This museum was really fun to visit. There were so many different trains and other vehicles go inside and explore; it was endless. At first, I was a little overwhelmed by the how large the space was.  After a while though, I appreciated all of the space I was given.

It was very hard to photograph inside, due to the poor lighting and absence of a tripod. I worked the best I could with what I was given though and came out with some good shots.

The best part of the shoot was the rusty, abandoned trains in the side lot of the museum. My model and I climbed into many a disintegrating train cars in order to get a unique picture. I have a feeling we were not supposed to go into those since there was glass all over the ground, oh well.

The biggest thing I learned from this shoot is to be adventurous in photography. You’re not going to capture amazing pictures you see in National Geographic or Conde Nast Traveler if you don’t go outside of your comfort zone and try something adventurous and maybe even a little dangerous (don’t go to crazy!).

No one knows her name, but the rumors suggest that she’s been seen lurking around the old abandoned railway in the middle of the day.  I have never seen her but  they say she walks about the rail cars alone in fine clothing.  She does it once everyday then disappears until the next morning.  I’ve been trying so hard to figure it out.  What on earth could she enjoy about dirty, rusted trains anyway?  It’s not really an ideal place for such a sophisticated lady.  There are plenty of ideas though, most of which are just ridiculous.  One woman claimed she saw her walk through the train walls, insisting she was a ghost.  A group of trouble maker teenage boys attempted to camp out a few nights ago to be there to catch a glimpse of her the next morning.  They didn’t make it three hours before the police charged them with trespassing.  Their defense was that they wanted to put at ease the restless minds of the people in the town.  This incident made me give attention to the woman’s story, but being a Christian man it was hard to seriously consider.

After weeks of driving myself crazy over everyone’s claims, I decided to really see for myself.  At ten in the morning I got up determined to settle all this nonsense.  I  decided to bring the only tool I could use for any kind of proof, my camera.  The station was completely empty and and erie silence was heavy in the air.  I walked around curiously trying not to threaten whoever was there.  I was almost expecting to see a figure walk through walls or show up around a corner at any moment.  After much disappointment I figured I should take pictures anyway.  The old trains were covered in beautiful textures and were constructed with interesting lines.  It was like exploring a whole other world.  The interiors were fantastically charming and you could almost feel the essence of those who were once there.  I did some climbing to get some great arial shots of the trains and found some really tight spaces with a lot of character.  The trains had great architecture worth noting and deserved some attention.  I am no photographer by any stretch of the imagination, but I didn’t want to leave empty handed and forget what I had experienced.

After about an hour had passed I headed home, content with not getting what I came for.  ”Did you see her?” A tired shaky voice called from behind me.  It was the old caretaker and retired conductor.  He had worked there for fifty years and was now well into his eighties, still watching over it.  ”No, sadly I didn’t,” I replied.  ”Ah, give it some time.  You will.  She likes to show up in her own sweet time you see.  She was always late for everything, but no one could ever be angry with her for it.  She just has one of those faces,” he said.  ”Wait, so have you seen her before?” I asked anxiously.  ”Seen her?  I knew her!” his chuckle turned into a raspy cough, probably from all the smoke he had inhaled for fifty years.  He turned and walked away waving his hand.  I left confused and desperate to know what he meant.  I hurried home to look through my pictures for any clues.  The pictures looked just as they were when I took them.  I hunched over in frustration and made my way to the computer.  It was then that I saw the most remarkable thing, and it went against everything I knew.  She was there!  In every last picture, looking at me, posing for my pictures.  I rolled back in my chair, running my fingers through my hair and gripping me head trying to find logic where there was none.  It was the woman everyone was talking about and I couldn’t deny it.  I had gotten my proof.

I took the pictures the the old caretaker the next day to confirm I wasn’t crazy, or at least would have someone to be crazy with.  ”Oh yeah, that’s her alright,” he said casually as he sorted through a box of junk.  ”How can yo be so calm? This is incredible,” I insisted.  ”Well I suppose It’s not much of surprise seeing someone you see everyday, and that you’ve seen for the past oh I don’t know, sixty-three years.”  ”Sixty-three years?”  ”That’s right.  She was my wife after all.  We were married at eighteen if you can believe it.  Right out of high school, boy were we naive.  But I loved her.  She helped me run this place, until the influenza took her.  She’s been here ever since.  Can’t seem to get her to go away,” he teased.  ”But you must be somthin’ special.  She doesn’t show herself to just anybody, she’s a good judge of character.”

I never showed the pictures to anyone after that.  It just didn’t feel right.  Now I know, and I have nothing to be curious about.  I didn’t want that place to become some freak show attraction.  What you imagine just might be better than the real thing.

{end}

I wasn’t expecting to write a story out of this photo shoot, but it just kind of happened.  It took off after I titled it and a flood of ideas came over me, so I decided to go with it and write a short story for my photos.  Writing and taking pictures are two of my favorite things and I love putting them together and taking pictures that tell a story.  These photos could be seen just for what they are, some cool photos with awesome rustic trains and a pretty model, creating some cool fashion style photos, or you could stretch your thinking and be really creative about what you’re seeing.  That’s the beauty of photography.  They have the ability to turn reality into fantasy if you so desire.  I could easily do this with all my photos.  Create some kind of back story for them and make people see them in a different way.  I think it’s fun!  And looking at the technical side of it all, I tried to do some different things.  I experimented with different angles, from above and below creating an interesting compositions, working with lines in the pace.  There was so much to work with and it was happily overwhelming.  The textures and colors were amazing.  I wanted to take pictures in every little corner.  I love old things, so this shoot was right up my alley!

~K~

Meet Letizia Miranda, She was my partner in crime for this shoot.

this shoot was at the Southeastern Railway Museum. Naturally if we’re going to shoot at a train museum, it would be a traveling theme, right?  and if you know me, I love to travel! so I was pretty excited about the shoot!   I love shooting at a new location you’ve never been before. even though we weren’t going anywhere, it was definately an adventure. I was working with a model I had never worked with before at a location I had never shot at before. throw some trains in the mix and that’s the recipe for Great Pictures!

Some Behind the scenes’ brought to you by Kezia. sometimes it takes some photoyoga to get the shot!

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Like everything I did a little planning before hand, checked out the website …..even read some previous interns blogs on the shoot. I had read one where the intern challenged himself to shoot with only a wide angle lens…. and I liked that!!!   So I wanted to challenge myself on this shoot.  except I wanted to leave the wide angle out of it, I used just the standard 18-55 stock lens.  I had been neglecting it for quite some time over the 50mm which gets 90% mount time for baby pics and the wide angle ussually gets the 0ther 10% when I’m shooting real estate photos.  I  had been seeing alot of pictures lately that  use alot of open space, I wanted to try to get the same effect without using the wide angle. here’s a few of those:

Hope you like the Blog and photos, if you thought they were awesome Comments, likes, and shares’ are always encouraged!  stay tuned for next weeks blog.

I’ll leave you with a couple more:

So, for this shoot, all I knew was literally this..”Southeastern Railway Museum.” That’s what it said on our schedule sheet and that’s literally the only notion I was going on other than the small conversations we all had together about pricing. Naturally, I didn’t investigate or research what exactly it was before hand. It would be WAY too out of character for me to be prepared, so why start now? Ha just kidding.. kind of. Anyways, on the way there, my model and I were talking about what this place was going to be like. When I hear museum, I think exhibits. I’ve always LOVED museums and anything where I’m learning something so when traveling, I always wanted to go to the museums, camping, fishing with my Dad rather than go shopping, get my nails done or whatever else with my Mom. Partly from being a tomboy but mostly because I crave to learn.

So before arriving at the railway museum, I was having a little doubt that I was really going to even need a model and would this be just random photos and I wouldn’t be happy with any of them considering the “trains” would probably be indoors, in exhibits, behind glass. Well, I was very wrong. And GLADLY so. This museum was so bad*ss I can’t even describe it. Ok, well I guess I could describe it, but you catch my drift. So there were probably a collection of about 20 trains, with a bunch of classic buses, cars, and so on. There were trains all the way from what I presume to be the early 1900s up to what I believe to be the 1970s. Most were open and you could go explore inside and around and however else you want to see it.

So instead of easing into pictures and doing some cute little ones here and there, me and Bridget (my awesome model, go read about her in my portraits blog ) decided to just dive in head first. OH and I must add this, remember last week when I said I wanted a new lens??.. If you don’t,  shame on you. Just kidding ANYWAYS, my husband got me a new 35mm 1.8 lens for an early birthday present! So on top of all this fun stuff going on, I was learning how to use my new lens! So back to the shoot, we walked all the way to the back with the rustiest, oldest looking trains and literally went straight on top. Barely even explored any interiors yet. I had a vision and I was determined to get the edgy, rockin, and dangerous photos first.

So let me just go ahead and straight up tell you, you may not think a train car would be that high, and maybe it’s not, but I had butterflies.. no.. make that walruses swimming around in my stomach. Haha. And I’m not sure if it’s because I was worried about falling or if I was worried about breaking my camera if I fell. Mostly the latter I believe. But it doesn’t help my case that I’m petrified of heights. Weather my eyes are open, looking up, looking down, closed tight, it doesn’t matter, the “walruses” don’t go away. (Walruses?!? I’m slightly exhausted as you might have noticed.)

Anyways, after we got all of those killer shots on top, we somehow made it back down without falling through the rusted roof and sad excuses for ladders (more like vertical monkey bars), we decided we could do some more normal stuff.

So we went from car to car changing up the position and look accordingly. In one of the cars there was a super super old engine, I’d say at least early 1900s and got some awesome shots there. And it was cool figuring out how to work in such lighting also considering the train car was pretty dark with only a little light streaming through just a few small windows.

After that, we made it over to what I believe to be a 1950s era train car. We got a little nosy and went into a bunch of the rooms and ended up finding a few suitcases so we used those as props and it really made those photos so much better.

At that point we were all hyped up and excited because we found the 1940s train car and were oozing with ideas for photos. Unfortunately, in a perfect world.. I would have been able to stay and shoot every inch of that museum, but motherhood calls. It was my daughter’s last day of preschool so we had to leave. We wondered around a little while longer and got a few extra shots. In the end, we left still oozing with ideas and plans to bring all different era outfits back with us including having my kids dressed up in that era as well! And my husband if I can convince him. I think a hamburger and a beer might do it. We will see! Stay tuned to my blogs every Friday and maybe you will see those photos soon!

Until next week, ENJOY!

-Brantley

My focus for this shoot was composition.  While composition has always been one of my strong suits, I really wanted to push the envelope on this one and try shots I’ve never even thought of before.  Especially since the trains themselves were so awesome, I wanted to compose the shots as well as possible so that I wouldn’t just be taking a pretty picture of my model posing in front of something, but truly have the background and the model working together as one.  So I did what I had to do, and climbed on top of trains, and chairs, to go as high as possible, and layed flat on the ground to get as low as possible.  I also kept holding the camera away from my face so that it would reach places my body couldn’t physically go, which is honestly ridiculously hard. It’s an art of its own trying to take photos without looking, but I guess the only way to get better at that is to keep practicing.  I was very fortunate to have an awesome model (and friend) who didn’t mind scaling trains, even in her ridiculously tall heels to help get the best shots as possible.  I wanted to create photographs that would be able to mentally transport every person that looks at my photographs to each train and specific location.

 Another thing I was really focused on was light.  The light was changing constantly from one train to the next.  Some were super dark with only a little bit of natural light coming in through the windows, while others were lit pretty well.  Not to mention, I went back and forth a lot from shooting inside of the trains to outside in the bright sunlight.  That being said, I wanted to combine the unique compositions of each shot, along with the unique lighting of each location to create drama in all of my photographs.  While this was definitely a fun shoot, I wanted to stray away from a playful feel and instead create photographs oozing with drama and emotion.

Another huge perk to this shoot was being able to use my brand new lens I purchased earlier this week.  Although for the most part I had to use my old, wider angle lens because the interior of the trains were all so narrow, I took advantage of every chance I did have to use my new 50mm 1.8 lens.  I especially was able to use it outside in order to help create that drama I was looking for.  I ended up taking over 1,000 photos at this shoot, which sounds kind of ridiculous, but I was just really focused on going outside of my comfort zone to try new things, and capture as much as possible in the short amount of time we had at this incredible location.  Since I only had the time after the shoot today to edit the photos and write this blog post, I had to cut myself off at 28 photos, but I really came out with a ton more great shots that I will definitely go back and edit later on when I have the time to do so.

This was such a change from most of the shoots we’ve done so far just because there was almost a limitless amount you could do with it.  Most times towards the end of a shoot I hit a wall where there honestly aren’t any more new shots to take.  Whereas today, I could’ve easily gone back through all of the trains again and taken 1,000 more, different shots.  This has definitely been my favorite shoot thus far, because it really allowed me to push my creativity to a new level, and create photographs that I can confidently say I love.  It really is amazing the inspiration a unique location can provide and I hope to go back here sometime soon and shoot again!

My models this week are Amy Patterson and Madison Betsill. I must say, I’m grateful as well to know such nice people who are more than happy to model. Without further ado, here are the photographs I came out with!

One of the men who work in the museum

So, I wasn’t “the photographer” for this wedding but I cleared it with the bride before hand that I bring my camera and get some shots. She was all for it so I came with my giant camera bag in tow and ready to try to capture something without stepping on the paid photographers toes! Luckily, it turns out I know the main photographer (didn’t figure that out until after most of the wedding was over haha) but anyways, he didn’t mind at all as me and another lady tagged along and got the shots we could in between his and from different angles.

It was a little more challenging because I couldn’t move the bride and groom where I wanted them and didn’t want to disturb his photos by even asking them to look at me. But I was adamant that I would get some wedding photo practice in while I could since it is what I would really love to do a lot of in the long term for my own photo business.

In the photo below is the best man, maid of honor and daughter Jaiden They are the best friends of the bride and groom.

So I was able to capture a few pretty great ones. Plus they are even more special since they are close friends of mine! Now editing, was a totally different story. I’ve always been really drawn to dark photography. And by that I don’t mean creepy stuff or anything. I just mean I always end up reverting to draining color, adding vignette and some tones of sepia. I guess you could say it’s a bit of my signature thing. And while that’s great for my own personal artisticness, it’s definitely not what people would always, or even often want. Especially for weddings. After becoming a little stalkerish to a lot of wedding photographers lately (including LeahAndMark ) I have been frustrated because I just want my photos to look that light, airy, soft and glowing. And most of what that really comes down to is editing. After getting home to edit the photos, I reverted to my normal ways and ended up creating a photo I still love, but it’s definitely more for me than for the “client” if they had been mine. So I set to work on youtube and even reading other blogs and mostly just playing with the millions of different editing tools on Lightroom 4 (my editing drug of choice ) While I had fairly extensive knowledge of the workings of it before hand, I learned way more in depth already and was able to learn tricks to give my photos that light, soft and fairytale feel. Still have a lot to learn there but at least I’m on the right track! So I’m going to continue working on those skills and hopefully one day I’ll be able to do it with my eyes closed! Well.. obvious I don’t mean that literally, but you get the point. So enjoy my attempts, practice and learning experiences!

Come back next week!

-Brantley

So anyways, we started out around a little town area near where she lives. Mostly because we were waiting for the sun to be right at the perfect point to do the photos in the big field. I got some great portraits. Plus, had a little fun pushing our restrictive limits. Considering we removed the “ABSOLUTELY NO TRESPASSING, VIOLATORS WILL BE PROSECUTED TO THE FULLEST EXTENT OF THE LAW” and some other words below which had worn off. Pretty sure I would be happier not knowing what it said. But hey, we didn’t enter! Just moved the sign, used the window ledge (Bridget nearly got pummeled by a pigeon by getting up there I might add.) and then put it back when we were done. Awkwardly enough, the police station was literally right around the corner of that building and a stone’s throw across the street. But hey, when it comes with being a good photographer, you gotta do what you gotta do to get the shot! And this isn’t even close to the craziest things I’ve done to get “the shot.” I’d say it doesn’t even make the top 20. Just another day in the life of a photographer!

After making our rounds of the little town, including some back sides of the buildings, we decided to move on to the field since the sun was right. Which I might add, the entire “downtown square” was literally that. A square. With maybe 4 small buildings on either side of the street. I’m not hating though because they made for some great backgrounds!

The field was really fun and we got some great shots. Ones that I was wanting and ones that she was wanting. Unfortunately, I was slightly irritated because the grass was shorter than I had thought so it changed every aspect of the photos that I was wanting to get. I’ve done a shoot before in a field of grass like this but with taller grass and it makes it so mystical and like someplace you wish you could be. With that being said, I am glad that the grass was shorter. It made for a totally different atmosphere and totally different photos. Which is what any photographer would want!

Definitely have to give a bunch of thanks to Bridget for being willing to sit, stand, climb, jump or literally anything else I asked her to. It was definitely a fun shoot

So enjoy and make sure to read my other two blogs for this week!

-Brantley

It’s hard for me to explain why I love taking so many photos. Part of it is that I want to preserve memories and record history. Which is why, whenever I’m around my family, I’m always taking pictures. Family photos are important. These days, most of our photos are stored on our computer or phones. And most of the time, people don’t back them up and are devastated when they have lost them. Family photos are very important to us. They capture moments of our lives, ourselves and our families. They remind us of memories and tell our story. Family photos can be a family’s most prized possession.  How cool is it when you can look through your family’s photos & see relatives that you couldn’t meet. These were the people who helped shape your life.

This past Mother’s Day, I got asked by a friend to snap some family photos for them. Rarely, is all the family together so this was a good opportunity to capture some family memories. It was so much fun to meet up with them at Lake Tara. We spent a couple hours laughing and joking around, all while snapping some good photos. Hopefully, these photos will be cherished by all-grandparents, parents, and children. I was honored that they asked me to be their photographer for the day.

Looking at family photos, months or years later, can be an  experience full of remembrance and reminiscing about those  moments that escape us so quickly as we move through life. When looking back at family photos, you notice the glow in your grandma’s eyes, the regular smirk from your brother, or that contagious laugh of your dad. And most of the time, when looking back at old family pictures, you’re not thinking “that picture isn’t that good.” No one is worried that there is too much light or that the white balance wasn’t set correctly. Be happy that they exist. So whether you have a disposable camera or a $2000 camera, just remember to always take photos. It’s important to continue preserving those memories for you and all the family that will come after you.

This week’s shoot was a blast from the past (get it? get it?) LOL But really, it was so much fun. I met my fellow interns, Joy, and boss man Mark at the Southeastern Railway Museum with our models in tow. The exhibit was huge. With so much to explore and so much to shoot, I felt like a kid in a candy store.

Last week, Season Gold Lion interns had a workshop with Mark about composing shots, and I really wanted to incorporate what I learned. He talked a great deal about the Rule of Thirds, a concept I became familiar with from my many years of broadcast training but never applied to photography. It was almost like a “Duh,” when he spoke of the concept in the sense that it was stupid of me to not have known to apply it. In practice, I kind of did it naturally, but now I knew it to be a critical aspect of capturing great images. So with this in mind, my model, Riko Morrissette, and I set out into what seemed to be a time capsule for trains to begin our shoot.

This wasn’t my first time working with a male model, but it was my first time with Leah and Mark and Co. Now I had a set of expectations to uphold, so I really wanted to try new things. Luckily for me, my model was very creative in his movement and took direction well. He was up for the challenge, as was I.

Getting back to the Rule of Thirds, I started obsessing about it in every frame. But long behold, it worked! I ended up with more great shots than I have ever had from one singular photoshoot. Though we did have a lot to work with, I think keeping Mark’s rule of thumb in mind was the ultimate game changer. He also talked about the position of the camera and getting shots that others wouldn’t think of. Those ideas really resonated with me, and I know for sure they will help me continue to grow as a photographer.

The more I shoot, the more comfortable I am getting with my creative talents. For the first time it’s not, “Well I think this looks good, and maybe we could try this…” I’m becoming more comfortable  with my individual artistic interpretation. My fellow interns are all phenomenal in their own right, and I’m learning that I can’t compare myself to them. I’m still trying to find my niche, but I’m learning that I have what it takes to develop into a great photographer in my own right.

I think my main struggle with the photoshoot is my consistent struggle: lighting. I’ll admit, I’m not technical by any stretch of the imagination, but I understand the importance of knowing my camera. With knowing my camera, I have a learning curve when it comes to ISO, aperture, and shutter speed. Despite my inadequate technical skills, I am learning the right settings, I’m just really SLOW. I’m sure in time, I’ll be up to the speed that I’d like to be. For now, the only thing I can do is do what I’m doing and that is practicing.

Mark and Joy make it a habit to tell us, “Don’t Suck.” I think for the first time, I’m positive my pictures don’t. They are my own and my own artistic perspective. PROGRESS! And this is only the BEGINNING!!

Hope you enjoy the pictures as much as I enjoy taking them. ‘Til next week beautiful people.

LeeAnn C.