Where it All Began

Building:  Beardshear Hall
Location:  Ames, IA
Time: 7:22pm
Composition:  Exactly 365 days ago today, I took a photo of Beardshear Hall for a photography class.  The photo started, what would turn out to be a fantastic learning experience.  To end my 365 day study, I returned to the exact same composition, at the exact same time as my first photo.  This long term time lapse shows that the building has changed very little.  Because I was disappointed with the sky tonight, I chose to include the passing bus to add some more action to the shot.
Process:  None
Meta Data:  18mm     f/5.6     SS: 1/3s     ISO: 100

School Tradition

Building:  Memorial Union
Location:  Ames, IA
Time:  11:12am
Composition:  On axis with the wood door.  By taking the photo low to the ground, the raised texture of the Zodiac can be seen.  The tradition at ISU is that if one steps on the Zodiac, they will fail their next exam.  As seen in the image, people old and young stick to the tradition in avoiding the Zodiac.
Process:  I took four different photographs to capture the people in different positions around the Zodiac.  I then stacked and blended the four images together to give the appearance that the room was more crowded.
Meta Data:  18mm     f/4.5     SS: 1/8s     ISO: 100

Dynamic Facade

Building:  Wallace Hall
Location:  AMes, IA
Time:  5:29pm
Composition:  Zoom in of a facade of a residential building.  On hot days, students open up their windows, which stick out into space creating a dynamic texture on the facade.
Process:  I cropped the photo slightly so that only the windows were showing.
Meta Data:  55mm     f/5.6     SS: 1/1000s     ISO: 100

Concession Stand

Building:  Cyclone Sports Complex Concession Stand
Location:  AMes, IA
Time:  6:01pm
Composition:  I wanted to shows the relationship between the concession stand and the fields.  By doing a partial elevation, the distance between the concessions and fields can be seen.
Process:  None
Meta Data:  30mm     f/4.5     SS: 1/1250s     ISO: 100

Radial Grate

Building:  Loading Dock
Location:  Ames, IA
Time:  5:31pm
Composition:  Zoom in on the center of the grate covering the HVAC fan.  I focused on the grate to disguise what the grate was covering.
Process:  None
Meta Data:  55mm     f/5.6     SS: 1/25s     ISO: 100

Coffered Roof

Building:  Storms Dining Center
Location:  Ames, IA
Time:  5:23pm
Composition:  Looking up into the corner of the building to see the repeating pattern of the coffers as they spread away from the corner.
Process: None
Meta Data:  19mm     f/4.5     SS: 1/320s     ISO: 100

Fire Escape

Building:  Friley Hall
Location:  Ames, IA
Time:  5:09pm
Composition:  Photograph of the shadows caused by the fire escape.
Process:  I decided to photograph this image in black and white because the the fire escape was completely covered in red rust and it became hard to differentiate between the brick and the stairs
Meta Data:  29mm     f/4.5     SS: 1/2000s     ISO: 100

Dirty Louvers

Building:  Administrative Services Building
Location:  Ames, IA
Time:  3:11pm
Composition:  I composed the photographs so that the louvers take up 1/3 of the photograph.  I chose to use 2/3 of the photograph for the sky to counteract the heaviness of the bottom 1/3.
Process:  None
Meta Data:  12mm     f/4     SS: 1/400s     ISO: 100

Distorted Entry

Building:  Administrative Services Building
Location:  Ames, IA
Time:  3:13pm
Composition:  By using a wide angle lens to photograph elements that are extruded perpendicular to the lens, a heavy distortion is created, giving the appearance that the extrusions are longer than they are.
Process:  None
Meta Data:  12mm     f/4     SS: 1/2000s     ISO: 100

Water Treatment

Building:  Cool Water Treatment
Location:  Ames, IA
Time:  2:52pm
Composition:  Elevation shot of the water treatment plant at ISU.  I liked this shot as the very clean white wall has started to leak over the years, creating paths of mold and mildew on the sides of the building.
Process:  Because of the security of the facility, I had to take the photograph through a fence.  As a result, I had to photoshop out parts of the fence that intruded into the photograph.
Meta Data:  14mm     f/4     SS: 1/3200s     ISO: 100

Wall of Shade

Building:  4H Building
Location:  Ames, IA
Time:  3:08pm
Composition:  The elevation is divided into thirds.  I made the foreground 1/3 the largest to ground the composition in the photograph.
Process:  None
Meta Data:  24mm     f/4     SS: 1/2000s     ISO: 100

Shading Roof

Building:  4H Building
Location:  Ames, IA
Time:  3:06pm
Composition:  I wanted to capture the three spaces that are created through the use of shading.  There is the unenclosed area on the left, the enclosed but not shaded section in the center and the enclosed and shaded area on the left.
Process:  None
Meta Data:  14mm     f/4     SS: 1/2000s     ISO: 100

Broken Doors

Building: Department of Entomology Shed
Location:  Ames, IA
Time:  2:54pm
Composition:  I wanted to focus on the run down nature of the shed.  I used B&W to accentuate the atmosphere os a run down building.  I composed the image so that the building came 2/3 of the way into the image and that the doors, which are the building component in the worst condition were at the other 1/3 of the photograph.
Process:  None
Meta Data:  22mm     f/4     SS: 1/1250s     ISO: 100

Barn Doors

Building:  Industrial Education II
Location:  Ames, IA
Time:  2:53pm
Composition:  Close up of the weathered barn doors.  I used B&W processing to darken the bricks slightly to really make the doors pop off of the wall.
Process:  None
Meta Data:  24mm     f/4     SS: 1/2500s     ISO: 100

Electrical Tower

Building:  ISU Electric Generator, North
Location:  Ames, IA
Time:  2:42pm
Composition:  Standing off to the side of the electrical tower.  I did this for a couple reasons, A) there was an ugly shed on the right side that I was able to cut off from this position, B) I wanted to include the sagging fenced doors that were on the left.
Process:  None
Meta Data:  18mm     f/3.5     SS: 1/1600s     ISO: 100

Pallets

Building:  Ames Mechanical Maintenance Lab
Location:  Ames, IA
Time:  2:44pm
Composition:  This building is a brick warehouse more or less, so architecturally, wasn't the most interesting space.  I decided to focus on the trash the was built up around the perimeter of the building.  Using B&W processing, I darkened the brick to make the pallets stand out more.
Process:  None
Meta Data:  20mm     f/3.8     SS: 1/1250s     ISO: 100

Fabricated Light

Building:  Roy J Carver Co Lab
Location:  Ames, IA
Time:  2:40pm
Composition:  I used a rotated version of the rule of thirds, which is similar to the tri-sec composition.  Looking up into the light, shows the gradient of light as it passes through layers of acrylic.
Process:  None
Meta Data:  35mm     f/10     SS: 1/50s     ISO: 100

Truss Tower

Building:  ISU Communication Tower
Location:  Ames, IA
Time:  2:36pm
Composition:  Looking up into the truss that supports the communication equipment at the top.  The photograph is cropped so that the truss encloses the whole image.  I used a crossing member of the truss at the base to ground the photograph.  The ladder starts on the left 1/3 of the image and moves upwards and inwards, creating some order within the criss crossing of the trusses.
Process:  None
Meta Data:  55mm     f/5.6     SS: 1/640s     ISO: 100

Transmitting

Building:  Communications Dish Extension
Location:  Ames, IA
Time:  2:32pm
Composition:  I shot this image from the west side of the extension building so that I could use the roof in the foreground to ground the satellite dish in the image.  Without the stone ledge, the dish appeared to be floating.
Process:  Used the stamp tool to remove the trees that got in the shot.
Meta Data:  38mm     f/5     SS: 1/1250s      ISO: 100

Top-Right Lighting

Building: Communications Building
Location:  Ames, IA
Time:  2:30pm
Composition:  The grass sits at the 1/3 mark.  I wanted to capture how the building uses outcrops to hide the panel control joint.  The narrower extrusions use shade to hide the joints, creating a repeating pattern around the facade.
Process:  None
Meta Data:  26mm     f/4.2     SS: 1/2000s     ISO: 100

Enclosed Resting Place

Building:  Pamel Woods Cemetery
Location:  Ames, IA
Time:  2:28pm
Composition:  I shot the photograph with as little sky as possible to give the appearance that the graveyard was completely enclosed by trees, separated from the rest of the world.  I took the photo at an angle compared to the graves to give the appearance of numerous gravestones.
Process:  None
Meta Data:  32mm     f/4.8     SS: 1/250s     ISO: 100

Brick Pattern

Building:  Town Engineering
Location:  Ames, IA
Time:  2:24pm
Composition:  Zoom in on the repeating pattern of brick and windows.  The bricks are extruded off of the wall which creates an interesting shadow that grounds each level.
Process:  None
Meta Data:  55mm     f/5.6     SS: 1/1000s     ISO: 100

Shadow Lines

Building:  College of Design
Location:  Ames, IA
Time:  3:05p
Composition:  I didn't have my camera with me, so I used my iPhone.  During the afternoon, the sun illuminates the design atrium.  The shadow of the barrel vault constructed roof gets stretched accross the space.
Process:  None
Meta Data:  4.3mm     f/2.4     SS: 1/130s     ISO: 50

Partial Green House

Building:  Roy J Carver Co Lab
Location:  Ames, IA
Time:  7:25pm
Composition:  I took the photo on center with the water retention roof on the interior.  I started to crop the image to remove the handicap sign on the left.  The original crop was very tight and removed a lot of the sky.  I decided to crop only one side to add context and clouds for the rest of the photograph/
Process:  Cropped photo to off center the greenhouse in the image
Meta Data:  18mm     f/3.5     SS: 1/40s     ISO: 100

Frozen Water

Building:  Memorial Union Fountain
Location:  Ames, IA
Time:  5:52p
Composition:  By using a fast exposure, the water appears as if it is frozen in place.
Process:  None
Meta Data:  22mm     f/4     SS: 1/400s     ISO: 100

Missing Piece

Building:  College of Design Sculpture
Location:  Ames, IA
Time:  2:59p
Composition:  I took the photo from a lower position to get separation between the two arms in the foreground and the background of the sculpture.
Process: None
Meta Data:   12mm     f/4     SS: 1/1250s     ISO: 100

Wood Division

Building:  2nd floor landing College of Design
Location:  Ames, IA
Time:  10:04a
Composition:  I focused on the highest density of the wood dividers so that the detail of the immediate wood dividers would be slightly blurred, putting focus on what is on the other side of the wood dividers.
Process:  Cropped the photo so that the wood separators filled the entire frame
Meta Data:  12mm     f/4     SS: 1/10s     ISO: 100

Shaded Stairs

Building:  Forker Hall Parking Ramp
Location:  Ames, IA
Time:  4:52pm
Composition:  In line with the stairs.  Because the stair railing are not parallel, a false perspective is created.  I used a person in the photograph to help correct the false perspective.
Process:  None
Meta Data:  12mm     f/4     SS: 1/400s     ISO: 100

Three Textures

Building:  Morril Hall
Location:  Ames, IA
Time:  4:42pm
Composition:  Zoom in on the connection of the brick and stone.  Photograph also shows how the punch window is shaded by the stone frame.
Process:  None
Meta Data:  16mm     f/4     SS: 1/1000s     ISO: 100

Cul-de-sac

Building:  Green Houses
Location:  Ames, IA
Time:  6:10pm
Composition:  The furthest west greenhouses are oriented into wings (left and right) that are connected by a long hallway (center).  This design creates cul-de-sac like spaces that can be used for emergency exits, utilities, storage, etc.
Process:  None
Meta Data:  22mm    f/4     SS: 1/1600s     ISO: 100

End of the Line

Building:  Horse Barn
Location:  Ames, IA
Time:  6:06pm
Composition:  I used the light at the end of the hallway to draw the eye into the photograph.  The small pockets of light that come from under the gates bring the eye back to the periphery of the photo.  As the eyes adjust to the darkness of the photograph, details such as wood grain, bent metal, and stains become apparent.
Process:  I added some grain and vignette to the image in post production to give it a more grungy and old appearance.
Meta Data:  22mm     f/4    SS: 1/10s     ISO: 100

Louvers

Building:  Troxel Hall
Location:  Ames, IA
Time:  5:56pm
Composition:  I really liked how the underside of the louvers were catching color from the grass and distorting the image to create a abstract-ish blur on their underside.  The illusion of high density by zooming in on a repetitive building element is an idea I'm starting to enjoy as it allows one to really appreciate that one specific element of a photo without other elements catching the eye.
Process:  Cropped the image so that only the louvers were shown.
Meta Data:  55mm     f/5.6     SS: 1/640s     ISO: 100

Chairs

Building:  LeBaron Hall
Location:  Ames, IA
Time:  5:45pm
Composition:  Zoom in on a portion of the chairs in the lecture hall.  Through this view, it appears as if the density of chairs is greater than it actually is.
Process:  Cropped image to get rid of surrounding excess space
Meta Data:  24mm     f/4     SS: 1/20s     ISO: 100

Distorted Room

Building:  Ames Business Park Building 6
Location:  Ames, IA
Time:  6:54pm
Composition:  On axis with the center of the room.  The converging walls create an exaggerated perspective in the room.  When I first walked into the room, I was slightly disoriented as the converging walls were heavily slanted, much more than I had seen before.
Process:  None
Meta Data:  13mm     f/4     SS: 1/100s     ISO: 100

Curved Support

Building:  Research Park 5
Location:  Ames, IA
Time:  6:48pm
Composition:  Zoom in on a curved member that holds a diagonal chord that prevents the structure from tipping.
Process:  None
Meta Data:  24mm     f/4     SS: 1/2000s     ISO: 100

Exaggerated Awning

Building:  Ames Business Park, New Construction
Location:  Ames, IA
Time:  6:53pm
Composition:  By cropping the top of the awning at the photograph edge, the appearance that the awning is much larger than it actually is.
Process:  I had to do a lot of vertical and horizontal correction to fix the distortion of the photograph.  The curving roof of the roof did not help in fixing the distortion.
Meta Data:  22mm     f/4     SS: 1/800s    ISO: 100

Tree Shade

Building:  ISU Extension Development
Location:  Ames, IA
Time:  6:43pm
Composition:  On axis with the gravel "path."  From what I observed, the rocks are used to create a visible boundary on the exterior of the building separating the conference space from the main building.
Process:  None
Meta Data:  12mm     f/4     SS: 1/400s    ISO: 100

Construction Site

Building:  Biorenewables
Location:  Ames, IA
Time:  10:58am
Composition:  I used the fence in the foreground to give a context of where the building is situated.  Including people and equipment in the image gives a sense of scale, showing how large the building is. If the people and equipment were gone, the fence could give the illusion that the building is relatively small.
Process:  None
Meta Data:  52mm     f/5.6     SS: 1/640s     ISO: 100

In Ruins

Building:  Nuclear Engineering
Location:  Ames, IA
Time:  1:13pm
Composition:  I decided to photograph the shaded side of the building to reduce the contrast between light and darks on the facade.  This way, more of the detail of the window panes and what lies directely on the other side.
Process:  None
Meta Data:  17mm     f/8     SS: 1/250s     ISO: 100

Welcome Back

Building:  Scheman Building
Location:  Ames, IA
Time:  6:51pm
Composition:  By doing a partial elevation of Scheman, I was able to capture the context of the area around the building, including Hilton Coliseum.  The photograph also shows the amount of people the grounds can hold.
Process:  None
Meta Data:  16mm     f/4     SS: 1/1250s     ISO: 100

Chairs

Building:  Troxel Hall
Location:  Ames, IA
Time:  11:16am
Composition:  Centered on the three front row seats.  From this view, the arc of the roof is nearly impossible to see and in fact looks flat.
Process:  None
Meta Data:  15mm     f/4     SS: 1/10s     ISO: 400

Bolts

Building:  Marston Water Tower
Location:  Ames, IA
Time:  11:16am
Composition:  I used the smallest f-stop on my lens so that I could get a small depth of field that captured the bolts of the support in focus but blurred the top of the water tower.  I wanted the top of the water tower blurred so that there would be some mystery in what it was.  In addition, the repeating bolt pattern is used in the center of the photograph to draw the eye into the photo.
Process:  None
Meta Data:  12mm     f/4     SS: 1/1250s     ISO: 100

Iron Working

Building:  Lagomarcino Hall
Location:  Ames, IA
Time:  12:02pm
Composition:  Close up detail of the handle and door to the rear courtyard.
Process:  I used the flash on my camera to bring out detail in the foreground and to give the background a darker appearance.  In addition I severely reduced the highlight of the image in RAW processing to reduce the severity of the flash.
Meta Data:  24mm     f/4     SS: 1/50s     ISO: 100

Pavers

Building:  Bicycle Parking at Carver Hall
Location:  Ames, IA
Time:  11:02am
Composition:  The man hole cover acts as the subject because it breaks the repetition of the laid bricks, thus the eye is drawn to it.
Process:  None
Meta Data:  24mm     f/4.5     SS: 1/640s     ISO: 100

Aluminum Soldiers

Building:  Forward Sculpture
Location:  Ames, IA
Time:  11:06am
Composition:  Close up of the leading solider.  I used a low f-stop so that the background of the image would be blurred so that it would not take away from the primary subject.  I additionall cropped the image so that the leading solider was expanding past the edges of the photograph so that it would seem larger.
Process:  None
Meta Data:  24mm     f/4.5     SS: 1/1250s     ISO: 100

Solid Wood Door

Building:  Memorial Union Campanile Room
Location:  Ames, IA
Time:  10:56am
Composition:  Close up detail of the wood detailing of the door.  The center of the photograph is on axis with the division of the two doors.
Process:  None
Meta Data:  20mm     f/4.5     SS: 1/6s     ISO: 100

Blue Railing

Building:  Fire Training Center
Location:  Waterloo, IA
Time:  9:25am
Composition:  Elevation of the back entry of the building.  I wanted to capture the overlapping of the blue railings.  I liked how there were these super clean and bright railings up against a weathered and overgrown concrete ramp.
Process:  None
Meta Data:  24mm     f/8     SS: 1/125s     ISO: 100

Shaded Elevation

Building:  Nazareth Family Life Center
Location:  Cedar Falls, IA
Time:  12:04pm
Composition:  I couldn't get far enough away from the building facade to capture the entire facade in a single photograph, so I did a series of partial elevations that focused on their relationships to foreground, background, or objects around the facade.
Process:  None
Meta Data:  20mm     f/8     SS: 1/500s     ISO: 100

Sunshade

Building:  Pathways Rehabilitation
Location:  Waterloo, IA
Time:  2:38pm
Composition:  Elevation view of the wall creating the boundary for the patio.  I wanted to capture the way the sunshade shaded the patio without showing the primary facade of the building as it was ugly.
Process:  None
Meta Data:  15mm      f/8     SS: 1/400s     ISO: 100

Concrete Insertion

Building:  Mark Messer Track Structure
Location:  Cedar Falls, IA
Time:  3:57pm
Composition:  Elevation view of the facade showing the relationship of the structure and the landscape.
Process:  None
Meta Data:  22mm     f/8     SS: 1/640s     ISO: 100