Landscapes at Chesterfield

This week the Photo Comm class headed out to Chesterfield, Idaho. There at the abandoned townsite, we worked on landscape and panoramic photos. While there, a significant rainstorm blew in from the mountains; some folks got wet and others took shelter where they could find it…for me, it was in the old milking barn! Afterwards, we headed south along the Portneuf River and were treated to a double rainbow. About a dozen of us had dinner at the world famous ChuckWagon, in Lava Hot Springs, before heading back to campus.

L to R: Malia, Helena, Keelyn, outside the old milking barn at Chesterfield.

L to R: Helena, Malia, Kaitlin in the rain at Chesterfield

L to R foreground: Jake’s arms, Alyssa; L to R background: Ritesh, Evelyn, Arielle, and Kashual.

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International Dark Sky Park

November’s new moon proved to be an exceedingly dark night! On Saturday (Nov. 18), myself and Dr. Rob Edsall met up with six of my photo students at Craters of the Moon National Monument. The monument also happens to be designated an International Dark Sky Park, which means the night sky gets down-right dark! We set up our gear, including Dr. Edsall’s 10-inch reflector telescope, just before sunset and we worked until about 9pm. At that point the temperature dropped to about 18F (about -8C)….our gear was starting to ice-up. So, we fired up the camp stove and had some hot chocolate! In the gallery below, you will find some of my shots and a few from students. Enjoy!

Star trails at Craters of the Moon National Monument and International Dark Sky Park.

Field Work in Caribou County Idaho

My Photo Communication class is working through a module on landscape and environmental photography. So, we took to the field and worked on panos and close-ups at Chesterfield, an abandoned Mormon settlement from the late 1890s. On the way back to Lava Hot Springs for dinner, we encountered a young bull moose in the middle of the road. A van full of photographers and no one had a camera ready! After a few moments, I managed to grab my small P&S Fuji and captured a couple of shots of him in the field next to the road. Afterwards, we went to the Chuck Wagon in Lava Hot Springs for a bite to eat. Great afternoon with great students!

Photo Communication class at Chesterfield working on panorama image making.

Chesterfield Ghost Town Panoramic Photo Trip

Earlier this week the Photo Communication class, along with some Advanced Photo students, headed up to the Mormon ghost town of Chesterfield. Although the class was tasked with creating panoramic views of this abandoned site, many students included close-up and architectural views as well. Here’s some of the class hard at work….or at play??? Enjoy!

Since we were at a “ghost town” it was appropriate that an apparition would appear. Thanks for your help Ed! © 2013 Terry Ownby.

Andrew does some close-up shooting of an abandoned work table in one of the many outbuildings. © 2013 Terry Ownby.

Ed takes a closer look at an abandoned 19th century homestead. © 2013 Terry Ownby.

Kelsey working on a pano shot at Chesterfield Reservoir. © 2013 Terry Ownby.

Group shot at Chesterfield Reservoir, left to right: Ling, Ed, Presley, Kelsey, Andrew, Marlae, Sarah, and Dustin. © 2013 Terry Ownby.

Group shot of the instructor! © 2013 Terry Ownby.

And yes, the professor did shoot his own pano of the ghost town! This is six vertical images stitched in CS6 and shot with a Nikon D800 with 50mm 1.4 lens (vintage 1962). © 2013 Terry Ownby.

Low-Key Portrait Lighting Demo

Today’s lab session was held over in our Photo Services studio. We worked on low-key portrait lighting as a dramatic departure from traditional portraiture lighting. Below are some samples from the demo, along with a lighting diagram.

In this shot, I set the two softboxes in back to create a rimlight effect around the subject. © Terry Ownby.

Next, we brought in a medium softbox from camera right and set the power for a 4:1 ratio (about 2 f-stops lower than back rim lights). Thanks to Ed Ritterbush for volunteering! © Terry Ownby

With the lights in place, I convinced Miriam Simper Dance to get in the hot seat! © Terry Ownby.

Without moving light and just having Miriam turn, we created another dramatic view. This lighting setup is versatile for dramatic portraits. © Terry Ownby.

 

 

 

Studio Orientation

Today my Photo Communication class was given their studio orientation at the University’s Photo Services studio. We are fortunate to have their studio open to our students, since we have no actual studio dedicated to our Photo Media program. Below are a few snapshots of my students listing to the staff photographer explain using the flash equipment.