Nat Geo Interional photo contest winners

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2009/11/national_geographics_internati.html

I haven't blogged in a while but I stumbled upon these amazing pictures. I think there are probably two things that are important: being at the right place at the right time and having an "eye" or interesting perspective. Well I don't have anything new to update other than I have been very busy with my non-photo related work. I am thinking about writing something more in depth about moving from an amateur camera and lenses to pro gear and what that's like.

Thanksgiving is coming up, which means some good eating but for the life of an academic, it also means a good time for work. I'm going to catch the movie Ninja Assassin. Assassin is a funny word...anyway, enough rambling. I'll try to take some pictures of something or someone soon.

"This cake is freakin good!!!"

The dance floor was bumpin to the sound of live music

Here are the reception pictures. Probably the hardest part to take pictures of because it's usually dark and you don't want to be flashing a bulb in people's faces all night long, especially when they're eating. The trick is to get the subjects well lit using your flash while not blacking out the ambient lighting. It's really cool when people use colored lights in the background. Here's where the little point and shoot cameras and cell phone cameras start to struggle. No worries though, I'm here to save the day.

On to more random stuff. I have discovered nature's crack cocaine - the highly addictive honeycrisp apple. No joke, these things are delicious. Unfortunately, I think I ate one that I might not have washed thoroughly so yesterday my upper lip was FAT from some allergic reaction. I have like 8 more, so I'm going to wash them a little better and eat them. I take that back about them being from nature, because they were actually created at the University of Minnesota using some cross mojo-nation. Anyway, they're in season so try some, seriously. Also, Halloween is almost upon us and I think I have the right costume. It will be a surprise of course (no, it is not halo or xbox related). It's more cool than funny - well I guess it could be funny if I'm wearing it. Anyway, more later.

This Picture Rules!

For some reason I think this picture is one of the coolest pics I've ever taken. The retouching just worked by accident and I was like...wooahh coool! That guitar is just so cool. What's sad is as of now, the band is broken up because people are moving to different states and have other obligations etc. This was their second to last performance together. I'll post some pictures soon of the reception which includes the band.

Jeannine + Blake: Ceremony

The special moment






One outside

I'm trying different Photoshop effects these days - hopefully they don't look TOO processed. I don't like it when people overdo the retouching. At the same time, when you don't do anything to the pictures, they look a bit plain. Anyway, I screwed up on one part of the wedding: I accidentally turned off the image stabilization (VR) on my lens and a lot of important pictures, like walking to the front, were blurry :( The image stabilization makes a HUGE difference. Fortunately, I blasted away a ton of shots so a few of them were in focus. I guess that's my tip - take as many pictures as you can since they're free. That's the beauty of digital photography.

Also, it looks like my camera, after 2 years of service, is no longer the top dog camera as it is being replaced by a slight upgrade, the 3Ds. It has an insane ISO of over 100,000. A lot of people are whining that the video is only 720p. Here are my thoughts on video on a DSLR: it is a good feature to have on the side. The key is, it's on the side. Personally, when I take pictures, I'm not thinking about video or anything like that. I wouldn't imagine fussing over trying to take both pictures and video. Maybe if I were the second shooter, I might. But to me, it's really not a big deal at all just because I'm not a huge fan of wedding videos. To me, the camera has to take the best pictures possible and everything else is just bonus as long as it does affect picture taking. But that's just me. Anyway, I'll probably post a couple more then find something else to post on.

The ladies of the wedding

My next post are the actual ceremony, then followed by the reception.

Earlier tonight I went to a this meetup group called "the photographer's edge". It was pretty interesting. I have never been to a photography thing so it was cool chatting up photo stuff. They were talking about extension tubes and tripods - two things I never use. I just don't do that type of photography to find them useful. They brought some pretty fancy stuff there - like $700 tripods!

Also, in some super exciting news, Polaroid is bringing back their film!! One of my favorite cameras I own is a Polaroid that does instant prints. They discontinued the film - you know, the type where you shake it like a Polaroid picture - but they're bringing it back. Here's the news story

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/techchron/detail?&entry_id=49511

More soon :)

More getting ready shots

Carrot cake

Ben getting some instructions

Jeannine's handsome dad and one of my favorite pictures from the wedding

Another one of my favorites

Awesome shoes

I've learned that it's pretty impossible for the bride to get dressed on her own. Blake didn't have a problem though.

Here are a few more shots I fixed up. More to come soon of the actual ceremony. Here are a few thoughts on wedding photography that I've learned through the last few weddings I shot:

It's easy and hard. It's easy in that you just point a camera and press some buttons. It's hard in that you can easily forget a setting and leave it on the wrong setting, which may ruin many pictures. I accidentally knocked the image stabilization (VR) off my rental lens (70-200) and my walkway shots were half ruined :(

Travel light. The less stuff you lug around, the better. I've narrowed it down to 3 lenses and one flash, although a macro lens would've come in handy for the rings.

You don't need a lot of fancy lighting. One flash on top of the camera with a fresh set of batteries and a diffuser card, that's it. No need for power packs, cords, umbrellas and other stuff. Also, store bought disposable batteries are way better than the rechargeable ones.

I tend to hold the camera vertically like 80% of the time. I find that if you're holding it horizontally for one or two people, you're probably standing too far away. The trick to most of my photography (which is 99% uncropped) is just getting a little closer.

Anyway, more soon.

Jeannine + Blake = Married!

Fall colors was the theme

Open bar all night, featuring the delicious "Blannine"

Other than a minor broccoli incident, Jeannine was all smiles




Blake hanging out with the band before getting ready

Looking good, Blake

I shot Jeannine and Blake's wedding last night at the awesome Fort Worth Community Arts Center. I have a ton of pics but here are just a few I've touched up. It's pretty awesome getting married inside a museum - my cousin had hers in the courtyard of one also. They're always so classy and not over-the-top cheesy. Last night was no exception - but it was fun also. The band was great and I was really impressed by the string musicians playing as they walked down the aisle, who were pretty much all former students of Blake's.

I haven't even scratched the surface in terms of pictures - I think there are over 2,000. I haven't even gotten them all off the memory cards yet. Check back often as the pictures trickle on to the blog. I hope they're good, I'm a little rusty taking pictures.

Lisa + Rob

Lisa is about a couple weeks away from a brand new baby boy! You bet I'll be there (a la Sienna) periodically to document the many "firsts." Anyway, husband Rob is very excited also. That is going to be one brainy baby - Rob is an economist and Lisa an anthropologist.

I have been not taking pictures for a little while but hopefully I'll be back soon. October 10 is Jeannine and Blake's wedding so it won't be too long :) Hopefully it will stay bright longer but Fall is definitely creeping in. It's been pretty chilly here lately but I have a feeling Summer weather has one last heat wave before being banished.

Anyway, I've been busy with school in full swing. I'm moved in to my new place. I lost around 10-15 lbs thanks to eating less and some exercise. My little Asia trip was the fattest point in my life. Well, that's it for now..more soon.

Jeannine + Blake = Engaged

Someone's pretty photogenic (also)

Slightly subtle glow effect

Last week I shot Jeannine and Blake's engagement photos at the museum district in scenic Fort Worth (Yes, it really is beautiful). The weather, which has ranging from crazy hot to warm and humid, gave us a break between the rain. The wedding will be in October and yours truly will be taking the pics :) It feels nice to take pictures of people again after all the scenic stuff.

Some Hong Kong Randomness...

I snuck and took this inside the Louis Vuitton art gallery...the secret is to take the pic, plead ignorance, and apologize.

There were a lot of dog walkers near The Peak.

One of my several self portraits - the secret is a wide angle lens.

The chaos that is HK at night.

Words to describe the city are raw and untamed (I read this somewhere else and it was the perfect description). It's just a mass of humanity, for better or worse. It's not for the faint of heart, that's for sure. Compared to Singapore, it's the stark opposite. Singapore, while urban, is clean and orderly. I wouldn't go as far as to call it sterile, but it is very organized and packaged. I'll post more random pictures soon. Both places share one thing in common though, which is that if you're a photo-lover or photographer, these places are dreams. Night photography, landscape, urban, people, colors...both places have it all. I have fulfilled one of my goals to print one of my pictures, blow it up, frame it, and put it on my wall :) Also, I'll be moving very soon to my new "crib." It's a brand new, modern apartment that is in a great location and has a very urban-modern style, which I love. Very loft-like.

Also, new wedding booked. Engagement pics next week. Also Vegas pics. Much more soon.

Hong Kong Avenue of the Stars

I went to the Avenue of the Stars to check out the skyline of Hong Kong Island. The skyline of course was the star, but there are lots of things there. Basically it's the Hollywood walk of fame for HK film stars, like Bruce Lee. There were a lot of stars but among them are Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung. I finally found the Bruce Lee statue and also went to the Museum there, which featured Louis Vuitton stuff from his bags to architecture. Surprisingly it was really cool.

Getting dark..


Darker...

That's it!

It's just one spectacular view after another these days. This is the world's greatest skyline, bar none. Of course I'm talking about the breathtaking view of Hong Kong from The Peak. Just simply amazing. I muscled my way to the absolute best location at the very edge. This was the roof of a structure that was pay-to-access. The people there had some serious photography gear, with pro cameras, lenses and tripods. I saw a Canon 5DM2 and some other really nice cameras. But I think I managed just fine without the tripod :)

Hong Kong Victoria Harbor

A view of the harbor from Avenue of the Stars. There was a light and music show.

This is my panoramic shot. It's giant - I'm going to figure out how to post this.

Hong Kong is a completely different beast than Singapore. HK is a bustling jam-packed nitty-gritty city whereas Singapore is a clean, modern, sterile environment. Both have their charm (and great food). I was in awe of the skyline in HK and I went to town with the D3. I shot all this without a tripod and we caught a light/music show. There was a full moon; just the perfect evening except for the weather of course, which was hot and muggy. I'll post more tomorrow but post this one under favorites.

Singapore @ Night: Skyline + Happy 4th!

I took a little boat ride along the river - typical tourist trap - but I didn't expect to see this! The ride intertwined through the business district, giving a spectacular sight of the buildings. It was lit up very nicely at night and the weather was much cooler. I just had a field day snapping away. I felt kinda bad for the rest of the people who had point-and-shoot cameras. They were the nice models but I could tell they were struggling while I snapped away at ISO 3200 and 6400. As you can see, the images are very clean - and I'm not even a very good landscape photographer. (People, just invest in a DSLR and a couple of nice lenses, you won't regret it!) The beautiful scenery made it a little too easy. I might just blow one of these up and hang it on my wall. Next up is Hong Kong, which I know has a breathtaking skyline - it is so on. It was definitely worth lugging around the equipment and I'm glad I brought my D3 instead of the much lighter and portable D70s - it's a great camera, but it can't really hang at night with max ISO 1600 coming out grainy.

Anyway, Singapore is great. The only bad is the weather. But oh well, can I really complain coming from Texas??!! Also, happy 4th of July everyone (albiet one day late). I did get to catch some fireworks but I don't think it was for the US holiday, just something they do on the weekends here. No fireworks pics this year on this blog unfortunately, but you can look in the archives at last year's.

More Singapore

Along the river - I recommend taking the boat at night.

Hindu temple at night

Hanging outside of a Buddhist temple

Some nice colors at an outdoor market in Chinatown

One of my favorite shots from one of the temples - just a very cool angle

Inside of the temple

Our conference is over so now it's mostly vacation mode. Singapore loves their cameras. There are a TON of camera stores and Canon/Nikon advertisements on the buses. Lots of people walking around with their DSLRs and fat lenses, including yours truly - although I try to be really descrete by sticking it back in my bag quickly. The good thing is I don't look out of place with my camera. Earlier this evening I shot some awesome night shots that I can't wait to process and post. Speaking of processing, notice I haven't posted any black and whites? That's because this place is so colorful and vibrant (some may argue sterile) but it's great for scenic pictures. My only complaint is the weather, but other than that it's a very charming place. Some more pictures soon that are way better than these.

Singapore @ Night

A view from the hotel pool deck. Lights reflecting off the river.

Chinatown



My baby (the D3) and I are in Singapore this week. Here are a few night shots. I will have much more later.

Put Your Own Captions

"What? Pictures, noooo I'm much too shy."


"You see, bees are important by pollinating ..."

"You talkin to me? Are you talkin to me???!!"

"See, in modeling school I learned that if I pull the flowers down to my head and smile I look cuter."

I'm back in the heat of Texas. I go in my apartment and look at the termostat and it's 90 degrees (f). I head out to Singapore and Hong Kong in July, then Vegas. Busy summer, but it's for both work and play. I'll try to bring my D3 but man, lugging that thing around is a pain. It's like carrying a 7 lb bag everywhere. I still need to buy a little camera to take everywhere.

Sienna + Me (+ Susy)

Sienna was all business -- until we tickled her.

These poses were all Sienna's idea

Sienna hugged my (fat) head - that's how she does it

I finally got a chance to visit Susy, Kris and Sienna yesterday before I head back to the oven. Sienna is a ball of fun and I rarely get in front of the camera but she was just too cute. When we took out the camera, she immediately went on a supermodel pose-down all over the yard. She even started directing everything and everyone, including Opus (the dog). Haha ! she is growing up way fast! I wish I were around more.

I'm going to do some international travel in July so I'll try to bring my camera.

Mochi

Fort Worth Zoo + Photoshop

Miniature lioness?


Toy mandrill baboon??

Nope, these are all real using a fake tilt-shift effect on photoshop I found out how to do on youtube.  It's just a little lens blur effect.  Anyway, these pics were taken at the Fort Worth Zoo about a month ago using my old trusty D70s.  The FW Zoo by the way is awesome.  I would say quality-wise, it's better than the San Diego wild animal park.  I know, that's a pretty bold statement but it's a very well funded and maintained zoo.  My favorite part is this aviary full of parakeets - you go in there and buy a stick with some seeds attached.  The birds just flock to you and start eating the seeds standing on the stick.  Just really awesome.