Opportunity

When I was in high school we had to do a graduation project that began at the end of your junior year continued over the summer, and lead to a presentation in the beginning of your senior year. I had the amazing opportunity to shadow the photographer Mechelle Lavelle. My first experience working with her was a photo shoot she was doing with Nike. 

This was my first real photo shoot ever, and needless to say I was so nervous. All I knew was that we were going to be working with an under water camera in a pool in New Jersey, and that I was considered Mechelle's assistant. I arrived at this beautiful house and was greeted by Mechelle, who is one of the sweetest people I've ever gotten the chance to work with. We stared right into the shoot early on as soon as the models arrived, and in the meantime Mechelle worked to teach me all about lighting and explained what types of shots she wanted to capture.

As the day progressed, I became more and more comfortable in the environment, and even had the opportunity to use one of her camera's and take some behind the scenes photos. 

Anyways, so the story behind this photo is that the model in this photo had just done this expression on the step of the deep end of the pool, but wanted to try for a different take on it, so she went to the edge of the pool. Mechelle handed me her camera so she could appropriately adjust the lights while the model practiced the pose. We all stood around and admired the ability this woman (also named Michelle) had to bend herself in half... backwards. 

So she reached the full expression of this yoga position with her finger tips inches from the water even though she was on a ledge about the water, she said one word.

"picture"

now, mind you, I have Mechelle's camera. Mechelle, the professional, is on the other side of the pool. Everyone looks directly at me, and Mechelle just says 'Emily, take the picture!'

I don't know how I managed to move at all with all of this pressure, but I did. And I was able to capture this moment. When Mechelle sent me this photo with my name on the bottom, I cried. It is probably my favorite photo I've ever taken, simply because of the story behind it! I was lucky to be able to work with such an amazing lady and her entire crew, so if you ever happen to see this Mechelle, thank you!

Silhouettes

One thing i really like to do with my photos is use the sun as a tool. I like to find objects that block out the light, leaving only a silhouette. I think this is important because a silhouette is the simplest form of an object that allows you to pay attention to the outline for what it is. For example, this tree. I love this photo because each and every branch is clear and defined, but since the tree appears as a solid figure, it takes out the element of texture.

If this was just a photo of the tree, you would have many variables to pay attention to. Instead of admiring the shape, you might get caught in the detail of the bark, or the hues of green in the leaves, but the outline eliminates those factors. the detail is there, but it is different.

 I find myself getting caught up in the details when sometimes the best thing to do is take a step back and admire what i have for its simplest form, its silhouette if you will.

Wishes

This is one of my favorite photos that I've taken and seeing as this is a blog about photography, i shall explain why!

so this was taken in a little town right near my house called Peddlers Village, which is just the epitome of the area i live in. It has tiny expensive ma and pop shops that are so fun to spend all day in, cute well kept walk ways, alll kinds of Christmas lights in the winter, and quaint little boutiques. There is even a little stream that runs through the village, fully equip with a giant water wheel and all. anyways, this is a picture i snapped in the fall, and i love the juxtaposition of the leaves and the bottom of the stream.

What i love the most about this photo is that there is that one shinny penny, but if you look close enough you'll notice that the bottom the stream is made mostly of old pennies. I like to think that each penny represents a persons wish, and it a comforting feeling to know that they are still there. I guess its an indirect reminder that you have to hold onto those wishes, and times change, but you still should always have something to reach for. I like to print out pictures of places i want to be and keep them near my desk to act as inspiration!

Its always nice to know you're working towards an achievable goal, and that one day your work will pay off!

Plans

I was talking with my dad one night and he said to me "Emily, don't worry about your future. The plans you have for the future are going to change, but it'll be for the better."

This time in our lives is such a pivotal time. its like everything that we have done up until now has been practice for the real world. When i was in high school and everyone would say 'real world' i would scoff and brush it of because it was clear that i was in the real world at that moment. And i was, but without consequence. I think that's the only really big difference between then and now- Im on my own watch. I have to choose the profession i want to spend the better part of my life doing now which is kind of a big deal. I know there is always the option to change later in life, but im spending all this money and acquiring all of this debt, so i want to make something out of it.

The people i meet now in life are the people i feel that i will be able to keep in contact with for a long time. and the people that i want to stay in contact with, which is a big deal.

The future is a big unknown, and that's why its intriguing but also terrifying at the same time. I know i have no idea what to expect, which can be unsettling, but i know if i surround myself with good friends and my family, ill have all the support ill need to get through whatever life throws at me!

I like the mystery in this photo. like you know its a railroad track, and you know that it keeps going, but you don't know where it goes, or even for how long. kind of like your future.... whoa, getting alittle deep there.

That's all for today, thanks for your time!

Perspective

Its funny how you never really appreciate something until its not there as a constant in your life. I come from beautiful Bucks County Pennsylvania, and when i lived there i hated it so much. I thought it was boring and to be honest some of the people annoyed me simply because i was there in the environment every. single. day.

Perspective is a complicated thing when you think about it. Things can become so familiar that you almost stop appreciating them. Take for instant your walk to and from class each day or even your drive to work. Do you pay any mind to your surroundings or ever notice if anything is different? I'm trying this new thing where  i try and observe my surroundings like i would if it was my first time there. Like when i went on a tour of UNE i was constantly looking around and noticing every detail but now that it is the norm for me, i find myself becoming less and less observant. Try taking a new perspective, look at your surrounding next time you are going somewhere, i think you'll up noticing some really cool things! Especially in the car!

Even the slightest adjustment in your perspective can alter your take on every day life. I think we don't even realize how normal things become until something goes askew. we almost become desensitized to the things that are around us, which is a shame, because they're so beautiful! Sometime i change the simplest of things just to see the difference, like sleeping at the other end of my bed. 

Perspective is a big theme in photography, i think it can make or break a photo. Its easy to stand there with a camera and take pictures of things, but i think some of the most amazing and well known photographers do anything but that. they are constantly changing the way they look at the world, and noticing the finite details. My cousin Kyle said to me one day "I think as a photographer you just see the world a different way. like i would never have thought about what kind of light we would need for a picture."

that is all for todayy

thanks guys :)

Imperfections

if you want to hear me rant, just ask me about Photoshop. i have this theory that you shouldn't have to edit your pictures to make them more beautiful. Personally i think its the imperfection in a photo that make it beautiful. a photograph is meant to capture a moment, and going and erasing the blemishes or making the person look more tan isn't the moment, its an alteration of it.

I don't edit any of my photos which some photographers would frown upon. People swear by Photoshop and working "Photoshop magic" but i don't think that being able to work a computer program  says anything about your ability to take a photo. when i see pictures of models with perfect skin and perfect features, i always wonder what they really look like before someone goes crazy with the edits.  There is this awesome video online made by dove called Evolution which shows what a model goes through for the photo shoot, and then shows the drastic changes made in Photoshop. the end product looks almost nothing like the model in the beginning!

I do think some of the work that people can do in Photoshop is amazing, more than i could ever do, but i think of that as a different skill. Don't call yourself a photographer if you take your final product against your original and they look nothing alike. id call you a... wicked good photoshopper...

anyways, i kind of like the imperfections in a photo. I would never call any of my photos perfect, but that's simply because i don't think perfection would be as beautiful as the imperfections are. we all make mistakes

after all isn't that what a human is? a mistake maker?

lauren!

her hair looks funny and im sure i could fix it but this is what i got!

who would want to change one single thing about this adorable little baby face!?

Go Nature!

The first greek god ever was actually a goddess they called Gaia, or mother nature.

"Mother Nature is always working to achieve and maintain harmony, wholeness and balance within the environment. Mother Nature heals, nurtures and supports all life on this planet, and ultimately all life and health depend on Her. In time, Nature heals all ills."

This is a photo i took on a trip to lake placid i went on with a few friends over the summer. It was an amazing time full of cliff jumping, playing in a small (but still significant) pile of snow, driving fast on long perfectly curvy roads, stargazing, and hiking. AND smores of course, cant believe i almost forgot that detail.

I just enjoy how this tree didn't happen to pay any mind to the giant boulder and was like, whatever, ill just root myself around you. and thats a boulder if i've ever seen one (note my friend Graham standing ontop of it for a frame of reference)

This photo reminds me of something i saw one time while browsing on the interwebs. It was this comic of a little boy talking to an interpretation of Gaia. 

so the boy looks to Gaia and thanks her for providing him with a place to live, play, and explore and whatnot. She, of course says its not a problem and thats simply what she is here for. The expression on the little boys face changes suddenly. He starts to apologize for all of the thingswe are doing that is killing her. 
she simply says

"oh little boy, you're not killing me, you're just killing yourselves. I'll still be here once you are all gone"

... I had never thought about that. I think i always knew things go back to nature and such, but i never thought about the extent of the entire human population essentially. When we are all gone (unless we royally mess up and nuke erythang) nature will still be here. we don't own the land we claim as ours, we are simply borrowing it from this earth. We aren't helping with all of out pollution  but it makes you appreciate that Gaia is more resilient that the entire human race.

Go nature

here are a few more lake placid photos!

sunset at lake Champlain 

sometimes even pictures dont do justice to the beauty!

im a little teapot?

Summer Time

I do love winter, but i miss summer. Winter is my favorite, but summer is awesome.

This is a Penny Board, i took this photo during the summer of 2012. Every year my family takes a vacation to Strathmere, NJ. this is a tiny little town in between Ocean City and Sea Isle that my grandfather grew up on, so my family rents a house and crams everyone in there each summer  Its little old house that doesn't even have air conditioning, but it has a wrap around porch that my grandfather adores, so against the cousins complaints, we get that house each year. 

I have so many memories at this one house, which is strange to think about because its not even my house. i have learned so much here too.

My grandfather told me a story about his childhood in that town when we were there this year. He met my grandmother on the sea isle beach because of his life guarding job, and in time they fell in love. Mind you, they were 18. so my age. which is so surreal to think about. anyways, every day he would ride his bike to sea isle to work and visit my grandmother, so in turn every night he would have to bike home to Strathmere. This was during the second world war, so there was always the possibility of having enemy submarines off of the coast so when my grandfather biked home, he was not allowed to use any sort of light. in fact, there wasnt allowed to be any sort of light on the coast at all. Light would allow the enemy submarines to see the coast, which in turn would give them the opportunity to shoot at the land mass.

Its so cool to think how technology has changed from then to now. sailors had to use the stars and out dated (and probably inaccurate) maps back then, and now you dont even have to be in the vicinity of something you want to shoot at.

annyways.

summer is great, and i love taking pictures with my cousins.

here are a few

my cousin Kyle!

neighboring dock

just a pretty flower!

Kyle and his little brother Danny

Pony Noses

This photo signifies an entire time period in my life. That's one of the reasons i love photography, its can stand for entire time periods. It's not just an image, it represents a moment. 

There was an entire 4 year block of time of my life i basically devoted to horses and riding. Its bizzare to think about it now. i was so involved in the sport. I had my own horse who i loved with all my heart. I traveled showing competitively, and was at the barn 7 days a week. I met some incredible people in my time spent in the indusrty.

and ill tell you, there isnt much that is more satisfying than kissing one of those incredible animals on the nose.

There is just something about their noses, they're adorable.

My horse Bailey!

The neighbors miniature pony

My Story

 

So here's my story

I was always taking pictures whenever there was a camera anywhere near me; I used little disposable cameras like it was my job. I never thought much of my pictures, it was just something i knew i had a passion for. My best friend at the time got a fancy camera for her birthday, and we went out and did a 'photo shoot' on the path through the woods near her house. I took bunches of pictures, got only a few good ones. I never really showed anyone my pictures, thought it wasn't worth the time.

I was visiting my Nana (mom's mother) one year over the summer. Going there was always the same, with the same conversations. "ohh you've gotten so big" "how is school" "how is your job" "any new hobbies?"
  for whatever reason, i decided to show my nana my photos because i had some up online. We all gathered around the computer, MUCH to my dismay, as i paged through my pictures. Everyone started saying that i had an 'eye for photography' which i took with a grain of salt. Later on that day my nana sat me down and said it made her happy that i was able to capture such pictures with seemingly no effort. Then she told me a fact that shook my world.

My mother had a love, and an eye for photography.

Now the weight of this is hard to convey over a page on the web. My mother passed away quickly when i was 8. I was so young and didn't understand why or how it happened. I wanted so bad to find a connection to her through my life. I convinced myself that my favorite color was green. I listened to Steele Dan even though i thought he sounded funny because i knew she listened to him. This one fact instantly tied myself to my mother. I had no idea she liked photography when i started, and for a while after, but i knew it was something i had a passion for.
Every picture i capture makes me think of her.

This picture specifically. I'm not even sure why, but this picture always brings forth an emotion i cant, and wont try to describe.

ill describe my future pictures more, but i wanted to tell my story first.
Thanks for listening