A Negligent Photographer...

     My fellow photographers, writers, creators, and readers! It's been quite a long time. Much, much has happened and I won't bore you with the details. ;) 

"What's been happening?" 

Well, I'm in California for almost two semesters now, and I'm ashamed to say I haven't taken NEARLY as many pictures as I thought I would. Sad. I know.

     But, I'll have some of the ones I like! I had forgotten how much I enjoy photography! 

Silly me.

These are from last August, right after I stopped blogging and right before I went to college.

I went fishing with my dad and littlest bro:) Good memories and cool cattails!

 On the drive to the lake we saw so many hayfields, and I'm remembering how much I love the country. I miss it too. Being in California is interesting and cool, but there's something about the country...

I'm going back through my photos to catch y'all up on my photography and a little bit of my life too. :)

So these are all from my first semester of college! The mountains amaze and intrigue me; they are bare, yet some are green and alive with bushes and little trees. Others are reddish-brown and sandy. 

Here's California for ya;)

Joshua Trees! Originally from Israel, but now there are more in California than anywhere else.

Again, the mountains in the background. I just love them.

Below is a view from behind my dorm. I live on top of a hill and there's a slight rise behind the dorm and it's an excellent place to watch the sunset. Especially with my camera;)

 I think I like California, and the sun here. Hehe, and this photo.

Later on in September 2013...

 This is the inspiration for Pride Rock! You know, from Lion King?

 It's a place called Vasquez National Park. I went hiking there with a group from church. It was HOT. But totally worth it!

 Gives you some more depth... It was huge and steep.

From the top; note the teeny, tiny cars down there. 'Twas an awesome day!

Let's go to the more civilized side of Cali: Beverly Hills! Yeah, I know, what was I doing there? Haha, I was taking photos of my dear friend for her senior voice recital! Exciting, my first "official" portrait session;)

It was really good, and I got some good shots! A very cool setting;)

We took a school trip to the Getty for extra credit. The Getty is an awesome art museum. It's so full of history and beauty and evidence of man's intellect (and sinfulness) and realizing how many painters and sculptors were Christians was really enlightening. And it's on a hill overlooking Los Angeles. Soo, that was cool too;)

The details and creativity were amazing. I might say that a lot.

 And the museum itself was a work of art; its architecture and designs were captivating to me.

Also, the girl at the bottom of this picture in the white jacket may or may not be the most fantastic person I've ever met. Just a sidenote;)

I spent winter break with me familia! And snow...

This was also lovely. :P

Then, back to hotness. Please note the palm trees... I like the palm trees.

I also learned how to play the ukulele. YES. Life goal = Accomplished.

There. Don't you feel better now? I do! Got that photography bug out of my system by sharing it. Ha!

Anyway, I hope to do this more often, but no promises... 

So, see y'all around!

P.S. - It's good to be back;)

Flash Back

Back to two-thousand and seven!

Back when I lived in sweet Florida:)

This last one's for you Christy:) I know how much you LOVE spiders!

I know, I'm sorry:) 

I hate spiders too, but not as much as snakes!

Portraits and A Door

 Told you I'd post soon:) These are from the good ol' days of 2012! Fall is the best time for portraits isn't it? The photos below are some of my favorites!

Little brother and sister were kind enough to let my order them around for a while. Ha, who am I kidding, I tell them what to do anyways:) No seriously, they were excellent posers for me!

The colors complement each other and add a lot to the composition, I had to use a fast shutter speed 'cause she was swinging pretty fast:)

This is at Itasca State Park. There are beautiful spots for pictures everywhere! J has his favorite Webkinz: Bucky:)

"Study Buddies"

I tried to line the trees up so it would go together seamlessly and look poetic:)
("Poetic" looks like "pathetic" out of the corner of my eye, haha)










I really like this last one, which I have done something rare to: I named it!

Wait! This post is named "Portraits and A Door." So, where's the door, huh? This is for FMTSO! Yay! Oh right, here it is!

             I really like this door, saw it while Geo-Caching with my grandparents last summer. It is old and cool and dilapidated (whoo I spelled it right!) and mossy!                  

That be - ith all for now ye kindred spirits!  

PS: I updated this and added a few more photos I forgot.

The Upper Peninsula of Michigan

How has it been y'all? January, I mean. At the beginning of 2013 my family and I went skiing in Michigan (had the best time:) and traveled through the Upper Peninsula on our way back.

These are some views of Lake Superior!

I think the snow gave these photos an interesting aspect in contrast to the palm trees and sand you would expect on a beach:)

This one, the composition was almost accidental but I really like how it turned out:P
I had to tilt it a little more in post-production so the shore lined up with the skyline better.

OK that's all for this quick post, guys! Expect more, SOON!

(Seriously, I promise:)
Keep those cameras flashing!
Eli

Walk Through the Field (FMTSO)

 This is my weather! Fall in Minnesota is VERY nice, not too hot, not too cool; perfect for me!

Went for a walk with my Labs and my camera this week; I am not disappointed with my photos!

The sun was setting and the fountain grass in the field was beautiful! I practiced my manual focusing techniques:) 

I love this picture so much, it has three different types of seeding grass
and it has just the right amount out of focus:)

My best bud: Bear!

My town's weather is BEAUTIFUL right now; hope it stays a while longer!

Thanks for following y'all!

Space (The Milky Way Galaxy From My Backyard)

Last night was a spectacularly clear night; I could see tons of stars and even the Milky Way Galaxy! I got my camera and tripod and set it on the lowest aperture and about 10-15 seconds of shutter time so I could capture the brightness of the star. I am extremely happy with my shots; remember this is my first time shooting low-light/outdoors!

The white-ish streak in the middle is the Milky Way. My camera picked up many more stars than I could see!
I also did some long-exposure shots:)

For this one I took a flashlight, pointed it at my feet, and walked in a zig-zag with the shutter speed on 30 seconds!

This was taken with a shutter speed of 2 minutes! See that line of light in the middle? It's an airplane:) There were quite a few last night, and the next two pictures you can see the airplanes better:

IT'S A SNAKE UFO!!! Just kidding, it's time-lapse airplane travel! 

Trekking across the Milky Way! So neat!
Oh boy, I need to go to bed, I've church tomorrow! 

       See y'all later!