An Exhibition and Discussion of my Photography.

13-celebrating-KN-0204

2006-02-05T12:11:07Z

13-celebrating-KN-0204
Originally uploaded by knicholsfl.

Kristin Nichols / Alligator

UF forward Joakim Noah (13) celebrates with the crowd Feb. 4 while talking to reporters after the Gators' 95-80 win over the Wildcats at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center in Gainesville, FL.

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Fun game to shoot. :) I love the energy of the crowd at these big games. I shot much of it with a 50mm f/1.4 and I'm thinking I may need to add it to my list, as it focuses so much quicker than my 50mm f/1.8. Plus, I got to use a 300mm f/2.8 for the last 10 minutes or so of the game... mmmm.

I'm shooting a lot more than I'm posting lately. I'm trying to get back into the habit.

codykauffman KN 0120

2006-01-23T04:33:23Z

codykauffman KN 0120
Originally uploaded by knicholsfl.

Kristin Nichols / Alligator

UF freshman swimmer Cody Kauffman competes in the men's 1,000m freestyle event during the Gators' meet with Alabama on Friday at the O'Connell Center. Kauffman placed fourth in the event with a time of 9:26.75.

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One more swimming shot since I was busy with work all day and didn't shoot anything new.

meena KN 0120

2006-01-21T07:52:35Z

meena KN 0120
Originally uploaded by knicholsfl.

Kristin Nichols / Alligator

UF senior Elliot Meena competes in the men's 200 yard butterfly during the Gators' meet with Alabama and Arkansas on January 20, 2006.

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First time shooting swimming. Total pain in the butt to ID anyone afterwards, but it was fun.

060116_mlkmarch_1_KN

2006-01-18T01:47:08Z

060116_mlkmarch_1_KN
Originally uploaded by knicholsfl.

The 2006 annual MLK Day commemorative march gets underway on University Avenue on Monday.

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One more, of the march getting started. Luckily the road had a downhill-uphill segment right after the start, so we perched on top of the uphill and waited for them to get downhill. It was a great angle.

Oh, and in fun news, I'm getting my vertical grip (FINALLY) and a 580ex tomorrow. Yes, I have a 420ex, but you can't adjust its strength, which makes it useless as a fill flash, so it's going to become a backup/slave, since I doubt I could sell it for much now that the 430ex has replaced it.

060116_mlkmarch_052_KN

2006-01-18T01:45:53Z

060116_mlkmarch_052_KN
Originally uploaded by knicholsfl.

Evangelists Doshia Shade and Allie Young wave to marchers on University Avenue on Monday during the annual MLK Day commemorative march.

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All I'm gonna say is, it's hard enough to properly expose an image when you've got people walking with the sun at their back... and the darker the skin, the worse the problem becomes. What a challenge the march was. I didn't come away with much, but then again, neither did any of the pros working alongside me. So I suppose I shouldn't feel too bad. :-D

060111_tsfpie_KN_5

2006-01-15T15:56:51Z

060111_tsfpie_KN_5
Originally uploaded by knicholsfl.

Kristin Nichols / Alligator

Zoology senior Brandon Wurns sends dessert flying during a pie-eating contest organized by UF improv group Theater Strike Force at Turlington Plaza on Wednesday. Wurns emerged as the victor of the contest after devouring much of a cherry cheesecake in front of a cheering crowd.

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A feature I shot a few days ago... it ran on Thursday, I think? I'm not too pleased with it. I need to think more about what I'm doing before I shoot... my composition is horrible here, and in the rest of my shots. At least looking over my images from this really woke me up to my need to pay more attention to what I'm shooting.

Plus, I'm finally taking the first of the photojournalism class series at UF this semester. The program there is consistently considered one of the top 10 in the country, and I'm really psyched about having such a good chance to focus my work and get some solid feedback from people who really know what's going on. So hopefully there should be some much-improved work coming from me soon.

3 KN 0113

2006-01-15T15:17:33Z

3 KN 0113
Originally uploaded by knicholsfl.

Kristin Nichols / Alligator

UF guard Sha Brooks (3) shoots past Kentucky point guard Carly Ormerod (00) during the Gators' 80-65 loss to the Wildcats on January 12, 2006.

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I've been shooting a lot of basketball lately. A LOT. I haven't been posting much else because I feel like my feature hunting photos have been... less than adequate (I'm in a bit of a rut as far as not really thinking when I shoot) and I haven't been doing much on assignment, but I feel like my hoops shots are really improving. I got my first basketball photo published this week (in the Alligator, of course, nothing too exciting, but nice to see), which was a good feeling. I'm going to keep shooting as much as I can hoping for the elusive unique action shot, but I think right now, I've definitely got some photos that prove I can handle producing publishable basketball shots, which will help when I'm looking for a newspaper job... since I need to be able to cover sports as well as general/feature news.

Besides that, I've realized just in general that I really, really enjoy watching and shooting athletic events! The atmosphere is fantastic, the shooting is a challenge, the pace is fast, and even though there's no time to take a break and check the LCD usually, it's so satisfying to know I nailed a shot that wouldn't have been nearly as good a split second later.

Next weekend I'll cover swimming for the first time. Everyone tells me the challenge is mostly in finding a way to identify the people in the shots, since they're all in swim caps, goggles, and gasping for air. Hmm.

robtobias_051

2005-12-23T01:55:07Z

robtobias_051
Originally uploaded by knicholsfl.

Promo shots of Rob Tobias, Gainesville comedian/musician. For more information click the photo to see my flickr page.

BCD_6

2005-12-22T06:03:52Z

BCD_6
Originally uploaded by knicholsfl.

Promo shot for Big City Dreams, from Gainesville, FL.

051221_whoops_famu_114_KN

2005-12-22T06:03:13Z

051221_whoops_famu_114_KN
Originally uploaded by knicholsfl.

UF forward Brooke Cornish (41) looks past FAMU guard Deidra Jones (2) towards the basket during the Gators' 73-58 win against the Rattlers on December 21 at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center.

_MG_0801

2005-12-19T07:44:36Z

_MG_0801
Originally uploaded by knicholsfl.

Everything's better after 40 layers in Photoshop.

</sarcasm>

_MG_0626

2005-12-13T05:25:59Z

_MG_0626
Originally uploaded by knicholsfl.

Okay, so it's not technically that great of a photo, but I like it. My clownfish and my few corals shortly after making the big trip into their new tank. I broke down my old horrible filter-less algae-filled 29g this weekend and set up a gorgeous new 55g. What seemed to fill a smaller tank is now completely lost in the new one. Luckily, I'm getting to fill the new one with rock and livestock from a friend's 180g tank that he's breaking down, so it won't be empty for long!

051210_parents_020

2005-12-11T05:41:38Z

051210_parents_020
Originally uploaded by knicholsfl.

Ever get the feeling you're being watched?

In other news, I'm falling back in love with my 50mm f/1.8 lens.

051209_illinois_142_KN

2005-12-10T06:49:50Z

051209_illinois_142_KN
Originally uploaded by knicholsfl.

UF vs Illinois, December 9, 2005. Final score: UF 69 - Illinois 64.

Click here to see the rest of the photos from the game.

051208_wrigley_031

2005-12-08T20:02:09Z

051208_wrigley_031
Originally uploaded by knicholsfl.

One of the first shots out of the new 20D and 17-40 f/4L. Absolutely stunning, the difference, if you ask me. This image wasn't touched at all - off the card, onto the site.

This is, as usual, my most patient if not willing subject, my pup Wrigley... staring balefully at the rainy weather, which he's too prissy to go out and play in.

A brief introduction

2005-12-07T10:11:41Z

I finally updated my userinfo page to give a little more information than just "hi, photos, etc." I figured I would post it here to catch up all of you who've already added this journal. This is probably the most text you'll ever see in one post on here, so please don't leave or anything because of this one post. :)

Dear friends,

This is my photography journal. You can add this journal with no fear of having to be subjected to any sort of angst or introspection. In fact, you'll barely be subjected to any text at all, besides discussion of my photos, technique, and equipment.

A bit about me: I am 22, female, and a classical language student at the University of Florida in Gainesville, FL. I am not in the journalism program thanks to a less-than-idea early GPA (although it's a 4.0 now... oh, the idiocy of youth) but I am working to become a photojournalist. I shoot for the Independent Florida Alligator, UF's non-affiliated student newspaper, and when I have time, for myself as well. I love all aspects of journalism: the human stories, the breaking news, the informational pieces, sports, everything.

I appreciate useful commentary and criticism, more than you could possibly realize. It's appreciated more than anything else coming from professional photographers and journalists, but only for the fact that they have the technical knowledge of what is wrong - I still appreciate discussion from everyone even if I don't agree with you on something nitpicky! Honest! I will not get offended unless you make a cheap shot at my or my work.

My personal journal is [info]retromorphosis, and it is friends-only. I rarely log into this journal, as I post from external applications, and as I have no plans to ever make a friends-only post here or use the friends list feature, I will not be reciprocally adding those who add me. I also will probably not add you to my personal journal list just because you have added me here. I control that one fairly tightly.

I think that's it. Please leave me a comment if you've added me and we haven't 'met,' tell me who you are, I'd love to know who's watching. I'm happy to have you here on my journey and hope you enjoy watching me learn, improve, and share in my ability to capture the human experience visually.

<3 Kristin

IMG_9467

2005-12-07T09:44:50Z

IMG_9467
Originally uploaded by knicholsfl.

My first basketball game, my second sports event ever. I quickly realized shooting this why everyone says it's worth upgrading to the 20D for the autofocus improvements alone... the camera had a very hard time with focus tracking, but this shot came out well. Shot, I believe, at the wide end of my 28-75... next game (this Friday, a women's game) will be on the 17-40 with a quick prayer that losing one stop will still let me shoot at 1/250 without killing the exposure entirely.

Anyways, this are some of UF's men's basketball players fighting for a rebound. Noah and... I forget the other guy's name, I had it here not too long ago. I've been told my framing is far too loose and will be working to improve that this next game.

051130_onenote_1_KN

2005-12-07T09:41:50Z

051130_onenote_1_KN
Originally uploaded by knicholsfl.

It's not getting published, but it was a tough shot to get, believe it or not (trying to capture the software showing up on screen, avoiding reflections, and getting his face all in one shot took a bit of work), so I wanted to share it here.

'Graduate student Charles Flowers uses Microsoft's OneNote software on his tablet PC to take notes in class Wednesday afternoon. Flowers, who started using the software prior to the current campus promotion, said he uses the software to integrate class handouts and other reference files with his own notes.'

051129_wresting_014_KN

2005-11-29T04:27:10Z

051129_wresting_014_KN
Originally uploaded by knicholsfl.

Ben

2005-11-25T05:28:46Z

Ben
Originally uploaded by knicholsfl.

Thanksgiving. Testing out Flickr's photoblogging service.

University Gallery

2005-10-27T02:18:55Z

Got sent out to shoot at the University Gallery today for an article coming out tomorrow. I was asked to "get the readers' attention." Luckily, the current exhibit has plenty of pieces that would grab anyone's attention. I'm hoping they run the first one just because it'd probably be the closest thing to pornography the Alligator would ever run. But only time will tell.

Plus, one photo of Josh and Wrigley, for good measure. My dog likes my new boyfriend better than he likes me, I think.

Wrigley - Lick

2005-10-24T09:23:08Z

One last one tonight. If you haven't already seen Wrigley's halloween costume, you may want to look at that first.

I feel as if this sums up his feelings after getting the costume off.

Tababooya Shoot - Promo Shots

2005-10-24T08:44:20Z

I lied, I went ahead and did them tonight. I didn't take any extra steps to make them look especially pretty on the web, so kindly take them with a slight grain of salt quality-wise.

Tababooya Shoot - Misc

2005-10-24T08:31:28Z

Shot a local band today, Tababooya. I will be shooting a lot of bands in the near future as it's something I really enjoy doing. However, I am not so good at it. So I am shooting bands I have met/am friends with for free (I know; dangerous territory) and trying my hardest to address the areas that need addressing.

These are not really those photos, anyways, they are just random sorts of side shots. I've just spent 5-6 hours editing the actual promo shots and I am too tired to pick out my favorites and make them webbable just yet. But I will post them tomorrow.