For the second year in a row my photographs have placed as finalist in Photographer’s Forum Best of College Photography Contest. Even though I did not place, I am very happy to be published again at least. It is still a great way for others to see some of my work.

Above are both entries that have been published. Hopefully there are many more opportunities to come.

Photographing vehicles at car shows can be tricky. People can be in the way, the car can show reflections you aren’t expecting, the lighting where the vehicle is parked may not be the best. These are all things that should be taken into consideration when just shooting for fun or taking a professional car photo. The best kind of light for photographing a car is horizontal light, mainly from a sunset or sunrise. The worst lighting is at noon, where there will be many harsh shadows and no even lighting on the vehicle.

To get more dramatic images, it is best to shoot at a low angle, to make the car look as if it is towering in the photo. Many people feel this approach is over-used, because it mainly just shows a large front wheel and then the rest of the car behind it. There can be other angles to photograph a car from but a low angle always helps to make the car dramatic. Tips to remember:

• Low Angle
• Shoot sunrise/sunset, not mid day, reduces shadows. Lots of light.
• Check backgrounds, for telephone poles or trees sticking out of the top of the car awkwardly
• Find the details of the car to get more intricate photos
• Overcast skies will make for good lighting still, acting like a giant softbox

Opened in 1876 Greystone Psychiatric Park was the largest continuous foundation in the United States from when it was built until the Pentagon was built. It’s design was from the specifications of the Kirkbride Plan. This was a floor plan that included a main building with 3 wings radiating from it, set back from the previous one so patients could see the outside surroundings. This building helped many including possibly the most famous; Woody Guthrie.
Like Eastern State Penitentiary, Greystone has great Victorian architecture, that is no longer appreciated as much in this time period. All the architectural details that went into it makes this a great historic landmark to photograph.

Since it is no longer in use, it was expected to be demolished by the state in 2008. But thankfully it is still up and standing thanks to organizations like Save Greystone who are attempting to get Greystone registered as an official historic site. If Greystone wasn’t still standing it wouldn’t have been able to be used in the filming of a “House M.D.” episode.

Where he specifically was admitted to a psychiatric hospital called Mayfield.
Since Greystone was originally on 743 acres when it was first purchased in 1871. All of this land was great for the patients to enjoy, but was later sold to Morris County after Greystone closed to create a county park.

I certainly hope that Greystone becomes officially registered as a historic site because it holds so much value and history. They just don’t make architecture like that anymore, simply beautiful. Please visit/photograph while you still can….

Recently I have been taking a liking to underground caverns and mines. So I took a trip to Sterling Mine (of Lord Stirling) in Ogdensberg, NJ. This mine was originally worked as an iron ore mine. However in the late 80’s the cost of iron ore went too low to have the mine still be cost effective to operate. Thus a few years later the mine reopened for tours, visited by 35,000 people yearly.

There are many different tunnels creating the sterling mine, one of the more famous ones is the Edison Tunnel. Mr. Edison was involved in the design and construction of the mine from 1890 to 1900. Unfortunately during my trip it had recently rained and when that happens we were told, the Edison Tunnel floods. I was disappointed that the Edison was one of the main features I expected to see while there and wasn’t able to. However, I will say the Rainbow Room was much worth the disappointment of no Edison. My only hope was to have had more time to photograph the fluorescent zinc ore that glows like neon paint under black light. I was happy to take my piece of iron ore that everyone else on the tour is offered.

Right down the road from this mine is a related museum, the Franklin Mineral Museum. Since it was so close we happened to find it on the way home. It was a nice extra stop, but certainly not worth it to just drive there and look at rocks. The most enjoyable part was, the Fluorescence room. Many of the rocks found at the mine were brought to this museum and displayed behind glass, once all white light is turned off and black light turned on. The rocks looked as though they were painted with neon splatter. It also had a replica mine to walk through, which had multiple levels. If you are in the area I do suggest stopping at this museum, since it is definitely a good addition to seeing the actual mine.

This isn’t the most amazing mine there probably is to visit. But since it was so local I found it to be just right for a day trip. Hopefully the next time I visit a mine, we will be allowed to go deeper into the mine, to experience it even more. The mine elevator was not working and who knows when it last did, so perhaps it is best that the tours did not continue past the ground (entry) level. But I hope to find a mine that does still work that I could visit.

If you’ve been to this mine or have suggestions for other active mines that gives tours please comment below.

I am always in the market for new models and I am thrilled with Kvita. It was my first photoshoot using a specific prop along with the model, fellow photographer Andrew Yaniuk’s 2004 Jeep Wrangler. Since his Jeep has many upgrades I felt it was a great vehicle to have a pretty girl to model with.

Some fill light and reflectors helped to achieve some of the more dramatic lighting. It is really important if you are using a vehicle as a prop to then put it in the right setting. To me a Jeep of course belongs in an offroad environment, as a sports car would be best suited on a winding ocean front road. This goes for all types of cars, being a sports car or other offroad vehicles. It is best for a photograph when the cars are in scenery that they are known for. The same goes for a muddy Jeep, in the forest, for its “natural habitat.” These photos can be seen as the woman is modeling the Jeep or the main focus is the woman and the Jeep is more of a prop. Whichever you see it as, it’s always good to practice as much as you can with subjects you enjoy.

There’s no need to have lots of expensive equipment to take impressive photos of your vehicle. Maximize natural sunlight; if you have unwanted shadows, the use of a reflector to bounce the light in the right place will certainly help. A camera and reflector are the bare minimum supplies you will need to make your vehicle look like a showroom quality car.

Ronald Cala II’s talk at the Thinking Creatively conference was happily my second lecture of his that I have attended. Both times I have certainly found it to be completely worth my time. I was looking forward to it during the whole conference and was not let down at all.

Ronald’s lecture topic wasn’t just about showing off his work, unlike other speakers who feel this is only a forum for them to show of their work and talk and not enlighten. Ronald held my interest the entire lecture because he combined his work with the great topic of collaboration. That is the main way that he creates his work, with the exception of some very early work all projects he showed were collaborations with different artists for each project. I love knowing that by working together has added to his designs.

He spoke about how the best way to collaborate- have someone else do what you lack in. That gives you the best of both worlds, having your own design style and what it is you can improve on in your work. It is also the best way to network by making connections. If I ever get the opportunity I would love to collaborate with Ronald Cala. Overall his lecture was definitely a great experience, I love everything he has said to inspire us. If you have the opportunity to see a Ronald Cala II lecture, please do because you will not regret it and come away with a great outlook.

My first time at a Jessica Hische lecture was at the Thinking Creatively Design Conference and it was amazing. I went to the lecture already knowing some of her work and being interested in her typography. Yet I didn’t know I would come away with even more respect for her work and a hint of jealousy (wishing I was more naturally type capable.)

Jessica showed a lot of her portfolio and beyond. Since her work/style is something that I was very interested in I didn’t mind that she only spoke of her work. Which is something that I’m not usually thrilled about because I can read and look at those type of items on their websites. However with Jessica actually there to explain her work more it was much more enjoyable than I expected. Her specialty is hand lettering and illustration, which she showed us many samples of.

Unlike many designers who are very busy and don’t truly have all that much time to talk to fans or students. Jessica was different she stayed after her lecture and spoke with everyone in the room who waited around. I felt a personal touch was a great thing her fans, (including me) appreciated. The designers that actually care about talking with their fans are looked higher upon in my book. If I get another chance to attend another Jessica Hische lecture, I will be the first one there. She had a great presentation and such interesting information about her work, if you can ,you should attend also.