Week 8 EOC: The Bang Bang Club

The Bang Bang Club, from what was shown, was quite phenomenal.  If I could relate to anyone it would be Greg.  A problem I would face is that I would not be able to help anyone with what was going on which is a huge concern of mine.

“As a photographer, you feel helpless. Around you are medics, security personnel, people doing good work. It can be agonisingly painful to think that all you're doing is taking pictures.” –Adam Ferguson

The problem with what happens is that you cannot get involved otherwise you are lebeled with a side.  Once a side has been chosen your life then becomes more in danger than previously shown.  Another quarrel with this is that your life is in danger just for being there.

“They made us lie in the dirt, put guns to us. We were pleading for our lives.” -Lynsey Addario

The looming threat of death will always hang when in conflict, documenting it is something that needs to be done so the world can really see what is going on.  Images are some of the most powerful forms of documentation and being able to see what is really happening is always an eye opener for the world. 

“I always ask myself, "Why do I do this job?' And the answer is: I want to show the best and worst face of humankind. Every time you go to a conflict, you see the worst. We need to see what we do to be able to show future generations the mistakes we make.” -Alvaro Ybarra Zavala

This is something everyday that I would have troubles with.  The idea of documenting things so horrid that it’s hard for many to fathom, but in the end somebody has to do it.

Week 7 Challenge: Gentleman's Relish

Week 7 EOC:

Week 6 Challenge: Collage

Week 6 EOC: How has Art Changed You?

Art has played a role in my life throughout its entirety thus far.  When I was younger I would do a lot more with drawing and painting.  As I progressed on through middle school and started to focus more on my schooling the drawing had started to subside.  Going into high school it had started to come back and then I had started to take more classes pertaining to the arts.  During this time I was venturing into things I had not done before such as sculpting.  When doing art I am at ease, be it something simple as doodling into something more time consuming as painting.  During the past year I had developed anxiety and lost my artistic side whilst working and going to school, time was something that I did not have.  I started to make more time for art and set aside a certain amount of time a week.  Doing this truly helped me in finding my calm and helped to set my anxiety at ease.  While it is still persistent and comes in at random times the anxiety still persists.  I then quit my job to focus more on my schooling, which in turn has me doing more art.  By doing this I keep focusing more on the things I am doing in my photographic career and am spending less time worrying about my health.  Ultimately, I am hoping that focusing on this will lower my over all levels of stress, as it has done for me before, and can get me back to the person that I used to be.  One year ago when I lost art I started to lose myself.  Now that I am getting it back I am getting my life back.  That is how art has and will influence and change me.

Week 5 Challenge: You Editing a Photo

When editing photos I do a few different things.  The first step in my process is the easy editing.  This is typically done in bridge or lightroom and consists of color balancing, exposure setting and some light spot removal.  When I do this I use my main computer monitor since I have it calibrated for the color.  My main computer monitor is the one that you can see me staring into in the photo. The second part of my editing technique plays into the heavy editing.  I typically do this when looking at my television which I have connected to my computer as a second monitor.  The reason I do this for the heavy editing is because the screen is much bigger which allows me to see everything much easier.  The television can be seen at the white box behind me with the image inside.  The heavy editing takes place when I have to mask out an area or do more than just spot healing.  Anything that has a very fine detail in it is done using my television so I can see everything much easier without having to strain my eyes.

This image was shot at an ISO of 800 at an aperture of 2.8 and a shutter speed of 1/80.  I had three light sources in this image, the computer monitor, the television and then a lamp which is not visible in the image.  I did a slight color correction on the image seeing as there were three different light sources which means there are three different temperatures making color changes from all directions of the photo.

Week 5 EOC: Quote from Business Plan

“The number one thing is to always be properly equipped.  In these events at the very least there should be one camera, two lenses and a flash.  This would be considered a good starting point.  For the more prestigious photographer in the industry one would be looking at two bodies, each equipped with a different lens and a flash as well.  During concerts the general rule is during the first three songs the photographer can use the flash all they want, after that it must be put away.  That being said, one body should be able to go into high ISO without a lot of grain and the lens should have a fairly decent aperture range.”

“Photography continues to grow in every aspect of the craft.  As of now, living in the digital age where all information can be accessed through a computer, we tend to keep the trend going in that direction.  With digital images we are able to produce more at a faster pace.  We are able to see what we have created on the spot but the split second rapid fire is what we need the majority of the time to get that one shot that will sell the whole show.  Not only does going digital allow a photographer more ease of access it also makes post production even faster.  In event photography we won’t be focusing on heavy edits but enough of the simple editing for lighting and color correction which will make the turnaround for these projects fast and painless.”

Week 4 Challenge: You in a Photo Store

I tend to do about ninety percent of all of my shopping, be it photo equipment or clothes, all online.  My interpretation of me in a photo store is that in my store of choice.  As you can see from the image, my store of choice is B&H Photo.  I first heard about B&H when I first started to get into photography roughly two years ago.  Ever since then I had scoured their website for deals and spent numerous amounts of time reading up on different items and reviews by the professionals.  B&H had become not only a store to me but also a resource in helping me get the equipment needed to help expand my photo arsenal.  My first big purchase from B&H was my 580 EX II.  The thing that surprised me the most about the online retailer was how fast the item had gotten to my door step.  Based out of New York, I believe, it got to me in Nevada in roughly 2 to 3 business days.  I have never had any troubles through ordering online through B&H and would highly recommend them to any photographer.

The image was shot at 400 ISO with aperture of 2.0 and a shutter speed of 1/80.  I had intended to use the monitor as my light source and tried to shroud everything else around so it seemed as if I were immersed in the online store itself.  The only post production done in the image is a bit of an adjustment to exposure and a little adjustment to the color setting as well.  In RAW I was very blue to I pushed it a little to give some life back into me.

Week 4 EOC: Peering Into the Future

Twenty-five years down the road at the very least, which should not be an issue, is to be established wherever I may be at the time.  I say established in the basic sense that my photography will be my career and I will have a constant stream of work to keep me busy.  During this time though, given the age difference, I may not be providing work for venues like I would be doing in the earlier years.  I may tend to focus on more high-end events and have a couple of assistants to help make sure that the whole event is covered at all times.  I would try to focus more on galas and events of that sort.  Over the years I would have acquired more funds to purchase more equipment, not just cameras and lenses but also lighting equipment.  This would allow me to branch out into portraiture and more studio work to ensure that when big events aren’t happening I am able to keep busy and keep a steady flow of income.  The main question here is if I will be opening a studio and have another set of rent to pay each month or shoot out of a room in the house.  Regardless of which you can still produce the same quality images.  One thing I would tend to stay away from though is weddings, unless it is solely for a friend.  While weddings pay good, I have never had a very fun experiencing whilst shooting them. I would have no problem doing engagement photos or anything of that sort, it is just the wedding ceremony in general which I will stay away from. 

Week 3 Challenge: You Incredible!

Six years ago I had embarked on a journey in which I never would have imagined.  I was fresh out of high school ready to take on the world, and so I did.  Okay, not the whole world but on country that I had always wanted to see.  I spent a month of my life, at the age of eighteen, in Australia.  I took on this journey with a friend and his brother.  During this time we traveled to numerous spots around Australia to see what else the world had in store outside of the states.  We came across many people that we still talk about to this day and a few in which we still talk to, to this day.  The image I selected is of me in a park in Melbourne.  For those who do not know, Melbourne is the art capital of Australia so we had seen some pretty amazing things.  This is one of the only images on my trip of me being somewhere.  I took many pictures while there and the majority of them did not have me or anyone else in them.  During this time I had not taken up any type of photography so everything was done with a simple point and shoot.  We used this to keep track of our journey and took numerous pictures of the various places we had explored.  Some of these places were the Picasso museum in Melbourne, the rainforest/sky rail in Cairns, The Great Barrier Reef and of course the wonderful Sydney Opera House.  The one month I spent outside of the country had changed many ways I had thought and opened my eyes to the world in a whole new way.

Week 3 EOC: National Geographic Photo Critique

Unexplored places always provide a sense of wonder.  Images such as this show that nature is full of surprises and can make quite the masterpiece.  This image portrays a place in which I would have never imagined.  This image is beautiful in many ways, the first being the color. The image, being monochromatic, stood out to me because the majority of all other images had amazing color.  For a change it was nice to see something that wasn’t just amazing color and contrast.  While those images are beautiful, they don’t evoke what this image does.  The depressed shutter to catch some motion of the waterfall is always an added touch to bring everything to life.  The highlights in the back of the image on the black rocks help to lead the eye to the waterfall which then takes it through the rest of the photograph.  One thing that stands out to me is the shape of the rocks in the back., and also how they seem to step out the higher you get.  This is something astonishing, something in which we see in nature but nothing to this extent.  Everything this image says to me is such a mystery.  Are all the rocks on the bottom of the photo from the rocks cascading down the sides?  With how the light is coming through, is the light source a hole in the ceiling and this is actually a cave? Without delving deeper into the photo most will never know, but one thing is for sure, it will keep your mind asking for more just to get those unanswered questions.

Week 2 Challenge: Paparazzi

This photo challenge to me was something a bit difficult but something also completely new.  I had never considered myself able to shoot something “paparazzi” style, in fact, I despise that style.  A co-worker of mine is friends with a man who plays in a bigger indie rock band that goes between California and here.  While using this to my advantage I decided to tag along with them as they hung out one night.  The image I chose was that of almost a basic headshot but one that evoked something more than just being an image, this one to me had a sense of life to it.  It had attitude and also portrayed the individual how he is.  During the course of me tagging along I got numerous shots of both individuals but I decided to make this about my co-workers friend since I had used the co-worker as a subject before. 

In post I had cropped the picture a tiny bit so it didn’t look as awkward.  The only lighting that I used were the lights in the area which gave off an orange glow so I changed the temperature a little.  Aside from that and a little exposure bump everything else was left as done in camera.  I had equipped my flash but after a few images of harsh lighting I was not liking the way it came out so I swapped to my 50mm 1.4 and opened the aperture up to get those ambient light images.

Week 2 EOC: La Dolce Vita

One thing I found to be interesting was how the paparazzi over time started to dwindle in numbers.  While I am sure it is like that in the real world as well I am sure that it probably would not have dropped by that amount.  When Sylvia first got off the plane she was greeted with nearly 20 paparazzi and at the end there were only four left.  I do have to say what got me is how the paparazzi was unable to get the shot right off the bat so they had asked her to go back in, granted it is only a celebrity photo, it still is not the actual event which is something that photography gets criticized on a lot, being staged.  This also plays into when the paparazzi had instigated the boyfriend into the fight scene.

For the photo assignment I have a couple ideas that I am playing with both dealing with downtown Las Vegas and a performer of some sort.  Depending on how the creative juices flow, I may end up doing something more artistic rather than the typical paparazzi style, but also something that provides more into how the paparazzi are.  This would be portrayed by seeing the paparazzi trailing the subject, and playing around with different shots to still get the paparazzi feel for the image.  Overall I am still trying to figure out how to play into it with the second idea but I’m sure in time I will find a solution to this problem.

Week 1 Challenge: Constructed Self Portrait

Weegee had always been a favorite photographer of mine ever since I had first come across him in the history of photography class.  His motto, "f8 and be there," has definitely shown me what is possible when documenting events and how to get the best out of an image.  It was said that he had a knack for knowing the perfect time to release the shutter and looking through his images I can definitely agree.  The image I chose was one of his titled "Their First Murder."  This image had always been one of my favorites due to the raw emotion throughout the image and the sense of chaos it seems to invoke.  The process of placing myself in the image was quite simple after a few hours of trial and error.  My first attempt I had made my self portrait black and white.  After playing around with that I then realized due to the light yellow undertone of the original image I was unable to go that route.  My main goal throughout the entire project was edit myself into the original image whilst leaving the original image as intended by the photographer.  My second route was to take myself and  desaturate that in the original using a layer mask.  This one seemed to work out much better.  After I got my color as close to that of the original I created another layer mask on my self portrait and started to wipe away the edges and sit myself into the background.  Once this was done I threw on a noise filter, just a little bit, to make it seem as if though it were part of the original image.

Week 1 EOC: Stallion not Unicorn

The market for event photography is quite vast.  Events come and go in the blink of an eye and the best way to keep the memory of them alive is through images.  While choosing to do event photography I will mostly be shooting natural light, which I do prefer to studio lighting.  With the constant movement at events I am forced to work under constant pressure and have to find the answers to problems in the blink of an eye.  My preference of events would be shooting concerts for bands or anything music related.  I would love to do this as freelance work so I can get my work out to whoever would be a potential buyer depending on the subject matter.  Not every concert can be sold to the same buyer, it is all dependent on the music genre and also the caliber of the event.  If I were to be signed on I would prefer to be on with Insomniac events.  One major event that Insomniac hosts has now found its new home in Vegas.  This event is known as the Electric Daisy Carnival.  This event consists of six different stages and an ocean of people.  The vast stages that the performers play on are always different and always provide a sense of something bigger, which is something I would love each photo taken to portray.  While I would prefer music events, any event is something I will take due to the fast pace, as long as in the end I’m not doing studio portraits and have something new every time I go to work I’ll be completely content with my job choice.

Week 1 EOC: "Voice"

Event photography is something that is always changing depending on the job being taken.  My love for this has come from always finding a solution to the challenge at hand.  From low-lit areas to the mismatching temperature of lights, I have shot it, and each time I have found a way to come out on top to please the client.  The jobs I have taken branch from completely casual to very formal all with the same output of relieved individuals knowing that they are in good hands when needing photographic documentation of the event.  My main goal, aside from solving the problems that may occur, is to make sure that you are pleased with what you have hired me for.  My second love for event photography comes from my passion for mainly shooting natural light.  No, I don’t have an internal hate with studio lighting, I prefer the look of naturally lit images to that of images with a staged light source or even a staged subject.  To me, nothing is more perfect in an image than a true human emotion, one that people can identify with, one that can establish a bond with the viewer and simply show the joys in life itself.