For my STEP Signature Project, I traveled with a group of other students out to Nevada and Utah to practice photography. Along the way we visited Las Vegas, the Valley of Fire state park, Zion, and Bryce Canyon. We were led by Dr. Pat Whittington and Photographer Tony Small, who each provided me with helpful advice along the way.

The biggest change that occurred during this is becoming someone who considers themselves a photographer. Prior to this, I had no experience in photography. I’ve used my phones camera before, of course, but I never thought about many of the design choices that go into shooting a shot. I had no idea how to select the appropriate F-stop, ISO, or shutter speed to create the photo I wanted. I remember reading about how to use manual mode for the first time on the plane ride over!  The difference between my photos before and after this trip are night and day.

There are plenty of experiences that I can point to where I feel like I developed as a photographer, but none standout more than the first night we shot in Vegas. Tony had us set up, and then asked us to shoot in manual mode. I remember my heart sinking. I had shot in manual mode for the first time the week before and every photo I took was overexposed. I really only had a vague idea of how to use my light meter.

I had nothing to worry about, everyone on the trip was extremely helpful. Tony and other experienced photographers on the trip answered my hundreds of questions extremely patiently. I truly only had a rudimentary understanding of the art form from reading about it. While none of my photos from Vegas became my favorite, that was the first time using my camera really clicked for me (Please excuse that TERRIBLE pun).

Another example of when this trip helped me improve as a photographer is the photo above. While working this area, I was extremely focused on the sunset and the range near the sunset. Tony came up to me and pointed out some of the nature just around me. He encouraged me to try to add a few other “background actors” to the sunset. I moved and re-framed the photo to capture the sagebrush and barrel cacti. I also captured the dark rocks the provide the photo some leading lines. This became one of my favorite photos of the trip. He taught me that framing is all about selecting what the subject is, but also adding in a few background actors when appropriate.

Ultimately, this trip was important to me because it helped me find a new passion in my life. Prior to this, I had never really found an art form that I found interesting. I could never paint or draw. I played instruments in high school, but never really loved it. Once I came to college that ended, and I found myself focusing almost exclusively on math and science. I love what I study, but I did feel like a part of myself was missing. I never found a way to express myself that I really enjoyed.

This trip showed me that photography can be that for myself. My favorite example from the entire trip is “Desert Window” to the left. This photo has a deep meaning to me, and that alone tells me that this trip has had immense value to me. I loved working this shot, from the process on site to editing in Photoshop. More importantly, I love being able to create art and express myself. Its always been hard for me to find a way to do that in a way that felt right to me. Photography feels right. I hope to take this art form with me for the rest of my life.

The STEP project that I did was the Total Photography Process. My STEP trip happened in the first week of January 2022, where we visited various photography sites in Nevada and Utah. Outside of taking photos ourselves, we were given a photo editing workshop by the professional photographer who led our trip. We were able to get feedback from him and from our peers.

Before going on this trip, I’ve never had an experience like this where I spent so much time with people that I didn’t know. I mostly stuck with a small group of friends I knew. Even when I make a new friend in class, I didn’t have to be around them all the time. Because of that, I always thought I was terrible at forming a relationship with new people. I tend to be reserved and I always saw that as a hindrance from forming relationships with people. This assumption about myself has changed since going on this trip. Now I know that I’m capable of forming relationships with new people that are different from me. 

One event that led to my transformation is how we drove in between photography sites together. We had 2 cars that carried all 13 of us. Even though we all had time in the car to catch up on sleep, we also had time to get to know each other better. We talked about what we’re excited about on the trip and our favorite experiences along the way. We were also able to learn from our instructor on the car rides about his experience in photography. The car rides were also a great time to learn camera tricks from each other. 

Night Shoot at Bryce Canyon National Park

Another thing that led to my transformation is the amount of collaboration that went on when we actually were out taking pictures. Everyone had different levels of photography experience and not everyone was comfortable with certain aspects of photography, so we were able to help each other a lot in this area. Hiking was also not an easy task, and helping each other along the way and talking as we walked was one of the most enjoyable things. Most memorably, the night photography of the stars we did in Bryce Canyon involved a lot of collaboration. None of us really had taken pictures in that kind of setting, so it was all new to us. But as we were learning from our instructor and from trial and error, we were really able to help each other. We took time to look at each other’s pictures and figure out what we could do to improve our shots. All of our shots improved tremendously throughout the night because of the collaboration.

Finally, another thing that factored into my transformation was the downtime we had during the trip. We usually got a couple hours off for lunch and we had some free time before going to bed. Most of us spent this time getting food together, or exploring the town we were in. In the night, we met in someone’s room to download our photos, edit and talk. We shared some of our favorite pictures during this time and shared what technique we used to get a good shot. We were also able to get to know each other as we all have lives outside of the trip. It was surprising to see how many things we had in common: the same classes we’ve taken, and the same people we knew. Such a small world, yet we’d have never been able to know that if it wasn’t for this trip. 

This transformation is important in my personal life as it has allowed me to develop my interpersonal skills through the        interaction s I’ve had. I’ve also learned that I have the capacity to form relationships with new people. As I will be entering the healthcare field in the future, interpersonal skills are very important to provide optimal patient care. As a future healthcare professional, I have the responsibility to effectively communicate with my patients in a way that’s considerate of their culture and background. I’m glad for the opportunity this trip gave me to develop that.

Valley of Fire State Park          

My STEP project was a trip to Nevada and Utah to visit several national and state parks in order to learn the photography process. We started in Las Vegas, went to Valley of Fire State Park in Nevada, then Zion National Park in Utah and finally Bryce Canyon in Utah before ended in Las Vegas again. We learned all about how to set the settings in manual mode of the camera, how to find leading lines in the landscape, and how to edit the photos in Lightroom. This project helped transform me so that I am better able to complete my goals for the future.

Before my project I was not taking in the world with any kind of thought. I was merely just seeing the world exactly as it appeared. After my trip I was seeing the world in a whole new way. I could see how different colors compliment each other, how naturally made lines in the landscape can draw your attention in specific ways, and now I can think about how best to photograph what I’m seeing. I also find myself looking at other artists’ photographs and thinking about the ways it may have been edited from the original raw image that was captured.

Before my project I was also very self-conscious and worried about what other people thought about me. My project helped me begin to overcome this as I was traveling with a group of people I hadn’t met in person before arriving in Las Vegas. Now I feel more comfortable starting a conversation with new people as well as being more comfortable being in public by myself and less worried about what other people are thinking about me.

One of the significant interactions that led to my transformation was having the same roommate for our hotel room stays throughout the trip. Knowing that I would be spending the entire week with the same person made me want to step out of my shell and be less quiet than I usually am. It also helped that she was very talkative and engaged me in conversation enough that I felt comfortable starting conversations with her myself.

Another significant interaction was traveling in two vans where we rotated who was in each van every other day so you weren’t sitting around the same people the whole trip. This was helpful for my transformation because we were in a van driving for significant amounts of time and there was no music playing, so we all talked to each other to keep the drives interesting. This allowed me to talk to pretty much everyone in the group and it surprised me how comfortable I felt around everyone by the end of the trip and how much easier it felt like I would be able to communicate with people around me in any situation.

Every time we went out to take pictures also contributed to my transformation, especially because the professional photographer Tony Smalls would point out parts of the landscape that were interesting to him and would make great pictures. It helped me start to change the way I see the world by starting to see how he looked at the world with an artist’s perspective. There were times he also encouraged us to find what he had stopped to look at, which furthered my ability to see the world differently than I used to.

The way my perspective of the world when I go outside or see another photographers photos has changed is valuable for me personally because I feel I’ve expanded my creativity, which I haven’t always been as great at as I am at more math/science based things. I have always had a personal goal to be able to create anything that I set my mind to and I feel more confident now that I actually would be able to. My new found confidence in interacting with people, being less quiet, and feeling less self-conscious is valuable for me professionally and for my future goals. Part of being a professional engineer is having the ability to network which requires being able to meet someone new and tell them as much about yourself as you can in a very short time. I feel like I will be much better equipped to handle that now which will help me complete my future goals of becoming a licensed professional engineer in 5 years.

Valley of Fire

Sunset at Zion

My project titled “Introduction to Photography and Portfolio Creation” was a Creative & Artistic Endeavor aimed to develop the new skill of photography as a complete beginner. Through this experience, I was able to take photography classes through a local photography training company and purchase my own camera to practice and utilize these skills. My final deliverable was produced by planning, implementing, and editing photos for a photoshoot to create a portfolio.  

As an engineering student at Ohio State, I spend most of my time doing technical work; calculations and free-body diagrams take up most of my time. While I have always been good at science and math, I knew I had a creative side that was eager to come out. Rather than spending my STEP fellowship on an internship that simply pushes me in the direction I am already headed, I wanted to challenge myself to learn something completely new and different from engineering. The only knowledge I had of photography prior to this project was how to snap a photo on my iPhone and use the free version of Lightroom to make some adjustments before posting on Instagram. Through this project, however, I was able to view the world and myself completely differently through an entirely new skill.  

This project allowed me to grow in confidence in my ability to demonstrate my creative mind. I was worried that I may not be good enough to produce the jaw-dropping work that I see from professional photographers. While it is true that I currently do not have the skills of the photographers I see in magazines, this project revealed that I do have the potential to create impressive photos. I am still a beginner and I have realized that these skills do not come overnight. Rather than feeling bogged down by the work I see of photographers on social media, I now look at it as inspiration to create my own and use experts as my teachers. Aside from my personal growth, this project has transformed how I view the world. What I once thought was mundane, I now see as beautiful. I much more intentionally look at what is around me and how the world can be captured through a lens. . 

My experience with photography classes at Shutterbug Photography Training had the greatest impact on my photography journey because it made me realize how much I did not know and how great the potential for growth was. It was overwhelming to hear so many new vocabulary words even within a 2-hour class, but I was lucky to have a teacher, Braddley Adams, that was so willing to walk me through the process. The classes enabled me to be fully functional with the basics of my camera from a technical side, as well as how to construct a photo to make it appealing for the viewer.  

Not only was I taking in so much information about how to take photos, I also had to make the purchase of getting my own camera. With so many brands, types, and lenses, I felt lost choosing the right one. Not only did Braddley give recommendations of which camera body and lens to buy, he even met me at the camera store to help me test them out and ultimately purchase my equipment! Without his help, I would have simply bought a highly rated camera on Amazon. This moment in the project made me value the importance of leaning on experts as a beginner. Not only could he help, but he wanted to see me succeed. As someone who is often intimidated by asking for help and just muscles through it on my own, I saw firsthand how valuable it is to learn from others. 

The greatest transformational experience of this was planning my own photoshoot because this was my opportunity to show what I had learned and prove to myself that I was capable. It was at this point that I realized that it was my job as the photographer to portray a message through my art. In class we discussed how every photo evokes emotion, so I needed to decide how I wanted my viewer to feel from my work. Ultimately, I decided to demonstrate the importance of being boldly yourself in a mundane world. I decided I would accomplish this by having my model in bright, unique clothes with a dull, “day-in-the-life” style background. After creating a mood board and asking the Aldi’s manager if I could borrow a shopping cart as a prop, I was off to my own photoshoot. Seeing the final photos was such a rewarding experience because it was proof that I could do what I set out to do with this project from the beginning and I was left with a portfolio to prove it.  

Not only has this project changed the way I view the world by seeing beauty in the little things, but it has also given me opportunities that I would never have otherwise been offered. Many of my close peers are involved in the music industry, and they have now asked me to take photos for them for live concerts, album covers, and promotional art. Furthermore, I plan on taking graduation photos and family portraits for close friends in the future.  

While engineering may be my 9-5, this project has expanded my view on how I can devote my time after work. Whether photography ends up being simply a hobby or even a side job, I do not plan on staying stagnant with this skill even though this project is completed. I am eager to practice and grow my skills to see what other opportunities can arise in the future.

My STEP signature project was centralized around the creative process of photography. A group of students, including myself, traveled with our STEP leaders to Utah and Nevada to capture pictures of scenery and learn what goes into a “good” picture. We would hike to a location set by our guide and take pictures, learning the best way to adjust the settings in order to capture a good RAW picture.

My STEP project allowed me to see things that I had never seen before. I learned a lot about myself as a person but also as a hopeful photographer on this trip. One of my key opinions that changed after completing this trip was what truly went into capturing the best moments of a landscape. I did not realize when looking at some of the pictures of Zion National Park or of Bryce Canyon National Park just what the photographer had done to truly capture the moment. Photography takes serious dedication to the early mornings and late nights, as well as to the editing process to truly get the picture you want. There were many days that I grumbled about waking up at 4 am to go hike after going to bed at midnight, but I was truly able to see the benefits when reviewing my early morning pictures.

Another thing that this trip taught me was personal. Through this STEP experience I was able to create friendships for life that I otherwise would have never formed. I was able to bond with my roommate, who taught me many things about taking pictures and editing along the way. I also am really grateful for my STEP experience because I was able to travel to places I have always wanted to go but did not have the specific plan. By attending my STEP program, I was able to go to Las Vegas, Valley of Fire State Park, Zion National Park, and Bryce Canyon National Park.

Every day was a completely different adventure than the day prior and I think that is a huge reason I was able to transform my ideas and beliefs so much. When I first landed in Vegas I found my roommate and we talked about what we were most excited about on our trip. She was excited to take more pictures, since she already had some background knowledge, whereas I was excited to be able to explore a new place and capture the memories along the way. Over the course of the trip, however, I think my hopes for the trip changed. I wanted to take better pictures to remember what I had done that day and I wanted to be able to teach others the things that I had learned. The photographer that joined us, Tony, and Dr Whittington, our STEP project lead, were tremendous at pointing out little settings changes that made a drastic impact on the quality of pictures we were able to capture.

Tony walked us through all of the tools in Lightroom and Photoshop and pointed out the modifications he usually used to get his photos how he liked. In this moment I was able to realize that not everything you see is a raw shot, and sometimes hours and hours of work go into finding the right location, hiking back to that location at the time of day you envision and then getting the shots. But also all of the behind the scenes editing and cropping to get it to be the storytelling picture. Photography is what you make of it, whether that be just a hobby of taking photos or capturing moments for other people to display, it is a journey and can reinforce the valuable lessons of patience and hard work.

This experience has left a lasting impression on my life. This trip allowed me to explore the world with new people while learning a new skill. I have forever gained a mentor in photography in Tony and am grateful for the feedback him and Dr Whittington were able to give me on the many early morning and late night shoots. I hope to be able to use my new found photography skills to capture the moment more often. I would love to go back to the places we visited during the summer and see how much different it is and be able to reflect on the skills I learned.

My STEP project involved attending a 60-minute guitar lesson each week with Musicologie in Westerville. I wanted the biggest takeaway from the lessons be the ability to continue teaching myself how to play, and I wanted most lessons to focus on music theory and learning how to improvise on the instrument. I studies the history of the guitar, played well-known songs, and am actively training on my own daily to improve my skills further. 

Studying music theory with my instructor – Travis – has opened my eyes to the wonderfully nuanced world of music. Especially guitar! He helped me understand the guitar extremely easily, and this has illuminated the dark and mysterious world of string instruments. I always thought it was going to be very tough to memorize shapes, where the notes are, and most importantly the intervals between the notes. However, I was wrong, and Travis got me improvising by the second lesson. I was slow (and still am), but I could see visible progress every week – so long as I practiced! I have gained a sense of self-control in assuring I make time and efforts to practice daily. 

Most interactions with Travis were fantastic. He helped me learn guitar in every sense of the word. I didn’t just learn how to play it and understand it’s music theory, but I also learned about its history, its variations, its role in art and music. I was recommended hundreds of guitarists to listen to all thanks to Travis. My ear has developed significantly, and I can pick up on subtle intricacies of guitar in music now just by intense exposure. 

There were two particularly profound moments in lessons where things clicked. The first was when it clicked in my head how the guitars patterns worked. “It’s so easy” I would say to Travis, and he would just smile and nod and tell me that learning guitar is all about patterns. From then on, I started to view the instrument mathematically. In another profound moment – learning scales – I found it was easier to give notes small formulas instead of being held back on their names and relationships to each other. It was no longer the C major scale, but rather a series like “x, x+2, x+3, x, x+3…” This helped me learn sales much faster, and I still use this logical view to help me learn more today. 

Another important activity that happened to me occurred when I was practicing alone. I had the practice sheets out, and after a warm-up, I started to put on some backing tracks and improvise over some blues. I had only been improvising in one key up until that point, but with the knowledge Travis had given me, I wanted to try exploring improvisation in a different key. So, I opened my scales book, studied the shapes, found their similarities, noted their layouts, and then started improvising with ease in a new key. It made me feel like I really was able to teach myself, and even after the lessons ended, I could still improve my playing and understanding without help. 

These lessons were an important change in my life because my relationship with music has recently been altered since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Being stuck inside, unable to practice my singing or trumpet playing without the neighbors complaining, was separating me from my music. I have always had this guitar – a gift from my cousin – and I figured it’s way past due to start seriously practicing it. Adding another tool to my musical roster also has boosted my mood and motivated me to pursue further education in other string instruments. Jamming out on my guitar has been a great way to relax, and I hope to use it as a leisure activity in the future.  

My STEP project was working in partnership with the Center for Innovative Food Technology (C.I.F.T) helping produce multiple short films. The videos will encompass the recent developments in food technology, specifically at Edge Innovation and the Grote company here in Columbus. I helped edit scripts, shoot footage, and edit everything together for 6 specific videos. 

I went into this project with little to no exposure to the world of food production, and even less exposure to the world of corporate videos, so I was expecting to feel a little lost. There was definitely a learning curve when figuring out how to manage the ideas and opinions of a lot of different executives from various companies, but I found that in some cases I actually liked absorbing ideas from others instead of having to come up with my own. I also learned that I can visualize things very well in my head and efficiently communicate that idea with other people, which was very helpful for them because they did not have much visual conceptualization prior to me joining the team. 

I worked closely alongside Donatos Pizza CEO and founder Jim Grote, who started his own company and grew the food innovation industry. He started by inventing a machine that slices 100 sticks of pepperoni at once, and went on to create entire factories of automated food production lines. Learning about his process and how he develops his ideas was very enlightening for me, and it gave me a lot of inspiration when coming up with further ideas for the videos. He taught me about how he sees things clearly in his mind, and gave me tips on how to get your ideas effectively down on paper.

I got to tour their dough making factory and talk with the production line workers there about the process and how the machines work. This gave me a ton of insight into the interaction between the employees and the machines, what role the machines play in the process, and how it all works together to make a quality finished product. It also made it easier to visualize what background footage we needed to shoot in order to reinforce the narration. When coming up with the content for the visuals, we took all of this into account to ensure a coherent visual presentation. The production team I was working with also gave me the opportunity to sit in on all their meetings, so I got to see what a typical workflow is like for larger productions.

I also got to tour a frozen pizza factory, which was fully automated. That means from the frozen piece of dough that they start with, through sauce, cheese, pepperoni, and any other toppings they might need, the workers never have to touch anything. Even once the pizza is crafted, the packaging and boxing is fully automated as well. This was a great experience to practically understand what food innovation means and how technology can improve the efficiency of food production. The videos mainly focused on different areas of innovation within the food industry, but food automation was something they were very passionate about. 

This transformation was valuable for my life because in my professional career, I want to apply the same innovative mindset I had when working on the videos to everything I create. I believe I am better equipped to navigate corporate life within a production industry, and the practical skills I gained by working with the CIFT team will be very applicable to the jobs I am hoping to get after graduation. Overall, getting to work on a larger production and getting exposure to the structure of documentary filmmaking was new for me, and very beneficial to my growth as a creator. 

Matthew Lehmann

January 31, 2022

STEP Reflection

My Second-year Transformational Experience Project involved cooking classes which allowed me to learn more about cooking and gain confidence in the kitchen. I took many classes at Sur La Table in Columbus, as well as one class in Powell at Savoir Cooking and Wine. The project was a creative endeavor that helped me to gain skills that I can use in the future as a Family and Consumer Science Teacher. 

Above all, my understanding of myself changed greatly over the course of my STEP project. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic that began the semester before I was planning on completing my cooking classes, I had to postpone my project. Therefore, I had a longer amount of time to learn about cooking and myself before I even began taking classes at Sur La Table. I considered myself to be an amateur cook when I took my first class, but I still lacked confidence in my skills since I have not had formal culinary training. The instructors of the classes recognized early on that I had advanced past the level of a beginner and could help demonstrate tasks in the kitchen. Helping the instructors was a huge boost to my confidence, and I now view myself as a good cook, capable of creating my own recipes and adapting others the way I see fit. 

The cooking classes that I took were all different, but many of them covered the same or similar concepts. For example, one class was about cooking steak, while another was focused on cooking with cast iron. Both classes utilized cast iron skillets for cooking, so I gained a lot of experience by using that type of cooking method more than once. I love using cast iron at home now when I cook, and I think it has benefitted my cooking as well. I also took classes that focused on cuisines from other regions of the world, such as French cooking or Italian dishes. By exploring these cuisines and the different methods that are used, I was able to understand the cultures better. I have been able to put what I learned into practice already as a student-teacher. I teach Global Gourmet to high schoolers and have focused on different regions of the world and have incorporated things that I learned into my lessons. 

The instructors at Sur La Table played an important role in my STEP project as well. After taking a few classes, the instructors began to recognize me and knew me by name. They would often call on me to answer questions or demonstrate something to the rest of the class. I was especially good at knife skills, and many times the instructor would notice and use my product as an example. I was very pleased with my progress compared to the beginners because I had never compared my abilities as a cook to anyone else except for famous chefs. Having the instructors acknowledge that I was more skilled than a beginner raised my confidence. Now, as a student teacher in an FCS classroom, I feel comfortable doing cooking demonstrations for my students. If I had not taken the classes at Sur La Table I would not feel as comfortable.

The primary reason that I decided on taking cooking classes for my STEP project was that I have a love for cooking and a genuine interest in food science and where food comes from. My passion for cooking is one of the reasons I have studied to become a Family and Consumer Science Educator. Growing that passion at Sur La Table had numerous benefits. My skills became more refined and I learned new techniques in the kitchen. More importantly, I realized that I am a competent cook and can successfully complete recipes and make my own dishes. I will be able to practice the techniques that I learned as a teacher and as a home chef. Additionally, I was able to experience how the instructors at Sur La Table taught a cooking class, and I will implement some of their teaching methods in my classroom in the future.