Khwisero

The book Khwisero was created over the 2011 summer as I traveled to Khwisero, Kenya as a member of Engineers Without Borders (also known as EWB). This book is a documentation of all the work EWB has done with schools in the Khwisero district. It contains portraits of all the head teachers of the schools EWB have implemented projects at. It also contains pictures of all the projects as well as the history of EWB’s work in Khwisero. The club can use the book for many purposes. They’ve already started to use it as a teaching tool for new members. The book was created in a platform that allows for additions to be added to the book by future members and the book can continue to be a valuable resource for the club as long as they see fit.

Homeless Vietnam Vet

An image I captured this last Spring 2011 on my way to the Senior Photo Show. This is a homeless Vietnam veteran in Bozeman, MT. He was a very nice man who was rather ashamed of his status but didn’t want any help.

Taken with a Pentax 6X7.

Kenya

HELLO

Checking myself for sunburns - looking sharp

Here's a few of my digital images from my trip this summer. I was in the Khwisero district in Kenya for a month documenting EWB- MSU (Engineers Without Borders) work there over the past five years. I'm making a book for them. It was quite the experience. I learned a lot and grew as a photographer as well as a person. I used my digital mainly for my project and took my fun shots with my Yashica. Still gotta develop all that film!!! Feel free to tell me what you think.

Khwisero

Secondary boys watching tank lowering- I like the one looking at me

Discussion at EWB's office in Khwisero

Child in a tree with Machete

Composting latrine meeting

Child with Machete

Child with Machete

Head teacher of Ebuhonga

Children at Ebuhonga

Children at Ebuhonga

Piki

Eyeglass clinic at Mundeku

Two children returning to Mundeku Primary

Texas helping lower a water tank at Ekatsumbaro

Children surrounding me as I sit down at Emwiru

Pony asking the kids "Sup?"

EWBer's and a couple Kenyan's watch Star Wars on my laptop

4th of July Celebration with Jackson's family

My First 4x5 Fuji Instant Stripped Negatives

So I head off to Kenya in the morning (with a 9 day layover in Europe) and I wanted to get in one more post before I left. Here are my first "4x5 Fuji Instant Stripped Negatives." I loves it. It was so awesome doing the whole process. Reminded me of the feeling of developing my first roll of film. Thanks to Joey Early for teaching it to me. He is a great friend and one of the awesomest influences of my work lately. You can check out his work on his personal blog here.

My very first. Of course my shutter drug and ended up overexposing it. I dropped it off at the repair shop yesterday to get it fixed while I'm off traveling.

(The blotches on a couple of them are marks from developer accidentally getting on the negative. Lesson learned.)

My fave. Joey Early. 

On another note, I've been pretty happy with the portraiture push I've been doing. I'll try to do an update while I'm traveling, but I wouldn't count on it!

       Peace, love, empathy

My New Nikon AF 50mm

Decided to purchase a f1.8 50mm lens for my trip to Kenya this summer. Here's just a couple of my first shots I've taken with it. I've been playing with my ISO as well for a little practice for more difficult lighting situations in Kenya. 

*The two pictures in the car are actually with my 10-24mm

Tried to capture it at 1/13. Couldn't quite pull it off.....

Shots from April

Didn't have time to dust these but I wanted to put them up anyways. Really busy with school and preparations for my trip to Kenya in a couple weeks. Forced the time for scanning these into my schedule because I couldn't stand looking at them just sitting there collecting dust. 

Hugs not drugs.

Dead Bird

Joey Early

Mark A. Lee

Scratch Ticket

Traffic Cones

Spring Sky

My Squashed Fruit Gum Project

Here's a small version of my Gum prints I did for my final. The process I printed them in is called Gum (Gum Bichromate). You first make 3 digital negatives for the image (you split the image in Photoshop into it's three colors red, green, and blue). For each negative there is a corresponding color of gum which you have to print it with. The three colors of gum you use are yellow, blue, and red. The average layers on the prints below is about 6. It takes approximately an hour to do each layer. Most of the time is spent waiting on the print to finish washing. I spent over 40 hours printing all of these. It was a really interesting experience and the more I printed the more I learned. I shot the pictures with my Yashica 124-G and scanned the film (Expired Fuji 160)

For those more interested in the concept, the project was a reaction to Edward Weston's "Nature Series"

 Hope you enjoy them!

Squashed Apple

Squashed Banana

Squashed Eggplant

Squashed Grapefruit

Squashed Orange

Squashed Red Pepper

Squashed Tomato

Squashed Watermelon

Squashed Yellow Pepper