Photojournalism: News Photography Assignment

Thousands of people, young and old, gathered in front of Union Station and the Liberty Memorial in Kansas City, Mo., for the 11th annual Celebration at the Station on the evening of May 26, 2013.

The Kansas City Symphony, led by conductor Michael Stern (center stage) performs Tchaikovsky’s “1812, Overture solennelle” on stage under a star-spangled canopy in front of Union Station.

The front side of Union Station is adorned in patriotic stars and stripes as members of the color guards take the stage.

Color guards from all five branches of the military took the stage during the recognition of all those that have served their country. Active and retired members of the Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marines, and Navy were asked to stand and be recognized.

Spectators are silhouetted against the wall of the Liberty Memorial as they watch the fireworks burst behind the tower.

 

 

Photojournalism: Portrait Assignment

Shawn Kelly, 23, of Warrensburg Mo., has been spinning fire for six years. Kelly performs with a couple different fire performing troupes and loves entertaining people wherever he goes.

In the photo, Shawn holds fire poi, weighted wicks suspended on chains that are swung all around in patterns and dance.

In the photo, Shawn spins his fire poi in a tight circle while bringing them closer to his face in a daring, but popular spinning technique.

In the photo, Shawn stretched both arms out as he swings the fire poi around the late evening sky.

In the photo, Shawn launches his fire spinning staff, a well balanced bar with ignited fuel-soaked wicks attached at each end, high into the air which causes the flames to look like a small explosion in the sky.

In the photo, Shawn spins his fire staff in front of himself which causes the ignited ends to appear to circle around his body.

Photojournalism: Event Photography

Over two hundred people gathered on the lawn of the Kearney Amphitheater for the 6th annual Kearney Blue Festival on Saturday May 25th.Those in attendance were treated to the unique styles and sounds of featured artists The Rev. Jimmie Bratcher, Katy Guillen, The Josh Vowell Band, and Samantha Fish.

Jimmie Bratcher takes a break from singing and goes into a funky blues guitar solo during his performance in Kearney Missouri. The Rev. Jimmie Bratcher (band’s name) is a blues rock artist wh is also a preacher.

Katy Guillen foucuses on her fingerwork during a tricky guitar riff during her performance at Blues Fest. Katy got into the blues genre in her teen years. Katy now performs with The Katy Guillen Trio which features Katy Guillen on lead guitar and lead vocals, Claire Adams on bass guitar and backup vocals, and Stephanie Williams on the drums.

Justin Shelton of The Josh Vowell Band plays a mean but soulful harmonica to the audience while children dance around near the stage.

Josh Vowell of The Josh Vowell Band, a Topeka Kansas native, plays lead guitar while interacting with the audience. The Josh Vowell Band is a four peice blues soul band from northeast Kansas. They play the blues while bringing their own unique style and sound to their fans.

Justin Shelton, also from Topeka Kansas, plays the blues harmonica in The Josh Vowell Band. On stage Shelton stands near a metallic briefcase that is filled with different harmonicas that each have their own unique sound.

Creative Photography-Assignment #4: Pseudo HDR Imagery

Creative Photography-Assignment #3: Creative HDR Processing

Creative Assignment #2: Working With Motion

Flickr Slideshow- Creative Photography: Motion

Editorial Assignment 6-Event: Brother Jed and Brother Joe visit UCM

Brother Jed and Brother Joe visited UCM’s campus April 20 and April 21. They claimed that their goal was to be bringing the student body closer to God, when in fact they were pushing more of them away. They were both constantly hammering down on the LGBT people at the school, mocking them and just insulting them left and right. These guys seem to be living through the Old Testament in the Bible, and giving little to no regard to the New Testament.

Apparently these two men have the power to perform Miracles but they physically can’t do them in front of a bunch of sinners and non-believers. I thought the whole point of the Miracles in the Bible were to help people believe, was I wrong? Also, apparently the majority of red-headed people will not go to Heaven because they refuse to believe in God. These men explain to us that they both have “God-given authority” to judge each and every one of us, but we do not have the right to judge anyone ourselves.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m sure in their head’s they are trying to do the right thing, but they are just going about it in the completely wrong direction. Honestly, I’d be able to take them, Brother Jed at least a little more seriously if he wasn’t always talking about his past sexual conquests, at the drive-in, in the back of his “Father’s 1954 Chevy Bel Air, with leather interior.” Their methods of preaching just don’t touch people’s hearts like they should, instead they are hardening their hearts by insulting them and degrading them verbally in front of everyone.

Flickr Slideshow-Editorial Events: Brother Jed and Brother Joe Visit UCM

Editorial In-Class Exercise: Tethered Food Shooting

For this in-class exercise we were learning how to shoot tethered, that is shooting directly to our computers. In this class we were shooting food. We used Alien Bees lighting equipment to light our sets. Our professor, Jerry Schmidt, baked some delicious breads and brought them in. We the constructed our own sandwiches and salads and had to stage them for a shoot.

Editorial Photography-Assignment 4: Sports

For my 4th Editorial assignment, I chose to use my Track Meet Field event photos. This shoot was particularly interesting because I got to use a Canon 1Ds Mark III and a Canon 200mm f/2.8 lens. I also obtained a Media Pass which allowed me to go into off limits areas to capture the shots I needed.

Flickr Slideshow-Editorial-Sports: Track Meet

Editorial Photography-Assignment 3: Jewelry

For my 3rd Editorial Photography assignment I chose to try jewelry photography. This category proved to be a bit of a challenge. I had to find a way to get soft light, and to get the gemstones to sparkle a bit. In shooting this assignment  used the EZcube setup to give me soft diffused light, and used an LED Sparkler light to bring out the details in the gemstones. Overall this was a challenging, but somewhat fun type of photography I never thought I’d try.

Flickr Slideshow-Editorial Jewelry