Miranda Barzey Photography

Final Lighting Portfolio: Dancers

2009-12-09T16:48:00.000-06:00

It's finally done!!!!!!! My lighting final - a portrait portfolio on dancers - is completed. And I am exhausted. But in a good way. The purpose of the portfolio was to show our range of ability in lighting. In terms of the dancer theme, I wanted to show a range of dancers at different stages in their ability and in different styles. I think I did pretty good on showing my various lighting abilities, but I wish I could have got a wider variety of dancers. Time was against me for this project, since most dance departments and studios were prepping for recitals. Not to mention finals were coming up, so I was busy as well. I hope to continue the project later on to include more dancers.

The project was also a great head start for my photography business. My favorite things to shoot have always been related to the arts: dancing, marching band, music, etc. I want to make arts photography my niche. Visiting several different studios and interacting with dancers, parents, and teachers is helping me get a foot in the door. It's also made me realize just how much more I need to learn about dance in order to direct dancers. Example:

ME: Can you do a jump for me?

SUBJECT: What kind?

ME: Um, something like this with your leg out and hands up? (awkwardly stretches into a halfway pose of what I want)

SUBJECT: ???

The project has been a major learning experience to say the least. So without further ado, my final lighting portfolio:

You can see the portfolio with captions in my (temporary) website here.

Diamonds and Pointe Shoes

2009-11-27T14:52:00.004-06:00

Meet Andy McCord and Tiffany Guy, engaged dance majors at WKU. They were cast together in a piece for Autumn Dance, the dance department's annual showcase of stdent choreography.

Foxy

2009-11-19T20:33:00.001-06:00

I like the studio. Must go in there more often...

Ghetto Light

2009-11-18T00:34:00.002-06:00

Spend all semester learning how to use your damn strobe and then this week chuck it out the window. Use available light! Use weird lights you can manipulate! Use anything but that strobe!

Oddly enough, it turned out well.

Portrait of an Artist

2009-10-27T17:38:00.002-05:00

Senior trumpet player Eric Stroupe is involved in the marching band, wind symphony and jazz band at North Hardin High School. He plans to pursue a degree in music at Murray State University or the University of Kentucky. While most music majors plan for a career in education, Stroupe hopes to make it as a performance musician.

Something Old, Something New

2009-09-22T23:01:00.004-05:00

Same old photo muse. New use of light. More experimentation to come.

Grayson County Marching Band

2009-09-22T22:49:00.003-05:00

I just can't resist. Marching band is my favorite thing to shoot.

Charleston, South Carolina

2009-09-17T08:43:00.004-05:00

Posting chronologically is overrated. These are a few images from a last minute road trip to Charleston, SC just before school started. During the trip I focused a bit more on details and more abstract looking images (though I couldn't resist Samm's smiling face).

NHMB at Etown Governor's Cup

2009-09-13T20:00:00.005-05:00

A few images from North Hardin's first marching competition of the season. Looking at these images I realize I'm a sucker for guard. They're the most visual.

Balloons, Tunes, and BBQ

2009-09-13T17:59:00.003-05:00

I went on a photo field trip with some basic students to the carnival. Afterwards we played on the inflatable slide.

Relax

2009-09-05T08:49:00.003-05:00

I'm back at school, on staff for the yearbook, and in my most anticipated class: lighting. So there should be many more posts to come. Here's just a few fun shots from the first week of classes. (The second one is an almost photo. Still practicing shooting at wide open f-stops.)

Louisville

2009-07-06T01:01:00.001-05:00

This post is a bit backwards. I actually took it before I went to deaf camp, I just toned it last. Anyways, I spent the day in Louisville with two other PJ friends Danielle and Kelsey. We ate delicious Qdoba, walked/drove around town, went to the waterfront while it was bathed in gorgeous "Jesus light", and ended the night at a punk show. It felt good to shoot for a whole day in an interesting city with good friends.

Lions Deaf and Blind Camp 2009

2009-07-06T00:10:00.007-05:00

I worked as a camp counselor at the Lions Youth Camp for deaf and blind children 6-15 years old. I had so much fun getting to know all the kids and brushing up on my ASL.

Giggly High School Girls

2009-06-25T15:07:00.000-05:00

I can hear them laughing and screaming now as I post this. Ah, to be 15.

Poolside

2009-06-25T14:47:00.003-05:00

Like a geek, I take pictures on my day off instead of swimming.

Rain Rain Go Away

2009-06-23T13:30:00.004-05:00

I've not been shooting much. Hope to amend that next week. Expect lots of pictures of cute deaf kids while I'm a counselor at Camp Crescendo.

Only One Frame

2009-05-30T23:41:00.002-05:00

As I was walking out to my car in hopes of taking long exposures of the fair in town, I felt raindrops. "Oh crap," I thought. I managed to get one frame before the whole operation shut down and I had to get out of the rain. Life of a photographer, right? I hope to go again on a better night.

Bill and Tinki

2009-05-27T22:46:00.002-05:00

Some shots from my latest wedding. I'm finding that I'm drawn more and more to kids for photos. They don't avoid my lens like the adults do.

Briana

2009-05-22T20:04:00.002-05:00

My sister, AKA my other photo guinea pig.

Samantha Dawson is my muse.

2009-05-14T16:40:00.001-05:00

Samm Dawson, roommate and friend, is my photo muse. I'm sure there will be many man more photos of her up from this summer. Yep.

Late Night Body Painting

2009-04-30T00:17:00.003-05:00

My friends Danielle and Lindsey are weird. And get bored easily. But that's okay with me because I get cool photos.

Bowling Green Tea Party Photos

2009-04-17T01:33:00.003-05:00

A few images from the Bowling Green Tax Day Tea Party.

Deaf Day at Nashville Zoo

2009-04-08T22:23:00.003-05:00

I volunteered as a photographer for Gate Communications for Deaf Day at the Nashville Zoo. It was a lot of fun and I met a lot of great people. I hope to go to more Deaf events.

My Window at 1 AM

2009-04-07T01:19:00.002-05:00

Insomnia's becoming a real problem. At least it lends to some late night photos.

Golden Hour Rooster

2009-04-03T13:25:00.000-05:00

I highly recommend shooting a farm at golden hour. It's quite lovely.

Farmer Outtake

2009-04-01T23:33:00.003-05:00

I took this today while shooting my farmer story. It's her daughter playing in one of the abandoned sheds. Don't think it will make the final story, but I like it all the same.

Sign Fest

2009-03-29T00:07:00.005-05:00

Pictures from Sign Fest on Saturday. I had a good time. I really do like ASL.

More Drag Queen Photos

2009-03-18T13:54:00.000-05:00

Here are some other photos that were taken during my basic final story last semester.

Boys Basketball Region Finals

2009-03-11T17:45:00.001-05:00

While home on spring break, I shot the finals game of the fifth (?) region boys basketball. My old high school team got close to winning, thus heading off to state. The game went into double overtime and it was way tense.

We lost.

During the game I realized I really don't like shooting sports action. It's just messy, all those limbs flying everywhere. It's so fast and hard to compose. I am a fan of sports features though.

The Vagina Monologues

2009-03-05T13:50:00.016-06:00

It was an experience photographing the Vagina Monologues yesterday. It was both a challenge and a treat photographing in the changing stage lights. I thrive in low light situations. The girls made great faces (especially Jenna!) and I had a lot of room to move around. Plus listening to commentary on sex, tampons, and moaning while working made the whole thing hilarious.

The only downside: color balancing for all the harsh, colored lights was tough. So excuse me if some of the colors are a bit funky.

Missed Connection

2009-03-01T17:31:00.007-06:00

Wearing farmer's gear and checking out multiple books, I found this guy interesting. I chickened out trying talking to him to get his story. I did snap a few frames though.

Ready? OK!

2009-02-15T21:48:00.011-06:00

Though I wasn't much for cheerleaders in high school, I had a lot of fun shooting the KAPOS State Cheerleading Competition, on Valentine's Day of all days. Here's the afternoon session's take.

Obamarama in DC

2009-01-25T18:49:00.007-06:00

DC was a madhouse for Barack Obama's Inauguration. Streets were packed with millions of people, all trying to get as close as possible to the spectacle. Vendors took advantage of the fixation on the president-elect and turned Obama into a brand name. Hats, buttons, sweatshirts, posters, t-shirts, feather boas, and even American flags were all sold with Obama's face or name bedazzled across.

I found the fanaticism of it all to be terrifying. I wish I would have captured that a bit more in my photos. But this is what I have. Enjoy.

Winter

2009-01-16T21:20:00.003-06:00

Winter lies too long in country towns; hangs on until it is stale and shabby, old and sullen.
-Willa Cather

Just a few images from today and yesterday around my house.

Favorites from the Psychomachia Season

2009-01-10T02:21:00.005-06:00

From July to November I followed my high school's marching band through their season, partly to sell performance shots, partly to see my sister and old friends, and also to shoot for myself. Most of my favorite shots are off the field at practice, awards, and the bus, where some of the best moments happen.

The experience helped me learn to navigate through tough lighting situations, as well as a range of high emotional moments.

A Very Dawson Christmas

2008-12-16T18:21:00.009-06:00

An impromptu trip to the Dawson house turned into a photo opportunity as they decorated for Christmas.

Basic Photo Story

2008-12-04T18:04:00.005-06:00

I just turned in my photo story for basic. The story began as a story about a drag queen: getting ready, performing and such. The story got more interesting when I learned about Tony's relationship to his father. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out and hope to keep following it.