Amanda Gardner Photography

Shooting fashion/fantasy assignment

2009-11-08T21:30:00.001-05:00

I shot my fashion assignment for Adv Portraiture this weekend. Julie was my model and a blast to work with. It was a beautiful day to shoot. There are some things I would like to tweak but given as how I have been so focused on photojournalism, it was fun to mix it up with some fashion. I was going for the modern day twiggy look. I would love to work with Julie again, and I had an awesome assistant Demetrius along for the shoot. He graduated two years ago and has a big future ahead at Western Kentucky, a school known for photojournalism. Check out my flickr stream...

2009-11-08T09:30:00.002-05:00

Most know Vincent Laforet for his tilt shift work now, and his editorial work. I found a photo essay called "The Carrier" that was done in 2003. Vincent was "embedded" on the USS Abraham Lincoln in the heat of the most recent war on Iraq. He put together a beautiful collection and decided to make it more about the people on the ship, instead of the "war" that was being fought on the boat. The average age on the ship is 21, and they work fourteen hour shifts, seven days a week for nine months. This is a great article to read, and do some research on more of Laforets' work, its great.

Friday Night Football

2009-11-07T01:00:00.002-05:00

Congrats to North Forsyth for a big win tonight over Northview. Winning this game guarantees a spot in the playoff for North Forsyth. I had a great time shooting the game and the stadium was filled with excitement..Check out more images from the night on my flickr page.

New blog!!

2009-11-06T11:06:00.003-05:00

Make a note! I am moving to wordpress, my web address is www.agardnerphoto.wordpress.com

Wordpress has a lot of great tools and layots and gives me the opportunity to have a bit more control of my blog. I am looking forward to getting everything up and running. Thanks for reading!!

One of todays great questions: Why Blog?

2009-11-05T06:31:00.003-05:00

I found a great article on sports shooter about blogging, why blog? and the anti bloggers...

One of Today's great questions: Why blog? by Jim Mcnay...Check it out here!

I was on sports shooters website because tomorrow night I will be shooting football again. I would really like a football shot in my portfolio and if I dont get it this time around, its too late next season.Tomorrows day will determine if the home team I am shooting will make it into the playoffs so it should be full of emotion and action. Its going to be a chilly one, but I love being on the field and once you start shooting you get numb to it all. Good luck shooting this weekend everyone!

Spencer Platt

2009-11-04T23:32:00.004-05:00

The last few weeks have been a lot of research on different photojournalists, styles, and techniques for shooting photo essays. We have a big photo essay in 5 weeks, and I have a certain vision for it I want to follow through with. Today we watched a movie that featured work from Spencer Platt. A few months ago I had the privilege of meeting Mr. Platt, getty images photographer and world press photo of the year winner, see that image here. He worked quickly, quietly and kept to himself but was not afraid to get inches from his subject. I remember looking over and he was only three inches from someones face. I have realized I need to take that same risk and approach people with a purpose but be aware of my surroundings. He did not miss a beat. I have a great respect for the work he has done, and in the photojournalism world he is at the top of the game.

Mac fans beware

2009-11-04T19:38:00.004-05:00

Being a mac fan myself, it is good to be cautious of all the cool new toys. There are some great ones out there, and then there are the scams. Being a techie guy, my husband tries to keep me informed of all the scams out there and sent this link to me about . There are tons of reliable great sources out there to buy equipment, just be careful and know there are bad ones to. It is a shame you cant get what you pay for, but we do invest a lot of money and if you pay for something, you should receive it.

Read the article on the scam here

Check out the scammers website for yourself, warning purchase at your own risk. Not sure this product even has a point, but someone is making money!

Out with the old & in with the new

2009-11-04T19:01:00.003-05:00

Photo by last year graduate Demetrius Freeman

The last two days have been full of hustle and bustle at school. We have been working hard on our holiday portrait set and will be all finished tomorrow. We have also had a lot of visits from the graduates from last year (photo above) , who are picking up all of their images that have been hanging in the media gallery the full year. All of the recent grads (photo below) have been there to put up their current work. Its beautiful and BIG! It gives me hope and excitement that our day is coming too. It is so much fun to see the new work, its a breath of fresh air for a while. You can see a lot of the work on our photo website or come by and see it in person at the school!

Photo by recent graduate Ryan Tyrl

Sleep..who needs sleep

2009-11-04T00:39:00.002-05:00

I have decided that I will not sleep until this quarter is over. I have a feeling I am definitely not alone with this one. I have learned a lot about time management and how to prioritize. If I have time to go to bed, I lay in bed thinking what to shoot/edit/blog/ the next day. Its been a fun ride, I just have a feeling I may need to start drinking coffee or buy these glasses for class...

European Vacation!!

2009-11-04T00:26:00.003-05:00

Wow...Europe has no idea was is going to hit next september. Today Mrs. Harkins told us a few of the locations for our study abroad program next september. Our photo dept gets to travel with the culinary dept for 11 days. I cant stand it, this is far worse than any christmas excitement! I am going to pack my bags now, sit on the curb and wait for september to come! Germany, Switzerland and Italy are part of the trip with opportunities to visit other places on our "off days". Looks like we have a lot of research to do to keep us busy the next few months. Dig deep people and help send our photo dept. to europe!

I cant wait to hitchhike with chelsea. World here we come!

Shooting for a feature

2009-11-03T19:08:00.005-05:00

So, it took two weeks of shooting, and 7 contact sheets turned in, for one image to be selected. But it only takes one and I keep telling myself that. This is one of the contact sheets I turned in and my teacher selected one of the images from it. Cant wait for critique tomorrow should be a fun one to see what everybody shot.

No recession here

2009-11-03T15:30:00.002-05:00

Here is a video I made for my Multimedia class this summer. We had to create a "statement" video, and I decided to do mine on Alpharetta and the non-recession. I strongly believe that as long as we have h2 hummers, apple computers/iphones and 800,000 homes we are not in a recession just a displacement of money. Check it out!

Impromtu Photo Shoot

2009-11-02T23:31:00.004-05:00

The neighbors came over today to grab just a few headshots for a modeling event they have this weekend. They went to a casting call last weekend on whim and they all three were asked to come back for the second call with lots of different agencies. They were so much fun to shoot with and it turned into a little mini photo shoot. We had a great time and my husband gets an A for some great assisting. I shot with Photogeonic Strobes and a 50mm 1.8

Lily's Run

2009-11-02T21:52:00.012-05:00

A few weeks ago I set out to shoot my feature for photojournalism. I found out about an event near my home that was a 5k event for an 8 year old little girl named Lily. She was recently diagnosed with advanced neuroblastoma, a cancer in the abdomen. Just a few weeks prior she had started school and was a cheerleader in a youth league. I went to the run not sure what to expect. The place was packed and full of energy with bouncing tunnels for the kids, a live band, lots of vendors and a few falcon cheerleaders. In the middle of the event the forsyth county fire dept brought Lily to be with her family. This part was unplanned and a big surprise to most. With a weakened immune system she is not supposed to have close contact with others outside her immediate family. She spent most of the time in the truck waving to friends but made a special appearance onstage to sing a song. She sang "The Climb" from Miley Cyrus, one of her idols. There was not a dry eye in the crowd, including myself. Its hard to shoot and cry at the same time. I met many of the family members towards the end of the event and they couldn't have been any kinder and thanked me for coming. Lily has such a fighting spirit and is ready to conquer this. Her family lives by the phrase "Anderson Power!", their last name. I am very moved by this little girl. I am not sure if it is her love for peace signs and neon green, or her willingness to move forward acknowledging she has a long road ahead. I don't complain about being tired, or having too much to do anymore. I hope to have her same outlook in my life. I had the priviledge of meeting "Aunt Kristen" a few days later and showing her the video. I will remember this for a long time.

French Fries for Amy

2009-11-02T21:26:00.004-05:00

So I was hit with writers block...what to blog today??? Classmate Amy suggested french fries, due to the large plate of fries people at our table were sharing for breakfast. I was a little hesitant trying to figure out what french fries had to do with photography. Well, it turns out that there are hundreds, yes hundreds of stock photos to sell of french fries. Who knew french fries would be such a hot photo commodity but apearantly I am missing out. So thanks Amy if I run out of photography options my fall back plan will be french fries. :)

Digital Photo - Buyer's Guide 2009: Storage | DPmag.com

2009-11-02T18:32:00.001-05:00

Digital Photo - Buyer's Guide 2009: Storage | DPmag.com

Check out this great article and links to digital storage solutions. As photographers we are faced with a difficult tasks of managing thousands of files that could crash and be gone in an instant. With film, you at least had a hard copy and then the negative. The negatives are the hard copy now and it is a great idea to have a smart backup plan to save your images for a very long time. I lost a laptop, had a hard drive crash and two thumbdrives go out on me all in one year and I am so thankful to have backed those images up. Looks like as we go into our second year I will need a secure and trusty plan for backing things up!

The Atlanta History Center: Dia de Muertos

2009-11-01T22:54:00.003-05:00

Today the Atlanta History Center hosted the Dia de Muertos celeberation. It is a day celebrating the generations past. The center describes the day as " an ancient festival rooted in Mexican heritage and serves as a way for families to remember their deceased loved ones and to celebrate their children and the continuity of life." The food smelled wonderful, the music was great and it was a beautiful day. Overall a fun experience and would recommend everyone to catch it next year.

Dia De Muertos and an Iranian convoy protest thing...

2009-11-01T21:26:00.004-05:00

Thanks for the title D. What a day. We have an assignment in our photojournalism class that is called a feature. A feature is a lighthearted newspaper type photo that tells a story in itself. I headed out with classmate Damian to the Dia de Muertos celebration at the Atlanta History Center. The day of the dead is a hispanic celebration to honor those who have died. Click here for more info on the history. We had a great time at the event and got some fun shots. What really takes the cake is just a few minutes after we left we noticed red, white and green flags. It turned out to be Iranian flags on 20+ cars. We caught up to them in a parking lot when they stopped to regroup. I told them we were photojournalism students and damian quickly handed out business cards and started taking names. They put us in the middle of the caravan with them and we paraded around Atlanta for an hour and a half protesting Iranian President Ahmadinejad and the current Iranian regime. It was a great experience and at the end of the caravan we had the opportunity to stop and meet the people who organized this and swapped info to continue shooting at some of their events. I love days like today, set out to do one thing and end up with something completely different in the end. I really cannot wait to see everyones feature photos.

Images from Nollywood

2009-10-31T13:08:00.007-04:00

Our teacher Mr Jones, showed us some images in class a few weeks back that have stuck in my brain. I cant get them out and wanted to know more about this "Nollywood" phenomenon. Nollywood is a booming Nigerian film industry. It is an industry with billions in revenue. I hope that their country is able to do some positive things with all of that money circulating. Here is a great article from American Photo on some images that are the result of this unique culture. Makes for some really interesting shots!

Images From Nollywood

Pieter Hugo captures the fiction and reality of Nigeria's film industry.

By Lori Fredrickson Posted October 27, 2009

On first look at some of the images in Pieter Hugo's new book, Nollywood (Prestel, October 2009; $50), you might think that this is a documentary of civil conflict: scarred soldiers in mud-covered uniform, or children sitting in rubble-filled fields. It's only when you flip to a portrait of a vampire, with red eyes and fangs, or a zombie sipping Coca Cola, that you realize you're being tricked.

And these images are meant to trick you, but they're also only halfway between reality and fiction. Nigeria's 'Nollywood', despite its low budgets and straight-to-DVD production, is one of the highest production film industries in the world. Its themes, like the images in this book, are often upernatural and melodramatic, with vampires, militants, and undead children. But though these images star Nigerian actors costumed with help from Nollywood makeup artist Gabazzini Zuo, they aren't photodocumentary--they're constructed filmic tableaux. Accompanied by essays by Chris Abani, Stacy Hardy, and Zina Saro-Wiwa (daughter of famed activist Ken Saro-Wiwa), Nollywood aims to unsettle viewers with their own preconceptions, and look deeper into a complex society often stereotyped in Western media.....

to read the rest of the article click here

Local Culture

2009-10-29T06:51:00.005-04:00

Out shooting our features for photojournalism has made me realize as photographers we definitely have a different view on life than others Instead of going to the pumpkin patch like everyone else to pick out a pumpkin, we go and hope someone drops it, or a kid has a temper tantrum, or an old lady bends over revealing everything to the world. So here is a laugh to kick off the weekend and good luck to everyone shooting features this weekend, may we have beautiful weather!

A Pirate & The Festival Tooth Fairy

2009-10-29T00:01:00.005-04:00

While camping this weekend I had the privilege of meeting Simon, an eloquent and well mannered 5 year old from Florida. It seemed like he had traveled the world and back, with his wealth of knowledge. All week he fought with a loose tooth and by Saturday it was ready to go. I watched him for an hour or so across camp and then decided to grab some shots of Simon's progress and the agony/excitement he was going through. There is something very simple about the process and he made a reference several times about this all being part of the "circle of life". He referenced the comment again the last day when he threw a dead millipede into the fire. I have a friend for life. Go Simon Go!

Denver Post Photogs Win Top Prize In E&P Contest

2009-10-28T22:13:00.002-04:00

Denver Post Photogs Win Top Prize In E&P Contest

A panel of distinguished judges has awarded The Denver Post team of Craig F. Walker, Meghan Lyden, and Tim Rasmussen the grand prize in Editor & Publisher's 2009 Photos of the Year competition.

The winning entry, “ Ian Fisher: American Soldier,” chronicled with extraordinary photographs, videos, and print—over the course of 27 months—the recruitment, induction, training, deployment to Iraq, and return from combat of Ian Fisher. This was the first year that video/multimedia entries were judged.

Twenty-four other winners in six categories (spanning four circulation groups), including in first-time Portraits and Video/Multimedia categories, were honored. This year also was the first time E&P recognized one winner in the Unpublished Photo on Assignment category and in the extremely popular People’s Choice award competition. Ten People’s Choice photo and six video/multimedia honorable mentions were recognized this year.

Walker took the Denver Post pictures and shot the video. Tim Rasmussen, the paper's assistant managing editor/ photography, and Lyden, the online photo editor, edited and managed the multimedia offerings.

A gallery of select winning photos appears in E&P’s November issue. All photos, including those from the multiple image category, and an audio interview with Rasmussen, will be available late Monday at www.editorandpublisher.com.

(Editor & Publisher, like PDN, is a Nielsen Business Media publication.)

Newspaper print photos, online news photos, and video/multimedia published since Sept. 13, 2008 were eligible for award consideration. Photos selected as E&P’s Photos of the Week or Photos of the Month between Sept. 13, 2008, and Sept. 13, 2009, were automatically entered.

“Despite budget cuts at most newspapers, the number and quality of entries this year remained strong,” said Greg Mitchell, E&P’s editor. “This was a year of firsts for this competition, including exciting new categories and a video/multimedia submission winning top honors. This also was the first time final winners were selected by photo editors from major newspapers and magazines."

Among the judges were Colin Crawford, deputy managing editor/visuals, Los Angeles Times; Santiago Lyon, director of photography, The Associated Press; Alan Taylor, Web developer and blogger, The Boston Globe/Big Picture; and PDN photo editor Amber Terranova.

As the grand prize winners, Walker, Lyden, and Rasmussen receive $1,000, with a sample of their winning submission appearing on the November 2009 cover of E&P.

Rasmussen told E&P that, in addition to his photos and video, Walker’s extensive written notes were “absolutely essential” in providing details and fleshing out the multi-part print series.

Blog template test

2009-10-28T13:25:00.001-04:00

testing image

Set Construction

2009-10-28T10:50:00.005-04:00

Today we tweaked a few plans for our holiday portraits and are well on our way to finishing the set next week. If you have any connections to donations for wrapping paper/or similar supplies please pass it on that anything donated would be much appreciated and a portrait session will be swapped in return. We have a busy week ahead!

American Photo Magazine: PJ tips from the Pro's

2009-10-27T23:09:00.006-04:00

7 Tips From A Pro Photojournalist
POPPHOTO.COMFEATURES7 Tips From A Pro Phot...
Being in the right place at the right time isn't the only way to get a great photo.
By Laurence Chen Posted September 15, 2009
STEPHEN VOSS

Photography is like a muscle that needs plenty of exercise. Slack off, and your creativity may fail you.

Washington, DC-based editorial photographer Stephen Voss (www.stephenvoss.com) learned this by heart early in his career. Dragging himself out of bed at 5 a.m. each day during a workshop he was taking with the nature photographer John Shaw, he mentally (and with a silent grumble) repeated his teacher’s mantra: “Don’t be late for work.”

He has never forgotten that lesson. “People think they can walk out at 2 in the afternoon and get a great shot.” You can’t, Voss insists. “You have to leave while it’s dark and be ready when the light arrives. You need to be at the right place at the right time.”

Sure, that’s work, but “the potential for payoff gets me motivated.”

With that combination of discipline and inspiration, Voss went to the National Mall well before sunrise one morning to work on a self-assignment. He uses personal projects to stay sharp and challenge himself to see things with fresh eyes.

This time out, he decided to wait at the Lincoln Memorial to see if predawn sidelight would illuminate the face of the famous portrait statue.

He was scouting the location when he turned to see a platoon of Marines coming up one side of the reflecting pool. As they began their exercises, Voss sprang into action, too.

Here’s his advice for capturing an unexpected scene like this on the fly:

1. Study The Masters.

Voss draws on the lessons he’s learned from poring over the work of master photojournalists such as Eugene Richards and Paolo Pellegrin. “I often spend 30 minutes looking at a great photo, figuring out where the photographer was, how the light was, what lens was used,” he says. “This creates visual memories that come out in the photos you make.”

2. Zoom With Your Feet.

Back at the Mall, Voss sensed he was out of position when the Marines appeared. Seeing the size of the men against the pool, he realized that his high angle would capture too much of the pool relative to the Washington Monument in the background. He needed a lower angle to include enough of the obelisk to make it recognizable—the photo would be much stronger with the sense of place a landmark provides.

So he ran down the steps of the Lincoln Memorial to a lower platform. There he found the angle that properly balanced the silhouetted figures with the monument in the distance and its reflection in the pool.

3. Narrow And Compress.

Telephoto lenses bring things closer and crop the field of view. With a 70–200mm f/2.8L Canon EF IS lens on his Canon EOS 5D, Voss zoomed to compose and saw that a looser crop balanced the visual elements best.

Long teles also compress the apparent distance between the foreground and background. Here, this effect enlarged the men while bringing them closer to their surroundings. This created a more proportionate composition, and at the same time strengthened its narrative and emotional impact.

4. Meter For Exposure, But Shoot In Manual.

Voss was concerned that if the highlights got blown out, the ruffled texture of the water would be lost. To ensure proper exposure, he shot in manual mode and used his Canon 5D’s spotmeter on the brightest part of the scene.

He generally uses the center point for both metering and autofocus, then recomposes his frame for the image he wants.

“I’m always on spotmeter—I’m looking for something where I know what the exposure should be,” he says. “Often, that means skin tones, and whether the subject has a lighter or darker complexion. For example, with light skin you open up 1 to 1½ stops” because the meter gives you a reading for middle gray.

For this photo, Voss set exposure to 1/100 sec at f/2.8, ISO 800. That’s 2 stops (that is, +2 EV) brighter than his meter reading, ensuring that the rest of the scene would be exposed correctly, with just enough detail in the highlights. “You learn how much to compensate by experience,” he says. “With digital you can check it before you move on.”

He didn’t have long to check his exposure this time, though: Voss managed to fire off just three frames before the Marines moved on, too.

5. Always Shoot In RAW.

That’s what Voss does to gain more latitude for tweaking the exposure when he processes his images later on—just in case he got it wrong while shooting.

6. Be flexible.

Looking at his final frame, “initially I wasn’t crazy about how the men overlapped, but afterward I really liked it,” Voss says. “I’ve learned that a little mess, a little uncertainty, or some unanswered questions are a good thing. They make a photo more intriguing.”

That’s an argument for not deleting images when you first look at them.

In editing this photo, Voss punched up the orange, pink and blue a little, but otherwise he left it as he shot it.

7. Stay In Shape.

This begins with your eye—and your brain. “You have to see things clearly,” Voss says. “I’ve only gotten anywhere through hard work and a lot of failures—learning the subtleties within light, looking at photographs and figuring out why you like them. Being observant, being open to what’s going on around you. Understanding the way light hits things and, more importantly, how your camera sees things. It’s an ongoing process.”

~ Check out some professional work and info about the Atlanta Photojournalism Seminar!

PJ piece of the week

2009-10-27T20:48:00.004-04:00

After shooting the festival this week I decided the next PJ piece of the week would be a good flash and lighting accessories. I found myself in several difficult lighting scenarios. I owned the nikon sb-600, but the capacitor blew. In a pinch I purchased a vivitar. It is a great flash and puts out more light than my old flash. However, there are no off camera flash options and it is difficult to shoot in a limited light situation with your flash stuck in one place. I do believe until I buy a new flash, I will be buying a cord to use it off of my hot shoe, and the gary fong lighting kit to help soften the light and disburse it a little better. This weeks lecture in photojournalism is fill flash and I can't wait to get some questions answered.

This one is for the Ninja

2009-10-27T16:58:00.005-04:00

Please do not post anymore Police music videos. We will post cheesy 80's videos in return.

:)

GTC Holiday Portraits

2009-10-27T16:30:00.006-04:00

Its that time of year and the baton has been passed down to us. Each year at GTC the upperclassmen build and design the set for our Holiday portraits. We shoot for two weeks in November and the profits from the portraits pay for our portfolio show next September. I have been overly impressed with everyones hard work. The set is fun, whimsical and colorful! Everyone has a part in one way or another and it is really paying off for us. We should have the set finished next week. Check out our blog and be sure to come by for a great family holiday photo!

Where the wild things are

2009-10-26T21:41:00.004-04:00

I got back today from the Magnoliafest in Florida. It was packed with great weather, music, friends and lots of shooting. Each festival there is something new and unexpected. Lots of street performers, people dressed in weird costumes and people who dress that way everyday. I am pleased with my images and cant wait to edit them. I spent a great deal of time with the fire dancers this time and some of them turned out really neat. Lots to come!

MagnoliaFest 2009

2009-10-22T08:50:00.003-04:00

This weekend I am heading out for a camping adventure! A few days of great shooting, my favorite bands and some peace and quiet. I cant wait to shoot this weekend, I always get fun photos from this trip and I haven't been to shoot since I got my new camera back in the spring. Hooooray!!

Sports Illustrated

2009-10-22T00:08:00.000-04:00

Today we watched a behind the scenes video on sports illustrated and the photo editing process. It is fascinating and defintely a place where there is no room for tears or hurt feelings. An Image was shown that has haunted me a bit all day, in a good way. I can't stop thinking about it. I guess because it is so different than images out there. I hope that I am able to produce images that stick with people throughout the day. I want to know more about this image now, and the events surrounding it.

1st Page on Google

2009-10-21T21:42:00.000-04:00

So I "google" myself frequently now. Only so I can keep track of my blog and images. I was married last year and just recently changed my name, I pretty much fell off the map! Three weeks ago we started new blogs with each of my classmates connected. In just three short weeks I went from being untraceable as Amanda Gardner, to being on the first page. My goal is to make it all the way to the top. There is another Amanda Gardner out there, she is a pro photographer and her stuff is pretty good! Looks like we all need to keep blogging and "googling" each other, its working :)

Photojournalism Seminar Volunteer

2009-10-21T12:06:00.000-04:00

I was selected today to be a volunteer for the Atlanta Photojournalism seminar in December. I am so excited, I have been posting about this for weeks now and I cannot wait to go. I do suggest everyone come it should be an incredible four days. I am really looking forward to see things from the inside and just to be in the presence as some of these photographers is enough for me. I will be posting lots of details over the next few weeks. So fun!!

I am really interested in catching David Labelle's workshop on photographing the homeless and giving them a voice. It should be informative with some beautiful images!

Favorite 10 Images and Flickr

2009-10-21T00:02:00.000-04:00

Last week our Multimedia teacher Mr Jones asked us to put together our favorite 10 images and create a new flickr account. I already had one, but it needed some work and I decided to start from scratch and really work hard on creating and marketing my business well. It was really cool to put together all of my images. Each one of them have a very different story to me, and really reflect where the last year has taken me. Check out my flickr account to see what I have been up to.

The Liquid is still too close!

2009-10-20T23:19:00.002-04:00

So photo booths are all the rage these days. I came across this video from a friend. Its quite addictive! The Jay Leno show has done a prank series where they place a "free photo booth" on a sidewalk in California. The photo booth gives a sarcastic comments in the booths, waits for the peoples reaction then fires the camera! What a great concept. Watch one, you'll be hooked there are a ton on youtube!

PJ piece of the week

2009-10-20T14:29:00.000-04:00

Our photojournalism quarter is in full swing and I am getting a bigger wish list each week. I find a new lens I would want or a new flash acessory. I have decided to post a Photojournalism piece of the week as I come across equipment that is important in the field. It should be exciting to do research on all of the equipment. Looks like I will need to strike the lottery this week! I'll start with the big boy first. The piece of the week is a 70-200 2.8. I am a nikon shooter so this is the lens for nikon, the canon looks a bit different and it little bulkier. I love this lens. it is great for sports and events that may require covering distance. It is a bit heavy but a monopod helps.

I also thought that this was really cool. It is a diagram of the lens construction on the inside.

Low Key Assignment

2009-10-19T23:26:00.000-04:00

Today we had our lowkey/highkey shoot. What fun! It was a great day in the "girls room" We had so much fun and its a shame the guys missed all the excitement. Lots of creativity flowing and problem solving. The time flew by and I think everyone got some great shots!

Eugenio Recuenco

2009-10-19T17:10:00.000-04:00

I have been thinking about the fashion/fantasy shoot we have coming up for our Portraiture class. I have been searching high and low for inspirations and have come across some great work. I found a new favorite photographer, Eugenio is well known for his fantasy style photography. I love his use of dramatic lighting and detail in every piece of the image. I cant wait to see what we all come up with for this assignment!
Check out Eugenio Recuenco's work!

Spot News on Spot Rd

2009-10-16T00:30:00.000-04:00

In our Photojournalism class we get extra credit for spot news. Late tonight there was a car crash just a few miles from my house. Well, i had to go! The police were friendly, and it ended up being a pretty nasty wreck. I hope everyone is ok, I arrived after the ambulences had left but the cars were in bad shape.

Sports Assignment

2009-10-15T08:13:00.000-04:00

Check out my shot from football this week! The critique when well and I am excited about going to shoot again after we learned so much yesterday about shooting sports! I went to Norcross and it was great going back to visit. Congrats to Norcross on a good season so far!

Atlanta Photojournlism Seminar

2009-10-14T23:23:00.000-04:00

I am getting very excited about the Photojournalism seminar coming up in December. It will be held at the Marriot in Dunwoody. It is an annual event where photojournalists from around the world present there work in a competition. The quality is outstanding and I cannot wait to catch some of the lectures and presentations during the three days. Anyone interested in journalism should check it out!

Animal Portaiture

2009-10-14T20:22:00.000-04:00

A day full of excitement! Last week our assignment for Advanced Commercial was pets/animal portraits. I do not have experience shooting pets in a studio, and this one was a bit challenging. I did not anticipate some of the problems that we encountered, like a 22 lb angry cat who had been in the car too long! Thanks to a very patient and helpful team ( Thanks Amy, Ana and Twitty ), I finished the shoot. Here is an image from the day and we will critique them on Monday. I think for now I definitely would like to do more. It gives me an even bigger appreciation for William Wegmans work, infamous for his portraits of weimaraners. It is amazing that he gets those dogs to do what he has the vision for.

The Glowing Eye

2009-10-14T00:27:00.000-04:00

3 quarters ago, our Multimedia teacher Mr Jones had our class share images that we wish we would have taken. Famous or not the images had to have substance behind them, and more than just snapshots

I had a hard time narrowing it down and for me it really came down to a lot of historical photos and what great stories each of them told. I would love to revisit this as we learn more and we become more critical. I am curious what images people would keep, or replace. I came across this photo today and looked it over and over. Its just amazing. I decided I am investing in a fancy telescope and hope to get into space photography soon. Until that takes off, I will keep shooting what I love and enjoy this image for a long time to come!

Read about The Glowing Eye

Photojournalism & Sports

2009-10-12T20:13:00.000-04:00

What a great week! This week was our sports assignment. I went back to my high school (10 years away have flown by). The players, the cheers, the t shirts, and the parents are all still the same, just different people. My brothers both developed a love for football early on so I was raised as one of the "field rats"! We grew up with concession stand corndogs and nachos with gatorade as staples in our diet. It felt so good to hit the grass on friday night. Norcross took Northview 31-2 . It was a big learning curve and I highly underestimated the task at hand. It Started to rain early on but broke just before gametime. I learned it was better to watch the game beside your camera rather than through it. Warning: Watching football through the camera may cause dizziness and slight disorientation..All in all I am happy with what I got and look forward to going back this week, only in my neck of the woods when Norcross plays North Forsyth on their field. Hooray for the fall!

The Healthy Photographer: Injury Prevention Optimizes Business Success (Professional Photographer Magazine Web Exclusives)

2009-10-09T09:46:00.001-04:00

The Healthy Photographer: Injury Prevention Optimizes Business Success (Professional Photographer Magazine Web Exclusives)

Gwinnett County Fair

2009-10-08T22:48:00.000-04:00

Two weeks ago I had the priviledge of shooting the Gwinnett County Fair "Livestock Competition" for 10 days. It was a great experience and I made some great connections. They invited me to come back next year. Tonight I came across this photo and it made me excited about editing these photos. Fun stuff!

1st Photojournalism assignment

2009-10-07T12:21:00.000-04:00

Today we had our first assignment for photojournalism class .We got an email @ 6am to go shoot a "rain feature" before class. We had to capture people, rain and some sort of scene that would help tell the story.I left the house and of course, no rain! As I got closer to school the rain came down and I was able to at least get a few that I was happy with. I do have to get people not smiling though, it looks too staged. Overall, a fun time and a great way to start an exciting quarter!!

Multimedia II with Mr Jones

2009-10-06T11:06:00.000-04:00

So fall quarter is in full swing and one of my classes encorporates blogging. How to do it the right way and how powerful it can be. I have enjoyed blogging and am looking forward to finding new ways to use it to my advantage. We have to update at least daily so be on the lookout for lots of new and exciting post. We have also hit the ground running in our other classes, advanced portraiture and photojournalism! Sports shooting this weekend. Looking forward to a great fall!

"The Great Flood of 2009"

2009-09-28T11:09:00.000-04:00

And what an understatement this all was in the beginning... It started it out as two weeks of rain everyday everywhere. Last Monday there was a monsoon and by Tuesday everything was underwater, in several areas throughout metro Atlanta. I have never seen anything quite like this and to see what we did in person has made me even more thankful for the life I have. I had a great day out with my classmate Damian and Demetrius a graduate from last year. It was a wet, smelly, and emotional day. We stopped frequently and spoke to lots of different people that were affected by the flood. Several people had teary eyes but most were very strong and even though they felt helpless they did have a sense of purpose and that somehow they would push through this. I was really caught by surprise at how nice and helpful everyone was to us. The police pointed us to spots along the way, strangers took us in their home to show us the devastation, and a man told us a story of his children growing up at the ball fields that were now submerged in water and would never be the same. We begin our photojournalism quarter this week and I cannot wait to see what the next few months hold!

You can check out all of my images from that day here

LT Joseph Helton

2009-09-18T09:54:00.001-04:00

Thanks to a tip from classmate Damian, I made it out to the street rally in Grayson for our fallen airmen LT Joseph Helton from Monroe Ga. I have had several experiences photographing soldiers we have lost in the war. I am wondering if maybe one day there will be a bigger purpose for having all of these images. I do believe the American people need to see how frequently this is happening and how many of these young men fearlessly give there lives. I am thankful for everyone who has served this country. I had a great time shooting this with Damian. We were soaked from head to toe and were not prepared for the downpour. I see a lot of photojournalism action in our future!

Long time no post!

2009-09-10T09:50:00.001-04:00

So lots of exciting stuff around here lately! Finished up summer quarters and I am happy with the grades. Our portfolio show is right around the corner, less than 48 hours now. This show is for the graduating class and their work is just amazing. I am hopeful now that one more year and I will be there too. This is the first class to hang large prints, and I cannot wait to see them altogether. Lots of photos to come!! Great job guys :)

What Ive been up to...

2009-08-17T11:53:00.000-04:00

I havent posted much lately, but I have a good excuse. I been out shooting and a lot! I have spent the last week photographing alpharetta I cant wait to post the projects I am working on. While out and about I went to visit Phillips Variety store in downtown alpharetta. The store has been there 57 years, which is really unheard of anymore, especially considering the location.
http://www.ajc.com/news/north-fulton/phillips-variety-store-brims-110928.html

As I was leaving I noticed this group of people heading into the store and I had to shoot this. It really is the end of an era! This store was too cool with all kinds of old toys, candy clothes and music. I loved this store, and am sad its gone. I should have shopped there more.

Interesting blog on photojournalism

2009-08-03T21:02:00.000-04:00

http://blog.livebooks.com/2009/08/help-resolve-help-former-staff-photographers/

I am trying to come up with some questions of my own...I have a ton!!!! Check it out

Music Video

2009-07-23T13:02:00.000-04:00

GTC Multimedia Project

2009-07-16T18:48:00.000-04:00

Here is the multimedia assignment I had to do for school. Focusing on the school and the program, I really wanted to show off the fun side, I do have to say it is so nice to be around other people who enjoy the same things you do. Check it out

Just another day in Pulaski, TN

2009-07-12T14:01:00.001-04:00

So this weekend I went to photograph a second Klan Rally in a small southern town Pulaski, TN. It was quite an experience to say the least. I am happy with the images and will be sharing them soon. However the highlight of the day was shooting with Spencer Platt. He is a photojournalism legend. He won the World Press photo of the year in 2006 with this image.
There were only 5 photographers there total myself included and a video team from France. I wish I would have said more to him than I did, but it looks like i have found someone to Intern with. Oh what I wouldn't give... It can't hurt to ask, the worst he could say is No :) This is one of my images from yesterday. I love the fact that the women are window shopping while this is going on, they were either oblivious or just didn't care. Either way its quite a statement...

Its all about the Benjamin's...

2009-07-06T20:33:00.000-04:00

So, for assignment number one this quarter for Commercial...I am at a grand total of $61...I may be finding one of you and my husband and I sleeping in your yard :)

Ok ...*Edit* $82 :)

The Newton Family

2009-07-05T21:23:00.000-04:00

this is a multimedia presentation I put together for a family I did some photos for over break. They have seen it several times now and cry each time and that makes me feel great! I am fairly new to making videos but I LOVE IT..I happen to be in my Multimedia class at school this quarter and cant wait to shoot for the assignments. I have a ton of ideas and hope at least one of them turns out well..This is a start and i have a long way to go! Check it out..

Lots of Editing to do!

2009-06-27T14:49:00.000-04:00

Ok, so the break is officially over and what a busy one it was. I had a great time shooting and cant wait to show each person/family the images from their shoot. Here is a preview of some of my work over the break. Hope to get them all finished very soon! Lots to come...

Mama don't take my Kodachrome away

2009-06-22T18:31:00.000-04:00

Well...it is officially the end of an era. Kodak announces that is is going to halt production of America's #1 film. I was shocked to read that it only accounted for 1% of the sales for the company. So for all of those rumors that film is making a comeback, its just not true. I venture to say it will definitely fall into a fine art category, but a lot of fine art in photography comes with a high price tag. I am curious what we will do for the next school year with 4 x 5 sheet film. Will we even be able to find it? I say pitch the film and just learn to be great photographers with these cameras we pay so much to own. So here's to you Kodak...cheers, I think you are responsible for the passion that most of us have each time we take a picture. We can just take more now :)

Afghan Girl..taken by Steve McCurry. National Geographic 1985 Kodachrome

Finch Sees the light!

2009-06-16T20:23:00.000-04:00

This photo is just tooooo funny for words....Damian shot this! I was off shooting on Ally's FLIP Video and had him grab some shots on my camera.This was just another amazing day...Its like a little piece of photo heaven shined down on our teacher "finch" today.... :)

PPA-International Print Competition

2009-06-15T23:09:00.000-04:00

How amazing the last few days have been! Our school was selected as the location to host the PPA International Print Competition. Long story short we are incredibly lucky to have prints that are considered the best of the best from all over the country as well as other countries. On top of the quality prints, the people are even better. There are 40+ judges, who themselves are incredible photographers, and very well respected in this profession. They could not be any kinder to us, and they have really taken the time to talk with us and answer all the questions we have. We have been responsible for handling all the prints that are in the competition. I have been very motivated by this, and cannot wait to get out and start shooting again. Not being a huge fan of portraiture, I have to say I have seen some great images this week that have really opened my eyes and I am looking forward to playing around with it. I cannot wait to see what the next two days bring. Big thanks to my classmates Damian, Ally, Lauren and Janet. I have had a great time working with them and hope to do more of this in the future.

PPA-International Print Competition

A soldier arrives

2009-06-11T23:35:00.000-04:00

"Three solemn ceremonies took place across north Georgia Thursday, marking the return of fallen soldiers who lost their lives in the line of duty. The three men were killed in the same battle in Afghanistan one week ago.
Family, friends and hundreds of others lined the streets to pay homage to the fallen heroes. The soldiers made the ultimate sacrifice for the country and their bodies made the final journey home". myfoxatlanta

Today I experienced my 3rd homecoming for a fallen soldier, in less than a year. Each time I am left with more questions, while realizing how lucky I am to have the life I do, and how fortunate I am to have a brother that serves our country as well as a family of people who have served our country. While many believe that these are images that we should not take, to respect the family, I believe these are images that should be seen by all. I do believe in this country that we should be aware of how frequently this is happening. Eventually we have to decide if this is a path we shall take as a nation, or one we will learn from and make a new path. I am thankful for every individual who has and does serve our country. It allows me the freedom to take these images as I wish.

A soldier arrives

Digital Daze Workshop

2009-06-11T23:18:00.000-04:00

This past Sunday I had that opportunity to work with Popular Photgraphy Magazine at their two day workshop. The weekend was geared towards amateurs who wanted to tweak their skills in portraiture, lighting and photo editing in lightroom. Big thanks to my classmate Lauren for getting me the gig with her. We had a great time together and I would love working with her again!

Digital Daze Workshop

End of Quarter!

2009-06-04T14:31:00.001-04:00

Hooray for three weeks off and catching up on some zzz's. Lots to catch up on from the last two weeks. I think I am most excited about the final I did for my photo imaging class. I had so much fun shooting everyone and putting it all together. Lots of fun stuff has happened the last two weeks and I will be posting it all very soon!

From Photo Imaging Class

Mr Jones The Super Six Arm Ninja

2009-05-21T09:42:00.000-04:00

So the last two weeks I have been working on compositing in my photo imaging class. The assignment was to create a composite with 6 arms. This was three separate images to make my teacher Mr Jones with 6 arms, and then 8 Images from the web to make all the fun stuff that is Mr Jones. I am loving the class and it feels great to finally learn how to do this. My husband Josh made a great model for the 1st one I did called "The Perfect Husband", he was very patient :)

From Photo Imaging Class

Night/HDR

2009-05-18T13:01:00.000-04:00

This quarter has just flown by! Our color theory class has been great. Last week I spent my week working on painting with light, It only took 5 trips and with lots of thanks to Damian, Nicole and Ally it was a success. There were some amazing prints this week!! I cant wait to see them all up. It was so much fun being able to get creative on this assignment and not having to be as technical. I am really looking forward to our final four critique this quarter!

From Color Theory Class

Final Four

2009-05-10T23:42:00.000-04:00

My Final Four is officially underway. I really want to take this opportunity to put together a nice presentation. We get to do larger prints and its our first quarter to print color. I will be shooting Lake Lanier's waterpark. I will need to go several times and I cant wait to play with all the fun shapes and colors there. Will be posting some test images soon!

Baby Marek

2009-05-10T22:52:00.000-04:00

New Grandparents Pete and Jana Charlton wanted some baby photos done for their daughters first mothers day. It was a very impromptu short shoot. Marek is such a happy baby and had several poses of his own. He really brought his A-game to the shoot. Jana was a great assistant. Congrats guys!

Baby Marek

Roe Roe Roe your Boat

2009-05-10T22:43:00.000-04:00

I recently had the opportunity to photograph friends Jim and Maggie Roe and their two little ones James and Thomas.http://maggieandjim.wordpress.com/ They are naturals in front of the camera. I did some maternity photos for Maggie back in December and decided it was time to do the whole family now that Thomas is a little bigger. We had a blast, James was a ham and little Thomas is too cute for words. Thanks so much Jim and Maggie!

The Roe Family Photos

Suwanne Springfest

2009-05-10T22:25:00.000-04:00

Every year I try to attend a music festival in Live Oak Florida known as Suwanee Springfest. It never dissapoints and this year seemed to set the bar a little higher. I love the music but enjoy photographing the people even more. These photos ended up one of my favorite bands website! Always a great time

Springfest 09'

My classes this quarter

2009-05-10T22:08:00.000-04:00

This quarter I am taking Advanced Portraiture, Color Theory, and Photo Imaging II

I love my color theory quarter all the bold bright colors have been very refreshing after two quarters of black and white. Here are some of my images from this quarter.

Color Theory Class

VICA Skills USA

2009-05-10T22:01:00.000-04:00

Congrats to Damian http://damianahching.blogspot.com/ for taking 1st in the Skills USA State competition. A lot of hard work was put into this competition and I cant wait to see Damian take it away at Nationals. It was a privilege to work with him and Ryan Tyrl http://ryantyrlphotography.blogspot.com/ who took 3rd. Way to go guys...

Here are some of my images that I shot for the initial round of the competition. The title was Southern Life . I had a great time and met some really amazing people in the process

Southern Life

What I have been up to..

2009-05-10T21:50:00.000-04:00

Lots of exciting things to report from 09' so far. It really all started with the election excitement. After photographing a series of events leading up to Inauguration, I found myself in Washington DC with several of my classmates and our teacher. It was an amazing day that will live with me forever. I feel privilidged to have witnessed that firsthand. Our teacher made a multimedia presentation from the photos we took. Take a look http://gtcphoto.wordpress.com/

Some of my favorite shots from the Inauguration

Obama Inauguration20th

Im Back!

2009-05-04T23:32:00.001-04:00

What a great 3rd quarter its been so far. We hit the ground running week one and have not slowed since. Lots of exciting things have happened lately and lots of photos to upload. I am right in the middle of our Color Theory and Portraiture classes, and have learned a ton in Photo Imaging II. Thanks to a little motivation from some classmates I look forward to updating my blog frequently!

Washington DC

2009-01-24T13:10:00.000-05:00

So we finally made it home in one piece! All is well, what a historical event, and I can tell my children that I was there. More to come soon..

Large format day!!

2009-01-13T14:11:00.000-05:00

Hooray...Yesterday was our camera check off day with the large format camera. We had to show our instructors that we know how the camera operates and that we know all of the parts to it. My partner is Josh and I am sure we will have a great time. I cant wait to get out and start shooting with this camera! Here is a peek into our day...

Ansel Adams show @ Faye Gold Gallery

2009-01-13T13:28:00.000-05:00

I visited the Faye Gold gallery Wednesday night showing work from former student of Ansel Adams, Bob Kolbrener. I found out about the show at school and met several of my classmates at the gallery that night. It was really exciting to meet Mr. Kolbrener and hear some of the stories he had to share. How amazing to have been taught by Ansel Adams. Props to Lisa for getting him to mail her an old filter of his. Lisa asked if he saw the world in black and white and where his vision came from..his answer was simple, an old red wratten filter. We thought he was joking and sure enough he carries one with him all the time so that he can see how the world looks in black and white. What a great night! More images from the night here http://picasaweb.google.com/amanda.abercrombie

Week One

2009-01-08T11:29:00.001-05:00

So we have almost completed the first week of winter quarter. It feels so great to be back, even though the break was too short. This quarter should be full of amazing information ranging from the learning the zone system with our digitals to shooting and developing our own 4 x 5 film from a large format camera. It should be full of new challenges and this quarter seems like it is going to push each of us more than the first. Great to be back with my photo gang!

First real blog

2008-11-17T20:02:00.000-05:00

I am giving into the blogging trend! I am finally ready. It has been a ton of fun reading everyones blog and it is a great way to get to know more about people and their everyday activities. I will start by saying how much I have enjoyed the 1st quarter of the commercial photography program. I am enjoying every minute so far and I am super excited to get to final four. I am learning A LOT! We have some great classmates and It has been fun seeing everyone come together the last few weeks. Until I have time to get some photos posted, here is the link to view what I have so far. www.picasaweb.google.com/amanda.abercrombie

Have a happy week everyone!!

First Blog

2008-10-30T13:11:00.000-04:00

I cannot believe I am doing something...just because its trendy. However, if it is what makes your business grow. I'll do it

This was exhausting....