Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Center of Attention
Two weeks ago I went to a Long Beach State womens soccer game. I was so amazed by this young soccer player. She did at least five "flip throw-ins" during the game. I was so excited to see this up close that I brought my camera to the next game (which was last Sunday). I love the first picture the most because of all of the people watching her; especially the little girl. She is so cute!!! The photographers are also really cool - it is like the soccer player is a celebrity and they are the paparazzi. She is without a doubt the center of attention! One love <3
Monday, October 26, 2009
Forever Laughing 2 (Information)
Info from Wikipedia...
Laurel and Hardy were a popular comedy team composed of thin, English-born Stan Laurel (1890–1965) and heavy, American-born Oliver Hardy (1892–1957). They became famous during the early half of the 20th century for their work in motion pictures and also appeared on stage throughout America and Europe.
The two comedians first worked together on The Lucky Dog. After a period appearing separately in several short films for the Hal Roach studio during the 1920s, they began appearing in movie shorts together in 1926. Laurel and Hardy officially became a team the following year, and soon became Hal Roach's most famous and lucrative stars.
Much of their comedy involves milking a joke, where a simple idea provides a basis from which to build several gags. Many of their films have extended sequences constructed around a single problem the pair is facing, without following a defined narrative.
In some cases, their comedy bordered on the surreal, a style Stan Laurel called "white magic". For example, in Way Out West (1937), Laurel clenches his fist and pours tobacco into it, as if it were a pipe. Then, he flicks his thumb upward as if he held a lighter. His thumb ignites, and he matter-of-factly lights his "pipe." The amazed Hardy, seeing this, would unsuccessfully attempt to duplicate it throughout the rest of the film. Much later in the film, Hardy finally succeeds - only to be terrified when his thumb catches fire.
A common routine the team often performed was a "tit-for-tat" fight with an adversary. Typically, Laurel and Hardy accidentally damaged someone else's property. The injured party would retaliate by ruining something belonging to Laurel or Hardy, who would calmly survey the damage and find something else to vandalize. The conflict would escalate until both sides were simultaneously destroying property in front of each other. An early example of the routine occurs in their classic short, Big Business (1929), which was added to the Library of Congress as a national treasure in 1992, and one of their short films, which revolves entirely around such an altercation, was titled Tit for Tat (1935).
Many gags involved the Ford Model T car which was their favored form of transport. Several such automobiles were wrecked in the films; for example, in the short Busy Bodies (1933), Laurel and Hardy's Model T is sawn in half by a huge bandsaw (the bandsaw cutting right between them while they were sitting in it).
Rather than showing Hardy suffering the pain of misfortunes such as falling down stairs or being beaten by a thug, banging and crashing sound effects were often used so the audience could visualize the scene for themselves. Routines frequently performed by Laurel were a high pitched whooping when in peril and crying like an infant when being berated by Hardy. Hardy often looked directly at the camera, breaking the fourth wall, to express his frustration with Laurel to the film audience.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Forever Laughing
So at first I took some pictures of the flowers -- of course. While walking around however, I came across the Laugh Factory. I had always heard about the Laugh Factory while listening to my favorite comedians (mainly, Chelsea Handler), though I never really knew what it was or where it was located. Apparently in downtown long beach! In the front of the building there are all of these cool porcelain dolls representing famous comedians who had performed at the Laugh Factory. Unfortunately, there are no signs telling you which doll is which comedian so I really have no clue who this is. But I do know that the guy in the background reminds me of Kevin from "The Office" :) One love <3
Friday, October 23, 2009
Cute Cousin
Monday, October 19, 2009
Watercolor Photography
This is the first "amazing" photo I have ever taken. I took it beore I even had a digitial camera. At the time, I used my dad's best camera - a Canon 20D - now a thing of the past! You needed a magnifying glass to look at the display screen on the back! When I took this, I only had Photoshop Elements 2.0 (because it was free of course). I went to "actions" and picked watercolor and this is what came up! I loved how you could take a digital photograph and edit it so it looked like a person painted it! When my dad bought a printer that could print canvas, this was the first picture I printed out. It hung on my wall all alone and I loved it! To this day, it is still up on my wall. Along with some others....
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Bubble Sticks
Last year, I went to Apple Hill (in Northern California) with my photographer buddy, Dayna. I had gone to Apple Hill every fall since I was little, but never to take pictures. I took my camera last year and had some delicious photo opportunities. There were caramel apples, apple fritters, apple pies, fudge, and many more wonderful foods. These honey sticks have always fascinated me for some reason; still to this day, I have never had one.
So I took this picture and it was very boring. The honey was golden brown and the background was also a tan color. I was playing around with filters and presets and came across this one... I love how it makes the honey turn a bright pink while turning the ugly background into a vibrant blue. My favorite part, however, is the bubbles in the honey. In the original photograph, the bubbles were very difficult to see. When I used the preset, the bubbles became more visible and gave a great texture to the original oh-so-boring honey sticks. I could look at this picture for hours and still be intrigued. One love <3
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Creative Spark
I was assigned to take pictures of the international baccalaureate biology class. They were doing some lab that involed Bunsen Burners and chemicals. This student came up to me and started lighting sparks everywhere. They have these really cool lighters that have two metal pieces that scrape together to create sparks. Anyway, I just held down the shutter and took as many photos as possible while he was playing with the lighter.
What really strikes me about this photo is two things:
1. The depth of field; I focused on his hands and the lighter but the aperture was not so large that you couldn't make out his face.
2. His facial expression; not a cheesy smile or a facial expression that says "I hate school". It looks as if he is really engaged in this class and loves learning - something that is hard to find at a high school.
I hope you really love this photo as much as I do. Comments are greatly appreciated! One love <3
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Toasty Tuesday
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Flor Bonita
I was seriously bored of studdying today so I decided to try to get a picture for today's post. I rode my long board around the CSULB campus for awhile. These daylilies are everywhere! I thought I had seen them in every color, red, orange, yellow... and then I came across this beautiful deep purple flower. The shoots in the middle of the flower is what caught my eye becuase of the vibrant teal color. Everything else in the photo seems to be exploding from the shoots. One love <3
Friday, October 9, 2009
Guest Photographer Friday - Bob Towery
Alright! Now for the good stuff! Welcome to the second "Guest Photographer Friday"! Today we are featuring the amazing work of Bob Towery (and yes we do have the last name... he is my dad!). He recently took a road trip to Oregon and captured some pictures that blew my mind! This first one was taken from the balcony of his hotel room in Oregon! The second one is from a little town called Astoria. He uses a really cool action called Topaz to get this great effect.
Please visit his blog to learn more about each photograph and to see a new picture every day! I must say, the photography gene runs in the family!!! One love <3
http://bobtowery.typepad.com/
Exhausted Pups
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Pondering Puppy
Monday, October 5, 2009
Delicate Dancer
Also... Some people were wondering what the "Silent Screamer" looked like normally...
This was unfortunately the best picture I could find on Google. I never took a picture of it during the day because it was super boring. Anyway, have a good Monday!!! One love <3
(The second image was found on Google and is not Copyright Angela Towery)
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Silent Screamer
Friday, October 2, 2009
Guest Photographer Friday - Hannah
Welcome to our first ever "Guest Photographer Friday"! Today I am featuring the work of Hannah Howerton. I was intruiged by this picture because she managed to keep the subject if focus while capturing great streaks of colored light. Her blog URL is: photo-critique-made-unique.blogspot.com. Please check it out to see some more of her great work and become a follower! I'll post a time-exposure picture that I shot myself tomorrow. Have a great Friday! One love <3>