Catching Up

I slacked a lil this week with my bday and all that was happening.... but I managed to get in some great street photography, work on portraits and abstracts.

I really like this one... but not sure exactly why....


random couple on broadway

afuera de la restaraunte Revolucion...Nice panning with a short shutter speed...

city portrait
people talking outside the club.... borderline abstract....

MSF Photostory - Colombia: Armed Conflict and Mental Health

I am a huge fan of Doctors without Borders. Here is a wonderful photostory brought to you by their organization.

Monday, July 26, 2010

Today I didn't have much time to devote to photos... so, I concentrated on being able to use my camera settings quickly

smooth change up to black and white
and back to color... dark... sweet exposure here...

back to black and white....

Good work on the move today...

Saturday, July 24, 2010 & Sunday, July 25, 2010

Comic Con festivities in Gaslamp...

Sunday:

Friday, July 23, 2010

More black and whites today...This is outside Horton Plaza during Comic Con craziness...This is my favorite... Not sure why... I like the simplicity of it and the grittiness.

Thursday, July 22, 2010

Today's theme is black and white although I did throw a little color in there... this is definitely my favorite... I pass by this every day on my way home from work... love the facade to this old, abandoned building...
this too... in color...
and black and white...
metro shot... just playing with the black and white setting...
This guy stands on the same corner every day and tips his hat (or salutes, I am not sure) every person and car that passes by. Here the bus driver, who knows this guy all too well, honked and, of course, the guy tipped his hat...

Proud of the black and whites today, but still working on getting some faces...

El Comienzo

Disclaimer: All photographs posted to this blog were taken on my Nikon Coolpix P90 camera while set in manual mode and manual focus. I do not edit any photographs posted to this blog.

Although I have not posted any photos--YET... I have been taking 1 photo a day as planned. Below are my photos from July 19, 2010 to July 21, 2010. I expect to post daily photos beginning tomorrow.

Monday, July 19, 2010

Monday morning, on my way to work. There is a very colorful restaurant on the corner of 5th & Nutmeg called Barrio Star. The food is not very great (it's called Barrio Star... yeah) but the colorful decor is interesting. So... 1st shot... Eeeek! And you thought I was exaggerating about the dark/light/blurry/blobby-ness... So, I adjusted the aperture and tried again... Still very light... Using a larger f-stop... nice... Now that I have the a grip on my aperture, I move on to close ups I think a different angle may have helped this shot, but I didn't think of it at the time... Maybe if the shot was from below looking up with less dirt and more color...?

I really like these last two... mostly bc of the color.

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

I made an excuse to get leave the office... and this is what I found... I am very please with the contrast in this white on white building. I should have left some of the terra cotta roof tiles in the shot to give the shot more color though...

I pass by this house just about everyday... Capturing the interestingness of the place was harder than I anticipated...
I am extremely pleased with this shot :D Pulled off a little depth of field here without even trying... I should have taken note of my aperture here, but I didn't. I was excited about trying for another depth of field shot but was a little disappointed that I couldn't recreate the effect here

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

A little street photography for you...

I am still working up the courage to ask people on the street for their portraits... So, this is shy Amanda pretending to not be taking photos of people on the streets of downtown SD...

That's all I have for now. As you can see there is a lot of work to be done here--this is just the beginning. I am getting better at guessing the correct aperture, but I still need work on getting closer to my subjects.

Goal 14: Capture the Street Scene

Street photography is how I first learned to use a camera. I cruised the Drag in Austin day after day, night after night, trying to get the hang of things and trying out new techniques. It's no surprise then that I first thought of going to the streets to practice before going after the big goals (volunteering, formal shoots, etc.) Especially because I live in downtown San Diego, the streets I frequent everyday are a great place to start working on my documentary & portraiture skills. Homelessness is obviously a good social issue to cover, as is socio-economic inequality, gender roles, teen parenthood, etc.

Although I know exactly what street photography is (yes, it's completely self explanatory--don't over think it), I never knew people actually referred to it as "street photography" until I started doing research for this blog. I never thought of it as an actual genre. Nonetheless, I know it quite well, it's a favorite of mine and I am eager to put some of my research on the subject into practice.

So, I am amending my original 13 goals to include #14 - Put together a set of [awesome] street photos (about 20 photos) and work on getting them into Hardcore Street Photography's pool on Flickr.

I am heading the the library now to get some photography books. Hoping to find some good stuff--excited!

Conflict Minerals PhotoStory

ENOUGH Project's Photostream

I have been following the ENOUGH Project for months now. For more information check out the ENOUGH Project's website.

More Inspiration

Wim van der Helm
James Nachtwey
Zoriah
Erin McCarley
Historias por Donna DeCasare
David Snyder
National Geographic Photography
Non.Photography

Non-Profits

Brainstorming....

Mingei International Museum... in Balboa park... nice.
Hostelling International - SD... seems like it would be a good place for travellers' portraits
VoiceOfSanDiego.org... Thinking of making Senior Writer, Rob Davis, (public health & environment) my news contact
The Chicano Federation
Invisible Youth Network
Red Lotus Society
AjA Project
Habitat for Humanity
I Love A Clean San Diego
Logan Heights Public Library
Central Library - Teach Adults to Read or Wangenheim Room Docent
Townspeople
International Rescue Committee
Lots of Tijuana Non-Profits
Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance of San Diego

Inspiration is Key

Inspiration comes in so many forms. My inspiration to become a photojournalist has evolved over the years, as have I.

The seed was planted in my Spring 2005 photojournalism class. I took the class for fun, but ended up falling in love with James Nachtwey. My cousin Esmy let me use her camera. I had no idea what I was doing. After a lot of practice and blurry/blobby/overexposed/underexposed slides, I was able to to take my first photo trip. Well, it wasn't my first photo trip, but my first photo trip that wasn't for a grade, wasn't for class... just for me. I packed the trunk of my car with random outfits and accessories: shirts, scarves, shoes of different sorts, a pink petticoat... etc. I took Mariana to an empty parking garage near the Capitol in Austin (we were working there at the time). I made her pose like a fashionista. Then we went back to campus, to the creek that runs along San Jacinto Blvd. I put her in the petticoat and ballet slippers and took photos near the bridge. Then she changed into a dress I think and walked along the creek with a Turkish scarf a friend (Nathan) had let us borrow. I followed taking photos. I made her act like a fairy.

Later Nathan snuck me into the dark room in the fine arts building to develop the film. It was my first time in the dark room. I did everything from start to finish. The photos came out beautiful and I was very proud of my work. Mariana was a little embarrassed because she was the subject of every photo. I ended up giving her all the photos and sadly I have none left.

Then in Spring 2006, I took Medical Geography with Dr. Davis. At the time, I had no idea Dr. Davis would become my mentor and such an import figure in my life. At that time, I was still afraid to speak to her; I could have never imagined that she would end up being such a dear friend and such an inspiration to stay strong when my life seemed to be falling apart. To this day I have yet to meet a woman as intelligent, humble and inspiring. That semester changed the way I viewed the world entirely; it made me passionate about social activism. I will never forget the night I stayed up crying after reading about impoverished women of Latin America forced into dangerous, black market abortions. (Paul Harrison's Inside the Third World) Nor could I forget how I poured my heart and soul into my TRIPs v. Human Rights op-ed.

By this time I had given the camera and equipment back to Esmy. All I had was a small point and shoot digital then which I rarely used. I forgot about photography for a while. I finished school. Graduated. Started working. After working for a while I had saved up quite a bit of money. I decided to buy a camera.

I ended up buying a Nikon Coolpix P90. Manual exposure modes with automatic point and shoot capabilities, smile mode, D-lighting, continuous scene mode. I know, I know, I have read the reviews... It's not that amazing of a camera, but I was in love.

I started taking pictures of anything. Everything. And so it has been since 2008 when I bought it.

Lately, I have been disappointed in how noticeably lacking my manual photography skills are. So, I decided to make a few goals for myself and to dedicate this blog to my progress and to my journey as a self-proclaimed fotojornalista.

My goals were inspired by the Digital Photography School's 30 Photographic Goals for 2010. Below are my goals, pared down from DPS's 30 and in no particular order.

1. Take my camera with me... EVERYWHERE

2. Shoot a photo a day... Yes, that means EVERY day...

3. Take more pictures of the people I care about

4. Read more photography books/blogs

5. Submit my photos to competitions (nervous about this one, but going for it anyway)

6. 1 formal shoot a week. This will take a little work, but I am excited about it.

7. Make photo books instead of forgetting about everything in my hard drive

8. Get back to the basics... work on flash/composition/perspective/etc.

9. Find a connection at a local newspaper (SUPER excited about this)

10. Show my work at a coffee shop, cafe, whatever, wherever I can (This is something I have been wanting to do for a VERY long time)

11. Volunteer as a photographer for a non-profit. This is the one closest to my heart.

12. Use my photos to make post cards to send home to my family and friends. Another important one.

13. Take a class. Thinking about getting back into the dark room for this one.

So, 1 - 4... easy... 6 and 7... doable. 8... ESSENTIAL. 9 and 10... why not? Seems fun. 11 and 12 the most important of all. 13... I'll have to make time for that, but I know it will be worth it.

I cannot express how excited and passionate I am about # 11. No, I may not be James Nachtwey and I may not have the resources to travel the world with a camera and I may not be the international human rights lawyer I so badly wish I could be. But, I can get better with my camera. I can get back to volunteering like I used to. I can use my camera to share someone's story, someone's strife, someone's despair, someone's joy, someone's accomplishment. This is what fotojornalismo means to me. No, it won't stop black market abortions; it won't instantly make health a human right. But, it will get me in the right direction. For now, with what I have, this is a righteous project and I am INSPIRED.