I have the inherent desire to capture moments and memories. I value memorable experiences over physical items. I am more content to pay $2000 for a trip across Europe than a few months rent in… More
Getting Ready for BUKU!
BUKU is right around the corner and by that I mean that it is only a few hours away! This will be the first time that I will get special privileges when it comes to photographing something and I am so excited! I have thought a lot about how I am going to photograph this event and I just want to share with you my BUKU kit and why I chose what I chose.
Welcome to The Ether Place, Zach
Editor’s Note: I just wanted there to be no confusion. Even though the title may hint that I wrote this post, Zach has written this himself and I do not claim any of it! Please enjoy Zach and his unique personality and welcome him as an author for The Ether Place.
Perfect timing that Nathan is beginning to write for The Odyssey, considering I am embarking on an Odyssey of my own with graduation racing towards me and an unclear future ahead of me. Did Odysseus know Nostradamus? I could use a clairvoyant right about now.
My name is Zach, and Nathan asked me to write some posts for The Ether Place. I’m a poor photographer. I use that adjective to describe my skills as a photographer, but in a way it also is prophetic to what my economic status would be if I took pictures for a living. The good news is that I am a fairly decent writer. I don’t like to toot my own horn, but… toot.
I just think it makes sense for me to start writing for an audience considering I just spent the last four years of my life studying the English language and writing in it. You get so used to writing on topics you care nothing about that you forget that you might have something to say. I am not an expert on anything (though I might argue that I know a lot more about football than you do), but there is one thing I know more about than anyone else on earth: myself. Any suggestions or opinions I might bring up later on are less reflective of reality and more reflective of who I am and what I believe, and like most other people, I want other people to believe the same thing I believe.
I didn’t always know that I was a good writer, but I never considered myself a bad writer. I also never considered myself an artist. I don’t usually think of prose writing as art. Writing in art is poetry in my mind and I am not vain, meta, or interested enough to try and write poetry. Journaling is more my thing. My thoughts matter to me and your thoughts should matter to you. See, there’s one of those suggestions I was talking about.
I care about a handful of things: my faith, my friends, my family, and experience. Football deserves an honorable mention. Frequently my life is some combination of those. Not always great combinations, but more often than not, I feel quite satisfied with those things. I won’t keep you much longer, and I apologize for keeping you this long, but I look forward to sharing things with you, you mysterious world of anonymous internet blog readers. Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more!
I am Now a Photographer for The Odyssey, an Online Editorial
So, I am proud to announce that I am now a photographer for The Odyssey. It is an online editorial that is written by millennials. On their website, The Odyssey states that they “[were] founded at Indiana University by two students, Evan Burns and Adrian France, who felt that news and content were either too generic or highly politicized.” This drove them to create a platform that could possibly flip the world of publication to involve more of today’s generation, the millennials.
I hope that this will allow me to explore different kinds of photography and to give me more perspectives to see the world through. I’m excited for the possibilities and to share those experiences with you.
Stay tuned and sign up for my email list to get updates on posts, projects, and more!
Meet Dylan Achor
Dylan is a 14 year old 8th grader.
Dylan’s family is german and he doesn’t mind one bit.
When he grows up, he wants to be an archaeologist and will be “digging up T-Rexes” in no time. When I asked why he wanted to be an archaeologist, he told me that he played the game Fossil Fighters (all three of them) and found it so fun, he wanted to do it in real life.
In his school, Dylan is part of the Robotics team and is a recipient of the Principal’s Award.
Aside from being a student and doing extracurricular activities, Dylan is involved with the Boy Scouts. He has 23 badges and his least favorite to acquire was his environmental sciences badge. “We were in the woods in Mississippi alone writing down things about nature in notebooks everyday for like 5 days striaght,” Dylan said. This was only a year ago. He is excited to eventually work for his Eagle Requirement badges.
When asked what he cares about the most he said, “My friends. Especially the ones I hang out with.” He mentioned that he talks his friend, William, everyday and invited me to meet him.
I met Dylan at Ruppel Academy for Advanced Studies.
A Photograph That Made Me Realize What an Amazing Thing Photography Is
Photography is really an amazing thing. It’s a life style more than anything and the camera is the tool used to live out that life style.
Photography is a beautiful thing. It makes precious moments last forever and freezes this moment in time that cant possibly be measured.
Photography is a privilege. It is a privilege that I am able to photograph people, but it is also my responsibility to tell their story and learn from them opening themselves up to me by letting me take their photograph.
Photography is a social thing. It allows me to connect with people I wouldn’t have otherwise and make a real human connection with them.
Continue reading “A Photograph That Made Me Realize What an Amazing Thing Photography Is”
Don’t Get Discouraged
I am a college student. I go to the University of New Orleans and am completing my pre-requisites to apply to LSUHSC School of Nursing. So, when trying to do a lot of things at once (writing posts for The Ether Place, working on photo projects, trying to maintain my grades), it gets hard to put in the time that I want to work on my photo projects.
Meet Blaze Lassiegne
The first thing you may notice about Blaze is his first name. It’s not a nickname (I asked). He got his name by his mother and father combining the two names they wanted. His mother wanted Blake while his father wanted Zach, so they put both of them together to make Blaze.
If you couldn’t tell by his last name, Blaze is french.
Blaze is currently an undergrad student studying kinesiology to become a physical trainer. He is enrolled in online courses.
Blaze decided that he wanted to become a physical trainer after having one himself. He fell in love with it then, so decided to pursue that as a career.
I met Blaze at Young Life College in New Orleans.
A Few Project Ideas in My Head
Photo projects are a great thing to pursue. They give you direction, goals, and gives you an opportunity to develop your eye and find your style. Most projects are made to be long-term, but it can be on whatever you want and be however long you want. Here area few projects that I’ve been thinking about. I know you probably don’t care as this post is mainly for me to remember some ideas.
My Kit
Every photographer has their kit, their bag, their system. Some may use a plethora of lenses with two or more camera bodies with a handful of flash units. Some photographers may opt for a high-end point-and-shoot with one strobe. I use one camera and one lens because it’s all I have. Remember one thing: it’s not the camera, it’s the photographer.
Documenting a Rally and How I Did It
About a week ago, I was assigned by my editors to document a protest for higher education. I didn’t really know what to expect, but I walked away a better photographer with a little bit more technical knowledge.
For those of you that do not live in Louisiana, the State is in an almost billion dollar budget deficit and the Legislation is thinking about cutting the budget for higher education to supplement some of the money they need to come up with. Prior to this rally, they already made cuts on three separate occasions within the last two semesters. The students are tired of losing the funding they thought they had and many seniors may not be able to graduate because of the cuts that have already been made.
The Ether Place 