Ashley Gilbertson

Ashley Gibson lives in New York and has won many awards and honorable mentions. I connected immediately with his work in Iraq because he has a different style than everyone else. I love his use of shadows and he is able to capture just pure moments. I saw really dramatic shots of emotions and also really good times and humor in his photography, so it is nice to see some comedic relief once in a while and he captured it well. My favorite shot is the one he took from the black hawk looking down at troops on the ground just kicking back. The shadow is what the eye goes to first and think this is crucial in his photography. I love the use of shadows he does because it almost gives the photographs a story to each of them. For example, we see a man tied up (handcuffed), bleeding and crouching head down but the shadow of the US soldier overcoming the image and towering over the Iraqi. We do not get to see the soldier but know that they are there and they are doing their jobs well.

Another image that I really liked was the car explosion because in most war photography I did not see any intense battle or fighting, it was always the aftermath and death, in this shot we see real time of the fire engulfing the car the terror on the man’s face. I think these shots are all really well done and Ashley had talent and also bravery to be in these situations to capture these moments.

Linde Waidofer

I found Linde Waidofer on the Ordover website and immediatly connected with her photography. I think I love it because of the style she has with angles and colors. She has many beautiful shots but the ones I thought really won me over was her photography of Mexico. I found sometimes photography of landscapes that are large can become repetitive are she shows different styles of shooting closer in the areas of these towns. She captures the objects in the perfect positions and has a good eye for colors. All the different colors of Mexico really match the landscape and she was able to take the shots in an order of making the small scene almost as an abstract painting. I think I love her photography because it is the same kind of style I like to shoot in also, so I connected immediately with her work. I like her use of depth perception and just skimming through all her work anyone can see that she works with all the most amazing colors that nature gives us.

Quail Gardens

The Quail gardens was a lot bigger than I thought and had so many different sections of different areas around the world. I went to the native gardens section and saw many of the similar plants that we saw at the reservations. The trail is a small hike that goes around in a circle and had labeled plants and animals that are found in the area. I thought it was fun because they actually showed diagrams of what kind of animals are found with the certain plants and what they eat. I saw a lot more wild life than I saw at the reservations. Lizards were everywhere but also different species of spiders. I thought it was a really educational environment and was crazy how the different areas where split into sections.

The jungle type section was not very far from the native section and this seems like it would be a really hard thing to take care of. Another thing I thought was a really good idea was the diagram at the plants to show which of all these species are smart to grow around your house to protect your home from fires. They had diagrams that showed the certain trees and plants in the native section that will work as walls to protect everything. It worked like a fortress and the different species all had their own job to create separate walls from the fire. Also, these sections of plants and trees attract certain animals that can also help keep your home safe. For example, it would not be smart to plant a section that attracts mice right next to your home, it shows what types of specimens are perfect.

Photo Contest

These are my three shots I am entering into the photo contest this semester

Indian Rock

I thought the Indian Rock was a real surprise to see especially after taking the tour of the different plants surrounding it and coming around the corner to see the giant rock hidden at the top of the hill. I was not expecting such a giant piece of history. It was really intersting to see the different cracks and mold and nature taking its toll on the rock. They did a great job planting around it making it a real beautiful sight.

The ruins of the old house was a big surprise also because I had no idea there was actually a house built around it. The view however is a very understandable reason to try to live there. From the rock we were able to see forever and I was not expecting  this at all. It is very important to not let people tag this piece of history and destroy this area so it is nice to know they are doing something about that. If they try to spread the knowledge of the sight and teach to respect it it can last a lot longer. I liked learning about what the rock was used for a represented in the past. The crack down the middle seemed like a regular thing but when he pointed out how much power and force needed to be used to crack this giant rock it was really mind blowing.

Rincon Reservation with Kristie Orosco

This field trip was a surprise to come over the hill and see this giant garden in the works. I have had experience in gardening and planting plants but I have never planted a tree. It obviously is not that much different except for the size but it still has all the same techniques. However, planting a tree feels like a bigger accomplishment not only because it is a bigger job but because you know that this tree will be there for so long and get bigger and bigger, so it is pretty cool to be a part of that. I kept hearing people say how cool it will be to come back and see the tree in a couple years and just say that you helped plant this tree, it is a pretty cool feeling. I learned a lot about the native sections and how we do not just throw a bunch of plants together in a pile and let them all grow together, we actually separate them out into their assigned living area and environment. I thought this was a really interesting organization to have different parts of the land all in one garden. As one walks on the path around the garden you can see the different native plants of the coastal and desert environments. I think this will all look great in a couple years as it progresses even more throughout time. My job was a digger and I basically went to the pots and dug holes for the plants and tree to go in

After we were done digging and planting we were given instructions on how to move the irrigation to the plants and make the drip system so the plants get there own little drip system when the hoses are turned on. We go to the plants section and we stab the hose with a pierce tool and make a hole the size of a BB. Then we take the drip tool and plug it into the hose. This drip nozzle lets one drip at a time go into the soil. After the hose is set with the drip nozzle facing down to the soil we pin the hose down with spikes so that it stays. It is pretty amazing that each and every plant and tree receives its own water and was really cool to learn not only the planting but the whole process to make sure everything in this garden lives. It was all in interesting experience I learned a lot in this field in such a short period of time. It is hard work but if you have the numbers it can be done with ease, and I think our group had some great teamwork.

Pechanga Reservation Nursery and Willie Pink

I was a little uneasy about this field trip being just a nursery and a far drive. I did not want to get out there and just see some plants in a pot and walk away with shots I was not happy with but it turned out to be probably the coolest field trip so far. I had no idea there were all these projects in the back woods and the plants and trees were just ordinary bushes to me until Mr. Pink showed us how many useful things they can all help us with in everyday life. I would have to say the most surprising was the great oak. Pulling up to it I thought it was the little one down the street but then as we walk through what I thought were just some scrub bushes It was an oak bigger than my house and what seemed to be a whole factory of branches almost looking like they were growing out of the ground into the tree. It was really cool and got even more interesting as we took a little hike through the scout made sweat rooms and areas of oak classrooms and rock mortars. It was a really good experience and it reminded me of when I use to be in scouts because it is the same environment. I know how long these huts and shelter take and how much teamwork it must consume.

The program they have put together to show children nature and the history of Indians is a really great thing and even I learned a handful of watching some hands on carving and tools to make baskets and even arrows. Just a bush on the ground can be pulled out and have a whole other use for what is lying underneath. I found that even the rope seemed to be man made by nature and I thought that was really cool to see how aged this rope was and still holding up. Near more of the end of the tour we came to the actual nursery. I thought the hot room was very impressive and I could see how much work really goes into keeping these native plants alive. It is a great thing these people are doing and Mr. Pink is very well educated in what he is doing too. The best parts were seeing him do what he is a pro at in just a matter of minutes with these plants all around us. My favorite was the arrow strip and carving in less than 2 minutes. I use to make these when I was a kid and wish I did them like that with the correct sticks so It was all a good experience.

sally mann II

Continuing from the first half of the Sally Mann documentary, I got to see another whole direction she took her photographs which was death. I really liked what she was able to capture because share that same sense of fascination with death, however, too much of it can be dangerous and she is able to show life with her photographs to still let the viewer leave with hope and life showing that death really is a part of our lives and there should be no fear of it. I love her style of sepia and very extremely worn shots which gave the photos of death an old decaying feeling, just like the bodies. I was blown away that there is an actual place that studies the decay of bodies and her photographs really gave that place a different feeling too.

quiz

Tierra Miguel Foundation

I thought Tierra Miguel is really doing the right thing growing the different foods and supporting other local farming foundations. It blew me away that I actually have been driving by this farm all these years on the way out to the desert and I had no idea it was there. It was really cool to get the whole history of the foundation but mainly the interest was the dilemma our state is in. I learned how much we actually depend on these foods and it is sad that most of us do not even think where they actually came from. I thought the coolest thing was just walking around and pulling food right out of the ground and eating them. I thought that this is how it should be done, no harmful chemicals etc, and I think that is what makes this farm what it is. It reminds me of finding a hole in the wall restaurant and it being better than any actual sit down place in the whole town. This farm has sweet carrots and the soil is not poisoned, which makes it healthy and smart compared to many other farms. The project they talked about is a great step forward to try to fix our problems with farming and pollution, water, poison, travel, etc. Using education, everyone can help show how important these foods are and how important it is to keep them healthy and grown correctly.

Photography wise I felt was a cool challenge. We are sent out into these open fields and are expected to get some shots with 30 other people. I for one wanted different shots than everyone and to show the beauty of the farm instead of just the dirt and the row of plants. Many other students took their time to find some good shots too I thought that was cool. I noticed that aside from the rows of farming ,the tools lying around on the side made pretty interesting shots. Also I found a pile of vegetables with so much color, just lying on the ground. I think these were the old piles, however they were picked that day for sure, they were dying and were not going to be used but still were so red and green. I also noticed the lone tree in the middle of the fields and wanted to get that too. Here are some more of my favorite shots from the day at the Tierra Miguel farm.