Fairhaven Environmental Photography

  For this assignment, I wanted to document a lovely day in the Baker backcountry with my friend. With the first photo, I really wanted to make the viewer think about perspective. With such a wide shot, it's easy not to even see my friend in the air, and when the viewer's gaze reaches that bottom corner, it makes the viewer understand how big the scale is in the photograph. With the second one, I wanted my friend to be slightly out of focus, with Shuckson looming over. The third is taken looking down, as my friend scouts out his line, the viewer also directs their gaze downwards. I wasn't trying to represent any major emotions when taking these photographs, but more of the feeling of moving around big spaces, carefully yet freely. We have the privilege to play in these wild natural places, and I tried to evoke the feeling of that in these photographs.

  Photo 1: Shutterspeed - 1/125, ISO - 800, F/11 Photo 2: Shutterspeed - 1/125, ISO - 800, F/11 I don’t feel the most comfortable taking pictures of random people without their permission, so I decided to go out with a friend to take some pictures with her posing in various positions. I got some pretty good images of my friend posing next to trees and looking out, but I preferred the more subtle images with something other than a human posing as the subject. I got very lucky during this photoshoot because while taking pictures a small bird (I believe it’s a Dark-eyed junco) sat on my backpack so I quickly tried to take as many shots as possible. Because my lens can’t zoom in close enough to make the bird perfectly in frame as the primary subject, but this is still my favorite photo I was able to capture because it was so perfectly representative of nature interacting with human made creations. I also liked the vines climbing the building around the window and the reflection of the ...

Although none of these photos were necessarily intentionally posed, I really enjoyed the variety of moments I captured of people interacting with the environment in different ways. Throughout these individual moments, the overarching feeling that is captured is a sense of peacefulness and admiration for nature. There is a feeling of connection in these photos that comes from sharing the experience of nature's beauty with others. The first photo was taken during an incredible sunset that I could not stop photographing. I was so enamored by the sunset that I hadn't realized how many people had gathered on the beach since we had arrived there. The photo captures just a few people admiring the sunset, and I find it so wonderful that people gather to marvel at nature together. There's something very special about collectively seeing something so beautiful and sharing that moment. One of the best ways humans can interact with the environment is by admiring it.  In the second phot...

       I took some other posed photos for this assignment, but again and again I returned to this spur of the moment snap of Ziggy. I am so struck by it. There is such a sense of longing in their reach, the soft positioning of hand. They had ventured quietly into the cattails, reaching slowly to feel its softness. There is a magical air to the photograph, the fog in the background serves it very well. Their hand reaches across the horizon line, from the world of us to the misty world of reeds. It guides the eye so clearly to their focal point that we come to share it.  The colors of this scene serve the photo well. The grey haze of the sky matching the tones of their keffiyeh, the focus on the pink hues of their skin and the yellows of the dried grasses. It all adds to this misty and dreamlike feeling. An ankh peaks through. It points from  Ziggy's wrist to the plant they so tenderly grasp, and I am reminded of the potential that lives within seed. Being a ...

While I didn't plan this (I was actually annoyed they walked in front of the shot I was trying to get lol) it turned out to be an excellent shot with a gorgeous view of the sunset. I had fun exaggerating the hues in the sky and the reflections in the water -  I used the mac photo app again.  It's really interesting playing with color balance in photos. It's just so cool seeing where the hues pop from when you mess with the sliders! I didn't expect the shoreline in the distance to have much definition, but the cyan really made it pop!  I also am just totally in love with this entire image. It's just got such lovely shapes all around. The bird is in the perfect place in the wave's curvature. The water, essentially now existing on a 2D plane, reaches for the couple. The couple happened to be standing with the taller of the two on the edge of the frame, which just feels right for some reason with the mountains in the distance doing the opposite, shape-wise.  Looking...

  March, life's familiar whispered melody I love sunny days because there's much more activity to observe when peoplewatching. This guitar player is enjoying the early evening sunshine on the Old Main Lawn, a subtle celebration of springtime. Although it's only March, WWU students get so excited to bask in the sunshine, and many flock to this particular spot. From my window, I watch people read, color, do homework, slackline, hammock, throw frisbees, play games and instruments (usually guitars), and soak up the glow of our old friend, the sun, often forgotten in cloudy winter.  It's well known that Bellinghamsters love the outdoors, but days like this in early spring remind us as a collective that we've missed spending time outside. All at once, seemingly the entire population sprawls across the Old Main and Communications Lawns. Every picnic table is full of happy students in sunglasses, and wheels fly across campus carrying bikers, roller skaters, skateboarders, a...

  Here is a photo of the train tunnel I took on one of our field trips. I wanted to capture the contrast of the scene, and I believe having this photo in black and white highlights that. I am also quite fascinated by the concept of a place’s memory being represented physically, and I think this photo is a really beautiful way to show the different imprints left over time. Each artist left their mark on this tunnel built over a hundred years ago in 1913. Bellingham was founded in 1903, only ten years before, when Whatcom, Sehome, Bellingham, and Fairhaven consolidated into one city. So many people and seasons have passed since this tunnel’s construction, and as a firm believer that space holds memory, I am curious about what this tunnel would have to say. What kinds of trains run this line? Who has been on those trains?  I am very proud of this photo. I think it captured the haunting element I was looking for, but not in a way meant to disturb — just hinting at nostalgia and me...

  My favorite 2 are the second photo and the first photo The first photo I instantly knew was going to be cool. I spend a decent amount of time getting the framing and settings right. I spent most of my time with the white point making sure I got the right colors that I wanted. If I could go back and do it again, I would probably want to use a tripod and set the shutter speed higher so it was brighter, and I would probably change the white point a bit more. The second photo is my favorite photo. It was one of those times where all the settings just worked and everything lined up in a way that just worked. It was taken at Locus beach, and I love the way the colors look, and the clouds are lined up in a cool way, and I got a little stick on the side of the photo. I love everything about this photo, and I don’t think I would change anything if I did it again. The third photo I also took at Locus beach. I really loke this one as well. The colors are saturated, there’s a nice lead...

 A big part of the feeling I was trying to evoke in this image was the feeling of exploring something you're not meant to explore. A mix of awe and a little bit of rebelliousness. In reality, this image was taken in a public, well visited, and well used place, but I wanted to evoke the idea of this being more of a run down, unexplored, and off limit space. I don't actually remember who is in this photo, but it's cool to see them staring into the complete darkness as the train tracks trail off into the void. I wish in this photo the tracks were more overgrown and had more of a run down look to them, like nature is reclaiming the area. I chose this image because it shows a combination of how three main things interact: the way nature grows to fill the space carved out by humans, how humans build structures that exist long after the people themselves have left the area, and then how new people explore and admire the area afterwards through physical visits and graffiti. It'...

  I don't think that I had any specific emotions in mind that I wanted to convey through any of my photos I chose, specifically the second one. I did, however, go into taking them with ideas in mind of what I wanted them to come out to be/what thoughts or questions would emerge for the viewers. For the first: While the image itself is funny, it also might invoke some questions and insight into how people see the universe... (one person said they don't exist). And it also is a good contrast between humans and nature + how humans have very obviously made a mark at that spot by moving the twigs. For the second: I tried to capture the mountains clearly through the hole and leave the man-made structure blurred slightly, but still visible enough to see that it wasn't naturally made. I'm not sure what emotions this would evoke, but I think it also shows some juxtaposition between man made structures, and nature in the background. 3rd image was just funny, a very literal depict...

      When trying to invoke emotion in human-oriented photos that I took, I wanted to capture a moment between two people, either celebrating a sport or activity that they enjoy, or enjoying each other's company in an enriching environment. I tried to get a variety of shots that distill a moment in time that cannot be recaptured. The first photo I took was what looked like a young couple enjoying their time, walking along the train tracks of the Pacific Northwest's famous Amtrak Cascades railroad system. I liked how I captured the guy looking over his shoulder as if something was on his mind. I also took that shot in black and white so it was a moment that felt special. The second photo was a close-up of a railroad link of the same railroad system. I liked the design that was captured with the rustic feeling presented. The third photo was of the same two wing surfers I submitted for my black and white piece, but this time it was a different photo in color. I really liked ...

 I live across the street from the Arb, and a couple of times a week have deer in my yard. Usually I will walk into my front yard after school or leave for class and see 2-5 deer roming around. I love these moments to stop and enjoy their company. So for this photoshoot, I really wanted to capture these deer, and tried to do so the last two weeks, but every time that the deer were in my neighborhood, if I went inside to get my camera, they would spook and leave. I ended up only having one badly captured deer, so I will use my bird photography for this assignment. Unfortunately for this assighnment I only had my lens that doesn't zoom, so for some of these images, the subject is quite small. Into the sunset ISO 100 Exposure 1/125 Aperture 6.625 Geese drive by ISO 2,000 Exposure 1/800 Aperture 6.625 The elusive Owl ISO 100 Exposure 1/800 Aperture 2 I think that photos #1 and #3 are my favourites, but that with my lens's abilities, the second photo is the best. With the second pho...

A Good Catch 1/2000, F2.8 ISO1250 Enjoying the Sunset     1/2000, F2.8, ISO1000 On Guard 1/2000, F2.5, ISO6400 Synchronized 1/500, F3.5, ISO200 A prominent struggle I have had with capturing photos of animals, especially birds, is that my camera does not have a good zoom lens at all. It is extremely difficult to capture animals in detail, especially when they are far away or in motion. I find that once I zoom in far enough, it becomes so blurry that I cannot focus on the animal before it moves again. I would really like to try renting a camera with a more efficient zoom lens, since my camera doesn't allow me to attach one. I really love the background of the first two photos since the sunset was absolutely amazing. The bird in the first photo had just captured something, and it was one of my more successful photos, capturing the bird in motion while also turning out mostly focused. Although the bird itself is not very visible in the second photo, I really like the illusion tha...

  This photo is of the train tunnel from our field trip last Thursday. I had just realized my camera had a black and white setting and thought the graffiti and shadow of the tunnel would make for an interesting black and white image. I thought it would be cool to have the train tracks act as a sort of “follow line” into the tunnel. The intense shadow in the tunnel causes a kind of black hole effect in black and white that is quite ominous. I do wish there were some more shadows on the plants and rocks surrounding the image to add some dimension. Despite the lack of shadow, I think the black and white really highlighted the different textures of the plants and rocks. Especially the small rocks on the ground next to the tracks and the ferns on the side of the cliff. Overall, I really like the way black and white photography highlights shadow and texture. Although vibrant color is a huge element in photography, black and white can make an image very striking.

  This photo was taken on our Thursday field trip at Marine Park as the sun was setting. The long light was casting shadows on the ripples in the sand, making the scale of the photo almost indistinguishable. Inspired by our guest speaker's photos, I liked the patterns present here - almost similar to zebra stripes. I chose to put this photo in black and white because the color was not adding much to the photo, the patterns were the focal point. The black and white filter enhanced these patterns by taking away the distraction of color, allowing the viewer to really question what they are looking at. 

  I really enjoyed these black and white shots I took at both Clarks Point and Marine Park. The first one created a fun pattern in the rocks by the railroad and the broken crank claw added depth to my photo. It almost was if it told a story about how nature will always win in the end. The second photo I felt as if I captured an equal balance of water, land, and clouds. The picture seems to stretch far as if it never ends and feels ominous when looking at the photo and thinking about it. The last one was capturing a wing  surfer with birds in the background and captures the nostalgic joy of the surfer and his interaction with the sea.