It is a rare occasion that I can get Deb and Glenyce to pose for even an informal portrait. This opportunity presented itself at the 2012 Lake Area Technical Institute Festival of Trees. And they both look "mahvelous. . . "
LATI
11-01-12 Halloween
Several of my studio photography students spent most of the day yesterday getting face paint applied and then documenting their efforts in the studio. The makeup artist was Alli, who is also a talented photographer. The subject of this portrait is Valerie, who is a talented photographer, too. And she is a natural in front of the camera. :-)Canon 5DIII 1/125s f/8.0 ISO200 70mm
05-12-12 My Favorite LATI Graduates
in people
From left to right, top to bottom, you are looking at Danine, Lexi, Sara, Kendra, Kaila, McKenzie, Ashley, Holly and Kelly. The were all students in our Photo/Media program at Lake Area Technical Institute. And, if you'll forgive me for saying it, they were my favorite nine graduates walking across the stage yesterday.Click here if you want to see more from the Lake Area Technical Institute graduation ceremony.
05-11-12 Pomp & Circumstance
in people
Having marched in, the Lake Area Technical Institute class of 2012 wait for the ceremony to begin.Canon 5DII 1/60s f/2.8 ISO1000 200mm
04-24-12 A Good Crowd On Hand
in Architecture, people
On April 23, 2012, Lake Area Technical Institute in Watertown South Dakota, dedicated the glorious new student center, aka Phase 3. There were speeches, fireworks, and treats. And there was also a very good crowd, as you can see in this photo.Giving an idea of scale in a big space can be difficult. My thinking when I took this photo was that if I could frame the crowd on the first level with people standing at the railing of the second level, you would get a better sense of space. Plus, it's not bad to find elements within a scene that provide framework within a photo.Canon 5DII 1/80s f/4.0 ISO800 24mm ©Scott Shephard
Watertown's Newest Photo Gallery
in Photography
We are putting the finishing touches on the new student Photo/Media Program photo gallery at Lake Area Technical Institute. This is one of two walls of student photos. Tomorrow, the Governor of South Dakota comes to LATI to help dedicate the new wing of our campus and we are hoping he comes to admire the student photos.If you live in Watertown, you might consider coming to the LATI open house, which starts at 2:00 and ends at 6.
Someone's Watching Me
This is yet another photo that found me. I was walking back to the Photo/Media studio at Lake Area Technical Institute, where I work, and I was almost past the Cosmetology Department when I walked by this partially opened locker.I was all the way by the locker when I realized that there was a photo opportunity here. I took my iPhone out and took a few photos but this is the one I liked.No, we don't keep the heads of former students in lockers. But the cosmetology department does store rather good looking "dummy" heads in lockers. I'm sure there is a name for these model heads and I vow to learn it when I am back to teaching tomorrow.
Congratulations!
in people, South Dakota
Last night the city of Watertown, the Watertown Chamber of Commerce and Focus Watertown hosted a celebration for Lake Area Technical Institute (LATI).As you may know, LATI was recently named one of the top five two-year colleges in the United States by the Aspen Insitute.Pictured here is Gary Williams, mayor of Watertown and former Director of LATI.Click here for more photos.
Bling!!!
As some of you know, I teach photography and English at Lake Area Technical institute. Yesterday, at the National Press Club in Washington, DC, our school was named "A Finalist With Distinction" in the first ever Aspen Institute "Prize For Community College Excellence."Though LATI didn't win the grand prize (Valencia Community College of Orlando, Fl. did) we were tied with three other colleges for second place. That's not bad for a small technical school in a small town in a sparsely populated state!I know it's crass to talk about money, but in addition to the nice glass trophy, our school also won $100,000. I wanted to pile stacks of cash around the trophy but decided instead to go with something simple and uncluttered.Can't get enough of this story? Check out these links:KELO TVAspen Institute LATI Story
Out By Lonesome Lake (LATI Festival of Trees Choice)
in Blog, HDR, Nature, Photography, Seasons, South Dakota
One of the good things about my job is that when I give a photo assignment I often go out and do the assignment myself. Such was the case this past weekend. My particular mission was to shoot an HDR photo or two. I have spent about 10 hours on this task and, of the 300 photos I took, I've ended up with one HDR composite that I like. That's not bad for a day's work!I have posted an HDR (High Dynamic Range) to this blog before but I thought I'd do it again. In simple terms, an HDR photo is really one or more photos of the exact same subject with varying exposures layered on top of each other and adjusted so the whole photo is well exposed - from the very bright to the very dark.In the case of today's photo, if I had exposed for the beautiful morning sky, the grass in the foreground would have been barely visible. And if I'd exposed for the foreground, the sky would have been washed out. I must admit that the way I've done HDR so far has an element of the surreal in it. And I like that.Incidentally, this photo has been selected as this year's choice for my LATI Festival of Trees donation. It will be among many things that are donated and offered during the silent auction for the annual LATI scholarship fundraiser on November 18 at the Ramkota.Finally, if you are still reading this, you may be seriously interested in HDR. If that's true, go here to see a YouTube video I made on this subject.
On Location
Here are a few of my favorite people in one of my favorite places. The place: the old Redlin farmstead 15 miles north of Watertown. The people: Kendra, Sara, Ashley, McKenzie, Kelly, Holly and Alli (sitting). These are 6 of my second year Photo/Media students at LATI and one of my first year students (Alli). The occasion was an on-location portrait shoot.When I was doing senior portraits, I used to bring my subjects out to this old farm all the time. I liked the many looks that the buildings could give a portrait but I also liked how I could find spots with good light that were also protected from the wind. Wind is rarely an outdoor portrait artist's friend, especially with females. And in South Dakota, windy days are more common than calm ones.I had a good time on the day I took this photo but I think most of my students got better results than I did, which is what I would hope for.
Minneapolis Moline
in people
Being a city kid, I hadn't paid much attention to tractors but I'm not surprised that, just as there is with makes of cars, there is tremendous brand loyalty to certain kinds of tractors.If you asked Carl Tesch, diesel instructor at Lake Area Technical Institute, which tractor was best, I'm sure he would say, "Minneapolis Moline." Evidence of this is that he's got a multitude of them on his farm north of Watertown.Last night we were invited to his place for a gathering of several past and present LATI instructors and he let my wife, Deb, drive one. I'm not sure that she had ever driven a tractor solo but she seems to look like she's done this before. Maybe in another life?Check back tomorrow for a post about our cuisine at the gathering: it's called "pitchfork fondue."