The Death of Childhood

I shot this after watching a news piece on bullying. The show was interesting because it talked about bullying and how it starts around middle school. From my experiences, it started much earlier. I found it got easier come middle school and into high school. But that's not the point of this photograph. I have two intentions with this photograph. First, I wanted to raise the question, Is childhood as we knew it, dead or has it just evolved? Secondly, I wanted to do something completely out of the ordinary for me. I've come to a major realization that I've had before, but never at this level; I only need to prove something to myself. What other people may or may not like is their personal taste. I can't change that. If I shoot something that they like, great. If they don't like it and think it's rubbish, great. It's not going to matter to me. Simply because I'm shooting for me now. I wrote last week how I'm so sick of the bullshit pressure I put on myself. I am. I am so over it. I'm shooting what I want to shoot because it makes me happy, or expresses the way I'm feeling about whatever it is that I'm feeling at the present moment. If my creativity wants to get dark, I'm going to follow it all the way down the rabbit hole until I get to where I'm going. I'm tired of trying to create/do/say/be what other people think I should be. I'm going to be me. That's all I can do.
I've said my peace.

Homemade Tilt Shift Lens

I'm on a roll. Two homemade lenses in one week. This is my newest creation. A tilt shift lens. I cannot take all of the credit for this design. I have Bhautik Joshi to thank for that. Nevertheless, here are the results. Enjoy!

A Dog Day Morning

Every so often I take my two dogs to the South Ogden dog park. We love this place because they can just run around as much as they want and socialize with all of the other dogs that come there to play as well. Normally I don't take my camera, but I took it this morning because of my new "fisheye lens." Here's what I captured. Enjoy!









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Making Your Own Fisheye Lens

I made my own fisheye lens for a total of $0. I called up Lenscrafters and told them I was looking for a piece of eyeglass that was thick, uncut and had a large prescription on it. After a little discussion, she informed me that I should just come down and rummage through the box of old lenses that they had that they couldn't use for one reason or another. Here's the best part though, she said that I could just have one. So, Michelle and I went down, went through the box, and picked out two different lenses that we thought might work. (The lady at Lenscrafters was way cool about it. Thank you Marissa!)

I brought them home and threw the glass in front of my lens. While holding it there, I experimented. This way looks okay. This way doesn't. This looks cool. Ooh, right there. After having Michelle measure out how far I wanted the glass, I had to find a way to attach it to my lens. After rummaging through all of my stuff, I found a piece of cardboard that I could cut, mold and tape to the end of my lens. A little tweaking, hot glue, patience and electrical tape and voila! I have a "fisheye lens"!





I hope you enjoy the pictures! I'm going to enjoy experimenting with it!

Duston Todd: Death Portraits

I had the opportunity and privilege of attending and shooting my friends gallery showing this past Saturday. The project called "Death Portraits" was extremely compelling. The images were sharp, concise, provocative and beautiful. If you had the opportunity to see them in person, then you're lucky. This was a one time showing only. If you were unable to come to the show, you missed out. Go check out his site by clicking here and look at this blog. Please enjoy the photographs I took while at the showing. (FYI, there is little to no editing on these photos, minus the one that looks like a mirror image.) So please, enjoy!

























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10 Day Challenge: Day 10

Wow, I made it! I shot a NEW picture every day for 10 days! I have to say, I am a little proud of myself! Next challenge is going to be a little different. I'll let you know what it is as soon as I get the "rules" squared away in my own head. I hope you've enjoyed some of the pictures I've taken during this challenge. I do feel that I didn't really challenge myself enough on some of them, but there are a lot that I am extremely proud of. Well, here's to completing the 10 day challenge! Cheers!

10 Day Challenge: Day 9

I chose to do some shooting at night today. I do wish I would have waited to start this project next weekend instead because I believe the weather would be warmer. Needless to say, I froze my butt off while taking these photos tonight. But, this is the winner out of all of the other ones that I took.

10 Day Challenge: Day 8

I didn't work today. Instead, I took two naps on the couch watching the History Channel. But, I also got a chance to hang out with my 2-year-old niece. I love having her around, she is such a riot!

10 Day Challenge: Day 7

I love this picture of my dog Ellie that I took this evening. I had a little fun with the settings on my camera and this amazing picture came out. Enjoy!