Join me in a photo event!

This Saturday, Cinco de Mayo, I'll be participating in documenting my day and posting it on here and Flickr's group. On my agenda that day is Howard's bachelor party so I'll only be able to take pictures at the appropriate times. I'm hoping to snap pictures throughout my entire day - of myself, people I see, things I do etc. Anyone else interested in doing the same, just let me know and I'll post them on this lil ol blog. I'm hoping to create several slideshows; it'll be fun :) For more details on the official Flickr event, click here. (Miss Williams, you game?)

Nick and Cassidy

I gave my cousins Nick and Cassidy some temporary Yakuza game tattoos today that I got at E3 last year. It's amazing how tough people can look with some ink - the transformation was immediate. Notice the smug looks and attitude to match with both of them. To offset the intimidation, the bottom shot is a cuter picture I took a month ago with my big camera.

Think Blue

I sound like a girl but man, this angle makes me look so fat!!

The guys and I attended the Dodgers ('doyers' if you're from L.A.)/Giants game today thanks to Ty (glasses) and his free tickets from his work. We got awesome deck level seats and of course some dodger dogs and nachos along with $11 beers! (sheesh) Huge difference sitting behind the plate than in the pavilion level seats where fights constantly break out and extreme heckling, especially with BAAARRRYYYY playing. Unfortunately the boys in blue lost but it was fun hanging out and we all got Nomar Garciaparra bobbleheads!

Also, I took another step in upgrading to current technology. Today I got HD digital cable and the picture looks great except for the fact that half the channels don't work. A tech is coming out tomorrow to take a look at it. Next up, a new lappy but I'm still debating on going the Mac route or wait for the Santa Rosa chipset to come out. Hmm...maybe new camera equipment...*scratches chin*

Some Photo(shop) Magic

Some people don't believe in "photoshopping" pictures, saying that it's a sign of a bad photographer who has to "fix" or compensate for mediocre shots. Some guy on a forum wrote he wanted to be known for his photography skills and not his photoshop skills. I don't believe this.

The top is the original out-of-camera image. The bottom is after a little photoshop retouching - cross processing (contrast/brightness adjustments), teeth whitening, vignetting, sharpening, and border treatment. Of course Seungyeon is already beautiful (I didn't have to remove any blemishes!), but a little digital makeup doesn't hurt. This is the part that takes the longest time that makes the photo "pop." I don't consider this cheating or compensating for a bad shot, but enhancing the photo. In fact, my camera by default underexposes/undersharpens for this purpose. This doesn't take away from the way a photo is framed, posed, or the timing of the capture, which is the creative element unique to each photographer.

Don't be afraid to play around with photoshop curves and levels to flavor to your own taste. Other programs I like are Nikon Capture NX, Photoshop Lightroom and even Microsoft Digital Image Studio.

Speaking of Seungyeon, I FINALLY received all the photos, including the 11x14" print. They look great and the paper is nice (Kodak) but it took sooooo long. I can't wait to deliver them.

Photo tip: background blur

How come some people take pictures that look "professional" while other people with the same camera take shots that look like any other picture? Well one of the tricks is to isolate the object or person by bluring the background. I'm not going to get too much into the technical photography jargon, but here's what you need for the simplest and most effective way:

- SLR camera

- Lens that has a big apeture (how big the lens opens). You'll see a number like 70-200mm 2.8. Or 18-70mm 3.5-4.5. To measure lens aperture, the 2.8 and the 3.4-4.5 is what you focus on. The lower the number, the more blur you're going to get (and usually more expensive the lens generally).

Here's what you do on a dSLR camera such as the Canon Digital Rebel XTi or Nikon d80:

- Set to aperture priority (A on Nikon dials, Av on Canon dials)

- Set to lowest number (e.g. 1.8, 2.8 etc.)

- Leave the flash off (assuming you're shooting in daylight - best in the shade)

- focus on the spot you want to shoot and fire away! Try getting close, standing far, different angles etc. The amount and quality of blur will depend on the distance and lens.

There you have it. Not only does shooting in aperture mode allow more natural light but it blurs the backgrounds. The above shot was shot with a 50mm 1.8 lens standing about a foot away. This lens doesn't zoom but it's only around $100...totally worth it! I shoot most my portraits this way. Pretty much all manufacturers make this standard lens.

The winning picture is...

Ta da! Seungyeon and her hubby selected this pic for its natural look and I agree, great choice. Unfortunately, the vendor I chose, photomax, REALLY sucks. I like their paper (kodak) and I've had good service with them in the past but they have botched our order despite numerous complaints. Anyway, I hope to be getting the order to them this week. In the meantime, I'm going to give them some lower quality prints from Target for the time being but avoid that place at all cost.

Also, I'd like to thank everyone for supporting me through this tough time for me and my family with the recent passing away of my grandpa and my dad's stroke, not to mention me being heartbroken on top of that. I don't usually talk about personal issues on this photo blog but it makes me happy to see so many happy faces from the pictures I take and fans of this blog being supportive. I'll be in a better mood once I take some more cool pics!

On a happier note, in the next few months, I have a baby birthday party coming up, starring my favorite child star, Silas and a wedding in January in the works. Plus Sienna! Stay tuned :)