Ray Whitehouse Photography

Downtown Evanston Time Lapse

Fri, 20 Apr 2012 02:50:00 +0000

Here's a time lapse I did from the balcony of my apartment last night:

Shooting Exercises

Tue, 17 Apr 2012 04:10:00 +0000

In planning my school schedule my final quarter at Northwestern, I was fortunate enough to set up a multimedia-focused independent study with Zach Wise.

The syllabus, which I wrote with Zach's advice and consent, requires me to complete a picture story, video story and multimedia story in 10 weeks. In addition to the stories, Zach has challenged me to do is to make pictures that communicate feelings. For example, he asked me to shoot pictures that would make a viewer feel sad.

Shooting exercises of this nature have been a great challenge for me. I've shot a lot of pictures and failed a lot. Every so often, though, I make a picture that I think goes deep enough to make a viewer feel a certain way.

Below are a few examples that I've shot over the past few weeks.

PS If you're inclined, tell me how the images make you feel.

Visual Wandering at a Pool

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 23:30:00 +0000

I spent time last weekend making pictures at the Northwestern University swimming pool during a varsity swim meet.

I wasn't on assignment so my goal was to shoot pictures that I liked. This is not to say I don’t like the pictures I shoot while on assignment. What I am saying is that I had no directive of what to shoot. There was no need to get the winning swimmer or document the peak action. I just wandered around the pool and looked for interesting occurrences that were usually subtler. Many of them didn’t even occur in the water. I'll use the term "visual wandering" for the aforementioned kind of shooting.

Below are the pictures I like the most:

Northwestern's Sorority Bid Night 2012

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 20:35:00 +0000

On an unseasonably warm January night, hundreds of freshman and a few sophomores packed an auditorium in Northwestern University’s Kellogg Business School. When they walked in, each found a chair with a sealed envelope addressed to them. The envelopes contained the name of the sorority house they had been selected to join. The letters had been laid out by new member educators, members of sororities who had served as tour guides to introduce the unaffiliated women to all 12 houses in Northwestern's Pan-Hellenic Association.

The new member educators started a count down from 10. The volume rose with every number. When the countdown reached zero, the room's occupants tore open the letters. Many erupted with screams of jubilation and started embracing the women around them. Few were quiet. Clutching their envelopes, the women scurried through the side exit of the auditorium onto the lawn east of the building. Members from each sorority were there to meet their newest additions. More screams and jubilation filled the night air.

Below are pictures from that night:

Yesterday's Sunset

Sat, 07 Jan 2012 20:50:00 +0000

The sunset yesterday was awesome. Below are two pictures of it.

Christkindlmarket in Daley Plaza

Wed, 21 Dec 2011 16:25:00 +0000

I visited the Christkindlmarket in Daley Plaza on Monday and came away with a couple of photos I liked.

Perspective and Basketball

Mon, 19 Dec 2011 03:35:00 +0000

I've photographed two Northwestern University basketball games in the last two days. For the majority of both games, I shot about 15 feet above the court parallel to the baseline on the first balcony.

Evanston, IL -- December 18, 2011 -- Northwestern forward John Shurna receives a pass during a game between the Eastern Illinois Panthers and the Northwestern Wildcats at Welsh-Ryan Arena. Ray Whitehouse/The Daily Northwestern

Diagram:

I shot in a different location than the standard baseline position because I want to figure out where I can make the best pictures. It's likely that sitting on the baseline is the best place to make pictures because that's where most photographers sit. That said, I wanted to explore different options before I decided to go back to shooting where most other photographers sit.

Below are links to slideshows from each game.

Northwestern 87, Eastern Illinois 72

Northwestern 70, Central Connecticut State 64

In the two games, I haven't come to a definitive conclusion. I've missed shots because of my location but I've also gotten shots I wouldn't have gotten otherwise.

Personal Work/Blake Hicks

Mon, 07 Nov 2011 04:20:00 +0000

I want to start this post by explaining why I haven't blogged in more than a month.

In short, I've spent my time doing things that aren't germane to this blog. That statement brings up a question: What is germane to this blog?

In an earlier post, I said:

"Instead of giving a recap of what I've done visually since my last post, I want to discuss larger issues in journalism, film, and photography that intersect with my work. In this way, I hope to positively contribute to the discourse in these topics."

In re-reading my recent posts, I cannot say that I have followed my stated goal of the blog. I have failed to follow my stated goal because my goals for the blog changed. While I would like to discuss larger issues in journalism, film and photography, I also want to showcase my personal work.

My personal work is made up of pictures I shoot that are not for any assignment. Instead, I try to let my curiosity manifest itself visually.

Recently, my chance to do personal work generally only happens on my off-days from work at The Oregonian. Because of my trip to Chicago for two freelance assignments, I've had only five days, including today, to shoot personal work since my last post.

Today is the day I will share some the personal work I've done since October 4.

Portland, Oregon -- November 6, 2011 -- Blake Hicks, a freelance acrobat who specializes in flat ground BMX biking, rides his bike at Tom McCall Waterfront Park. According to Hicks, who worked with Cirque du Soleil last summer, he sometimes spends nine or ten hours of the day at the park practicing.

Portland 3.0

Wed, 05 Oct 2011 01:20:00 +0000

As I roamed around Portland during my second week, I tried to make pictures that had multiple layers of information. The two images below were the ones I felt were the most successful.

Portland, Oregon -- October 2, 2011 -- Serge Connan, right, inspects his motorcycle outside his home with his father, Camille, who was visiting from France. Serge's sons Jameson, left, and Tennessee, right, rode their bicycles while their father cleaned his motorcycle.

Portland, Oregon -- September 30, 2011 -- SW Morrison Street between 7th St. and Park Ave.

Portland 2.0

Sun, 25 Sep 2011 19:50:00 +0000

I had a great first week in Portland. Visually, I saw a lot of things I don't often see. Below are a few examples.

Downtown 5th Street.

Rose Center MAX Station.

60th Street near the MAX station.

Downtown 9th Street.

Cyclists wait while the center section of Hawthorne Bridge rises to let a boat pass.