Visual Storytelling in the Mountains
How do you tell a story with only four images? All semester-long in my Intermediate Photography class, we have had to present out projects (four total, excluding the final) is a four-image series, no more, no less. The problem with four images is that there is no great middle and it isn’t enough to draw out the “middle” through more than one image. At least in ski photography or adventure photography, most stories have a beginning (the parking lot ), an intro into the setting (the skin up), a high point or peak (the top of the skin track), the climax (usually the ski descent), and a conclusion ( the exfil or parking lot at the end). Perfect for 5 or more photos!
Here are two tours I have tried to shoot in a final four-image series way. Also, please click on the galleries to see the full crops, these are set all to 1:1…
Study: Edward Hopper
So, I was going to post this a week ago, but life was chaotic… I have been inspired by Edward Hopper’s work, regarding subject matter, lighting, color, and composition. I found it to be a bit more difficult than I anticipated but nonetheless proved to be a really good exercise in consistency and shooting with a specific aesthetic in mind. Here are some of the keepers from the short project:
Please click the images to view the full crop.
I like how the photos turned out and think I accomplished my good within the style I have created in my street photography. I would like to have more people in the images overall because of the perspective and emotion it gives to the photos.
This small study is part of a larger project I am working on which you can sorta preview here: https://www.instagram.com/p/CHyI7tKlhnK/?igshid=1bazw1uapsicq
Exploration of the Night
Here’s a quick look at some of my favorite images from the past few weeks. I have really enjoyed shooting at night lately, getting into street photography has been really fun, it makes it super easy to just go out and shoot. And shooting at night is really great because of the different aesthetic it gives. I really like how negative space is dark, making a subject or part of a composition stand out better. Colors seem to really stand out well, contrasting on the dark vacuum of color, as opposed to falling off into a white negative space. Overall I have been super stoked to shoot street at night lately, and I plan to continue! I will be adding a street section under the more page.
Hiking Hyalite Zone
Starting to explore the Southwest Montana mountain and have been stoked to find similar verticality and terrain compared to the San Juan Mountains from home. The colorful and lush forests here are amazing and new for me. It's a beautiful place to explore and I am so fired up to hike more in the area and soon explore it on skis. I did this hike with Reece, check out his Insta, he’s trying to grow his photography page here.
As far as the actual photos go… I really like how they turned out but I was shooting all handheld without a tripod and was surprised at how high I had to push the ISO to get a useable shutter speed. They turned out to look great and capture the colors and mood of the storminess I wanted, but I found the images degrading a ton in Lightroom when I pushed it even a little bit. The grain isn’t that nice looking either to me right now. Spending to much time with 3200-speed film…
Click on the images to see the full size and purpose crop. Let me know how this is as well, not really sure what I’m doing but it feels more right artistically than social media right now… I also have a project I am just starting on with my film camera that I hopefully can get on here soon.
Welcome...
I am going to start using this space, as opposed to mainstream social media as my main form of ‘publishing’ or ‘displaying’ my photography, and artistic creations alike. In an attempt to distance myself as much as possible from Instagram, I am going to be updating this and using this space as a ‘feed’ for me to display my photography regardless of the category, whether its personal or professional work, or the format and medium. I will still likely stay somewhat active on Instagram as a tool for friends, clients, and family to discover, stay in touch, or connect with me, but if you enjoy my photography and seeing the art I create, this is the new space to find it. Thanks!