A Rather Chilly Nature Shoot

This morning, my best friend Angela and I went out to breakfast at Crazy Beans in Stony Brook. Very close to Crazy Beans is a nature reserve called Avalon Park. Avalon is well-known for The Tree With The Rainbow Rope. (The rope has since been removed.) After finishing our yummy meals, we took a walk around and had a little autumnal shoot.
I brought along my fisheye lens to see how some landscape shots would look with it, and I was rather satisfied with my results. For some odd reason, I really like how the fisheye distorts and softens the edges of the image. I'd like to do something with landscapes for my final in Digital I, so I thought experimenting with different lenses could focus my idea (no pun intended).
We also took a walk to Cartas al Cielo, which is a reflective sphere that you can put notes into for someone without an earthly address. Angela and I are fascinated by it, so she was intently examining it when I noticed the light that was being reflected onto her. I quickly switched to my 50mm lens and asked her to pose. The shadows were so interesting that I just had to capture it.
We had a nice time, despite the very, very cold temperature. It was a great way to kick off thanksgiving break. Happy Thanksgiving!

The famous tree during the summer of 2015.

An Evening in Port Jefferson

For my most recent assignment in Digital Photo I, we had to shoot light. It was a pretty broad topic, so I wasn't exactly sure where to start. After procrastinating enough, I took a drive to Port Jefferson after class with the hope of being inspired.
By the time I got there, the sun was just about to set. As a huge sunset enthusiast, I was excited to see what this form of light would bring me. I took a walk and shot whatever I found, and I think the results were decently okay. What once seemed like a difficult assignment turned out to not be so awful.
After reflecting on my photos, I think what I'm most passionate about when it comes to photography is sunsets. It's an extremely lame conclusion to come to, but I feel like I can do a lot with that general subject for my final.
I've also found that I really like landscape photos, so combining the two seems to be what would best work out for me. For my final assignment in Digital Photo I, I'd like to take a drive around Long Island and capture different landscapes at sunset. It'll take a bit of work, but I am anxious to see the results.

Why I Still Shoot Film

I tend to bring a camera everywhere I go. That camera could be my Canon DSLR, Fujifilm Instax, Minolta 35mm, or even simply my iPhone. However, whenever I bring along my Minolta, I am often asked the question, "Why do you use film?" Usually, I will give a bland answer -- "I like it," "It's fun," or "I just do" -- and then resume taking photos. Not until recently, though, have I really thought about the answer... why do I shoot film?
I think my love for film dates back to before I was born. I know, it doesn't make clear sense, but bare with me. When my dad was a teenager and until the late 90s, he was shooting Kodachrome on his Minolta X-370 (the same Minolta I shoot on today, mind you). Before that, he was shooting and developing Plus-X-Pan black & white film in the darkroom he built in the basement of his parent's house. He was a full-on photography nerd, and the enlargers and trays in our basement closet are evidence of that.
Flash forward to 2014 when I started attending Wilson Tech for photography. Wilson Tech is apart of the BOCES programs where students leave their high schools for half the day to go to a BOCES campus and learn about a specific practice, in my case, photography. For my first year at Tech, I studied mostly b&w film. We shot primarily ILFORD 400, sometimes 200, and developed and printed everything ourselves. I went into the program not knowing anything about shutter speeds, f-stops, and ISO, and left knowing all of that, plus the inner-workings of a darkroom. After learning something new at school, I would gush to my dad and he would understand exactly what was exciting me so much. Learning about photography was a way to connect with my dad in a way I hadn't for most of my life.
These days, my dad and I will every now and again wake up early and decide to go on a photo run. We bring our respective 35mm cameras (he recently bought himself a Nikon and handed over his precious Minolta to me) and shoot whatever we find, then later come home and develop it in the basement bathroom sink.
I also love film for reasons not entirely related to my dad. Looking through the viewfinder on a 35mm camera seems so different to me than one on a digital SLR. Since film is becoming obsolete, I am able to find lenses for relatively cheap prices and find out what lenses I enjoy over others. As for developing film, there's this unique feeling of satisfaction when I unroll the negatives from the film reel and see my photos come to life.
So, to anyone that has ever asked me, that's why I still shoot film.

Reaction Paper #3: The Metropolitan Museum of Art

A few weeks ago, my best friend Angela (a student at St. Joseph's College) invited me on a bus trip with her school to The MET. After penciling it in our schedules, confirming our attendance, and preparing for the expedition, November 5 arrived and we were on a bus to New York City.
The day started off rather early, but was nonetheless very enjoyable. We got to the museum at around 10 am and it was practically desolate; for the first hour, we had the place to ourselves. Angela had to complete an assignment for her art class, so we visited the work of Lilly Martin Spencer. Angela admired the paintings and took some notes. When she was satisfied with the information she had gathered, Angela turned the lead over to me. As the photo nerd I am, I immediately bolted to the other side of the museum in search of the photographs.
Unfortunately, the main photography exhibit was closed, so I was unable to see Edward Steichen's The Pond -- Moonrise. I was pretty disappointed, but that didn't stop me for being overly excited about spotting a Daguerreotype by Southworth and Hawes.
I was also able to see Dorothy True by Alfred Stieglitz. I had not seen this photo prior to going to the MET, so it was such a unique experience to view a piece for the first time in person. At first, I thought it was just a photograph of a leg, which I thought was okay, but didn't quite understand why it was exhibited rather than one of Stieglitz's other pieces. But then I noticed an eye... and then another eye... and then a mouth -- slowly, I began to recognize that not only was there a leg, but there was also another exposure on this print. It was very faint, but when I saw it I couldn't take my eyes away. It was absolutely breathtaking.
On top of seeing some photographs, I got to view some work from one of my all-time favorite artists: Roy Lichtenstein. My love for his art bloomed in middle school when, for an art assignment, I had to recreate a famous artist's work and I chose him. Every time I see a piece of Lichtenstein's in a museum, my inner middle schooler gets so excited. There is something so satisfying about following a creator for so long and your love only growing as the years go on.
After spending some time at the MET, Angela and I walked around Central Park and did an impromptu autumnal photo shoot. I am quite proud of how the photos turned out, and altogether am left satisfied after my trip to the Upper East Side.