If you asked me what my favorite color was when I was little, I might have said blue. (Or maybe pink – it was a long time ago.) During my emo stage, I might have said black. Now I’d say all of them. It’s not that I love all colors indiscriminately; it’s that I love them all together. I love the rainbow rows of nail polish in the store better than the individual colors themselves. I love the paint swatches all lined up together instead of a single hue. And luckily for me, whatever the fashion world decides, in the world of nature at this time of year (…in the northern hemisphere), rows upon rows of color will always be in.
I shot a bunch of photos in Boise’s Hyde Park this afternoon for fun, and the following are some of the most colorful shots of the day. There are plenty more, though, so check back soon for differently-themed entries including more pictures from Hyde Park!
Spring is in the air! The flowers are blooming, the grass is greening…and the seniors are graduating. A couple days ago I went on a photoshoot with Heather, a gorgeous senior at Eagle High School. All of her photos were beautiful – she reminds me of Amanda Seyfried or Saoirse Ronan – but here are some of the best, all shot in downtown Boise.
The best few months of my life were those I spent studying abroad in New Zealand in 2009. The day I left, I typed out a list of everything I had yet to do—so many reasons to come back. Something I’d add to that list now? Take better pictures.
There’s a huge difference between taking photographs to chronicle an entire experience or journey and taking photographs to capture a subject in as aesthetically-pleasing a fashion as possible. My NZ photography fell into the former category, and combined with the fact that for the majority of my time abroad, my only camera was a tiny point-and-shoot in the 4-megapixel range, I wouldn’t rate my photo collection as particularly high-quality. Nor did I initially spend much time editing my photos—with a grand total numbering in the thousands and a student/traveler life to lead, I simply didn’t have enough time to devote to making sure individual shots were perfect.
But when it comes down to it, New Zealand deserves more than I gave it. In an attempt to do my favorite country justice, I’ve begun the process of selecting my very best shots out of thousands and retouching them to more accurately represent the beauty I observed—not the watered-down, lifeless originals my camera captured. With so many photos, this is merely the first in a series, so stay tuned for more!
Lake Wanaka close after dawn, as viewed from Mount Iron
Mornings and I aren’t on the best of terms. So when photographers talk about the twice-daily golden hour—magical soft lighting that flatters every face and stunningly illuminates every scene—I know I’m going to miss at least one. Good thing I’m usually alert right before sunset and like shiny things.