moments of light 3.

Light and shadow for your Thursday evening. Enjoy!

Burned Prairie

A few weeks ago I went out to the Konza Prairie with Scott for a hike. They happened to be in the process of burning that day, so on some portions of the hike we had to walk through fairly thick smoke. It didn’t make breathing all that fun, but it was pretty surreal and beautiful seeing the familiar landscape engulfed in smoke.

Happy Monday, and Cinco de Mayo everyone!

 

Spaces

The more I photograph, the more I realize that I am drawn to very intimate spaces. Grand spaces generally don’t intrigue me nearly as much, at least in terms of my photography. I also have the tendency to be drawn back to the same space over and over, witnessing how it changes depending on the light or the passage of time. These images are random ones from the past month or so, of various spaces that you may have seen before, but perhaps under different conditions. Some are just brief moments that I photographed in an attempt to hold on to them in my mind; I found them significant in some way at the time, and wanted that moment to stick.

 

And, meet Gwynn, who lives in my studio. The plant’s growth is explosive; these image were shot just a few weeks apart. I plan to keep documenting the growth, but it is slowly (or not so slowly) taking over my studio I think.

 

As a bit of a teaser for you all, I just returned from a trip to New York City, so images from that trip will be up in the (hopefully) near future. Also, more moments of light are on their way. Happy Monday everyone!

moments of light 2

As some of you may have read in my last “moments of light” post, lately I have been completely obsessed with documenting the light around me. As a photographer I have always been interested in light, but lately it has become the most important thing. I’m still not entirely sure why it is such a dominating factor for me (and my work) lately, but I don’t think it will fade at least any time soon.

Most of these moments get documented on instagram, since I always have my phone with me. If you want to follow along with this series the best way to do so would be to follow me on there.

And a little teaser of what I’ve been up to on instagram. You will notice that I’ve been focused on a few different things over the past few weeks.

 There are more to come in the future I am sure, so keep your eyes peeled for more moments of light. Also, I will be home in Minnesota this weekend, so expect to see images of my precious nephew and other spring in MN related things soon!

Pillsbury Crossing

I had almost completely forgotten about these images, but while doing some cleanup on my computer stumbled on them. Not long before spring break I went on a mini adventure to Pillsbury Crossing with my studio-mate. Pillsbury Crossing is a small wildlife area just outside of Manhattan. There are a few trails there, so we hiked around a little and scoped out some places for potential self-portraits in the future.

Happy Monday everyone!

Prairie Hike

I hadn’t been out to the Konza Prairie for ages, and when it warmed up last weekend I jumped at the chance to head out there for a hike with fellow photography graduate student, Myra. I also hadn’t been out there with my new lens, so I was excited to be able to get a new perspective on something I have shot multiple times before. Unfortunately when we got out there it got super windy and a cold front started moving in, but luckily we still had sunshine and decent light for most of the hike.

Tomorrow evening I am off to Arizona for a week of climbing, camping, hiking, art museum visits, and of course photographing! I am so excited to get a break from Manhattan and share lots of images and stories here when I get back. If you want to keep up with our adventures during the week be sure to follow me on instagram. I will be posting lots there throughout the week, but posts here on the blog will have to wait since I don’t have room to pack my computer. Have a wonderful week you lovely people!

 

moments of light.

I have always been very interested in capturing moments of beautiful natural light. The way that light reflects off of things, shines through and wraps around, casting beautifully unique shadows and ripples of light, is fascinating to me. Lately I seem to be even more drawn (borderline obsessed perhaps) to these things, and often stop in the middle of whatever I am doing to capture these little moments.

The first two are from my phone, because that is what I consistently have easily available when these moments happen. And, unfortunately I accidentally cleared off some of my favorite images (or I expected them to be) from my SD card before transferring them to my computer. I’m hoping to re-shoot a similar thing soon, but for now here are some of my recently documented “moments of light” to share with you.

 

Blue Giraffe

This semester I moved to a new studio, one that has windows. I was so excited to finally have natural light in my studio, so I brought in some plants to decorate my windowsill. I still felt like I needed more color, and was inspired by all the gold-leafed or painted animals I had seen on Pinterest. So, meet Gerald the blue giraffe!

Also, I have noticed many new followers in the past few weeks, and I would love to meet you all and hear how you found my blog! Welcome to the blog and I hope you enjoy!

Simplicity

Lately I’ve been drawn to rather empty compositions and simple, non-dramatic light. There is something so refreshing about them to me. 

 

 

Time in the pasture.

About a month ago Scott and I went to his parents’ farm for dove hunting season. We went out in the evening and sat in their pasture watching for birds. I, however, was very distracted by how beautiful it was out there.

We sat on buckets, low to the ground and surrounded by tall grass fronds catching the rich evening light as they swayed in the breeze. Not far away was a group of wild sunflowers in full bloom. A small pond was in front of us, and it was mesmerizing to watch the giant dragonflies swoop down to catch bugs in the low, golden sun. The only noises we heard were bugs buzzing, birds chirping, and the sound of the wind in the grass. It was almost dream like.