(for each photo) ISO: 800, 1/160 speed, 3.5 F-stop, 28-80 mm lens, +2/3 exposure bias

I never really adjusted the lights through the pictures, they fit rather well. The main and fill light worked quite well to fill in the shadows on Brin’s (hope that’s how you spell your name) face, and by doing so, really highlighted the laugh lines when she smiled or laughed! The only thing I might have changed is the background color, to maybe a grey or white, as Brin’s clothes sort of make her fade into the background, and I can’t decide if that’s a bug or a feature….

Something I like about the background however, is that it really highlights the differences of lighting in her hair! By being a pure-black background, it makes her dark(er) hair color seem more rich and varied, and you can see the waves in her hair really really well!

Overall, I feel like I learned a lot about 3-point lighting and how it can really affect a photo’s quality! I feel like it was well worth the time to experiment with and learn more about!

Of all the things in Duvall that could possibly make it noteworthy, of COURSE CC’s stands high above the rest! If there’s ever a spot to go with friends, it would DEFINITELY be this little ice cream store! I couldn’t in good conscience talk about Duvall without mentioning CC’s. I think that it helps Duvall feel more friendly and is just a great place to find a constantly changing variety of ice cream flavors!

One of the things that is also quite pivotal in Duvall, especially during the summer months, is the river to swim in. Once, I actually swum down so deep, that when I resurfaced, my ears were screwed up, like if I popped them too hard. Quite frequently on the trail, you’ll find people walking their dogs, going for a stroll, or, like me, bike down it! It’s like the little transport hub of Duvall (besides the streets and cars, lol)

One of the most notable features of Duvall is that, no matter where you go, uptown, downtown, ANYWHERE, you’ll always find trees near the houses that people live in. Often times as a child, I’d climb up and hide high up in the trees in my back yard (before they were removed, of course). I have fond memories of using the trees as cover during Nerf wars with friends, evergreen of not. And during the summer and beginning of autumn, we’d have hammocks strung between some of our trees to hang out in, and of course, to swing back and forth til we could see over the fence….. Good times…

Long sidewalks, lots of storefronts, crunchy leaves on the sidewalk, and Christmas lights…. A staple of Duvall in the winter months… No, we don’t lose our leaves in fall, of course, but in NOVEMBER. Autumn is second, colder summer, Winter is Autumn, and then RIGHT at the end, we get ALL our snow at once! >v< Of course, being cold never stopped MY family from getting some CC’s, nor does it stop me from biking. Only rain, snow, or smoke can stop that.

These long, stretching sidewalks offer lots of room for the Halloween activities, summertime parade, and perhaps any other large street activity I’m not aware of. It’s more or less a staple of my Duvall experience, since I go biking somewhat regularly

One thing that’s truly lovely about the river area is how tranquil it is sometimes, it makes for a great space to sit and gather your thoughts. Watching the river rush past, skipping stones, watching dogs play with their owners, listening to the birds angrily chirp at each other during summer, or geese honk overhead, and seeing all the shapes the clouds create in the sky, modifying the area the sun shines on… I don’t know how else to really explain Duvall other than “tranquil, yet energetic.” It’s a place of rest most days, but you better expect that when the weather reaches its extremes, we have plans to make things a TON more fun!

It’s a bit weird to see how my eye for photography has developed over the year (and some extra) that I’ve been learning how to use a camera. I found something good to photograph at every turn, and I often had to stop myself from taking too MANY pictures. There were several strips of road with trees, kids playing in Taylor park, the GIANT downward hill leading downtown… all things I needed to just let slip by for those moments and shots which would truly capture Duvall as it is to me, not as I travel it. I tried to go to the places where I had strong memories tied to, but some of them have been vandalized by spray paint, and others simply don’t mean the same thing to me anymore… Either way, with a standard(ish) 28-80mm lens, I think I captured as much of the essence of Duvall as I could, although I did have another few places in mind. It was too rainy for people to be clambering around the new park, however….. I have a very fond & scary memory of climbing up the side of something that was BARELY meant to be climbed, and NEARLY losing my grip 0~0′