Ellen Jantzen was born, raised, and currently lives in St. Louis, Missouri. Upon graduation with a degree in graphic arts/fine arts she and her husband, Michael, settled down on acreage in Southern Illinois. They planned to construct several solar and energy efficient structures. After moving to Los Angeles, and receiving an advance degree at the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising, she worked as a senior project designer for Mattel Toy Company. Ellen now uses her computer design training to advance her fine art career. Jantzen works with the blurring of nature and making it look "spirit-like". I chose this artist because they were my inspirations to one of my best concentrations. I plan to expand on the series I did before with a range of color involved rather than having all blur and purple photos. The first photo is my favorite because of how the surrounding area is blurred but the path is clear. The lighting looks like a mid-summer or spring day. There's a lot of highlight with some shadows throughout the wooded area. Jantzen used slow shutter speed in the photo to purposely create blur. The photo is shot straight on and fits the rule of thirds. There's a clear focal point due to the blur with a focus on the foreground path. The photo is brilliantly composed because the path leads your eye through the bottom of the photo, but as the trees get burred up your eyes get lead up throughout the photo. http://www.ellenjantzen.com/