Final Project: C'est La Vie

Grandma and Grandpa Wilkins 

After 55 years of marriage we are still happily together. The past few years have consisted of pneumonia, back problems, broken bones, weak knees, troubled breathing and a heart attack.  Despite these trials we love to stay involved in the community and attend church each week.  We are thankful for the gospel and for the family with which the Lord has blessed us.

 Kayleen and Jim

Raising ten children has been quite the challenge. I love my family but they can be stubborn and frustrating. I’ve hated seeing my daughter raise two kids out of wedlock and my sons getting involved with drugs and alcohol. They think they are happier by rebelling. I just hope that someday they will realize what true happiness is.

Chad

I got involved with drugs in high school and got arrested when I was 19.

 Lori Ann

My husband left me because I wouldn’t consent to his desire to practice polygamy. As difficult as it has been, my nine children have all been a tremendous blessing in my life.

Jason with his family

After seeing how awful Ed was to my Mom, I’ve resolved to cherish my wife and family through all the up’s and down’s of life.

Mitchell

Ed baptized me when I was 8 years old. We later realized he hadn’t had the proper authority to do so and I had to be re-baptized after the divorce. Growing up I really doubted the church and struggled with my testimony. I also faced the challenge of dyslexia that developed in my teenage years. Luckily, I overcame these trials and served a faithful mission.

Makaila

My dad wouldn’t let me get baptized. 

David

I struggle with homosexuality.

Shauna

I married a man who I thought loved me, despite the warnings from my family. I had three beautiful boys with him. All was well. Then he started drinking and abusing me. He wanted to take my boys back to Egypt with him.  I wouldn’t let him, and we got a divorce. Five years later, I’m still single. I’ve been a single mother raising three rambunctious boys and at times I thought I was going to go crazy. I hardly have enough money to pay the rent. Yet somehow, I get by. I see my sister, Lori Ann, who’s been alone for just as long as I have and I pity her. She’s recently started dating Steve who reminds me too much of Ed. I think she’s just desperate. I’d rather be alone than fall in “love” out of desperation.

Joshua

My dad left when I was a baby. He doesn't visit. 

back and forth between color and black and white

black and white portraits

portraits

Zainab

Marleice 

Self Portrait

color theory

I had fun working with this color theory assignment. The first frame (analagous) is of a banana that is not fully ripe. The second (monochramatic) is all my pink nail polish on my pink laptop case. The last one (complimentary) is an orange on the pocket of my favorite pair of jeans. I did a lot of bracketing to get the right exposure and I played with the light sources. The banana and orange pictures were shot using window light. The nail polishes were lit with my desk lamp.

motion and depth of field

motion

this photograph benefited from the longer  shutter speed by capturing the milk being poured into the cup

I liked how the movement of the coin was captured in this photograph due to a bit longer shutter speed.

I used a short shutter speed to show the ripples caused by the leaves that were stuck on a rock.

The short shutter speed allowed me to capture the water splashing up in a single instant.

depth of field

far object in focus

near object in focus

narrow depth of field

wide depth of field

object in focus

assignment 3

the second photograph of each shot is what the camera told me was the "correct" exposure

I learned that it is very important to understand how my camera works so that I can learn how to control the images I produce. Being in control of the camera allows me to be in control of the end product. I also learned a little more about Lightroom and how to slightly edit my pictures even more to get the correct white balance.

assignment 2

9/11 memorial

Ruth Sulz

Ruth Sulz was getting her kids ready for school the morning of September 11, 2001 when the phone rang. She went to the desk to answer. Her husband was on the other line asking if she had the television on. She admitted that it was off. So her husband proceeded to tell her that a plane had crashed into one of the Twin Towers in New York. Being from Utah she did not quite understand the severity at first. That is, until her husband eluded to the vast amount of people who worked in those buildings. She was very shocked that such a disaster could happen. After she got the kids off to school, she turned the television set on and watched the news. To her further amazement, another plane had crashed. Realization overwhelmed her: this was not an accident. She sat on the couch and cried all day.

Three weeks later she was scheduled to fly to Los Angeles for a wedding. She was very anxious because of the heightened security, although she felt rather safe. 

Her son was in the MTC during this disaster as well. The family had planned on seeing him off at the airport, but were no longer allowed on airport grounds unless they were passengers. 

Ruth felt shocked at the reality of these terrorist attacks. Remembering these awful events ten years later, she pondered for a moment then said, "It makes me wonder what big thing is next."

assignment 1

original photograph

edited photograph

bad editing

original

edited

bad editing

original

edited

bad editing

two random other photos:

What I learned (in a haiku)

Try not to change much,

Looking natural is best.

Don't over-do it.