Go Navy!

 1/2 years in the US Navy was... an experience.  Lots of great memories, lots of memories I'd rather forget.  Of course, an experience like this isn't complete without a billion pictures!  All of these pictures were taken during my first 3 years.  I was stationed in Yokosuka, Japan aboard the USS Blue Ridge, which was a command ship used to transfer Marines around.  My job title and rank at the time of being discharge was Engineman 2nd class, which means I spent time working on diesel engines, air conditioners, refrigeration systems, and water distillers.  I really have no clue as to how any of that stuff works, but it still sounds impressive.  I spent my final year in San Diego on the USS Shiloh, but didn't take many pictures of that ship.  Didn't really have a whole lot of fun on that ship to be honest...

Legion of Honor

A museum always gives an opportunity for picture taking, even though I'm technically just showing off somebody else's work.  There were a few images that really caught my attention.  Some of the glass sculptures were quite amazing.

I was paranoid enough about breaking them to the point where I held my breath and never directly looked at the sculptures when I walked by them (OK, that's a lie).  They were quite amazing  though.  You have to see them in person to get an idea of just how large they are.

There were many paintings as well, but I just kept the pictures of the ones that caught my eye for the longest.

Black and white Decisive Moment

After seeing Henri Cartier-Bresson's pictures in Beginning Photography in the Fall of 2008, I decided to do my final project in his style. I was fixated on the idea of using a camera to capture a moment that comes and goes in a flash. I took 10 pictures, but I would have to say that only 4 of them came out truly the way I had intended. All pictures were taken at 1/2000 shutter speeds. I did a picture of spraying Pam cooking sprat through an open flame, a picture of shooting a glass bottle and capturing the image just as the bottle broke, a drop of water as it falls into a large glass of water, and water running over a knife. The bottle and water drop was especially challenging, as my camera was completely manual; I had to advance the film every time I took a picture, so timing was key. I used 3200 speed film for all shots. I thought I would have to since the shutter speeds were so fast, but after developing the film, I could tell it really wasn't necessary, and 400 speed probably would've been fine. In the end it turned out great, and made me feel more confident about what I was capable of doing as a photographer.

Testing, Testing

My blog is born.

Fin