SECOND PROJECT = SHALLOW DEPTH OF FIELD
I'm working on my second project in Photography class. Here are the teacher's picks for my shallow depth of field shots. I took an entire roll. I also have to do stop action, blurred action and greater depth of field shots for this project. I plan to do a roll of each, so I have a better chance of getting some actual good photos to turn in, and to keep.

These are all 5 X 7 prints. The one at the top really needs to be made into an 8 X 10 to show a cascading sequence of objects occurring in the photo, but it can't be seen in this cropped version. I'll update when I can get an opportunity to print an 8 X 10.

REFLECTED BOTTLES
Here's some bottles on a bottle tree made by my brother for my mother. It made a pretty good subject for a light and shadow photo including some experimentation with shallow depth of field. I like the reflections and the tones the different colored bottles create.

DEAD FLOWERS
This is another photo I took for my light and shadow project for school. This is a place in my backyard where the unfortunate plants end up. Woe to the plant that is given to me that needs a fair amount of attention. Plants that can be pretty much ignored will likely do fine with me.

IMMACULATE CONCEPTION CHURCH
This is a full shot of the Immaculate Conception Church. It was taken the same day as the photo of the church window posted below. I realize that this type of photo has been done, but this is a special place to me and I want to share. I think this is a very pretty church, and will take the long way home just to drive past it. I have some more photos I'll post later that are more interesting shots of this place.

Darkroom photography is definitely an art. It takes time and experimentation to get the perfect tones before making a print. I've found that I can spend loads of time in the darkroom, testing strips for that perfect exposure. Taking the photos is just one part of the art. Developing and printing them is an amazing part of making the photos you've carefully composed true works of art. This photo was actually pretty easy to process.

WEST INTO EAST
This is a local church here in Raymond. It is the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church on Main Street, and it's been here since the 1800's. It is one of the prettiest churches I've ever seen. I took this shot on an afternoon when the sun had decided to stay in most of the day, then peek out about an hour before sundown. This is part of my light and shadow project for photography class. You must full view this to really appreciate it, and get a good look at the reflections captured in the glass.

My first project for photography class is light and shadow. These are the photos that my teacher hand picked from my first contact sheets. The first one, Von Seutter's Gate, is the gate to a plot at the cemetery in Raymond, Mississippi where a man and his wife are buried together. In the 1800's she had died, and he was overcome with grief, killing himself soon after. He was a jeweler, photographer and clock merchant. I do not know if he made the clocks himself, but I happen to own a beautiful Art Noveau clock that came from his shop. The second one is just a photo of common tools in our shed out back.

The rules of this class are:

Only 35mm cameras
Cameras must be set on manual
Only 100 speed black and white film allowed
It is an ART class (NO SNAPSHOTS)
Only outdoor photos
No flash
Students will develop their own film and make prints using traditional darkroom methods
Have fun


Von Seutter's Gate


In The Shed

DEAD STILL FOR TWO MINUTES
This is another pinhole camera photo. We had to do a group project, so we decided to try a group shot. We stood still as possible for two minutes in front of the box. Then one of us ran out of the shot to put the tape back over the hole. It looks to me like we are waiting to be executed. We stuck an empty Gatorade bottle off to the right in the foreground to add interest. I'm the least visible one in the photo, kind of in the middle toward the back, with a little hat on.

PINHOLE PHOTOGRAPHY
I am taking a photography class this semester, and this is a photo taken with a pinhole camera. It was the first project for class. I have another negative from the pinhole project but will have to make another print to scan for posting. The first prints disappeared from the darkroom.

I really love the look of the pinhole photos. They are so artsy looking. This one has an antique doll with some handmade glass beads spread around on a curb.

I developed my first roll of film today and it turned out pretty good. I hope there will be some nice prints from it for my first 35mm camera project. We are using only back and white film and manual mode on 35mm cameras, and doing all the film processing ourselves. So far it's been challenging but fun.