The Jones Family

I took these photos for my future sister and brother in-law. 

This is Ellis. We were having fun in his Grandmothers backyard. 

Jeannette and Marlowe. 

Chris, Ellis, Jeannette and Marlow. I had a bunch of these photos but this one was the best because no one was paying attention to me (a difficult task at an even quasi formal photo op). 

Yes, Marlowe is cute. 
The perfect Grammy & Grandson photo. Obviously cliche' but totally likable. 
The sun was harsher than I would have liked.  I like the angle on this picture. 

Ring around the rosie from Marlowe's eye level.  Although it's blown out by the sun and I chopped off half of Ellis' head, I think it still works. 

Sam

I saw this on Friday night and I couldn't help myself. It is my attempt at a near "phototoon" (an Elliott Erwitt inspired idea).  

Anthropology Environmental Portraiture

My Anthropology class finally got to go outside to take photographs of one another. It's amazing how must more relaxed everyone was when we got to be outside. Maybe it was the fresh air, the excess of space, the fact that we had spent more time together or maybe it was just that we are all outdoor people, but whatever it was, it was much more fun than sitting in front of hot studio lights and trying your hardest not to let others take that oh so familiar high school year book photograph of you again. There is a lot I can say here. I was focused on framing the picture in a good way and it ended up suggesting something very morbid. The redness on the bark to me looks like blood. I look at this picture and find it almost disturbing a little. The picture to me is not the fun hang from a tree that the moment actually was. Here is an example of how something so simple as red bark has the power to alter the semantics of a picture. 
This is what we all look behind a camera really. 
And this is what we all look like taking a photograph of ourselves. 
Simply a portrait. The blurred background is my effort to stop those menacing branches from stabbing Keith in the face. 
I used a slow shutter speed to highlight the falling aspect of the leaves. It left Lily and Keith's face soft but I think it's worth the affect. 
A happy leaf moment. 

Anthropology Studio

Back in the anthropology studio. 

Here we were experimenting with the strobe. We didn't have a lot of time to play around with it so this was the best that I got. At least his hair is straight up at one point. 

Oh, and this is another ode to Edgerton I suppose. 

There's just one cigarette, it's just moving around a bit. 

The Uptown Theater

The Uptown Theater was built in the 1920's. It was previously a landmark for entertainment and music. Currently there have been efforts made to begin restoring it. It's located at 2248 North Broad Street.

Anthropology Studio

I was back in the Anthropology Studio on Monday. I like how this shows the whole ridiculousness of studio photography. 
I was going for the whole "shroud of Turin" look here. 
Yeah shadows. 
I like how distorted Jason's body looks behind the screen. 

Termini Brothers Bakery

I went to Termini Bros. to take photographs "describing the neighborhood of South Philly" for my science class (unexpected right). When I asked if I could take pictures for a class at this bakery I got an entire tour of the place! All of these photographs were literally taken in about five minutes, because although I got the tour I had to "stick" next to my wonderfully kind tour guide. By the way, I had the best cannoli here that I've had in a long time (since Italy). 

I wish that this was a little brighter. 
I was trying to show how gigantic that mixer was. I only wish I got the man a little sharper. 
He is flattening dough (each piece goes through 15 times), to make cannoli cases. 
Here they are wrapping the flattened and cut cannoli dough around wooden sticks to later get fried in wine. I like that the one hand shows motion and the other does not. 
I don't think I especially like or dislike this photo. The subjects are the best part. 

Anthropology Studio

My Anthropology and Photography class took portraits today in the Anthropology studio in Gladfelter Hall. These photographs are my favorite from the ones that I took. 

I had a few photographs with Jason's head completely in the magnifying glass but I choice this one because of his expression.   
I like how I took this photograph, cropping out his mouth, because the best part of the image is his eyes. 

Yogi

Sam & I adopted a kitten from the farm. She is only four weeks old and was abandoned so we decided to take her home with us! Her name is Yogi Bear because her fur makes her look like a little bear. 

This shot was actually a little tricky to meter for. White on black is not the most simple color combination. 

Fall

I was at my parents house in Richlandtown. It looks like fall again.

I took some photographs in the high grasses at a low angle to emphasize how tall they are.
Sunspots again. I think there is a time and a place for sunspots. I don't mind them so much on nature photographs.
I used a shallow depth of field to draw your attention to the bug on the one flower.

Pirate Ship

This pirate ship is on the lawn of Palisades High School's football field. It was once my high school. 

The stadium lights are definitely something to work with and not against... if you try to fight them they will probably beat you. 

Photos on Friday

I took these photographs on Friday from 11 am to noon. It was a class assignment. 

This toolbox was in the PGW mechanic shop between 9th and 8th on Berks Street. I love that it has a Bible verse in it. I wish the lights didn't have such harsh reflections on it. 
This was above the desk in the shop. 
This is one of my favorite photographs from the hour. Jim pulled out his pocket watch. When he saw me photographing it he started mugging for the camera a bit, but I like this one. I think this was before any superior mugging happened. 
I saw this near the cookie truck by the Student Center. I used as low of an aperture as I could.
This is in Alter Hall, or the Fox School of Business. This was taken in one photograph. I preset my camera and pretended to be watching the TV. This is from the hip. I was trying to say something about the pace of the business world but I don't know if it's clear. 
I like the light here. I had to make sure there weren't trees coming out of his head when I took the photo. 
I was trying to show that I where I was with only a small detail. I was manually focusing. I wish that I would have made the "motorcycle parking" letters just the slightest bit sharper. 

Procession of Saints

Today was the annual Procession of Saints and Italian festival in South Philadelphia at Saint Nicholas of Tolentine Parish. The procession started at around 12:30 pm. 

This is my establishing photograph. I like the expressions on the peoples faces. I know I could have cropped the cars out but I like how it shows the place. 
I like this photograph but I am very disappointed that I cut the woman's fingers out slightly. So close. 
Hooray for the tuba! I love it's shape. 
I guess this could also be considered an establishing shot. 
I like my angle here. There was lots of Italian flag colored confetti being pumped into the air. 
Here I was going for repetition of lines- the conductors arm and the clarinets. 

I like this moment but I photographed it wrong. I wish I could have gotten lower, and I needed to change my aperture so I don't have the flash bright white that you see. The moment only lasted a second though. 

Bocce Ball

Bocce Ball is a sport. It is an ancient game that's most popular in Italy. The Italian Club at Temple got a group of players together yesterday, Wednesday September 30th on the lawn next to the Tyler building (across from SCAT).  

The most beautiful Bocce set. The larger balls are thrown at the smaller ball. It was hard to avoid my reflection. I'm in there a little bit. 
They are determining who's ball (larger throwing ball) got closest to the target (smaller ball). Whoever is closest wins the round. This feels a little to far away I think. 

My attempt at a self portrait. 
I like the shadow in the shot. I wish I had used shallower focus. 
The winning ball. 
This shot is more informational than anything. It shows how the game is played. 
Players deliberate  who is the winner of the match after all of the balls have been thrown. It looks like red took this round.  Although I cut off their torsos and heads I still like this shot. The lighting is nice and I think it still gets the point across.