Palm Tree

Palm Tree By Esther Michelle Photography Jan. 23, 2010

Went to Mountasia Fun Center and was miniature golfing with Adam because he loves it. But quite frankly it's not my favorite thing, so I entertained myself with taking pictures. :b

Palm trees are what everyone expects to see around SoCal. But in truth, there aren't really that many around Santa Clarita Valley. Non-the-less they are still beautiful and a blue sky as a backdrop doesn't hurt either. :]

Click here to view pictures from other adventures.

-Esther Michelle

Stop Sign & Joshua Tree

Stop Sign By Esther Michelle Photography Jan. 9th, 2010.
Cross Roads, Adelanto, California.
Taken with my new Canon 35mm Rebel Ti. :D

I went to my grandma's 80th Birthday, where allllll my family---on my grandma's side--got together for the first time in 15 years! That probably makes us sound like some dysfunctional family that doesn't like each other. But we do have get-together's every year, but there's always a couple people, that have to work, or can't fly in, or whatever it may be. It was a very touching time. She[Grandma] has been going through chemotherapy, and radiation because she has cancer, which we found out about a week later that she is cancer free! :D
And on top of all of that, I've been going through a lot of different things in my life, where I've had to make decision that I really didn't want to make. And so while we were at my grandparents Adam[my best friend], Ruth Ann[my little sister] and I went on a walk to take some photographs. We always walk down to this one place which is about three or more blocks from their house. And that is where I took this picture, on my lovely Christmas present, a Canon Rebel Ti 35mm. :D
This picture personally means quite a bit to me, not only because of the memories I've shared at Grandma's house and at this intersection, but also through my own personal cross roads, and having to make tough decisions. I must have looked extremely awkward while I took this picture, because I was standing but hunching over and leaning every which way to get this angle. I really wanted to show the old telephone lines going off in the distance, plus have the huge newer one tucked behind/under/on-the-side-of the sign. Sometimes, although what your use too, and comfortable with runs down one street, you have make a turn and trust that it works out for the best. Which is why I really wanted to make sure the road was noticeable a intersection, and not just a straight-away. So I took it at and angle to the sign and the intersection, instead of just looking straight down the road, and I included all the dirt at the bottom so you could see how the road curved. I also tried to get that little bit of where the road turned on the opposite side of the turn, so it was a little more defined.

Normally I only blog one picture, just because it's simpler and then you can go to my flickr to view the rest. But this time I really wanted to put both in this blog. Both aren't just pictures to me, they are both meaningful and unique.

Joshua Tree By Esther Michelle Photography Jan. 9th, 2010.
A very special Joshua tree, Adelanto, California.
Taken with my new Canon 35mm Rebel Ti. :D

This tree, may seem like just some huge over grown Joshua Tree, that is falling apart and dying. But to me, it isn't just some tree. It's the tree that my sibling, cousins and I would walk down to and climb on, take pictures with, and hang out at. We've know for a year or two, that it's falling apart, but it's still our tree none the less. Since our last pictures the big branch that we would always sit/climb/lean on to take pictures at has fallen off, and is crumbled at the foot of the tree, mixed in with tumble weeds, dirt, and anything else that can survive the desert. Plus the branch that is in that back, is fallen and is just kind of hanging there, which is sorta hard to tell in this picture. I wanted to make the tree look special, to look like an individual, a one of a kind, to look big, strong, and yet fragile, and delicate.

:]

Hope you enjoyed, view more Esther Michelle Photography here.


Ohh! p.s. I changed my logo, I don't know for sure if this is the permanent one. But let me know what you think. :D

Beach

Beach By Esther Michelle Photography 2009-12-14
A simply beautiful beach, Carpinteria, California.

Often times I take California for granted. I always want to travel and go see the world and all the beautiful things it holds. But there is all this beauty sitting right under my nose waiting to be found and appreciated .:]

One thing I love about California is the beach. Sure, the water could be a little warmer, but what other place in the world can you go to the beach on December 14th, and get a tan, and of course capture some amazing shots like these?

I took quite a few pictures, but click here to view some of my favorites. :]

Sunset

Sunset By Esther Michelle Photography 11-12-09
A beautiful sunset, Acton, Cali.
p.s. This photograph is 100% authentic. No photoshop, except for the added border. :]

I was up in Acton the other day, and saw this beauty. I couldn't help but take a picture of it. And..I liked it so much I thought I would share it. :D

Enjoy. :]

View more photos by Esther Michelle!

Cows

Cows By Esther Michelle Photography
11-8-09
...And this is Bakersfield, Cali

This was actually taken on the way home, we missed the turn we were supposed to take and went half a block down the wrong street, and this is what we found. haha. :b
Here, if you went a block too far, you'd find about 3 more liquor stores, and another shopping center--that looks identical to the one a block before it.
So, for all of those out there that feel like they're missing out because they have never been to Bakersfield; you are really not missing much. :]

But in truth, it is a pretty cool place, just don't miss your turn. :b

Check out Esther Michelle Photography!
:D

A Pepper & A Flower

A Pepper By Esther Michelle Photography
11-7-09
A pepper from the garden, Bakersfield, Cali.

"Look, they're kissing!" ♥

Last weekend I went up to visit my sister, Sarah, and her hubby, Sam, in Bakersfield. They on this pretty sweet property so on Saturday morning when I woke up, way too early, I went on an adventure around their place and just had fun taking pictures. They have a garden, but since November isn't really the time for gardens to be ripe with all different kinds of yummy things, this was the only plant that had anything on it. It was a cold, foggy morning; so getting this shot was difficult. But I had a micro lens, and all the time in the world, so I was able to come up with this photograph.
I like it a lot, not only because of the extremely vibrant colors, but the shallow field depth I think really adds to this photograph. :]
I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.
:]

p.s. The quote at the end of the description is a quote from my lovely boyfriend Adam, when he first saw this picture. :b It made me laugh. :] I love how is mind works, everyday it amuses me and puts a smile on my face.

View all of the pictures from my trip, and more here!

And....


Flowers By Esther Michelle Photography
11-7-09
Wild flowers, Bakersfield, Cali

This is my other favorite picture from their garden, I'm pretty sure they are just wild flowers because they were randomly spotted around their garden.
I love the deep purple of this flower, I think it's officially my third favorite color. :]

I have another shot similar to this that is Adam's favorite; check it out here.

Hope you love it. :D
-Esther.

Pumpkin

Pumpkin By Esther Michelle Photography
10-31-09
The Minnie Mouse pumpkin I carved for Halloween, Palmdale, Cali.

For Halloween this year I went with my boyfriend, Adam, to hang out with his aunt and uncle who have a little girl and boy. Their daughter is named Timara, and their son is Sean. Every year for Halloween Adam goes trick-or-treating with them, and this is my second year joining them. Plus, this year their other cousins, Matt and Mary Ann, came down just in time to trick-or-treat too. So it was pretty exciting. :]
Since the little ones [Timara and Sean] were too young to be interested in pumpkin carving, we let them pick out when they wanted and the older ones carved it for them. Well, Timara wanted Minnie Mouse, while Sean wanted Mickey. So I carved Minnie for her, and Adam's aunt and uncle carved Mickey for him.
This is my finished product; I hope you like it. :]
The photograph quality isn't fantastic due to the fact I was shooting outside in the dark with lighting being a fake candle and a dim porch light. I was hoping to just get the candle light showing through the pumpkin be the only light but it was just way to dark and I didn't have a tripod to with me, so I was relying on my own stability for the camera with a 1/4 second shutter speed. And to say the least, I'm not a very still person. :b
Check out more of Esther Michelle Photography at Flickr.com

-Esther. :]

Tunnel

Tunnel By Esther Michelle Photography
10-29-09
Rail-road tunnel, Acton, Cali.

I loved this picture, so I thought I'd share it with you all and see what you think
I took me several tries to get this due to the fact I was inside a tunnel, with absolutely no lights inside. You can see the metal rail-road reflecting the light which I liked a lot. and you can see the silhouette of my boyfriend and best friend, Adam. :] Out side the tunnel is basically all white-washed due to the long exposure time. I took some zoomed in more, but I liked this one the best, so here you go. :]
Enjoy.
View more of my photographs.

-Esther Michelle.

Telephone Pole

Telephone Pole By Esther Michelle Photography
10-28-09
Telephone pole, Canyon Country, Cali.

My photo class ended, which is sad, but I have one more project to share. :]
For my final project I was able to chose my theme. There were still requirements, and restrictions like all the other projects. But for this one we had to pick a topic/theme/thread that could link multiple different photographs together in some way, and then go and take photographs with your chosen theme or thread. It was more in depth then just I chose my dog so I'm going to take ten pictures of my dog. You had to chose something more abstract, and unique; something that would make you think. Like photo items that begin with the letter 'B', or photograph things that portray 'love'.
Well, my idea is a bit different. I chose to photograph all the things that trees have become; all the things we have made out of trees; all of the things that we have been able to do because of wood. And no, I am not some crazy environmentalist breathing down everyone's necks saying the we need to stop cutting down trees.
I thought of it more in the view-point of look how much and how far cutting down trees and using them efficiently has brought us.
I photographed many things, with many different meanings and values. For example, there are telephone poles [like the one I photographed above] that have helped our ability to communicate. Rail-Roads, have brought us so far with transportation, and even economically. The common one, paper, as well as pencils. They have done so much for us. Skateboards are a form of transportation, and are also entertainment. The typical picket fence, makes boundaries, weather it's keeping people in or keeping people out, it is what we make it. Guitars, and a numerous amount of other musical instruments, are made of wood and have brought joy, laughter, and happiness to many people across the world. :]
I almost feel like I'm pitching a campaign for the green party/environmentalists, but I don't mean to be. I mean it more as look at all the things we have been able to do and thrive in because we cut down trees and learned what we can make of them and how they can help us.
:]
Check out the other things I came up with by clicking here.

Ruth Ann

Ruth Ann By Esther Michelle Photography
10-28-09
For the fun of it, Albertsons, Cali.

Ruth Ann, my little sister, and I went to Albertsons, the local grocery store, as well as a couple other place and were just having a good time. I took other pictures but this one made me smile, so I thought I would share it.
I know it's not exactly an award winning photograph but it captures Ruth Ann so perfectly that I can't help but love it. Ruth Ann is always moving, always doing something and having fun and smiling while doing it--it's kind of hard to tell but she is smiling. :] She loves energy drinks and as you can see, doesn't just take one. :b And out of all the many drinks with caffeine and energy, she will always take a Monster over anything else on the self.
Check out the rest of my photography!

Esther. :]

Ronald Reagan

Ronald Reagan By Esther Michelle Photography
10-25-09
The Ronald Reagen Museum, Simi Valley, Cali.

I had to go to a museum, to look at art and eventually write an essay about it. I went to the Ronald Reagan Museum down in Simi Valley, with my boyfriend/best friend, Adam,and my little sister Ruth Ann.
While I was there I took quite a few pictures of all different sorts of things. I was surprised that there was so much variety there. They had airplanes and helicopters, to art and history, they even had a bar, where a was able to capture a fun sort-of self-portrait shot.
The picture above is actually of a wall, which had the words 'Ronald Reagan' posted on the wall as a decoration. The lighting was unbelievably dim, so I took me a while to hold still long enough to get the picture to come out not being blurred. I chose to focus only part of his name to make it more creative and interesting.
There was also a whole wall with all of the presidents signatures on it and I really wanted to photograph it, but my tries failed due to the low lighting and lack of tripod. But it's all good.
Overall, I had a really enjoyable time, and I hope you have an enjoyable time looking at the photographs I took.
View the rest here.
:]

-Esther.

A Day In My Life.

Self-Portrait By Esther Michelle Photography
10-21-09
A classic, Canyon Country, Cali.

So, this week for my photography class, I had to do an individualized documentary on a day in my life. What first came to mind was the classic, in-the-mirror picture. In my head I pictured it with side lighting and quite dark. Since park of the assignment was I had to use natural light and no flash; I decided to wait till it got later in the evening. That way I could get out the Windex, clean my mirror, and use the little bit of sun-light that was shinning in my window. I probably shouldn't have waited as long as I ended up doing, because it almost didn't work. I had to set the aperture really low and I almost still had to have the shutter open for multiple seconds. But I managed to get by with 1/10 of a second and several tries at staying stable even that long. But I eventually happily pulled it off. :]
Go view the rest from this project and others!

Las Vegas.

Sign By Esther Michelle Photography
10-16-09
A random sign along the strip, Las Vegas, Nevada.

Went to Las Vegas with Adam and his dad for the weekend for a old friends wedding. Afterward, we walked along the strip and in different casinos. This is the only night photograph that came out in focus and without blury lights everywhere. Quite frankly, I like it a lot.
Hope you enjoy. :]

Veiw more of my photography.

A Decisive Moment

Adam By Esther Michelle Photography
10-15-09
The park, Canyon Country, Cali.

this assignment for my photography class is titled 'A Decisive Moment'. I have to go to an event and capture ten decisive moments. I ended up going to the park with my boyfriend and little sister, and it turned out to be the perfect event. My little sister went on the swings and I got a few pictures of that as well as some of the both of them playing basket ball.
I put more up on Flickr. Some of them are more 'decisive' then others; but there up there if you wanna take a look.
:]

Compositioin

Teddybear Photoshoot By Esther Michelle Photography
10-9-09
My teddybear, Canyon Country, Cali.

Another interesting assignment in my photography class was to take 100+ pictures of one subject with different locations/backgrounds, lighting, angles, perspectives, textures, shutter-speeds, f/stops, ect, ect, ect..
At first, I had no idea what that one subject should be. But it was Adam's birthday that weekend, and our one and a half year anniversary was coming up. Obviously, he was on my mind; and since he keeps rather busy with work and school--so I couldn't actually photograph him--I decided to photograph the teddybear he made me at Build-A-Bear on our three month. :]
More pictures with the different backgrounds, colors, textures, and angles are on Flickr.
See for yourself. :]