Wood sculpting artist carving his own path since 2004

In his shop LaCasse concentrates sculpting away on his latest carving of a Native man.  

Alec LaCasse poses with his latest sculpture that he is working on.

 Being able to read emotion and feeling connected to a picture, is something I feel is captured throughout a series of moments. Moments allow you  preview into someone's personal life. A moment that needs no words, but yet relays a message.
   Pictures are moments in which we capture the beauty of those surrounding us.
   The portrait assignment was thrilling and extremely enjoyable for me. I felt this project tuned into my inner creativity and allowed me to think outside the box. Yet, this time I will say the feeling of unfamiliarity did not consume my emotions.

LaCasse focuses under the light while continuing to sculpt.

   The camera operations are still tricky, but overtime I feel that I will become confident and master them.
  The aspect that challenged me the most was the headshot. Between the lighting and trying to set the camera settings, I was having a hard time.
   Alec is a man of great character. He is quiet, yet radiates creativity and speaks words of wisdom. I captured pictures of him for this assignment because to me, he is such a unique human being, with an extremely beautiful talent.
   We pondered our way out to his shop. Once inside, we chatted for a few moments. Stooping to his knees, he tossed a few logs into the fire. Surrounding us was different collections of wood, wood shavings, tools and pictures. The atmosphere was cozy and inviting.
   I believe people and what they do for a living, tells a story about who they are. Alec's story is unique and crafted with genuineness. For a living, he handcrafts wooden sculptures of all sorts.
   Throughout the night, we exchanged thoughts about his journey and how he came about creating wood sculptures. A journey that started back in the fourth grade and has brought him here today.
   Aside from being frustrated with my camera settings and the lighting, this project was extremely fun for me. Portrait photography is an aspect of photography that requires you to be creative and have fun. Though I will say having people person skills is something that helped throughout this assignment. Without being able to interact with people, I feel that portrait photography would be extremely challenging.
   Overall, portrait photography, in my eyes, is an aspect of photography that tells someone's story through what they love doing.

My lungs burned as I captured different perspectives through my camera lens

Shout-out for learning about perspective and how pictures like this capture one's interest.

This sunrise was glorious yet, so cold.

Among many aspects that I have learned in this class, this assignment yet again opened my eyes to many new areas of shooting pictures. Forcing me to be creative, yet to also understand the camera controls, I enjoyed capturing different moments. It was a lung burning cold morning when I had decided to take my pictures. I felt capturing my pictures outside with the sun arising, and our energetic family dog would add a little bit of flavor and express more of who I am, and what I enjoy capturing. 

He indulged in the snow as we wandered around our backyard.

During this assignment, I learned that it is important to get creative with your pictures, but also to make sure your camera settings are properly set. I messed around with the different setting on my camera, just to see how it would affect my pictures.  Having the camera settings properly set determined a lot.
I used the technique of wide depth of field for both, my first and last picture. This was very tricky for me. Between managing my ISO settings and working with natural light, I realized that my camera is my friend and not my enemy. For my second photo I used, a shallow depth of field. I thought this to be interesting because the sun was rising bleeding colors of oranges mixed with pinks.

Lastly, I learned through a series of articles that I read before taking my pictures that the light and setting impact the images outcome.

Capturing my pictures was an adventure through knee-high snow with man’s best friend by my side.

A little about me

   Trinkets and pictures of my family fill my room at home, accompanied by string lights, stacks of books, and empty coffee mugs.  
   I am a down to earth gal. I find joy in saving worms off the sidewalks and groovy steals from Salvation Army. Though still discovering who I am, I have learned that everything in life is a season that I will grow through. Sunflowers and friendly people make me happy.

   I am currently a junior at Wayne State University, pursing a degree in journalism and minoring in public relations. 

   Aside from being at school, I am a nanny to a child named Peter. We enjoy our time together, from attending music classes to walks to the park. 
   After I graduate, I am not sure what doors will open up for me. I do plan to move out of Michigan to see what the world has to offer. But for now I will continue to pursue my career.