I am on my way to Tennessee today. I will be passing the exact place where I took this photo around 9 a.m. I took this three years ago on Valentine’s Day weekend. The Amherst Tech Team was returning from a conference in Columbus during a bad snowstorm, and I had Mr. Strohm stop his van so I could take this shot.
This photo was featured in the Ozarks Mountaineer magazineArchived Link in the Nov/Dec 2007 edition.
This is a photo of Mount Moran at Grand Teton National Park. I shot this photo two summers ago.
Tomorrow I am on my way to Tennessee, where I will stay with my grandparents over night, then drive to my aunt and uncle’s house in Georgia on Thursday. I will be down there for a week.
Sean Nelson and I made this long exposure shot last summer right before I left for college. It was an invasion of red spiders from the water (that looked more like red crabs). If you like this shot, check out more from our Illum Flickr account.
Happy Mother’s Day, Mom!
I am sorry that I am not always as loving as you deserve. I can get caught up in everything I do and forget to call or neglect to spend time with you when I am home. I am sorry that I am frequently difficult to be around. You do much more than words can explain for Dad and me, who sometimes forget to stop and thank you for everything.
I want you to know that I love you more than you know, even if I do not express it (which, by the way, I promise to work on). Happy Mother’s Day, Mom. I love you.
This photo was taken on Christmas Day at my grandma’s house. I have very few photos of my family, whether all together or separate. That is also something I need to work on. I take photos of so many other things, but rarely take the time to document the most important part of my life: my family.
Hillsdale’s Commencement for the class of 2009 was today! There were lots of hugs, laughs, and smiles.
Today Richard, David, and I went to South Haven, a beautiful little town on Lake Michigan. (It is the same place I went to back in January.) Above are photos I took while we were there. Click on the photos to view them at a larger size.
William, Zach, Adam, and Trevor (L to R) were suitemates this year in Simpson, but Adam is switching dorms next semester, so they wanted a photo taken. They are all wonderful guys and I am very thankful to have met them this year.
Will Clayton gave me lessons today on how to use off-camera flash. His brother John was in town visiting him, so I used him as a model. There are still some harsh shadows around his neck from the shirt, but overall I think this photo came out okay. (There is also a distracting sign in front of the tree above his shoulder.)
Megan, Jason, and Jeff playing music out on the quad after finals
I have one final left-Calc II at 8 a.m.
I took this shot at the outdoor theatre performance yesterday. This little kid was giggling and having a wonderful time while his mother was watching the performance.
I went to a production of The Taming of the Shrew by Shakespeare in the Arb when I drove back to Hillsdale this afternoon.
I made a trip home this weekend, between finals, to go with Amanda to her senior prom. She looked so beautiful!
I took this shot of Dr. Raney, a history professor at Hillsdale, during the honors trip to Charleston.
Two final exams down, three to go.
I took this photo last summer on Chautauqua Lake while visiting my friend Brad. I took this from his boat while we were out on the lake one beautiful day. Click the photo to view it large.
I took the first of five exams today–American Heritage. It was the one that I think will be most difficult, so I am glad to have it out of the way. Tomorrow is poly econ, Tuesday is Dr. Jackson’s freshman honors English and Dr. Steele’s microecon, and Wednesday is Dr. Treloar’s calc II. I will not be home until Saturday, May 9, though, because I have a few things to do on campus.
Last night, a fraternity on campus threw a “Club Euro” themed dance party to celebrate the end of classes. In between studying, I went to take some photos. I tried out a few new techniques, so I thought I would post the results. The photos below are not edited. They are straight out of my camera. What I did: 1/2 second exposure at f/5 and a rear-sync flash. In one of the shots, I twisted the camera while the shutter was open. Click on the photos to view them larger.
The magnolia trees in Hillsdale are blooming! Most of the other trees are as well. It is a beautiful sight! I can see why students here look forward to spring.
Today was my last day of classes for the spring semester. I only slept for two hours last night, but I finished my final paper for Dr. Jackson. Now it is time to start studying for finals. I am doing preliminary work tonight so I can get a good night’s sleep and get started right away in the morning. My first exam is Thursday at 1, and I think it will be the most difficult one.
On an unrelated note, we discussed Saint-Exupéry’s The Little Prince for our last English class. It is a children’s book, but great for all ages to read. If you have not read it, I recommend doing so. It is a quick read, but full of things to think about. Three of my favorite quotes from it:
“You are not at all like my rose,” the little prince said. “As yet you are nothing. No one has tamed you, and you have tamed no one. You are like my fox when I first knew him. He was only a fox like a hundred thousand other foxes. But I have made him my friend, and now he is unique in all the world.”
“It is the time you have wasted for your rose that makes your rose so important.”
“Men have forgotten this truth,” said the fox. “But you must not forget it. You become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed. You are responsible for your rose . . .”
…this is what it would have seen in the last week. A tired Charles A. Grimmett, drinking coffee and typing. After tomorrow, this magnificent view will no longer be owned by my computer, but my American Heritage notes.
Photo taken with Photo Booth.
This morning I did a short photoshoot with my friends Gennady and Wendy. They are getting married shortly after they graduate from Hillsdale in a few weeks and wanted some semi-casual photos taken before the wedding. Luckily, it turned out to be a beautiful day, despite the threats of rain early in the morning. It was a little windy, but I think the photos came out well despite this. Above are my favorite shots.
They have been wonderful to spend time with during my first two semesters at Hillsdale, and I am going to miss them. I wish you the best, Gennady and Wendy!
I am still developing my portrait skills, so let me know what you think and where I can improve. Click on the photos to view them at a larger size.
*Note: It is necessary to view the large version of today and yesterday’s photos to understand what I am talking about in this post. You can do so by clicking on the photos.
I use my wide-angle lens often, and almost always at the risk of taking too much in. The frame gets so many things in it that it becomes too busy. Therefore, I typically try to use it to get very close to my subjects, while still getting all the necessary components into the frame.
Yesterday, I tried something else. I used my wide-angle to try and capture the action and excitement of a track meet, where there is always something happening and never a dull moment. In the photo I posted yesterday, I put my wide-angle lens on and got as close to the water pit as I could, and tried to capture multiple stages at once: runners approaching the barrier, runners jumping over it, runners in the air, runners landing in the water, and runners exiting it and continuing on. Instead of taking multiple photos, I was able to get it all in with one shot.
I tried to do the same thing with the photo above, only there is just one athlete. By being able to see the approach, the sand pit, the sand raker, the ref, the stands, and part of the in-field, I think it tells a more complete story of what happens at a track meet in just one shot. I especially like the jumper’s shadow here. I know I risk having too much in the photo, but I think it works well in some situations. I think these track photos are one of those situations. I don’t plan to use this all the time, but I think it is a useful tool when one can pull it off.
What are your thoughts on this? Leave a comment.
This is a shot of the water barrier in the steeplechase in the Gina Relays, which are going on this weekend at Hillsdale. I recommend you view this photo at a larger size by clicking on it.
The water on the other side (which starts deep and has a gradual slope, which rewards runners with better jumping abilities) had fish in it! Someone caught about 20 bluegill and bought some goldfish and had them swimming in here. It was quite amusing. For the record, all fish were still alive after this event.
By the way, it got up to 84 degrees today. The weather was beautiful!
…and I got a 95% on a calc II exam I was worried about!
