My Portfolio

This is a link to my Wix.com portfolio. It showcases what I feel is the best work I have done and submitted in this class, and I hope to use it for future work as well.

Thank you all for a wonderful semester, and I hope to see you around campus, even after graduation.

Feature News

1/30s f5.6 55mm

The photo above is a picture of my father in 1993. 

In 1994, months after I was born, my father was diagnosed with a disease known as M.S., Multiple Sclerosis. This disease is malicious in most cases, and attacks the central nervous system. It can completely shut down basic motor function, cause the loss of limb control, and destroy equilibrium. Before my father was diagnosed, a cousin of his had already been suffering from the disease for a few months. She had already been confined to a wheelchair, and passed away in 1995. I was only 4 months old when my father came out of the doctor's office with a bottle of pills that would only end up making his symptoms worse. 

In 2010, 15 years after his diagnosis, my half-sister got married on a private beach in Malibu, California. He was still able to walk his daughter down the aisle at her wedding.

1/30s f5.6 55mm

My father was still walking, despite his cousin's quick decent after her diagnosis. Some might call this a miracle, but there's one defining factor that has helped my father overcome his nausea and more than likely overcome dire side effects. Since we lived in Washington state, medical marijuana has been a common sight in my home. There is nothing wrong with it, and in that state it is widely accepted as a huge aid in many medical scenarios. When we moved to Utah, things weren't nearly as easy for my dad. The thing that had kept him out of a wheelchair and kept him able to drive and interact with his family was not "accepted".

1/250s f11 35mm

My dad has been forced to hide the thing that helped him through his illness. Having to feel ashamed for using an "illegal" substance. 

1/250s f11 35mm

In his hand he holds his lighter, but he doesn't hold it with pride. This makes no sense to me. Without it, he may have never had a chance to be my father.

 1/250s f11 35mm

My father has fought hard to be where he is. He told me that when he heard his diagnosis the first thing he said was "I'm not done", and he still isn't. I can't begin to explain how grateful I am to say that my father is going to be able to come support me at my university graduation. I've seen him at his best and worse, and seeing him have to hide a simple medication is nonsensical. 

1/250s f11 55mm

This is his walking stick. It's been sitting in his room collecting dust for months, and personally I hope it stays that way. Consider this a cry from the minority. Utah needs to come to its senses and make medical marijuana legal. People like my father have it to thank for their health, it's not a drug, it's a medicine. Where would advil be if people thought treating headaches was illegal?

The Package

This is a package I made for Susan Honey's grocery store in Kanab. It was a piece I was hired to do for Kane county to promote the tourism in Kanab. It's one of my better packages I've created for them, and I'm still proud of it.

(While this video is posted to the Kane county youtube channel, it is part of my film reel. If you need proof I can bring in a drive with undoctored footage and a premiere pro file.)

In the video I wanted to show how relatable and friendly the people in Kanab were, and I couldn't think of anybody better than Susan Honey. In all honesty she is one of the nicest people I know and she was perfect for this package. As for the B-roll, I wanted to showcase the beauty of Kanab, as well as Honey's Marketplace. I went for a shallow depth of field for most of the footage I shot, and I even used some old footage from a fourth of July event I covered a few months before. I included that footage simply to aid the context of her interview statements. The solar flares and the wildlife shots helped accentuate her statements about Kanab itself, and the rest was a little plug for her store and how she came to live in the area.

Illustration

For my illustrative photo, I had a few ideas I wanted to work with.

Being a senior, the stress of working a part time job and dealing with homework late into the night is definitely no stranger. I wanted to capture both the stress and anxiety of having to deal with this, as well as the isolation that working so late into the night brings. Personally, I can remember plenty of nights where I never left the school until 3 in the morning because I didn't have a chance to complete my assignments at any other time of day.

The other idea I wanted to toy with was the issue of how technology runs our lives, and just how prevalent it is on a day-to-day basis. A few ideas ran through my head to illustrate this: the abundance of cords running across my bedroom floor, how each and every person has a device or two buzzing in their pockets, or how we use our phones for everything from GPS mapping to checking what the weather has in store for the afternoon. Unfortunately, I never got the chance or could think of a viable way to pull off a singular shot in that vein without severe editing work. However, I did find a way to capture both my aforementioned issue of late-night schooling stress, and bring with it the essence of a dependence on technology.

1/40s f5.6 55mm

The first photo I took was a shoulder-shot with the student in focus, leaving the computer to illuminate her face. The DSU Canvas website can be made out in the background, giving the frame some context. I wanted to shoot at least a few of my take as tight as possible, to utilize a shallow depth of field.

3.2/s f5.6 55mm

This photo was much more experimental, and didn't quite come out the way that I hoped. I tried many different angles and shutter speeds, but this was the closest to what I wanted to capture. The still keyboard with the motion in the hands shows urgency in the subject's actions. The only thing I wish I could have captured was her facial expression while typing, with only her hands being motion-blurred. This shows more of the dependence on technology than stress.

1/40s f3.5 18mm

These last two photos are my absolute favorite. I wanted to show the weight of the situation as well as capture the isolation and frustration, and this frame captures it all perfectly. The great big shadow cast on the wall shows the scope of what the subject is dealing with, in contrast to the subject herself it is absolutely enormous. The look on her face is a mix of concentration and anxiety, and the only source of light is the computer screen, giving the impression that she';s there alone.

1/40s f3.5 18mm

This project was one of my favorites. Being able to illustrate and editorialize a little more than shooting for news is a bit more up my alley. Being a film student I always jump at the chance to tell a story within a frame.