Andi with an eye

First Time Mama!

2012-02-02T08:43:00.000-08:00

Hannah's Progression

Jason + Krista = Mr. & Mrs. Cater!

2012-01-11T21:31:00.000-08:00

An intimate wedding in January which had everything except the anticipated snowfall. Of course, that didn't stop the girls from wearing their fun, rubber boots for the photo shoot! Cheers to the newly wedded couple!

Sarah's Dress Lives Again!

2012-01-11T20:42:00.000-08:00

The beautiful Sarah "Case" Graham donned her dress for a second time and brought it to life once more with the help of a sunny, January day in Michigan.

Back and Better Than Ever!

2011-10-26T14:49:00.000-07:00

Hello Folks! I may have been preoccupied with my day job lately, but I'm back and happy to present to you all a new website that is not only UPDATED, but also has NEW CONTENT, and a TOTALLY NEW LAYOUT! Check it out!! :)

www.andiwithaneyephotography.com

Chilly Weather Senior Pictures

2011-10-26T14:30:00.000-07:00

Presenting Sam Rockafellow...Graduating Senior of Central Montcalm High School and one heck of a football player! We had to get up early and go out into the cold, wet morning, but it was worth it.

Returning with Vigor!

2011-10-26T14:02:00.000-07:00

Hello my fellow bloggers, my apologies for not posting recently. I’ve been busy behind the camera. And here’s the proof:

May I present to you the beautiful and talented young opera singer Lily Guerrero!

2010-10-16T11:31:00.000-07:00

Ty Schoenborn & Katie Reno Wedding

A beautiful couple in a beautiful location, now if only the weather

had been just as perfect! Thank you Ty and Kaite, I wish you both the best!

**Sharing a kiss on top of an expansive hill in Dow Gardens on a fair-weather day**

**Katie's shoes surrounded by the tell-tale leaves of fall**

**Yet another sweeping hill inside the gardens**

**A paparazzi angled kiss on the front steps of THE porch in Dow Gardens**

**This small field of purple flowers almost hurt the naked eye to look at because there were so many, but they made for a killer spot for a picture**

**Ty seemed to enjoy this fence in the pictures, but I'm sure he preferred being on the other side with his new bride even more**

**Dow Gardens even comes equipped with a small waterfall**

**Having a little fun in between the ceremony and the photo shoot**

**This shot must have packed a powerful punch**

**The remains...**

**Katie makes it official, while showing off her new, gorgeous ring**

**Playing with the lights outside the window and Katie's silhouette**

**A beautiful detail**

**The napkins say it all**

2010-09-07T20:21:00.000-07:00

My Job Shadow of "The Moment Girl"

Emily Zoladz is a young, but professional photojournalist working at The Grand Rapids Press. The following images were taken during my job shadow with her beginning at 8am until the end of her shift at 4pm on Thursday, September 2, 2010. I learned a lot from her in those eight hours from little tricks and tips of the trade, to how to handle the life of a journalist. Thank you Emily, for allowing me a peek into your world and to capture these images.

Follow the link below to see an example of Emily's work:

http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2010/08/sparta_mom_awaiting_lung_trans.html

Emily hard at work, getting the facts to write her captions.

Sometimes, Emily uses bounce flash, as she did in this image using a strobe resting under the classroom white board and firing it with the pocket wizard attached to her camera.

Emily Finds Her Street Musician

Although it was a rainy day, Emily managed to track down a feature story on a local street musician. She had seen the man performing in the past and was eager to make this picture. She was willing to move around in many positions including laying down on the dirty sidewalk to get the angle she desired for the portrait.

New Website!

2010-09-06T15:21:00.001-07:00

Great news! I have a new and improved website with updated images from some of my latest shoots. I am so excited to share this with everyone, I'm proud of how it all came together and I'm so glad to have my own URL!

www.andiwithaneyephotography.com

2010-05-05T10:18:00.001-07:00

As of May 1, 2010 Michigan is putting an end to smoking in public. The law put into place by Gov. Jennifer Granholm bans smoking in public places like bars and restaurants, but exempts cigar bars, retail tobacco stores, private home officers, company vehicles, and some casinos.

While buildings have been allowed to ban smoking from 10 to 25 feet from their doors, this is the first law in Michigan that will ban smoking from the entire premises.

College students on the Central Michigan University campus have mixed feelings about the ban. Some worry that one will come to campus, others hail the ban on smoking in local businesses as a victory. Second-hand smoke has been proven a danger, so many of those interviewed agreed that they are pleased with the new law because it will protect their health rights, while smokers argue that in doing so, they are being stripped from their own rights.

As of May 4, just a few days after the ban took affect, servers in a Mount Pleasant bar, O'Kelly's Sports bar and Grill, had seen very little resistance to the law, which was a relief to the servers who didn't want to have to be the ones to enforce the law on rowdy customers. One server, Emily Baker, found the law to be a good change.

Baker said, "I can wear my contacts now...and it's just a lot easier, especially late at night." The law is new, so businesses have yet to see if their revenue declines, but ones like Big Boy in Mount Pleasant have been all no smoking for over a year and have found that there was a slight drop initially, but that after a week, those same customers returned. In a struggling economy like Michigan's, one can only hope the ban won't deter too many customers.

2010-04-29T11:17:00.000-07:00

http://gc.kentmiller.com/andrearockafellow

The newest version of my website is now available! Check out my two new wedding videos, live on the site!

2010-04-28T18:05:00.000-07:00

JRN 521: Final Project

Traditional Wedding:

Couple Jenn Bonnet and Chuck Mackey share their most intimate moments by allowing me into their big day with my clunky equipment and bright flashes. I am very thankful to these two for their openness to share such an important time in their lives with a Central Michigan University photojournalism senior.

Traditional Wedding from Andrea Rockafellow on Vimeo.

Non-traditional Wedding:

Destination VEGAS!

Another brave couple stepped up to the plate (as well as my parents when they bought my plane ticket) and allowed me to accompany them to Las Vegas, Nevada. The images I was able to capture there were amazing and the couple was so much fun! I appreciate them taking the time to put up with a camera following them everywhere. Congratulations Jennifer and Cory.

Vegas Wedding from Andrea Rockafellow on Vimeo.

2010-04-19T16:56:00.001-07:00

First Attempt at Videos

Central Montcalm JV Golf Team from Andrea Rockafellow on Vimeo.

2010-03-17T19:52:00.000-07:00

Traditional Wedding

Here are a few pictures from my first attempts at shooting a traditional wedding.

2010-02-28T22:04:00.000-08:00

Capturing the Moment

JRN 521: Third Assignment

Bride-to-be, Jennifer Bonnet holds six-month-old Brailyn, the daughter of Cassidy Johnson (on left). Johnson is one of Bonnet's bridesmaids. Bonnet plans to have children of her own after graduating from college in December.

I shot this picture with a shutter speed of 1/60 and an f-stop of 4. My ISO was set at 400 and I bounced my speedlight off of a nearby wall.

2010-02-27T22:32:00.000-08:00

Creating Mood With Light: Round 2

Central Michigan University alum of 2007, Jessica DeVries waits silently in line for her turn to jump into the ice cold water during the Mount Pleasant Polar Plunge of 2010. DeVries represented one half of the "Peace and Quiet" costume team.

In this photo I pushed myself as a photographer to look for a moment and to capture it using no artificial light as I am used to doing and during mid-day when the sun was hot and directly overhead.

2010-02-27T21:49:00.000-08:00

2010 Polar Plunge at Central Michigan University

2010 Polar Plunge

2010-02-24T15:40:00.000-08:00

The Birth of a New Website!

I have great news for anyone who has enjoyed my past work on this blog. Through the efforts of my professor Kent Miller in Online Visual Storytelling and through my late night endeavors, I have given birth to my very first attempt at a website showcasing my finest work! I used Dreamweaver and Photoshop to create the site from the ground up. I am proud of it, but it will inevitably need more work over the next few weeks. Feel free to check it out and leave me feedback here.
Follow the website below and enjoy!

http://gc.kentmiller.com/website_andrea2

2010-02-09T19:23:00.000-08:00

Creating Mood with Light

For JRN 521

Stephanie Turner looks out of her second story bedroom window along West Campus Drive as a fresh blanket of snow covers the roofs of cars and buildings for the first time in weeks on the evening of Tuesday, February 9, 2010. She was inspired to watch the snow fall by the hopes that classes at Central Michigan University would be canceled the next day if enough snow piled up over night.

I chose this kind of light because it was beautiful to the eye when I looked in on her, but also because I haven't had much practice with darker situations. I would usually have hooked on the trusty Speedlight and just taken a nice portrait of her sitting by the window, but this has a softer mood as the sky and lights work together to make this picture as quiet as she was as she sat there. It helped capture her actual mood.

My camera settings were at f/4.5, with a shutter speed of only 1/8 and I was hand holding the camera body, also my ISO was all the way up to 800, but I don't think it turned out too grainy. I used no external flash.

Rachael Bersok and Lance Taylor get close during Valentines Day weekend at the Wayside Central in Mount Pleasant, MI.

I wanted to capture the background lights as well as the moment with the subjects, again, without using my speedlight. My ISO was set at 1600, my shutter speed was 1/4 and I used f/ 4.5.

As a wedding photographer, I may run into receptions that have very low or strangely colored light as with this club. It makes the shot difficult, but the colors are very vibrant. It will also be important for me to capture intimate moments such as this for weddings.

JRN 423:Online Visual Storytelling

2010-02-01T13:27:00.001-08:00

Sunny Sunday on Ice from Andrea Rockafellow on Vimeo.

Many families take advantage of the outdoor ice skating arena in downtown Grand Rapids, MI on Sunday, January 17, 2010 at the popular Rosa Parks Circle. Most of the visitors ventured out because of the bright sun that made a typically bitter-cold January day the perfect one to get outside and enjoy the weather and ice.

2010-01-31T13:47:00.000-08:00

JRN 521: My Inspirations

The first assignment in my Photojournalism Seminar course at Central is to write about who or what inspires me as a photographer. In general, I am inspired by other artists. When I see paintings with lavish backgrounds I want to find my own unique setting and photograph a portrait in a similar way, playing with light and costumes. Making something creative and beautiful is my favorite kind of assignment. This is why being a portrait and wedding photographer appeals to me more than anything else.

Growing up, I have always ogled over the gorgeous pictures in Vogue. I consider this magazine one of my main inspirations. I want to capture the beauty in any subject while telling a little bit more about that person. The portraits in Vogue always have great backgrounds or, if shot on location, terrific scenes for on the shots.

Other than popular magazines, I have recently been following two Central Michigan University photojournalism graduates who have never met me, but they are all the inspiration a young photographer like me could need!

John Remus III ( www.johnremus.com) does amazing portraits and weddings among other things. I’ve noticed many of his lighting setups don’t seem overly complicated, but his work is fantastic regardless. He has moved to California since his time at CMU, which is a step I may not be brave enough to take, but he has very interesting backgrounds because of it. He’s done beaches at night, pictures with mountain ranges hovering in the back, and on the steps of enormous theaters. I feel like I could be happy doing the kind of pictures that he has mastered. Another thing I liked when I saw his site was a link to his blog where he has video of how he set things up and he goes into a lot more detail about the models and the locations. I think this is a very fun way of getting more out of your work. It is one thing to see a finished product, but it is really great when you can see how it got there and the ideas it was based upon.

Dan Stewart ( www.danstewartphotography.com) who now lives in Northern Michigan does the most beautiful wedding photography I’ve ever seen. He has a knack for catching the moment in his work. He does beautiful detail shots, but has very artistic renditions of otherwise boring bridal party set ups. He’s not just documenting a day he’s creating art with a camera. I hope to one day be as successful as he is in his wedding photography.

These are my main inspirations so far, I’m sure I’ll see many more as I grow as a photographer and as technology changes. For now, I’m just trying to soak it all up.

2009-12-12T12:48:00.000-08:00

Painting with Light Practice

These were shot at the beginning of my lighting class, but I never turned them in for a grade, still I'm proud of them for only using one light. I would have liked to add a rim light though, so next time! P.S. Thank you to the beautiful Rae for transforming into a wood elf.

2009-12-01T16:26:00.000-08:00

JRN 420 Final Project: Studio Portrait

I hadn't played much with the darker and moodier lighting scenarios so this was a fun challenge and my model was a perfect fit for this theme. I enjoyed making someone look good, but also making them look edgy and as if in deep thought instead of yet another smiling face. Thank you Jason for being my inspiration and for picking up an old nasty habit for a bit.

Mulling things over with a cigarette is the mysterious Jason Ryan O’Brien. Dark shadows enhance O'Brien's dark clothes and deep thoughts. My ISO was at 100, my shutter speed was 1/200, and my aperture was at f6.3. By Andrea Rockafellow

2009-12-01T15:49:00.000-08:00

JRN 420 Final Project: Fashion

I've learned so much from this class. I wish I could own a studio like the one in Wightman and play around with different ideas everyday. Maybe someday. I've still got a lot to learn from trial and error, but I know that this is the kind of thing I want to be doing in the future! I love making people look good and the controlled environment of a studio is the perfect place to do this.

Autum Jones proves that there's nothing more stunning than a woman in red. Displaying her Christmas dress and her free spirit, she spins around inside the Wightman photo studio. My ISO was at 200 with a shutter speed of 1/200 and an aperture of f8. By Andrea Rockafellow

2009-11-23T10:27:00.001-08:00

JRN 420 Bounce Flash Practice

We devoted one class to learning how to bounce flash to make an attractively lit portrait. We paired up and ran around the art building, creating pictures anywhere we thought might look interesting. What I learned from this shoot is how desperately I would love to have a flash unit of my own! It would make location pictures a lot easier and a lot nicer to look at.

2009-11-15T16:04:00.000-08:00

JRN 420 Photo Illustration

This was fun to do. I apologize for whoever had to use the studio after me because it smelled very strongly of coffee after I dumped an entire can of Folger's finest on a table and a bag of french vanilla beans too. Playing in photoshop was fun, but I felt like I was being a naughty journalist since we never get to play with pictures!

People will go to great heights for a caffeine fix

People have become slaves to coffee and caffeinated beverages as they seem to be the only thing that can keep one awake long enough to accomplish what he/she sets out to do in such busy lives. I shot this in the studio with a shutter speed of 1/200, an aperture of f6.3, and an ISO of 200. I shot the coffee scene first and then the two models individually. I used photoshop to cut them out and place them in the coffee scene then put parts of them behind the background picture to create a more realistic look. By Andrea Rockafellow

JRN 420: Group Photoillustration

2009-11-11T11:36:00.000-08:00

Who's In Control?
-VOICE EDITING-

Talent is hard to come by these days. Hollywood is looking for a triple threat actor or actress, one who is able to act, model, and sing. If you have all three of these talents, you can make it in Hollywood. Taking two of these attributes you can easily make the third. With today's technology, voice manipulation is very popular in the main stream.

While in Moore Hall's Recording Studio on Tuesday, November 10, 2009, Joe Tobianski is manipulating Sihang Zhang's voice using autotune in Protools. f4, ISO 800. 1/50th. We used a flash on camera left and bounced the light off of a gold reflector on camera right to fill Joe's profile. Overhead lights were used in Sihang's room.

Photo created by: Krista Tacey, SIhang Zhang, Joe Tobianski, Martha Howell and Andrea Rockafellow.

2009-11-08T16:36:00.000-08:00

FALL 2009 Aerial Photos

"Fifteen Minutes on top of Mt. Pleasant"

Thank you so very much to Craig Benis, my knowledgeable pilot and to Kent Miller for making this flight possible. I didn't know I had it in me to hang out of a plane with the window open, but I did and it was AMAZING! Looking for different activities and interesting patters on the ground was fun and difficult. I wish I could have been up there for hours! Still, I'm grateful for the time I did have!

My pilot, Craig Benis, fueling up before the flight. It's always comforting to see someone adding extra gas before your turn in the plane! I am so thankful for his willingness to go anywhere!

This is a view over Mission St. in Mt. Pleasant, MI. The sun decided to go away as I got in the plane and come back out as we landed, so I did the best I could considering.

Those small figures are boats. I liked the way the road curved around in this picture.

I know there isn't much information in this composition, but I like the shapes and cloud reflections in the pond.

I'm pretty sure this is a horse race track.

Someone hard at work in the field. We were mostly in the country for our pictures because the university was getting rather nervous of planes over campus.

I'm bummed I didn't catch the "Mt." part of this water tower, but it was my first time and we were in a hurry.

We got pretty close to the golfers, I hope we didn't mess up their putting. I asked to go over the golf course (Ridgeview) because I'm an avid golfer and was on a team for four years in high school. After today it will probably be too cold to be out on the course until the spring.

This view of the golf course is one of my favorites.

2009-11-03T11:28:00.000-08:00

Update: I have been writing a blog on word press about this class and all of the efforts that go into it if anyone is interested. Go to http://andrearockafellow.wordpress.com/

2009-11-02T14:01:00.000-08:00

JRN 420

Class Halloween Photoshoot

The class took turns photographing each other. Here are the results!

We crushed the air out of this smelly character aka our professor, Kent Miller. The main light and the fill light are up high over our heads and pointing downward. The beams of light are crossing each other at an equal height. Our photographer, Layla, is on a ladder above us.

Good times had by all...even the whoopee cushion.

2009-11-01T15:43:00.000-08:00

JRN 420 Fashion

Rocking fedoras and business suits, Rae Bersok and Betsy Gurecki pose as professional, modern women inside the Wightman Light Studio. My aperture was at f/8, and my shutter speed was 1/200. My ISO was at 200. I had a main light on the right, a fill light on the left and a rim light in the back, although the rim light didn't show up much in most of them.

Working over the engine of a 1997 Oldsmobile is Betsy Gurecki. She is in the parking lot of West Campus Village Apartments in Mount Pleasant, MI. My aperture was at f/5 and shutter speed was 1/200. My ISO reverted to a manual setting after I had set it at 400. I used a gel on the light to make it appear as though the sun was setting and used a fast shutter speed to block out most ambient light.

2009-10-18T16:41:00.000-07:00

JRN 420 Location Lighting
This assignment taught me one thing in particular, I need my own equipment! Trying to check out the college equipment was a nightmare as we all tried desperately to get enough lights and stands and pocket wizards to complete one picture. In the end, I could have used a second light in order to add rim light to my subjects, but I made do with a reflector instead.

Alexander Almy, an avid hunter, lines up a shot on his parents' property in Fenwick, MI in the evening on Friday, October 16, 2009. ( f4, SS 1/200, ISO 200)

Running an underground brewery in Stanton MI, is 76 year-old, Elton Baldwin aka “Mean Gene.” He has been brewing homemade wines for about five years and has mastered many flavors. His stock included cherry, grape, and rhubarb. Baldwin said, “Everything is grown in my own backyard except the sugar. That’s the only ingredient I have to go to the store for.” I used a snoot on the light to pin point just his face and the bottles. (f5, SS 1/200, ISO 200)

2009-10-12T12:52:00.001-07:00

JRN 420 Location Lighting Practice

Wow! I can tell this Location Lighting assignment is going to be a work out! We have to carry so much equipment to our sites. Not to mention at the slightest touch, something can come loose from one of our many flashes, cameras or tripods. This is one crazy business!

Layla, a fellow JRN 420 student, allows the arms of a pine tree to envelop her outside of Wightman Hall, as I flash away at her through an umbrella to diffuse the light.

The flash was set at 1/16 power, my ISO was 400, at f4.5 and a shutter speed of 1/200.

Below is our lighting setup (Thank you Layla for being more experienced so the project was easy to set up and thanks to Kent for putting our cord in all the way so we could actually use the light!)

JRN 420 Still Life

2009-10-04T15:25:00.001-07:00

JRN 420 Still Life

The following pictures were taken on top of a light table with the main light coming from back, left. I had a lot of ideas for this project, so I've included a third picture. I wanted to convey a theme or concept that one could grasp without reading the caption. My favorite theme was the "Beauty is Pain" picture.

Females around the world know too well the truth to the cliche, "Beauty is Pain," as they stuff their square feet into a pointy pair of pumps hoping to make a good impression. These heals are shot with only one light coming from the back, left position. The shot was done with a 200 ISO, at F8, and with a shutter speed of 1/20. I like the way the background has gradations from black to white. I think it makes the picture a little more serious.

"Moo," the rat is caught doing what rats do best, making messes and eating everything they can get their tiny hands on. I photographed her with one light coming from the back and a white bounce filling the other side of her face in front, right. My camera was set at a 200 ISO, F8 aperture and a shutter speed of 1/50. I know this is a subject that moves, but I believe it still falls under the still life category because I took the time to arrange the subject and objects so they would relate to each other while conveying my concept of "Rats are Messy Little Critters."

I've included this third picture because the lighting was so nice. I also think it has a fun theme that represents a larger outlook on weekends than just fashion statements.

2009-09-17T07:10:00.000-07:00

JRN 420: Painting With Light

This was our second assignment and by far the most interesting I've ever had! I had no idea that simply slowing down your shutter speed and moving a flashlight around in front of the camera would create such amazing effects! I hope to play around with this a lot more in the future.

As though she has descended from heaven, Stephanie Turner glows angelically in the middle of the railroad tracks that run along West Campus Drive in Mount Pleasant, MI. Painting her with a blue gel I had my camera set with a 5.6 f-stop, a shutter speed of 30 seconds, and an ISO of 100. (Andrea Rockafellow, Painting with Light)

Consumed in fire and representing the depths of Hell, is Rae Bersok, my roommate and willing model. This photo was made in my impromptu bedroom studio with black sheets tacked to my white walls and over windows to block ambient light. I flashed her using a strobe covered in a blue gel. The flames were made by twirling a red glow stick. I used an f-stop of 8.0, a shutter speed of 30 seconds and my ISO was 100. (Andrea Rockafellow, Painting with Light)

2009-09-08T20:07:00.000-07:00

JRN 420 Portrait Shoot

The pictures below were taken in a photography studio inside Wightman Hall on the campus of Central Michigan University in Mount Pleasant, MI on Friday, September 4, 2009. My subject was an experienced dancer. Setting up the lights took a little getting used to, but I think in the future it will go much quicker and I will be more confident. Having a partner was great for this first assignment because I had someone else's notes and memory of what was said in class to work from along with my own. I learned that I'm going to need to give myself more time to edit the pictures in the future and to post them and burn them to a cd for class. I look forward to my next photoshoot and hope that I can improve my skills in the studio.

Eighteen years of experience in dance has made Kristin Boozer, a Central Michigan University sophomore, a valued member of the Orchesis Dance Company which is an extention of the dance minor program on campus. Boozer has been dancing since she was two-years-old and says that dance, "is a way for [her] to let out [her] emotions and express [herself]."

This is is Boozer's signature jump. It is called the Pas de Poisson or Step of the Fish. Boozer said, "My passion for [dancing] comes from being able to share something I love with others around me whether they are dancers themselves or merely spectators."

2009-09-04T09:17:00.000-07:00

JRN 420 Practice shoot

A handful of studio photography students gathered for class on Wednesday, September 2 to practice with lighting and communicating with models. The picture above is my first attempt at posed and pre-lit subjects.

I've had to learn quickly in this class (JRN 420) because until now, I'd never even seen real soft boxes and backlights in person. I am so excited to learn how to manipulate light and create more flattering pictures.

I, Andrea Rockafellow, am now officially capable of putting a hotshoe on my camera and plugging it in! This sounds silly, but it's a first for me thus I dub it a great achievement!

The most important thing that I learned that day in class is that I need to be calm and continuously talking to my subject to keep them at ease. (I also learned that I am not a great model myself, because nerves make me laugh and that doesn't work well for a dark or intimating picture! So, sorry Layla, who had to take my picture as a "happy" baseball player. I’m working on it.)

2009-08-30T11:36:00.000-07:00

JRN 220 Picture Samples

The picture above was taken from the inside of my shower door. I had a great light coming in through a window that highlighted the water droplets,
so I jumped in, fully clothed, and put my hand up to catch the silhouette.

The photo above was part of an assignment on aperture settings.

It was taken in CMU’s music building in one of the practice rooms.

This one was part of a shadow assignment.

This Texas Hold 'Em picture was also part of the aperture assingment.

Again, I was going for a silhouetted look.

2009-08-30T08:16:00.000-07:00

Summer '09 Photoshoot in Stanton, MI

2009-08-30T08:12:00.000-07:00

Summer '09 Photoshoot in Stanton, MI

2009-08-30T08:09:00.000-07:00

Summer '09 Photoshoot in Stanton, MI

2009-08-30T08:01:00.000-07:00

Summer '09 Photoshoot in Stanton, MI