natural | Jerry Slough Photography

I have been working with light for a long time. I have been comfortable working in many situations for a long time. However sometimes I forget how amazing the “Golden Hour” can bee, it seems to make every thing fall into place, my golden hour photos however i did choose to go with black and white, I feel that the lighting speaks volumes in gray scale and also the images i was photographing wer of Joshua Tree National Park which overall color wise is fairly beige and I am of the belief that if color does not add to the image it does not need to be included. The golden hour led to long deep shadows and a beautifully rendered sky. I am enamored with these images and hope every one enjoys them as much as I do.

I have actually learned a few things I had forgotten while shooting these images. The golden hour is truly worth its weight in gold, it actually makes the image stronger to start with, you almost only need to worry about exposure and composition. The long shadows and strong highlights make for very rich images.

Joshua Tree National Park also helps in creating images every time you turn around in the park there is a new image that only needs to be framed and exposed. I actually think this is one of the most scenic parks in the United States and one that is severally over looked because it is a desert, which is truly fine with me, i would actually hate to have this wonderful place as over photographed as Yosemite or the Sequoias. I find Joshua Trees also very photogenic are their own, and are not at all ugly though many seems to think so.

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I found Penny de los Santos’ images of food very intriguing. My thoughts on the food project was to show food where food is from. I visited Stone Farms in Escondido. Stone Farms is owned by stone brewing as is the farm that supplies much of the produce for the Stone Company restaurants in San Diego. If you have not been there its a wonderfully peaceful place to go visit, and grab a pint.

I like the Above look that de los Santos did in her images, deep rich backgrounds and the saturated colors of the food. I did not want to use the set up she appears to do however, i wanted it to be organic (like the farm, itself.) I wanted to show the idea of where food comes from, not the prepared or refrigerated stuff we pick up at the market. I wanted dirt and the insects, the sun blanching. There is beauty in the imperfection in the produce. I feel i could have done more in the images, I really wish people had been working the day I was there, or the day prior when the farm workers were selling the organic pizzas made in the brick oven and from farm fresh produce.

Stone Farms Link