Assignment 5: Sweet Days of Summer
This assignment was a lot of fun and definitely a challenge. I really enjoyed playing with the lighting in order to imitate the summer sun. I chose a wine bottle because I liked playing with the condensation, reflections, and transparencies of the glass. I was hoping to give the scene a summer feel by adding pastel dishes, grapes, and a warm evening glow. By using such a shallow depth of field, I eliminated the possibility of revealing the true environment.
Assignment 4: Documentary.
I chose to do the “The Lost World” assignment and traveled down to Atomic City which is about twenty minutes northwest of Blackfoot, Idaho. This town has a population of 25 which, honestly, seemed a little high to me. The entire time I was there, I saw one person come out of their house for a brief two minutes or so. There were less than ten standing houses and only about three of which seemed to be inhabited, but there was a brand new fire station that seemed to be in perfect shape. Two bars were still in business and the town also had it’s own race track. It honestly surprises me that they would make enough money to stay in business since this lonely town is many miles from a decent population. Anyway, the photos I took document the current state of this abandoned town and tell story leaving the viewer’s imagination to decide what may have happened to make these people leave in such a hurry.
Assignment 3 — Landscape, Panorama
I chose to do the panoramic assignment because I’ve never had any experience with it before. I like that it allows you to reveal more of the environment. I chose this scene for my final shot because of the way the road seems to curve around the back, the color of the sky and trees, and  how perfectly the composition turned out. After this assignment I found myself experimenting with other panoramic shots and look forward to improving this useful skill.
A panoramic shot done in Chesterfield, Idaho on October 13, 2014.
Assignment 2 — PortraitÂ
For this assignment we were asked to capture someone in their favorite room in order to have a more relaxed subject and also reveal something about their personality. I chose to photograph a close friend of mine and she chose her favorite trail up Cherry Springs where she often takes her dog for a walk. The gorgeous fall colors made for a great backgroud and the sky was very overcast. I chose to use a reflector to brighten up her face due to the low lighting situation. I found this exercise to be very helpful and forced me to think about how to create my own light and manipulate it in a way that I could get the effect I’m looking for. My subject was also much more comfortable and relaxed with her dog being present. It allowed me to step back and let them interact to capture more natural looking shots.
Alyssa Stone Photography 