Crista Hecht Photography

It's been a very long time since I've posted anything. I've been busy with life and working on my thesis for my Masters degree. I'm pretty close to finishing, but it's been a long, exhausting road.

My thesis is on a horse rescue in California. They rescue horses that have been beaten, starved or are in a dangerous environment. There is a big problem with domestic horses right now due to the economy..people can't afford to feed their horses anymore. It's really sad. So, I've been working on this for a few months. When I'm not taking photos, I volunteer at the ranch..13+ hours a day, 7 days a week..doing anything I can to help. These people are by far, the kindest and most generous people I've ever met and worked with. Recently, the ranch has been hit hard by the stresses of the economy. I would urge anyone who is able to donate to the rescue. The only way these horses can survive is through the help of people.

The ranch is called ReHorse Rescue Ranch and you can donate on their website. The website is currently under construction, but you can still donate on the main page.

Here are a few photos..the first two are a recent rescue (my photos). The others are photos by the owner of the ranch.

I'm so proud of myself for taking this portrait and not needing any help...and in 5 minutes! It may seem easy to you, but I have had a hard time understanding lighting and I'm finally starting..to see the light haha. Ok, bad joke. Anyway, notes are below the photos. I can't decide which I like better..what do you think?

It's that point in the semester when sleep is not a priority anymore. People keep saying I look so tired..well, I am. But, there's only 4 weeks left! I haven't been posting as much as I'd like, but I finally have some photos that I like that aren't related to photojournalism. I needed to try something new to give myself a break and for some odd reason, I've been really interested in walls. Yes, walls..walls with character. So here are a few:

Me and my class. Graduating in 2 months!!!

Probably the only female taxi driver in Boston, or one of the few.

Well, no one really knows what it is, but all bets are on an "immature red tailed hawk". And in the middle of the Public Garden!

Haven't had much time for photo..my kind of photography. Hopefully I will have more time soon.

I won't be posting for awhile. Another computer died. Video card failure I suspect, but who knows.

The impossible photo story is possible, but only if you are ok with getting yelled at, flipped off at, or getting nasty looks. I guess you could call it the war between photographers and bike messengers. Supposedly our professor is on their hit list because he's been sending out students like us to take their photos for the last 10 years.

Not only was I standing on street corners in the financial district waiting to take their photos as they sped by, but so were the other 11 grad students in my class.

I'm having fun with one of my classes. We're doing a lot of portrait and lighting workshops, which is the area I need the most help in. I never thought I'd like portraiture so much, but now that I'm actually figuring out the lighting on my own, it doesn't seem like such a hard task anymore. All I want to do is take portraits now.

That's it for now..

First try at portraits without the help of another photog. We only had one softbox, a back light and a reflector.. and some of these were only taken with the modeling light because there were about 10 other students shooting at once..only one had the pocket wizards and had to switch off. I'm not putting them all on here. If you want to see the rest, they're on my Flickr.

Two of my favorites from today. Kim was the best model for the day. This is my first try at studio lighting in 3 years. The last time I did this, it was a disaster. I think I got some ok shots. I really want to learn more and maybe eventually get into commercial photography.

Ok, I've had my break. Now it's back to work. It's gonna be a tough semester, but in 3 short months I'll have a masters and will never have to go to school again. So here's the first photo of the semester..not great, but it worked. A photo of something having to do with inauguration day.