A May 2014 graduate of Appalachian State University’s commercial photography program recently placed third in the Nikon Everyday Cinema Contest.
Elke Talbot, whose entry was titled, “Cake,” won a Nikon camera and lens package worth more than $2,800 from the contest. According to www.everydaycinema.com, the contest encouraged contestants to “transform an ordinary moment into 180 seconds of extraordinary.”
Four additional Appalachian commercial photography alumni – Annie Watts, Ally King, Corey Adams and Wesley Overvold – also received
honorable mentions in the contest.
Talbot’s clip was inspired by her mother’s cranberry cake recipe.
“Food is something that every human being deals with on a daily basis,” Talbot said. “As the contest was an everyday event, it was an easy choice for me, being a food photographer. I was excited for the opportunity to show my viewers how beautiful the process of food preparations can be, or rather, are.”
Adams, who also graduated in the spring of 2014, now works as a digital technician at Fedele Studio in St. Louis, Missouri. Adams said his video, “Morning Necessities,” was inspired by the coffee shops on King Street.
“I lived on King Street above Our Daily Bread and spent a lot of time at coffee shops,” Adams said. “I knew some of the baristas at Bald Guy [Brew] on King and they agreed to help, which allowed me to quickly throw the idea together and keep it cheap.”
Both Adams and Talbot used Adobe Premiere to edit their videos post-shoot. Watts, for her video titled, “Autumn Fresh,” created multiple storyboards and individual shot sketches before shooting on a Canon 6D and editing with Final Cut Pro.
“I was taking a video production class when the contest was first announced, and our professor strongly encouraged all of us in the class to participate,” Watts said. “I thought it would be a great way to get my work out there for people to see. Video was a fairly new and intriguing medium for me at the time, so I was excited to participate in a contest with a lot of other artists who knew the medium well and also those who were curious about it, like myself.”
Watts now owns her own Durham-based wedding and portrait photography business called Annie Watts Photography, in addition to working as an associate photographer for a wedding studio in Chicago.
Talbot is currently in Italy focusing on traveling and capturing the Italian olive harvest, however, she might not be based in Italy permanently.
“As far as professional projects, it is hard to say what the future holds,” Talbot said. “I hope to continue food photography and film, but also hope to be involved in behind-the-scenes aspects – the farming and cooking. I’m not sure where I’ll settle down for work after my traveling days end, and I am considering a few different places currently.”
Talbot, Overvold and Chip Williams were featured in the fall 2014 print and online edition of “Photo District News Magazine.” Williams also published an article in the same edition titled “Bringing Motion to Stills.”
The winning entries for the contest can be viewed at www.everydaycinema.com/winners.
Story: Kelsey Hamm, Intern A&E Reporter
Photo courtesy of Annie Watts