Starting a photography blog

November 1st, 2008

So I've decided to start a photography blog. I'm doing this for two reasons. First, starting a photo blog will hopefully encourage me to take photos more regularly. And second, I've realized that photos have stories and simply showing a photo by itself without context doesn't do it justice. While it seems a lot of people initially take up the hobby of photography to try to capture beautiful and amazing photos, I've realized more and more that the art of photography is about the stories the photos tell. I've seen so many amazing photos of sunsets and other typical photos. While they're all stunning, few stand out. What makes a photo more unique and interesting is the context surrounding it.

Even better is a series of related photos. Capturing the emotion or the moment of a situation is a difficult task. Building an entire story from a series of these kinds of photographs delivers a powerful message. Unfortunately, I'm not a proactive enough photographer to seek out these stories. For the most part, I'm still working on my technique.

Anyways, I've been rambling on too long without posting a photo. Speaking of technique, I had a photoshoot involving off-the-camera flash and using it to freeze motion. Here's a couple of the photos:

That's my girlfriend, Larissa. I told her to toss her hair around initially. Then I let her loose and told her just to dance like crazy, but only from the waist up because she was actually kneeling on my bed. I definitely need a larger apartment. It makes for a cramped studio. I wanted the somewhat harsh directional lighting, but it's difficult to get cool hair and still light the face without a second light source. I tried putting a mirror opposite of the flash, but her body mostly blocked all the light. Next time I think I might sacrifice the strong directional lighting and try it with an umbrella instead.

News

3/31/2008: Album added:

• 2007_07_Misc
• 2007_08_01_Sounders_vs_Timberwolves

10/18/2007: Album added:

• 2007_02_24_Wii_Fun
• 2007_03_10_Evergreen_Lunar_Celebration
• 2007_03_10_LeeHengda_Chinese_Dance
• 2007_03_16_Miel_Half_Bday
• 2007_03_21_UW_Cherry_Blossums
• 2007_03_26_UW_Cherry_Blossums_2
• 2007_03_28_UW_Cherry_Blossums_3
• 2007_03_29_UW_Cherry_Blossums_4
• 2007_03_Misc
• 2007_06_03_Ballard_Locks
• 2007_06_09_David_Graduation
• 2007_06_17_Fremont_Fair
• 2007_07_04_Everett_Fireworks
• 2007_07_18_Sounders_vs_Chivas_USA

6/29/2007: Album added:

• 2007_06_26_Zillow_Soccer

6/25/2007: Albums added:

• 2007_02_18_Seattle_Valentines
• 2007_02_24_OACF_New_Year
• 2007_06_18_Aarons_Graduation

03/06/2007: Albums added:

• 2007_01_14_Drinking
• 2007_01_20_Drinking
• 2007_01_27_Pike_Place
• 2007_01_30_UW_Sunset
• 2007_01_Misc

01/25/2007: Gallery section added.

01/17/2007: Album pic_viewer for enlarging thumbnails added. Section images added. About section added.

12/26/2006: Album section added.

12/20/2006: Website layout design started.