeep crawls along slowly, 6 sets of eyes eagerly peering left and right. After an hour of this the flick of a tail is sighted and an exclamation is made, releasing a flood of excitement which devours the jeep. A leopard. 100m away. The jeep pauses watching the movements, anticipating where the male leopard will move to. The leopard scales a tree in 2 leaps showing the animals sheer strength. Our driver slowly but surely moves us closer, slowing even more the closer he gets. The leopard seems undisturbed by the chuckle of the engine.
As the leopard subdues and relaxes in the warm afternoon sun and we switch off the engine, silence seems to encompass the whole plain. We watch the Leopard rest and wander, coming within 5 feet of him and it is incredible to see his size. As he lies flicking away flies with his tail, almost playing, its hard to imagine that within such a beautiful creature is a natural born killer. Seeing an animal so elusive in its own natural environment is incredible. Leopards are a truly majestic animal and this is an experience i will never forget, and hope to encounter again someday.
6.
Was out in Colorado a few years ago during the summer time. My dad, brother, and I were hiking around the head waters of the Colorado River. It was pretty neat to see where it started up near the continental divide right outside of Rocky Mountain National Park, and then to imagine it growing bigger and bigger as it meandered south and fed into the Pacific. It blows my mind also that this river provides the drinking water for Los Angeles and the surrounding area. Anyway, back to the picture, we were hiking back to our car and I stumbled across this toadstool mushroom. These are a very common mushroom in Colorado I would later learn, and usually when I think of "mushroom", this pops into my head. From reading children books to psychedelic art, this is the type of mushroom that is portrayed. What really makes me curious is the fact that this mushroom is known for is psychedelic use back in the day, and maybe still today. One forest ranger told me that the Native Americans around this area back in the 1700's use to scrape off the white specks and eat them to induce psilocybin related hallucinations. More specifically, young men would go off for days on "journeys" to "find themselves" in order to become "men" among their tribe. Its crazy to think that people, and whole cultures, tripped like that back in the day, and makes me wonder now what life would be like if that was still a part of the mainstream culture.
7.
A splash in the water may seem simple, but can be far more complex than one can imagine. Here, I took a picture of a splash caused in the water by a falling branch off of a tree. Simple enough for some, but in reality, you can look to find a deeper meaning. How did it get there? Why does it ripple in many rings? Why does the water splash back up into the air for a mere second? How can an unseen object by many, cause such a peaceful and humbling disturbance in water? Gloop, the water screams as the unknown plunges into the water creating what we know as a splash. Is the water hurt by what this unseen object has caused? Has this object interrupted the flow of the water? The world can never know, Most things in life have answers. This very water here, could have been dripped into Africa where six young children had a fun time playing in a rare downstorm. This very water could have been dripping out of a sewer pipe in New York City. We will never know where it's been, or what it's story is. There are no answers. Until then, there are only pictures.
8.
Today the Westboro Baptist Church came to my school, Boulder High School. I went to school thinking that the best way to deal with them is ignore them, and not even acknowledge them.
However, upon coming out of school at the end of the day, I was barely even able to see the Baptists engulfed in Boulder High students clad with peaceful messages.
The sense of unity among the students created a great vibe that drowned out the hateful and senseless messages of the Westboro Baptists, and forced them to leave Boulder High only fifteen minutes after they arrived.
9.
2 days ago, i was still in the basement doing homeworks when at 11hpm when my little brother came down and said : fred you should go outside to take picture of the storm, it 's so noisy that i can sleep. In fact, it was a really powerful storm and at the same time a beautiful scene to look at. We spent 30 minute outside me trying to figure out how to take the pic and trying some things and him only to contemplate. I finally took this shot of 30 sec shutter speed iso 800 and f/22 is i remember well. i took 20 shoot before i got a it well. this i a funny night that i will remember for a while
sorry for the english!
10.
Driving up to vermont trying to figure out how to do shots like this. Drew some other things and then had the idea to try to take a picture of someone holding something. One person (right) drew the trident and the shined the light on the person on the left. Shot with a nikon D40.
11.
What do you Believe? I'm not religious, but I believe there is more to life than meets the eye. I believe people can perform terrible acts of cruelty, and amazing acts of kindness. I beleive music can cure sickness. I believe there is more than one right way. I believe that children are not only our future, but our teachers. I belive that if I tried to recreate this picture I never could. This picture taken at 110km/hr from a moving car makes me believe that nature is more powerful than anything humans can build and I believe I am happy knowing that. What do you believe?
12.
In the midst of the chaos arising from Ben Roethlisberger's alleged rape, let me express how refreshing it was to encounter Steeler punter Daniel Sepulveda last Thursday night. I was asked to photograph a "Spread the Word to end the Word" event for the Best Buddies Chapter of Duquesne University in an effort to end the use of the word "retard" in all context. In a night filled with a Penguin playoff game and the first round draft for his own team, the Steeler made sure to fulfill a promise to his friend Corey he made almost a year ago. Just to sit and chat bout football and sports. Whether or not I adamantly feel one way or another about this cause, it was eye-opening to see a group of people, so different, yet so alike, fighting for the same thing.
13.
Days of building. Days more waiting for the weather to break. Gale force winds. Snowstorms. Finally, the weather breaks. Is the landing still soft? Speed checks, too fast or too slow? Finding angles. Clouds roll in. Waiting. Sun returns. Filmers ready? Photogs ready? Dropping. THREE, TWO, ONE. Holding your breath, hoping for the make. Stomped it. Weeks of work, all for just a few seconds of footage. Worth it? Absolutely.
14.
Early Morning Baltic
Sweden is different from the States in so many ways. As soon as I stepped off the plane I felt encompassed by the fresh air and brilliant culture. I was lucky enough to spend a week canoeing the Baltic islands near Gotland. On a particular day we woke around 3 AM for an early morning paddle. I got this shot just minutes before the sun came up. What's better? I was sharing the canoe with two beautiful Swedish girls :)
15.
You never really know where life is going to take you. at some points you can see where you are going to be taken. but at others it is completely blind. life can take you on some turns for the worst, and some turns for the better. but no matter what the outcome is, we still push forward with our everyday lives and hope that the next day, right around that corner, there will be something waiting that is going to change your life forever. something that maybe you will love, or something that you hate. sometimes you may know its there and you wait a while before taking that next turn in life. but you know at some point you are going to have to make a change for the better and go for it, whether its good or bad.
16.
How can you live knowing that the best downhill trail within 30 miles is highly illegal and highly patrolled? You can't. You can try, you can ride other trails, but you can't restrain the urge- you've heard stories of how legendary the only trail in town you've never ridden is. You've scoped it out- you know where it is, you know where it goes, and you know where it ends- on a university campus. And you know that the police drive past the trail's runout regularly, and even if you dodge them, it'll be tough explaining a V10 mysteriously appearing on campus.
So you go at night.
17.
Have you ever wanted to get that perfect shot? The shot that when you look back to the screen on the camera, you get shivers down your spine...This is one that I recently took on my pup "Dutch," The dog is so hyper she can't seem to sit still for any matter of time. So for that exact reason when I turned down the camera to see the last picture taken, I shivered a little because I captured the exact image that I set out to shoot, isn't that what photography is all about?
18.
This is from FIRST, a robotics competition. Finals during the Regionals competition, this match determined who got to go to Nationals in Atlanta.
19.
Blurb: Come May, you realize that ski season is over, and you die a little bit inside. This was taken on April 30th when my ride for jay peak bailed. Time to sesh a little astro turf and pvc. This was a sketchy frontside but what isn't sketchy when your skiing without snow right? From a normal person's perspective this picture would look really dumb. After hitting this rail walking back up and hitting it again wtihout snow for an hour, you feel pretty dumb. But it's all worth it to ski.
20.
This is a shot I got of Tanner Hall immediately following his SuperPipe win at the 2008 X Games. As usual it was Dumont vs. Tanner, and the excitement in the air of who would win was thick. Tanner went on to win the event but as soon as the judges announced his winning score, some people started boo’ing unhappy with the final scores, and I think a few snowballs were thrown. I snapped a shot of Tanner as he was conversing about the results from the event. He just has kind of a somewhat disappointed look to him in the photo, and I like it so much because it was the complete opposite of the extremely passionate and excited Tanner we’re so used to usually seeing. I felt like it was a very honest moment I was able to catch.
21.
So being an unemployed photographer in a small town I spend a lot of time browsing craigslist for odd jobs. One day I came across one that was simply labeled, "Photographer". The description was something along the lines of, "Need someone to shoot for a few hours on such and such date". I thought what the hell, I'll email the guy. I got response and it turns out the guy was a director from NYC who was looking for a behind the scenes photographer for a documentary about NBA stars.
So because I stumbled on a random craigslist ad I spent the whole day shooting Dolph and Danny Schayes at the Landmark theater and Carmelo Anthony building, working and meeting with pro's from all over the country and contributing to a documentary that will be seen by thousands of people.
22.
Living in the midwest, our skiing season lasts but a few months. And every year, the season seems to be shorter than the one before. But the only time that you, me, or anyone could ever realize this, is as they are driving up to their home resort, for the last time.
GOOD LUCK!
