Bob Greenberg

An artist/photographer that I came across that I liked is Bob Greenberg. He does a lot of advertising photography but I thought it would be good to showcase an artist like this. Aside from his advertising shots, I liked his style a lot.

Oyvind Hjelman

Oyvind Hjelman is a Norwegian photographer whose emphasis is on homes that were once lived in. His style of photography is very rare and different as compared to traditional styles that we are used to seeing. His photos are very quiet and definitely bring a sense of remembrance and loss but he has a nice way of capturing an empty house in a beautiful way.

Saul Leiter

Saul Leiter started shooting photography in New York in the 1940's. Apparently, he had no formal training in photography but was soon discovered. New York is a crazy city that is incredibly rich with various cultures and lifestyles and I really like the way that Saul Leiter captures certain elements of New York. After New York, he spread out and began shooting everywhere... I think his photos are really cool and I love the way he captures people.

Michael "Nick" Nichols

I
really like the way that this photographer captures his subjects. He is a photographer for National Geographic who I think has a really good eye. I like that he is not just an animal photographer and that he takes into account the societies that surround animals and he documents them. I think that it is kind of a cool twist on a form of photography that is hard to expand upon, and probably hard enough as it is.

Smallz and Raskind

Smallz and Raskind are a photography team. Jared Raskind is actually one of my good friends from high school but it just so happens that I really like his photography and I think that he is a really talented artist. They do a lot of celebrity photography in L.A. where they both live and... judging by some of their clients, they are doing pretty well. You can see some more of their work at www.smallzandraskind.com

Pechanga

I liked Pechanga but did not like the drive. I thought the most interesting aspect was to see all of the work that people are putting in to restore some of the native plants in the area. Here are some of the pictures that I got

Quail Botanical

The trip to Quail Botanical was one of my most favorite trips. It was nice to just walk around and be surrounded by plants that are all native and labeled. It makes the whole experience really relaxed and is a good way to learn about any kind of plant that you are interested in. I went to the native area and walked around for an hour or so and took a bunch of pictures of various plant types... all native of course. I enjoyed Quail a lot, I would recommend it to anybody.

Del Dios

I went to visit the poppy fields on Del Dios highway although most of the poppy's were gone... very sad. However, the long and strenuous walk up the hill was not a total failure. Once I got to the top, I suddenly realized that I was the only one there and I was in the middle of nowhere, but I still got some good shots of some wildflowers. The view from the top is really pretty and I managed to get a nice pano of the lake and the surrounding hills. It was cool to see some of the remaining damage to the area from the wildfires of last year and the combination of dead, burnt plants next to beautiful, colorful plants was something kind of interesting. Here are some of the pictures that I got from the top of Del Dios:

Indian Rock

The field trip to Indian Rock was something that was totally unexpected to me and my knowledge of the San Diego area. I found the sight to be historically interesting and the information given about native flowers and plants was something that I never knew existed. i was able to capture a
variety of images from different angles of the rock which has unfortunately been vandalized by gang graffiti and of some different native flowers that are slowly coming up in the area. Our experts were very helpful about the subject matter and their vast knowledge of the native plants and the rock made the sight much more interesting to learn about. I would say that probably the biggest shocker about the whole scene is that it is surrounded by track homes, schools, streets, and churches. This was something that I did not expect to find while on my way to the sight that is so historically significant to the native tribes of the area.

James Nachtwey

The images and story told by this artist were stunning. Although i have seen and heard of most of these stories, a good photograph can really intensify our feelings. The images shown by James Nachtwey bring so many questions to mind about why on earth we want to inflict so much damage on each other and the presence of seeing all of these incidents is so overwhelming that it makes one forget about anything good within the world. Seeing these images really allows us to feel so lucky to be living where we live. And when compared to other things that go on in this world, how can we possibly complain about the idiosyncrasies in life.

Janelle's Video

The video that Janelle made was visually impressive. I thought that the quality of the video was well done and some of the editing was really cool. A part that specifically caught my attention was when the charcoal images that were drawn by Janelle came off of the wall and started to move, as well as some of the rapid editing that was happening towards the end of the song. The way the video was produced definitely matched the style of the song. That being said, I think that the quality of the music could have been seriously improved upon. It was clear that the subject matter of destruction, abuse, and war is something that comes from the heart and although the lyrics were bold and upfront, the music took away from the possible affect of the song. The hard core, "kick ass" kind of rock came off as being cheesy and in turn decreased the quality of the entire video.

Blurb

A particular book that caught my attention in blurb was a photo journal in Amsterdam. The text was dutch... I think.... but the photos were really beautiful. Having been to Amsterdam myself last year I found out the city gets a huge mis-representation due to the fact that there are plenty of legal drugs and prostitution for one to be a part of. The infamous red light district of Amsterdam is well known to people all over the world. What most people may not know is that Amsterdam has some of the most beautiful sights to see in all of Europe. The city is far more than a legal 24 hour party. The architecture, friendly people, and narrow streets lined by flowing rivers and streams all give much more to the experience of Amsterdam than is expected upon arrival for a first time visitor. I thought that this book featured on blurb did a good job of capturing some rarely seen images of the city and giving Amsterdam something more than what is commonly thought of. I liked it.