Natty's Photoblog

Lines

2006-04-18T17:31:00.000-07:00

For my digital photography class we had an assignment to use special photoshop techniques. I chose hand-tinting because I prefer traditional photography over the really crazy manipulations you can do. This is one of my favorites.

Daffodil

2006-04-05T19:51:00.000-07:00

Wow, it's been over a month since I've posted anything. I guess I have been lacking the motivation to get my pictures ready for the web. But that is all going to change...

I'm very excited for spring - the warm weather, things growing, longer days. I love watching flowers pop up in our yard and slowly transform its color palette from a dull, lifeless mix of browns to one with all kinds of bold, rich tones.

Three Girls, Three Benches

2006-03-02T09:02:00.000-08:00

Here's another of my first digital images. I took it an an outdoor mall downtown where I was standing on the second floor looking down on the people below. You can always find interesting patterns, colors, and people when you're downtown.

The Latch

2006-02-17T20:09:00.000-08:00

I've only been in my digital photography class a month, but I'm really missing black and white. Maybe it's because I haven't really done much color or ever used a color dark room. I love the contrast and tones of black and white. Whenever I see images in color, I mentally convert them to black and white, and I often decide that I'd like them better that way. I'm not against color or digital photography though, for many images, they're great. In my mind, there's nothing like a crisp black and white photograph.

Sky Elevator

2006-02-14T19:00:00.000-08:00

This is my first digital image. I took this picture in downtown Denver so the sky is blue instead of gray for a change! I haven't messed with it much, just some color and contrast adjustments, dodging and burning, only things you could do in a color dark room. It was nice getting to make the changes and see results in an instant, but I missed the dark room. Watching the image form on the paper is one of my favorite parts of photography.

Skinny Tree

2006-02-05T08:49:00.000-08:00

One last Christmas Tree.

Evergreen Patch

2006-01-26T18:03:00.000-08:00

Another one in my Christmas series. This one was also taken in downtown Portland, in a little patch of evergreens (that are there year round) in Pioneer Square. Even though it was just a tiny little patch, it looks like they go on forever.

Beneath the Christmas Tree

2006-01-24T12:09:00.000-08:00

I took this picture in downtown Portland in the middle of the Christmas season. I'm standing beneath a giant Christmas tree and looking up into the branches. It was a chilly, blustery evening and everything was decorated with lights and bows. I love that Christmasy feeling!

Fountain

2006-01-22T12:29:00.000-08:00

Lewis and Clark has a really beautiful campus, probably the best I've ever seen. This fountain is in my favorite spot. There are several levels starting with a different fountain that is beneath an ivy-covered trellace. This fountain starts the next level and feeds into a huge reflection pool. The last level has a beautiful rose garden. The whole area is surrounded by big tall trees and on clear days you can look through a clearing and see Mount Hood. It was (and still is) one of my favorite places.

Getting back to the picture... I took this pretty early in the morning, so there is a nice reflection from the sun on the water. I took it at a fast shutter speed in order to freeze the water and give it a glassy effect.

The Escalator

2006-01-19T21:46:00.000-08:00

Another photo capturing movement in another busy place, the mall, where people are constantly on the move.

Bike in Motion

2006-01-17T09:30:00.000-08:00

I took this picture on my way to class, trying to capture the rush of students hurrying in every direction to get to class on time. Most of the shots on this role I took from my hip, in an attempt to improve my street photography skills and take pictures without being noticed. This was one of the few that actually turned out, i.e. isn't just of the sky or some trees. I love it when you find an image that works exactly like you wanted it to, just like this one.

(The grainy lines on the photo only show up on the computer, not the original photo. I think they came from scanning it.)

Back Yard Window

2006-01-11T23:15:00.000-08:00

This window used to be a part of our house. Now it leans against a shed in our back yard, without a room to let in a breeze for a person to gaze out of onto the outside world.

Objects from my Life

2006-01-11T19:03:00.000-08:00

Each photograph in this series is of a different, important object that I brought with me to college and will continue to bring with me wherever life takes me. I placed them all in outdoor environments where they would normally be found to parallel these objects' journey to a new home (my college dorm) where they seemed out of place.

Rubber Duckie

I got this little duck as an inside joke during my freshman year of high school and it has a lot of sentimental value for me.

Book

Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon. One of my favorite books. I was reading it when I left and I brought with me to finish reading.

My Shoes

Crocs are the most wonderful shoes in the world and I wear them pretty much all the time. They were created here in Colorado and can be found in just about every store in the state. So whenever someone around campus (in Oregon) was wearing them it was a good indicator that they, too, are from Colorado.

Window

2006-01-11T18:58:00.000-08:00

This is the first image I developed for my photography class at Lewis and Clark College. It's a window on the Frank Manor House, the most beautiful building on campus.