Final Four (five) Images

Backlit Oak

I used natural lighting in order to capture this shot. The concept behind it is more of a personal memory than anything. The oak tree is very memorable for me since my grandparents have one in their backyard. I have many happy memories of that place, and I wanted to show a different side to a happy memory. The angle I shot the tree in makes it seem like it is reaching out in an almost spooky way. The trunk and the branches are silhouetted against the setting sun and are almost black. I like this shot, since it kind of creepy and beautiful at the same time.

Chelsea with the dogs

This was taken with natural lighting. I wanted a lighter, playful look at an every day task. The task itself is letting my two dogs out into the backyard. I like how the expressions of my sister and the dogs are both different, as my sister taunts me while the dogs try to figure out who is looking at them from the car. (Which is where I shot it from.) They have a serious, attentive look, which directly contrasts my sister's look. Its funny as the irony of it is that their roles are usually reversed, since they find the joy in going outside and my family finds it to be a mundane task to let them out everyday.

Chelsea the hair monster

This is another playful shot that I took outdoors. I took this as my sister, Chelsea, walked up to my car when I picked her up from school. I was taking pictures of her the entire time she was walking up to the car, but it wasn't until she got close to the car that she noticed what I was doing. That's the reason why she covered her face with her hair. I was frustrated at first with her lack of enthusiasm, but when I reviewed my pictures later, I was drawn to this one in particular. It is not really anything you see everyday, and I find it to be almost surreal. It is almost seems like her head is hollow, and that her hair is just a covering for it. 

Andrew texting while crossing

Since I took pictures of my sister walking up to my car, I allowed the same courtesy to my brother as he came up after school. It took him much longer to notice my camera, but that is due in large part to him texting throughout his walk to the car. This is him as he is WALKING ACROSS THE STREET, NOT LOOKING FOR CARS, but texting. Texting. I saw him glance before he crossed, but I do not think it was enough. The light to the right of him is where many high schoolers and parents turn on once school is out, so it is always full of traffic. I think that it is interesting that he puts his awareness out so that he can remain focused on texting. Its ironic since he was apparently texting my sister (who was sitting next to me in the car) as she was warning him that I was taking pictures of him. 

Pigeons on a streetlight

This shot was completely spontaneous. I happened to be driving over to my dad's house when I noticed these pigeons perched on the light. The prompt for the inclusion of nature and man came to mind so I snapped a few shots and came up with this. I like how other-worldly the image looks, so I decided to keep it. The lighting is natural, and fortunately there was not a glare coming from my windshield.