Flowing

I decided to post another photo today with green in it to show support for the Iranian protests. The flowing water adds depth to this photo and, for some reason, gives me a sense of hope when thinking about the situation in Iran. We need to continue to show our support to the Iranian people and push our news stations to do the same. What if you were the one fighting for your freedom?

Take a look at what people are saying: http://weareallneda.com & Iran election

Photo taken at Jones Gap State Park (South Carolina).

Green For Iran

Just like the photo yesterday, this one was also taken in Vietnam. I decided to post this picture today because I finally got up the nerve to watch some of the footage coming in from Iran on youtube and read some first hand accounts on twitter. I have never spent much time on either site (actually, I had never even been to twitter) until the past few days. However, lately these sites have been a gateway into the turmoil of a place that we cannot get to and could not understand without these sites. The footage and accounts bring about a mix of emotions; it is disturbing, moving, inspiring, and so much more. Many people on twitter have changed their profile pictures to a shade of green to show their support for the Iranians who are fighting for their right to vote. Therefore, I decided to post a green photograph for today - I took this while visiting the My Lai Peacepark in Tinh Hoa, Vietnam.

Take a look for yourself: Youtube's CitizenTube
Also, don't keep up the Stereotypes.

Every Day

It could be because I am going to a new place soon, yet it could also be for other reasons; no matter what though, I am very nostalgic at the moment for my time spent in Tanzania and Vietnam. The times I spent helping and getting to know the people in the small villages of I'llkadinga (TZ) and Tinh Hoa (VN) were some of the happiest times of my life. It is hard for newer experiences to even compete with those memories. As I continue to explore the world, I hope I keep in mind the lessons I learned in Tanzania and Vietnam - the only way to learn is to listen with an open and curious mind. Just because someone lives a different life, doesn't mean it is better or worse, it just means it is different than yours and you can always learn from it.

I took this photograph while we were riding our bikes after a downpour one evening in Tinh Hoa,Vietnam.

"Peace Begins With A Smile" ~ Mother Teresa

Look Mom, No Hands

I wasn't quite sure what photo I wanted to post today, but after browsing through my photos from my recent time at the beach, I decided on this one. I was sitting outside on my dock when the local ducks decided to swim by and I grabbed some bread to feed them. I got this shot when my dog walked up to join me on the dock... needless to say, I don't think the ducks appreciated her company as much as I did.

Innocence

I saw a beautiful movie last night, named Water. It is set in India in 1938 and is about the lives of widows, three of whom stand out the most: an eight year old, a young woman, and an older woman. The acting is astounding, the cinematography is gorgeous, and the editing ties it all together perfectly. The director (Deepa Mehta)'s vision is amazing and the ending is a beautiful blend of sorrow and hope.

The importance of water to the community in the film reminded me of my time in Vietnam. I also thought of this image, though the girl in the film and the girl in this image are of different nationalities, they are both just little girls and have so much life yet to live.

Three of a Kind

My friends and I were bored one afternoon freshman year, so we decided to have a photoshoot. Naturally, I volunteered to stay behind the camera. After doing individual portraits, they decided to get together for few group portraits. This is my favorite of the group portraits.

A Path

I took this photograph while on Block Break from CC. My parents were out in Colorado Springs for a week, part of which fell over my break. We took a road trip to see the leaves change. This was taken on a hike to Maroon Bells.

Masks Make Everything Creepy

A light graffiti photograph I took last summer.

Bird's Eye

Taken out of a plane window upon arriving to Bermuda in July 2007.

Father's Day

Today's post a bit late because I wanted to show the above video to my dad before I posted it for everyone else. It is my first attempt at stop motion. I hope you like it.

Peeking

I took this in a student theater at CC. Do you remember the light graffiti image I posted awhile ago (here)? I took this image the same night while we were setting up for the light image. I had picked out my color of gel and was waiting for others to pick out their colors. I saw the light coming out of the door and the obstacles in the way... so I decided to practice shutter speeds and apertures, this is what I came up with.

Pillars

Taken in Bermuda in July 2007 at an old church.

Eye Of Mr. A

Today I have another photo of a critter. I took a photo of this alligator at Huntington Beach State Park. I visited the park with my mom yesterday to take photographs of the birds and hoping to get a few of alligators as well. Little did I know, I'd be able to takes tons of photographs of alligators around sunset. Though there were bigger guys than this one, I liked the lighting on him and the water around him.

Whatever

I took this in Bermuda in July 2007. I had several images of him looking at the camera, but I liked this photo better because of how relaxed he seems. Unlike most lizards I have encountered, he was very relaxed and was okay with my sister and me getting close to him to take photographs. However, when we got too close for comfort he ran off a lighting speed.

Solitude

Taken in Canada's Banff National Park.

Slight Details

Closed Road

I took this outside of Aspen, Co, this past fall while I was there to hike and see the brilliant yellow of the changing aspens.

Beach Sky On Fire

I have been spending the past couple of weeks at Litchfield Beach and for the past few nights, lightning has been catching the sky on fire. If you know me well, then you know I am completely terrified of lightning. However, two nights ago I sat outside on my front porch for two hours durning a thunderstorm to try to get a good picture of lightning (something I have been trying to get for a year now). I managed to get 9 photos of lightning and of those, I was satisfied with about 5. Pretty good odds, so I'd say it was a success.

It Takes Two To Be One

I decided to dig through my external hard drive for a photograph for today. After not being able to decide among many, I decided to go with this one because of the bright color. I took this while hiking around Moraine Lake while on a trip with my family in Banff National Park. We took a road trip from Lake Louise to Jasper and stopped at various places along the way. It was a wonderful experience and I fell in love with Canada all over again (I first fell in love the summer before 8th grade when we visited Vancouver, Victoria, and Whistler). There is not much to look at in this photo, but hopefully the bright blue water will drawn your eye in as well as the solitary canoe.

If you ever have the opportunity to explore Banff and Jasper, take it (however, the winter might be a little chilly).

Just Chillin

I took this photo on a geology field trip freshman year. We camped for a week outside of Moab,UT and spent time in Arches National Park as well as Canyonlands National Park. This was taken when we hiked up to Delicate Arch right before sunset, the two guys in the photograph were in my class. It wasn't staged, they just chose a good spot to rest for a bit.

Mountain Mist

I don't know what to say about this photograph. However, I can at least tell you that I took it on a road trip through the Great Sand Dunes National Park (two other posts: here and here). After being in Colorado for two years, I love watching the mountains the weather that surrounds them. It can change through out the day and can be completely different than the weather below or it can be used to predict the weather that is about to come your way. I guess this is an attempt to capture that magic.

Low Country in the Midlands

This past weekend I was in Columbia with my sister. While she ran, I walked a bit and took photos of at least 50 turtles, 1 snake, and a couple of birds among other things. I took this photograph with the thought of making it black and white. However, in the end I think it looks better with a bit of faded color than none at all.

Fit For A Postcard

Colorless Bloom

I took this photograph in high school when I was going through a "black and white flower" phase. I love to take photos of flowers as a stress reliever, but I rarely go back and look at the photographs because I find them boring (for me, flowers are a bit too perfect to be interesting). However, occasionally I go back and find a photo that intrigues me.

Ranch Horse

I took this at the Zapata Ranch by the Great Sand Dunes National Park. I love horses, but I have yet to get a great picture of one. However, I hope this is a good start.



Here is an earlier post from the Sand Dunes.

Beautiful Rise

I'm missing CC a good bit today, so I decided to post an image of an amazing site that I get to see everyday I am at CC: Pikes Peak. I took this image during a sunrise from a high rise in downtown Colorado Springs.

Friendly Neighbor

I took this in Georgetown, SC at Independent Sea Food. While my mom was inside, I stayed outside so that I could photograph all of the birds hoping to get lucky (on this particular day there were two pelicans and three herons). This one was the bravest, he actually tried to walk in the door of the place.

A Weed

Light Graffiti

I took this photo for a project that I was involved in this fall. This was supposed to be the ending freeze frame to the video we were making about student life at Colorado College (to show the Board of Trustees). However, we never used the image. I still think it is a great photograph, there are 7 people in the image and we took it in the back of a theater. We used gels to cover flashlights to create the color and I put the shutter on a timer (the exposure is 30 seconds). Overall, it took us 14 shots to get this image (the first 4 we were deciding what to make).

This is one of my favorite collections of light graffiti: http://abduzeedo.com/awesome-light-graffiti-pictures

Poetic

Generally speaking, I use my digital camera for color photography and my manual film camera for black and white. However, this is the first image I have scanned in from my film camera (the other black and white photos were taken with my digital camera). I took this while on a block break trip to Aspen. I didn't carry my digital camera with me that day, hoping that I would push myself to find excellent subjects for black and white photos. I believe I hit the nail on the head with this photograph. I love the texture of the old wall mixed with the flat surface of the modern sign.