Photo Illustration

For this week's assignment we got to play with Photoshop and create an illustration that was clearly manipulated and not just a photo. The theme I chose was student debt. This is very relevant to me as I am about to graduate college and will need to start paying off my debt soon. It can seem a bit overwhelming at times and this is why in the photo illustration below I had this hand grasping out for money and my subject with their hands up in defeat and kind of scared looking.

After student graduate from college they have to begin to pay off all that student debt that accumulated. 

Photo Story

This assignment I was able to photograph Katie Parks' journey of Christianity. She is trying to figure out what she believes and find her place within the religion. This was a really great experience for me overall because I got to get some really interesting photos of Katie and we got to have some pretty neat conversations about religion.

Katie Parks, 20, of Bainbrdige Island and Brenton Thomas, 23, of Bainbridge Island discuss a religious book together Wednesday, Mar. 9, 2016. 

Katie Parks, 20, of Bainbridge Island find her hands to be very important and often doesn't know what to do with them during prayer or at gatherings at The Inn  Tuesday, Mar. 1, 2016. 

Katie Parks, 20, of Bainbridge Island at The Inn with friends singing along to the nightly service Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2016.  

Katie Parks, 20, of Bainbridge Island, sits in her bed to pray with her hands balanced by her knees Tuesday, March 1, 2016. 

Katie Parks, 20, of Bainbridge Island at The Inn reflects on the time she has spent with the group  Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2016. 

Capturing Motion

This assignment was more technique driven than the others ones have been. We had to practice three techniques, blurred motion, panning and freeze action. Freeze action was a technique I was familiar with so this didn't come as a huge problem for me. The technique that gave me the most problem was the panning one. The subject was supposed to stay focused and sharp while the background conveyed motion. My subjects stayed somewhat blurry and it was hard for me to keep them sharp looking. Also I found my time for this assignment was limited due to other classes and other things going on in my life so I didn't really give this assignment as much attention as I should have. Below is a photo of blurred motion, panning and freeze action.

A woman runs at Boulevard Park Thursday, Feb. 4, 2016.

A man walks at Boulevard park Thursday, Feb 4, 2016.

A students rides his bike on-campus Thursday, Feb. 4, 2016. 

Emotion/Relationships

This week's assignment was not very successful for me. We had to take photos of people showing emotion or relationship. The idea was to be a fly on the wall and get these candid moments and then approach the person to get their information. This strategy did not work well for me and I felt uncomfortable. Lots of people would immediately see me with my camera and stare so I felt like I wasn't blending in. The photographs I did end up getting I approached the people first and then told them to get back to what they were doing and that seemed to work a lot better for me. I didn't get a whole lot of emotion out of one of my subjects which was disappointing but I am happy with my photos overall.

Michael Chiavario,65, of Bellingham, Wash., works out at the Bellingham Activity Senior Center Wednesday, Jan. 27,2016.

Miriam Schwartz, 53, of Bellingham, Wash., and Joan Wayne, 67, of Bellingham, Wash., drink coffee and discuss the latest books the have been reading at Woods Coffee Thursday, Jan. 28, 2016.

Miriam Schwartz, 53, of Bellingham, Wash., and Joan Wayne, 67, of Bellingham, Wash., drink coffee and discuss the latest books the have been reading at Woods Coffee Thursday, Jan. 28, 2016.

Environment/Personality Portraits

This assignment required me to find two individuals and compose a picture that either represented the environment they work or play in or showed their personality. I ended up finding two really interesting people in Fairhaven to photograph. I found Lisa to be more comfortable taking pictures with her dog. This really showed her personality so that is why I ended up picking the picture below for her. For Ben, he is an artist and I really wanted to capture the studio space he works in. The last picture shows that but the second image was a bit sharper looking. 

I am still learning the ins and outs of my camera and so some of the pictures I took ended up being either blurry or very dark. Also I have noticed that the pictures below seem to be over exposed. It didn't look that way when I had finished editing them in Photoshop but now I am thinking I should have toned down on the brightness. 

Lisa Hill, 58, of Bellingham, Wash., is the owner of Fairy Godmother’s Unlimited. Hill brings her corgi to work with her and plays with him under the counter.  

Ben Mann, 50, of Bellingham, Wash., stands in front of finished artwork in his art studio. 

Ben Mann, 50, of Bellingham, Wash., paints tulips in his art studio in the Morgan Block enclave. Mann considers his art to be contemporary folk art and has been told it is whimsical. 

Icebreaker Photos

For the first assignment in my photojournalism class I had to take pictures of strangers. My plan was to go to Boulevard Park and walk up to people who looked like they were just lounging around and weren't doing much. Most the people I took photos of were either alone or with one other person. The majority of people I talked to were really friendly and were willing to let me take their pictures. Bellow are the best three pictures I took.

G. Dean Britshgi, 57, of Bellingham, Wash., hangs out at Boulevard Park Saturday, Jan. 9, 2016. “I love the romance of what [Bellingham] used to be,” said Britshgi.

Shayne Vandenboomen, 22, of Kirkland, Wash., sits on a bench waiting for friends at Boulevard Park Saturday, Jan. 9, 2016. “I love the nature, proximity to the water and mountains,” said Vanderboomen.

Garret Miller, 19, of Longview, Tex., spends time at Boulevard Park playing his guitar Saturday, Jan. 9, 2016. “I love the view and the people, the people are very friendly,” said Miller.