Wednesday, December 15, 2010: Coaster Ride

Watching the Waves

Solitude

Ducks in a Fog

These photos were taken from my window seat on the Coaster while riding to Encinitas.

Monday, December 13, 2010: Amazing Macro

These shots make me happy... I have 2 big pieces of watercolor paper... I may just have to paint one of these shots in watercolor... :D

Saturday, December 11, 2010: Tis the Season

Lights in macro
Our first Christmas tree! Since we won't be going home for Christmas, we decided to make ornaments out of black and white photos of our family.

Monday, November 22, 2010: Shooting from the Hip

Shooting from the hip is something done by street photographers and conflict photographers when the photographer does not want the subject to know they are having their picture taken. I try this from time to time, but do not usually come up with much. The downside of shooting from the hip is that you cannot see the view finder from the hip, so I do not use it too often.

Lots of issues with this photo, but that's what makes it such a good "from the hip" shot. First, my lens is still slightly knocked out of place and I unfortunately missed the bike rider's face. Second, why are my fingers in the shot...? Had both these elements been in the shot, it probably would have made an interesting black and white.

This had the potential to be a good shot, but not being able to see the viewfinder really messed me up. More practice :)

Sunday, November 21, 2010: Rainy Weekend

Friday, November 18, 2010: Cityscape

Gaslamp

Sunday, November 14, 2010: 12th & Imperial Murals

I took these shots while taking a walk near the 12th & Imperial trolley station.

Friday, November 12, 2010: Breaking the Rule of Thirds

The rule of thirds is a common composition technique. If lines were drawn on an image, dividing it into three parts vertically and horizontally then you would be left with four points where the lines intersect. At these points is where you would want to focal point of your shot. This creates "good" composition, or so the rule says. This rule is also the one that says placing the focal point smack dab in the center of a shot makes it less appealing. But some rules should be broken from time to time so, this image is my attempt to break the rule of thirds. Neither of the helicopters comply with the rule of thirds. However, I like the shot anyway

1. because of the color in the sky and the slight hint of clouds

2. because the silhouette of the small helicopters looks nice against the background of the orange sky

3. the silhouette at the bottom of the photo adds definition and some framing to the sky

More on breaking the rules to come in the next few posts.... :D

Thursday, November 11, 2010: Still Life

Still life with fruit and a window This was shot with the white balance set for incandescent lighting so what is indoors has a natural hue while the outdoors has a blue hue. This was shot with the white balance set for daylight. Notice how the part of the shot that is inside the apartment is yellowish while the part of the shot outside the window has a more natural hue.

Playing with macro focus and glass...

Wednesday, November 10, 2010: Metro

Tuesday, November 9, 2010: SD Bay

Here I used the flowers to frame in a dull sunset shot.

Sunday, November 7, 2010: Otoño

What Autumn should be...
I took this last December on Kettner Blvd., in Little Italy.



How SoCal Autumn actually looks...
I took this over the weekend.

Friday, November 5, 2010: Circa Now

In an unplanned series of events, Julio and I ended up at Stage Bar listening to local SD band Circa Now last night. Well most of Circa Now... From the band's facebook page, it seems like the girl doesn't usually perform with them; instead, it looks like they have another guitarist... Thus, last night's performance was a "pared down," as the guitarist explained, version of the band.

Because I had my camera with me and the show was relaxed, not too big of a crowd, I decided to shoot the band. After, I talked the guitarist, who told me they'd be interested in seeing the shots and possibly using them for their webpage(s).

Here's what I got...

My fave

I like this one a lot...

A little post production done here, but not on all the photos. I had to move the ISO all the way up to 6400 to reduce blurred movements, hence the grainy look to all the photos.

All in all good work... But I'd like to get closer next time.

Tuesday, November 2, 2010: Old Photo Slides - UT 2005

These are photo slides from when I first learned to use a camera in manual mode. I was a freshman in college at UT at the time. I found these in a box. They are some of my very first rounds of film. Bc they are slides, I had to hold them up to the window and take pics of them to share them here.

This is the view from my dorm window on the 20th floor of the Castilian.


This is an alley somewhere in west campus. Back before I even knew what street photography was ;)


These were taken in Metro coffee shop, which used to be right across Guadelupe from the west mall of campus. I think it may be a different coffee shop now.

The View from Above Holding my love's hand over coffee... <3

Monday, November 1, 2010: A Gift

Thanks to Erin Rae Biller...!

Sunday, October 31, 2010: All Hallow's Eve

Saturday, October 30, 2010: Sharon's Dia De Los Muertos Raclette

This was my very first raclette. The brunch turned out wonderful! Erin went all out with the altar, place settings and food. I wish I had gotten more photos. I wanted more candid photos of people, but unfortunately it didn't work out that way. I really need to get over this shyness and make some up close and personal magic happen.

Bacon Gouda
Mas Queso...
The Altar & Offerings