Advanced Photo Media Portfolio

This project was a lot of fun. I set out with the idea to reveal a secret history in the landscape. The hidden world only existed as a series of personal connections and memories associated with the land. With the help of modern technology I was able to uncover these places and create a visual representation to share. I hope you enjoy the body of work that is the result of 2 months of focus.

Truth be told I came up with this idea to make beautiful landscape photos, and then to augment them with unique CG assets. I generated these assets using hard edge modelling and photogrammetry. I textured the assets by taking photos on location and extracting diffuse, specular, normal, displacement, ambient occlusion, grunge, and crack maps from them. I also made procedural textures when there was no reference available in the field.

Free Photoshop Actions

Here are two free samples from my Detail Mining Pack which is available for $25.00. It includes actions and tutorials.

You can download the two free sample Detail Mining actions from this dropbox link

Color Seduction Assignment

This assignment was interesting. I do not usually convert my photos to black and white, but I found that many of my photos work really well as grey scale images.

Blue Hour Architectural Shot

For this assignment I had to go out and shoot an architectural shot just after dusk. We were supposed to create an image that emphasizes contrast between the deep blue natural light at that time of evening, and the warm man made lights as they turn on for the night. I have always thought the LDS temple in Idaho Falls was really cool looking on the Snake River. The building is made of marble and is lit up by flood lights all around the exterior. It seems to glow against the night sky, and reflects brightly in the river. I thought this would be an interesting effect when photographed with bracketed long exposures. I am pretty happy with how this project turned out, and it was fun hanging out with the ducks and geese along the river while waiting for the light. The only problem was the wind. It was strong enough to push up little waves on the water rendering the reflections very soft.

Finding Themes Assignment

For this assignment we had to look through our archives and find a universal theme in our previous work. Then, take a weekend and shoot 15 shots specifically planned out to represent or comment on the chosen theme. It was hard to look at my photos through this filter at first, but I eventually started to see a theme emerging. The theme was isolation. I decided to shoot the assignment in the Idaho desert where I go to seek isolation. The following shots are some of my favorites from the weekend shoot.

Self Portrait Assignment

Here are my self portraits for Advanced Photo Media at Idaho State University. The assignment is to make 5 self portraits that tell my story while focusing on manipulating light. I had a lot of fun shooting this assignment. Doing so required me to branch out and experiment with new techniques. Each of these photos was made using a different work flow. Most of them using some blend of multiple off camera flash and natural light. Others are more technical. The “Ghost of a Classic” photo with the 27 Chevy is an example of on that was extra fun. I went out to Pass Creek in Leslie, Idaho and located this old car that I found when I was a kid. I shot the portrait with 2 speed lights and shoot through umbrellas synced to the natural light and 2 speed lights with blue or yellow gels. I then shot a series of shots with hand held flash and colored gels. I wanted to create some extra mood with the colored light in the shot and I wanted to split tone color grade the highlights and shadows in camera. I feel like it was a success, but I ended up with 4 gigs of photos to layer up…. nightmarish. The shot “Battle Station Status” was shot in my studio and is a combination of a 3 flash set up, natural light, HDR bracketing, and long exposure. It was really fun shooting all these photos and I learned a lot from the experience.

If you need a portrait then HIRE ME 🙂