Unit 1 – First Pics (Introduce Yourself)

My name is Allison McIntyre.  I am originally from Bethel,  AK,  but I am attending UAF online from Anchorage, AK. I am a single mom to my one-year-old daughter and I work in marketing as a graphic designer. I recently decided to go back to school and pursue my Bachelors Degree in Digital Journalism, Journalism and Broadcasting.

I have always had an interest in photography. It started as a senior  in high school when I took about 1/3 of my graduating class’s senior photos. The camera I’m using for this class is my trusty Nikon D5100 DSLR camera I bought when I first started experimenting with photography back in 2013. Over the years, I’ve tried dabbling in a little bit of everything, including documenting my travels, photographing friend’s weddings and other events, photographing landscapes  and nature, but my favorite has to be street photography.

The photo I attached is a photo I took while traveling in Seattle a couple of years ago and it is one of my favorite photos.  I have no idea who this bearded man in deep thought is, but as I was walking through Pioneer Park, I was snapping photos of the building covered in leaves and saw him sitting there. I really liked the contrast of the neon tables and chairs and the sinister looking building in the back.

While I’d like to think I have a good eye for photography, I have only shot in Auto mode and I don’t really know the mechanics of a camera or what functions /settings to use for the different types of photographs. I’m hoping throughout this course, I will learn some (if not all) of these things and get more comfortable behind the camera.