Friday, November 20, 2009

Mood + The Blue Hour


There is not much intended in this picture, but mood. Shot with almost no light left. Long exposure on a tripod f11. You can see the effects of the long exposure on the water closest to the the lens (the misty/flow effect), but not so much on the one further down. Click on the image to view in more detail.

Extra tip: Talking about late long exposures. Aside from what many photographers call "the golden hour" for taking photos. There is a lesser explored "hour" referred often as "The Blue Hour". This happens some time between the golden hour and total darkness. It usually renders very deep blue skies, but it could sometimes be hard to see (very obviously anyway). Cameras can sometimes catch light that our eyes have trouble adjusting too. Mostly due to the ability to have longer exposures. A city scape is a good example of where a blue hour photo will be well suited. You get the lights from the buildings and a rich deep blue sky. Does not hurt to try. And if you are wondering how do I know when the blue hour is? (which is not a whole hour by the way, more like 15-20 minutes). You can go to a very handy website www.bluhour.com that tells you exactly when it starts and ends depending on your location. The website also offers samples.

Saturday, November 14, 2009

One last shot

This is at the end of what I called a "mini-corporate" session. This shot was not in the plans, we just did it at the very end of the shoot. The sky was a bit cloudy and it happen to be right before sunset. We had great natural light for like 15 minutes. This was a moment of we have great light lets shoot. It was all very quick, but I opted for the magazine cologne add type of look. Think of an Italian business man. Hence the car and the Italian writing of the restaurant in the back-ground. We took this one shot and ended the photo-shoot. My favorite part..... the shoes. Handheld 1/25th @ f2

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Extracting JPEGs from RAW files

(click to enlarge)

Here is an easy way to get JPEGs out of your RAW files. I know most DSLR cameras give you the option to shoot both RAW and JPEGs at the same time. Good idea, but it takes more space on your memory card. One of the more interesting options for me was some of these higher up DSLR cameras with two card-slots that let you write RAW files on one and JPEGs on the other.

The people at www.rawworkflow.com have come up with a very good alternative.
See camera manufacturers have a JPEG image embedded to all the RAW images you shoot. That's what you see on you LCD screen on the back of your camera. Not the RAW image. That is also why sometimes your images look a little different from your LCD screen to the actual raw image on your computer monitor (see image above). JPEG images have in-camera processing, to make them look more "finished". It is typical for a out-of-camera JPEG image to have some color enhancement, added contrast and sharpening among other things.
The folks at raw workflow created a tool to extract this file.
They call it IJFR (Instant JPEG From RAW) and it is a free utility. It extracts the already embedded JPEG file from your RAW images. The best part is that it does it quick. It is not even a program you have to run. It is more of a simple action your computer can do. All you have to do is a quick download it and set up and your good to go. You can do one file or a whole folder. You also have a size option, which lets you decide how small you want the files to be (this is great for quick e-mail sizes).

The image above shows you the visual difference between a RAW file and the embedded JPEG (notice I said "visual" difference). It is an untouched (other than beeing sized) image split in half. One side is the RAW file the other is the JPEG extracted by IJFR. You can see the effect some of the in-camera-processing has on the JPEG image. Feel free to click on the image to a full size to see an easier comparison.

Sunday, October 25, 2009

For frustrated artist

This is more of a piece rather than just a photo. It is my interpretation on the inevitable frustration that all artist go thru. Art is a cycle, it will never cease. (Those are not my hands, but the real hands of a canvas artist)

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Delylah comes from a law enforcement family

This is baby Delylah at only a few weeks old. The original shoot was for some Fall baby family postcards which we did shoot. BUT being in a law enforcement house I didn't pass on the opportunity to use some of the the attire as props (I should also mentioned that the deputy used to be my roommate while we both went to school in AZ, so I felt pretty conformable trying out any new ideas) . The hat is from the "Class A" outfit which is typically used for special occasions. Think of it as the nicer suit or tuxedo equivalent.
As far as the photo goes. It was shot at F1.8 to get an incrementing dreamy soft blur effect on everything but Delylah's face. That is also why the badge is out of focus. I did that on purpose. I realized I liked the badge were it was, but its golden color and its shimmer could be distracting and robing Delylah some attention.

Sunday, September 27, 2009

Behind the lens. (A quick how to recipe)

(click to enlarge)

Here is the set up for the picture above (for the one above the camera one). The basic concept is to get as close to the ground as you can. I simply let my camera rest on the rocks and used some of them to straighten out the frame. Use a wide lens or open your zoom to its widest. Mine was at 18mm set to f22 . I don't normally use "live view" (where you can see the picture composition on the LCD screen), but I used it here for a better visual explanation. I almost always put my eye right to up to the view finder, even if it means laying on my stomach. Beeing at f22 you would figure that most of the photo from foreground to background should be in focus. The difference here is that I am so close to the ground that the lens can't focus at such close distance (we are talking inches). You can see the lens staring to focus at less than one ft away from the camera and on. A wireless release was use to avoid any camera shake. Last, but still important was a circular polarizer filter that help give depth to the clouds and the mountains.

Try this, on the street or on short grass, you'll be amazed at the different perspective you get from this angle.

Sunday, September 20, 2009

Artist Sergio Huerta






Compelling visual artist and good friend of mine Sergio Huerta asked me to do some photos of him, for a recent new project. The basic concept was a portrait, but knowing me and him I knew it wasn't gonna just be a plain portrait. We set out with a few basic ideas and a couple of original paintings of his. After a bit of brainstorming and a few tests, we opted to use a piece called "State of Emergency". The canvas size and the ratio of the painting seem to be the perfect size. I asked him to get behind the canvas and align his head with the top of the painting. The idea worked! Now to take it a step further. Simple! Add a basic plain but interesting background to use for "negative space". The human eye tends to gravitate towards the top left corner of just about any flat surface that resembles a book or a piece of paper. So the concept here is to drag the viewers eye across the image through a texture filled brick wall and ultimately ending and resting visually on the subject.

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Live- Last show ever at Milano.

TJ From the Dirty Sanchez. No Flash 50mm at 1.8
Tokyo Death March. No Flash open to 18mm.


Monday, August 10, 2009

Thunder Mountain.


Built over the years by a Creek indian. He said that an old medicine woman told him, "In the final days, there shall rise up a place called Thunder Mountain." She also said that those who live in there would survive the apocalypse. He spent years building it.
A very interesting place to say the least. It is now alone and inhabited. There is access in to this radical place, but the door at the fence reads "Enter at your own risk". No-one there to guard it or much less. Creepy, but that sign made me want to go in even more.

Sunday, August 2, 2009

Dark, Cold, Hard


More people jump off from this bridge than any other in the world. Only one has survived.
The longer exposure makes the waves of water coming in an out look more like a ghostly mist. I set out to capture just that, and to my surprise it worked. I like the city of San Francisco, but the Golden Gate gets photographed so much that I wanted to provide a less traveled perspective. I chose a perfect day for this look. The city and the bridge were covered by a fog/mist that hovered right over the bridge. I made sure to use a "cool" white balance for the extra "cold feel".

Thursday, July 23, 2009

The Fire Pretzel in Nevada



This from a recent trip to the state of Nevada. Stayed with some friends. Near midnight they realize I had a camera with me. One tells the other "you should do your fire spinning for them". I was like "fire what?", but I was in the room grabbing my camera before they could fully answer. Thanks to Christian for putting on a private fire show even-though he had to get up to get to work at 4 am.

Saturday, July 18, 2009

Vehicles painted by Smufs. (from photowalk)

(click to enlarge, I made this one Bigger!)

This was taken during the World Wide Photowalk Fresno edition (today). This year it included 30,000 photographers in hundreds of cities around the world. Fresno's was scheduled to start at the Zoo, which I have a love hate relationship with. The basic concept was to start at the Zoo and end at a local photo gallery (Spectrum Gallery). I device my plan to not spend all my time (2hrs) at the zoo and actually get out and find some street shots.
Minutes before the 2 hrs were done I found this blue motorcycle less than a block from the gallery. Plenty of bikes around town usually, but the paint in this one had a satin texture, which looked very soft. Possibly could make for a good picture. I figured it could almost produce the feel of fancy lighting equipment, making it a good candidate for a photo. I did take some animal pictures, including 4 legged ones, but this time we are sticking to the 2 wheeled one.

Friday, July 3, 2009

What is Art? Cell phone Art?



What is Art? I'll never have an answer. Not needed, because its relative. About the photo(s) This is a compilation of CellPhone photographs. Inspired by commercial photographer Chase Jarvis. He believes there is at least 10 good possible photographs around you at any given time. And that the best camera is the one you have with you. True? Well, lets find out. All this photos were taken with in 1 hr time frame with a my cell phone camera. This time we have a bit of an mini-architectural-abstract feel. Plus I compiled it in a art installation form (does that make it more artsy? No you say! Ok).

I want your brief (long is ok too) interpretation/explanation of this "piece". Tell me what you feel when you see it for the first time. Very quickly analyze how you felt the first 5 seconds after you first saw it. Does it make you vomit or take more cell phone photos? Does it automatically bore you or do you find yourself staring at it for a while? etc etc... you get the point.

Also if you have cool cellphone photos please post the photo or a link. I'd be interested in seeing them.

Monday, June 22, 2009

Where is this? (the lion tamer edition)

(click photo to enlarge)
I was almost done here when I heard a group of dogs. I thought they must be near by. Wrong! they were coming around the shack straight toward me. I pulled my camera off the tripod just in time to use the as a defense mechanism. Legs fully wide and extended I kept it between me and the pretty mean looking canines. Think of a lion tamer with a chair and a whip. The tripod made a good substitute for chair, but the camera did not make for a good whip. Ohh, and I have to remember to bring more appropriate shoes next time.

Either way I think I might use this place in the future to take some dramatic portraits. Where is this at?

Friday, June 19, 2009

Yosemite Falls


There is definitely more to see than mirror lake in Yosemite. Here is my view of Yosemite falls in HDR. Yosemite was at its peak waterfall season. That means more water on the falls for possibly better photos. In many instances it also meant there was plenty of water dispersing and splashing at a wide radius. To take this photo I had to get close enough to get my self and the camera somewhat wet, but I had to get that red log on the frame. So.... there you go.

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Free photography lessons

Do you own or want to buy one of those new Digital SLR (single lens reflex) cameras, but don't know much on how to use it? Sure you can set it to everything automatic and get a picture out of it, but a point and shoot camera can do that too. There is much more to a DSLR than that. If you are confused about aperture, shutter speed, white balance, the histogram, color space, file format etc etc etc.... Then I can help clarify some of that. If you want to know about technique or how to get a certain type of shot? then I can help too.

I have a plan to provide free information in a very laid back format. Simple non-classroom like. More like just a chat or conversation, but with all the information to help you get better photos. Meeting at a different public places with one or two people at a time. All you need is a small note pad and maybe your camera, but it is not necessary (even the notepad is optional, like I said laid back learning environment). We can also talk photoshop, camera raw and HDR images. Interested in knowing about how they retouch (over-retouch) those magazine cover portraits. We can talk about that too.

The lessons will have to stay local with in the central valley. Mostly between Visalia and Fresno. Where to meet: coffee or tea houses, small restaurants. Anything that gives us a relaxed place to seat and maybe something to drink. Lastly the lessons are FREE. Free is always better so take advantage of it. (of course you can always buy me a tea or a coffe, but that is not necessary ).

If you or someone you know is interested, contact me via email or just comment on this post

floresisra@yahoo.com

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

Lombard St San Francisco


San Francisco happens to be one of my favorite cities. I set out to shoot one of the many lesser known attractions (compared to the Golden Gate for example) Lombard St. Known as the crookedest road in the world. This one block section of the street contains 8 sharp turns. This road gets photographed everyday, so I wanted to approach the shoot differently. I intended to capture the scene from a unique perspective. Taking the typical shot will just yield "blah" results.

I decided to approach it at night and from the top (instead of the more common bottom). The top view had a couple advantages and one huge disadvantage. The shot was planned to be a long exposure. Long enough to capture the rear lights of cars driving down it, making them just streaks of light. This was an only possible from the top, since it is a one way street. The top view also gave me a lesser explored perspective. On the other hand most of the visual interest of the street gets lost because of the angle of view. How to approach that?

My only option was to gain height. I started by climbing on a 4ft tall cement post at the very top. Indeed it was better, but not good enough (not nearly good enough). First reaction was to look for something higher. I quickly found that there really wasn't much. Except for the actual houses. I found a small garden outside a window on a second floor. I climbed up to it and set my camera. This was probably consider trespassing since I was on the actual property (don't try this at home kids, or don't get caught). The view was much better. I took some shots, but wasn't completely satisfied. After some more looking around a better location was found, but guess what? In order to gain height I would have to clim again. This time it was a thick wall right next to another window. This one was even closer to me. The blinds were closed so I took a chance. I couldn't miss the shot. I convinced my self to climb it and hope that no-one opened the blinds or the window. I climbed up and set up my tripod on a 12 inch section of the wall (many times much narrower that the optimal space for my tripod, but it would have to do). I was standing inches from the window. I don't even want to know what the owner would of done if they opened it and saw me there. Never the less, I proceeded. I managed to balance my self and the camera with out falling on to the cement or dropping the camera. Finally I could have my shot.

Each exposure took 30 seconds. After what it seem like an eternity, I was happy with outcome.

If you have any comments, please leave below.

Friday, May 29, 2009

Yosemite's Mirror Lake

(click to enlarge)

First trip to Yosemite. I looked at all my options and settled for focusing on Mirror Lake. That meant having to end up there at sunset for good light. Thunder storms came and went, clouds covered the sky, then the sun would shine etc etc... Mild rain came back during the trail to the lake. Knowing that it could get dramatically worse in a matter of minutes, I came up with a plan to stake out possible shelters along the way. Sure enough half ways to the lake the rain came in harder. Following the plan we retreated back to a small utility wooden cabin, with an even smaller porch like cover. The rain came harder and harder and so did the thunder. We waited for almost 20 mins. The rain slowed down and we decided to continue. Meanwhile we are still looking out for more potential shelters just incase the harder rain returned. The shelter look out included anything from under a large rock to just the side of the mountain. The rain slowly diminished as we got to our destination. Flat ugly white clouds cover the sky and large droplets of rain water from the trees hit the lake surface making it not so mirror-y. The sun was relatively high still so I decided to wait. I waited and waited. The clouds started clearing out and the sun came down as the day went on. Finally like magic, the clouds mostly cleared and the lake surface was calm. By then the sun was low enough and an unexpected mist was rising behind the trees. At last I could shot some images.

Bonus: The trail had only a few people on it to begin with. We stayed late for the picture, so people that were there had left already. We walked the trail back to the road in mid light. We get to the end to wait for the bus/shuttle. There we find this one lady that was at the lake earlier. She was alone and with a frightened/exited look on her face she speaks in her european accent. "I just saw a bear!". No one else there but us, a lonely road and the darkness of the day falling. She goes on to explain on how she saw a black bear just off the trail. Braving her fear she reached for her camera, but the bear approached. The black bear walked on to the trail and stood just 8 ft away according to her. She stood motionless and in a few seconds the bear headed back. A large size animal according to her calculations. She raised her hand well above her head and said "this big".

Feel free to leave comments below.

Sunday, May 17, 2009

A challenge for you! (solved, congrats to James C)


Now that we are in the no photoshop/no computerized image topic (look below at "Gilroy near phantom curve" post). I decided to post a challenge. This picture you see here is also a 35mm black and white photograph. It was taken with a 1970s Cannon AE1 SLR camera. It is one single shot, and there is no darkroom trickery. The challenge; is to figure out how is it that the wine is almost jumping out of the bottle and landing right in to one of the the glasses (look at the angles). I'll give you a few tips: the bottle is a regular bottle (meaning it's not rigged with some contraption), the shot was taken as the wine was actually pouring and all the elements you see were present when the shot was taken. Remember no photoshop or any other computer program was used to crate the effect. Please comment with your ingenious theories.

In fact, if someone gets it compltley right, I will give you a price. A free print of any of the already posted images.

Disclaimer ( you do not qualify, if I've already told you how it was done).

To post a comment - simply click on the purple comment link below
- in the "Comment as" tab select "Name/URL"
- or log in if you have any of those accounts


Saturday, May 16, 2009

Gilroy, near phantom curve

If I remember correctly, I was on my way to a Deftones show in Northern California. Driving on a favorite route of mine (152 pacheco pass- usually boring for most people). Near Gilroy I caught a glimpse of some flower plantations on the side of the hill. I stop to see If I could frame a good picture. I was armed with a 35mm film camera and a few rolls of black and white film. I tried finding a safe place to pull over, but it took almost 1/2 a mile. I pulled in to a small dirt driveway that lead to nowhere and looked back to find this scene.
At the time I had access to a dark room. I ended up adding the clouds from a different picture I had shot on higway 63 near Visalia (if you look close you can see some graininess on the clouds). It took a few tries to get the two exposures right and I also managed not to have any visible overlapping. The technique is basic, but you don't know the results until you run the light sensitive paper trough the developing process. So there you have it, two pictures in one with out computers or photoshop.

Back from Moonhill


So I set out to go shoot some landscapes. I headed towards Moonhill right before sunset. I found a spot near Vispilio (that is a whole different conversation, I will explain later) I have visited times before. I shot for close to one hour and once the sun was only visible by it's reflection on the clouds, I decided to pack up and head back home. As I drive away I noticed the blue tint of the clouds was changing by the minute. I realize that in only a few moments the lighting on the sky could be great for a photograph, but how to shoot it? I left the small bridge coming up as my only opportunity. Now this ain't no fancy bridge, but a mere cross-over for a current of water used mostly for irrigation. I get there in less than 10 minutes after leaving the hill. The sky was even richer in color than I expected. The water was calm and the reflection of the clouds was almost that of a mirror. I stopped, did a few test shots added a subject (Crystal, who earlier entertained herself by doing dance routines on the road while I shot) then took the last shot for the day. That ended up being The shot to keep. It is not uncommon for photographers to end up in situations like this. Sometimes nature decides what you are going to shoot.

Friday, May 15, 2009

Brianna on mothers day



Brianna from Mammoth Lakes outside a casino. Don't worry she wasn't gambling.
If you ask your self "why is there only 2 post and one picture posted?" Well that is because I have only started and the rest will come soon.

If you are on twitter, you can find me here

Photos coming soon

I know this is mostly a photography page. The photos will be coming very soon