Another site that I studied was the International Alliance for Panographic Photography. This is an organization that produces some of the most respected pano shots in the world. It drew me in because there were pano shots that I thought were similar to my style. One particular pano photo which I enjoyed was one by photographer Tracy Valleau. She took a pano photo of Zion national park. This area is like desert filled mountain ranges that have a beautiful western landscape. I interested me because I Had drove through the Zion area and saw some potential for pano photographs. I recently went on vacation to Lake Powell. This was the most breathtaking scenery I had ever seen. The contrasting red dirt with the enormous mountain ranges gave me a feeling like I was at the Grand Canyon. We explored a sacred site at Lake Powell called Rainbow Bridge. It is supposed to be one of the worlds eight wonders. This place reminds me of some of the pictures taken in the alliance's panos. I picked up a couple of tricks and tips that they use also like knowing where to get a tripod for cheap or renting a certain camera to save money. Maybe one day I can travel the world and shoot nice panos all day. That wou1d be cool.

Jim Brandenburg is just one of those photographers that keeps blowing me away with his photography. I learned about Brandonburg two semesters ago when professor Small showed us a quick clip. Since then, his photos have interested me in many ways. While researching him on the Internet I came across a series of photos that he took featuring wolves in the wild. It was extremely amazing that he gets so close to these particular animals. This type of animal is usually aggressive so it would be difficult to get good photos of them. He must use a camera with a huge lens because he gets these really detailed photos of his subjects. It's so cool how he captures emotion in his photographs. This is a technique that is hard to achieve photographing animals. I learned that you simply have to be patient and wait for the right time. Wolves have always been of interest to me because they are so much like wild dogs. I am a dog lover. Its amazing how wolves can be so dangerous and yet so loving amongst themselves. I learned an enormous amount just watching how Brandonburg works.

Aerial photography

In studying many different types of photography I ran into airial landscapes. I thought that this style of photographs were partiocularly interesting because of the dufferent style landscapes that they depict. Unlike traditional landscapes there are not really any landscape there. Instead they are usually photos of clouds or sky shots. This type of photography makes me feel like I'm sky diviong or falling from the sky. I liked this photo of the sky while a person took the photo from the wing of his or her flight. This style of photography helped me learn to open my imagination toward new angles and macros.

For the optional field trip I traveled to the Bonsal preserve location. I met Al Certa and one of his close friends there so they could help me identify some native plants. Al explained that he hadn't been to this location for a long time. He was amazed at what has happened to the preservation location. Supposedly, they are building a new highway next to the old Bonsal bridge that will connect cities. In doing so, who ever is building the new highway has been doing massive work along the Bonsal bridge. They have cut back a lot of the shrubs and bushes that were originally there. Instead of normally finding debris from paintballers and vandals, we ended up finding debris left from the construction. Al was amazed that so much work has been done to clear foliage for the new highway.
After we got over the changes to the site we got a chance to go visit some spots that had capule. Al pointed out in one particular spot that he thought the capule were a way for the Indians to communicate. He also speculated that they were a map of the stars pointing out that the layout has similarities to the little dipper. I thought they might of been for map marking the different tribes or landmarks such as Palomar Mountain.
As we went through the preserve Al pointed out native plants that I could photograph with a strong emphasis on staying away from poison oak. While observing native plants we stumbled upon a dragonfly that was perched on a warm rock. I quickly got as close as i could and snapped a photo. To my surprise it ended up being a Kodak moment and the photo came out killer. We talked about how some people speculate that the focal image in the Rincon Band of Luiseno indians is a dragonfly. Others think it is a butterfly. Whatever it is it was developed from a traditional basket weaving pattern. Personally, I think its a dragonfly because I've heard stories told that when the San Luis Rey River was enormous there was tons of dragonfly's that roamed the area. So, to see one in the present so close was a symbol of longevity.
Another interesting thing that happened was the discovery of some rock art. Just after Al had explained to me that people are coming to this site and stealing preservation objects like rocks, we literally stumbled across a rock that looked like a face.
Maybe it was just the light at the time, but it was pointed out that this was a piece of natural rock art. Here we are looking at plenty of rock art and this diamond in the rough is sitting at leg level waiting for someone to trip on it. Is it a face or a rock? You be the judge.
The last thing we discovered was the rock art that was hidden by the water levels of the river. The water level was soo low that there were rocks that had capules on them that were previously hidden because they were submerged. Al was amazed because he had been to the site plenty of times and never seen the water level so shallow. This means that the water level at the time there was villages present was very shallow. To my knowledge this was a new find and documentation.

The Camp Pendalton field trip was an interesting one for me. We met at the parking lot at the Las Pulgas exit. Then they took us to a preservation spot. In this area they had preserved a ranch that had been part of the indian. The preservationists worked hard to get the land preserved. If it wasn't for good old uncle sam then the military would have demolished the preserved land ages ago. This ranch means a lot to the people who were indiginous to the area.
Although there was plenty of history to be documented in this ranch, unfortunately there was limited native plants we could shoot photographs of. In trying to take photos I found that it wasn't the type of photos I was trying to take, but it was the angle they are taken at. I found that trying new shots with different angles worked for me. There were a couple of native plants that were at the spot and I did my best to get the best shots I could.
Towards the end of the shooting period our instructor told us he would take us into the back country so that we could explore some of the native plants local to the area. Unfortunately, he didn't give us a chance to take some of the photographs we could have and Proffessor Small was dissapointed also. Anyhow it was a great trip and good experience.

The Pachenga field trip was an interesting venture. It started out a little slow as they ttok us to a place where all the cloning and preservation of native plants takes place. This spot was full of small cuttings that are waiting to be transplanted into their natural inviornment. While at the first spot I was interested in one particular method that was described called scarification. This is where seeds get scared through seasonal changes, and passing through animals digestive systems. This was intrigueing considering the seedlings pass through animals bodies that have aten previous meals with seeds in them. Furthermore, the guest speaker talked about plants that are grown from seed are generally better than plants that are taken from clone. The reason is because plants from clone are more likely to get infected by bugs or diseaeses because their using the same maybe four plants to make the clones.
Finally we moved on to a hidden place in the hills next to the Casino. This place was a preservation site where we got a chance to take some visually pleasing photos. At the preservation site that was called a main courtyard there was sacred rocks, huts, and tepees built. This type of scenery made for some great pictures. I particularly enjoyed that we got a chance to enter some of the huts and tepees to see what it was like. We also got some insight from our guides that filled us in on the ceremonies that take place at these sacred sights.

The trip to Rincon was a memorable one. Our class got a chance to experience what life is like on the reservation. The Rincon Band of Luiseno Indian group has been a friendly and informative group that has welcomed our university with open arms. We got a chance to photograph some landscapes on the reservation and they were breathtaking. I particularly like that they gave us the freedom to photograph what ever we wanted.
After the photo session the RBOI had a presentation prepared for us that was also interesting. During the presentation they explained to us that they were directly effected by the San Diego wild fires of 2007. They presented a power point presentation that displayed some of the horrific results of mother nature. One particular structure which was lost was a church that had been built in the 1880's. Many of the Indian community attended this church and it was sort of a religious icon for the Indian community. She described the church's bell being brought to the church by the missionaries. Many people lost valuable items in the San Diego wild fires, but whats most important is that they are all matterial possessions and can be replaced. As far as the fires on the reservation, the fire cheif said no one was injured.

These are a few images that I felt were strong. I particularly like the macro shots.
In one of the plant macros it was amazing the way the light was hitting the leaves. It is hard to get the light situation right when taking macro shots, but I think I caught the natural sun light at the right time. I think thesecond most important thing is how the photo is cropped. I guess Ive had some practice with my camera in the garden.
Also in the photo that I took of the rock with the background blured was interesting because it is an unorthadoxed apraoch. I learned this technique last semester when I did a series on graffiti art. I learned to destort the background by keeping the camera focoused on a object that takes a while to figure out what it is.

War Photograper

James Nachtwey was an interesting photographer to look into. He seemed like he had a great passion for the types of political issues his photography deals with. He chose to be a photographer so that he could visualize truth through images. I feel that anyone who is a photographer has to be very interested if not obsessed with their subject or subjects. He takes pride in his subjects in the fact that he captures a state of emotion with posses and expressions. It seems like he wants to change political struggle through told story of photographs. He exploites reality at a poverty level. He wants his testimony to be honest and uncencored. One particular image that was interesting was the man in Kosivo that was burned in his own home. It reminded me of a chalk outline that is seen in old detective movies. He captured evidence that the man suffered at this place of rest. I could just feel his pain. It was Sad.:(. Also I liked that he documented international health issues such as A.I.D.S., H.I.V., and T.B.. He makes viewers aware of problems that we don't normaly see or hide from, which is the best trait in a photographer.