Wednesday, August 18, 2010: Still Life

I took these before I figured out how to work with manual focus. These were taken in manual focus, but I still didn't really understand how to make it work for my shots.

Sunday, August 15, 2010: Color

I am super ecstatic about the response to my postcards! But there's still much work to be done.

Here's to a colorful Sunday... Hope your day is bright :)

Progress: ISO, Manual Focus & White Balance

In the past 48 hours I have learned to rock all three of these! I am very proud.

Manual focus is taking my shots to a whole new level.



Having a command of the ISO is allowing me to take some great night shots. No flash required! Love it!







And the white balance is allowing me to finally get rid of that yellow tinge in my indoor photos.







What's next!? Can't wait to see the great shots I can capture with all this new knowledge & skill :D

Thursday, August 12, 2010: Postcards

As one of my goals (goal # 12 to be exact) set out in my first post (which you can check out HERE), I have been working on some postcards to send to my family and friends.

Unlike other photos I post, these photos have been through some heavy post production. I am too cheap to cough up cash for photoshop, so I used Picnik for the effects. I tweak all the effects for custom post production, but my post production skills are still on a novice level. I will work on that more in the future, after I am satisfied with my original production skills.

This one is going to my mom <3

This one was taken at Sunset Cliffs in Point Loma. I am sending it to my sister, Cydni.

Pixilated landscape. For my cousin Zoei Kay & a few other friends.

I really like this one. It's going to my cousin Blaise & Julio's brother & sister, Germain and Fiorella.

This one is going to my little cousin! I am not even sure if he knows who Yoshi is...!?


This one is going to my Grandparents. This is from the Sandcastle Competition at Imperial Beach last weekend.


Not sure who this one is going to yet... Taken at Ocean Beach


Another shot at Sunset Cliffs. Do you think the message really looks like it was written in the sand? Which looks more realistic? Comment to let me know!

Wednesday, August 11, 2010: Light & Shadow

Finding the "right" light in any shot is what separates the novice point and shooter from the skilled photographer. To do this one must aware be of the type of light they are working with.

These two shots were taken around mid afternoon so the sun's light is pretty harsh. Both shots were taken looking up almost directly at the sun.

In this shot the flowers provide a really nice and colorful silhouette. Bugambilias en el Sol

In this shot there are a lot of bright objects reflecting off the sun's direct light. My goal was to get the [____, I forgot the name of the instrument?! Comment if you know the answer] at the correct exposure. So, even though the bright objects in the top right corner of the shot seem over exposed, the instrument is at the correct exposure and in focus.

Hanging with Succulents

I am getting better at controlling the aperture and shutter speed in manual. I still need to work on manual focus and depth of focus. I'm currently working on setting up a proper portrait studio in my apt for my shoot of the week. Stay tuned!

Tuesday, August 10, 2010: Kids

I caught these kids at the sandcastle competition. All the photos were taken from a distance, but I didn't want to creep out their 'rents... Give and take...

Monday, August 9, 2010: California

When people think of California a number of things come to mind... mostly cliche... As a new comer, I too still think of cliche California... beaches, sun, tans, surfers, palms, perfect weather, earthquakes, Lakers, The Beach Boys, etc.

But of all the things that come to mind when I think of California... one image remains constant... A house in the hills surrounded by palms, sunshine and clearest of clear blue skies... So here is my tribute to "California" and what it means to me...

Sunday, August 8, 2010: Fun with Macro

Here are my first experiments with macro photography. Macro photography just means "close up" photography. When planning this project I immediately thought of all the monitos in Old Town... So there I went and this is what I found.

I find macro photography to be more compelling when there are bright colors involved. For example, this tin tub of toys... Or this basket full of Guatemalan "Worry Dolls" I found these colorful marbles in a cigar shop...

Macro photography is known for its shallow depth of field, meaning the range of focus is very limited to what's right in front of the camera and everything else becomes blurred background. That is particularly visible in this photo of baby succulents in hand painted, mini pots and a little less so in this photo

Saturday, August 7, 2010: Disturbingly Random

I caught this shot on my way home, outside the sports bar across the street. Why is there a yellow high heel strewn along the side of the street? It's downtown SD so who knows! It's a little eerie though if you ask me... I never saw a woman walking with only 1 yellow heel... or anyone even looking for a missing shoe... Hmmm...

Friday, August 6, 2010

I know there is a function on my camera so that you can get better photos when trying to capture an image beyond glass. I need to learn how to use it... but I liked the random street art...

Friday, August 6, 2010

Check out LENS' Pictures of the Day in Pakistan & Elsewhere for 8-6-2010... Amazing photos, amazing journalism. I really liked the the photo of the 65th anniversary of the 1945 bombing of Hiroshima, the world's first nuclear attack. It's easy for people to forget tragic events that happen across the globe. Thanks to journalism and photography we can all remember the gravity of our history and hope not to make the same mistakes twice--or more.

Wednesday, August 4, 2010: Celebrating Civil Union in CA

Given the overturning of Prop 8... Meghan and I decided to go to Hillcrest to share in the merriment. We ended up at a drag show at Moe's. I had a blast.

As far as photography goes.... I broke my manual mode/focus rule for the first time since I began this project. The lighting in the club was so low/dim that I decided to go back in to auto mode/focus and I must say the results were fabulous... (as were the entertainers!) Although I was using auto mode/focus, I must admit I showed extreme mastery of my camera functions/use of the little light I had/drama/composition etc. I could never have pulled off such shots with such dim lighting a month ago, so I am proud of myself even out of manual mode/focus. Here are the results!
"singing I didn't know I was looking for love until I found you..." So dramatic... so good! 80s-metallic-HOT! Put on such a great show everytime she hit the stage! I have great video of her belting out this song too!
Random guy... I kinda think he was looking for an audition :x, but here he is dancing it up at intermission. CHER! Singing TLC's Red Light Special! Super-HOT go-go dancer! I need that Mod Squad dress in my life ASAP!

All in all... I am very proud of the portraits I was able to get in such low lighting and proud to be part of Hillcrest's civil rights celebration. Another good day to be a photographer!