Pretty Idaho landscapes? Camera Phone? Who knew?

So, this isn't an official shoot, but this weekend I went home to Idaho, and this time the drive was really pretty. Thanks to the drought we've been having this year, there wasn't a lot of snow, so the ground was either brown and dead (welcome to Idaho...) or lightly frosted with snow, which was reeeaaally pretty. So, on the 5-hour drive, I got really bored cause my sister, who drives with me, was sleeping. Being a photographer, I naturally had to pull out my camera...on my phone. Yes, I forgot to bring my nice camera for once in my life. Kinda disappointing... but I couldn't pass up the beautiful landscapes. So, I carefully pulled up the camera on my phone and pointed it to the window. Though there was no one around me, I still did not want to kill us both, so I just pointed it out the window and hoped for a good picture :P which explains the vertical, very askew one. The rest were taken when my sister woke up 5 seconds later, or when I wasn't driving. When I uploaded the images to my computer, I was surprised at the quality of the pictures. Amazing for a phone. And, for the lack of huge mountains, trees, beaches, or anything redeeming, the landscape was pretty. Only covered/frosted in snow, of course :)

2.5 Months

Just took my first midterm and did relatively well. Then it dawned on me that I have 2.5 more months...

2.5 months. Wow.

(Sorry I stole this, Sadie...Thanks!!)

I was talking to someone who I just met, and we were talking about the usual stuff that people at BYU talk about (where we're from, what we were studying, what we wanted to do with our lives, etc) and when I told her that I was about to graduate from the photography program with a business minor and then head to LA for an internship, she said that she was so jealous and that I'm so lucky. It's funny, because I guess I've just been taking this opportunity for granted, and what I'm studying for granted. 

I LOVE what I do, and am so excited to go somewhere with it, especially because it's in the arts. And let's be honest: they don't call em starving artist for nothing. And, after reading this post on my friend Sadie's blog, I have a new outlook on this life-changing event. I'll be in a new place, but I will meet new people and have new experiences. Better than Provo or Idaho can offer.

Covergirl Mascara Shoot

I FINALLY got back in the studio...and am glad that I actually remembered how to use the equipment :P It was fun though. So, I made some mock-up ads for Covergirl Eyelights mascara, so don't pay attention to the design, because that's not exactly my forte...and ignore the makeshift brush strokes... haha. I just like to make mock-up layouts so I can see how my photographs would look if they were to go in an ad. But photographing it was sooo much fun and just makes me that much more excited for my internship :)

Anyway, as you can see, one ad is for regular mascara and the other is for waterproof. The waterproof one didn't turn out quite as well as I'd hoped, but it's good for now. I'll learn how to do it better one of these days... :P

Mixed Emotions and Timp Harley Photos

So, truthfully, the idea of moving to LA is kinda catching up to me and freaking me out, off and on. The idea of moving more than 600 miles away from many close friends and family (though I have family down there, so it eases the fear)... and moving somewhere where I've never lived before, with completely new people is kinda nerve-wracking. BUT I'm still excited for something other than Provo and Nampa. It'll be really fun. A good thing, though, is my professor said that it's a good thing I'm stressed because it means that I'm not naive and that I actually care. haha. And, man, I never thought it would be SOO hard to get the motivation to do econ homework. In fact, that's why I'm writing on here... procrastinating. I have a feeling I'll be doing that a lot this semester... :P

Aaand when I procrastinate, I also like to edit images, both past and present. This time, I found some old Timp Harley images I took for my location photography class at BYU. It was a really fun shoot and the employees were all really nice and cooperative. Here are some of my favorites:

The exterior. Story time: My friend/fellow photographer Kara and I went through a lot of blood, sweat, and tears to get exterior shots. First of all, you have to photograph the building at the crack of dawn, when the light in the sky isn't too bright so you can still expose it right to match the exposure of the lights in the building. Otherwise, you have to just expose for the building and drop in a sky later. Either way, a pain in the butt. The first shoot we did of the building was quite an adventure. We had to climb up a muddy hill, in which I almost lost my shoe, to the top of the hill to get a good angle. It was actually really fun, cause I like hiking. Turns out, the street did not make as good of a foreground as we thought, so we basically wasted that shoot. But we went again a few days later and got some beautiful shots (including this one). Hard work, but so much fun :)

Some bling :P

The cafe

An awesome bike

Harley Logos

Store Owner

So, whenever I think about it, the idea of moving to LA to learn how to do all of this soooo much better is so fun to me in the end :)

I got it!!!!

I just spoke with Jerry over the phone, and he said that we'll go through with the internship!!! I'm so excited!! Slightly scared, but still really, really excited!! I'll be doing what I love in a beautiful place all summer-- It will be an adventure :) (now if I could have the motivation to drudge through Econ...)

The best part: he said that on days when we are not shooting (more often than not) for Ross clothing, I will be on the computer looking up props and ideas and I'll be editing. Then I can work on my own stuff and he'll give me tips and ideas and I'll basically have full access to his awesome studio. Pretty sweet :) This is what I look forward to learning (all his product work, I can't take credit for any of this) :

He's pretty amazing at what he does. And I'm excited, in case I haven't expressed that enough :)

Some Old Seattle Photos

I was going through some files on my computer today and ran across these. They were taken in Seattle during my senior year of high school. I always forget how beautiful Seattle is...

Trip to Los Angeles

This past weekend was so much fun, and I did NOT want to come back to Provo. I drove down to LA with my sister to check out a possible photography internship with Jerry Garns. I was so much fun! I got to meet Jerry and see first-hand what he does. He's a really cool, down-to-earth guy and was so nice. He also gave me a HUGE compliment: he said that a lot of BYU Photography students that have interned with him don't really take photography seriously, but when he saw my work he could tell I am dedicated and could really go somewhere with it. :) I don't quite have the internship yet, but keep your fingers crossed!! (P.S. I got there at the end of a casting call for a new photo shoot they were working on, and I have never seen so many pretty-boys AKA models in one area. It was kinda weird...)

Also, my goal for my last semester at BYU is to photograph at least one product/advertisement per week. It should be really fun, because that's what I love to do. I'll post them on here as I finish them.

Some other cool things about my trip:
I am a total dork, but I saw the Hollywood sign for the first time IN PERSON!! My brother-in-law laughed at me because he grew up in Los Angeles, so he thought it was no big deal. But for me, a native San Diegan who's lived in Idaho and Utah the past 8 years, it was awesome.

Also, I got to see my grandma, my oldest sister, her husband, and my niece and nephew, all who I haven't seen in what seemed like forever. It was really nice to see them :) My 7-year-old nephew kept telling us that he didn't want us to leave. When we said we had school, he said, "Say your hand hurts" and "Say your sick". Too bad those excuses don't work in college... Enjoy them while you can, buddy. haha. My 2-year-old niece wanted to come back with us, but we sadly couldn't take her... but covered her eyes when we left so she didn't have to see us go. So cute!!

One downside:
We didn't get to go to the beach... it would take ONE HOUR to go SIX MILES on the freeway!! Welcome to LA...

Overall, it was a great trip. I already miss it!

Oh, and my friend/co-worker Sadie and I have been looking up cool Photoshop tutorials, and I will post the finished products on here :)