45mm, f/7.1, 1/125sec, ISO 100
I created this composite from a series that I took at a local university in Anchorage. I wasn’t having much success until my wife walked by a pair of concrete pillars. I like to cut as much background distraction as possible and these pillars did exactly that. I love the slanting, low-angle shadows that make the scene even more dramatic.
50mm, f/2, 1/60sec, ISO 320
Inside an inflatable sports dome, I took a break from playing pickleball to break out my camera. I was excited because I had yet to take any action shots or use my new 50mm fixed lens. During an intense game, I caught a picture of my friend Joshuell taking a moment to enjoy the point he just won. I love the serious simmer on his face – it’s almost like James Bond walking away from an exploding building. Looking back at the camera settings, I can’t help but chuckle a little. Knowing what I know now, I wouldn’t have used as wide of an aperture or as slow of an exposure and I would be more willing to compromise with the ISO. It wasn’t until after going home and reviewing the pictures on a computer that I realized how soft and unfocused many of them looked because of my settings. However, it was lessons like these that helped me learn to use manual mode with ease.
18mm, f/11, 1/320sec, ISO 100
This loosely chained gate blocks the entrance to a large lot where snow is dumped in the winter. In Anchorage, Alaska it is common to perform large snow removal operations downtown to prevent blocking the sidewalks to foot traffic. All that snow needs to go somewhere, so huge mounds of it are deposited in unused lots, where construction equipment shapes it into hills the size of apartment buildings.
55mm, f/8, 1/200sec, ISO 100
My wife Rose agreed once again to come on a walk/photo shoot with me one evening during autumn. I couldn’t have planned a more cohesive color palette (I actually didn’t plan it at all). The low light cast a pleasant yellow-orange hue on the world that matched not only the leaves on the trees in the background, but also Rose’s hair and jacket.
30mm, f/6.3, 1/100sec, ISO 100
I don’t know why this wrecked car sitting in a junkyard caught my eye, but something about the cracked windshield raised my curiosity. I stopped and detoured into the long, dead grass for a better view. I appreciate the ability of photography to capture a moment like this, pause it in time, and freeze a single question in time – what happened?