Wall Painting; 21 October, 2010

Last week, I was heading to tutor at The Bridge Project's Lincoln site, when I passed the Buckhorn Exchange and saw these wall paintings. I thought these paintings were absolutely beautiful and especially with the warm natural light coming off the left side of the photograph. There were several paintings on the side of the wall, but I like this one the best because of the lighting and how the dark shades of the painting really stood out from the yellowish bricks.

Christmas Come Early; 20 October 2010

One of my favorite things about the holiday season is my family's Christmas tree. A lot of my family's Christmas is done through traditions that we've formed over the year and our tree is no different. Every year, my sisters and I each get a new ornament and so our tree grows each year with the number of ornaments. When walking around campus, I saw this tree and it reminded me of Christmas (obviously). I really liked the lighting as well as the sky was completely clear, making the background look completely white. I also took another photograph (below) through the branches capturing how dense the branches are. I like that picture as well because even without flash the branches are completely illuminated and the green color of each of the needles stood out against the brown of the actual branches.

Fall Leaves; 19 October 2010

I really like this picture because of the vibrant colors not only in the fluorescent sign but in the fall leaves as well. The light turned out much better than I was anticipating and I absolutely love it. Fall colors are my absolute favorite and I think this picture really captures the essence of fall and all that it stands for.

18 on the 18th; 18 October, 2010

This Monday I finally turned 18! It was great to be in a dorm on my birthday as people were coming into my room all day unlike high school where it was only a couple hours at school where you saw people. A lot of friends came into my room when I wasn't there and left things on my desk and, clearly, painted on my window some decorations. Although I don't feel any different to be a legal adult, Monday was still a great day and I had a lot of fun celebrating. And how did I celebrate, by going to Yogurtland of course!

First picture as an 18 year old! :)

See By The Light of the Moon; 17 October 2010

I really like this picture even though the moon seems so tiny compared to the street light. I had hoped the moon would be larger, however there was not much I could do about it. I do like how the buildings and tree are still in the picture as some of the other angles that I took this in did not have either and it just didn't look right and there was absolutely no perspective other than the lamp itself. I also  like how the light turned out, not too dark so that I would need the flash, but the lamp had a nice warm light that wasn't too harsh.

Homecoming Parade; 16 October 2010

Last Saturday for Parents weekend, there was the Homecoming Parade fit with Boone the Pioneer. The parade and all other Homecoming events were a lot of fun, and it was great to meet all of my friend's siblings and parents. I like this picture because it really captures the excitement of the weekend and all of the cool activities that were going on.

Parent's Weekend; 15 October 2010

I have always loved taking pictures of reflections and I really love how the lighting turned out on this photograph. It was so bright but the light was not harsh at all. I wish there was a way to get in both the entire reflection and the entire building but sadly, my camera did not have that big of a frame and it would not fit. I still really like this picture though as the color is just so sharp without any need to enhance it through photo shop or any other means.

Hylaea; 14 October, 2010

This last week, I went to see the Hylaea exhibit in Penrose Library. While I'm not a huge bird person, I thought the exhibit was extremely interesting. It was cool to see the enlarged pictures of just a part of the bird (like the beak above). However, it really annoyed me that the photographs were not just enlarged but a bunch of small squares put together with a slight gap. I also didn't like how it was all so spread out. I generally don't like museums because there's just so much to see in such a large space and its tiring to go through all of it in one day. I really like this photograph that I took at Hylaea because it included both the sculpture and the picture of the beak without being too cluttered or having one lock the other.

"A Photographer's Life"; 13 October 2010

Annie Leibovitz once said, "a photographer's life is seeing through a lens". She exemplified this idea of a photographer her entire life. It amazes me all the opportunities that she just fell into from touring with the Stones, to working for multiple high fashion magazines at once as neither wanted to lose her. Her photography was absolutely fantastic and the fact that she was able to say what she wanted in a photo shoot and she got everything regardless of cost.
"A good photographer takes pictures like other people live and breathe". I wish I could do this, but Annie Leibovitz clearly did. Her photographs for all areas of her life including pictures of her kids and out the window of her car are all gorgeous in a simple, but beautiful way. Her professional photographs have caused great controversy but are absolutely fantastic in their controversial way. While many have argued that her transition from the real photography from her time at Rolling Stone to her commercial work at Vanity Fair and other fashion magazines has ruined her photography, I don't feel that way. Her commercial photography is still beautiful just much more intricate and staged than her earlier photography. However, I believe that half of a good photograph is the staging for it. You can have a good photograph without a good set up but if you place each model or subject just right, it can be greatly improved becoming beautiful.

Overall, Annie Leibovitz's photography has pushed me to strive for beauty in all aspects of my life. I want to become a true photographer that takes pictures where ever I go no matter what is around me. I want to find and capture something new and beautiful each day.

There's No Place Like Home; 12 October 2010

At the end of this week, my parent's are coming in for Parent's/Homecoming weekend. So for my picture today, I decided to use a picture that I took over the summer at the lake near my house. Now generally, I don't consider this lake beautiful as it is man-made and they put some sort of dye in it to make it look pretty and blue. However, I really like this picture of the lake as it looks fairly natural and the shadow I'm standing in gives the water a slightly muted feel although it is reflecting the sun.

Downtown; 11 October 2010

Last week, the Pioneer Leadership Program went downtown to attend the Denver City Council meeting. As we were walking down the 16th street mall I saw the sky and clouds reflected in a big, tall office building and I thought it looked cool so I snapped a couple pictures. I absolutely love taking pictures of the sky, so I liked this picture as it was still technically of the sky, just a different take on it.

Finally Fall; 10 October 2010

One of the things that drew me to Denver (well, more outside of California) is the fact that there's "real weather". In Southern California, especially, we have summer and maybe a couple weeks of "winter" where its a little cloudy and 'cold' (as in 60 degrees, not real cold) so I was excited to come to a place where there were four distinct seasons. So far its still been pretty warm, only a couple days of rain, but now as the trees start to change, its finally fall. I took this picture out of the JMac first floor lounge window and I love the contrast of the darker green and the bright yellow of the leaves.

Black and White; 9 October 2010

One of my favorite things that we've done so far in this class is the taking and developing of black and white film. I have always wanted to learn how to develop and print my own film so this was really exciting for me. Also, whenever I get something new, I generally take it apart to see how it works and then put it back together so it was very fun being able to take apart my disposable camera and really see how the inside works. I like the way this picture came out (taken, of course, with my digital) with the light reflecting off the inside of the camera. I can't wait to see how my negatives turn out!!

Who You Are is Who You're With; 7 October, 2010

I have always thought that a big part of you are as a person is who you associate with and who you spend time with. So for one of my self portraits, I wanted to take a picture of my friends and the people that I have spent the most time with here at DU. One night when many of my friends were across the hall doing homework, I grabbed my camera and snapped this picture. I really love the way it came out as it well represents my friends and also who I am.

Summit County; 4 October 2010

The weekend of the 4th, I went on the Honors Retreat up to Keystone Science School in Summit County. On Sunday, we hiked up Mount Sniktau, a thirteener above Loveland Pass. The hike was absolutely gorgeous, we could see for miles from all sides, it was so clear. The hike itself was pretty difficult but the view definitely made it worth it.

2nd Happiest Place on Earth; 3 October 2010

One of my favorite things to do with my friends is go to Yogurtland. We absolutely love the yogurt there and we like to think its healthier than going out for ice cream. We've already gone several times and plan to keep on going multiple other times throughout the year. I was extremely excited to have Yogurtland here as I thought I wouldn't have it until I went back home again.

An apple a day...; 1 October 2010

The other day, I was out with my friend and while he was shopping, I was taking pictures. I love how this one turned out as the light is reflected in each of the apples and the color is just absolutely brilliant.

Random Owls of Kindness; 28 September, 2010

My hallway in JMAC (1-2 all the way) is known as Hogwarts, or the Harry Potter hallway because of the bulletin board at the entrance of our hallway. This month's bulletin board is covered in small scrolls of paper each with the name of one of the hall residents for the rest of the floor to write encouraging notes and affirmations on. The whole board is titled: Random Owls of Kindness, and has various ways that we can show kindness and love to those around us. I was playing around with settings on my camera, particularly the black and white setting when I snapped this picture and I just love how it came out. I really like what it says in that kind acts are never wasted, and they are always appreciated in some way. Also, I just think it turned out really well with the lack of color emphasizing the words themselves.

Just another American Saturday Night; 25 September 2010

September 25th was one of the greatest days I've had at DU. I was able to go see Brad Paisley and several other country artists perform at the Comfort Dental Amphitheater. Brad Paisley is one of my favorite country singers, so it was absolutely amazing to see him live in concert. It was a fantastic concert and I belted along to all of the songs and loved every single minute of it.

Full Moon; 24 September 2010

On the 24th of September, I attended my first Colorado Rockies game. While the game was not particularly exciting, the moon looked absolutely amazing. As it rose behind the stadium it looked more orange than usual and really stood out against the black sky behind it. When it continued to rise, it lost the orange tinge but still lit up the entire sky outside the bright lights of the stadium.