Luke Hansen Photography

Scott and Caitlin Engagements Round 2!

2012-02-13T10:12:00.006-07:00

So when you're my brother, you get extra engagements!

I've really been into jump photos lately. I think there's something about asking someone to jump in the air that shows a fun part of their personality. Back in the day, photographer Philippe Halsman asked celebrities to jump. Everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Richard Nixon to British Royalty. Click here to see some of his stuff.

So the next you'll see of Scott and Caitlin is during their bridal photos. Ah Yeah!

Scott & Caitlin Engagements - Salt Lake City, Utah

2012-01-31T19:38:00.006-07:00

Say hello to Scott and Caitlin. Scott just happens to be my little brother, and he's lucky he found Caitlin. She's already survived our family for the last year, which says a lot! If she can do that, she can do anything!

Here are our photos from Liberty Park, in Salt Lake City.

Going away...

...and coming back.

I don't normally edit photos to look like this, but I had to put this last photo in because it looked so 1970's to me. Her knee high boots and his shirt. I'm sure there's a photo out there that looks similar to this from 40 years ago.

To view the entire session, and order prints, Click Here!

Chase & Janiece - Engagements - Salt Lake City, Utah

2012-01-23T09:28:00.005-07:00

I loved these first few in black and white. Shot at the International Peace Gardens in Salt Lake.

From hopping over the fence, to trudging through the snow, this was a fun shoot!

To see everything we did, and order prints, click here!

Ava and Tess at Thanksgiving Point

2012-01-17T10:48:00.005-07:00

Since graduating, I've taken on more of a stay at home dad job during the day. My wife has actually got a job as a photographer during the day! I'll continue to shoot weddings, which I'm starting to love doing more and more, but in the meantime, I'll have a lot of time with my two girls. Time that I didn't really have during the past two years. Because of all the time we'll be spending together, you'll probably see a lot of shots of Ava and Tess.

While we took these two photos, the tractor was waiting to take down the stack. The guy was nice enough to wait for us!

Annie the Musical

2012-01-12T11:34:00.000-07:00

A couple of months ago I shot Olympus High School's musical Annie Jr. They had to call it Annie jr. because of some sort of copyright issue, but I really liked the way the show turned out. It was entertaining and well done. Never mind the fact that I've had the song "It's a hard knock life" in my head since October...and not the Jay Z version either.

This was fun for me to see because I attended Olympus High, and I also was in the musicals. The director is still the same and she is just as awesome as I remember her. The show brought back some fun memories.

Stage performances are pretty difficult to shoot. Between the lights dimming, spotlights that come on and off, and the difference in light from one side of the stage to the other, the lighting is changing constantly! On top of that, you have to keep on your toes for any action that is happening on the stage. And on top of that, you have to do it from one seat because you are surrounded by a packed audience of elementary students (it was basically a dress rehearsal for the actors). All in all, it's fun to see a good production.

My Passionate Daughter

2012-01-10T10:50:00.004-07:00

I live with three very passionate women. Between my two daughters and my wife, there is no lack of emotion!

A couple of weeks ago, we took our girls to downtown Salt Lake to see the lights. While we were there, we got this photo progression, showing the passion of my youngest daughter Tess. As a young boy walked in between me with the camera and the girls posing for a photo, Tess wanted to let that boy know her displeasure. Enjoy.

I don't know why I kept shooting, but I'm glad I did.

Jason & Michelle's Wedding - Pleasant Grove, Utah

2012-01-04T21:21:00.003-07:00

Another great December wedding!

This was December 17th. The weather in Utah is so odd this year.

This kid had such a great face, he had to make the blog!

Genesis 1:28 - And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth...

Instead of ripping the saran wrap, he just opened and closed the doors around it!

Jason and Michelle, I had a great time shooting your wedding! Thanks!

To view photos from the entire day, and to order prints, Click Here!

Brandon & Emily's Wedding - Salt Lake City, Utah

2012-01-02T07:06:00.000-07:00

This was a beautiful wedding. Please enjoy!

Some of the kids at the reception were having a competition to see who could jump down the most stairs...

I had a great time shooting this wedding. Yes, it was a cold day, but Brandon and Emily found a way to make it look great! Thanks for the opportunity to be a part of your day!

Believe it or not, Brandon is a pretty dang good musician. Check out some of his work on iTunes by clicking here.

To view all of the photos from the day, and to order prints, Click Here!

Favorites of 2011 - Sports

2011-12-29T12:46:00.012-07:00

I absolutely loved shooting sports this year. Being on the field and court made me feel like I was part of the action. There's no better feeling than being prepared with the right equipment, in the right place, with the right settings, and then getting lucky with the action falling into my frame. I love that.

Here are my favorite Sports shots of 2011. Everything from Football to Women's Rugby.

Football

Utah Blaze

Game winning catch against Utah State - Here's the video

BYU Offensive Coordinator Brandon Doman yelling at Jake Heaps and the BYU offense. Interesting photo, now that Heaps has transferred to Kansas. It's rumored he left the team because of a strained relationship with the coaching staff and players. Rumored.

These last two were Kyle Van Noy's forced fumble and recovery at the Ole Miss game. It was the game winning touchdown. I still learned a valuable lesson that day. Always know how much space you have on your memory card. This was the last frame I got of the play because I ran out of space! Here's the link to the video of the play.

Who could forget the phenomenon that was Riley Nelson's hair?

I love this shot because it shows Bronco Mendenhal's love for his players.

Basketball

You got Jimmered

Crazy face smash

Former Utah Jazz player Ronnie Price going in for a huge dunk during a pro scrimmage at Salt Lake Community College

BYU Golf

Soccer

Karate Chop to the butt!

Identical injuries

Monsoon header

Guarding the valuables (you know, the goal...)

Prima Donna doesn't like what the ref has to say

Red card for the ute

Women's Rugby

Track and Field

The epic Utah State Mullett

Bending over backwards - Take that Brent Brown!

On the Water

My wife surfing it up

Burraston Ponds in Mona, Utah

The Flow Rider at Provo Beach Resort

Surfer in San Diego

High School State Diving Championships

Favorites of 2011 - Photojournalism

2011-12-28T10:02:00.007-07:00

I love photojournalism. It has forced me out into the world to see what is happening in my community. Would I have driven up to Salt Lake just to wait in line in the hot sun to hear Mitt Romney speak outside of a burger joint for about 5 minutes, had I not been paid to go shoot it? Probably not, but I'm glad I went because it was a great experience. That's why I love this type of photography.

Here are my photojournalism favorites from 2011:

Mitt Romney speaks in Salt Lake

Soldiers come home from Afghanistan

People view art at the MET in New York

Condoleezza Rice visits BYU

Tourists "experience" the Bull at Wall Street in New York

Bon Jovi rocks Energy Solutions Arena in Salt Lake City

A hang glider at point of the mountain

Jazz fans react to the news that Jimmer was going to Sacramento, not to Utah.

Lord Voldemort waits in line all day to watch the final Harry Potter movie

New firework laws in Utah were awesome this year!

LaVell Edwards Stadium gets a paint job

A man falls asleep on day 2 of Education Week at BYU

BYU Head Coach Bronco Mendenhal speaks in Tupelo Mississippi during a fireside

"Free Beer for BYU Fans" Tailgating at "The Grove" at Ole Miss

The small dejected tooth mascot of the BYU pre-dental club

Soldiers listen to prayer during a 9/11 memorial service in Sandy, Utah

Elder Uchtdorf gets Jimmered

Darth Vader takes a leisurely stroll in Orem, Utah

A horse gets a mouth full

The UVU Drumline

The Ghostbuster gets Busted

LDS General Conference

The J. Ruben Clark Law Building at BYU

True Blue Sports during BYU's Homecoming week

Since I've graduated from BYU, I wont be shooting photojournalism as much, but I'm always looking for the opportunity. I had a great time with my experience at BYU's paper, "The Daily Universe."

Favorite Photos of 2011 - Landscapes

2011-12-27T13:25:00.004-07:00

It seems like everyone on TV and radio seems to be doing a year in review this week, and I'm going to follow suit. Since I've had a pretty diverse photography year, I'm separating my favorites into different categories. Today's category is Landscapes. So here are my favorites from this past year.

Arches National Park, Utah

Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

Cypress Hills Provincial Park, Alberta Canada

Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada

Red Rock Recreation Area, Utah

Rattlesnake Lake, Alberta, Canada

Cathedral Gorge State Park, Nevada

New York City, New York

So there you go! I had a fun time making photographs while out traveling in 2011.

Merry Christmas

2011-12-23T10:07:00.002-07:00

I shot these about a month ago before they closed the gardens at Thanksgiving Point. These are part of a new sculpture garden added to the gardens. They are about the life of Christ, and each sculpture depicts an event in the Savior's life. I thought these would be a good post for Christmas weekend.

There are three full size sculptures right now and there are models of how the others will look full size later. I shot this for a feature the Daily Universe did on the sculptures. When the gardens open up in the spring, go check them out.

Have a great Christmas!

The Messy Girl

2011-12-21T10:21:00.002-07:00

So I had this idea to show off how tough our 9 year old linoleum flooring was in our kitchen in a photo. While I may have accomplished that goal, one things for certain. The girls loved the excuse to make a huge mess with permission.

Here's how we set it up. Moved the table around, used an umbrella and a softbox, and a white board on the opposite side for fill. I stood on the table and looked down.

First Presidency Christmas Devotional 2011

2011-12-19T07:05:00.000-07:00

It's sad to think that this was my last assignment for the Daily Universe. So very glad to be graduated, but at the same time, sad to be leaving such a great job and amazing experiences.

George's Christmas Photos

2011-12-14T07:14:00.000-07:00

I love his loaf in this photo.

To view the entire session, and order prints, Click Here!

Emily & Brandon Bridals/Groomals - Salt Lake City, Utah

2011-12-12T15:59:00.005-07:00

We started out our day in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building and got this shot. It's always nice to do a bridal/groomal session. On the wedding day, there are so many other things that demand the attention of the bride and groom, and taking time to get great photos, in a less stressful environment is a great thing to do.

I'm looking forward to shooting their wedding day this Friday.

To view the entire session, and order prints, Click Here.

Sports Photos For Sale!

2011-12-09T10:56:00.003-07:00

Looking for a gift for Christmas for your husband, son, dad, or anyone else? I have made 54 of my favorite sports photos available for purchase! I've had a lot of people ask me for photos of Jimmer, so I decided to make that available, plus a few others. Here are some examples of what you'll see:

I have BYU Football and Basketball photos, Real Salt Lake, and a couple random Jazz and Blaze photos.

Click Here To View All 54

Swallowed by the Book of Mormon

2011-12-08T07:34:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, the BYU Daily Universe wrote a story about students who attended BYU but were not members of The Church of Jesus Christ of latter-day saints. It was a story about how some of them feel surrounded by people that want to convert them at every turn. We wanted to do a photo illustration that would be an attention grabber for the story, and this is what I came up with.

This isn't the greatest photoshop job, but it gets the point across. Ultimately it didn't make the paper because it was thought that it might ruffle too many feathers in the BYU community.

Michelle & Jason's Bridals and Groomals - Pleasant Grove, Utah

2011-12-06T07:14:00.000-07:00

Don't be fooled! This was a frigidly cold day! They made it look like a summer day (with the exception of the snow on the mountains...)

To view the entire session, and to order prints, Click Here!

BYU Basketball vs Oregon - Energy Solutions Arena, Salt Lake City, Utah

2011-12-05T14:25:00.009-07:00

Since I wasn't in Hawaii to cover the Football game, I went up to Salt Lake and shot a fun and exciting basketball game instead.

Zylstra

Winder

Loud fans

Face Smash. This wasn't called as a foul, fyi.

I love looking at the diversity of the fans in the background of this photo. The Amish beard, the giddy girl, the bored cheerleaders, the even more bored espn cord holder on the bottom right.

Rogers

Davies

Rogers

Elder Russell M Nelson

Abouo over a guy in pain.

Harrison

Jimmer walked by.

Davies

Winder (His name is pronounced NOT like the Dairy by the way)

Struggle and face smash #2

Zylstra

Austin. This photo looks like the giant falling down from the beanstalk.

Abouo

Zylstra celebrating a 3 pointer

Every kid in the world seems to love Cosmo, except for my 3-year-old. She's terrified of him!

Abouo's body looks so odd in this photo that I had to put this in.

Great shot of victory and defeat.

Zylstra

Face Smash #3

Abouo fade away

Hartsock can shoot with his eyes closed.

Abouo fighting his way to the basket.

BYU Head Coach Dave Rose held on to that ball until he felt he got his point across to the ref.

A Davies Dunk, I was just at the wrong side.

Abouo layup. One of my favorites from the night.

This shot makes it look like Oregon's #33 swatted that ball to Canada, but he missed.

Rogers

Jimmer watching the double digit Cougar win.

Michelle's Bridals - A Preview

2011-12-02T08:06:00.001-07:00

Here's a quick shot from Michelle's bridal session. Full blog post on her session coming on Monday!

BYU Baseball Donates Equipment

2011-12-01T07:06:00.001-07:00

Recently, I was given the assignment from The Daily Universe to get a shot of BYU Baseball players with equipment that was going to be donated to kids in the Dominican Republic. Instead of getting a shot of the players standing next to the equipment, I had them pick up as many bats as they could hold and then get a shot of them that way. Admittedly, it's not the most amazing photograph in the world, but I think it got the point across, and it was better than just having them stand there. I also had them sit in a box of baseball gloves, but I liked the way this turned out better, although the photo with the gloves is the one that ran in the paper!

Wacom Tablet Still Life

2011-11-29T09:23:00.003-07:00

This was an interesting still life to set up. You'd like to think that pen is put in after in photoshop, wouldn't you...

Who needs photoshop when you can use fishing line suspended from a bar above?! When you are shooting still life, fishing line becomes your best friend. It is so small, that it basically disappears when you are shooting in the studio.

Doing it this way seems like it would be harder than putting it in later in photoshop, but its actually easier because it doesn't take that much time to set up, and you get a great shadow from the pen across the tablet that would take a while to make a believable shadow on photoshop.

Here's the look of how it was set up in the studio. Used a plexiglass sweep, a softbox to light the tablet, and three lights to wash out the background and the surface directly under the tablet.

Times Square

2011-11-28T07:00:00.001-07:00

Make sure you click on the image to make it bigger!

I shot this back in March when I was in New York last. I made this image by stitching together 12 vertical images together. When I was in New York, I put my camera on the tripod and moved the camera in a complete circle, stopping every inch and got a shot. It's a pretty simple shot to accomplish, you just need to go out and try it!

BYU Basketball vs Prairie View A&M - Provo, Utah

2011-11-23T07:17:00.000-07:00

Editing my photos can sometimes be comical. For example in this shot above, why is that guy turned away from the action? He's in the air with the two actually fighting for the ball, and he's got his arms up, but he just looks out of place! I'm sure he was going for the ball 0.002 seconds before I got this shot, but it just looks funny!

Oh, here's where BYU guard Anson Winder fights for the ball with President Palmer from "24," (or if you weren't a 24 watcher, the guy on the Allstate commercials, no not the Mayhem guy, the other one. That Mayhem is hilarious!)

Again, here's another example of guys that are out of place! What's #32 doing? Everyone in the frame is looking at the ball, but what are you doing, 32?

Stephen Rogers had a great game. I think he tied his career high points in this game.

Ninja kick layup?

BYU Basketball team, Nacho approves your work.

Ava at Pictureline

2011-11-22T07:17:00.001-07:00

This was a test shot of a new Nikon 50mm lens I purchased at Pictureline a couple of weeks ago. I needed to see how it worked, so I had Ava look into the camera. She's such a cute little kid that I had to put it on. Taken inside Pictureline, my settings were ISO 1250, 1/80 of a sec., f/1.8

The reason I purchased this new lens was because my old lens was damaged after it lost an epic battle with my 3 year old. (See image below) It cracked the filter, which by itself wouldn't be a big deal, but it also pushed the body of the lens into itself and it wouldn't focus after that. It would have cost about the same to fix it than to purchase another one, and it's my favorite lens, so to Pictureline we went to get a new one. They take care of us there.

BYU Football vs New Mexico State - Provo, Utah

2011-11-21T06:37:00.000-07:00

The final BYU football home game of the 2011 season, and sadly, my last as a photographer for the Daily Universe. I certainly have gained a lot of experience and had a great time doing it in my two seasons covering Cougar Football.

In the past two seasons, I've gone to the midfield coin toss trying to get this shot. Finally got it!

I include this shot, because it was ruled a complete pass on a 3rd and long for New Mexico. Doesn't look complete to me!

These two (above and below) are of the New Mexico QB getting smashed by Jamison Frazier, forcing a fumble.

That's Kariya at the bottom of the pile, stretching the ball across the line for the Cougar's first touchdown of the night.

BYU defense celebrating after a sack.

Cody Hoffman trying to catch a long ball from Jake Heaps.

Look at this shot, above first, and then to the one below. They are together.

This would have been a great shot, had it not of been for that dang ref! You can't win them all!

These next 3 are in sequence. BYU RB Bryan Kariya is in the bottom, moving backwards, while more and more defenders jump on. He continued to push the pile forward.

The next few are of Ross Apo's first touchdown of the night.

That's Kyle Van Noy wearing Pendleton's jersey. Pendleton is a senior and hurt his knee and is out for the season. Van Noy wore his jersey as a tribute to him.

Apo's second touchdown of the night. I love the first shot.

The Daily Universe is going to be doing a story on BYU backup QB James Lark. He receives all of the offensive play calls from the box, and sends them out to Heaps.

Matt Marshall touchdown sequence

Favorite shot of the night, right there.

This was the defense's second forced fumble of the night.

These next 3 contain a back story. Tight end Matt Edwards is playing in his final home game as a senior. He's the grandson of Legendary BYU coach LaVell Edwards. These next three shots are of his FIRST catch as a cougar, and it just happened to be a touchdown! Kind of a cool Rudy story.

Since it was senior night, all of the players stayed on the field after the game, and all of the seniors were honored. These final shots are of Bronco with his players.

McKay Jacobson

Matt Reynolds

Hebron Fangupo. I got some great shots of that guy this year, and this is a good one to end them on. Bronco definitely loves his players, and you can see that in this image.

I'm really going to miss shooting BYU Football. I'd really love opportunities to do them again, but in the crazy world of photojournalism, you never know where you'll end up! Only time will tell.

Utah Engagements - Brandon & Emily

2011-11-17T10:06:00.005-07:00

These two look like models, and they made 30 degree weather and snowfall look good!

To view the entire event, and to order prints, Click Here!

BYU Basketball vs BYU-Hawaii - Provo, Utah

2011-11-16T07:25:00.000-07:00

The Cougars vs the Seasiders. Here we go.

This was a player on BYU-Hawaii that was throwing in the ball, I looked down and saw this.

BYU President Cecil O Samuelson giving the student section a thumbs up.

This was during a time out when BYU-Hawaii made a dramatic comeback from being 24 points down to 19 points down. Head Coach Dave Rose was pretty upset about something.

Davies scored a career high 25 points.

Let's play name those legs!

Did you get any right, because I don't think I did?!?

BYU Dominated this whole game. It was nice to see them win after a collapse in Logan last weekend.

The Matern Family - Saltair, Utah

2011-11-15T07:17:00.002-07:00

This was one of the windiest shoots I've ever had! A storm was coming in and hair was flying everywhere! But we had a great time and got some great shots. The location was also a lot of fun to play with.

This old abandoned train car is fun, but not the easiest to walk in, especially in high heels!

Next to the abandoned train car is an old building where every square inch has seen some graffiti. There's also been a few bon fires inside and there's broken glass everywhere. In other words, if I had my 5 and 3 year old kids in that building, I would have been saying "Don't touch that!" on a loop. It's not your traditional fall leaves background, but it is very interesting and I enjoyed shooting there.

I let the kids decide where they wanted to get their portraits taken and she chose under the train. I thought that was awesome!

This was such a colorful post that this last photo almost didn't make it in, but I really loved the way it looked.

Thanks for braving the wind and cold! I feel it was worth it!

To view the entire event, and to order prints, Click Here!

BYU Football vs Idaho - Provo, Utah

2011-11-14T07:17:00.000-07:00

Here are my favorite 34 images of the 546 I took from the BYU football game vs Idaho.

Riley Nelson running

JJ DiLuigi being tackled

Cody Hoffman catching a touchdown pass from Nelson

Riley Nelson walking off the field after getting hit while throwing the touchdown pass. He then went to the hospital to treat, what people are saying, is a broken rib. He doesn't look hurt to me!

Spencer Hadley posing for the crowd

Brandon Ogletree yelling

Girls with crazy blue faces

Hoffman evading a tackle

Hoffman getting tackled

Celebration of Kariya's touchdown. I like the water drops in this photo.

An Idaho Vandal being tackled

Defense celebrating a tackle

Kyle Van Noy posing for the camera

Ross Apo missing a catch

Michael Alisa breaking away for a touchdown

Uona Kaveinga

Alisa with a huge hole to run through

Bored BYU fan who's cold

Heaps' interception

Heaps under center

Apo's touchdown

He looked so bored with he got this touchdown. Just bored.

Thought this was somewhat funny

Junior running back David Foote

3rd string QB James lark got a quarter and a half of playing time.

This dude won a Lamborghini during half time from Maverick gas stations. A dang Lamborghini! Maverick is Adventure's first stop...

All in all, this was a fun game. Got a little boring in the fourth quarter, but still fun to be there. I wasn't near as cold as I thought I would be. I was wearing 4 layers of pants and 6 layers of tops. Worked out great!

Generations Project

2011-11-11T08:35:00.003-07:00

These are part of a fine art project that I'm working on right now. They are very simple portraits when viewed individually, but when you put four together, they become very interesting. You start to compare the eyes, the noses, the mouths, the chins, the hair, the forehead, everything. (Click on the images to make them bigger to really see the differences) I started this project because I noticed that people would look at a new born baby and say to the mom, "She has your eyes," or "He looks like your husband." Then I thought, it would be fun to show the genetic progression between generations.

I'll be working on this project for 2 and a half more weeks, and then I'll be putting them all up on a wall somewhere on BYU's campus. So if you know of anyone that has 4 or 5 generations of just men or just women, and you think they'd be interested in modeling for me, let me know quickly!

The Harman Family - Saratoga Springs, Utah

2011-11-10T09:55:00.007-07:00

This was a windy and cold day, but the kids kept it together long enough to get some good shots.

To view the entire event, and to order prints, Click Here!

iPod Evolution

2011-11-09T09:00:00.002-07:00

So Here's how I did this:

I shined Profoto 4 heads on a white wall to blow out the background, and then flagged off everything with the black dividers except for the area that I needed open to prevent lens flare.

Here's how I got the white reflective surface: Table, white butcher paper placed on top, then place a big piece of plexi glass on top of that. So that way I was able to get the plexi to pick up the white, instead of the brown table top.

This is a pretty good way to get a white blown out background when shooting in still life in the studio. It's pretty simple, but effective.

Pro Player Charity Challenge - Salt Lake Community College

2011-11-08T08:23:00.000-07:00

This game was pretty much the Utah Jazz vs Jimmer. Jimmer had some good players on his team, but given that the season might not be happening this year, Jimmer and Jazz fans flocked to Bruin Arena at Salt Lake Community College to see the action.

I did say that this game was Jazz vs Jimmer, but it was also a huge dunk fest. Most of the images below will illustrate that.

Jimmer warming up

Utah Jazz player Jeremy Evans warming up. He was pretty entertaining all night.

Jimmer and NBA veteran, and current New York Knicks player, Chauncey Billups.

This was a crazy in game dunk progression from Ronnie Price (Jazz)

CJ Miles (Jazz)

Ronnie Price again. This shot was taken during warm ups.

Jimmer for a lay up

Jimmer's shoe came off and he had to play like this until he could get the ref's attention to stop the game.

Charlotte Bobcats forward Corey Maggette

Oklahoma City Thunder Rookie Elijah Millsap. He is also Paul Millsap's brother who plays for the Jazz.

Chauncey Billups

Portland Trailblazer guard, and former Jazz player, Wesley Matthews being guarded by Al Jefferson of the Jazz. There are a lot of Jazz fans that wish we still had Wesley Matthews. He's a good player and had a lot of fans cheering for him last night.

I don't know who this is, but he's on the Jazz...

Jazz power forward Derrick Favors

Elijah Millsap

Jeremy Evans

First round draft pick for the Jazz - Alec Burke. He looked pretty good as well. Their other first rounder, Enes Kanter was there and played only in the first quarter. I did get some shots of him, but nothing that was blog worthy.

Stephen Curry from Golden State. He looked good as well.

This game was kind of thrown together for the media. Usually they have printed out stat sheets and credentials will be easy to find, but at SLCC they were a little disorganized. They pulled it together though and it all worked out. This last photo is the hand written line up from the stats guy at the scores table. I needed something to reference when writing my captions for the paper!

All in all, it was a fun game. Basketball fans were able to satisfy their cravings for some NBA Basketball. It's too bad the season isn't happening...

The Fullmer Family - Millcreek Canyon, Utah

2011-11-07T07:17:00.001-07:00

On October 29th the trees are all bare in the canyon. Keep that in mind next year if you are wanting family photos with autumn color leaves ON the trees. Lucky for us, the leaves on the ground still had great color and we used them quite a bit.

To view the entire event, and order prints, Click Here!

BYU Women's Basketball 2011

2011-11-04T07:07:00.000-06:00

BYU Women's Basketball is back. Here are some of my favorites from last night's pre season game vs. Western Oregon.

Alexis Kaufusi here is back. At the beginning of last season she found out that she had cancer. She's overcome it and back on the court.

This photo makes her look like she's got the longest legs in the universe.

The ref saw it all...

She made this shot.

BYU Head Coach Jeff Judkins is happy because they won by 30 or so.

Green Nike Shoes

2011-11-02T07:05:00.000-06:00

A few weeks ago I needed a subject to shoot for a still life assignment and I couldn't think of anything interesting. It was killing me! I'm not really into still life in the first place, but I'm taking it as one of my last classes just so I can learn techniques of lighting products in case I ever need that in the future. Anyway, I went to Nordstrom Rack looking for a new pair of running shoes and found these. $39.95 and bright green. As soon as I saw them, I knew I could use them for my assignment. This is what happened.

This was the setup. I knew that I wanted a green color background, so instead of going through the hassle of trying to get a similar color background, I shot it against white, and added the green color in Photoshop. It was actually very easy. I used two lights to light up my background and light up the bottom of the shoe, and one soft box to cover the rest of the shoe. As you can see from where the soft box is situated, there wasn't as much light on the tongue of the shoe, so I put up a big piece of foam core on the opposite side to fill in the darker parts of the shoe.

Not a very complicated shot to execute. Sometimes, shooting products can be very simple and easy and look good, but other times it can be a small nightmare!

How To Photograph Stars Without Making Them Move!

2011-11-01T07:25:00.002-06:00

So you've probably seen shots of star trails where the stars are turned into white lines that move across the sky, and you've probably seen shots like these where they are still. I've shot both and they are completely different to shoot. Since the photos below are all shots of stars that aren't moving, I'll explain how to make a photo like these.

So first, pick a landscape scene that would look good against a night sky. Shooting just the stars and nothing else is pretty, but not very interesting. Also, I shot these in Arches National Park, where there aren't any cities close and the stars are super bright. I lucked out on this trip because I was there during a new moon, so moonlight wasn't an issue either.

Next, you need to set your ISO pretty high. This will make your sensor very sensitive to light, and will allow you to flood the sensor with every inch of light much quicker than having a low ISO. The downside is that you loose some quality in the image at 5000 ISO vs 100 ISO, and the image will be grainy, but these things can be overcome with digital photo editing software (I use Lightroom 3 and love it). I shot these photos at 5000 ISO.

Your Aperture will need to be wide open. I shot these at f/3.5 (the widest this lens could go).

Your shutter speed is what you'll need to experiment with. I shot all of these at around 1 minute.

And that's how you do it. I recognize that most people don't have a camera that can go up to 5000 ISO and most don't have cable releases to get their shutter speed past 30 seconds, but you can find a way to make it happen! Go out there and experiment with your camera! If your highest ISO is 1600, try it at that setting! The main point is to go out there and practice and try to make it happen!