This last set of pictures taken at Summer lake were taken the morning before we left. One of the very interesting things about summer lake was the weather. Most of our time there it was sunny, however extremely windy. This morning however, it was actually snowing a bit, which I  find interesting because you would never know this by the way the weather looks in the pictures. I  love the colors of the picture of the sunrise, and in contrast, the picture beneath it was taken by simply turning to a different direction, which changed the color pallet completely. Alal of a sudden instead of oranges and pinks we have pastels. And in the picture below it there is some blue sky showing through, suggesting how the weather is ever changing and evolving, painting the land in different colors. 

This set of pictures were also taken at Summer Lake. They represent evolution through the way the sky changes throughout the day. The first picture was taken at midday, the second one at sunset, and the third one after sun rise, I like them because they show how many different types of beauty can occur in the same place by simply a change in light and shadows. This applies to photography in general. The addition or subtraction of light makes a very big difference as to what a picture might look like.

These pictures were taken at Summer Lake in south eastern Oregon. I think they are beautiful because of the clouds and the mountains in the background. I also love the colors in the grass and in the mountains. Summer lake is a large salt flat with a large shallow briny lake. You can see a briny pond in the pictures. The pictures represent evolution because the entire valley of summer like used to be an inland ocean millions of years ago. Now where the shore used to be there are mountains. The entire area is physical proof of the Earth's evolution.   

Okay, I changed my mind! This has got to be my new favorite series! This series of pictures was taken of a span of three years in the same spot of Sunriver, Oregon. The first picture was taken in 2009 (when we were all freshmen in high school). I took this photo of my brother and Gracie with my camera phone! The next picture was taken the next year with my new camera. The people in the picture are Emma, Perrin, and my brother. The last picture was taken last year. This has got to be one of my favorite pictures I have taken. First of all I think the picture is really interesting and beautiful and the people in it are like my three favorite people ever! That Perrin on the right, Emma in the middle, and my brother on the left. I took that picture with Emma's really nice camera. All of these picture are edited with sepia and they are all by the same river.

Sunriver 2009 

Sunriver 2010 

Sunriver 2011

This is a series of photos that express the evolution of the human body. I think this series really captures the essence of evolution in a literal sense. The first picture was taken in India while I was sitting on top of a balcony over looking a jungle. I really like how this picture show the brown spec in my eye (one eye has that brown spec and the other does't, which I think is a good reference to evolutionary traits). The next picture was taken at the beach a few years ago. It is my brother's blonde hair against the sunset. My brother is the only blonde haired person in my family, which also gets me thinking of evolutionary traits. The last picture was taken at the beach too. The funny thing is I think it was taken by accident! But I still think it makes for an interesting picture. My skin looks extra white in the picture, which also makes me think of evolutionary traits.

My right eye in Kurunbanadam, India 

My Brother's Hair in Gearhart, Oregon 

My lips and Nose in Gearhart, Oregon

This series of photos is very different from what I usually do. In this series I decided to express evolution through a path. Although it is sort of abstract, I like to think of evolution as walking along a path and that things change around you with every step you take. The first picture was taken on the fourth of july two years ago of a walkway that goes from my grandmas neighborhood down to the beach. The next picture is of a stairway on the side of a house that I saw while walking around in Venice Beach. The last picture is of the inside of a room in a greenhouse in Minneapolis, Minnesota. One thing that I want to talk about in this blog post is how I edited the pictures (just fyi I edited them all in iPhoto). On the first one I used the 'Antique' and 'Fade Color' features and I also used the 'Blur Edge' feature. For the second one I actually just used the 'Auto-Enhance' feature. For the last one, I used the 'Boost Color' feature and I increased the exposure and reduced the contrast. This series might my favorite one yet!

Boardwalk in Gearhart, Oregon

Stairway in Venice Beach, California

Greenhouse in Minneapolis, Minnesota

Evolution Week 2: Spring has Sprung 2

The pictures I took for my second set I focused more on the blossoming of flowers, which I think everyone thinks of when they think of the beginning of spring. My first photo I took was of a daffodil. I thought this picture was a good representation for my topic this week because it was a single daffodil in a daffodil bush, which I think represents that winter, is coming to an end and that this single daffodil is a preview of what’s to come in the spring.  The next picture is simply of a flower that I had never seen around my house and of it blossoming, there is a potential it could’ve blown over from somewhere else, it reminded me a lot of purity. The last picture I took was of a cool tree that my dad put in, he is a landscaper; I took this photo at around six o’clock. I really liked this picture because not only are the blossoms of the flower really cool looking but the sun shining through really amplifies the color but also the sun shining through the tree I thought really reminded me of spring.

This series of pictures is meant to express the evolution that plant life goes through to adapt to its location. The first picture in this series was taken in Venice Beach, California. My mom and I were walking along the boardwalk when I saw this grouping of plants and thought it would be a good opportunity for a photo. All of these plants had to adapt to a dry and windy climate. The next picture in the series was taken in Kochi, India while I was on a backwater tour. For one, I think the picture really beautifully captured the sunset, and it also really shows how the plant life adapted to its environment. Those palm trees are rooted in very loose ground that is saturated with water. The last picture in this series was taken along side a highway on my way to Walla Walla, Washington. This part of Washington is very dry and hot this time of year and I think this picture really accurately expresses that. I also really like the dramatic difference between the grassy field and the intensely blue sky.

Boardwalk in Venice Beach, California 

Sunset on Backwater Tour in Kochi, India 

Grass Field in Walla Walla, Washington

This series of pictures shows the progression of small plant life to larger plant life. The first picture is a close up of a flower in my grandma's house in Gearhart, Oregon. I really like the tiny details that the camera focused on on the anthers (the brown fuzzy things). The second picture was taken in the grass outside my back yard. It was one of the first days of spring and it had just rained and everything was green and beautiful. I took several cool pictures that day but I like this one because it is so vibrantly green and the rain droplets almost look to perfect to be real. The last picture is of a palm tree in a greenhouse in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The light is just showing through the ceiling of the greenhouse and I think it looks really cool. This series of picture really shows the progression of plant life from something really small (a close-up of the anthers) to something huge (palm tree).

Anther's of a Lily in Gearhart, Oregon

Clovers in my Back Yard

Palm Tree in Greenhouse in Minneapolis, Minnesota

Evolution Week 2: Spring has Sprung 1

It is currently mid April and in Oregon in April it’s usually a mixture of sunny days and rainy days. Currently we have had a pretty steady run of sunny days so this week I decided for my focus to be the blossoming of spring. My first three photos I chose I focused on the changes of spring. My first picture I took was of a plant outside of my house. In the plant there was a mixture of dead and freshly sprouted petals. I chose this picture cause I thought it represented the hormonal season change of Oregon and the change from winter to spring. The second picture I took with the same intent of showing the change in seasons. Except I chose to show it on a different plant, not a flowering plant. I thought it was cool to see the different colors of leaves as it was changing from winter to spring. The last picture I chose was of the pots outside on my back deck. If you can see there are plants still in their plastic pots ready to be planted. I thought this also was a good representation and sign that spring has sprung!

This is a series of pictures that show the evolution of a sunset. The first picture is of the sun in the sky mid-day poking through a gap in the trees. I took it while I was camping in the Columbia River Gorge with some friends. The second picture was taken in Kochi, India on a backwater tour. I went to India in November 2011 and I took this picture while we were on a house boat coming around a corner. I was really lucky because just a few minutes later, the sun set. The last picture was taken in Sunriver, Oregon while some friends and I were on a bike ride. The sun had just set behind the trees and the Deschuttes River looked really pretty.

Camping on the Columbia River Gorge

Back Water Tour in Kochi, India

Bike Ride in Sunriver, Oregon

These three pictures are of the Willamette river at sunset. They represent evolution through the cycle of the sun and the earth. It's repretitive, yet every time it is different. I like these pictures because there is a strong sense of silhouette which makes the sunset stand out. The picture of the doc however, is different because it is in different lighting, however it is at the same time that the sunset pictures were taken which gives an interesting perspective of the whole scene of the river. What I like about the doc picture is the crisp sense of detail.

Evolution in the Face

This is a series of eight pictures I edited using a website (http://www.symmeter.com/symfacer.htm) that makes your face completely symmetrical. I read an article a few weeks ago that talked about how people who have more symmetrical faces are perceived as more attractive than those who have less symmetrical faces. It also said in that article that people with more symmetrical faces were more likely to get hired for a job. I thought it would be interesting to see what we all looked like with completely symmetrical faces. Would we look any different? Would we look more attractive? I'll let you decide.

Me (Nick)

Abby

Makaylaa
(w/o glasses!!!)

Ben

Evolution Week 1: Life? 2

The first picture I took of the red flower I chose because it is all alone in a bush. I thought this was interesting that this flower was all alone. How did it get there with out any of its siblings. I thought this represented evolution because a flower seed can be simply blown to a place and start growing with any definite reason. Evolution can be arbitrary. The second picture I chose was of seashells at my grandmother’s house at the beach. I chose this because even though the seashells are dead they are still so beautiful and cool to look at. I thought it was cool to think that something can be so beautiful in death. I know humans is definitely not that beautiful in death. That’s why they’re buried in the ground. The third picture I took was a painting I kept the theme of life and evolution but shown in a way that is artificial. It is still beautiful even though it is shown in a more 2D form. In some ways a painting can project life and evolution better than seeing it with your eyes.

Bones of the Earth

Rocks can tell us many things about the land we stand on. Whether its a metamorphic rock formation or a igneous one, rocks are the foundation of the Earth. We feel their grainy texture and marvel at the shapes they take; the evolve to suit their surroundings. These rock formations in particular are from the Hawaiian islands, which means they are igneous rocks, and they are constantly changed by the elements. In the middle picture, there are holes in the rock from where it has just eroded away. In this sense, these rocks have evolved and have molded to the surrounding flora and fauna. The rock is a part of the Earth and is always changing.