Random Gallery
Chain of Blues at the Main Street Brewery
Some shots from the Chain of Blues Concert at the Main Street Brewery.
Fashion Show at Club 525 Presented by YouLiveAndYouLearn.org
YouLiveAndYouLearn.org together with WhoMentors.org presented a great fashion show at Club 525 in San Francisco. The combined talent of the show producers, designers, make-up artists, models and live music made a great evening!
The fashion show featured 5 designers with a diverse set of great outfits
The designers were (as per the sequence of the fashion show):
- Jaclyen Chideme Designs
- D & M Collection, By: Diana Legorreta & Maggie Trever
- Ethnic Trends, By: Tia Alia
- Danielle Pettee Designs
- LIZVAL Collection, By: Lizeth Valenzuela
Make-Up Artists & Hair Stylists:
- Amy Busch
- Patricia Humphrey
- Lander Cai
- Ashley Aguilar
- Erandeny Torres
- Rare Looks By Trenell McClure
The location featured a red lounge area that made for a great place for shooting sessions with a few of the models. The sitting area really made the outfits pop!
About YouLiveandYouLearn.org: (source: from online media)
YouLiveAndYouLearn.org is a California, non-profit public benefit organization.
YouLiveAndYouLearn.org is concerned with civil society, philanthropy and the nonprofit sector and seeks to promote the practice of charitable giving and voluntarism through a variety of strategies including advocacy, disclosure, information exchange and research.
The objective for producing events and conferences is to illustrate appreciation for emerging designers and talent existing today. Additionally, the charitable organization aims to raise funds for students interested in design and architecture, who normally would not have the opportunity to nurture and expose their interests. Also, this will be a great way to educate them about creating sustainable designs for society.
For more information, visit: www.YouLiveAndYouLearn.org
A DIY Project – Flash Grid
I found this DIY Project during one of my “hyper-active bookmarking sessions” at Photographer’s Paradise. The video is featured in Hungarian, but you can easily see what is going on to follow.
This is a project that I will have to give a try and play around with at a low ISO setting to get that dramatic spotlight effect with a darkened background.
Enjoy!
What (or Who) Got Me Into Wedding Photography
Until a few years ago the idea of photographing weddings had only occasionally crossed my mind. Those thoughts were quickly extinguished by my own mis-understanding that wedding photography lacked creativity and could easily be compared to snapping photos at the DMV for driver’s licenses – a long, boring day.
VERY far from the truth! One day I was looking at other photographer’s work on the web and a picture caught my attention; It was a shot of a bride and groom in the middle of a dance floor with everyone looking on… the lights were low with lighting only on the newlyweds.
The photo was taken by Justine Ungaro, a Los Angeles based photographer. After a few additional clicks into her portfolio all of my thoughts about wedding photography had quickly changed. Feelings of lack of creativity were replaced with seeing that there could be art captured in every moment with the result that wedding albums could become an artistic story book that friends, family, complete strangers, event the couple might want to gaze upon over and over again.
I have enjoyed wedding photography since then and will not forget the picture – or the photographer – that changed my perspective on the subject.
You can see the work of Justine at her website and featured among other award-winning photographers at the Wedding Photographer Journalistic Association (WPJA) website.
From Scott Kelby… a Fashion Photography Accessory Discovery
I just had a friend post a link at Photographer’s Paradise to Scott Kelby’s blog about a “Fashion Photography Accessory Discovery” – not just any discovery, a “Kick-Butt” discovery.
It is a small fan that was originally designed to mount to a drum kit’s cymbal stand. A fan is one of the most important items in fashion shoots…
You can read more about Kelby’s discovery and find more about the fan here…
My First “shot” at a Fashion Show
One subject of photography that I have been wanting to explore is Fashion. I figured the best way to get started with the subject was to shoot at a few fashion shows to begin networking with others in the area.
The LF Fashion show was at Sen’s Restaurant in San Francisco, California on November 21st. I shot for the Fashion Show coordinator and had a blast!
I have to admit that I have fallen victim to the media-hype of pre-fashion show chaos. The reality of what I walked into contrasted greatly with what I thought I would experience: Where I thought I would see stressed out people rushing around in a state of panic, I saw a group of very chill looking people, clutching cans of RedBull looking like they were trying to stay awake while the Hair and MUA’s methodically worked on each of the models. It was not until a few minutes prior to the show that there was a sudden increase of energy in the room.
This allowed me to get time with the models as they were getting hair and makeup done as well as some group shots before the show on the “VIP Seating Area” and after the show outside.
Since the coordinator had another photographer present who was positioned at the end of the runway, I decided to put a photo-journalistic spin on my work by getting the reaction of those looking on at the models and overall atmosphere of the location.
I am looking forward to my next fashion-show shoot later in December. This experience has given me some ideas to try out.
Recovering from disaster…
OK, so I did have a few moments where the flash would not fire… I had not realized my new battery pack had an idiot setting that prevents the trigger-happy photographer from burning out their flash. The mortality rate on “good shots” was relatively low. There was one shot that had me completely devastated. Brightening this one up only caused a grainy outcome and the color was weak. Panic.
The end result is a conversion to black and white with higher contrast and lens-flare embellishment thanks to Photoshop… note to self; Change the settings on the battery pack.
Turning of the Vineyards
I drove out to Livermore to clear my mind and see what I could capture in the vineyards. The leaves were beginning to turn and I wanted to capture the change of seasons before they were completely bare.
Nila and Satyam – Engagement
I met up with Nila and Satyam at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco, Ca. The engagement session consisted of three locations and outfits, with the second being the Legion of Honor, and the final destination being the Municipal Rose Garden in San Jose. This final location is where we the couple had arrived wearing amazing outfits.
Congratulations on your engagement, Nila and Satyam!
Nila and Satyam at the Rose Garden
