Printmaking
Last week I did a printmaking class with UNH. I’ve never done printmaking before, just small project in school, so this was a brand new experience for me. I really enjoyed this class and once I got a hang of things, I really started to like my final products. Here are a few of the prints that I made.
photo class
Last week I took a digital photography class to try and better my photography and lightroom skills. Here are a few of my favorites.
X-T2 ƒ/5.6 1/680 28.9mm ISO200
X-T2 ƒ/2.8 1/901 8.8mm ISO200
X-T2 ƒ/5.6 1/1600 24.3mm ISO200
X-T2 ƒ/3.6 1/60 32.9mm ISO640
X-T2 ƒ/5.6 1/600 18.8mm ISO200
X-T2 ƒ/2.8 1/60 18mm ISO200
X-T2 ƒ/5.6 1/750 55mm ISO200
eastport, me
This past weekend I went to Maine with a couple of friends. We were staying about 30 minutes from Eastport which is a small little town in Maine near the Canadian border. I go up to Eastport every year with my family and I love taking photos of what life is like up there in comparison to where I live.
X-T2 ƒ/5.61 /1100 30.2mm ISO200
X-T2 ƒ/5.6 1/1500 26.5mm ISO200
X-T2 ƒ/5.6 1/850 18mm ISO200
X-T2 ƒ/7.1 1/1600 55mm ISO200
X-T2 ƒ/5.6 1/250 42.5mm ISO100
X-T2 ƒ/6.4 1/1500 37.4mm ISO200
photography volunteering
Last weekend I started volunteering at a dog rescue in Northwood, NH. Mary’s Dogs is the name of the rescue and it is where I got my dog. I volunteered to help photograph so that anyone looking at these dogs online will see an accurate depiction of their temperament and personality, and not get stuck with a blurry photo that barely shows the cuteness of the dog.
If you or anyone you you know are looking for a dog to adopt go to https://www.marysdogs.org/our-dogs/ . They have dogs of all ages and are very nice and reliable. This is where we got my dog and we love him.
As I try to improve my photography skills, I am going to be focusing more on the photos in this blog and less on the writing. I will be adding more photos each week than I have been and will try to maintain an average of about 10 photos per week.
X-T2 ƒ/3.6 1/70 21.4mm ISO200
X-T2 ƒ/5 1/75 23.3mm ISO400
X-T2 ƒ/5 1/70 32.9mm ISO200
X-T2 ƒ/5.6 1/75 32.9mm ISO200
X-T2 ƒ/4 1/60 40.7mm ISO320
X-T2 ƒ/5.6 1/75 37.4mm ISO200
X-T2 ƒ/5 1/60 55mm ISO200
X-T2 ƒ/5 1/75 35.8mm ISO200
X-T2 ƒ/5 1/70 28.9mm ISO200
X-T2 ƒ/4 1/60 52.7mm ISO320
happy fourth!
Last week I was unable to post because I was in Maine for the fourth of July. Every year my family has a tradition of going up to this little town in Maine near Canada for a celebration of the fourth hosted by the town of Eastport, ME. Eastport is such a small town that everybody knows everybody else’s name and the fourth of July is the biggest event of the year, they have lots of activities and attractions to attend and the festivities end with a big parade. Because we were in the middle of nowhere, I did not have and reception to post last week’s blog.
My family stays in Charlotte, ME in a little cabin on a lake. It is probably one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever stayed at. I love taking the paddle board out on the lake at sunset, or seeing a bald eagle fly by. I find this camp experience as a good way to practice my photography because I am presented with so many different kinds of moments to capture. I also tried taking film photos of some sparklers that we used so if those come out successfully, then I will add the pictures on.
july 2
june 25
northwood, nh
This week I went to Northwood Meadows State Park with my dad and my dog. It has been a while since I’ve been to a state park on the weekend because I have had so much going on with school finals, and I was focusing on pet photography. Northwood Meadows Park is a bunch of walking paths that are based around Meadows Lake. This is the first time that I’ve been to this park, and I thought that it was perfect for taking a quick walk with the option of a longer one.
At Northwood Meadows Park I practiced using long exposure to get an action shot of water flowing over rocks. At first I didn’t think that this kind of picture was necessary and I could just focus on taking “more interesting” photos. But after I looked at these photos I realized that the long exposure was worth it because the end result tuned out really cool. I will definitely use this technique again next time I come across a body of water or waterfall.
X-T10 ƒ/22 1/2 18mm ISO500
X-T10 ƒ/22 1s 20.5mm ISO500
X-T10 ƒ/5.6 1/340 55mm ISO200
june 11
MY WEBSITE
Sadly, I was sick in bed all weekend last week so I was unable to go out and take photos. Instead I thought it would be a good idea to update my website and add more photo galleries to the home page. I added two new galleries and am hoping to add four more after that. These new photos that I am adding are all of the film photos that I have taken so far (at least what came out best from each roll). I’ve been needing to update my website for a while now, so in a way some good came out of being sick. Next week I will be back to posting about my photography progress and what I have been doing.
more pet photography
This past week I wanted to practice more with pet photography, so I went to my friends house to take pictures of her cat. Last week I took pictures of dogs so I wanted to try different kinds of animals for the practice and diversity of content. I realized that It’s harder to take pictures of cats because they are more difficult to understand and it’s harder to get them to do what you want. My friend has two cats and a bunny, I took pictures of the bunny and one of the cats because the other one was too timid. Taking pictures of her bunny was also hard because it wouldn’t come out of its cage. I was really glad that I got to practice taking pictures of other kinds of animals because it helps me understand what I need in order to prepare for a picture. I can’t wait to practice on other pets and animals and continue to get these kinds of photos.
X-T2 ƒ/2 1/60 35mm ISO200
X-T2 ƒ/4 1/180 35mm ISO200
X-T2 ƒ/2 1/60 35mm ISO800
may 21
Pet photography
Recently I’ve been interested in pet photography so last week I decided to practice with my friends dogs. I went over to her house and worked on figuring out a method to get the dogs attention and the best way to get a successful photo of the dog. At first it was hard to take a picture because the dogs were just paying attention to my friend and not the camera, but I realized that the dogs were very treat motivated so I used that and held a treat above the camera to get the dogs to look at me. I think that it was good that I took these pictures because it helped me figure out efficient ways to get a quality photo because it can be hard to get them to pay attention. I am going to continue to photograph pets and get more practice so that I can take the best photos possible.
X-T2 ƒ/5.6 1/400 35mm ISO200
X-T2 ƒ/5.6 1/600 35mm ISO200
montRÉAL
Last week I went to Montréal for April vacation with my family. We brought my dog as well because we were staying at a dog friendly hotel. While we were in Montréal it rained everyday so we weren’t able to do a lot of outdoor activities like we had originally planned. We were there for four day and on the first day we went to the Olympic museum where the 1976 Olympics were held. Connected to the stadium is a giant tower that you can go up and get an amazing view of the city, so we went up and the view was really cool even though it was gray and rainy outside. Also near the stadium is an observatory where we went and watched a couple of astrological movies.
The last full day we were there was when it was raining the most, so we decided to go to an art museum. The first thing we did that day was get brunch at this restaurant named Arthur’s, it was probably the best brunch I’ve ever had. They had amazing food and I wish that there was one here in the states. After brunch we headed over to the museum but it was closed so we had to think of another plan. We ended going to a Ferris wheel which was really cool even though it was raining.
The day we left Montréal was of course the only day that it was sunny, so we had nice weather as we were crossing the border. I had a lot of fun in Canada so it was sad to leave, but I can’t wait to go back someday.
april 30
april 23
wagon hill farm
This past weekend I went out to take pictures without my dad and just took my dog. I had a lot of homework to do that afternoon so I decided to find a trail that was close by and photogenic. The first place I went to seemed really nice from the pictures that were shown when I looked up “walking trails near me” so I drove over there and checked it out. As I was looking around, it wasn’t as great as I was expecting so I went to go meet my mom at my sister’s field hockey game. I was en route to the game when my mom calls me and tells me that she’s already home, so I turn around and head back. On my way home I remembered that I didn’t get any good pictures so I decided to go to Wagon Hill and take pictures there. Even though I’ve been to Wagon Hill before, and it isn’t a new location like I normally try to do, I really enjoyed going to wagon hill and thought I got some good pictures out of it. Next week I want to do something new so that I’m not just repeating myself and doing the same things over again.
X-T10 ƒ/2.8 1/60 18mm ISO500
new wetsuit
Last weekend instead of going on an excursion to take pictures, I instead went with my dad to go look for a wetsuit for me. Lately I have been interested in surfing and want to practice more so that I can better my skills. We went to Cinnamon Rainbows in Hampton, NH to look at boards and wetsuits, and left the store with a wetsuit and surfboards in mind. sadly, it’s still too cold to go surfing because the water is around 30 degrees fahrenheit. After the store, we went on a walk along the beach with my dog and when it started to rain we went home. Getting this new wetsuit is an opportunity for me to learn a new skill and I’m excited to not only surf, but also take lots of action shots.
greenfield, n
This past weekend I went out to Greenfield, NH to take photos. I was trying to figure out where I wanted to go that weekend so I looked up parks in New Hampshire and found Wapack National Wildlife Refuge that was about an hour and a half away. When we got there we realized that it wasn’t a park, but a mountain, luckily I was wearing my hiking boots. I was there with my dad and dog and as we started to walk up we realized that there were lots of icy parts on the mountain that were also really steep. That didn’t stop us from trying to get to the top, so we continued on. Once we made it to the top it was all worth it because the view was amazing. I was happy that I didn’t quit and I would do it again.
