Wk 3 EOC: Where are you now and, where you are going?

I would say that as of now I am just at the beginning of my life. As I am getting older I have come to realize that everyday is progress. Personally, I feel like I still have a lot to experience for myself. Every thing that I experience has an affect on who I am, and who I will become. I feel like everything has just started personally and professionally. After the past years at the Art Institute I now feel more comfortable as a creative professional going into the field. The past three years have given me lots of time and opportunities to better myself as a photographer. Though I have progressed in the time that I have been in school, I know that I am nowhere close to what I am going to become. I know that I still have a lot more to learn, and a lot more time to grow into the creative professional. My career has yet to start, and I look forward to what the future will bring me. I worked hard to get to where I am now, and I plan on continuing to work hard to achieve what I desire. There will be rough times along the way but I know that in the long run it is all worth it because, what I am doing is something that means a lot to me, and is something I enjoy doing. “It should be you who decides which causes you want to support. That means deciding what is near and dear to you and reaching out to those causes.” I will use the knowledge I have now to help get me grow into the person I want to be. I am going to continue to work to make my dreams today a reality tomorrow.

Wk 2 Photo Challenge: Crime Scene

The contents that make the crime scene in my image are all a compilation of my thoughts on what a crime scene photograph would look like. When I heard crime scene, the first thing I thought was black and white. Every crime photo I’ve ever seen has been in black and white. The photographs presented as evidence in court cases in movies and television shows are black and white. I learned not too long ago in a law class that all photographs presented in a court case before a jury are printed in black and white for a specific reason. The printed documents of a gruesome crime scene could wager the decision of the jurors. Displaying a crime scene in such a vivid and accurate way could evidentially lead the jurors to make their decisions based off the photographs alone rather than all the other evidence at hand. Other than being black and white, I tried to emphasize on the location to make for a good setting. An ideal place where a crime would occur. Crime happens everywhere, on street corners, and alleyways. I choose for my crime scene to be in a shady place. By that I mean a place that you wouldn’t normally take an evening stroll through. The graffiti on the walls and weathered background was a definite plus. It gave the image just a little; but yet significant amount of detail. The last detail I wanted to focus on was the model, or the victim. I had the subject placed in a way so that the viewer could tell that there is a person, or victim lying under the white sheet. It took several different shots and poses to get the victim to the position that I pictured in my head. In postproduction I added a quick two-step layer method to create the caution tape. As an art student I don’t have access to many things such as a crime scene and all the tape that comes with it. In that case I decided to let my creativity flow to create and add the tape manually. The dirty pavement was like the icing on the cupcake that brought all the contents together.

Wk 2 EOC: Sacrifices I am willing to make

As a photographer, there are a lot of things you will have sacrifice. Careers in the photo industry differ from each other; some jobs are very demanding. One of the things I am willing to sacrifice is being alone. Me, myself, and I. Another thing that I am willing to sacrifice is time. Being a photographer takes a lot of work from behind the camera and away from the camera. “One of the challenges of being self-employed-especially as a photographer-is the presumption of how your time is spent. Few if any, photographers know how their day is spent.” With different occupations there comes different sacrifices. Working a job that takes away from my social life is something that will be hard to do, but will be worth it in the long run. The benefits are what matters. Another sacrifice I am willing to make is relocating. This, just like my social life will be another hard sacrifice to make. I have lived in Las Vegas Nevada all my life. Leaving everything I know, and everything I am used to would be a big change for me. I am willing to do it though. There is s lot of work for photographers here in Las Vegas, but a lot of it is freelance, a cutthroat type of business, with the exception of a couple steady photography jobs. So if you are a photographer here in Nevada relocating should already be a sacrifice you are willing to make. Personal safety is another thing I am willing to sacrifice. I have an interest in photojournalism, and some of the assignments you might need to document could put you in the middle of a dangerous situation. Many wartime photographers make their living by risking their own safety every time they go out to shoot. What ever the sacrifices may be, if the benefits in the end are good for me as a person and for my career as a photographer, I would be willing to make them.

Wk 1 Photo Challenge: Feed Your Head

 The content of this picture describes me in a couple different ways. The final image was my original plan B due to weather the past week. Ask another photographer how this picture was created, and they will tell you the same thing, painting with light. Rather than a creative professional, I consider myself an artist. Art is a big part of who I am and who I will be in the future. Expressing my creativity has always been something significant to me. With that thought I decided the majority of the content in this image should be painted, but not on canvas or paper. I choose to paint through my favored medium of choice. Music has played an important roll in my life; I am a musician, and a music lover. Music has always been and forever will be influential to me. The painted text reads “Feed Your Head.” It is a lyric from one of the most influential bands on rock-n-roll culture, and one of my personal favorites “The Jefferson Airplane.” The band is known for their psychedelic music, with off the wall lyrics from lead singer Grace Slick. The term could be used for many different things. I once heard that what makes humans such an outstanding species is our curiosity. I like to apply “feeding your head” to everything. Weather it be feeding your thoughts and conscious with knowledge of new and exciting things that you would have never thought of before. In my Plan A for this picture, the location was going to be a lot different. I have grown up on the East side of the Las Vegas valley, the foothills of Sunrise Mountain. Growing up on the East side of town has defiantly made an influence on which I am as a person so I chose to take the picture at the very place that I have been socially constructed.

Wk 1 EOC: Haute Couture

In France, Haute Couture is what is used to describe clothing. Not just any clothing, Haute Couture means clothes that are high quality. The clothes are custom made from different designers. Each piece of is made from leading fashion houses with top of the line fashionable materials. I think as a photographer, haute couture is probably one of the best routes to take for your career. Even though it might not be the best paying occupation for a photographer, but the work is consistent. It is a type of business that you need to be on top of your game, and nothing less. “Your current business model must be reviewed. Whether you’re a freelance news photographer, an advertising photographer, a wedding photographer, or a high school portrait photographer, all good business people sit down and examine what they are doing and how they could do it better.” As our society grows, the fashion world grows simultaneously. I think that haute couture is a long way from dying out, which means a lot of money and work for creative professionals such as photographers. I was born and raised in Las Vegas, and high fashion has been something I’ve been exposed to for quite some time. If anything I would say that haute couture is at its peak or on the way there. It’s not going anywhere anytime soon.

Wk 1 EOC: My Voice

My name is Brian and I am a photographer from Las Vegas, Nevada. I have a wide range of experience in video production, and graphic design, but specialize through the viewfinder of an SLR camera. I have done promotional work for many different companies, and self-employers. Alongside freelance work, I have done personal work for models, and actors to build their personal portfolios. I’ve had most of my experience in studio photography throughout my career as a photographer, specializing in traditional and family portraits. I have touched ground in many different areas of photography as well such as, photojournalism, lifestyle, sports, still life and landscape photography. Landscape photography is a special interest of mine that I enjoy doing whenever I get the chance. Being a fan of sports, sports photography is another special interest of mine and something that I have done work for. I’ve shot multiple sporting events, everything from motocross races to high school football games. Being a photographer it is my job to have a creative eye. Through my work I show everything how I see it. I document what I see how I see it through my perspective. I am always looking for anything interesting and appealing to the eye to freeze in time. I enjoy what I do. My work motivates me to never stop creating. Creating a better image than my last is what pushes me to do my best, and in return better myself as a creative professional and an artist in the process.