Bethany Davis Photography

saturated market

2011-12-14T11:47:00.002-07:00

In my classes we have a ongoing discussion about amateur photographers. These are the people that charge $50 for a session and give you all the rights to your images. As a photographer, I see many things wrong with this. Even if a person is not trained in school, to be a photographer takes hours of practice and some pretty pricey equipment. Though with the recent affordability of high-end cameras, having a fancy-pants camera does not make you a professional. It makes your (and my) photos better but there are other things involved. More and more people are grabbing a high-end camera and jumping into the photography world charging pennies on the dollar. Especially in Utah this leads to a saturated market full of cheap/crappy images. I'm not saying that I am the far superior photographer than these people, some are fantastic, but either way this is causing problems for the photography world.

If you are decent photographer charging pennies, up your prices, $50 isn't worth your time.

Here's the skinny, if you pay someone that has more than a high-end camera you get better images. And the reason why good photography cost more than $50 a session: you have to remember that most of us have $5,000+ in equipment, a quality computer, editing software, and hours of time spent on commuting, shooting, editing, and printing.

Here is a link to a recent article in the Daily Universe, a Brigham Young University publication.

before

after

before, notice the scratches on the stomach and face-especially the chin

what my fancy pants camera took

what can happen in a computer, obnoxious colors muted, a face from another image transposed so everyone is smiling, better color, sharper image etc.

what my camera saw

the finished product after some color correction, taking out corners of the wall, sharpening, touch ups, and most importantly the swapping of the boy so everyone looks happy to have a new baby in the family.

thanksgiving

2011-11-27T18:53:00.000-07:00

we like food.

a lot.

potty training

2011-11-27T16:30:00.000-07:00

i never thought going to the bathroom could be so traumatic,

but then again i have never potty trained a child...

girl-funkel

2011-11-03T23:11:00.006-06:00

my sister was great with child. so very great.

so i went to her house and waited for the baby to come.

we tried to convince the baby to make its debut by doing a google list of things

like running

smoking it out and dancing it out

some bouncing and swinging

a lot of impatient waiting

and finally a three mile walk that did the trick.

and with that, off to the hospital we went.

talk about a room with a view. hello philly.

i think mike likes working on knees better...

not too shabby looking after pushing an 8+ lb baby out without any drugs.

jojo is a rockstar.

just to prove i was there and survived seeing a child birthed...

nora came home to a birthday party complete with reese's cake and a USA card with a drawing of a dinosaur on the inside.

nothing says 'welcome baby' like america and dinosaurs.

Nora Jane

October 21, 2011

or Girl-funkel as i like to call her.
Simon was crushed when he found out she was a girl and they couldn't name her Garfunkel.
(and no, garfunkel was never a real name choice...)

and even better, these are not my favorite photos. those are reserved for my BFA show that will be going up on Feb. 16th in the HFAC on BYU campus.

the show will be about all nine of my siblings. it will be fantastic just like them.

ancestors

2011-11-03T10:38:00.000-06:00

i love film, but i love that i never have to do this with digital.

(though i do get quite a bit of satisfaction when a photo gets all cleaned up and pretty again)

brandon + lynsey

2011-10-30T22:23:00.000-06:00

my sister is getting married to this fine fellow in february.

this is just a teaser shot, i'm sure more photos are to come.

they are just so cute.

and hilarious.

nora jane

2011-10-29T11:43:00.001-06:00

yes, i added a monkey tail to a newborn.

a week ago yesterday my sister had a baby. we tried everything to induce her labor so i would be in town when she delivered and finally it worked. since i had to fly back to utah a couple days after nora was born, i only got one chance to do some newborn shots.

she was a whole three days old.

i think she is adorable, and it isn't just because we share a middle name.

emily sue

2011-10-09T18:32:00.001-06:00

a girl can always count on aunt bethy to braid her hair and bring a good sturdy pair of brightly colored high heels to prance around the house in.

all ready to go.
(except the blue shoes that is...)

i think we forgot to mention that it is supposed to zip up the front... i was impressed she got the zipper up that far.

This weekend my niece got baptized.

She is quite the little charmer with that toothy grin.

I'm not ready for my nieces and nephews to grow up.

4:05 week five

2011-10-02T21:02:00.000-06:00

monday: i like to keep my diet balanced. my house.

tuesday: my boyfriend also likes to keep his diet balanced. my house.
(meat loaf, cinnamon roll, cookie dough. gross)

wednesday: milo after coming home from the vet that kept referring to him as a 'she'. levi's house.

thusrday: terrible photos of milo that got deleted off my phone.

friday: birthday celebrations. tucanos.

saturday: eating breakfast while watching the lds conference. my house.

saturday: baby shower. folkman's house.

sunday: breakfast done right. my house.

4:05 week four

2011-09-25T17:20:00.000-06:00

yeah, i don't really take photos at 4:05 anymore, but at least once a day....

Monday: my really cool friends dress really cool. Griff's apartment

tuesday: just proving that i clean, and love red. my apartment

wednesday: sometimes i make really good food (and buy really good chicken from costco). my apartment

thursday: waiting for tucker to buy a roadbike. some parking lot

friday: hanging up martha stewart recipes for inspiration. my apartment

friday: watching lowe preform. velour.

saturday: sitting on a latter in a mud pit. dirty dash.

sunday: sunday dinner, complete with cinnamon rolls. mom's house.

4:05 week three

2011-09-18T19:47:00.002-06:00

monday: my teacher told me to type my paper, so i used my typewriter... my house

tuesday: a hectic array of industrial lines. byu mail services

wednesday: how big did they think my stomach is?! goodwood bbq

thursday: a never ending supply of dishes. levi's house

friday: the rainy fall that brings boot season. my car

saturday: the best part of a final farewell to a dear friend, stealing flowers to press. the payson cemetery

sunday: documenting my family's treasures. my house

4:05 week two

2011-09-12T08:41:00.001-06:00

monday: riding the schwinn to the park. kiwanis park.

monday: pizzeria 712 fundraiser. clifford farms

tuesday: mowing the ridiculously long lawn. the few brave survived. levi's house

wednesday: carnival on campus? byu campus.

thursday: keepin' it classy. my house

friday: driving to salt lake. the I-15

friday: the traks. salt lake city

saturday: hanging out in the kitchen. rachel's house

sunday: doing what i do best, laundry. the basement.

4:05 week one

2011-09-05T08:59:00.002-06:00

grocery shopping, winco

filling a large order, work

lounging on the couch staring at the coffee table, levi's house

visiting a dear friend with her puppies, sharolyn's house

lazy sunday afternoons looking through family heirlooms, my apartment

I am in my last photography class ever at BYU. Crazy. In this class my teacher issued us a challenge, take a photo every day. To make me actually do this, i set an alarm on my phone for a random time in the afternoon where i wouldn't always been in the same place. The photos are the most artistic--i mean they are taken on my phone--but it is a fun project.

sibling no. 4

2011-08-31T09:39:00.001-06:00

sometimes i fly to visit my brother, aaron.

sometimes he gets really dirty running races like the Dirty Dash.
Sometimes during those runs he collects things other people haphazardly discarded along the course and wears them as trophies.

and then he goes to the store proudly showing off his 'trophies.'

(don't worry, he paid for that...later)

but then he cleans up and fixes stuff for me, like my camera.
then he 'builds' us a couch to watch a movie on.

file boxes + sleeping bags + sham pillows = couch

And sometimes he cleans up nicely and tends to his garden.

and makes me eat all the tomatos.

(why do you plant tomatos if you hate them?! oh well, they made delicious sandwiches for me)

and sometimes he can even be cute and sweet to eva.

12 runners. 192 miles. 29 and some odd hours.

2011-08-10T15:36:00.003-06:00

For the second time my family decided that a good bonding experience would be running 192 miles as a team. There are two vans, each with 6 runners. Every runner runs 3 legs and eventually the team makes it from Logan to Park City, Utah.

I jumped from van to van to photography/video the progress. This meant that i was in the sleeping/eating vans, only the smelling running ones...

i like my family. we are fun. we are also (according to this video) great dancers.

ulcer

2011-08-08T15:26:00.000-06:00

sometimes i like to photograph sports.

this is from the 105 mile utah bike race, the ulcer.

Emily + Brad

2011-07-10T22:38:00.001-06:00

Meet my adorable cousin emily and her fiancé brad.

They are getting married this fall in Idaho.

Emily is hoping that she can convince winter to stay at bay while they have an outdoor wedding in November. I hope she wins over the Idaho winter.

Congrats guys!

Happy 4th!

2011-07-04T09:03:00.000-06:00

Happy Fourth of July!

nothing saying American like a nice juicy hot dog.

delicious.

sweaty sibling bonding

2011-06-25T09:24:00.000-06:00

the one photo of me to prove i was there

and

Sarah and Lynsey doing the Davis Flying Wings arm movements.

Aaron just being himself.

Has he ever told you that he was Jackson Elem. Crossing Guard of the year back in 87'?

Yeah, me neither...

Here are a few images from the recent Ragnar Wasatch Back Relay.

The relay is a 12 person rely that covers 192 miles from Logan to Park City Utah.

Needless to say it was an entertaining 29 hours with a lot of sweat, running, sleeping in cars, photography and heating up Pop Tarts on the defroster.

nature.nature.nature

2011-06-17T09:22:00.000-06:00

These images are from my spring Nature Photography class.

locations:

Thanksgiving Point Tulip Festival, Red Reefs, Big Cotton Wood Canyon, University Ave (Provo), Cathedral Gorge, and Valley of Fire.

exhibited

2011-05-03T09:59:00.001-06:00

I have five images going up in a student exhibit in the Harold B. Lee Library at Brigham Young University.

(first floor, outside the auditorium)

The show will be up this afternoon and should be around until the end of June.

If you are in Provo, stop by!

The exhibit is the Alternative Process Photography class, there's everything from Fuji transfers, to wet collodions, to Van Dyke's, to platinum prints, to gum prints.

As I have said in previous post, my images were all created using old family slides from my Dad's childhood and my older siblings childhood.

april (snow) showers

2011-04-30T13:51:00.000-06:00

today there were normal april showers, well normal for utah...

as i took milo out for his morning walk both of us were longing for warm weather.

milo might look like he loves his sweater but alas, he only loves it because his frail 10lb body can't handle utah spring.

only a few months ago i was enjoying summer southern hemisphere style.

right now i want to go back to New Zealand...

kara + grant

2011-04-17T18:03:00.061-06:00

Yesterday this lovely couple decided their relationship was for keeps and got married (you might remember Kara from this previous post where she modeled for me). Being the fantastic boss that i am, kara works for me, my wedding present was a reversal of roles, i would work for her. They had a cute sign made up that said 'Leave Your Photo Message' with chalk board frames and as people came in i would photograph their message.

I will definitely steal this idea for my own wedding one day.

needless to say i was the cats pajamas for all the kids at the party. i photographed many a dog/duck/stick person drawn on those boards.

and then there was partying...

congratulations!

oh and here was my note for the lovely couple...

transfer mania

2011-04-15T15:51:00.001-06:00

A couple posts back i showed my first transfer/lift with Fuji film. Needless to say, with only a week left of the semester i feel like my technique is finally were it should be. I also ditched the Fuji lifts which helped.

For my final project i will have 8 diptychs, two images in one mat for a total of 16 images. When i started the class i told me teacher that i would have eight images by the final, he seemed fine with that, but then he actually saw my imagery and decided that he wanted me to do twice as many. I guess when you have a dad that used to let your uncle stand on his head, people want to see more of their crazy childhood...

each image went from:
a camera->film->projected through enlarger->exposed on fuji film->transfered to paper->scanned into a computer

1967- my moms 20th birthday

1977- my oldest sister in the hospital

[the two first images will be one diptych, apparently we love to have things wrapped around our heads]

i don't know how old my dad is in this,
but he is on the bottom left and his abs look like freaking hemans.

my dad letting his brother stand on his head

same image as a series of Fuji lifts on top of each other

[The two transfers are the next diptych, you can never have too many photos of super human strength]

this was taken on Easter sometime i guess i the early 50's. so cute

[This image will be paired with an ariel shot of my dad's airplane from the 1980's, a lift/transfer of this image can be found here (the final image is just a transfer without the lift).]

oh and then i found a slide of Buzz Aldrin on the moon so i figured i should just go ahead and print that too...

[this will not be paired with an image of my family. way to state the obvious.]

I wish you could see these in person, they are much better as prints.

making movies

2011-03-28T20:12:00.001-06:00

I am finally using my 5D mark ii camera for one of the main reasons that it is so cool.

hd video.

This is my first real attempt.

This video is composed of some 50 + odd videos that document what kids are really like everyday.

Meet Simon and Ada.

and here is something extra, mostly so i have an image show up under my 'popular posts' for this post.

my dear friend 'Biderman'

my favorites

2011-03-18T23:01:00.000-06:00

Tomorrow is the deadline for the Annual Student Show for the BYU art department. I have never entered it before, but i figure that hey, why not?

I can't remember if there is a max of three or four images so i picked out four.

I guess you could say these are some of my favorites from the last two years or so.

'self portrait: sleepless nights'

'upload via mobile, every one's a photo journalist'

'kara'

'summer nights, utah lake in august'

twigs

2011-03-13T21:00:00.000-06:00

this past week i was in NYC visiting different photographers with a group of fellow students.

one of the most impressive places that we invaded was Jay Maisel's home/studio/bank/basketball court.

Jay was frustrated when his landlord raised rent to $145 a month in the 60's, so naturally he bought an entire building to stick it to the man. this building used to be a bank. very cool.

one entire floor is dedicated to different collections etc. i found this on one of the tables and fell in love. i didn't move anything, he just had these twigs sitting like this.

fuji transfers and lifts

2011-02-10T19:50:00.001-07:00

this semester i am trying new processes, aka non silver and non digital prints.

i have chosen to spend copious amounts of dollars and time doing Fuji transfers and lifts.

the processes:

expose Fuji instant film (think Polaroid style)

transfer:

peel apart the film after letting it develop for a few seconds (in the dark) and then slap it on a piece of paper where the image will finish developing. this is what the base image above it. the image is directly on the paper

lift:

develop the film like normal and let dry. throw the print in almost boiling water until the emulsion becomes loose, transfer to cold water and peel the translucent emulsion off the photo paper backing. apply glue to paper and lay down the emulsion that was lifted off. this is the top layer of the above image.

as for the imagery, i am going to use only old negatives from my family. this image appeared in (i am pretty sure) Home Built Aircraft in the late 1980's. in case you didn't know, my dad was quite the inventor and built this plane, which most people doubted would ever fly since it is a tailless aircraft. if you want to read more about my dad visit this blog post.

sharolyn

2011-02-07T09:17:00.000-07:00

I shot these images last march but just re-found them. Isn't my dear friend Sharolyn a doll? Her dogs are also pretty cute, too bad Milo terrifies them so they aren't best friends yet...

pizzeria seven twelve

2010-12-21T08:56:00.002-07:00

i love this place.

if you like good pizza,

(not the normal pepperoni type, but honest to goodness homemade pizza with locally grown toppings) then you need to check Pizzeria 712 out.

Pizzeria Seven Twelve

320 S. State Suite 147

Orem, UT 84058
(801) 623-6712

Lunch..

Monday - Friday

11:30 A.M.-2:30 P.M.

Dinner..

Monday - Thursday

5 P.M.- 10 P.M.

Friday - Saturday

5 P.M.-11 P.M.

it went down down down and the flames went higher

2010-12-18T21:40:00.006-07:00

The Provo Tabernacle was constructed from 1883 to 1898 at a cost of $100,000 and was known for its octagonal towers.

on the 17th the Provo Tabernacle caught fire.

after burning for over 24 hours it is a total loss with part of the brick walls even succumbing to the flames.

it was interesting to observe all the onlookers, everyone with a camera, no one talking,

it was like being at a funeral.

(photo was taken with a canon 17mm tilt-shift lens)

birds of a feather

2010-12-07T15:21:00.001-07:00

Sydney, Australia

if i were an injured bird i would migrate to Sydney too.

books

2010-12-04T15:15:00.002-07:00

Auckland International Airport, New Zealand

have i mentioned my undying love for books lately?

oh yes, in the last post.

my happy place

2010-12-03T10:55:00.006-07:00

Huku Falls, New Zealand

at this current moment i have one wish,

that i was on this bench,

in the warm weather,

with a good book.

Wellington

2010-12-02T00:16:00.005-07:00

Wellington, New Zealand

I have felt like I have neglected my blog lately so I decided to add a quick edit of an image from my holiday.

I took a bunch of images to stich together for panoramas, (Utah Lake has inspired me to try this out more often). None of them are as stellar as I had hoped but my sister told me to try out this one first so here you go.

This was the view from the house that I had Thanksgiving in, quite impressive aye?

communal

2010-11-18T13:00:00.002-07:00

The first image is from Pizzeria 712 and the rest are from Communal.

Both restaurants are part of the Heirloom Restaurant Group, and both are fabulous.

Go to both of them.

NOW.

The people that work there are hilarious and of course they make delicious food.

also visit their blog to make reservations online and see new upcoming items.

communal preview

2010-11-12T17:47:00.000-07:00

in case you were wondering what i ate for lunch,

it was this:

today i photographed Communal in Provo.

it is hands down one of the best restaurants in the valley.

this is my first rough edit,

mostly i just wanted to reminisce about how tasty lunch was.

dirty dashing it up

2010-11-09T20:37:00.001-07:00

a couple months ago i had the chance to work for my friends Melissa (who you might know from previous post Cookie or Melissa) and Ryan who own Flo-Foto, a photography company that covers events, especially races.

we spent a weekend in the lovely Boise, Idaho and then a day in Midway, Utah photographing each contestant that participated in the Dirty Dash.

the Dirty Dash is a 10k race complete with obstacles and mud pit. people get super into the race and teams get all decked out in their best costumes. it is pretty hilarious.

we set up two studios after the finish so we could use studio lighting and a white background to show just how dirty people were when they were done with the race.

these images were our light testing/promotional images.

melissa and ryan are the first images at the top,

aren't they just the most beautiful couple ever?

link

2010-10-30T14:17:00.004-06:00

last night i got to meet Link for the first time, wow that kid is so cute and so good.

not only does my friend apparently make super cute babies but she and her husband also make super cute nuseries. the entire room is filled to the brim with Dr. Seuss. link is lucky boy.

photos of the amazing nursery to come.

mount timpanogos harley davidson

2010-10-28T21:55:00.002-06:00

today i went to the mount timpanogos harley davidson.

my mojo was missing

this is the only shot i like from the day.
tilt shift lens make life fun, especially when you are high above a bunch of motorcycles that you can tilt to look like toys.

next thursday, nate and i will tackle photographing the employees. i will find my mojo by then.

check out the sweet photo nate took today with a 8x10 large format camera here

mount timpanogos lds temple

2010-10-22T19:23:00.001-06:00

Mount Timpanogos LDS Temple

American Fork, Utah

10/16/2010

lately i have had this terrible habit of getting to a location right after the light has changed from ideal. here is a prime example, i got to the mount timpanogos temple right after dusk. thank you utah valley traffic...

this image is a combination of 10 images. each image has a different exposure allowing me to paint in different areas of each image to create the exposure i want.

did you know there are spot lights on the top of the temple? i didn't until i photographed this.

sara

2010-10-09T10:40:00.004-06:00

Last night my friend Sara got married and she asked me to come photograph the reception.

I haven't loved a dress as much as hers in a long time.

Congratulations Sara! Everything was beautiful and the food was impressive!

losee house

2010-10-06T22:17:00.005-06:00

before

after

this is the exterior of the home that has that magical staircase pictured below.

oh correction tools, how i love you.

2010-10-06T10:03:00.004-06:00

before

after

I love how with photoshop it is possible to correct just about everything. It may take about a million steps but it all works out in the end. Hopefully after doing a few more architecture things it will only take a handful of steps...

claire take two

2010-10-04T13:48:00.003-06:00

the first time i photographed claire she stayed awake the entire four hours i was there.

this last time went much better. we got a space heater and photographed her in the morning when she was much more apt to sleep.

i think these turned out much better and she only peed on my piece of black velvet once. :)

The Packwood House

2010-10-03T14:09:00.005-06:00

This semester I am taking a location photography course.
This was my first assignment, the exterior and interior of a home.

I think I can learn to like architecture, it will just take a bit more practice to get proficient at it.

This room makes me think of peaceful after school naps. When I lived here the furniture was different, but it is still the best room in the house to curl up for a nap in.

Claire

2010-09-16T10:56:00.011-06:00

(i love baby hands more than anything)

Meet baby Claire.

This lovely baby amazed me, I have never known a two week old baby that could stay awake for four straight hours. I guess we were just too enticing with out lights and laughter for her to sleep. Too bad for us, babies are so much malleable when they are asleep.

Go Cougars!

2010-09-14T09:18:00.001-06:00

I can't decide which is weirder, that i have a sister that is turning 40 or that i have a nephew that is 16... well i guess those two go hand in hand so neither should surprise me.

As you can tell my super cute nieces and nephews, along with their parents are die hard BYU fans. I wonder what they would think if they knew I didn't get football tickets this year...

On a photographic note, i think it is time for me to invest in a stand for my flash. I wish i had a photo of my wonderful assistant, another sister of mine, who was kind enough to stand behind me during the whole shoot, holding a piece of foam core over my head so i had something to bounce my flash off of.

lilly sue

2010-09-05T20:18:00.008-06:00

(go BSU! you are never too young to show your blue and orange)

this weekend i was able to spend a few hours with a good friend from high school.

i still can't believe she has two kids, crazy.

this is her newest baby girl lilly sue, who as you can tell, is an absolute doll.

this was my first attempt at 'newborn photography,'

i think i like it.

jim halpert and the ballerina

2010-08-21T23:36:00.007-06:00

please agree that simon's outfit could be worn by jim halpert on the office.

that is probably why i think he looks so cute.

kara

2010-08-08T23:12:00.005-06:00

this weekend i decided it would be fun to take all those cosmetics from work that baffle me

(the ones that sell well but seem way too intense to wear)

and do a photo shoot.

it has been a while since i have done a portrait in the studio,

i had forgotten how much i enjoy it.

i also had quite a fun time creating the veil for kara to wear,

maybe i should go into trophy embellishing/bird cage veil making business....

utah lake

2010-08-02T00:16:00.003-06:00

utah lake

(click to enlarge)

lemonade

2010-07-19T22:10:00.005-06:00

if you must know one thing about me,

know that i believe fresh lemonade is the nectar of the gods.

sadly,

i am pretty sure the lemonade i bought at this stand

was part country time,

which is a travesty.

hello cupcake...s...

2010-07-17T21:06:00.003-06:00

something has been missing,

my photographic mojo

i thought maybe some expensive treats could help bring it back.

it sort of worked...

These delectable treats are from:

The Coco Bean Cupcake Bakery

1774 North University Parkway

Provo, Utah

there might be a reason why the last shot only has two cupcakes.

let me just say this,

it is a bad idea to photograph food with a fork on the plate...

just begging to be used...

baby buddha

2010-07-07T21:07:00.006-06:00

seriously, my siblings have the cutest kids.

what if my kids end up being ugly?! Will their cute cousins even befriend them?

(my sister just informed me Photoshop is the answer to ugly babies.

I guess that means i am ready for parenthood.)

this is fun

2010-07-02T21:34:00.011-06:00

welcome to the Coeur d'Alene Idaho ironman 2010

2400 people

mass start

2.4 mile swim

112 mile bike

26.2 mile marathon

i guess 140.6 miles deserves a trophy

in case you didn't know,

i am now a professional trophy embellisher

last weekend my brother crossed the ironman off his bucket list.

It was pretty awesome, i got tired just watching all the action.

We, the loyal fan club, spent the whole day (which started at 4:30am) running around the race course to cheer on 'Thor' as many times as we could (which was about a billion or at least 17...).

12:23:35 later all the fun came to an end as Eye of the Tiger appropriately blared at the finish line.

my brother likes to claim that we have a thousand viking ancestors that you can call upon when you are in the mist of an extraordinary physical trial. As a tribute to 'Thor' (his alter ego) and our ancestors, we decided to add our own touch to a trophy.

in case you were wondering about the speedo, aaron also has a fascination with a pair of american flag running shorts. he would have worn them in the ironman if my mom hadn't framed them along with his first marathon medal and newspaper clippings. (she was doing the world a service). my sister contemplated attaching a small hammer to the frame in case of a running emergency, but lucky this has not yet happened.

and in case you ever want a trophy embellished,

i might be bought for the right price.

seriously, why have i not been handing out more trophies?!

way to go aaron, you are an ironman.

stripes and smiles

2010-07-01T21:07:00.005-06:00

last night my sister and i tried to sneak out for ice cream with my niece.

simon could tell he was about to miss something awesome

and threw a fit.

needless to say,

simon, complete with his new stripy jammies,

weaseled his way into our evening.

oh martha...

2010-06-16T12:51:00.005-06:00

I wouldn't say that these are my best photos, but I have been failing at blogging lately and want to prove that I am indeed still alive.

We all know that I have a special place in my heart, and stomach, for Martha Stewart. Sure she went to jail and can be kind of stuffy but when push comes to shove she makes the best desserts.

I have recently been going through Martha's Cookie Cookbook but have taken a slight hiatus to try out her Cupcake Cookbook. Cupcakes have never held a candle to a cookie in my eye but I have decided to give them a try. I will admit this, they are way more fun to decorate.

These are a marbled cupcake with dark chocolate frosting.

tilt and shift

2010-05-30T10:35:00.007-06:00

matt

mallory

and me,

sweet reflection huh?

this is mallory's eye from the last image.

So one day in class my friend Nate informed me that you can make any lens act like a tilt-shift lens. It is simple too, all you do is take out your lens and then hold it in place at an angle. I don't have any small lens right now so hand holding a lens in place is not super easy, but it is fun. I haven't quite mastered this (or normal tilt-shift lens for that matter) but it is still fun to play with.

visit nate's blog here!

Melissa

2010-04-21T23:02:00.013-06:00

meet melissa,

you might remember her from a previous post entitled 'Cookie'

Yes, that is right, this gorgeous girl lived in a Mother's Cookie truck.

Not only is she super photogenic and therefore great to photograph,

she is entertaining.

What other girl do you know has a wedding dress

made with a removableskirt so her dancing won't be hindered at the reception?

Or who lets her fiance draw a mustache on her

with a Sharpie for engagement photos?

none girls I guess.

and then the real magic started happening...

Don't worry, there are more photos to come.

you have yet to see the dinosaur pinata

the cookie truck covered in oreos

both key components of the most rockin' wedding reception i have been to probably ever.

Happy Easter!

2010-04-06T19:15:00.006-06:00

Though I am old enough to get the real reason for Easter,

and appreciate it,

I do thoroughly enjoy Reese's eggs,

they are Rolls Royce of all holiday candy.

Good thing my Easter 'basket' (if it can be called that) could hold at least one.

seriously,

smallest basket ever.

festival of colors

2010-03-28T11:14:00.010-06:00

Welcome to the Festival of Colors,

an event hosted by the local Hare Krishna temple.

The main day of celebration, Holi, is celebrated by a symbolic burning of Holika,

and by people throwing colored chalk at each other.

I am quite proud of my protective camera gear,

it's amazing what two ziplock bags, one rubber band, and some packing tape can do.

Though my camera made it through the event unspotted by the chalk toss,

i came out looking like i stuck my head in a Cheetos bag.

cookie

2010-03-21T10:44:00.010-06:00

As college students we all go to the extremes to save money.

In case you didn't know,

$1400 can either get you a crappy apartment for under 6 months,

or one Mother's Cookie delivery truck

I would choose the truck.

myrtle beach or bust!

2010-03-10T19:39:00.009-07:00

When i booked my ticket to Myrtle Beach, SC for february i was stoked.

I thought, 'finally, i can get out of the bitter cold of utah and enjoy some sun.'

Little did i know that the weather gods had something else in mind...

Welcome to Myrtle Beach 2010

a few inches of snow just in time for the annual marathon.

Meet Thor and Helga.

The snow at the beach wouldn't have been that big of a deal if my family wasn't coming from Idaho, Utah, California, Tennessee and Pennsylvania to attend the marathon.

Even though all of our flights got canceled and the marathon got snowed out, that did not stop the Davis clan. We rerouted our flights, drove for hours, chopped down some trees, and in true Davis fashion my brother and sisters created their own start line and ran the entire race.

My brother claims that we have 1000 viking ancestors that you can call upon in such emergencies and they will help you persevere though (we don't have the heart to tell him our ancestors are just plain old english folk) so he wore a plastic viking helmet and took on the name Thor for the entire 26.2 miles.

Needless to say, a weekend with my family is always a good time.

Congratulations on running your first marathon Jojo!

One day I will be as ripped as you, Sarah and Aaron and be able to bounce a quarter off my muscular butt. Bring on Ragnar 2011! :)

a barrel full of monkeys

2010-03-04T23:15:00.004-07:00

sometimes simon hates everything.

but we soon found out that he really likes my camera,

not having it pointed at him, but when he gets to point it at other people.

this would be my first real attempt at family photos, the random ones were much better than the ones were everyone is supposed to look good.

please just notice the drool.

(click on it to make it larger)

miss ada patata

2010-03-04T22:45:00.005-07:00

Being in the studio has never been so entertaining.

After a bribing session involving peanut butter m&ms and letting my niece and nephew watch the simpsons while i tried to photograph, we decided to have a dance party.

As you can tell miss ada is quite the dancer.

It also looks like she has taken after her mother and has some wicked arm strength.

LaVerne

2010-02-27T09:54:00.006-07:00

in life we are given 6 'parents'

2 parents

4 grandparents

When i was little i didn't think that 6 parents were enough.

When LaVerne moved down the street when I was 8 i decided i was going to make her my 7th 'parent'

(which is even better since i am down to 1 out of the 6).

14 years later and i am still showing up at her doorstep whenever i am in Boise.

Everyone needs a 'tell it like it is' grandparent in their life.

LaVerne is great, she gives dating advice (more like scolds me for not having a dating life), tells jokes, cooks, and keeps all of those hideous art projects i gave her as a kid.

maddie

2010-02-26T10:12:00.001-07:00

maddie is quite possibly one of the most creative kids i know.

she made both of these mascot costumes herself. The mouths even move when she talks!

I am impressed.

home

2010-02-24T10:50:00.002-07:00

recently when i was in my home town i was told that my old house,

after 8 years,

still had my name on the mail box.

luckily it was not my other old house.

I don't know that i want to be associated with this beauty any more...however, it is fun to throw bricks from the yard through the holes in the roof and guess which room they are going to land in.

You got triple points if you could:

1. throw a brick through a hole in the roof

2. get it to land in the upstairs bathroom

3. go through the hole where the toilet used to be

AND

4. get it to land in the downstairs toilet.

Don't worry, when this was my family's abode, it was clean and habitable.

the zone

2010-02-21T22:06:00.005-07:00

the wii will do this to people, put them in the zone.

as my family says: when you see this blank stare it means a person is connecting with the mother ship.

bathrooms?

2010-02-09T22:13:00.002-07:00

i recently decided that i would start photographing

students sleeping in weird: places, positions, predicaments, you choose...

well today i didn't see anyone sleeping, but seriously, does this look inviting?!

when i see this bed in the bookstore i think of puking as a child and being sent to the school nurse. they might as well put a bucket of that powder stuff they would sprinkle on the carpet after kids threw up next to the bed. you know exactly what i am talking about, that powder splotch in the hall that everyone knew to avoid...

music is my boyfriend

2010-02-09T20:56:00.007-07:00

meet the archer's apple, one of the gems in the provo scene.

i might be a little biased when it comes to this group.

but me liking them has nothing to do with my sister being in maple grove (the previous archer's apple of sorts) or the fact that i went to high school with two of these boys....

i like them because they are talented.

check them out here!

warning

2010-01-27T12:15:00.004-07:00

(better off dead 1985)

attention all byu students, consider this fair warning,

i, bethany davis, will soon be starting a new editorial project entitled:

"only a byu student would sleep here"

(the name is up for suggestions)

so here is the deal, i will be stalking all of you sleeping people the next few months.

this includes the favorite hot spots:

bathrooms (which i will NEVER understand)

the library

the testing center

under the stairs in the hfac

the wilk

ooo and my most favorite location,

the bathroom in the bookstore that, wait for it, has a bed WITH SHEETS!

also, if i photograph you, you might just see this beauty of a photograph of John Cusack on you when you wake up.

cheers!

penthouse

2010-01-24T19:07:00.007-07:00

this weekend i spent a day at the sky lodge in park city, utah.

as you may be aware, this is the time of year for sundance, the star studded affair.

i 'assisted' (more like watched him work and tried to stay out of the way) brian smith photograph celebrities for a book called, 'art and soul.'

the celebrity life is hard, spending your time in resort cities, in penthouse, having people give you gift bags for posing for a few photos...

lines

2010-01-13T16:22:00.006-07:00

looking for roller skates this weekend i learned something new

d.i. has a daily line of people waiting for them to open.

who knew?

and no, i did not find my much desired roller skates...

before i could board this lovely plane to come back to utah,

i had to stand in this ridiculously long line. the line to get to the security check point

definitely started at the other outside terminal, like a quarter mile down the road.

once you made it to the security check you still had

two flights of stairs to go up before you hit the metal detectors.

needless to say i barely made my flight.

why are we such a line loving society?

arrowed

2010-01-13T16:18:00.003-07:00

salt lake city, ut

i guess they really want you to use the doorbell.

communal

2010-01-06T19:57:00.010-07:00

today i found a little gem, amazingly enough, in provo.

my brother and i took my mom (for her birthday) to:

Communal

100 North University Ave,

Provo, UT

(owned by the same people as Pizzeria 7 12, which is also amazing)

it is a tad bit pricey, we spent around $25 each

but it was totally worth it.

they cook with fresh ingredients, everything is clean and simple.

You order everything family style which i like, because then you get to try everything.

these photos don't quite do it justice, i was too busy eating my amazing

mashed potatoes and pot roast to worry about getting the perfect shot.

60 degrees and sunny

2009-12-30T22:56:00.006-07:00

(california adventure)

(usually my niece is all smiles...)

(exactly how christmas should be, messy)

(i think food is my favorite part of every holiday.)

this year i decided to go to los angeles to spend christmas with some of my siblings. it was strange to go somewhere with no snow. but i will choose basking in the glory of the 70 degree weather at disneyland over driving the snowy streets of provo any day.

a triumph-ant end

2009-12-09T18:03:00.004-07:00

my family is all about forms of transportation,
cars, airplanes, motorcycles, hover crafts... the usual suspects.
these are the final shots for my still life class.
this is my brother's-new to him but vintage to the rest of the world-Triumph motorcycle.
don't worry, he also has one in red.
good bye VAPHOTO 372, i will miss you.

a dog. a dress. and some jumping.

2009-12-01T23:37:00.004-07:00

this one time diana asked me to take some photos of her and jordan.
they had gotten married a few months before,
but hey, you can never have too many photos of your dress.

at the time i was dog sitting milo.
he is usually a very good dog.
on this day he was not a good dog.

he puked in my car on the way to the canyon.
as i was cleaning my back seat i had jordan hold his leash.
he then proceeded to lift his little bony leg and pee down the side of diana's wedding dress.

the 'i don't want to talk to you!' face

2009-12-01T23:01:00.004-07:00

>:o

it's that time of year

2009-11-29T19:58:00.010-07:00

it's that time of year-when everyone gets married.
here are a few shots of kara and clayton's wedding.
though i was just the photographers assistant,
i had fun shooting.
it might just be better this way,
i still get to photograph, but since i am not the main photographer,
there is no pressure :)

people as emoticons

2009-11-19T09:06:00.004-07:00

:s

i am doing a series of people as emoticons.
emoticons were created after real life facial expressions,
yet sometimes i don't think we realize that.
meet amanda, my lovely friend who is going to be some emoticon,
either fright or nervousness etc.

this is not the final, there is still more to be done.

a fatal accident

2009-11-18T21:55:00.003-07:00

these are my beautiful dishes.
i had a full set until i decided to be brave and photograph them.
there was a casualty,
one of the poor red bowls met its unfortunate death to the studio floor.

i had thought i could catch it with my cat like reflexes,

but alas my feet as just not as fast as they used to be.

$5 worth spending/eating

2009-11-11T22:19:00.004-07:00

costco rotisserie chicken: $4.99

this is my first attempt at plated food,
let's just say i have a ways to go before i can become a food stylist...
but having hot chicken in the studio does win you friends,
i have never had so many people come by to say hi,
and by hi i mean grab some dinner.

True Religion

2009-11-04T21:59:00.005-07:00

though i was once told by a boy that these jeans are not my style,
they are.
okay maybe they aren't,
but they are the most comfortable jeans i own, so therefore i will keep sporting them.

so i like food... a lot...

2009-10-28T22:04:00.005-06:00

lemon squares -page 266-
'rich and dense'

maple pecan shortbread -page 124-
'crumbly and sandy'

i am sad to say that i did not come up with these photos (other than the plain stack of cookies). these are photos that i recreated from the Martha Stewart Cookie Cookbook, quite possibly my favorite book. it is amazing, it has photos of every cookie in the book divided into seven delectable categories.
i still have more of both of these, please come over and eat them. they might even taste better then they look. have i mentioned that i love to cook?

Onions

2009-10-21T19:57:00.001-06:00

any ideas of what i can make with five white onions?

Bethany Jane The Second

2009-10-21T14:35:00.004-06:00

this is one of my favorite portraits that i did last year. i think it is because of her eyes.
this is my old roommate,
we are like halfway the same person.
she is also a bethany jane from idaho who likes photography.

Juice

2009-10-14T20:46:00.001-06:00

Leatherman-Juice

Canon 5D

2009-10-08T08:38:00.005-06:00

the final image of my canon shoot.
after spending 10 hours on campus yesterday: getting ready for class, going to class, shooting this, editing it, and attempting to print it, and then being back at 8 in the morning to actually print it, i am ready to be done with black on black...
but don't fret, my 5D, i still love you.

Mormon Mecca

2009-10-06T17:03:00.008-06:00

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
179th Semi Annual General Conference
Salt Lake City, UT.

And then I ran into some friends.
Meet Topher,

and Mark.

Canon Love

2009-09-30T19:29:00.006-06:00

this one time I blew all of my money on one item, the Canon 5D Mark II
it was totally worth it.

i love it so much i decided to photograph it today. these are test shots, the final photograph will be done next week.

Milo

2009-09-30T16:41:00.005-06:00

I have never been a huge dog person, they are too slobbery and I hate having my own hair lying around so why would I want a pet that also sheds uncontrollably? Milo however is a magical dog, he doesn't shed or bark. Also, I don't own him, he is like my nephew of a dog, I get to play with him but when he poops or is bad I get to give him back to his dad, just like a baby with a dirty diaper gets handed back to their parent. Or maybe I just like him because sometimes he looks more like a deer than a dog...

Time and Focus

2009-09-23T15:29:00.010-06:00

(Geneva Road)

(This could be a self portrait, my teacher said it portrayed a sad feeling, however that is not how I feel, I would say more hopeful. Hopeful that one day my neighbor will turn off her porch light...)

(Geneva Road)

(The Harris Fine Art Center at BYU)

My teacher is having us experiment with motion and focus. I have never really done much with long exposures or with the artful out of focus shot. It turns out that I do like this style so perhaps I will try more in the future.

Wasatch Back Relay

2009-08-04T19:42:00.006-06:00

One of the many hills..

my sisters being airplanes

This summer my family did the Ragnar-Wasatch Back Relay- 188 miles of pure running awesomeness from Logan to Park City Utah. This year I was only documenting the adventure for our team, The Davis Flying Wings, in honor of my dad, but come 2011 I WILL be one of the runners :).

Jarom and Trish

2009-07-12T14:52:00.003-06:00

Me, Myself, and I

2009-07-12T14:32:00.004-06:00

Last year I had a interpretive self portrait assignment, the only requirement was that some part of the body was to be included. This is what I came up, interpret as you wish. And yes, I know, I should be a hand model... :)

Dave

2009-07-03T11:59:00.002-06:00

Jordan and Diana

2009-07-01T19:28:00.006-06:00

Meet Jordan and Diana, quite possibly my favorite couple. It was fun photographing them since I have known Jordan since the beginning of high school and Diana and I were roommates for two years. I can't wait to go to their wedding, too bad it is still six weeks away.