Book

Working on the book was a unique experience in itself. I spent a lot of time working through the different ideas and settled on clean plain style with the emphasis on the individual photos rather than flashiness of the design. I did all of the design in In Design and then exported the whole thing as jpgs and then imported them to Book Smart.

Sunrise

I rose before the sun and rubbed my eyes thinking, "is this really worth it". I convinced myself that after a quick stop at Star Bucks to get my morning coffee it would. "Dam...I've never been here before it opens". I decide to continue my expedition without coffee instead of waisting the 20 min waiting for them to open. I arrived at Torrey Pines before the sun was up and found a place to park. as the sun rose so did my caffeine deprived spirits. It was a little overcast but I was able to get some amazing shots of the Pines as the sun was rising. The clouds added an interesting backdrop to some of the trees. After capturing some interesting images I took a hike one of the many trails and couldn't stop taking pictures. The further I walked the more I was inspired, Along the trail there was a bench so i had a chance to sit down, look over the Pacific Ocean, and ponder life, beauty, and where I fit in with nature. Finishing the hike I promised myself I would be back to enjoy waking up with nature again very soon. As I drove home I thought to myself, "Yes, it was worth it."

Camp Pendleton

Pendleton was a fun trip. It wasn't packed with wild flowers like I would have hoped but we did get to see some native plant life. The trip was more structurally focused, by this I mean it was more for the farm house than nature. there were still some interesting photos to be had though.

While out at the Indian reservation I was able to see a good deal of native plants in their natural habitat. It was was a wonderful experience to see portions of the river bed how it must have looked hundreds of years ago. it was also quite interesting to see how much growth had returned since the recent fires.

Indian Rock

The trip to Indian Rock was a very informative and interesting. While listening to the history of the rock and the peoples who utilized it in their rituals I tried to imagine how it must have been all those years ago and what the rock signified. I would have loved to have heard the history of the rock before it got dark, I think it would have influenced the way I captured my images of the rock.

James Nchtwey

James is an amazing artist who uses his lens and film to capture the extremes of reality which are commonplace all around the world. James doesn't make pictures to collect a check but rather to bring awareness and prompt action against the atrocities that are our reality. His belief that photos can change social action is what fuels him. The way he shoots he is literal saying the story is more important than my life. His photos capture the heart of the viewer and they inspire me.

A season of rust

While reviewing blurb.com I was immediately entranced by the plethora of books to view. After countless minutes I realized it was time to pick a book to write about. Though 50 Ways to Shoot Your Lover was near the top of the best sellers I decided to veer away from that one, fearing perhaps it was a wicked play on words.

A Season of Rust, is the book I finally decided to view and comment on. I chose this book because of its feel. The book didn't have extremely well shot photos or even a great layout, what it did have was poetry and to accompany the poetry was photography to give a visual scene to one aspect of the feel or meaning of the poem. I rather enjoyed the poems and images I was able to read in the fifteen page preview.