Everything's a Metaphor

Geek Chic

2012-01-20T13:24:00.000-08:00

So I finally got around to making a blog post about the photos I took of my sister, Alexa, during the Christmas break! We had a lot of fun walking around our old middle school and following the golden sunlight all the way to the baseball dugout. Alexa's intention for the shoot was to be "Geek Chic", so we took a few along that theme, and ended with a classy shoot of her beautiful face :)

It's so fun to have a gorgeous sister to be my model for me from time to time, and I definitely hope I can use her again in the future...not that she has a choice. Hehe ;)

Here are a few from our shoot:

A Day in the Bay

2012-01-05T08:45:00.001-08:00

The week after Christmas, my family decided to take a day trip to the Bay Area and see some of the familiar sights of the city. Of course I couldn't miss an opportunity to snap some photos along the way, so I brought my camera with me and we embarked on the road.
We started off the day by driving into San Francisco, my favorite city in the world.
(vv Taken with my phone vv)

After driving around for a while trying to find a parking space (the post-Christmas rush was still on in the city), we walked around Union Square with the family, popping in and out of random stores as we went.

City life is one of my favorite things to photograph.

Street performer in the city.

The security guard wouldn't let me take my camera into Forever 21, so I snapped this photo of the lavish, intricately detailed ceiling of the store with my phone.

Me, exploring the city (taken by brother Devin)

My little brother took this photo of me overlooking Union Square on his phone.

Then, it was time to leave San Francisco and head off to Palo Alto for the evening. The rolling hills of that drive is some of my favorite scenery.

We drove to Stanford University and got there right as the sun was beginning to set.

Me, taken by Alexa

Sister Alexa looking prettay

Stanford's campus is honestly one of my favorites, so I had some fun wandering around and shooting the beautiful facades of the buildings.

Taken by Devin.

Family, candid

Once the sun had set, my family and I headed back to the car and drove all the way back home. It was a gorgeous day and I'm so glad we decided to spend the day at my birthplace and hometown. The Bay Area will always be the place I call home.

The Things I Am Thankful For

2011-12-01T12:13:00.000-08:00

This past week, I was able to go home to California to visit with my family over the Thanksgiving break. My grandparents had planned for us to visit with them in Lake Tahoe, in a gorgeous lodge in the skiing town of the Sierras.

I left Tuesday afternoon and drove from Rexburg, Idaho to Provo, Utah with my friends Tempe, Camille, and Preston.

After spending the evening with my brother Tyler and sister Alexa in Provo, we headed off across the desert of Nevada.

That night we arrived at our hotel, the Marriot Timber Lodge, which was absolutely beautiful. The next day, we decided to explore the area, and walked around a bit, taking in the cool mountain air.

After asking around a bit, we discovered that the beach at South Lake Tahoe was only about a five minute walk from our hotel, so we walked to the beach on that cold, overcast afternoon. It was a great way to spend the Thanksgiving holiday, and spend time together taking pictures on the lake.

Devin on the beach

Me, contemplating the mysteries of life (or something like that haha)

Devin taking pictures on the beach with my film camera

Sister and me

Alexa was my fashion model for the day. I had a lot of fun playing around, pretending to be a fashion photographer. It was great, and the photos turned out just like I wanted.

Tyler

Momma and dad

Grandpa Richard, displaying his Aggie pride

My little cousins collected pine cones on the beach and brought them home to decorate later.

The next day, my little brother Devin and I walked down by ourselves to the beach again and spent a while talking and just spending time together. I miss that kid when I'm away at school, so it was nice to have that time to talk about old memories and joke around with each other.

The next day, my family went to the beach again in the evening to have "family counsel" time. It was a beautiful sunset and a beautiful day, so of course I had to document it.

It was such a great week, spending time with my family and remembering all that I am thankful for. Most of all, I am so thankful for the many beauties of this earth, and the opportunity I have as a photographer to capture them every day. It was a week I will always remember.

Scott and Becca's Winter Wonderland

2011-11-17T16:19:00.000-08:00

So I cannot even begin to describe how excited I was to do this engagement shoot for my two friends, Becca and Scott. Rebecca was my roommate last semester, and Scott was in my "FHE family" here at BYU-Idaho. The two met at the beginning of the semester and were just friends for awhile. However, eventually we all watched as Scott finally asked miss Becca out, and...well, the rest is history. :) I am so happy to have watched this relationship develop from day 1, and to be continually reminded that there really is love out there after all. These two are so beautiful together, and the shoot--while freezing cold--was so fun and natural. We even got lucky in that it dumped snow on us the morning of the shoot and stopped just in time for us to go take the engagements! I think someone was up there watching out for us ;) I hope you enjoy a few (more like half of the batch!) of my favorites from our shoot!

'Fall'ing in love all over again

2011-11-10T13:26:00.000-08:00

I thought I'd finally get around to blogging an engagement shoot I did a few weeks past, with a beautiful girl I know and her fiance. Caitlin and Devin have such a sweet love story, and being able to take their photos was such a fun experience. They are so natural together, and I loved seeing how happy they are, so I did my best to capture that in film. Here are a few of my favorites from our shoot!

Scanography

2011-10-26T20:57:00.000-07:00

So for my digital photography class this week, our assignment was to make photographs in a different way (other than with a camera). We were supposed to experiment using a scanner to make photos, which I was excited about since I have seen scanographs in the past and have always wanted to try it myself. So I went over to my friend Lauren's apartment, grocery bag full of various items in tow, and borrowed her scanner for a little while to play around with scanographs. I might have had a little bit too much fun making these scans, but I think I came away with some great photos! I will definitely be trying this process again in the future :)

Quakes and Lakes and Bus Headaches

2011-10-18T15:24:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday, my Natural Disasters class and I headed onto an educational daytrip through Idaho and Montana to see some amazing sights.
We started off pretty early, just as the sun was rising, and I could hardly stay awake.

Pretty much, how my day went was: sleep on bus, see natural disaster sight, get back on bus and sleep some more, stop at another site, sleep on bus some more, see more sights, sleep more, etc. It was great.
Our first stop was at Teton Dam, which burst a long time ago and buried hundreds of acres of land and houses. It was a gigantic dam, and I was amazed at the expanse of the place.

Next we stopped at a large field where our teacher showed us a geiser effect that is caused when you mix mentos and coke. It was pretty awesome, not going to lie. (This is also as close as we got to seeing Old Faithful that day, by the way).

As we drove through canyons and across plains, the fall colors were absolutely breathtaking. I had to snap a few photos of the gorgeous golden colored leaves in the birch forests along the road at our various stops.

Our next stop was at the location of the Hebgen Lake landslide, which occurred in 1959 (on my mom's birthday, actually) and took away the entire face of the mountain. This place was incredible.

Hi, it's me. Photo cred for this photo goes to my buddy Luke :)

As we drove along, we saw "Quake Lake" from the bus windows, which is a lake that formed when the earthquake hit the location and created forests of dead trees in the water. It was a little eerie, not going to lie, but so interesting.

My buddy Luke at our next location where we snapped a group photo for our class, at a scarp (where the earth drops during an earthquake).

Me bein' cutesy for the camera down by the river. Photo cred to my friend Zach.

Hebgen Lake. So so beautiful.

An abandoned cabin at Big Springs, a body of hot spring water surrounded by gorgeous fir trees.

The warm spring water in the area makes for some really green, mossy foliage.

My class on its way down to the lookout for Mesa Falls, a gorgeous gigantic waterfall in Ashton, ID. It was our last stop of the day, and it was so incredible; it literally took my breath away when I first saw it. I was expecting some dinky little waterfall on the side of the mountain somewhere, but what it actually was was absolutely staggering. I can not even express how it felt to be standing before this enormous body of water, feeling the mist brush my cheeks, and hearing the incredible roar of gallons upon gallons of water pouring off the vast cliffside. I will never forget it.

Looking out over the edge of the waterfall. It literally looked like the edge of the world.

A tree trunk on the way back from the waterfall. Count all those rings!

I love this world so much, and sometimes it takes seeing the beauties of the earth up close and personal to really realize that. It was an absolutely incredible day, and I don't think I will ever forget it.

Cabin Fever

2011-10-02T17:14:00.001-07:00

I spent this last weekend in a cabin in the woods, and it was incredible. My friend Katie asked me last week if I would like to join her and her parents and brother at their family cabin in Island Park, Idaho, and I accepted without a second thought. I love cabins and especially the freedom of being in the woods, away from the internet, television, and life in general. The cabin was everything I hoped it would be; small, endearing, right smack dab in the middle of the woods, and about 3 minutes away from the lake. It was perfect, to say the least.

The cabin's name was "The Crow's Nest", owned by Katie's grandparent's, the Crowley's.

Every room in the cabin had a title. I thought it was so cute!

Along the wall were posted drawings from grandchildren over the years, coloring scenes of crows in different scenes, costumes, and as characters from tv shows, movies, and famous paintings. It was the best thing I have ever seen ;)

Saturday morning I got up a little earlier than the rest of the family and went exploring around the cabin and through the woods. I took some photos around the place and was able to catch the morning sun.

P.S. This is my new Yashica-Mat film camera that my buddy gave to me last week! I wanted to take a few photos of it while I was at the cabin before I buy film for it and test it out :) I love it so much gah!

That afternoon we decided to walk to the lake and go canoeing on the water. It was a beautiful day, so perfect for being out on the lake, and I had such a blast!

Katie's younger brother Chris. He was a crack-up!

Me and Katie!

I found a crawdad claw on the dock after we finished canoeing

Later Katie and I decided to go for a ride around the island on her family's old tandem bicycle. It was so much fun--even though the chain broke about halfway around and we got lost a couple of times...

That evening I just spent with the family watching movies and soaking in the last afternoon of laziness. It was such an amazing weekend, and I was so glad I got to go :)

Hope your weekend was just as great!

Emily!

2011-09-22T14:00:00.000-07:00

Before I left California to come back to school, I took photos of a beautiful girl named Emily! She was such a lovely model for me and we had a lot of fun at our little photoshoot at the American River. She hardly needed any direction from me at all (which made it super easy haha) and I loved how giggly she was--which made for some cute shots! I hope I can have the opportunity to shoot with her again in the future!

Kaytee and Kendall's Wedding!

2011-09-19T16:13:00.000-07:00

Now, this post is long overdue and for that I apologize. However, my excuse I think is pretty valid, seeing as I've been crazy busy with going back to school, working, already getting homework dumped on me in my classes, and trying to keep up some semblance of a social life. Anyways, that's not what this post is about--this is about my friend Kaytee and her beautiful wedding that I had the opportunity to shoot over the seven-week break.
When Kaytee originally asked me to shoot her wedding, I'm not going to lie, I was so intimidated. I was afraid I would completely ruin their wedding by not giving them good enough photos or not being organized enough or maybe passing out from pure terror. But as soon as the day began and I was with Kaytee as she got ready for her wedding day, all my worries faded away and I took on some kind of forced persona I'd like to call "Super Photographer". Cheesy, yes, but it helped me to get through the day without freaking myself out or giving in to intimidation. The day went perfectly, and I'm not just saying that. From start to finish it was the most amazing wedding I had ever been to--probably a lot of it owing to the fact that it was my childhood friend tying the knot, and I couldn't have been happier for her. Everything was ideal--from the timing, to the family shots, to the decorations, to the food. Kaytee was a beautiful bride, and Kendall was quite the stud.
It was a day I will certainly never forget, and I am so glad I got to be a part of Kaytee and Kendall's day :)

These were just a few of my favorites from the wedding day. If you want to see more, head on over to the "Weddings" portion of my photography fan page or you can read my friend Kaytee's account of the day on her blog!!

Here comes the bride

2011-08-31T14:37:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, I was able to take my childhood friend Kaytee's bridals! The shoot went so well and we tried a lot of really gorgeous locations, and I am so happy with the results. Kaytee was a beautiful bride, both on this day and on her wedding day (which I will be blogging about soon). Here are a few from our shoot:

Bringing Sassy Back

2011-08-28T17:23:00.000-07:00

On the Monday after my friend Kaytee's big wedding (which I will be blogging about very soon), I met up with Kaytee's cousin Ellee and her friends Maddi, London, Brooke, and Brittany to do a little photoshoot down by the river at Old Folsom! It was such a fun shoot and my camera does not even begin to capture the beauty that each of those girls emanates. I truly was lucky to have such gorgeous models and that they were willing to do just about anything I told them to. We started off by taking a few couples shots for Maddi and her boyfriend, and then we did a lot of fun group shots and individuals of each of the girls. I am so happy with how this shoot came out and I can't wait to take more photos of them in the future--if they want me to, of course ;)

From left to right: Maddi, Brittany, London, Ellee, Brooke

Antique Shopping

2011-08-18T21:40:00.000-07:00

My sister Alexa and I went to old town Folsom today to go antique shopping, as we've been doing the last few days with our family. I love looking at the beautiful old-fashioned, distressed, and heirloom pieces that can make any apartment or home feel more charming. I think I have finally decided that when I decorate my own home someday, I want to go with a vintage seaside theme--with seashells and beach items, such as the sign below that says "Beach Cottage" and the jar of "very old shells" from San Francisco. I'll probably paint and decorate with pale cream and seafoam green as the color scheme. Dang this is making me so excited to have my own home someday!
Anyways, enough about my future home and on to the photos. I took my camera along today and took a few photos while we explored. Hope you get some of your own decorating inspiration :)

P.S. I finally figured out how to make the photos larger on my blog. Woo!

The Lambourne Family

2011-08-17T22:49:00.001-07:00

This past weekend I did a family portrait session for a family I have known since I was about seven years old. My friend Kaytee is getting married this weekend and while she is home with her family in California, her family asked if I would take some photos for them. It was such a great shoot and I had a lot of fun catching up with the family and discussing the upcoming wedding. I remember when I practically used to live at the Lambourne's house, I was over there almost every day and they were like a second family to me. It was so great to be able to capture their faces so I can remember them forever. They are a beautiful family and I'm so glad I got to take some photos for them.

Website!!

2011-08-12T21:14:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to make the announcement of my new website that I finally set up this week! I've included some of my best work (if I do say so myself) in categories ranging from couples to children to conceptual. I wanted to stick to a fairly simple and professional layout, and I quite like how it turned out.
Hope you all like it!

Kalen and Eva

2011-08-08T22:08:00.000-07:00

On Saturday I helped my photog buddy Ethan Watts shoot the wedding of a beautiful couple named Kalen and Eva. They were married in the Oakland LDS Temple, and following them around the grounds to take photos was a blast! Their happiness was palpable and being able to capture their love was such an honor. This was my first wedding I've ever shot and I am so glad to have had the opportunity to do it at the temple where my parents were married almost 30 years ago. Here are some from the wedding day :)

A little boy I came across before the wedding started. He was just perched on a wall overlooking the entire San Francisco bay area, so I just had to snap a photo :)
The "getaway car"

The bridesmaids and groomsmen being silly

Some girls who decided to join our photoshoot. Pretty sure they were doing some kind of Quinceanera shoot or something. Don't ask me about the white tutus though...

Brenizer Method

2011-08-07T16:22:00.000-07:00

(Click photo to view much larger)

Original/main photo:

This photo is my very first attempt with the Brenizer Method (or expansion). This took a painfully long time to do, as this image alone is composed of almost 40 images--and I can still see tons of mistakes. It was fun to try though, and I'm pretty happy with how it turned out, regardless of my inexpert editing.
To learn more about the Brenizer Method, go here: http://blog.buiphotography.com/2009/07/the-brenizer-method-explained-with-directions/
I'm back home in California, by the way. This was taken at one of my favorite locations, which is about 20 feet away from my childhood school. I helped shoot a wedding with my friend Ethan Watts (see last post for more about him) yesterday in Oakland, and I've got family portraits, more bridals, and my best friend's wedding coming up in the next few weeks. I'm going to be shooting like crazy, and it's going to feel so good. :)

Ethan Watts

2011-07-24T12:44:00.001-07:00

This weekend, I met up with an incredible photographer named Ethan Watts! He was in Rexburg shooting a wedding, so he asked if I would like to meet up and model for him. Of course I have been following his work for a while, and love being in front as well as behind the camera, so I agreed. Of course, as a photographer myself, I made sure to take some pictures of him while I was at it ;)
Here are a few from the shoot. There will also be a few more on my flickr in the next little while (http://www.flickr.com/photos/whitneyjustesen/). Hope you like them!

Apartment 201 Beauties

2011-07-19T20:36:00.000-07:00

I had a little photoshoot with some friends of mine from my apartment complex yesterday evening. The light was incredible and the field we went to was absolutely gorgeous. The girls were so much fun to shoot and we had a lot of fun. Enjoy!

The photographer...at work? ;P

Mary and Ella

2011-07-16T19:24:00.000-07:00

I took photos of a family friend and her beautiful daughter Ella yesterday! Both mother and daughter are absolutely gorgeous and being able to photograph them was such a pleasure. Here are a few photos from our shoot:

We found this gorgeous idea for incorporating an old dresser into the garden!

Portfolio

2011-07-08T14:57:00.000-07:00

For those of you who requested to see, here are the photos I turned in for my portfolio for the BFA program at my school! The BFA is the Bachelor of Fine Arts degree program at my school, which I will have just been accepted into, and will be doing with my emphasis in photography. Wish me luck!

Taylor and Brianna!

2011-07-04T13:34:00.000-07:00

I shot an engagement last weekend for my two friends Taylor and Brianna! They are so adorable together and I could not be happier for the amazing life they're going to have together. We had a lot of fun shooting and their hilarious personalities showed through in their photos. Congrats Taylor and Brianna!

Bargain shopping at its best

2011-06-23T09:41:00.000-07:00

So yesterday I had a little shopping spree at the thrift store (DI). I've been needing some new pieces for my wardrobe for a little while, but being a poor college student trying to save up money for camera equipment, buying the things I want is nearly impossible. So, to the DI it was. Here are the items I purchased:

Cotton shirt: $4.00

White woven belt: $1.00

Will leave both items as purchased.

Jean skirt: $6.00

Woven belt: $1.00

Cute toenails: Priceless

Will most likely cut skirt to mid-knee and hem, possibly stitching something cute into it somewhere ;)

Jean material dress: $5.00

Studded belt: $1.50

Will probably cut dress to about knee level (possibly slightly above) and hem. Might also cut the sleeves or the neckline to make it a deep V. Belt needs to be superglued, it’s falling apart a little bit but is still really cute.

Jean jacket: $6.00

Golden rose brooch (Walmart): $1.98

Black maxi beach dress: My own

Considering cutting the sleeves of the jacket because they’re a little tight on my arms, but otherwise leaving it pretty much as is. I’ve been wanting a jean jacket for months now and this one was a steal.

Leather cross-body bag: $4.00

Feather brooch: My own

I am so in love with this bag. Like, I cannot even tell you how much. I have been wanting a nice, sturdy cross-body purse for ages now, and this one is amaaaazing. Definitely a great purchase.

All in all, just a great day for thrifting ;)

Day 13: Sunset

2011-06-22T20:18:00.000-07:00

There was the most beautiful sunset tonight, and I could've died looking at it.

And thus concludes my photo-a-day journal for my color photography class. I hope you will be able to look at things in a whole new way, as I have come to do through photography.
I hope you enjoyed my 13-day photo journal :)

Day 12: Horse

2011-06-22T20:15:00.001-07:00

I saw this horse and fell in absolute love with it, and of course I had to take a picture.
I used to ride horses when I was a lot younger, and every now and then, I get the urge to ride them again.
Horses are such beautiful, magnificent creatures, and there is really nothing quite like them in the world.

Day 11: Ring

2011-06-22T20:13:00.000-07:00

I've been really bad at uploading all the images lately, so this is day 11 of my 2 week photo journal.
This is my roommate's ring that I looooove to no end, and I am contemplating stealing it from her.
Yes, so.

Day 10: Mirror

2011-06-18T20:22:00.000-07:00

Didn't do too much on Friday.
Obviously.

Day 9: Head Drawing

2011-06-18T20:14:00.000-07:00

Thursday night was my head drawing class, which was pretty fun.
Nothing too exciting to report, I just brought my camera with me to take pictures of the model for finishing up the drawing later.
I really enjoy the class, and I think it's a lot of fun to render heads so realistically (or try to anyways, in my case). I think there's something about drawing people that I have always enjoyed, and this class allows me to have a lot of artistic creativity.

Day 8: Tired

2011-06-16T21:53:00.001-07:00

Had an interesting day today, to say the least.
Sometimes it's just good to go to bed and wake up the next day with a clean slate.

Day 7: Tyler

2011-06-16T21:50:00.001-07:00

This is my brother, Tyler.
He's a great guy and he loves his sunglasses.

Day 6: Car Lights

2011-06-13T21:27:00.001-07:00

Not much to say about today.
Just another day.

Day 5: Logan

2011-06-13T20:13:00.000-07:00

I went to visit my grandparent's for lunch and spent the evening in Logan playing with the cats on their property.
This one is named Ginger, and I have known her since she was just a little kitten (I named her too). I was really creative, as you can see.
I always love going to visit my grandparent's house, because they have lived their since before I can remember and their house really feels like home to me.

Grandpa

Grandma

Day 4: Salmon River

2011-06-13T08:42:00.000-07:00

I'm two days late on uploading my "Days", but I did take pictures both days, so I'm going to upload them now.
Anyways, I went White Water Rafting on the Salmon River on Saturday, and took most of my pictures from that day on a waterproof disposable camera.
It was so much fun, I can't even describe it. I'm definitely going to go again!

Day 3: Katie

2011-06-10T17:36:00.000-07:00

My roommate Katie is so beautiful and adorable and she never ceases to make me laugh.
I'm going with a group to the caves tonight so I don't have time to really go out and take pictures like I would love to do, but it's okay. Katie's gorgeous face will suffice for today ;)

Day 2: Storm

2011-06-09T23:01:00.000-07:00

I apologize for the less than exciting photo for day 2. I was literally on campus all day today and hardly had anytime to get home and snap a picture before the sun went down--whatever sun there was anyhow.
I love storms though. I think there's something about them that really amaze me. For me, they bring back memories of my childhood, when I would hide in the closet during thunderstorms with my hands over my ears, waiting for the noise to stop. Since then I've come to love storms a lot more than I did then, and everytime a storm hits, I get excited and stare out the window at the clouds and the rain. It's a nice feeling, I think.

Day 1: Blossoms

2011-06-08T22:16:00.000-07:00

Today was a pretty ordinary day. I went to my classes, talked to friends, got my next semester figured out, worked, and came home. In the evening I walked up to the gardens and wandered through the rows of blossoming trees, snapping photos here and there. It was really beautiful. I was a little sad that the sun wasn't out so I could get some nice golden light on the trees, but...this is Rexburg anyhow.

Katy and Kendall

2011-06-08T14:50:00.000-07:00

Here are a few photos from an engagement session I did last weekend for my childhood friend Katy and her fiancee Kendall! They were wonderful and we had a lot of fun taking photos and catching up on life. I'm so happy for both of them!

2011-06-07T15:30:00.000-07:00

Hi this is me.

2011-06-07T15:15:00.001-07:00

Just getting into this blogging thing.

Technically this is for my Color Photography class, but I might as well upload some of my own personal work on here as well.

Woo!