the way we go…

So, I didn’t get this up yesterday, but at least I shot the image yesterday… going back to having my camera available and ready to go at all times really helps.  Knowing that I love parking lots, I was happy to find this one almost empty. The truck at the end gave it a good sense of depth, and I loved the exit sign.  I try really hard to stay away from signs, but this really seem to work with the overall image… lots of lines and angles all very exciting…  It was actually a surprise that this was empty because there was a world cup soccer match going on just up the street…cost of parking I guess… more fun for me.  Places that are empty, but could hold a large amount of something really fascinates me… makes me wonder who has come before, and who in the future will be here…

tech: 24-70, 1/125 f5 iso 2500

post: desaturate, crop, spot, blacks, contrast

If you were a tree, what kind of tree would you be?

Its argued that trees are the most photographed thing… I personally think its babies, but hey, maybe its baby trees who know…  I love photographing trees, especially weird ones that are in places they don’t belong, or a place that they just shouldn’t be able to grow.  Thats the thing about trees, they are pretty resilient.  Much like photographs,  if its really good it can stick with us forever.  like the image of the woman on the cover on Nat Geo… you know the one I mean… the eyes… yes that one.  As I pursue this daunting task… (which almost doesn’t happen sometimes) of shooting something that is, at least for me, a fine art photo everyday… you learn what you are made of… and where the trees are.

tech 100 mm 1.5 min, f11, 100 iso

post: wb, blacks

learning lessons…

So here I am, in a far suburb of Los Angeles, not to many gritty warehouses, which i love to shoot, no crack heads passed out head down in a box.  All this means I need to be even more creative well at least try to be…  So I learn the limitations of my camera this evening, and allow you to share in my failure…  not necessarily a complete loss, because I learned a valuable lesson, as to what my camera is capable of…  some days I miss film, guess its time to break out the film camera’s again… my shot of the stars, on a very clear night… too much light pollution and maybe some prespective could have made it better, but we fail…or did we?

tech  5 dmii 24-70, 45 min, f2.8 iso 100

no post

stop and smell the concrete

So as I chat with my photography pals, and realize the endevor I’ve undertaken, its amazing how difficult it is to shoot everyday.  and how easy it is as well… hmmm  props to Ben H over at project1site.com, helped me out… he said, just stop, wherever you are and look around you’ll find a shot.  So I did just that, I stopped and got out of the truck in an empty parking lot, and there it was… now I didn’t have a tripod so I had to bump up the iso beyond where I like.  But by doing this, i realized A. i got the shot i wanted for the evening, and B. I love empty parking lots!  and that is what this is all about, finding the things I love to photograph.  And then getting out there and photographing them.  so there i was stopped to smell the concrete and came out with this image…

tech 24-70 1/100 f2.8 iso 6400

The Puppy Factor…

Its simple…  everyone loves a puppy or a sweet little kid, or your neighborhood chipmunk… Thats why the grace the cover of oh so many Hallmark cards, and inspirational posters. Paris Hilton has made having a puppy more fashionable than owning a $1000 handbag.  Pups, we love em, they are right there, and they don’t fight you like a starving model does… nope no attitude at all… of course thats what we love about our models! But the puppies are cute, don’t be afraid to photograph them…but make it interesting!

model: Bellini

tech 100 macro, 1/60, f2.8, lamp light

post:  wb, boosted the blacks

Lines, Graphics, and Textures oh my!

There are several ways to make great photographs. Most importantly is have your camera with you and get out there and start taking them! Another big help is looking for fun graphics in things, like buildings and bridges… and then doing something un-ordinary.  Textures give your subject depth, and make it so you can ‘feel’ the photo… Shadows and bright spots give you graphics to work with… one trick is to look through the lens and bring your image slightly out of focus… what do you see?  Look for graphics everywhere in the most unusual places, like this photo below, of the base of the Vincent Thomas Bridge, San Pedro ( http://www.sanpedro.com/sp_point/vtbrdg.htm)

tech 24-70 1/125, f11, bright sun

post: sharpened, boosted the blacks, did some cropping and rotating as well as perspective.

Making the Ordinary, look extraordinary…

I’ve heard it 1,000 times, and from anyone who ever taught a photography class… “you need to make the ordinary, extraordinary, thats what photography is about”  and guess what, its true!!!  So after a beautiful sunday, with friends and family over for the Fathers day BBQ, (happy Dad’s day to all of you Pops out there) I decided to find something ordinary right in my own backyard.  In fact I didn’t even need to go that far… only to my dining room table… Loving the macro, and the way it makes things so alien, and strange… what fun…  bit o light and you are off and running on some psychedelic journey through the flower vase…  with no hang over the next day…

post: a bit of added contrast, desaturated a bit

tech 100 macro, 1.6 sec f2.8

The ride home

Today I found myself in a different neighborhood, working… shooting a wedding, enjoying the festivities, and I thought… I could just use one of the hundreds of photos I’m taking for  AoJ36.  But… I didn’t want to cheat myself (or you) so I decided to take the long way home… I figured that something would hit me… not so easy…  Its amazing what you see when you are looking around instead of just driving from one point to another.  And its not so easy to find something that really qualifies as fine art… LA is vast, and not so pretty sometimes.  When I say not so pretty, I’m not so much talking about the grunge… but in some places LA is even devoid of interesting grunge.  So I had to dig deeper, think about what this project is for me, what I like to photograph…  I’ve always loved the interaction of Nature and Landscape with man made structures… there is plenty of that to spare  in LA!  So I finally found a spooky dead end in the heart of some random industrial park… and there it is… nature vs structure.

post: Lots of Post! white balanced, cropped, opened the blacks and darken the shadows… painted in the tree.

tech: 24-70 30 sec f9 100 iso

Painting with light… back to the beginning

Jumping on the horse (the audi as it were) in search of day 3′s exciting photo… and then realizing its not just going to fall in my lap… So, I went back to the roots of photography, and the place where we started this blog.  Plenty to shoot there, lots of construction, and craziness. One problem, its pitch black!  Well, since photography literally means painting with light, I armed myself with more than a camera, yes… the trusty flashlight.  I discovered some simple shapes and went about ‘painting’.  Now I realized that the simplicity of the image may take away from the more important aspect of fine art, but getting myself back to basics helps me realize the potential of this ongoing project, and isn’t that the point?

don’t forget to check out the other photos ->

post: none!

tech 24-70  4 min f11

getting personal, with the portrait…

The reason I picked up the camera in the first place, all those years ago, was photographing people! I love it.  Its a very personal thing, most people, myself especially, find it difficult to get their photo taken… yes forget about Kate Moss and Linda E. the rest of us humans find it difficult, and believe it or not the photographer has a hard time as well.  We (the photographer) want you (the photograph-e) to be happy,and have fun so we get a great pic! the Secret is, you just have to work through the uncomfortable-ness…  It’ll happen just as it did here with once again, my favorite subject, Andrea~  She is amazing, and very patient with me.. Thanks A.!

Now I realize I should have a goal with this blog and these photos, so check out the about Jeromy, and I’ll go into the goal a bit there…but for this post, I felt it necessary to work on the portrait with a bit of mixed lighting, some tungsten (regular light bulb) for the key, and a strobe rim light.

post processing:  desaturated, boosted the blacks, and a bit of sharpening, thats it! (now, I may in the very near future do some retouching on the hair, but for this… she is stunning!)

tech: 100 mm L, 1/60, f2.8, 3200 iso